Joel Hodgson, Creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Announces Kickstarter to #BringBackMST3K For a New Generation
For more than 25 years, the award-winning comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 has been known as one of the best cult TV shows in history. The story of a human host and his robot sidekicks, trapped aboard a satellite and forced to watch cheesy movies by his captor, MST3K has maintained its reputation thanks largely to its fervently devoted fan base, known as MSTies. This morning, Joel Hodgson, creator and former host of the beloved show, announced that he is turning to the fans to bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000 for a new generation.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a show more dependent on its fans than Mystery Science Theater 3000,” Hodgson says. “Twenty-five years ago, we asked our fans to ‘Keep Circulating The Tapes’ and sharing MST3K with their friends and family to help the show find its audience. Now, I’m hoping the fans will join me again to “Keep Circulating the URL” of our Kickstarter, so that we can bring MST3K back to life for a new generation.”
Through Kickstarter, Hodgson hopes to raise at least $2 million – enough to make three brand new, feature length episodes – with an ultimate goal of raising the $5.5. million needed to make a full season of twelve episodes. While Hodgson will be involved in writing and all facets of production of the new series, the new episodes will feature a new host, new Mads and of course, new cheesy movies to riff.
To contribute to the campaign and for updates, visit www.bringbackmst3k.com, and follow MST3K on Facebook (facebook.com/MST3K), Twitter (@MST3K) and Instagram (@MST3K).
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The Reboot Moves Forward. Step One: Crowdfunding.Here’s the press release:
332 Replies to “The Reboot Moves Forward. Step One: Crowdfunding.”Commenting at Satellite News
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No tote bags? No ash trays? Just what kind of a pledge drive do you call this?
Of all the companies who could have purchased MST3K, I would have to say Shout! Factory is a great choice. On that aspect I have no concerns at all. They have clearly shown a lot of love towards it.
Take my money! All of it!
Shirts? I like shirts.
I put in $50.
This is such an amazing day. I love MST3K more than any other piece of art ever. To have a revival spearheaded by Joel is a dream come true. I sincerely hope he makes regular on-screen appearances. I’m totally fine with the idea of a new cast, but, so much of what I love about MST3K is…well, Joel. Not just Joel Hodgson, but, Joel Robinson. I would love to see Joel Robinson be a recurring character. Also, Trace, Frank, Bill, Kevin and Mike making appearances would be amazing as I love them all. But, if Joel’s leading this revival…it’s a natural to bring Joel Robinson back too.
So, let’s #bringbackMST3K and #bringbackJoelRobinson.
my 2 cents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfiAsWR4qU
lets hope it work.
While I can certainly understand some people’s hesitation, I must say that I am so happy today. Joel’s letter on the Kickstarter page was incredibly thoughtful and heartfelt, I think.
I was tickled to hear from the bots again as well. I think it’s GREAT to have a new cast and new voices for the bots. (I agree that the new Servo will take some getting used to, but I can’t wait for him to win me over.) Some things may disappoint me, but other things may be better than the old. I guess I just trust Joel to make it fun. We have 200 episodes from the 90s. We have CT, Film Crew, and Rifftrax–which isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And now we can have this too.
I was a smart-alecky teenager in the 90s when I first discovered the show. If this new show comes into fruition, I’ll be able to enjoy it with smart-alecky nephews (because honestly, will a new generation, even the smart-alecky among them, get Grizzly Adams references?)
Pledge on, MSTies!
eh
The National Shirt Council reminds you to wear a shirt at least 3 times a day!
Maybe we can have the KTMA shows now.
2 million – phew! I am excited about the idea, but 2 million is a LOT of money to raise.
It always seems that the Rifftrax crew is not sure if they’ll even get their base 100 thousand for their Kickstarters, so to start at 2 mil… Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be worth it to put money in, but that is a BIG number for the first time out…
Here’s hoping all of the fans pull through! :-) :beer: :star: :moon: :drink: :heh:
About as much as they’ll get Nick Nolte refs two or three years from now…
They have raised almost $750,000 in less than 12 hours. I’d say they have a decent chance.
