Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K)

[J.J. Walters]

Inspired by thechickinthemiddle and marlboro from the "J. Digger Doyle" thread. Any MST3K fans out there? I know it's a long shot, because it's a fringe "cult" show. But it did win a Peabody Award and aired for 10 seasons on Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel in the 90's (1989 to 1999), and was successfully "rebooted" last year on Netflix, 18 years after it ended (and has been greenlighted for another season later this year). If you are a fan, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show! It's without a doubt my second favorite show of all-time (behind Magnum, of course).

I stumbled upon the show by chance channel surfing late one night in 1990 and have been hooked ever since. Magnum ended and MST3K began, it was like magic! I can't imagine my life without either of them!

I was stunned when the show was rebooted last year. I was skeptical, but unlike most reboots, it was great! The original creator of the show, Joel Hodgson, was the show runner, so that helped immensely! Don Bellisario is not involved in the Magnum reboot, so, time will tell on that. Can't wait for Season 12 of MST3K this fall!

Most people are probably looking at this and thinking, "What the hell is this guy talking about?" Which I get. It's the same reaction I get when I mention the show to most people (but not all). I won't go into my favorite episodes yet. I'll let marlboro and thechickinthemiddle (and potential others) chime in first.

I'll just show a clip from my favorite MST3K short to sort of introduce the show. This clip just touches the surface of what the show is about, but I have to start somewhere.


youtu.be/GVytXppIFw0

Come on, objectively, if you didn't know anything about the show, that's pretty damn funny, right!

[marlboro]

Flipping through the channels. Nothing on. Lands on old monster movie. Irritated by shadows at the bottom of the screen and the stupid jokes overdubbing the dialog. Watch it anyway. Slowly but surely, I start to laugh. ended up watching it religiously.


Favorite short:


youtu.be/_Hh4M4vipAo

Favorite episode:

Really tough to pick just one. Probably have to go with the Joe Don Baker "classic" Mitchell (1975)


youtu.be/vmNZwJTp9nM


I also love Rifftrax. My favorites:

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny
The Crater Lake Monster
Prisoners of the Lost Universe
Warriors of the Wasteland
Nightmare at Noon
Terror at Tenkiller
Viva Knievel!
House on Haunted Hill

[J.J. Walters]

Flipping through the channels. Nothing on. Lands on old monster movie. Irritated by shadows at the bottom of the screen and the stupid jokes overdubbing the dialog. Watch it anyway. Slowly but surely, I start to laugh. ended up watching it religiously.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up for me too! It was just so completely different from anything that was on TV at the time. And when I saw the "Keep circulating the tapes" tagline at the end of the episodes, wow, that was just so amazing. I started taping the episodes and sharing them immediately. It was like sharing Dead shows, but with visuals!

"A Date With Your Family"! Great pick, marlboro! That's gotta be my second favorite short! "Hi mom, I’m pregnant!" But there are many others in the running. So funny! Things were so much more simpler back then. I wish I had a family like that growing up (despite how uncomfortable everybody looks)!

Mitchell, Joe Don Baker, Joel's last episode! Classic! I just might be able to recite every single line in that episode from memory. Joe Don was not happy about the MST3K treatment of this movie (I guess he doesn't have much of a sense of humor). Mike Nelson said in an interview that he was staying in the same hotel with him one time, and that he purposely avoided him, because he was afraid that he was going to kick his ass!.

It's so hard to pick favorites, but I guess my Top 5 (in no particular order) would be:

- Space Mutiny
- The Final Sacrifice
- Time Chasers
- Laserblast
- Manos: The Hands of Fate

Speaking of the reboot. Here is a highlight from Season 11 from the first episode (Reptillicus). Just great! All 3 of my kids LOVED this host segment!


youtu.be/EiJylMyfu9I

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

Flipping through the channels. Nothing on. Lands on old monster movie. Irritated by shadows at the bottom of the screen and the stupid jokes overdubbing the dialog. Watch it anyway. Slowly but surely, I start to laugh.

I had already heard of it, but that's kind of how I found it. I'm not a superfan of it and I haven't seen all the episodes; but when I do watch it, I laugh a lot.

[J.J. Walters]

Indeed!... Here, laugh some more!


youtu.be/EnDQxGUEjjE

[Sam]

Hi JJ..... it's been years and years since I've watched the show... it had its moments.
There was a time I used to pass their studio a couple of times a month... it was located in Eden Prairie Minnesota a couple blocks north of the Minnesota Vikings old practice facility... here's a video of the studio

youtu.be/RoNb-Azf2W4

[J.J. Walters]

Very cool, Sam! I hand't seen that clip before! They moved to Eden Prairie after they got picked up by the Comedy Channel in 1989 (their first "official" season). Prior to that they filmed at the KTMA affiliate studio (officially known as "Season Zero" because it only aired locally in the Twin Cities). That first season has real raw, UHF feeling to it. Super low budget, everything was ad-libbed and made by hand from the cast. Almost all of the cast from the original show was from either Minnesota or Wisconsin. The show has a real Midwest vibe to it, which I love!

[Sam]

Yeah I think their first Studio was more downtown uptown area.

If this works you can see the location of the studio versus the old Vikings facility.


44.8653133, -93.4047931

[J.J. Walters]

Yep, that's right! And the KTMA location was at 45°3′44″N 93°8′21″W. Near Shoreview.

Funny anecdote about the KTMA-TV CHANNEL 23 era - One of the episodes that did was Superdome, a terrible 1978 ABC movie that was supposedly about a football game at the Superdome in New Orleans, but one that featured almost no actual scenes featuring football! It starred David Janssen, Ken Howard, Van Johnson, Donna Mills, M. Emmet Walsh, and a young Tom Selleck! It was truly dreadful, but featured a memorable MPI riff. Selleck almost gets electrocuted in a hot tub (or ice bath, it's hard to tell). Crow says wryly, "Magnum Deep Fry."

[Sam]

Maybe I'll watch a few episodes on Netflix tonight...
Shoreview is considered St Paul.

[J.J. Walters]

Awesome. May I humbly suggest The Final Sacrifice?


youtu.be/abNGJLSzWGI

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Gamera:
[Kenny searches for his turtle Tibby among the shore rocks.]
Kenny: Tibby? Tibby? Tibby?
Joel: Like the turtle's gonna call out if he hears him.