Turkey Leftovers
November 22, 2023 9:50 PM Subscribe
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is going a bit overboard for Turkey Day 2023, with 48 straight hours of episodes from both the classic era and recently-concluded Season 13! Starting November 23 at 9 AM Eastern time, and watchable for free on the show's official Youtube channel, on their official Pluto TV channel, on their Twitch channel, and on their bespoke streaming solution the Gizmoplex. Two full days of cheesy movies and humorous commentary from a human test subject and their automated mocking contraptions.
Last year they introduced a Thanksgiving mascot, the genetically-engineered musclebird known as Turkules. It's unknown if it will be back this year.
Last year they introduced a Thanksgiving mascot, the genetically-engineered musclebird known as Turkules. It's unknown if it will be back this year.
I wasn't aware of the crowdfunding rule when I wrote this comment. It's worth mentioning that the MST3K team is soliciting crowdfunding donations for Season 14; the campaign ends this Saturday. They could really use the support to keep watching bad movies and riffing on them.
A few of their proposed S14 movies:
Ballistica (featuring Martin "Karate Kid" Kove and Robert "Die Hard" Davi),
Battletruck (featuring Michael "The Warriors" Beck and John "Cheers" Ratzenberger)
Abraxas (featuring Jesse "Minnesota Governor" Ventura and Sven-Ole "Captain Power" Thorsen).
posted by JDC8 at 10:42 PM on November 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
A few of their proposed S14 movies:
Ballistica (featuring Martin "Karate Kid" Kove and Robert "Die Hard" Davi),
Battletruck (featuring Michael "The Warriors" Beck and John "Cheers" Ratzenberger)
Abraxas (featuring Jesse "Minnesota Governor" Ventura and Sven-Ole "Captain Power" Thorsen).
posted by JDC8 at 10:42 PM on November 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
I think the rule has been relaxed a bit in recent months, but I figured it's better safe than sorry? And the rule applies to FPPs, not comments on relevant threads, or that's what I seem to remember.
posted by JHarris at 11:10 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 11:10 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
It’s a shame the crowdfunding is just at the halfway point of the minimum episode order for a new season. They really hurt themselves by doing this campaign independently instead of on a known platform like Kickstarter (where the last two campaigns were wild successes) and running this campaign during the actor and writer strikes which prevented those on strike from promoting the campaign. Building their own streaming platform, the Gizmoplex, also ended up being underwhelming to some fans. Its interface is a lot of flash and minimal substance when it just needs to be an app/website that streams movies.
There’s also issues beyond their control including the fall of Twitter which meant many fans who contributed previously didn’t know about this campaign, and the last campaign had serious issues distributing Kickstarter rewards due to the pandemic that left a bad taste in a lot of mouths. It took something like two years to send rewards and some people still don’t have theirs.
I’d love to see a new season, but I don’t think it will happen. I contributed to the last season and it debuted when I needed it most. I spent 45 days in the hospital last year (one week of that in a coma) and was able to stream the new episodes as they aired on my room’s TV through an HDMI cable (until the hospital pushed a TV firmware update to disable the port, anyway). I needed the laughs more than ever while I recovered. MST3K has been my medicine for three decades now when times are bad. I was so glad to have it back.
posted by Servo5678 at 12:13 AM on November 23, 2023 [16 favorites]
There’s also issues beyond their control including the fall of Twitter which meant many fans who contributed previously didn’t know about this campaign, and the last campaign had serious issues distributing Kickstarter rewards due to the pandemic that left a bad taste in a lot of mouths. It took something like two years to send rewards and some people still don’t have theirs.
I’d love to see a new season, but I don’t think it will happen. I contributed to the last season and it debuted when I needed it most. I spent 45 days in the hospital last year (one week of that in a coma) and was able to stream the new episodes as they aired on my room’s TV through an HDMI cable (until the hospital pushed a TV firmware update to disable the port, anyway). I needed the laughs more than ever while I recovered. MST3K has been my medicine for three decades now when times are bad. I was so glad to have it back.
posted by Servo5678 at 12:13 AM on November 23, 2023 [16 favorites]
Is there a schedule for the marathon available anywhere?
