The Official and Most Rifftastic Mystery Science Theater 3000 Thread

I wish we could have heard Servo' s voice. Still, I loved seeing that footage.

 

Love the "Moon 13" miniature! Has a lovely Gerry Anderson look to it!

Looks like were have 10 theater seats now, with Crow, Jonah and Servo sitting in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th from the right. I recall Joel stating in one of the KickStarter updates the production would make the silhouettes less obtrusive, blocking a bit less of the screen, similar to the earliest broadcasts. Thankfully, with more robust video editing tools available now, the smaller "ShadowRama" is not "lost" in the full shot.

 

I made the mistake of going to YouTube and I saw some troubling comments. Some people are complaining the show looks too high budget, while others are complaining it looks too low budget.

I guess you just can't win.

 

I remember something Joel stated in one of the KickStarter follow-ups. He said he didn't want the production to look polished beyond what casual groups of fans might be able to achieve. The irony is that fans can accomplish quite a bit these days (and I don't the arguably professional groups who put together productions like "New Voyages" and "Phase II"). With the hardware and software resources available to private individuals, they can create some truly impressive results! So, if the new series looks more sophisticated than the Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel years, well, fans can do more as well.

Looks like we might see Crow's entire body a bit more than the did in the classic series, given we see him standing in his theater seat. I wonder if we'll see any puppeteering of him actually walking, full view, one foot in front of the other? Since Adam Savage is assisting in some sort of mechanical engineering advisory capacity, I would not be shocked. Thrilled, yes, but not shocked.

 

I think one thing that was pointed out, and I agree with this. Was that now the show is in HD, of course it's going to look a bit different.

 

The chintziness of MST has always had an ineffable quality, like they could do better if they wanted to but chose to make it look bad. It's part of the joke. I for one love how cheap the new season looks.

 

One thing I admit that I will miss (if the preview can be considered a reliable reference) is the "truncated icosahedron" (soccer ball) panel arrangement of the "classic" SoL bridge. It was such a clever design, reflecting the external structure of the satellite, even taking into account the "countdown corridor" leading to the "screening room" at the other end of the station. Not only that, it gently mocked the production technique of detailing sci-fi sets with "brick-a-bract" by detailing the set with "brick-a-bract" of blatantly obvious origin, items like bowling pins, toilet seat covers and Darth Vader figure carrying cases. The new SoL bridge seems to simply be interlocking hexagonal panels with "generic" greebled blocks and cylinders. There doesn't seem to be anything that makes me smile and think, "Hey! That's a dish rack and those are hubcaps."

Oh, certainly this deviation won't be a "deal breaker", making me turn off the show in a huff. but I feel an element of "hokey charm" has been lost. It would be like replacing the various out of place and anachronistic portals for the iconic "door sequence" with generic and 'serious" sci-fi airlock hatches. Mercy, I hope they won't do that!

Funny enough, I DON'T mind that the new Crow has "beefed up" limbs whereas that feature might make someone else grind his teeth in silent frustration. Odd how we all have our particular "sensitive topic" buttons.

 

Just curious, but what did you think of the SoL set from the movie? I thought it was a pretty good update of the shows while still having the charm, yet looking a bit grander for a big screen.

 

Still pretty close to the series design. Seems they adopted the movie's partial copper color scheme afterwards for the Sci-Fi Channel years. The addition of the giant hamster wheel to spoof 2001's jogging sequence was genius. But adding the "catwalk" platform, it split the panel where the "hex-field" was originally positioned. I guess the giant screen across the room where we saw Forrester was supposed to be a larger version. It was also fun to see Mike and the 'Bots walking through a life sized "door sequence" corridor (when Mike brags about his skill at "Flight Simulator"). The hatch upon the "desk" from where Tom emerged was also a cure feature.

 

Me too! Joel said as much in an old interview that they deliberately wanted the show to look like it was shot on a shoestring budget at a small television station like the one where the series got its start in Minneapolis back in 1988. The absurdity of the sets and props and the absolute cheesiness of the special effects have always been a huge part of the show's charm. As Trace Beaulieu has said and I paraphrase: "It was impossible for the props and effects to overwhelm the jokes."

 

Great special effects. Screw CGI.

Is that Goldilocks in your avatar?

 

Zelda from The Legend Of.

 

I think RJ found it amusing that you noted the extremely opposites of fan opinion and the fact that Zelda in you avatar has long golden locks of hair.

 

Indeed. I thought it might have been a deliberate statement that the new MST3K is "just right."

 

That's really clever. Kudos for that.

 

Thank you, assuming that wasn't sarcasm.

 

I'm not that subtle with sarcasm. If it was, you'd know it

 

Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt seem a bit too in on the joke almost smirking. It will be hard to watch this on its own merits and not compare with what came before but if enough jokes land than miss it should be fun to watch.

 

Anything has got to be better than the Roman World time travel arc during the Sci-Fi Channel run of the series. I love Mike and the final years of the original run of the show had some gems, but man, was that Roman crap a slog to get through and just wasn't all that funny.

 

I thought the "Roman Arc" was fun, mostly due to Bridgette Nelson.

As for the show's effects and such? I think we should just relax.