Mystery Science Theater 3000

[Hot - Slunch 772]

Are there and MST3K fans around here? Since the people that frequent this forum enjoy both comedy and bad movies, it's simple logic that there may be some crossover.

 

Never heard of the show?

 

Favorite episodes?

 

How/when did you discover the show?

[seanotron 2307]

I looooooove MST3K. I think Paul mentioned they were trying to get some of the guys on as guests.

 

Favorite Eps:

1)Pod People

2)Overdrawn at the Memory Bank

3)Mitchell

4)Fugitive Alien ("He tried to kill me with a forklift!")

5)Devil Doll

[robinsbruce 4985]

My father watched it a lot when I was a kid. I always thought it was hilarious, although I haven't seen it in a long time. Can't remember any specific episodes. There was a MST3K movie too right?

 

Do you guys know where I can find a box set or something? I'll go check amazon.

 

 

EDIT: oooooooooohhh, looks like the 25th anniversary edition set is coming out this year!

http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-Limited-Edition/dp/B00EALTWRC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379090528&sr=8-1&keywords=mystery+science+theater+3000

[PhillipMedoc 648]

I never had cable when I was growing up, so I only saw bits of it here and there; in college I saw a few episodes on dvd. Then, several years ago, I went through a weird period in my life where I was single, living alone, and smoking lots of pot. For whatever reason I got on an MST3K kick, downloaded every episode, and would just have it on constantly in the background. I've seen most episodes many times; some of them I could probably recite in my sleep. I went to a live Cinematic Titanic show a few years ago and it was one of the greatest things ever.

 

I'm glad Joel, Mike, and the gang are still doing other projects. But I still put on MST3K, it's like an old friend to me. Fave episodes are:

 

-- Heart pounding, veins clogging, Mitchell! One of my cats is named after this one. Still probably my favorite.

-- Grade A+ bad/good movie. "♫ Hobgoblins, Hobgoblins, whatcha gonna do about those Hobgoblins ♪"

Pod People -- Worth it for the song/recording session and

. Everything else is gravy.

Manos: The Hands Of Fate -- because, duh. Otherwise no one would ever have known about this movie.

Space Mutiny -- Wonderful crap on its own already, the riffing is a bonus. Reb Brown is a national treasure.

Final Sacrifice -- Bizarre Canadian no budget bonkers stuff. The hero's name is "Zap Rosdower".

San Francisco International -- Air traffic drama edited from 70s tv show episodes, I just like the feel of it.

 

I think MST3K: The Movie (This Island Earth) is great as well. And almost all the Prelinger/educational shorts are gold. I just think it's great that they were able to turn out so much consistently funny material; I mean, ten seasons of anything is an incredible effort but to have it be above average quality almost all the time is amazing.

[Hot - Slunch 772]

 

I looooooove MST3K. I think Paul mentioned they were trying to get some of the guys on as guests.

 

Favorite Eps:

1)Pod People

2)Overdrawn at the Memory Bank

3)Mitchell

4)Fugitive Alien ("He tried to kill me with a forklift!")

5)Devil Doll

 

That'd be awesome if they had a couple on as guests. I could definitely see Frank being game if he was in LA (I think he lives in NYC now).

 

My current top 10 are probably:

Time of the Apes

Pod People

Touch of Satan

Final Sacrifice

Hobgoblins

Escape 2000

Laserblast

Mitchell

Riding With Death

Warrior of the Lost World

 

… But there's so many great ones I'd have a hard time doing a top 40.

 

My father watched it a lot when I was a kid. I always thought it was hilarious, although I haven't seen it in a long time. Can't remember any specific episodes. There was a MST3K movie too right?

 

Do you guys know where I can find a box set or something? I'll go check amazon.

 

 

EDIT: oooooooooohhh, looks like the 25th anniversary edition set is coming out this year!

http://www.amazon.co...ce+theater+3000

 

Yeah there was an MST3K movie, that just got a brand new blu-ray release last week. It ended up being a disappointment for a lot of fans and the people that worked on the show/movie due to studio issues and budget… I still enjoy it as much as the rest of the show though.

 

That 25th anniversary box is well worth it if you're into the show and have some disposable income. That box will have 6 episodes for 60 bucks, whereas they usually have 4 episodes for 50 bucks. Mitchell is the standout of that box. They went so hard on Joe Don Baker in Mitchell that he actually wanted to kick their asses.