posted by kyrademon at 2:25 AM on November 23, 2023
posted by kyrademon at 2:25 AM on November 23, 2023
Yes! The schedule is:
Thursday
9AM ET/6AM PT: Bride Of The Monster
11AM ET/8AM PT: The Pumaman (Surgically Enhanced)
1PM ET/10AM PT: Escape 2000
3PM ET/12PM PT: Beyond Atlantis
5PM ET/2PM PT: The Beatniks
7PM ET/4PM PT: Viking Women and the Sea Serpent
9PM ET/6PM PT: The Giant Gila Monster
11PM ET/8PM PT: The Starfighters (Surgically Enhanced)
Friday
1AM ET/10PM PT: Munchie
3AM ET/12AM PT: Master Ninja II
5AM ET/2AM PT: Catalina Caper (Surgically Enhanced)
7AM ET/4AM PT: Operation Kid Brother
9AM ET/6AM PT: The Bubble
11AM ET/8AM PT: Time Chasers
1PM ET/10AM PT: Horror Of Party Beach (Surgically Enhanced)
3PM ET/12PM PT: Prince Of Space
5PM ET/2PM PT: Dr. Mordrid
7PM ET/4PM PT: Girl In Gold Boots
9PM ET/6PM PT: Stranded In Space
11PM ET/8PM PT: Gorgo
Saturday
1AM ET/10PM PT: Santo in the Treasure of Dracula
3AM ET/12AM PT: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
5AM ET/2AM PT: Santa Claus
7AM ET/4AM PT: The Christmas Dragon
There's also going to be an ending telethon for the crowdfunder, but there's no information on that yet. I'd imagine that would continue from the end of the last episode.
posted by JHarris at 3:22 AM on November 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
Thursday
9AM ET/6AM PT: Bride Of The Monster
11AM ET/8AM PT: The Pumaman (Surgically Enhanced)
1PM ET/10AM PT: Escape 2000
3PM ET/12PM PT: Beyond Atlantis
5PM ET/2PM PT: The Beatniks
7PM ET/4PM PT: Viking Women and the Sea Serpent
9PM ET/6PM PT: The Giant Gila Monster
11PM ET/8PM PT: The Starfighters (Surgically Enhanced)
Friday
1AM ET/10PM PT: Munchie
3AM ET/12AM PT: Master Ninja II
5AM ET/2AM PT: Catalina Caper (Surgically Enhanced)
7AM ET/4AM PT: Operation Kid Brother
9AM ET/6AM PT: The Bubble
11AM ET/8AM PT: Time Chasers
1PM ET/10AM PT: Horror Of Party Beach (Surgically Enhanced)
3PM ET/12PM PT: Prince Of Space
5PM ET/2PM PT: Dr. Mordrid
7PM ET/4PM PT: Girl In Gold Boots
9PM ET/6PM PT: Stranded In Space
11PM ET/8PM PT: Gorgo
Saturday
1AM ET/10PM PT: Santo in the Treasure of Dracula
3AM ET/12AM PT: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
5AM ET/2AM PT: Santa Claus
7AM ET/4AM PT: The Christmas Dragon
There's also going to be an ending telethon for the crowdfunder, but there's no information on that yet. I'd imagine that would continue from the end of the last episode.
posted by JHarris at 3:22 AM on November 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
I should mention, "surgically enhanced" episodes have been upscaled by various means, so they look better than they did back when they aired on cable!
posted by JHarris at 4:28 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 4:28 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sven-Ole "Captain Power" Thorsen
Wow. That... takes me back. Couple things:
1) I don't know how trustworthy the IMDB 7.4/10 rating is.
2) I did not need to know that was closing in on 40 years ago. I believe in the modern parlance the kids say "oof."
posted by howbigisthistextfield at 4:43 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
Wow. That... takes me back. Couple things:
1) I don't know how trustworthy the IMDB 7.4/10 rating is.
2) I did not need to know that was closing in on 40 years ago. I believe in the modern parlance the kids say "oof."
posted by howbigisthistextfield at 4:43 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think six episodes has a good chance of happening. I’d imagine Joel has other funding sources that may kick in once they hit that first goal. It makes sense; how can you convince the Foos Brothers or some other investor group to put down their cash if the fan support for even the lowest tier isn’t there?
