Cheapest Blu TREK, BRIDESHEAD & FRINGE Ever!! MST3KXXII!! PORTLANDIA!! BIG LOVE!! TRANSFORMERS!!...

I am – Hercules!!

“Portlandia,” an oddball six-episode IFC sitcom/sketch series that Fred Armisen and Lorne Michaels put together between seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” isn’t great but isn’t bad either. Its very narrow target is the hippie/slacker utopia that seems to have somehow taken hold in Oregon’s largest metropolis.

Armisen’s principal co-star and co-writer is Carrie Brownstein, one of the cute lesbian girls who played in the Portland alt-rock band Sleater Kinney. She doesn’t seem to have much professional background in comedy or acting but she’s just swell here portraying (like Armisen) an array of different weirdos.

The series itself can be a lot like a lot of Armisen’s Weekend Update segments. A little undercooked, a little too repetitious, a little too long. The first episode, featuring Steve Buscemi and Jason Sudeikis, isn’t bad, but the second with Aubrey Plaza and Kyle MacLachlan (funny as Portland’s passive-aggressive mayor) features sharper gags and better pacing.

The New York Times says:

… Often Ms. Brownstein, wide-eyed and sincere, gets the best of Mr. Armisen, who’s been exaggerating characters for so long on “Saturday Night Live” that it’s tough for him to capture the understatement of these caricatures. She’s especially sharp as the tightly wound feminist bookstore owner, Toni, who in the show’s second episode sternly tells a college student pointing at a volume on a shelf, “Can you put that away please?” — the finger, that is — “Every time you point, I see a penis.” …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… funny and charming …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… despite the fact that "Portlandia" features different sketches in each episode, the show already begins to feel like a stretch by the second show. Still, it has its moments, and the good news is that no Portlanders were harmed …

The Boston Globe says:

… a pitch-perfect satire of a city that time forgot.

Variety says:

… further proof not everyone deserves a sketch comedy showcase -- especially when the premise cuts no deeper than vignettes inspired by the wheat-germy, hippie-ish environs of Portland, Ore. …

Amazon reviewer “D. Steigman” gives a rundown on Mystery Science Theater 3000 XXII:

MST3K EPISODE 306 TIME OF THE APES - In a nutshell this is a Japanese version of Planet of the Apes where a lady and two whinny kids get lost in time and wind up on a world full of Apes. It actually isnt a movie but several TV shows linked together to make it appear as a movie. This one has the famous line from Johnny "I dont care" which became a riff that was used quite a bit in this episode and others. This has the famous Sandy Frank song at the end as well. Great episode and the show reached some new heights from this. This also is the first of two episodes with TVs Frank and Dr. Forester have a man sized child to take care of
MST3K EPISODE 314 MIGHTY JACK - Another great episode which also happens to be another Japanese TV series strung together to make a "movie". Think Master Ninja and there you go. This is a sci fi , crime espionage type of "movie" with Mighty Jack facing the evil Q - with spies, more toy spaceship models making more bank turns than any other scifi movie that appeared on the show. Overall its a slow methodical pace but still fun to watch. And another song "Slow the Plot Down" This one has Joel in the opening segment wearing his old Teal/greenish jumpsuit that he wore in early Season 2 episodes.

MST3K EPISODE 610 - THE VIOLENT YEARS - An Ed Wood film ! Yes, Mike's first episode where he and the bots tackle Ed Wood - basically your typical 1950s black and white exploitation film with female gangs raping young men. We also have a short in this called "Young Man's Fancy" and another song in this set "Living in Deep 13" by TVs Frank and Dr. Forester ( you would not have seen Dr. F sing in the Joel era as his character did a 180 when Mike took over) Anyway, Mike Nelson fans can rejoice as he is back in this volume with not just the Violent Years but ...

MST3K EPISODE 702 - THE BRUTE MAN - This movie has the Creeper ( the legendary Rondo Hatton) getting even with his college "friends" who disfigured him in a science experiment. It is a creaky old 1940s film that could have easily fit into the Season 1 schedule. Some of you might recall Rondo as the Creeper in a Sherlock Holmes movie or in the Universal horror House of Horrors. The Brute Man was the least of the movies he did. We also get a short "The Chicken of Tomorrow"

As per Satellite News - here are the bonus materials

Time of the Apes extras:
INTRODUCTION BY AUGUST RAGONE (Author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters)
MST HOUR WRAPS

Mighty Jack extras:
INTRODUCTION BY AUGUST RAGONE
THE DVD MENUS OF MST3K

The Violent Years extras:
ED-UCATION: ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW WITH DELORES FULLER
ED-UCATION: ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW WITH KATHY WOOD

The Brute Man extras:
INTRODUCTION BY MARY JO PEHL
TRAIL OF THE CREEPER: MAKING THE BRUTE MAN
THE MAKING OF MST3K (1997)