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Weekend Discussion Thread: What Channel Should the Reboot Be On?Jennifer asks:
Then Brandon asked:
Well, is ShoutFactoryTV too obvious? What do you think? 86 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: What Channel Should the Reboot Be On?”Commenting at Satellite News
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Any channel but SyFy
Fox News –
Since they are a comedy channel staffed by puppets …
Sorry. Please don’t send the Rupert Murdock minions to my house.
If the show was on an actual network; I would definitely want it to be something that also streams on Hulu (like the CW where we are loyal viewers of ARROW and THE FLASH). I primarily want this because we cut the cable cord over a year ago and watch shows on Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. Streaming on any of those would be AWESOME. 8-)
It’ll be most likely Hulu, Amazon Prime or Netflix will pick up a new MST3K because they create shows that should be on cable but aren’t. Any chance Comedy Central or SyFy would consider a rebooted MST3K, which would be admitting a mistake? I think not.
Definitely skip traditional networks. Remember, Tv shows have, like, 4 minutes more worth of commercials per half hour than they did when season one aired. That will lead to TV cuts for episodes, and that’s no good. Netflix has streamed MST3K in the past and Hulu streams MST3K, Rifftrax, Cinematic Titanic and even an episode or two of Film Crew-stick with them.
I suggest TBS or TNT.
Fx or netflix
For streaming services, I think ShoutFactoryTV or Netflix could work well. For existing cable channels, I’d go with IFC, AMC, TCM, or another channel which is willing to fund such a show while getting steady (if not great) ratings from a loyal audience.
My suggestions in no particular order:
Netflix
Hulu
IFC
YouTube
ShoutFactoryTV
I would disagree with those. Both networks have a reputation for meddling with the creative teams of shows, plus they really abuse the privilege when it comes to credit shrinkage, pop-up ads and long commercial breaks.
I’d prefer it to be on a cable service, rather than an on-line service, since the latter sometimes causes problems with my computer. But, beyond that, I figure go with whomever will offer a reasonable budget and exceedingly minimal creative interference.
Most likely, it’ll be ShoutFactory, since they own a piece of the show.
AMC, so Chris Hardwick can do The Talking SOL.
You’d think by now the History Channel would have done a “History Science Theater”…Oh wait, that would have to include actual history — not exactly their strong point.
It’s best that it go on something everybody can get, and only on a pay site or non-basic cable in addition to free or basic. Not everybody can afford to pay extra. ShoutFactoryTV would be a good place, or Hulu if it’s not Hulu Plus. On the MST3K YouTube page would be another good possibility. For an additional non-free place, I wouldn’t mind Netflix, since I have it (got it for Arrested Development, also have it now for Kimmy Schmidt and Orange Is The New Black, plus reruns), and it’s all the extra I can afford.
Definitely an online streaming service of some sort. Too many people don’t have cable anymore. Even then, not everyone gets every cable channel – I can’t currently see any Viacom networks in my town because of a feud between Viacom & Suddenlink (I can’t even watch videos on Comedy Central’s website!).
It’d be the “Chat-telite of Love”
As far away from the clutches of Doug Herzog and Bonnie Hammer as possible.
Hulu for sure. Then they could still do commercial sign breaks and it make sense…unless you pay extra for no commercials.
A streaming service is ideal because any workable movies already in their catalogue wouldn’t pose rights issues.
It would probably fit nicely on El Rey, but most people don’t know that El Rey exists.
I’m going to toss out an odd one – BBC America.
For original programming they seem to be willing have a show’s time slot not have to be a perfect 1 hour show. They are willing to have a show run 1:15 if that is what it needs to get the job done even with commercials.
And I know that there are many MST3K fans in the U.K., so that would give them a chance to see it on the other side of the pond, as well.
Just a thought.
Streaming service or internet cable like Sling TV. I’ll freely admit to being a Negative Nancy about the reblauntch, but one thing that will be critical to proving me wrong is finding a home without executive meddling.
I have little faith that a TV network will pick it up. I mean to say that as being more about the networks than MST3K though. They’ll probably see it as too risky regardless of how much support is behind it.
I think online is the way to go, and in that regard I prefer something that’ll pay the artists through running ads or whatever over pay-per-view. Since Joel did Other Space I think Yahoo Screen would likely have a good chance of biting. I’m guessing ShoutFactoryTV and PlutoTV are pretty much givens. But I’d try to navigate away from anything that’ll have people pay to see it up-front. If it’s essentially free on the part of the viewer, that’s one less excuse for not taking a look at it.