And so the day has come. :D
This is really exciting, I can’t wait to see what develops!
They’ll make the goal but won’t hit $5.5 million. Probably hit $3 million.
I think not announcing the new hosts hurt. Or the possible movies. Just saying MST3K is coming back and no details is going to get people excited, but not too excited.
What I don’t understand why Cinematic Titanic didn’t require a Kickstarter campaign but this does?
They have a month….I’m sure they’ll announce a ton of details to keep the momentum going.
$2 Million is going to be easy, I think they probably won’t have too much trouble hitting the $5 Million mark. Especially if some of the speculation about who the new cast is pans out. Plenty of promotion there.
meTV (the svengoolie channel) could be a potential interest (and a terrific hookup for “heartland”-area viewership). it’s “basic added cable” in a lot of midwestern states. (although i worry that the raciest the network ever gets is “fantasy island/love boat” era tv… so it could be constraining on the humor. although, maybe a good excuse for a saturday-morning style spinoff?!) but, only guessing from local area, it’d be the network they’d get the greatest reach.
in comparison to IFC… which would be my next (and really more favorite) interest for on-air… a bit more “extra-basic/premium” some areas, and likely not as much reach (around here on various providers). but would surely give them as much room to stretch as they’d like.
You get that there are 30 more days to go, right? And that one of those is Turkey Day?
You don’t want to lay all your cards on the table on day one. Otherwise, you won’t have anything to get people who are still on the fence excited on day 31.
Joel’s already said that he’ll be announcing the cast in the coming days. But you’re right, he’s also said he won’t be announcing the movies ahead of time.
You’re right that $5.5M is a tall order. But you’re also right that $3M is attainable, even if there’s a major dropoff after the first couple of days. And Joel’s right to keep some surprises in store for the coming months, because there is going to be a dropoff, and he’s going to want to keep the excitement going for the full month as much as possible.
Just pledged $50. This was a great show and I was fortunate to watch it when it first aired. I am now introducing it to my kids who think I’m nuts…… then again when they see me laughing aloud at odd jokes they start to get it. :-D
Droppo:
“Also, Trace, Frank, Bill, Kevin and Mike making appearances would be amazing as I love them all.”
Uh, afraid not. People here need to read the Brains’ twitter feeds more, not looking good on that front. Mike and Bill both confirmed they’re not going to be involved. Josh confirmed he’s not involved. Trace was asked if he was involved in any way and said no. On top of that, he was then asked if he would at least be willing to do a cameo as Dr. Forester and replied “Sorry. That won’t be happening.” Ouch.
No RT folks doesn’t surprise me but I thought for sure Josh or Trace would be on board. Still no word from yet Kevin, Frank or Mary Jo from what I can see.
I think a lot of it boils down to wanting to just move on, and not dwell on the past. I mean, for years (and even today) most of the actors from the original Rocky Horror film (particularly Susan Sarandon) don’t like acknowledging the film, or like taking part in reunions or cons because they want to focus on more current projects. It was the same for the cast of M*A*S*H for many years too.
I’m sure somewhere down the line we might see Trace, or Kevin, or Mike, turn up, it just won’t be right away.
Honestly, this is Joel’s baby. It’s his best.. possibly only.. chance to get back into the drivers seat of a viable project that is unquestionably *his*. He has always cared more about the heart of the series than anyone and if it weren’t for behind the scenes politics, he would no doubt have remained at the helm of MST3K through 1999. Instead, he ended up spending years involved in ill-fated (or occasionally NON-fated) “post-MST” projects; Statical Planets, gizmonics.com, TV Wheel, Jolly Filter, that weird development deal with Hallmark that never went anywhere. His biggest post-MST success was an MST *rehash*. There’s a palpable feeling that Joel intends this MST3K reboot to provide a springboard for other projects that he’s had on the drawing board for the past couple of decades. I’m not surprised, then, that the rest of the Brains are keeping a respectful distance and not jumping in to make this thing a reunion project.
