Mystery Science Theater 3000: Star Force Fugitive Alien II

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Star Force Fugitive Alien II, created in 1991, is an iconic episode from the cult favorite television series ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000'. The show's premise, a little absurd and profoundly ingenious, sees a young man, Joel Robinson (played by Joel Hodgson), and his two wisecracking robot friends - Crow T. Robot (Trace Beaulieu) and Tom Servo (Kevin Murphy) - locked aboard a satellite, blearily nested in the void of outer space by mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu). Forrester’s nefarious scheme is to drive his captives insane by subjecting them to an avalanche of ’B movies;‛ films of incontrovertible dullness, absurdity, or jarring incompetence. These are films so outrageously bad that they sometimes loop back around to being amusing - but just barely.

Star Force Fugitive Alien II is an epitomizing example of the series' irreverent charm and enthusiastic evisceration of eccentric screen oddities. The movie-within-the-series is a Japanese space soap opera, cut together from episodes of TV show to form a feature-length film, liberally slathered with threads of plot, co-cobbled from various episodes of the original Japanese TV series and curated for this particular MST3K episode. The target of riffing here is a dizzyingly confusing, often amusingly incompetently dubbed romp through the cosmos, featuring colossal space fortresses, alien warlords, space samurais, and a central character that becomes an unwilling traitor.

The narrative recounts the experiences of a reluctant space warrior, who ends up as a 'Fugitive Alien,' bouncing between various planets, encountering diverse beings, and battling conflicting emotions of love, friendship, and loyalty, all the while trying to escape his murky past. This film's storyline and production quality (or a lack thereof) are fodder for the continuous commentary and parody by the MST3K trio.

Joel Hodgson's laidback, inventive humour is on full display in this episode as Joel and his robot friends tear into the poorly dubbed dialogue, hilariously low-budget set designs, and nonsensical plot elements. Joining this amusing trio is Jim Mallon, lending his vocal talents to the sardonic AI-minded Gypsy. The interactions between these characters frame the critical viewing experience, forming a combination of well-timed wisecracks, inventive sketches and a remarkable chemistry that's the ticket to MST3K’s enduring cult status.

The 'riffs' provided by Joel, Crow, and Tom Servo punctuate the film, transforming an otherwise drab narrative into an entertaining and even endearing experience. These humorous annotations range from everything to puns and pop culture references, to criticism of the film's every aspect—dialogue, direction, cinematography, script, special effects, and much more. They liven the viewing experience, exchanging bemusement for laughs, and provoking thought alongside sheer entertainment.

The performance of Trace Beaulieu is particularly worthy of note. Playing dual roles as the sarcastic robot Crow and the maniacal Dr. Forrester, Beaulieu is at his comedic best, allowing viewers to appreciate the versatility and depth of his acting skills. The episode exemplifies the series' unique blend of science fiction, comedy, and character interaction, setting the tone for subsequent MST3K episodes.

Putting 'Star Force Fugitive Alien II' under their acerbic, incisive, and confidently fun microscope, Mystery Science Theater 3000 renders it as a comedic treat, somehow finding the magic hidden in the weaves of a predominantly phantasmagoric film. The beauty of the series is that while in one way it's a loving tribute to low budget, B-Movies of the past, on the other, it's a testament to the enduring power of humour in light of adversity.

Overall, Mystery Science Theater 3000: Star Force Fugitive Alien II, is just as you’d expect from the MST3K crew: it's amusing, it's nutty, it's a tribute to the wealth of low-budget filmmaking, and most of all, it's wildly entertaining. The episode encapsulates the essence of MST3K —a jovial endurance test against the worst that cinema has to offer, transforming it into an experience brimming with laughter, camaraderie, and surprisingly, reverence for the 'art' of film-making.