 

By the way man, check out youtube. I'd say 95% of the episodes are uploaded there. Seasons 5-10 are only missing 5 episodes total (not sure about earlier seasons).

 

I never had cable when I was growing up, so I only saw bits of it here and there; in college I saw a few episodes on dvd. Then, several years ago, I went through a weird period in my life where I was single, living alone, and smoking lots of pot. For whatever reason I got on an MST3K kick, downloaded every episode, and would just have it on constantly in the background. I've seen most episodes many times; some of them I could probably recite in my sleep. I went to a live Cinematic Titanic show a few years ago and it was one of the greatest things ever.

 

I'm glad Joel, Mike, and the gang are still doing other projects. But I still put on MST3K, it's like an old friend to me. Fave episodes are:

 

Mitchell-- Heart pounding, veins clogging, Mitchell! One of my cats is named after this one. Still probably my favorite.

obgoblins -- Grade A+ bad/good movie. "♫ Hobgoblins, Hobgoblins, whatcha gonna do about those Hobgoblins ♪"

Pod People -- Worth it for the song/recording session and

ubsequent skit. Everything else is gravy.

Manos: The Hands Of Fate -- because, duh. Otherwise no one would ever have known about this movie.

Space Mutiny -- Wonderful crap on its own already, the riffing is a bonus. Reb Brown is a national treasure.

Final Sacrifice -- Bizarre Canadian no budget bonkers stuff. The hero's name is "Zap Rosdower".

San Francisco International -- Air traffic drama edited from 70s tv show episodes, I just like the feel of it.

 

I think MST3K: The Movie (This Island Earth) is great as well. And almost all the Prelinger/educational shorts are gold. I just think it's great that they were able to turn out so much consistently funny material; I mean, ten seasons of anything is an incredible effort but to have it be above average quality almost all the time is amazing.

 

I discovered the show way back when I was a kid, not sure exactly when though. I want to say just before they moved to the sci-fi channel. I remember waking up early on Saturday mornings and watching reruns of MST3K instead of cartoons. Every few years I'll go on a binge and watch a ton (which I've done for the last 2 months).

 

That's so cool that you got to see Cinematic Titanic. I'm going to try and see them when they tour this fall because they claimed it will be their last, simply out of logistical reasons.

 

It's unreal how much they put into the show. There's like 800-1000 jokes in every episode. The production values, inventiveness, and uniqueness is off the charts for having the small budget it had.

 

Man, that host segment in Pod People nearly made me piss myself the first time I saw it and I'm not a huge laugher. Frank in that damn t-shirt and the weird record exec lady that appeared behind them for no real reason. "IT STINKS!"

 

My all time favorite host segment is a tie between:

- Pod People song

 

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2f0nfrgaK4

 

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZPrK035ak

[PhillipMedoc 648]

That's so cool that you got to see Cinematic Titanic. I'm going to try and see them when they tour this fall because they claimed it will be their last, simply out of logistical reasons.

 

It's unreal how much they put into the show. There's like 800-1000 jokes in every episode. The production values, inventiveness, and uniqueness is off the charts for having the small budget it had.

Yeah, if you have the opportunity to go see Cinematic Titanic, do it. It was expensive, but it was on my birthday(!) and I got to shake TV Frank's hand and tell Joel thank you for the years of entertainment. They were all extremely genial and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.

 

On your second point, yes! A lot of people think MST3K was improvised, when (except for the very early pre-cable KTMA days) it was actually a lot of rewatching the film, taking notes, throwing around ideas in the writers room, tinkering and polishing. Some of the later season episodes have an RPM (riffs per minute, y'all) of around 15 or so, which is crazy. And they were doing a full movie every two weeks.

 

Speaking of favorite host segments:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pDem1UIBHA

[seanotron 2307]

The biggest problem with the movie is that it's slow. The quips don't come at nearly the speed they do in the show, so you get a bit anxious as a long-time fan because you're hearing more silence than you're used to. It's still funny, it's just not as funny as it could have been.

 

And Cinematic Titanic is definitely worth checking out. One of my favorites is the live version of East Meets Watts. They don't do them as often so they have a higher batting average than say Rifftrax. Rifftrax is still good, I'm not crazy about the ones where they do 'good' movies, but any of the shorts are gold.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

And Cinematic Titanic is definitely worth checking out. One of my favorites is the live version of East Meets Watts. They don't do them as often so they have a higher batting average than say Rifftrax. Rifftrax is still good, I'm not crazy about the ones where they do 'good' movies, but any of the shorts are gold.