In a shocking twist, however, the new host actually turns out to be Paul Chaplin.
Listen to the background music in the Kickstarter video. I contains a guitar part that I had not previously heard. Could that be a preview of the new theme?
If Mike is out, we can assume Bridget is out as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99U00xfZEFU
Hmm, could this be the new Joike and Crow?
Wow. I’m not sure how to feel about this. Will it be like Star Trek: The Next Generation, i.e. different but still enjoyable? Or will it be more like the Star Wars prequels — horribly twisted and reeking of JarJar Binks?
Without any of the original cast members, can it really be the same wonderful show I know and love? So far, what I’ve heard of the voices leaves me doubtful.
I don’t know. I want it to be good. I hope Joel can pull it off.
I was worried at first, but Joel and Shout Factory seem smart, and I hope people are receptive to this because if they get funny enough people it could be pretty good. A new cast sidesteps the whole Rifftrax vs. Cinematic Titanic thing. Plus, I didn’t want it to be like the extra feature on the Giant Gila Monster DVD where they got the non-Rifftrax cast together and put them in their old costumes. That feature was cool… but it was also kind of awkward.
Maybe there can be some ridiculous setup to explain why Tom and Crow are back in outer space, and maybe eventually they can have some time travel episode with 3 different Crows and 3 different Toms and fill up more of the theater. So many possibilities!
It’s not just the voices, it’s the writing–Even S5 and S6 had some quality moments with Trace and Frank still contributing absurdity and obscure references, but when they left between the CC and SciFi years, you could tell the Brain Drain had hit. The original show just hit the right blend of comics who understood that you could deflate pomposity with silliness and embarrassing references rather than raging bile, and getting Joel’s laid-back non-sequiturs in the same room with Trace’s timing and Frank’s overacted TV-movie cliche’s, the comedy was more buoyant, they seemed to want to make jokes about the movie in a way the audience could go along with.
At best, a new show’s going to find talent who think they’re funny and have seen a few RiffTrax; at worst, they’re going to BE RiffTrax.
From the comments, at least Joel as producer has a better idea of what movies are riffable: Riffing Twilight, while cathartic, is too trend-bashing to be funny, while most of the PD movies that Titanic took on were obscure enough but just plain depressing and downbeat to slog through. (“Doomsday Machine” was funny, but oy, what a wrist-slitter…) A MST-able movie has to be fun and kitschy enough to watch, and strange and unexplainable enough to write its own jokes, with no undue desperation on the part of the comics.
Still, if they get a new comic who can write other jokes besides just reciting corny pop lyrics as dialogue, knows not to run every joke into the ground without being reminded, and can joke about other things besides the other comics in the room, they’re already a step up. :)
Sounds like if Trace and Josh aren’t involved, they won’t be redubbing Crow & Servo again for this year’s Turkey Day bumpers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get the new guys doing them there.
you would say something like this, wouldn’t you
The original series grew organically. It took until season two to begin to hit their stride, and from then on it was a consistently funny family effort. While I’m financially on-board with a reboot, I have my doubts about approaching MST3K as a plug and play prospect. The most unfortunate fallout of the original series’ success was the spawning of an entire internet critic subculture that decided that the essence of wit was screaming inchoate pop culture references at a screen. An LA-based MST3K that’s written and hosted by people raised on a diet of MST3K and various MST3K byproducts? Should prove interesting, to say the least. With Joel at the helm, though, I think it would take concerted effort to produce anything nearly as dire as the Hamlet episode.
Joel said in the AMA that everyone was invited and they were all still mulling it over, but some of the original cast have made it clear they were never approached at all or had already made a very definite decision. There have been what I will politely call some terse responses to being asked if they’re involved with the reboot.
