The Official and Very Rifftastic Mystery Science Theater 3000 Thread

[captainkirk]

I thought some of you might enjoy this. It's a fan continuation of MST3K with the goal of riffing the original Gamera movies the official show never got to. I just watched the first one which is Gamera vs. Viras and I enjoyed it quite a lot. The host segments drag a bit but the riffs during the movie were fun.

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[Redfern]

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And its follow-up, "Gamera vs. Jiger" is even more on point! The only element that arguably betrays the fan origins is the "Crimson Weirdo" footage. Even the scaled back S.o.L. setting doesn't look to out of place, having a design complexity halfway between the first and second years on "Comedy Central". Helmutt makes for a great "test subject" with his clear voice and angular features. His homage to the 4th Doctor's ethical dilemma in "Genesis of the Daleks" was a pleasant surprise. At first I thought I was simply "reading too much" into his lines, but when the Crimson Weirdo tossed around words like "TimeLords" and "Gallifrey", well, that was the clincher! The riffs sounded so much like the material Joel, Mike and the rest scripted for the original series it was uncanny!

BTW, I hope the team can put together their "part three" and Crusoe gets back his cute lil' puppy!

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

At least we have the first 12 seasons, the KTMA episodes and the theatrical film if the series can't get another platform.

Plus Rifftrax, Cinematic Titanic, and The Film Crew. (Currently watching the Rifftrax version of I Believe in Santa Claus.)

Actually, I'd say that my favorite riff is the Film Crew's Hollywood After Dark, a depressing heist movie with extended sequences of stripping and a morose protagonist who runs a junk yard and rants about the futility of life.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The Kinga/Max stuff was the weak part of season 11 for me, and their material this season was better, or at least less annoying. Having a single unified throughline across the whole 6 episodes gave their scenes more focus, though I still think their material is a bit undercooked for performers of Day and Oswalt's caliber. (Then again, it probably has to be, since they're probably so busy that they can only spare a day or so to shoot all their scenes for a season.)

That's what throws me off about the revival series-- it lacks the insular, homemade quality of the original show, when the writers were also the actors. I enjoyed seeing Mike Nelson or Paul Chaplin show up as every single guest character. And I appreciate the symmetry of the bots also being the Mads. Mike and Pearl both had the same pair of sidekicks.

I'm also not a fan of the new Gypsy. They wanted to make her less potentially offensive by having her played by an actual, you know, woman – which I get – but in the process they took away her goofy voice and weird obsessions (Richard Basehart!), then forgot to replace them with anything. She's a bore.

Yeah. Even if she's played by a woman, she should still be doing a character voice. Otherwise, what's the joke?

 

[cooleddie74]

The uncut and DVD-quality version of Mitchell complete with the original MST3K riffs and almost completely unaltered Comedy Central soundtrack. This is way cooler than it has any business being.

#HeartsPoundinVeinsCloggin

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[captainkirk]

I wonder how viable it would be to produce new episodes for Youtube. I don't see why it would have to be expensive to produce, and with a combination of ad revenue and Patreon, I'm sure it could pay for itself.

 

[cooleddie74]

This is a real thing on eBay. My heart's poundin'! My veins are cloggin'!

 

[captainkirk]

Well, this is a surprise. Joel is running a new Kickstarter for season 13 and has already reached the first goal:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/makemoremst3k

 

[cooleddie74]

I just want the series to have better comedic pacing and return to the more gonzo feel of the Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel incarnations. The jokes are still too rushed and the series still has too polished a feel for MST3K. There's still a chance to make this truly great MST3K if they revive it for another season. But the show needs to be more disciplined.

 

[Gepard]

I just want the series to have better comedic pacing and return to the more gonzo feel of the Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel incarnations. The jokes are still too rushed and the series still has too polished a feel for MST3K. There's still a chance to make this truly great MST3K if they revive it for another season. But the show needs to be more disciplined.

Completely agreed, but I donated anyway because they can improve it only if they can make more of it.

 

[Redfern]

Here's the KickStarter page with a video staged as a "Zoom" conference call featuring Joel, Jonah as well as Crow and Servo. rather than relying upon a network or a particular streaming service, their goal this time is to erect their on spot in cyberspace to feature their material.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/makemoremst3k/description

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm in. I got a pre-kickoff notification thing, since I contributed the first time.

