in your opinion what is the best mst3k dvd set to buy. i plan on using gift cards i get for christmas to buy one, and i was wondering which you guys think has the best episodes.

Volume 5 has the funniest episodes, in my opinion. We had some people over the other night to see Merlins Mystical Shop of Wonders (or whatever it's called) and it was laugh-out-loud hilarious. And these people had never seen the show before!

The only problem is that all of the eps on volume 5 are from the Sci Fi (Mike) era, and so some people here will disagree, and suggest you get a set with an even mixture of Joel and Mike episodes. And you should. But even if you buy all 10 volumes, you'll return to Volume 5 the most often.

Enjoy!

If you're planning to eventually get them all, get Vol. 10 now if you can find it anywhere. It's OOP. As is Vol. 1. And Vol. 3 is going OOP early next year. They're all great though.

I'd say Volume 2 (two Joel, one Comedy Central Mike, and a Shorts collection) or Volume 5 (four SciFi Mike), depending on host/era preference. Volume 10 (two Joel, one CC Mike, one SciFi Mike) is great, but finding it may be tough.

You might want to consider picking up The Essentials. It's only two episodes, but it's Manos: The Hands of Fate and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

i'm a huge fan. i have most the sets and have burned off lots on limewire. i favor the later eps with mike. joel acts like he got wacked over the head with a 2x4 and his humor just isn't as sharp. i would say start with vol.5 because boggy creek, time chasers and merlins mystical shop are all hilariously awsome. touch of satan is the weakest link in the set but trust me, you can't get much better.
fav eps; final sacrafice, space mutiny, merlins shop, future war, boggy creek...list goes on lol.
by the way, the essentials collection was rather disapointing. manos has nothing really going for it other then the torgo character. you'll wanna shoot yourself if you ever hear the theme music again!