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 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.
Movie Dorkness, formerly Red Suitcase Adventures, a more positive look at popular culture, hosted by Sofie Liv.
Stuff You Like, an analytical look at great film, great TV (and all kinds of tropes), hosted by Sursum Ursa.
Cartoon Palooza, a sarcastic look at recent animated features, hosted by Joey Tedesco.
The Cheap-Arse Film Review, a look at film that can be purchased inexpensively (in England), hosted by Cheap-Arse.
Terror Obscura, a look at horror films, good and bad, hosted by The Fear Fan.
The Special Relationship, a spin-off of Britannia Rules?, which examines American remakes of British films and TV shows, originally hosted by Richard Murphy, now run by Sursum Ursa as part of Stuff You Like.
The forums attached to the site have a reputation of exclusivity that is arguably 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.
Angst Dissonance: In-universe, Mr. Mendo opens a serious question in his Scott Pilgrim vs. the World review with a sarcastic acknowledgement that this movie doesn't speak to him in the way it does a lot of college students since he had to join the army.
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!)
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."
Cool and Unusual Punishment: When Mr. Mendo forwards a bunch of his hate mail to the Film Renegado's site, Renegado forces him to watch Atletico San Pancho. And, when that doesn't work, he starts playing Menudo!
Mendo: "The title of the song is 'Biological Didn't Bother'; I was expecting more of a diss track about the 'biological' who 'didn't bother'. I don't think I'm expecting too much when, as I said, it's the TITLE OF THE SONG!"
Nycea: "Usagi runs into the mysterious asshole again, and he's an asshole...again"
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 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.
Early Installment Weirdness: Comparing the early recap-plus-snark (with rare, off-center images) of fairly obscure terrible movies, to the later work, with both Agonizer analysis and recaps which go from box office bombs to divisivework (with frequent, large images) is jarring. And then there's the video reviews...
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.
Funny Foreigners: A significant portion of the staff is from Europe or Latin America, and this is often played up for laughs. According to Full of Questions, everyone on Team Agony Booth "learned English together"; even Mendo, who is from America. (Albeit from his own sovereign nation in Virginia...)
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.
Demoversi (only line): "Pointless cameos are SO 2011! (a beat) Wait..."
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.
Iwo Jima Pose: The title card to this episode of Hack Attack features the flag being raised by Mendo, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary.
Kill It with Fire: One of the mods, a soldier who served in Afghanistan, had this reaction to a particularly bad episode of Pink Lady And Jeff.
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.
Lost Forever: Both the old forums (which were split to a separate website during a redesign) and the topics on recaps and Agonizer content in the new one.
Mythology Gag: In Renegado's Halloween special, Full of Questions kills Mendo while in vampire form. In her next episode, Mendo's disembodied form caused her to take a drill bit to her head. In that same episode, he announced his return from his hiatus, which debuted three days later, and featured both Full of Questions AND Renegado. He wasn't happy to see them.
Nostalgia Filter: Mr. Mendo and Ryan avert this trope. 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."
Overly Narrow Superlative: "Swamp Thing is quite simply the best damn movie about a swamp creature fighting a sort of fake-looking wild boar/gator hybrid that used to be a French guy while Adrienne Barbeau and her cleavage watch anxiously."
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...
Ursa: This…this whole review has been…you’ve scripted this review to be deliberately self-consciously quirky just so you can illustrate how annoying that is!
Mendo: I most certainly did!
(a beat)
Ursa: Well played.
Sophisticated as Hell: "There is literally no way to figure out what the movie is about just from watching it. Clearly, Donnie Darko is not supposed to make sense, and the fact that it doesn't make sense means it's brilliant. There is a term for this: fucking pretentious."
The Cast Show Off: Miss Liv can sing, dance, play the piano AND the trumpet.
Try to Fit That on a Business Card: His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Anthony Q. Mendo Dada, of The People's Mendocratic Republic of Mendostaan, VA.
Valley Girl: When Sofie reviewed the film of New Moon, a valley girl (played by Sofie in a long haired wig) appeared to challenge Sofie's negative review of the Twilight series.
Waxing Lyrical: Mendo does this a lot, usually as a Couch Gag. At various times, he's introduced himself as:
Sofie: I really can't recognize any of these people.
Renegado: It's not that hard.
Sofie: Look, all that I want to know is what is the name of the guy playing Captain America?
Mendo: What's playing Spider-Man.
Sofie: I'm not asking you who's playing Spider-Man.
Renegado: That's the guy playing Captain America.
Sofie: Who's playing Captain America?
Renegado: Who is playing Santo.
Sofie: I just want to know what's his name?
Mendo: What is the name of the guy playing Spider-Man.
Sofie: I'm still not asking you who's playing Spider-Man!
Renegado: Who is playing Santo.
Sofie: I don't know!
Mendo: He's Captain America.
Sofie: Who's Captain America?
Renegado: Who's Santo.
Sofie: I don't know!
All Three: Captain America!
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.)
(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 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"
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