As it is, they’ve rolled back their budget by 800k on the lowest tier by closing their east coast office and producing in LA only.
posted by dr_dank at 5:07 AM on November 23, 2023
As it is, they’ve rolled back their budget by 800k on the lowest tier by closing their east coast office and producing in LA only.
posted by dr_dank at 5:07 AM on November 23, 2023
It makes sense; how can you convince the Foos Brothers or some other investor group to put down their cash if the fan support for even the lowest tier isn’t there?
Except Joel isn't pursuing an investor group. He's making it for the fans. Going for outside funding means ceding control to someone else, like as happened with Netflix. Anyway, the MST3K rights are already owned by Shout Factory, who seem to be pretty reasonable as far as corporate overlords go, it's being made with their approval.
If I could give my personal list of highlights from this batch?
THE PUMAMAN is an inept superhero movie, with a hero who can only fly badly, and it seems, only to real-projected city footage and dopey hero music. Despite being white he's been picked out by the Aztec gods as the new "Puma Man" to fight the evil mind-controlling powers of Donald Pleasence. (Donald Pleasence, we find, can elevate practically everything he's in. He's one of a number of actors who are favorites of mine from seeing him in MST Club movies.)
BEYOND ATLANTIS is one of the highlights of the previous season. A tribe of entirely white people are experiencing genetic decay, and only two of them don't have the distinctive ping-pong-ball eyes that signify their decline. One of them is a sorta-fish lady who falls for an outsider, who has come to her island to harvest a fortune in pearls. But forget all of that because the true star of this movie is Sid Haig, who plays the scumbag's scumbag, East Eddie, who is cool no matter what he does (unless it involves being trapped in a pit of killer crabs, oooh).
THE STARFIGHTERS is one of the worst movies MST3K ever did. Follow a bunch of air force cadets, one of them future awful congressperson Bob Dornan, as they... well, don't do much really. There's a subplot where Bob's congressperson father tries to pull strings on his behalf, put into a safer job than flying one of the air forces' most dangerously unstable fighter jets, but Dornan will have none of it. The movie was made partly as a promotion for those jets, making it rather a reprehensible cultural artifact. It deserves what it gets. Also, it contains poopie suits!
MUNCHIE is another Season 13 film, and it's pretty hard to make it through. Dom DeLuise is woefully misused in this sequel to the Gremlins-knockoff horror movie Munchies, except this isn't a horror movie, and it doesn't have anything to do with the original. Instead Munchie is a well-meaning magical imp who uses his reality-warping powers to help/harm the life of a kid. Munchie's face is a vision of hell.
MASTER NINJA II is a compilation of two episodes of the one season 70s action show The Master, staring Timothy Van Patten as the apprentice of the unlikeliest ninja: former cowboy star Lee Van Cleef. Lee Van Cleef is another of our favorite actors, but he's utterly unconvincing as a practitioner of martial arts.
CATALINA CAPER is one of the few outright comedies the show has done. It wants to be a teen sex romp, but it's pretty tame. The kids foil a weird theft plot staged by one of their own parents. I've given to understand that it fills a similar kind of cinematic niche as The Boatniks.
OPERATION KID BROTHER is an alternate title; when the episode was first shown it was called OPERATION DOUBLE 007. It stars Sean Connery's brother Neil as a kind of fill-in for a British superspy. The movie purposely blurs the lines between its own film universe and that of the James Bond movies, including casting the actors for M and Ms Moneypenny in similar roles, even though it had no permission to do so. Neil's role is basically to play a kind of omnipotent superman, capable of everything, and who never feels like he's in real danger at any time during the movie.
PRINCE OF SPACE is the better of the two Japanese movies they did for the Sci-Fi Channel era. Our hero is invulnerable to the aliens' lasers (he constantly tells them "Your weapons are useless!") and has his own spaceship, yet for some reason works on Earth undercover as an Underdog-esque bootblack. Also, he has taken in some orphans. His foe is the devious Phantom of Krankor, or just "Krankor" to our friends on the SOL. He and his whole race appear to be chicken people, they don't wear cups under their jumpsuits, and for an unknown reason they have a giant living on their planet.
DOCTOR MORDRID is said to have been planned as a Doctor Strange movie, but they lost the license, so we end up with a character who kind of fills the same role but without any of his trademark characteristics. He's simultaneously a master of the mystic arts and the landlord of an apartment building!
GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS is about a waitress who dreams, for some reason, of working as a go-go dancer in Los Angeles, at a place called The Haunted House. At Christmastime, natch. She escapes from a life of squalor into a life of sleaze.
And Saturday has El Santo followed by three Christmas movies. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians has a title that speaks for itself; Santa Claus is a fever dream but an entertaining one; The Christmas Dragon can't decide if it wants to be Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or maybe something else? Taking place entirely in a fantasy realm it really has very little to do with Christmas, and there's little snow to be found.
posted by JHarris at 5:31 AM on November 23, 2023 [15 favorites]
Except Joel isn't pursuing an investor group. He's making it for the fans. Going for outside funding means ceding control to someone else, like as happened with Netflix. Anyway, the MST3K rights are already owned by Shout Factory, who seem to be pretty reasonable as far as corporate overlords go, it's being made with their approval.
If I could give my personal list of highlights from this batch?
THE PUMAMAN is an inept superhero movie, with a hero who can only fly badly, and it seems, only to real-projected city footage and dopey hero music. Despite being white he's been picked out by the Aztec gods as the new "Puma Man" to fight the evil mind-controlling powers of Donald Pleasence. (Donald Pleasence, we find, can elevate practically everything he's in. He's one of a number of actors who are favorites of mine from seeing him in MST Club movies.)
BEYOND ATLANTIS is one of the highlights of the previous season. A tribe of entirely white people are experiencing genetic decay, and only two of them don't have the distinctive ping-pong-ball eyes that signify their decline. One of them is a sorta-fish lady who falls for an outsider, who has come to her island to harvest a fortune in pearls. But forget all of that because the true star of this movie is Sid Haig, who plays the scumbag's scumbag, East Eddie, who is cool no matter what he does (unless it involves being trapped in a pit of killer crabs, oooh).
THE STARFIGHTERS is one of the worst movies MST3K ever did. Follow a bunch of air force cadets, one of them future awful congressperson Bob Dornan, as they... well, don't do much really. There's a subplot where Bob's congressperson father tries to pull strings on his behalf, put into a safer job than flying one of the air forces' most dangerously unstable fighter jets, but Dornan will have none of it. The movie was made partly as a promotion for those jets, making it rather a reprehensible cultural artifact. It deserves what it gets. Also, it contains poopie suits!
MUNCHIE is another Season 13 film, and it's pretty hard to make it through. Dom DeLuise is woefully misused in this sequel to the Gremlins-knockoff horror movie Munchies, except this isn't a horror movie, and it doesn't have anything to do with the original. Instead Munchie is a well-meaning magical imp who uses his reality-warping powers to help/harm the life of a kid. Munchie's face is a vision of hell.
MASTER NINJA II is a compilation of two episodes of the one season 70s action show The Master, staring Timothy Van Patten as the apprentice of the unlikeliest ninja: former cowboy star Lee Van Cleef. Lee Van Cleef is another of our favorite actors, but he's utterly unconvincing as a practitioner of martial arts.
CATALINA CAPER is one of the few outright comedies the show has done. It wants to be a teen sex romp, but it's pretty tame. The kids foil a weird theft plot staged by one of their own parents. I've given to understand that it fills a similar kind of cinematic niche as The Boatniks.
OPERATION KID BROTHER is an alternate title; when the episode was first shown it was called OPERATION DOUBLE 007. It stars Sean Connery's brother Neil as a kind of fill-in for a British superspy. The movie purposely blurs the lines between its own film universe and that of the James Bond movies, including casting the actors for M and Ms Moneypenny in similar roles, even though it had no permission to do so. Neil's role is basically to play a kind of omnipotent superman, capable of everything, and who never feels like he's in real danger at any time during the movie.
PRINCE OF SPACE is the better of the two Japanese movies they did for the Sci-Fi Channel era. Our hero is invulnerable to the aliens' lasers (he constantly tells them "Your weapons are useless!") and has his own spaceship, yet for some reason works on Earth undercover as an Underdog-esque bootblack. Also, he has taken in some orphans. His foe is the devious Phantom of Krankor, or just "Krankor" to our friends on the SOL. He and his whole race appear to be chicken people, they don't wear cups under their jumpsuits, and for an unknown reason they have a giant living on their planet.
DOCTOR MORDRID is said to have been planned as a Doctor Strange movie, but they lost the license, so we end up with a character who kind of fills the same role but without any of his trademark characteristics. He's simultaneously a master of the mystic arts and the landlord of an apartment building!
GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS is about a waitress who dreams, for some reason, of working as a go-go dancer in Los Angeles, at a place called The Haunted House. At Christmastime, natch. She escapes from a life of squalor into a life of sleaze.
And Saturday has El Santo followed by three Christmas movies. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians has a title that speaks for itself; Santa Claus is a fever dream but an entertaining one; The Christmas Dragon can't decide if it wants to be Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or maybe something else? Taking place entirely in a fantasy realm it really has very little to do with Christmas, and there's little snow to be found.
posted by JHarris at 5:31 AM on November 23, 2023 [15 favorites]
I should mention, "surgically enhanced" episodes have been upscaled by various means, so they look better than they did back when they aired on cable!
They do, but when it comes to the crowdfunding, I'd honesty rather they invest what appears to be a limited amount in making new content.
Haven't pledged yet, but will today.
posted by stevis23 at 6:12 AM on November 23, 2023
They do, but when it comes to the crowdfunding, I'd honesty rather they invest what appears to be a limited amount in making new content.
Haven't pledged yet, but will today.
posted by stevis23 at 6:12 AM on November 23, 2023
I think the upscaling is relative inexpensive, which is why they're able to offer so many of them. And please join us in the room, we'll be in off and on over the next 48 hours.
Also, it looks like the end of the Turkey Day marathon is timed to coincide with the end of the fundraiser, so it's 48 hours to go!
posted by JHarris at 6:27 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, it looks like the end of the Turkey Day marathon is timed to coincide with the end of the fundraiser, so it's 48 hours to go!
posted by JHarris at 6:27 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
JHarris: Except Joel isn't pursuing an investor group. He's making it for the fans. Going for outside funding means ceding control to someone else, like as happened with Netflix. Anyway, the MST3K rights are already owned by Shout Factory, who seem to be pretty reasonable as far as corporate overlords go, it's being made with their approval.
Fully agree that fans are the primary backers, but if previous campaigns are any indication, there is usually a very large spike at the end from what I can only assume is a friendly funding source operating as a backstop to fill in the gap. No complaints, it’s gotten results and hope that continues.
That said, Christmas Dragon from the new season was absolute gold. “Simply having a wonderful Christmas time….” (As people get incinerated by dragons)
posted by dr_dank at 6:41 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Fully agree that fans are the primary backers, but if previous campaigns are any indication, there is usually a very large spike at the end from what I can only assume is a friendly funding source operating as a backstop to fill in the gap. No complaints, it’s gotten results and hope that continues.
That said, Christmas Dragon from the new season was absolute gold. “Simply having a wonderful Christmas time….” (As people get incinerated by dragons)
posted by dr_dank at 6:41 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
My husband was disappointed that Mitchell wasn't part of this year's lineup. Me, I'll be happy to see The Pumaman all the way through this time; I'm usually cooking Thanksgiving dinner during a couple of the movies.
posted by May Kasahara at 7:41 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by May Kasahara at 7:41 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
The 7.4 IMDb rating could be explained by How Captain Power Led To Babylon 5 .
posted by JDC8 at 7:55 AM on November 23, 2023
posted by JDC8 at 7:55 AM on November 23, 2023
He's simultaneously a master of the mystic arts and the landlord of an apartment building!
That sounds......awesome? I'm sure the movie doesn't come anywhere close to realizing the full potential of that description, but in more capable hands...
A few years ago we watched a Korean show on Netflix called "Vampire Prosecutor" which was a about a local prosecuting attorney who was secretly a vampire. He used his vampire powers to get leads and then he'd direct his team of crime scene investigators to follow that leads pretending that his insights just came from his years of experience. They'd then find the necessary evidence needed to link a suspect to the crime and the attorney would seek a conviction at trial.
We never made it past the first episode because it was just so perfect, watching any more of of the show would've just ruined it. The guy was a vampire, but he solved crime. And he made sure his dark, vampiric abilities never ran afoul of the rules regarding chain-of-custody or whether evidence was admissible in court.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:05 AM on November 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
That sounds......awesome? I'm sure the movie doesn't come anywhere close to realizing the full potential of that description, but in more capable hands...