I know I’m going to be a total Debbie Downer over here, but everything Joel said in the AMA sounded like pre-production PR speak, and Jim’s comment quoted in Variety sounded the same. So I’ve got some concerns.
Hopefully once the final product is out my concerns will prove to be entirely unfounded.
I’m glad someone made this point. The legacy of MST3K is not entirely positive. Many of the projects that were influenced by it seem to be all snark, no heart (for the record, I’m not referring to Rifftrax or CT here). The genius of Joel’s original concept was that he was FORCED to watch bad movies; his snark was a tool for survival, not an ironic t-shirt to wear in lieu of a personality.
Jonah Ray is funny, but he has too much “sullen millennial comic nerd” to him for my taste. If Joel is really working with Nerdist people on this, I think Kumail Nanjiani would be a better fit as host (and now that I think about it, he’d also make a great Crow). Felicia Day could also be good (or maybe she’ll be the new female Mad?)
I’d prefer to see Joel team up with weirder comedians like Eugene Mirman (another guy who could make an excellent Crow) or Kristen Schaal. Maybe even nab some writers from Bob’s Burgers, which to me is the show that’s come the closest to capturing the tone of early MST3K.
And now I’m exhausted from getting so negative. So I’ll try to remind myself that the writing is what matters most, and Joel will put together a good team, and as far as the host goes, it could be worse…. It could be Wil Wheaton.
I couldn’t agree more. Can they really catch lightning in a bottle a third time? That being said, I will donate something to the campaign.
I’m sorry, but you can’t go home again.IF they brought back the original cast I might be down, but to call it MST3K is just…….. it’s like the New Leave it to Beaver or the New Dick Van Dyke Show. You want to bring back something that might not measure up. The Beatles had it right. And also 2 million for 3 shows? Part of the charm of the old show was it’s local no-budget feel. I wish Joel the best of luck on this but I’m afraid I can’t open my wallet yet. I hope I’m wrong.
I guess i am just to old school for all this crap. Have a ball guys. Think i will go throw in a tape.
Opinion. NO basic in fact.
You should really just relax.
Forget all this Who’s the new host/mad/Tom/Crow talk.
I demand to know who is the new Art!?!!!?
I like the concept, esp. if Mike Nelson is involved as a writer/music coordinator. But
it might be like the attempt to bring back WKRP in Cincinatti—kind of soso.
Joel is not only resurrecting the show, he’s giving the fans a great opportunity to participate in what will undoubtedly be the internet’s greatest flame war to date: Joel vs. Mike vs. The New Guy.
Actually, while I still hope some of the original writers (particularly Frank and Trace) get involved, I do NOT want the original cast in front of the camera. Watching OLD Frank and Forrester torture OLD Joel/Mike would just come across as really, really sad.
I think whoever brought the Star Trek: The Next Generation reference up is hopefully looking at it from a best case scenario. ST:TNG couldn’t and wouldn’t be the same show as the original, but it eventually became a great show on its own.
I’m willing to give this show a chance. Nothing wrong with not wanting to support this via kickstarter – there’s plenty of things that I’ve liked but haven’t supported financially – but I would still tell everyone that IF this does get on the air, to keep an open mind to it, realize that it won’t be the exact same show, and give it a chance.
Again, I feel like having Joel behind it – the guy still gets what was at the core of it – the fact that his favorite episode is “I Accuse My Parents”, yet he still shows appreciation for some of the later year episodes. (I myself think the scifi years were not on average as good as the CC years, there were some GREAT episodes that came out of those seasons.)
Oh – and I agree that JOEL is DEFINITELY holding back some information – such as the cast – to give put the “kick” in kickstarter over the next 31 days.
Again I am sure there’s no mistake that this years Turkey Day falls during the kickstarter window. Turkey Day is going to be more like a PBS pledge drive this year.
