http://www.avclub.com/article/joel-hodgson-bringing-back-mystery-science-theater-228190
We've got movie sign, MSTies: Joel Hodgson, a.k.a. "Joel," has officially launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000 after 16 years. (It was canceled in 1999.) The campaign quietly appeared on the MST3K official website earlier this morning, confirming suspicions raised by vague promises of "big news coming soon" on the Rifftrax and MST3K social-media channels. The campaign has the rather lofty goal of $2 million, which Hodgson says will enable him to make three full-length episodes of MST3K to shop around to TV networks and streaming platforms. With three additional episodes per $1.1 million raised over the original goal, that's $5.5 million for a full 12-episode season. But if Zach Braff can do it, so can Joel and the bots.
Related Stories
Various web sites report that 14 new episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K for short) have been made available on the Netflix streaming service. Older episodes can also be seen on Netflix. Each is 90 minutes long, and has intermissions. During the show, fictional characters—including puppets—give humourous running commentary while a B movie is shown.
A trailer advertises the new episodes; another video advertisement shows MST3K's treatment of the beginning of an episode of Netflix's Stranger Things.
According to the show's official site, the new season is permitted to be seen in "the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and Canada."
Coverage:
Rotten Tomatoes
The Colorado Springs Gazette
comicbook.com
New York Times
Gizmodo
Related stories:
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Revival Ending Campaign With Star-Studded Telethon
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Successfully Crowdsources its Comeback
Joel Hodgson Wants to Bring Back MST3K
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:02AM
But we all know how networks can fuck up a wet dream.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:15AM
Maybe its time to change it up a little bit and put it on YouTube or Netflix and pair it with a choice of user-select-able alternate "comment" tracks for the wise cracking puppets. You could get users involvement on some level.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Thursday November 12 2015, @06:06AM
Groups of friends could appear together in silhouette on a shared showing and make snarky remarks of their own when the zingers from the show writers weren't playing.
(Score: 2) by mmcmonster on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:34AM
Finally, if we raise $1 BILLION – stay with me on this one – we’re going to adopt a real live teenage boy and “Truman Show” him into believing he is the Pumaman!*
* Offer void where prohibited.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Thursday November 12 2015, @04:34AM
If they do get $1B, then it's not prohibited anywhere...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:42AM
$2,000,000 for 3 episodes, $5,500,000 for 12 episodes. Joel, seriously?
I can't even.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:59AM
Guess he wants to make his money on the front end. $666,666.66 for movies like "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "Them"? Doubt if those kind of movies are still in copyright. I think the original shows were done on 16mm with a mask in front of the screen running the movie being copied from. The puppets were just cut-outs in that mask. Then a couple of guys do a voice over for the puppets. Easy breezy...crank out one a week spend the rest of the time surfing and smoking pot (or do a lot of that while working).
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @05:08AM
Its been a long time since anything has entered public domain. Those movies probably won't even have a chance to for another century or 2, that is if copyright doesn't get extended until "Infinity minus a day" like they want it to.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @05:13PM
The shows were actually heavily scripted. They would go thru the movie 2-3 times and just pound out one liners. Go back re-edit them and make the 'script' or if they want some sort of theme to go along with it.
Also 1m for 3 episodes? For say 10-15 people involved (it is not 3 schmucks and and 2 puppets and a gopro). That may actually be too low. This is probably 3-6 months of prep work and the actual work is probably 2-3 weeks. Plus whatever fees the movies themselves want. Plus they are all probably union people now and that will cost extra.
Hopefully they will have Mike involved. He was the head writer for 6 years... Make him the 'villain' would be most funny. After years away from the SOL he went mad with power and tried to recreate his youth.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:58PM
There are certain ramp-up costs to get things started, like purchasing cameras and sound equipment and building new sets for example.
(Score: 2) by Non Sequor on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:45AM
Reading the pledge level descriptions, I can't help but imagine Joel laying out all of them in a segment not unlike an invention sign gone horribly long on time.
