Mystery Science Theater 3000

A mad scientist's plot to rule the world hurls an employee (and later a temp worker replacement) into space on a fully furnished satellite where, in the company of quick-witted robot friends, the captive is forced to watch real movies from nearly every genre imaginable that threaten to rob him completely of his sanity. That's all you really need to know to start watching, but it can't begin to scratch the surface of what you will encounter. Beneath the surface is a work of comedic genius that has held a stronger-than-cult following for almost 20 years.

In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 dictionary, you probably can find a picture of Joe Don Baker under the definition of "irony." He is quoted with having threatened physical violence on the creator of MST3K after how they treated him in the film "Mitchell," yet he played a trailer trash dad in "Mars Attacks" around the same time. It's these kinds of relationships between one movie and another, the throwbacks to our culture, and (most) performers' ability to be a good sport that makes MST3K such a brilliant program. It is only in the case of this series that too many writers don't spoil the ambiance; in fact, a large group of writers is essential to capture every flaw and possible remark that can be made about a single movie. If you grew up within the last 50 years, then you are bound to have seen most of the movies featured on MST3K. On the same token, you are bound to get most of the jokes the stars hurl at the screen, but don't be surprised if you catch something new every time.

Sci-fi and film purists have deemed MST3K detrimental to film genres in some arguments, and some viewers who saw the actual movies when they were released or were influenced heavily by a group of films might be taken aback by seeing their favorite movies torn to pieces for the sake of comedy. Nonetheless, MST3K has the ability to grow on virtually everyone who sees it... and has done so. The show is filmed with some of the most dated film technology while the robots and sets were literally sculpted from scraps of junk gotten from Goodwill, but the impact is lasting and any argument you may have over scientific mistakes are immediately addressed in the last line of the catchy theme song. Mexican wrestlers, Italian spies, Japanese giant monsters, 1960s-era juvenile delinquents, mad scientists, educational short films, rugged bikers, and even works of Shakespeare (well just one work but still) to name only a few types of the over-200 films featured in its 10-year run (many of which continue to hold high ranking on IMDb's worst films list), are the primary fodder of this brilliant undertaking, and you are hereby dared not to find the same amusement in every movie you see after experiencing MST3K for yourself and succumbing to its effects.

MSTK 3K was never meant to be a quality show. It's simply a cheesy skit to make fun of really, really bad movies. In a world, where everybody takes things too seriously, this show produces a much needed boost of comedy. Sitcoms tend to become the same, and humor anymore is few and far between. There is just a finite number of plot lines that a sitcom can have. And many sitcoms tend to outlast their usefullness (Friends and Fraiser). However, MST3k, the humor is always refreshing. Joel (or Mike) and the robots never run out of potshots during a movie. So many movies become untentionally funny, because they are so poorly made. The robots are very clever, when they can relate contemporary events with old movies. I'll never forget when Croww T. Robot, said when he saw a wrecked T-bird "Teddy Kennedy are you alright?"

The shorts are very clever too. They make fun of the stupid short films that you had to watch in elementary school. (Posture, grooming, what to do on a date).

The only thing that one must watch out for, is that sometimes people don't get the jokes that the robots are pitching. As long as one is up on current events, he would find this show hilarious.

I remember watching the movie when it came out to theaters in 1996. I have never been in an audience that laughed so much.

For those unfortunate few who have never seen an episode of Joel Hodgson's MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (referred to by fans as 'MST3K'), here is a brief rundown on all the fun you've missed out on. Dr. Forrester is your typical mad scientist. He sports big glasses, an oversized lab coat, crazy hair, and an insatiable urge to take over the world. In an effort to kick off his latest foolproof world-domination scheme, Dr. Forrester abducts a dry-witted janitor named Joel Robinson from the research center they both work at. Joel is blasted into space in an apparently escape-proof ship called the Satellite of Love, forever doomed to orbit the planet Earth. Forrester keeps contact with Joel via satellite transmission, and each week sends hims an unbearably awful b-movie which he is forced to watch. The mad doctor's idea is to keep sending movies that are so mind-numbingly terrible that it will eventually drive Joel and his viewers to insanity, thus giving him an easy outlet for conquering the world. To help preserve his sanity, Joel uses parts from the ship to build four wise-cracking robot friends that keep him company and help us to avoid cinema-induced lunacy by mercilessly heckling the films.

The show aired weekly, and re-introduced old 1950s-70s era drive-in swill to a world that has long forgotten about it. The movies they chose--The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Time of the Apes, and (most notorious) Manos: The Hands of Fate, for example--were truly some of the most awful abominations in cinema history, and how they were able to find clear, working prints of these (mostly) obscure films is beyond me. Not only was it great to be able to witness some of these "masterpieces" first-hand, but the non-stop commentary by Joel, Tom, and Crow was absolutely hysterical. There was never a dull moment when those boys hit the SOL's onboard movie theater. On occasion, there would be a break from the movie to show a humorous sketch that would further the basic plot of the show. While many of these segments were admittedly not all that funny, they didn't last long, and Forrester would call for "MOVIE SIGN!" again in no time. Come to think of it, it may not even be that these primitive skits weren't funny, but that they simply paled in comparison to the sheer hilarity that took place in the ship's movie theater.

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 is one of the few television programs that seems to be loved by virtually everybody. Seriously--I know of not a single person who didn't like this show, nor have I ever read a single negative comment or review of it. That being said, why on Earth was such a brilliant show like MST3K canceled? It couldn't have been because of poor ratings, since the show had a huge cult following and a substantial amount of regular viewers. If anyone has any information regarding why this series was taken off the air, please contact me!

I found MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 to be one of the most creative, original, funniest and greatest shows I've ever seen. It's very unique and has never been done before. It also has some very talented and very funny people, like Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy and Trace Beaulieu. I didn't know there were so many bad b-rated movies until these guys found them and made fun of them. Then turn watching a crappy movie into a funny and enjoyable experience. It's a shame that this terrific show is over, because this is one show that never gets old.

MST3K is without a doubt one of the funniest shows ever made. It's hard to believe there could be anything that could make horrible movies like 'Hobgoblins' fun to watch. The show is clever and witty. It's hard to believe a show about a group of three making comments while watching a movie could spawn a ten year series and a movie. But it was done, and I'm sure we're all thankful for that. It's a shame the show has ended but the went out with a bang, making the series finale 'Danger: Diabolik' one of the best of the series; my personal favorite is 'Hobgoblins'. See the reruns and rent the movie whenever possible!