But here’s the entire problem in a nutshell. The plug and play approach as outlined by Joel is a fascinating kind of misreading of the original series’ appeal. It suggests that he really does think that what fans want, fundamentally, are robot puppets and shadows, and that Jonah Ray would make a better host than a relative unknown like Mike Nelson was at one time. I’m pitching in because, frankly, my curiosity has the better of me. It’s like wondering what Billy Wilder’s un-produced Marx Brothers feature would have looked like if Chico hadn’t died; I know deep down it would have been dreadful, but I’d lick a frozen lamppost to see it. In all honesty, I’d double my donation if Joel would promise an MST3K reboot that didn’t include movies or riffing.
I pledged $200.
It might be good, it might be ad. But we’ll never know if they goal is not met, will we?
I have faith that this will be a different, yet still entertaining MST3K.
Join me, won’t you?
I made the same kind of reference on Ars Technica’s writeup of the Kickstarter. We’re so afraid of our memories being soured that anything new is looked at as evil. EVIL!
A-hem…
Joel himself said that he didn’t want to make new old episodes, he wants to do some NEW MST3K episodes. Would it be great if some of the cast came back in cameos if they changed their mind? Sure, and I’m sure Joel would figure out how to fit them in. But revisiting with the older cast doesn’t mean it would still be magic. I want new blood and new ideas so that they can take advantage of all that’s happened since they went off the air in 1999. Social media is a great avenue and they could even have contests through Twitter, like show a clip of the movie they’re going to riff on and have people do their own and the winner gets a t-shirt and the winning riff added to the show.
That being said, and seeing that they’re almost half way there already, I hope they don’t make Turkey Day a PBS pledge. They’ll probably hit the $3.3M mark by Thanksgiving and while I’ll expect a push during the marathon, I hope the whole thing won’t overshadow all their host segments.
I’m glad to see a couple commenters on here talking about the idea that MST3K at its best is about having FUN watching and making fun of cheesy movies. I am a pretty big fan of RiffTrax and MK&B (I did their kickstarter and met them). But, at the end of the day, I will never like RiffTrax as much, or the later seasons of MST3K as much because their riffing has and is more mean spirited. Plus, there seems to be this newer riffing fad that you have to HATE the movie they’re riffing. I’ve never liked the really bad movies and dare I say it, Manos is actually one of my lesser liked eps of the show. I’ve always like the eps where you dig the movie in a cheesy way, like most of Bert I Gordon’s movies–they actually have plots and acting and fun old/school/cheesy FX. I think the humor is just that much better as well when the riffers are actually following along with the movie and making jokes WITH the movie not just AT it. I mean, anyone can point at a terrible movie and go, you suck!
RE: Turkey Day with the new cast– Hm. I hadn’t thought of it, but now that it’s been said, I don’t think I could see it any other way. I’m sure Joel will still be the main host, but Tom and Crow will be the new voices, and I’m sure the new host will be brought out at some point as well.
It’s actually a very good idea–the more the fans see and hear the new guys and begin to adjust to them, the less jarring that first ep will feel and the smoother it will go down.
To be candid, I’m pretty disappointed in some of the responses on this. ‘I’ll save my money?’ ‘I’m pessimistic?’ Crissakes, people. Cynical much? Ungrateful much? The creator of (allegedly) your favorite show of all time asks for a relative pittance to help produce a new iteration of the show that you and your friends can enjoy for years to come and your response is, ‘Eh?’ Have we really become so over-saturated with media or jaded to the things we claim to love and enjoy that we cannot even muster a bare minimum of enthusiasm for something of this magnitude?
I always thought MST3K fandom was more gracious, intelligent, and capaciously forward-thinking than this. Color me disappointed in some of you folks.
I get that you’re passionate about this, Mike, but please lay off the personal attacks.
If this was RATMM two decades ago I probably wouldn’t think twice about your little rant, but in 2015, to be told I’m a stupid, ungrateful, backwards person and a bad fan? Ridiculous and uncalled for.