The Agony Booth (named after a torture device on Star Trek) is a website that for most of its history has posted recaps of So Bad, It's Good movies and TV shows. Sometimes, its recaps-cum-MSTs raise a work up to So Bad, It's Good. The multipage, scene-by-scene recaps usually take longer to read than watching the movie, but that's a feature, not a bug.Unlike many movie sites, Agony Booth isn't run by fanboys; most of the mods are older professionals (their ranks include a computer programmer, a teacher, a lawyer, a soldier, etc.), some of whom are (or have been) professional authors. The house style is therefore based around thoughtful criticisms of technical and storytelling faults as well as less tangible qualities. They are willing to mock anything, but will almost never do so without backing it up. As such, the Booth tends to have a "nothing is sacred" policy. (While it's become more apparent with the shift towards videos, it's actually always been the case, as bad films with sizable cult followings were ripe targets from the start.) The writers also have a tendency to use Troper terminology.In recent years, in fact, the site's core mission — while still fundamentally cynical — has veered further and further into affectionate nostalgia, with a burgeoning TV-recap section that besides the Worst of Trek includes The A-Team, Degrassi Junior High, Jem and the Holograms and Knight Rider. These now make up the bulk of the site's postings, while films or TV shows that aren't being recapped regularly appear more occasionally then they once did.A relentless dedication to nosing out the most offbeat and obscure hunks of pop culture cheese (Deafula, anyone?) also marks the site off from the Bad Movie mainstream. Over the years their article subjects have also included music videos (Heidi Montag's "Higher"), energy drinks (Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt), interviews (Lloyd Kaufman, Razzies founderJohn Wilson, etc.), and even the website of a presidential "candidate" (Lee L. Mercer, Jr.).In July, 2010, they began a shift towards video recap series. These include:
Mr. Mendo's Hack Attack, a video version of their traditional articles, occasionally taking on well-liked films, hosted by Mr. Mendo.
Saturday Morning Glory, a look at insane episodes of Saturday morning cartoons, hosted by Ryan Lohner.
Terror Obscura, a look at horror films, good and bad, hosted by Fear Fan.
The Movie Skewer, hosted by each of the others in rotation, this is a show for the Boothers to review things outside their normal niches.
The Special Relationship, a spin-off of Britannia Rules?, which examines American remakes of British films and TV shows, hosted by Richard Murphy. (This show is no longer in production.)
The forums attached to the site have a reputation of exclusivity that is debatably deserved; the list of rules (and rationales for banning) are long and detailed, and intelligent argument on a par with the house style is expected whether for or against the subject in question. Likewise, poorly-handled comments can expect to receive the same treatment as any recap subject.From the FAQ:
What's the point of this site?
The Agony Booth is primarily devoted to posting recaps of movies and TV episodes. These are not "reviews". Movies and TV episodes are thoroughly analyzed and dissected in excruciating detail to show what they do right and what they do wrong. But most important of all, the point of this site is to have fun mocking any and all kinds of movies and shows.
Accentuate the Negative: Sometimes they recognize a few things are well-done, but that's not why they're recapping the movies.
Ryan: "Then Malhavok shows up, so Batman tosses out a lame taunt to get him to break the dragon's chain. Somehow, I doubt this is going down as one of the great Batman Gambits." (Accompanied by a screen shot of that very page!)
B-Movie: In the site's early years, they focused almost exclusively on these.
Brick Joke: Just who ARE the Overlords of the UFO, anyway?
Ditto Mr. Mendo's kickboxing obsessed teddy bear.
Broken Aesop: As Mr. Mendo points out, Forrest Gump teaches us that one man can make a difference, as long as he never thinks or makes a decision for himself.
Or, onScott Pilgrim: "Do you really buy that this movie is about Scott gaining self-respect, or do you wonder when we were supposed to notice that he had no self-respect, before or after hooking up with three hot chicks and fighting and obliterating six people?"
Buffy Speak: This episode of MMHA: "But really, that was a good movie, and this film and a good one are as dissimilar as two completely dissimilar things...in a bag."
Determinator: Mr. Mendo managed to write and film the first two episodes of his show despite being in the middle of a war zone!