Obvious Answer: CW23 in Minneapolis should get first airings. Tradition and all.
Please, please one of the streaming services. More creative license, no strict running times and no commercials. Plus convenient, high quality streaming at all times which is my preferred method of watching anything.
How about BBC (in Phila. area Channel 171 on Comcast), that carries Doctor Who and Star Trek: TNG?
The channel also carries movies like Galaxy Quest and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, so has U.S. movies.
Of course, it also has the potty mouthed British chef who insults people while fixing up their restaurants.
There are several “retro” cable channels now that specialize in the kind of programming that used to fill up the UHF channels years ago. Comet TV especially shows old science fiction movies and TV shows and many of their movies have been featured in MST3K episodes. There’s also Get TV, Me TV, Decades, and more where the show’s mix of new comedy and old movies would feel like a good fit. As for bigger channels, TNT, AMC, IFC would all probably be good fits for the show based on their programming history. Regarding Comedy Central, after the dark years immediately following he cancellation of MST3K and all the other great original sketch comedy programming on the channel sketch comedy shows have made a huge return to the network in recent years and it certainly could work there again.
Hulu’s the obvious choice. They already run stuff from MST3K and the spin-offs and online streaming is the way of the future. The show has survived and thrived in spite of network thinking. Why should MST go back to them now?
Netflix or FXX maybe? Something that has a large range instead of just Hulu or amazon
Hate to admit it, but the reason we’re getting “Netflix Exclusives” and “Hulu Exclusives” (apart from the fact that studios are now too cheapskate-ass to license their movies to anything but VOD anymore, and the once packed services now have to show something besides indie horror movies, telenovelas and food-scare documentaries) is that the big boys have taken over cable and won’t let anyone play.
The old 80’s dreams of Sci-Fi (correctly spelled) Channel showing old movies and Buck Rogers reruns has now turned into every channel being owned by a corporate parent company like Universal or Warner, and corporate parent companies are now more conscious of broadcasting their OWN authored content that they can profit off themselves, without anyone else getting a cut. Why should HBO or Showtime pay royalties to show someone else’s old movie, when they can make their money marketing Game of Thrones and Sons Of Anarchy to those shows’ addicts, and be the ones who get the money from the disk/streaming sales?
Children’s shows, for example, were particularly hardest hit, now that afternoon syndication has been wiped off the map, and Disney, Paramount’s Nick and Warner’s CN having their big king-of-the-mountain fight about who owns the most marketable license franchise…And with PBS’s children’s shows now reduced to just one company figuring out how to sell Sesame Street overseas, most children’s shows you do see nowadays seem to be hitting Hulu and Amazon first. Simply because they have nowhere else to go.
I, er, THINK Joel mentioned “Netflix exclusive” (ie., in the general sense of selling it to somebody, even Hulu) when he first told us of the idea, but I’d have to check. And with only three choices outside of making it a Shout/PlutoTV-exclusive, that does sort of cut down the discussion a bit. :-(
YouTube would be great if they allowed people to contribute captions to the show. Then we get everything captioned from the start when all the obscure riffs are freshest and easier to figure out.
Comedy Central would never pick it up. I think they’d consider a 2hr block way too long nowadays. They’ll never have time to run repeats of Chapelle Show, Tosh.0, & Key & Peele for the rest of time.
Seeing how Hulu already has a ton of Rifftrax, Film Crew, and MST3K episodes already… I’m gonna guess it will be on Hulu. I really think it could only work on Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime.
“Way Down in Deep 13” would be my vote for the recap show title.
Also, can you imagine Walter White or Don Draper showing up for a guest spot?
I have to believe it will end up on some sort of streaming service and not traditional cable TV. I do like some of the cable channels suggestions though like El Rey, FXX, or IFC. All 3 seem like they would embrace what MST3K is.
Would love to see it on FX or AMC. Digital should be part of the equation, but to keep the show going indefinitely like Joel is suggesting, you need a network’s money. Any digital platform will struggle to keep creating content long term like that. The digital model isn’t there yet. Netflix has to get new subscribers to make content profitable. Aside from an initial boost when the show starts how do they keep increasing subscriptions? Look at what happened with the Arrested Development relaunch. Of course I want a digital platform to watch at my convenience like anyone else, but we should be prepared for the reality of a network and their meddling. Plus, with a populace with an even shorter attention span now, what time slot does a 2 hour show get now? The show getting moved around was a nuisance the first time around.
