MST3K 213: Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

My order of the latest DVD set of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes has arrived (complete with Tom Servo figurine to complement the miniature bust of Crow T. Robot wedged into the 20th anniversary can and a distinct holiday theme to the back cover copy), but I've been a bit unconventional in that, after watching "Santa Claus" with my brother (the DVD includes a short yet amusing documentary about the movie, covering everything from its making fifty years ago in Mexico to its elevation into the Mystery Science Theater pantheon, featuring cognoscenti of Mexican movies and some of the Mystery Science Theater writers), I've stepped away from watching the other episodes in the set and back to trying to fill in one last one-episode gap in my list of episodes commented on. The gap is something of a sneaky one, in between the penultimate episode of the second season and the premiere of the third. When it comes to "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster," I suppose that one of my first experiences with the episode was secondhand, in the form of some comments at the end of Satellite News's then just-begun episode guide that it just couldn't live up to the example set by "Godzilla vs. Megalon." (Somewhat later, though, I did see a comment by someone more impressed with the second than the first Godzilla movie covered by the series...) It might seem significant that in the third season, the "Gamera" and other "Sandy Frank" movies were separated by American movies, and I've noticed comments that the string of 1950s black and white Universal movies at the start of the eighth season got to be a bit much for some. However, as it's been a while since I watched that previous Godzilla movie, I did wonder if my reactions to the second one might be better able to stand on their own...
( 'Recoil in horror, everyone!' )