Did Not Do the Research: Given the level of detail in the recaps, the occasional error tends to stand out.
Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Often a recapper will say something extremely perverse, then follow it with a note to themselves to edit it out before posting.
"Don't forget now!"
Eat The Dog: Mr. Mendo has claimed he needs to "eat at least one puppy every day" in order to survive.
Conversely, they determine that, while Salo may be the more disturbing film, it still claims the moral high ground over Ilsa, since at least Salo isn't intended to be titilating.
Albert: Let's take a moment to appreciate the character of Myra. As far as I can tell, Rusty's only crime is being homophobic. Oh, and he also has the outrageous desire to actually get married and have children. So what does Myra do to him? She ties him down, rapes him, and then demands that he thank her afterwards. Ladies and gentleman, our hero.
Hypocrisy Nod: To cap off a review of Rubber, a pointless, nonsensical film that is being watched from inside itself, Mr. Mendo and The Omega get into a pointless, nonsensical argument that is being watched from inside the review.
Mr. Mendo: "Trying to pick the worst Coleman Francis film is like deciding what kind of cancer you'd like to have." *Lights cigar*
Hypocritical Humor: When recapping the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Outrageous Okona", Albert noted that the mention of lasers having no effect on the Enterprise led to a lot of "Enterprise D could beat a Star Destroyer" debates. Then commented: "Some people just have way too much time on their hands, don't they? And now, back to my six-page dissertation on a Star Trek episode."
Insistent Terminology: They do not review movies, they recap them. Get this wrong at your own peril.
Left It In: Articles will sometimes have the writer make a rather perverted comment, followed by a note to themselves to edit it out before posting. "Don't forget now!"
Logical Fallacies: A charge they often level at the TV shows they feature.
Nostalgia Filter: Mr. Mendo and Ryan avert this trope HARD. For example: a video review of one of the weirdest episodes of The Transformers cartoon was all about pointing out the series wasn't the piece of art claimed by those hating on the film series.
Ryan: "After watching an episode like this, I laugh at anyone who accuses Michael Bay of raping their childhoods."
Mr. Mendo: "You know, in spite of everything mean I've said, a lot of people really like this show. A lot of people are quite clearly huffing spraypaint."
Particularly notable regarding the notoriously bad Star Trek: Voyager episode "Threshold". Every recap starts with a synopsis of the episode's plot, but this one bails out partway though:
...no, no, it's just too stupid. You'll never believe me if I just blurt it out like this.
No Yay: Invoked. Recapper Jessica describes the relationship between Bruce Willis and his sidekick in Hudson Hawk as "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name For A Damned Good Reason".
Overly-Long Gag: From the recap of Mamma Mia!: "(Amanda Seyfried's) blazingly hot in a very not-Natalie Portman kind of way, if you get my meaning. I'm saying Amanda's more of a nordic beauty. She doesn't celebrate Shemini Atzeret too gaudily. She can't get wholesale prices on diamonds. Jewish. She's not Jewish."
Running Gag: Frequent in the individual recaps, and a few (including the Overlords of the UFO & Mr. T's guest explanations) that cross over. The TV series recaps are much more prone to ongoing gags; Albert's Degrassi recaps are typical:
The Girls' Bathroom of Ill Repute and the Boys' Bathroom of Neutral Repute.
Albert's ongoing frustration at Yick and Arthur's B (and sometimes C) plots.
Joey (Insert Letter Here) Jermiah, the (X) stands for (Blank).
Nicknames for the characters: Loosey, Astrodog, Rockin' Rompin' Raditch and Sweet Caitlin Ryan.
Stephanie Kaye is also frequently compared to Nixon.
Shout Out: To the point of Reference Overdosed. The Boothers favor obscure references to everything from song lyrics, BBC shows, and children's book series, often in the same article.
Fortunately, they usually give links to the things they reference
Smoking Is Cool: Mr. Mendo is almost never seen without a Black and Mild (or a cigarette). A cigar even features prominently in his portrait...
You Gotta Have Anime Hair: Mr. Mendo cites this as a sign that Joel and Clem really don't make a very good match. (Somewhat hypocritical, as he himself wore a green wig in an earlier episode.)
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