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Weekend Discussion Thread: MST3K-Inspired Creative ProjectsSomebody sent me a thread suggestion like this a while back, but I can’t find it right now. I don’t THINK I’ve already done it.
But first, some examples. A week or two ago a guy started emailing me about this song. I think you’ll recognize the sample in the background. Not too long ago, I saw a link to this on twitter. Very nice. MSTies are a creative bunch and I love when they take their love of the show and use it for creative things. Have you ever encountered a creative endeavor inspired by MST3K? Have you ever made one yourself? Tell us about it. 46 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: MST3K-Inspired Creative Projects”Commenting at Satellite News
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Love that track, though at first I was hoping it would sample the Master Ninja Theme Song. I think I just gave myself an idea… [scampers off to boot up ProTools]
Oh man, those DeviantArt Msties are awesome. I just wanna collect ’em all.
Dorky, but: Back when I was still sending letters more often than emails, I had homemade stationery with the theater silhouettes at the bottom along with a blank word balloon, so that once I set up the footer in a Word template, I could have the guys snark on my own missives.
When the scifi channel had a website, they probably still do, but they had a link to “Caption This” where people could make a riff at a screengrab (a still picture). Hundreds of us met thru that site and continue to this day to have a community of “cappers”, all inspired by MST3K. We have multiple internet sites where we get together and riff still shots. I call these people my internet friends. Occasionally we get together in real life and call these gatherings “Capfests”. There have been meetings and weddings as a result of this thing called MST3K and our imitation of what The Mads, the bots, and Joel and Mike did. There is even a capper Wiki.
Wow, that track just kind of blew my mind. How does “Creating Perfect” become a 3 though?
Anyway, funny that this comes up today. Last night, I watched the scrapbook in that other post and thought about sampling the Torgo theme somehow.
I’ve always loved this video that makes it look like Joel and the bots are riffing Evil Dead 2:
http://youtu.be/kRQCa4PZaPU
I’ve done so much MST3K-related fan art over the years – check my DeviantArt gallery for some of my best! (Link is in my name.) One of my most recent, and one of my personal favorites, is this piece that I was commissioned for, paying tribute to MST3K: The Movie…
http://jbwarner86.deviantart.com/art/NOR-MAL-VIEWWWWW-215845360
http://futuredami.deviantart.com/gallery/30658167
Check out this guy, FutureDami. He is really great. He has drawn a lot of Mst3k characters for a fighting style game. FutureDami plans to do every Mst3k episode.
I didn’t realize you also linked to him.
I once made a solo demo of my cover of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Love Theme…
Back in the days of the sci-fi bboard there was a fan-made Gamera flash(?) game. It was a shoot-em-up and it had four levels when I downloaded it. I don’t remember much but it had a sidehackers level and the last level had you answering trivia before fighting Mothra. The voice-overs were pretty cheesy.
In the link I provided is a riffing of a text adventure. The original game was pretty bad, so someone took it, hacked it, and added his own commentary similar to the CC Mike era.
MST3K was key in my creative and sense of humor development. It taught me to make fun of everything I see. This idea was the basis behind a comic making website my friends and I developed and contributed to. One person would improvise a beginning panel and the next person would draw the next and so on. The stories were absolutely ludicrous and made no sense but we got a lot of laughs out of making fun of the previous panel with the next.
I belong to a movie club at my college, and we were thinking of doing an MST3K style riffing on an undecided movie, for everyone who was in the Student Activities Center. This was going to be an advertised event. The three riffers (myself included) would take on the personalities of Joel and the ‘Bots. Because I had the best singing voice of the three, I was going to be Servo. However, during Christmas break, our Joel finished his studies and left the college and the club, so nothing ever came of our riffing show.
I came across this fan-made riff of a Trojan commercial that I found hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Iqc5cyWZjs
I also consider the Russian “Project Popcorn” to be very creative, even if I couldn’t understand their language! I did find their Godfather reference in one of the episodes amusing, though!