A few years ago we watched a Korean show on Netflix called "Vampire Prosecutor" which was a about a local prosecuting attorney who was secretly a vampire. He used his vampire powers to get leads and then he'd direct his team of crime scene investigators to follow that leads pretending that his insights just came from his years of experience. They'd then find the necessary evidence needed to link a suspect to the crime and the attorney would seek a conviction at trial.
We never made it past the first episode because it was just so perfect, watching any more of of the show would've just ruined it. The guy was a vampire, but he solved crime. And he made sure his dark, vampiric abilities never ran afoul of the rules regarding chain-of-custody or whether evidence was admissible in court.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:05 AM on November 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
PUMAMAN is starting!
posted by mochapickle at 8:10 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 8:10 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm 52 and have loved this show for many years... though admittedly not from the very beginning. I started watching it around 1995 when Comedy Channel had it chopped into 30-minute segments and aired the reruns constantly. I was working nights then, and I'd be alone when I'd wake up around noon and that was the only good thing on TV. Anyway, I recently took a new job, and my assistant (born 1998!) and the other young people I work with have never even heard of this show. I mentioned it once and they had no idea what I was talking about.
"Griffin... he ran all the way to hell!"
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
posted by SoberHighland at 8:12 AM on November 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
"Griffin... he ran all the way to hell!"
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
posted by SoberHighland at 8:12 AM on November 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
JHarris, I'd just like to say thanks for what you post here. Over the years you've made my life incrementally better and I really appreciate that.
I think the rule has been relaxed a bit in recent months
One time and one time only you get to promote the BBQ sauce of your choice.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:13 AM on November 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
I think the rule has been relaxed a bit in recent months
One time and one time only you get to promote the BBQ sauce of your choice.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:13 AM on November 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
That sounds......awesome? I'm sure the movie doesn't come anywhere close to realizing the full potential of that description, but in more capable hands...
It's not actually that terrible a movie! It's one of the better films they've riffed.
posted by JHarris at 8:14 AM on November 23, 2023
It's not actually that terrible a movie! It's one of the better films they've riffed.
posted by JHarris at 8:14 AM on November 23, 2023
One time and one time only you get to promote the BBQ sauce of your choice.
Cowboy Mike's RicoCHET Barbecue Sauce. It's BOLD!
posted by JHarris at 8:16 AM on November 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Cowboy Mike's RicoCHET Barbecue Sauce. It's BOLD!
posted by JHarris at 8:16 AM on November 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
This is exactly what I needed after coming down with the 'rona yesterday. Time to get real recumbent on the couch...
posted by wakannai at 8:16 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by wakannai at 8:16 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Just what in the hell do I have to do to get my toes buttered around here?
posted by loquacious at 8:19 AM on November 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by loquacious at 8:19 AM on November 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
I love the Sci-Fi Channel episodes so much. Brain Guy and Bobo and Pearl are far and away my favorite Mads.
posted by gc at 8:30 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by gc at 8:30 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
My kids: "So they just...talk all the way through the movie?"
posted by mittens at 8:50 AM on November 23, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by mittens at 8:50 AM on November 23, 2023 [14 favorites]
Mi kid: "This is nonsense."
Dang. Who raised you, lol
posted by eustatic at 9:05 AM on November 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
Dang. Who raised you, lol
posted by eustatic at 9:05 AM on November 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
Speaking of the Comedy Channel... I just noticed that they got Penn Jillette to do some of the interstitial promos. Blast from the past to hear him talking MST3k!
posted by SoberHighland at 9:14 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 9:14 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yes! For the first kickstarter they even got him to say "HERE... at Comedy Central!" once for old times' sake!
posted by JHarris at 9:24 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 9:24 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
Mi kid: "This is nonsense."
To be fair you basically need a pop culture and history guidebook to make sense of a lot of the jokes in an MST3K episode, and these days a lot of them aren't very current, either. Also it's a particular nerdy kind of humor that's often clever and referential just for the sake of being clever and referential.
I love MST3K and all but it is a very niche, nerdy, snarky and particularly gen X kind of humor.
They have done some versions of episodes with annotations explaining all of cultural references and it's almost impossible to read them all because of how fast and thick the quips and references keep coming.
posted by loquacious at 10:47 AM on November 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
To be fair you basically need a pop culture and history guidebook to make sense of a lot of the jokes in an MST3K episode, and these days a lot of them aren't very current, either. Also it's a particular nerdy kind of humor that's often clever and referential just for the sake of being clever and referential.
