The Lasting Legacy of Riffing: Mystery Science Theater 3000 Style
by S.V. Brosius
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K for short)
1988-1999
“In the not-too-distant future, next Sunday A.D., there was a guy named Joel, not too different from you or me. He worked at Gizmonic Institute, just another face in a red jumpsuit. He did a good job cleaning up the place, but his bosses didn’t like him, so they shot him into space!”
“We’ll send him cheesy movies – the worst we can find (la, la, la)! He’ll have to sit and watch them all; then we’ll monitor his mind (la, la, la)!”
“Now, keep in mind Joel can’t control when the movies begin or end (la, la, la). Because he used those special parts to make his robot friends…”
“Robot roll call: Cambot, Gypsy, Tom Servo, Crow.”
“If you’re wondering how he eats and breathes and other science facts (la, la, la), then repeat to yourself it’s just a show. I should really just relax … for Mystery Science Theater 3000!”
Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s premise: an average Earthling is kept prisoner on a spaceship called “The Satellite of Love,” where he must watch subpar old movies with his robot friends. The theme song explains it all.
The evil mad scientist of Gizmonic Institute, Dr. Clayton Forrester (played so memorably by Trace Beaulieu), and his lackey, TV’s Frank (Frank Coniff), select the movies each week to torture Joel (Joel Hodgson, series creator) — and in later seasons Mike (Michael J. Nelson, head writer) — while supposedly monitoring their minds. The later seasons feature Pearl Forrester (Mary Jo Pehl) as the mad scientist and her henchmen becoming the tormentors of the “Satellite of Love” crew.
As the main character watches the film, he and his robot pals comment and laugh at the obvious character flaws, plot holes, and terrible special effects. There are many pop culture references that modern-day watchers may not understand, but I don’t think this diminishes the entertainment of their riffing style. There is a certain level of absurd humor that persists in every show’s incarnation.
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Two of my favorites are Eegah (Season 6, Episode 6) and Werewolf (Season 10, Episode 4).
Eegah – A teenage couple encounters a cave dweller living alone for many years. “Watch out for snakes!” The absurdity becomes even more hilarious when said cave dweller wreaks havoc in the city. He is searching for Roxy (Marilyn Manning) and pushes open the women’s restroom door, and a bunch of screams causes him to close the door quickly. “What, are there fifty women in there?”
The final party has Roxy dancing by herself, so Tom (Arch Hall, Jr.) takes off his guitar to go over and dance with her. “He walked out on his own song!”
Werewolf – A team of archeologists uncovers a skeleton believed to be a lycanthrope and quickly starts fist-fighting for no real reason. “Rock ’em, Sock ’em, archaeologists!” Somehow, multiple people get injured by its fangs and turn into werewolves. One unlucky fellow manages to drive a car during his transformation, and one is standing in the bathroom holding his stomach.
“I’m turning into a werewolf, plus my irritable bowel syndrome is acting up too.” The party scene becomes comical when the music drowns out the dialogue and the director gets day and night shots mixed up. The character of Yuri (Jorge Rivero) has multiple accents throughout the film, and his hair changes in almost every scene.
During each episode, there are segments between parts of the movie where Joel or Mike and the robots have their evaluation of the film, sometimes in a faux serious manner. There is also an invention exchange with the villain in some episodes. The pacing of these is noticeably slower compared to later versions. Overall, many great lines are still funny today.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Netflix)
2017-2018
New host Jonah Heston (Jonah Ray) takes over and is subjected to a new set of bad movies thanks to Dr. Forrester’s daughter Kinga and TV’s Frank’s son Max. The most notable change from the original series is the updated production quality. The non-film segments of the show have a faster pace and contain modern pop culture references.
Avalanche – A ski resort is destroyed by an avalanche, and the people try to survive. The ex-wife Caroline (Mia Farrow) is promised lunch by the ex-husband David (Rock Hudson), which he forgets. “That was two months ago. You must be starving!”
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A running joke about lunch continues throughout the movie. During the avalanche, the kitchen takes a beating and the cooks are thrown around on shelves, and food flies everywhere. A girl that seems to come out of nowhere is flung across the prep table. “The kitchen has a cheerleader?”
Mac and Me – The first movie of six in Season 2 is The Gauntlet. A boy in a wheelchair (Jade Calegory) meets a child alien who guzzles Coca-Cola and shows off his dance moves at McDonald’s in a teddy bear costume. “Okay, Mac is flying across the McDonald’s dance party. The manufacturer’s warranty no longer applies. Feel free to discard any unused portions of this film.”
The similarities to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial are obvious and eagerly pointed out by the MST3K crew. When the kids are chased by three government agents, Jonah and the robots start making noises to reference The Three Stooges.
I enjoyed this incarnation of the series. The pacing, quality and movie choices had the right balance of presenting new comedy while preserving the feel of the original. Fan support is what brought about these two seasons on Netflix.
Joel Hodgson, a former stand-up comic, favors rotating hosts every so often. Upon releasing the new Netflix incarnation, he said, “I’m 58 years old. Maybe I shouldn’t be the guy on camera anymore. Let’s get a 35-year-old-guy to do it; let’s get a new guy who’s got more current riffs.”
RiffTrax
2006 – Current
Mostly available on the RiffTrax website, there are tons of audio downloads that you can play while you watch your copy of the movie. This format allows the owners to riff on big-budget movies without the legal hassles and licensing expense of providing the film with it. There are riffs of shorts and episodes of TV shows, some of which are available on pluto.tv, shoutfactory.com and Tubi.
The RiffTrax Live episodes incorporate a live audience watching along with the hosts, bringing a new element to the same riffing style by hosts Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett (voice of Crow) and Kevin Murphy (voice of Tom Servo).
Birdemic – A young man and his new girlfriend are attacked by diseased birds, forcing them to hit the road. The story’s pacing is painfully slow, allowing plenty of time for good riffs and commentary on the bad acting, meager budget and minimal special effects.
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The introduction lasts a long time, featuring the main character driving his blue Mustang very slowly. “I’m revvin’ this baby up to five miles per hour! Hold onto your hats!” Unfortunately, there are more lengthy driving segments throughout the movie. After a few awkward, expressionless love scenes, the birds seem to attack out of the blue for no reason. Eventually, the leads get guns and flee in a van with a few other survivors.
I have not checked out the audio downloads for the big-budget movies yet. There are so many from which to choose! The RiffTrax website has a ton of content, so I recommend spending time there.
In my opinion, the kind of humor presented by MST3K and RiffTrax merely points out and mocks human flaws. No matter the era, people remain the same. It is comical when common sense is missing, emotions are too extreme or non-existent, or the absurd situation is treated as usual. Some instances are obvious; some are not. Therefore, we appreciate the MST3K and RiffTrax crew pointing them out to us. There is a large fanbase and always will be.
In 2022, Gizmoplex was launched as the new streaming service for Mystery Science Theater 3000, carrying Season 13. Fan support was essential and helped raise funds to make this happen.
What are your favorite episodes from Mystery Science Theater 3000? Sound off in the comments below!
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