I’ve made a few MST3k themed music videos over the years. My latest one is down here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGNS-CIZSYw
I’m working on another project that involves at least one riff from each movie, short and anything else the Brains made.
Next to artwork I suppose I do wonder if “MSTings” of text files (usually “cheesy fanfics”) count as “creative projects,” but I became interested in the show through reading them and I contributed to a few of them myself. Then, after the little sub-community that had created them had dried up and drifted apart, I knocked together a simple web site linking to all the MSTings originally posted to Usenet that I could find through Google Groups.
@#14 Keith Palmer
I am so happy to hear that you created a website to save what you can from those MiSTings, as I’m one of the co-writers on one of them (“Red Dawn” if you’re interested). I had an absolute blast on that one, as it combined my love of both MST3K and Doctor Who. Writing it actually made me feel like I was getting into the brains (so to speak) of Mike & the Bots, and coming up with ideas for host segments was so sweet. It was so cool to play in their universe, even in an unofficial way.
And @#3 porp0ise, thank you for reminding me of “Caption This”. That was some great fun to do when I should have been studying for University courses. :-)
One time I made an MST display using a moon landing model set and leftover pieces from other kits. I have it somewhere. I’ll have to find it.
I’m afraid the Tom Servo I built for the MST3K movie premiere hasn’t aged particularly well. Somewhere at my parents’ house there’s also the remains of Jan in the Pan (made from a severed mannequin head, ace bandages, and a cookie sheet), a Gamera pinata (not actually filled with turtle meat), my Steve Reeves action figure (with pull string stuck to the back), and my Gizmonics Institute hardhat.
I’ve also got one of those little handheld tape recorders that I completely filled up with a perpetually looped .WAV file of the Torgo theme. Just because.
Oh, and I’ve also got a modified version of the “Wish Squisher” from the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians invention exchange which I use as part of my Dr. Forrester Halloween costume.
Basically it’s just two Halloween treat bags glued inside eachother, so that you can put delicious treats in one part of the bag, then shift your grip and let somebody else reach in and pull out “evil” treats like dental floss, expired Arby’s coupons, a penny, and a copy of the Watchtower.
the invention exchange led me and some friends to do just that for a few months we had a “Breakfast exchange” my greatest invention a bacon, egg sausage and cheese sandwhich with french toast as the breading. no one uses french toast on sandwhiches I to this day think it beats breakfast everywhere else worst invention fruit snack waffles :(
I feel terrible saying, but yes, you have done this thread before. Twice.
As for my answer, I did a few projects in middle and high school when I was going through my “I single-handedly discovered this hilarious show” phase. There was a likely awful foam model of the Satellite Of Love, and I made an attempt in a robotics class to build a robot with a tape recorder in it that played a few prerecorded riffs in time to a DVD of “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die”. Never worked right.
I also wrote this. It has nothing to do with MST3K, but it’s in the whole “mocking something terrible” genre and I sure had fun writing it.
Aaron–I was afraid of that… :::sigh:::
Thanks everyone for checking out the song! I’m glad you liked it! Oh & @Jbagels in numerology circles the number “3” stands for perfection & creation. I had NO IDEA at first what to use the “3” for in my titles acronym so I decided to go with the symbolic meaning…kind of like Prince did with his symbol name back in the day! I entered the song in a contest & I’m hoping to get as many listens as I can!
I once drew the Bots in Pittsburgh Penguins gear and had a bunch of them sign it. I lost it somewhere, though.
I’m an artist, and I’ve done a bunch of MST themed artwork that can be seen here…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timmykkramp/sets/72157629611014332/
Coincidentally I just finished a commissioned painting of Tom Servo this week, and have begun another one of Crow for the same person. These are 9″x12″ paintings, but most of my MST pieces are “mini-paintings” done on little 2″x2″ and 2″x3″canvases, which is a format and style I like to work in (I started by doing a series of 2×2’s of all the Goonies, and have done a lot of other weird series and characters like that now, and also a lot of original pieces). Making these small pieces is not only fun and challenging (working so small is not so easy) and allows me to have original artwork that people can buy at more affordable prices when I do shows and whatnot.