Rifftrax churned out too much material for a few years; there were some gems (their take on The Room is great) but stuff like Spiderman and Twilight, ugh. And unfortunately you can see that Mike Nelson has become slightly more cynical over the years.

 

But recently they've been going back to their roots and doing 1970s and 1980s b-movies; I can definitely recommend Ghosthouse, Kingdom Of The Spiders (William Shatner!), and Silent Rage (Chuck Norris!).

[thestray 361]

Really love me some MST3K, I remember getting up early to watch it, I think on Sundays. I felt like I had found some hidden gem. It's cool to see how much of a loyal fan following it has, because back in the day I felt like I was the only fan of the show, NOBODY ever knew what I was talking about. Although some fans think it's overhyped, The Final Sacrifice is definitely my favorite, it's the movie I put on anytime I wanted to introduce a friend to the show, and they always love it. "Rowsdower!"

[seanotron 2307]

Rifftrax churned out too much material for a few years; there were some gems (their take on The Room is great) but stuff like Spiderman and Twilight, ugh. And unfortunately you can see that Mike Nelson has become slightly more cynical over the years.

 

But recently they've been going back to their roots and doing 1970s and 1980s b-movies; I can definitely recommend Ghosthouse, Kingdom Of The Spiders (William Shatner!), and Silent Rage (Chuck Norris!).

 

I have to admit I loved the Twilight riffs. 'Line? Line?' I'm not totally averse to them covering newer movies, I just thought they started pushing it with the volume of material and when they started doing 'good' movies like Raiders or Wrath of Khan.

[seanotron 2307]

Really love me some MST3K, I remember getting up early to watch it, I think on Sundays. I felt like I had found some hidden gem. It's cool to see how much of a loyal fan following it has, because back in the day I felt like I was the only fan of the show, NOBODY ever knew what I was talking about. Although some fans think it's overhyped, The Final Sacrifice is definitely my favorite, it's the movie I put on anytime I wanted to introduce a friend to the show, and they always love it. "Rowsdower!"

 

I actually think Space Mutiny is probably the most overhyped, but even then it's still hilarious. 'Blast Thickneck! Beat Punchmeat! Big McLargehuge!'

[PhillipMedoc 648]

I actually think Space Mutiny is probably the most overhyped, but even then it's still hilarious. 'Blast Thickneck! Beat Punchmeat! Big McLargehuge!'

In my opinion, I think Manos is the most hyped among fans, but whatevs -- they almost all deliver.

 

I use Blast Hardcheese as pseudonym when I sign for UPS or whatever. Their multiple names for Reb Brown is one of the best running gags ever. Thick McRunsfast!

 

[seanotron 2307]

In my opinion, I think Manos is the most hyped among fans, but whatevs -- they almost all deliver.

 

I use Blast Hardcheese as pseudonym when I sign for UPS or whatever. Their multiple names for Reb Brown is one of the best running gags ever. Thick McRunsfast!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY

 

That's the thing, even the most 'overhyped' episodes will still deliver the goods. The only really unwatchable episodes are the KTMA/Weinstein episodes. And even those have some funny bits.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

I've been watching a bunch of random episodes on Netflix lately, and I used to watch it quite a lot when it was on Comedy Central, but it pretty much ceased to exist to me when it got bumped to Sci-Fi, as I didn't live anywhere that had the Sci-FI network until after the show had ended.

[denimgremlin 1179]

i owned the Pod People episode on VHS and i probably watched it a hundred times before i ever saw another episode. i had no idea it was such a fan favorite, i believe it though, its truely amazing

[imhatch 271]

whew glad final sacrifice was already mentioned cool good work friends

[Hot - Slunch 772]

I've officially bought tickets to see Cinematic Titanic... But the theater never emailed the tickets. I guess I have to call up and deal with box office people today.

[DubipR 485]

I'm a MST3K fan. I loved watching them on the Comedy Channel (pre-Comedy Central) and loved seeing them live. Some of my favorites are:

 

- Mitchell

- Time of the Apes

- Wild Rebels

- Santa Claus vs. The Martians

- Catalina Caper

- Zombie Nightmare

- Sidehackers

- Fugitive Alien

- The Sinister Urge (Klein!)