 

[Redfern]

I noticed in the KickStarter "Zoom" call, Tom Servo had his Slinky arms manipulated "Kermit" style, which was a "new thing", at least for me. Maybe this technique was used "The Gauntlet" set of Netflix episodes, but I have yet to see any of those. That new approach led me to some related discoveries when I visited the "MST3K" YouTube channel. there are a set of videos that chronicled the development of Joel & company's 2020 "live tour" which presented all sorts of new techniques, many of which centered upon the Japanese art of "Bunraku". This involves puppeteers dressed head to toe in black whom the audience is to ignore while they hold and operate the puppet. Variations of this technique have been applied to "green screen" filmmaking, the operator dressed in green (naturally), so they can be optically or digitally removed from the shot.

But the "mind-blowing" moment for me was when Joel and an associate demonstrated a dancing Tom Servo, his barrel shaped "money bank" torso rising from his hover skirt to reveal..."whiffle" ball segmented LEGS! Yes, you correctly read that...LEGS!!! Crow with legs? Shoot, we saw them as early as the Joel era on Comedy Central and the Bunraku technique lends itself well towards featuring them during this "live tour". One "gag" intended him to ride into scene upon a "Big Wheel" tricycle, and they also demonstrated a rig to feature Crow walking. I just never fathomed the idea of Servo with legs! Am I opposed to the idea? Shoot, of course, not! They the time and resources during the original CC run, I bet they would have tried something similar then. I simply never imagined it; that's all. Besides, Joel Hodgson personally oversaw this "live tour" and he personally demonstrated the thing, so obviously, he approved.

Anyway, the "behind the scenes" videos start here...

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...and there are 32 of them. I consider the first 14 the most interesting (personally) as Joel and crew demonstrate puppets and other production concepts. With the 15th clip onward, they focus more upon the performers as they visit a list of various cities.

Likely I have overlooked some info', but I have not seen any indication they have released a video (physical media or streaming) of any live performance.

(Oh, it's best to watch the clip directly upon YouTube. that way, you will be provided a direct link to the next video in the series.)

 

[Redfern]

Okay, last night, April 22, shortly before 9 PM Eastern, The MST3K KickStarter reached its first "stretch" goal of 3.3 million dollars meaning 6 episodes are guaranteed. Just before that goal was attained, Joel posted his team's second video update which, among other bullet point revealed a second "experiment" (read: human host who'll tiff some of the movies, Emily Marsh who performed in the "live tour" toward the end of 2019. So she already knows "the drill". But rather than trying to transcribe everything, here's a link to the update itself along with the video.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/makemoremst3k/posts/3168008

Yeah, it seems as though Jonah will riff some movies and Emily the others, each with their own Crow and Servo. How do they explain that "in story"? They haven't, not yet, anyway, but there's several ways they could go (besides acknowledging "it just a show, I should really just relax"). If Jonah and Emily are trapped in different facilities, there are multiple copies of the 'Bots. Crow had his evil doppelgänger during the Comedy Central run and Servo built several dozen (or more) copies of himself which he destroyed in the final SciFi Channel episode. It would also explain why we have Crow, Tom and Gypsy with Jonah considering they returned to Earth with Mike. Though it wasn't clarified, I think Emily's 'Bots will be performed by the guys who toured with her on the "live" show. The voices sounded a slightly different.

The other big news is that Joel himself will host an episode if they reach the 4.4 million dollar goal and a second if they land 5.5 million in the next two weeks. He even slipped into his "red jumpsuit" during the "call" to drive home the point.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, it seems as though Jonah will riff some movies and Emily the others, each with their own Crow and Servo. How do they explain that "in story"? They haven't, not yet, anyway, but there's several ways they could go (besides acknowledging "it just a show, I should really just relax"). If Jonah and Emily are trapped in different facilities, there are multiple copies of the 'Bots. Crow had his evil doppelgänger during the Comedy Central run and Servo built several dozen (or more) copies of himself which he destroyed in the final SciFi Channel episode. It would also explain why we have Crow, Tom and Gypsy with Jonah considering they returned to Earth with Mike.