I love MST3K and all but it is a very niche, nerdy, snarky and particularly gen X kind of humor.
They have done some versions of episodes with annotations explaining all of cultural references and it's almost impossible to read them all because of how fast and thick the quips and references keep coming.
posted by loquacious at 10:47 AM on November 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
A few years ago we watched a Korean show on Netflix called "Vampire Prosecutor" which was a about a local prosecuting attorney who was secretly a vampire.
He's a prosecutor who is secretly a vampire, but, if I recall correctly, he's also hunting down a specific vampire to prosecute. That's right: Vampire Prosecutor has a double meaning. I fell off somewhere in the second season, not for any particular reason I can recall. It was a while ago.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:56 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
He's a prosecutor who is secretly a vampire, but, if I recall correctly, he's also hunting down a specific vampire to prosecute. That's right: Vampire Prosecutor has a double meaning. I fell off somewhere in the second season, not for any particular reason I can recall. It was a while ago.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:56 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
This is Dolby Stereo reminding you to leave the Bronx!
posted by ilana at 11:55 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by ilana at 11:55 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
Darn, no Space Mutiny!
posted by Ber at 11:58 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Ber at 11:58 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
We have finally left the Bronx!
posted by cyrusdogstar at 11:59 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by cyrusdogstar at 11:59 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Is the Gizmoplex running late or is it just starting up when I turned it on? It says live but Pumaman is just starting.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:05 PM on November 23, 2023
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:05 PM on November 23, 2023
computech_apolloniajames, look for the LIVE button in the controls, near the pause button. If you go to a different time, it doesn't seem to sync up automatically. (This happened to me on cytube earlier.)
posted by Pronoiac at 12:49 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Pronoiac at 12:49 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Aah it's probably a temporary glitch, try reloading the page
posted by JHarris at 12:50 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 12:50 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Darn, no Space Mutiny!
We set some traps with fresh bread and brandy, so it might still happen.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:11 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
We set some traps with fresh bread and brandy, so it might still happen.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:11 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Darn, no Space Mutiny!
Stuffed Thighmeat!
posted by zippy at 1:12 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Stuffed Thighmeat!
posted by zippy at 1:12 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Smoke Manmuscle!
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:15 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:15 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Brick Hardmeat!
posted by gc at 1:18 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by gc at 1:18 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Slab Bulkhead!
posted by dr_dank at 1:27 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by dr_dank at 1:27 PM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Bob Johnson! Oh, wait...
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:54 PM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:54 PM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have enjoyed the weather-warning-esque scrolls they've added for the telethon. It's like a little bonus riff.
posted by stevis23 at 8:22 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by stevis23 at 8:22 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Mahogany Runner!
posted by loquacious at 10:18 PM on November 23, 2023
posted by loquacious at 10:18 PM on November 23, 2023
The fundraiser isn't going super well, sadly. There's still 47 hours left (apparently the Turkey Day marathon ends before the campaign) but we've still got about $1.7 million left. I hope they can pull something out in these final hours.
posted by JHarris at 12:22 AM on November 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 12:22 AM on November 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I’ve outwitted my truck again!
posted by zap rowsdower at 5:59 AM on November 24, 2023
posted by zap rowsdower at 5:59 AM on November 24, 2023
We're in the second day of watching now. Just finished the Season 13 episode The Bubble. Moving on to Time Chasers now!
posted by JHarris at 7:48 AM on November 24, 2023
posted by JHarris at 7:48 AM on November 24, 2023
A long time ago in the KTMA days I found a weird show with robots and bad movies and have been hooked ever since. It was great to see Joel riffing again in The Bubble. I’m honored that my S13 backer credit appears in this episode.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 9:49 AM on November 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 9:49 AM on November 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
He's simultaneously a master of the mystic arts and the landlord of an apartment building!
