Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die
Comedy Central
October 30, 1993
Riffing
VHS
C

Mike Nelson's inauspicious debut as sort of himself (after appearing as various characters over the years) does have some good lines, ranging from a reference to The Ropers to a Kurt Cobain joke that predates his death by about six months.  (And there's a Bill Clinton joke but pretty generic.)  The thing is, everyone is trying so hard to get us to accept the new guy that it seems like that in itself should be lampshaded, like a bot saying, "Sorry, we're overcompensating."  It doesn't help that the movie is so sleazy, and not in a fun way, with its "hero" seeking a sexy woman to decapitate and attach to the head of his dismembered fiancee.  Luckily, things would improve from here, although I'll always prefer Joel to Mike.  Oh, and note that Mary Jo Pehl, who had been one of the staff writers for awhile and who would later play Pearl Forrester, Dr. Clayton Forrester's mother, here sort of is the title character, appearing as "Jan" in the last sequence.  And Beaulieu is the new director.