Or... we know that parallel universes canonically exist in the MST3K reality. Mystery Science Theater 3000: Into the Mistie-Verse!

 

[Redfern]

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Into the Mistie-Verse!

I gotta' admit, that one's quite clever!

 

[RJDiogenes]

The idea of a second "Experiment" is pretty intriguing. I kind of wish that she could have her own robots, though. Multiple copies of the regulars kind of detracts from their uniqueness-- unless maybe they have alternate personalities and are at odds with the originals.

 

[Redfern]

I kind of wish that she could have her own robots, though. Multiple copies of the regulars kind of detracts from their uniqueness....

On the surface, that seems logical. But that could result in a flame war rivaling the ""Joel vs Mike" arguments of the 90s, one that could even turn "political". Give Emily her own 'Bots and there will be people wondering, "What? So, you don't think the 'new guy' is good enough to rate crow and Servo?" You can guess the "follow up" to that accusation, "Is it because Emily is a wo---?" If Joel's team did the opposite and have Crow and Servo "riff" with Emily leaving Jonah with Growler and Waverly, the opposite "camp" would scream "Pandering!" Alas while the choice they've made is arguably a bit less "creative", in this tragically "polarized" landscape in which we live, it's certainly the "safer" decision, one that will (hopefully) result in the least amount of "backlash".

 

[RJDiogenes]

On the surface, that seems logical. But that could result in a flame war rivaling the ""Joel vs Mike" arguments of the 90s, one that could even turn "political". Give Emily her own 'Bots and there will be people wondering, "What? So, you don't think the 'new guy' is good enough to rate crow and Servo?" You can guess the "follow up" to that accusation, "Is it because Emily is a wo---?" If Joel's team did the opposite and have Crow and Servo "riff" with Emily leaving Jonah with Growler and Waverly, the opposite "camp" would scream "Pandering!" Alas while the choice they've made is arguably a bit less "creative", in this tragically "polarized" landscape in which we live, it's certainly the "safer" decision, one that will (hopefully) result in the least amount of "backlash".

Yeah, you're right about all of that. It's a shame that creators feel they have to walk on eggshells when making creative decisions, especially involving something like MST3K, which is supposed to be pure fun.

 

[Redfern]

Last night as part of the KickStarter campaign, a "live stream" was held with Joel Hodgson and the cast of the 2019 "live tour" watching "Experiment 907", better known as "Hobgoblins".

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Having left the series around 4 years earlier, of course Joel was not involved with the making of that episode, but neither had he ever watched it. So this was "new territory" for him. Now he and the "live tour" gang did a little bit of impromptu riffing, but they tried to avoid "talking over" the original dialogue and the "riffs" by Mike, Kevin and Bill. So, that left few "windows of opportunity".. A couple of times, Joel would observe, "Oh, that is SO a 'Mike line'!" and he would say it with genuine warmth. I do believe he was being earnest because he later revealed he had poured some whisky into a mug from which he had been sipping. Thus I think the "barriers were down" and his admiration was honest.

He also kept wondering if the "Hobgoblins" were "puppets" that could be manipulated as such or if they were more akin to "plush" type dolls and thus having less "functionality". He finally decided they were "dolls" and thus wondered why they were constructed as such. (Personally, I figured they had at least one true "puppet" because it could at least open its mouth. the rest may have been "dolls".) But when the credits rolled and the name appeared associated with the creature effects, Joel sat up a bit straighter, claiming, 'Wait! I know that guy!" In fact, he was about to call the person, thinking he had the number on his phone. (This was after 10 PM eastern.) But then he remembered it was through a social media outlet, so Joel wasn't able to call the effects artist.

Oh, @RJDiogenes , concerning both "hosts" getting Crow and Servo by there sides to riff, last night's "live stream" made it evident Joel is hiring not just Emily to appear in (I assume) half the episodes, but also the rest of the cast to reprise the roles for whom they auditioned and were hired. I did notice in that second KickStarter video, the one in which Emily was introduced, the two Crows conversing with each other did not sound like they were performed by the same person. Likely, one was voiced by Hampton Yount from the Netflix run and the other by Nate Begle from the "Cheesy Circus live tour".