Me-TV, opposite Svengoolie. Make Saturday nights even better!
Problem with BBC America is that, like TBS and TNT, they go overboard with commercial breaks and credit shrinkage. And they don’t always allow for longer program run-times, as any “Doctor Who” viewer will tell you. I’m not sure how much control they demand over the content of original programming, though they might insist on some form of ownership.
That sounds like a good choice. The difficulty there is that many of those channels are only available on cable, not on satellite. That’d cut down on the number of possible viewers. Also, some of them are only available on cable systems where there is an affiliation with a local broadcast channel.
But, if they could work around those problems, it sounds like a good alternative.
The Spice Channel!
Same could be said for MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, RT, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera etc.
Let’s face it, journalism is dead in the U.S. There’s no monopoly on so-called news sources being bought and paid for. May I suggest viewing last week’s South Park as an antidote?
As for “tv channel” for MST3K, I say nuts to that. That seems too archaic to me. As long as it’s available immediately online, I don’t care what channel it’s on. I haven’t watched TV since about 2008.
MeTV. Then I could actually watch it.
Honestly, ShoutFactoryTV is a non-starter. SF will want to get some money from someone else to help finance their investment. So they’d look for a place who is hungry for content. Who is that right now? Well, Yahoo Screen is out really because they dropped the ball with Community and Other Space. Online that leaves Hulu, Netflix and YouTube Red as contenders.
On TV, I agree that IFC is the most logical home for the show now. It fits in with their current brand. They’ve put a lot of money into LA “alt” comedians doing shows with Comedy Bang Bang and Maron and have stuck with them for multiple seasons. They don’t really have a structure on other nights outside of Thursday/Friday, so you can easily put MST3K in prime time on Saturday there.
Antenna TV
Going back to network TV would be like MST3k going back to an unhealthy relationship: “Oh, we know we cancelled you twice, MST3k, but you can trust us now! We won’t ever cancel you again!… until the rating take a small dip and we don’t feel like paying for the movie rights any more. Plus, Real Down South Gator Boys on Ice is way cheaper to produce.” Online streaming service all the way, namely Netflix or Hulu.
Except that streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are constantly losing the rights to movies and taking them off of their services, so how would that effect the availability of the MST3K episodes? I simply can’t imagine that Shout Factory and the MST3K team won’t just be taking care of all the rights issues themselves, just to make sure that they have complete control over the show. I see no reason why they’d have to, or even want to depend on anyone else to secure the rights to the movies for them.
Back in the 80’s and 90’s it was more about doing it on the cheap, and no one was about thinking about the longevity of the show or the idea of needing to secure rights for home video and stuff like that, so the rights they paid for were more limited and ran out after what seemed back then to be a reasonable period of time, which is why they constantly have to renegotiate for the DVDs and such now. But they now know that the show’s popularity has stood the test of time and these new episodes could still be viable and profitable decades from now, so I’m sure any deals they make for movies now will be for the long haul in order to avoid any rights issues in the future.
Anyway my choice of channels for the show would be IFC or TCM.
First no Comedy Central Or Syfy because they screwed the MST3K fans by cancelling the show before. No Netflix or any other place like that because I watch TV on a TV not a phone or a computer.
I am a a long time fan of both MST3K and TCM (Attended one MST3K convention and every TCM Film festival). The thought of MST3K on TCM is interesting – it kind of falls into a fit with TCM’s Underground series of movies (late Saturday nights), especially if MST3K reboot chooses similar fare as the original run 19502-1980s horror/scifi/biker/bizarre. An additional connection – Patton Oswalt has done film introductions at the TCM Classic Film Festivals… Maybe he has a connection. :-)
And the network executive who’s openly said he HATES the 70’s BBC “Golden Age” of Fawlty Towers, Yes Minister and Upstairs Downstairs, and less openly said that he’d gladly sell the network to the New-Whovians as an all CGI-scifi channel on a silver platter.
So, it probably would fit BBC America with its all-Star Trek:TNG blocks right now, but that’s not meant to be a compliment. :-(
There are plenty of simple and effective ways to stream to TV these days.
Yeah TCM has been bold enough to have Monster A Go-Go and Giant Spider Invasion back to back unriffed.