AND, he's played by Jeffrey Combs. There is no downside.
posted by Devoidoid at 10:55 AM on November 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
AND, he's played by Jeffrey Combs. There is no downside.
posted by Devoidoid at 10:55 AM on November 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
Girl In Gold Boots is starting, and it's AWFUL!
posted by mochapickle at 4:14 PM on November 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 4:14 PM on November 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
Before the marathon ends, I want to get a little sappy for a second and say that Metafilter's MST3K club has been a constant in my life for years now on Thursdays (as many as I could make), even in times I wasn't active on the site itself. JHarris, TheSnakeOfArgument, valkane, and the whole crew of admins and riffers are all lovely human beings with whom I've spent many wonderful, de-stressing hours online, laughing myself silly. The club was especially a gift during the pandemic. I think of it, and MST3K, not as just a show but as a community-maker and a happy place. I just want to say thank you to the club and the people who run it for the time they spend spreading joy (and sometimes terror in the form of truly bad movies).
Join us, won't you?
posted by ilana at 9:20 PM on November 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
Join us, won't you?
posted by ilana at 9:20 PM on November 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
Aww thanks
posted by JHarris at 9:30 PM on November 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 9:30 PM on November 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well the crowdfunding didn't succeed, which is saddening. I think it has a real chance if they tried again, between the strike, the unavoidable problems with the physical rewards from the previous campaign, going with a lesser-known crowdfunding site this time, the absence of real hype, and of course the collapse of the best social media site for promotion, the odds were stacked against it from the beginning.
But at least we managed to watch a bunch of fun episodes together! It makes me feel better about our 10th-annual Christmas Marathon coming up in a month, which may end up being our last? We've been feeling a bit burnt out, but Turkey Day this year was kind of invigorating despite the failed crowdfunding sapping away some of my energy. I hope people can stop by when that happens, and of course until then we have Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday shows for the time being.
posted by JHarris at 1:28 AM on November 26, 2023 [9 favorites]
But at least we managed to watch a bunch of fun episodes together! It makes me feel better about our 10th-annual Christmas Marathon coming up in a month, which may end up being our last? We've been feeling a bit burnt out, but Turkey Day this year was kind of invigorating despite the failed crowdfunding sapping away some of my energy. I hope people can stop by when that happens, and of course until then we have Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday shows for the time being.
posted by JHarris at 1:28 AM on November 26, 2023 [9 favorites]
The Starfighters almost killed me. It's the Top Gun of in-air refueling.
posted by zippy at 10:08 AM on November 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by zippy at 10:08 AM on November 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
Hee hee! They make the comment that they think there's more nothing in that movie than in any other move they've done, and at that point they had done Manos, Castle of Fu Manchu and Monster A Go-Go, all movies with a considerable null component.
Joel sent out an email to backers that was a little sad but hopeful about what direction the show might take in the future, and that several conversations had opened up because of it that might provide a way for the show to move forward. So let's all keep our fingers/claw-like appendages crossed!
In the meantime, we're still puttering along with MST Club. On Thursdays I'd really like to move away from weekly shows, but maybe something monthly? In a cut down form? Currently we show like six hours of things every Thursday, we could probably stand to cut at least a third of that.
posted by JHarris at 10:44 AM on November 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
Joel sent out an email to backers that was a little sad but hopeful about what direction the show might take in the future, and that several conversations had opened up because of it that might provide a way for the show to move forward. So let's all keep our fingers/claw-like appendages crossed!
In the meantime, we're still puttering along with MST Club. On Thursdays I'd really like to move away from weekly shows, but maybe something monthly? In a cut down form? Currently we show like six hours of things every Thursday, we could probably stand to cut at least a third of that.
posted by JHarris at 10:44 AM on November 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
"more nothing" omg yes, that's exactly it. It wasn't terribly filmed or the worst acting of all time, but it was a Desert Bus experience. There was so little material for the crew to riff on, but they somehow made a lethally dull source entertaining enough that I retained my sanity.
I wonder how much of the campaign shortfall was from economic uncertainty for tech employees. My mostly out of thin air hypothesis is that previous campaigns had a lot of engineers at Google, Amazon, etc who turned their year end bonuses into higher tier splurges, but this year are worried about or have experienced layoffs or bonus reductions.
posted by zippy at 12:09 PM on November 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
I wonder how much of the campaign shortfall was from economic uncertainty for tech employees. My mostly out of thin air hypothesis is that previous campaigns had a lot of engineers at Google, Amazon, etc who turned their year end bonuses into higher tier splurges, but this year are worried about or have experienced layoffs or bonus reductions.
posted by zippy at 12:09 PM on November 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by JHarris at 9:52 PM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]