Write your congressman. Tell him he sucks.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday November 12 2015, @01:52AM
http://www.rifftrax.com/ [rifftrax.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Sir Finkus on Thursday November 12 2015, @02:24AM
I've tried watching this show a few times, but I don't get what's so great about it. I'm fully onboard with the "bad movies" part, but I find the puppets, host, and "skits" rather unfunny. Am I just watching the wrong episodes or what? Maybe I'm just stupid.
If someone could explain the appeal, I'd appreciate it.
Join our Folding@Home team! [stanford.edu]
(Score: 3, Touché) by captain normal on Thursday November 12 2015, @06:35AM
You need to stay up late and smoke a lot of pot in order to find Mystery Science Theater interesting.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Thursday November 12 2015, @08:38AM
It's okay just to not like it. I don't think anyone explaining why they enjoy it is going to change your mind, and they're not "wrong" about it any more than you are. Just watch something you do like.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 12 2015, @11:33AM
Just One Word:
"Marijuana."
Enough Said.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 15 2015, @07:51PM
That worked great for "Heavy Metal" and Pink Floyd's "The Wall", and any rock concerts.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by CaTfiSh on Thursday November 12 2015, @12:13PM
The appeal of the show is best described by, "You had to be there". Like a lot of cult classics, they were innovative for their time, but that doesn't necessarily make them timeless. Pop culture and tastes change, but the nostalgia remains.
For me, the show died when Mike replaced Joel. I saw a few later episodes and the downgrade was embarrassing.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by termigator on Thursday November 12 2015, @05:54PM
Agree about the show declining when Mike replaced Joel.
After Joel left, it seemed the humor became more generic. One of the nice thing about the show was the obscure pop culture references. You may not always get it, but when you did, it was funny. They had references that spanned at least a couple of generations. When Mike was trapped on the SOL, it seemed the pop culture humor was less in favor of more generic humor, maybe in an attempt to broaden the audience.
This could have been a reason the show became less appealing. The more obscure humor was what attracted certain viewers in the beginning. The more generic humor was not good enough to attract a wider audience and it lost the audience they already had.
(Score: 1) by CaTfiSh on Friday November 13 2015, @01:39AM
Actually, you've nailed it dead-on. The obscure references that nobody always got were a huge part of the attraction to the show. There's a funky kind of mental *click* where, for a split second, you almost simultaneously go, "huh?" and "oh yeah!. Additionally, there's a sort of intimacy like sharing a private joke.
Joel and I are of the same generation, I wonder if he can still pull from that bag of obscure references and not alienate millennials? If he can manage that balance, then he may find relevance and an audience today.
(Score: 2) by Sir Finkus on Friday November 13 2015, @02:03AM
Hmm, maybe that's it. I watched a later episode ("Future War" was the movie) because I'd seen a review on RedLetterMedia and it looked entertaining. Any particularly good ones with the old host you'd recommend I check out?
Join our Folding@Home team! [stanford.edu]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday November 12 2015, @07:15PM
Some of them are definitely better than others, as well. I seem to recall "Manos: The Hands of Fate" being a really funny one if you want to give it a shot again. Could be on Netflix...
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 12 2015, @11:11AM
it was a US Air Force training film in which a fighter-bomber pilot was learning to drop bombs in the desert.
Being the real USAF, he was dropping real bombs. The way that looks on film is quite unlike the Hollywood special effects - you don't see much flame but there's lots of circularly-expanding shock wave.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2015, @03:41PM
it was a US Air Force training film
Well, if you ever watch it again, just be sure to put on your poopy suit first!
(Score: 1) by termigator on Thursday November 12 2015, @05:59PM
I always liked when they showed old shorts and educational films. The king and queen of posture. Kids rodeo. Drunk driving. etc.
I thought some of their best stuff was the short and educational films they riffed.