 

How I found about the show was I just popped it on one day, early Season 2, and fell in love with the show.

[PhillipMedoc 648]

I'm a MST3K fan. I loved watching them on the Comedy Channel (pre-Comedy Central) and loved seeing them live. Some of my favorites are:

 

- Mitchell

- Time of the Apes

- Wild Rebels

- Santa Claus vs. The Martians

- Catalina Caper

- Zombie Nightmare

- Sidehackers

- Fugitive Alien

- The Sinister Urge (Klein!)

 

How I found about the show was I just popped it on one day, early Season 2, and fell in love with the show.

Sidehackers is hilarious to me, because was "sidehacking" even a fucking thing? It must have been popular in the Midwest or somewhere for like a month, long enough that someone thought they should make a movie about it. And I love Servo's little "Woo-hoo, sidehackin', y'all" sing song bits, and then one of the best song segments:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4QQY3in8CQ

 

Also, did you know this trivia about that episode?

 

When the Brains first sat down and watched this movie for their writing sessions, they were shocked to discover a graphic scene of a female character being raped and murdered. They edited that scene out of the episode, and decided from then on to always watch movies in their entirety before deciding whether or not to air them on MST.

[DubipR 485]

 

Also, did you know this trivia about that episode?

 

 

Yeah, I knew about that. They first spoke about it when I saw them at the Paley Festival. But the best thing ever was at the festival had to have been all the members sit down in their chairs, facing the crowd after the applause settles down. Then they all stand up, grab the chairs, turn them around to the screen behind them and do an impromptu (probably scripted) new short..

 

it was amazing!

[Hot - Slunch 772]

 

 

Yeah, I knew about that. They first spoke about it when I saw them at the Paley Festival. But the best thing ever was at the festival had to have been all the members sit down in their chairs, facing the crowd after the applause settles down. Then they all stand up, grab the chairs, turn them around to the screen behind them and do an impromptu (probably scripted) new short..

 

it was amazing!

 

That's awesome.

 

Yeah I heard about the Sidehacker thing before. Some guy on a site uploaded the un-MSTd version and I thought about grabbing it before.

 

If you know the Sidehacker info, I'm assuming you guys have also heard of the illustrious 'only movie to be screened as a group, but then was immediately turned down'...

[PhillipMedoc 648]

If you know the Sidehacker info, I'm assuming you guys have also heard of the illustrious 'only movie to be screened as a group, but then was immediately turned down'...

I probably do know, but can't recall. Please enlighten me?

[seanotron 2307]

I remember Kevin Murphy saying Invasion of the Neptune Men nearly broke everyone on the show, not only because it was so terrible as a movie, but because the director used actual footage of WWII bombing runs in a children's movie.

[Hot - Slunch 772]

Their process for choosing the movies was basically:

 

1. There's a huge box of tapes.

2. Frank takes a ton of movies home. (Post-Frank it was interns that did this. They claimed it was mind numbing and horrible, but Frank loved it.)

3. He watches them and finds one that will work.

4. He brings it to a meeting on Monday with the full writing staff, they screen it and start riffing.

 

So that happens, and they screen a movie about Appalachian hicks who marry underage girls. It was supposedly so vile, demented, and had such a 'real' vibe about it that it was shelved, never to be riffed.

 

Trace or Frank mentions the story on one of the bonus features I believe. You can find the title of the movie on the imdb MST3K trivia section, but they don't even like to acknowledge it by name.

[DubipR 485]

Their process for choosing the movies was basically:

 

1. There's a huge box of tapes.

2. Frank takes a ton of movies home. (Post-Frank it was interns that did this. They claimed it was mind numbing and horrible, but Frank loved it.)

3. He watches them and finds one that will work.

4. He brings it to a meeting on Monday with the full writing staff, they screen it and start riffing.

 

So that happens, and they screen a movie about Appalachian hicks who marry underage girls. It was supposedly so vile, demented, and had such a 'real' vibe about it that it was shelved, never to be riffed.

 

Trace or Frank mentions the story on one of the bonus features I believe. You can find the title of the movie on the imdb MST3K trivia section, but they don't even like to acknowledge it by name.

 

Ok. I HAVE to see this film now! I never knew about this....

 

Learn something new everyday!