My first MST 2×2 paintings were a triptych of Crow, Joel, and Tom on the SOL bridge, that when placed side by side they form one long image, and a companion 2×3 piece of Frank and Dr. F in Deep 13. Right now I’m working on another similar set of Mike, Crow and Tom on the Sci-Fi era bridge, with a 2×3 of Pearl, Brain Guy, and Bobo in Castle Forester (though I might put them in the Widowmaker instead). I’ve also done solo 2×2 canvases of Tom and Crow, a Robot Monster “theater scene” with Joel and the bots at the bottom, and a 2×3 of Santa and Dropo from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
Another media I work in sometimes is velvet painting (these are normally full sized, though I did do a small 2″x3″ velvet painting of Clubber Lang from Rocky 3 just to see if I could do one that small), and I have plans to do an MST themed velvet painting. I’m trying to decide between doing one of Joel and the Bots, or just one of my hero TV’s Frank. I have another secret MST related project I’ve been toying with for a year or two now that I won’t describe out of fear that someone might steal the idea. It’s not really art related, more of just a weird fan mashup project, but I don’t think anyone else has ever done anything like it. I hope to finish that up by the end of this year if time allows.
I’m planning on making a fan MST3K series over the summer. I’ve got the scripts done, the puppets built and the projector set up. All I’ve got to do now is to riff.
If you want, I could write a list of episodes that I have planned for Season 1.
I’m not sure how it will go but I’ll try my best.
I’m makin’ a movie! I’m makin’ a full-length animated film on my computer about a man who wakes up 500 years in the future to have an adventure that is very unlike Futurama – but it’s peppered with subtle homages, including a ship called MRxL. Since I usually run episodes in the background I like to think the influence is all over the place. In the meantime, one gag I’m excited to get working on is inspired by Riding With Death, where Ben Murphy holds a gun on a guy, and punches him with a six-foot arm: my guy will reveal himself as holding the gun by the tip of the barrel and to be actually occupying the space between him and the “punchee.” The movie is already almost 45 minutes long right now (shooting for 90) and as been in the works for almost three years.
On the flipside, I just saw the movie that inspired MST’s concept – Silent Running – and it struck me as a movie I wish they’d done or that Riff-Trax should do.
Here’s a link to a piece of the movie, called “Trekkie.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptcjRPPHOlA
Hey Sean:
Great video !! You did an awesome job editing that to include MST related clips !! I watched it a few times.
I did portraits of Crow and Servo in colored pencil several years ago, but eventually lost them. Also did a cover of Rifftrax “Plans 1-9 (from Outer Space)” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc5nTEHg3po
Told this on another thread,
I teach marketing, personal selling and sales management at a university. To break the ice, I show “HIRED!”, Parts I and II. Despite the riffs it actually has some decent suggestions for sales managers to this day. However, I definitely use the MST3K riff version, it keeps the students interested.
The best slow-to-get-but-produces-a-laugh riff: “gravitiy at work”.
The best student-laughs: “Time for booze!” “You’ve killed again, haven’t you son?”
@20: To be fair this is the first discussion to put the emphasis on MST3K-related things you’ve found by other people (the first link doesn’t mention this aspect at all). It’s interesting that almost everybody went with their own personal creation anyway. Plus, new things are being made all the time, it probably bears repeating every couple years or so.
I agree, it doesn’t hurt to repeat this one from time to time. Always new things to check out.
#25: Good luck with that project, mr Shine.
I have a friend who makes guitar pedals. His latest is the DEEP 13 pedal. It’s totally boss.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the MST3K treatment of the Eye of Argon. Adam Cadre is my hero. http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html
I always thought this project was pretty impressive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl4aScv8JmM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Well, I built the bots using the handy how-to guide on Joe Crow’s website. They’re in my living room. I also made a clock out of a page from one of the MST calendars although I now wish I hadn’t done that because I have one incomplete calendar.
I was thinking about this the other day- there was a famous singer who had a solo album apart from his band. I think they were a 60’s or 70’s band. I remember “shadowrama” being on the cover of his album and that Kevin Murphy did a voice-over on one of the songs but I CANNOT for the life of me remember who the singer was. Anyone else know? I’ve never seen the album mentioned on here before which is kind of weird considering how thorough it is.
It was driving me crazy so I wracked my brain. I was- for some reason- convinced it was a member of the Byrds so I googled The Byrds and as soon as I saw Roger McGuinn’s name I knew it was him. And it was. Shadowrama is on the cover of his album, “Live From Mars”.
Due to popular demand (or lack there of), I’ve decided to post my season 1 list of episodes here:
101 The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl
102 Attack Of The Crab Monsters (Also includes shorts: “The Other Fellow” and “Atomic Betty: The Revenge of Masticula”)
103 The Legend Of The Titanic (The one with the giant octopus)
104 Devil Of The Desert Against The Son Of Hercules
105 Bratz
106 Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter
107 Quantum Apocalypse
108 The Revenge Of Dr X
109 Doctor Of Doom (Also includes short: “Good Sportsmanship”)
110 Meet The Spartans (Also includes short: “City Water Supply”)
111 The Beach Girls And The Monster (Also includes shorts “The Restaurant Owner” and “The Passenger Train”)
112 Space Buddies
113 Attack From Space
114 Piper Penguin And His Fantastic Flying Machines (Also includes shorts: “6 1/2 Magic Hours” and “Just Imagine”)
115 An American Carol
116 War Of The Planets
117 Invisible Ghost (Also includes shorts: “Caught Mapping” and “Rocket Power: Tito’s Lucky Shell”)
118 The Werewolf Of Washington
119 The Shape Of Things To Come
120 16 Wishes
121 Chairman Of The Board
122 Dragon Half (Also includes short: “Styling And The Experimental Car”)
123 Chicken Park
124 Invasion Of The Bee Girls
…What do you think, sirs?
Because of MST3K and Rifftrax, a group of friends and myself have been making haphazard commentaries for films for the last few years under the RIFF BROS. moniker, including such gems as Prophecy, Night of the Lepus, Lady Terminator, JAWS the Revenge, and almost a dozen others. You can check out our highlight reels on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheVaultMaster
We don’t have fancy tech (computer mic and laptop = portable recording studio) and we adlib everything (usually over some beers). We also can be a bit ahm…. uncouth at times. :-D
Our latest commentary track was for Friday the 13th Part 3D. You can check out the highlight reel here: http://youtu.be/xuO4Q41GyA4
Hey Matthew! Great list – I actually just saw The Shape of Things to Come recently – Good choice! I wrote scripts for Blade Runner (because I was told I shouldn’t) and Aliens (because I was told I wouldn’t). Still trying to get a little help on a riffing partner.
Matthew,
I riffed “Invasion Of The Bee Girls” once. It’s SO perfect for riffing and I always hoped the Brains would do it. That and Tourist Trap. You need to do Tourist Trap.
Nothing as creative or impressive as some of the above, but last week my wife, daughter and myself just started riffing on an episode of “Smash”- one of the crappiest, over hyped things I have ever seen spewing forth from a TV screen. My daughter actually got off a few good ones.
@ #39: Out of curiosity, are you creating these for your own personal enjoyment, or are you planning to provide wider access?
My sister and I once co-wrote a riffing script for Dune (the David Lynch adaptation). The only one I can recall right off came during the credit which said, “Music Composed and Performed by Toto.” One of us said, “I’ll get you, my pretty. And your little composer, too.”
I plan to upload them either on Youtube or Google Video.
Well… Uh… I had a really neat dream about MST3K awhile back. I dreamed I was watching the letters segment and someone had written in complaining about a running gag where Joel and the bots were whining about always having to eat yuma, which I’m pretty sure does not really exist but in my dream was a sort of trendy New Age gunk kinda like flan or poy.
I think it’s pretty creative. I mean, I made up a completely nonexistent foodstuff for a completely nonexistent running gag, then had someone complain about it in a letter.
Look, it’s all I got, I’m sorry… (Weeps)