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RiffTrax Launches Kickstarter to Fund Reunion Show, New Riff of ‘Time Chasers’

All the details are here.

106 Replies to “RiffTrax Launches Kickstarter to Fund Reunion Show, New Riff of ‘Time Chasers’”

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  1. Mike says:

    I’d like to hear from EricJ!

       22 likes

  2. David says:

    I am soooooooo excited for the reunion show.

       9 likes

  3. David J says:

    Mike, Bill, Kevin, Bridget, Mary Jo, Trace, and Frank are all confirmed. That leaves Joel, Josh, Jim, and Paul. It will be interesting to see who out of them accepts the invitation. It could be a great chance to promote the new season of MST3K, but I doubt Joel has a lot of time available these days.

       5 likes

  4. JD says:

    I wish they’d stick to movies that hadn’t already been riffed, but the reunion show should be fun and I’m sure they’ll do a good job on Time Chasers.

       4 likes

  5. Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy says:

    This is great!

    But.

    I gave all my money to Joel’s/Shout’s MST3K Kickstarter.

       2 likes

  6. jklope4 says:

    Time Chasers is one of my all-time favorites and they cut quite a bit for the episode, so this is very exciting news! The reunion should be great, too.

       6 likes

  7. Mr Sack says:

    But will Eddie be able to return for Time Chasers as well?

       27 likes

  8. majorjoe23 says:

    My birthday is this week. Any birthday money that comes to me is being set aside to go to the Minneapolis show.

       4 likes

  9. Goshzilla says:

    Since it’s way down toward the bottom I thought I’d highlight this particular bit of info:

    And perhaps you know that since RiffTrax started offering Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, we have been giving a portion of sales to all the MST principal cast members. RiffTrax will put a meaningful portion of all additional proceeds beyond our Kickstarter goal into this same pool.

       29 likes

  10. monster zero says:

    Uh -oh…Suicide watch ericj….

    Gave a bunch of money to the Mst3k reboot…but this is more my speed!

    Pledged!

       6 likes

  11. This is wonderful news! I have always hoped that all of the former “brains” would resolve their differences and reunite in some sort of project. And icing on the cake – a riffing of the uncut, widescreen version of Time Chasers. Pink Boy Lives!

       8 likes

  12. Doug Glassman says:

    Just pledged $15. Hopefully this means that they don’t have the contractual obligation to riff Sharknado movies anymore; I’d rather the other two slots get filled with stuff like ROTOR or (in an ideal world) Samurai Cop.

       5 likes

  13. Crow T Robot 13 says:

    I thought Mike & the Rifftrax crew said they’ve moved on from MST3K & that was why they didn’t want to be a part of the new shows. Is an MST3K reunion show considered moving on?

       1 likes

  14. maclen says:

    Crow T Robot 13:
    I thought Mike & the Rifftrax crew said they’ve moved on from MST3K & that was why they didn’t want to be a part of the new shows.Is an MST3K reunion show considered moving on?

    Yes, I’ve always disagreed with speculation that the gang “were too busy now doing their own thing” to have any desire to return to any updated version of MST3K. They’ve all pretty much wound up sticking to the “movie riffing” thing. MIke, Kevin and Bill at Rifftrax…and the rest…spending the past few years riffing at Cinematic Titanic. Since the end of CT, Mary Jo has contiued riffing for RT and Trace and Frank continue riffing on their own as “The Mads”. So naturally I don’t feel that the former cast have not profited in any way for their participation or contributions to the show since it ended. I would love to see another full reunion. Though not similar to the convention appearance where they answer audience questions. More of a round table, reminiscing about their time at MST3K with interaction among themselves. Not unlike the recent reunion episode of Mythbusters last night. And Time Chasters is one of my top fav episode, so that would be very interesting to see.

       1 likes

  15. MissT3K says:

    Digging through purse… Looking in couch cushions… breaking piggy bank… Wondering if this would constitute the kind of emergency that taking money from my 401K would accept…

    Oh, HELL, YES!! I will be donating to make this happen. I am hoping that more of the old (and new) gang will jump on board.

    SO excited – Eeeeeeeeeee!!! :)

       10 likes

  16. JeremyR says:

    Crow T Robot 13:
    I thought Mike & the Rifftrax crew said they’ve moved on from MST3K & that was why they didn’t want to be a part of the new shows.Is an MST3K reunion show considered moving on?

    I think Mike, Bill and Kevin probably have. But when Joel pulled the plug on CT, he pretty much left Mary Jo, Trace, Frank, and Josh high and dry. If you follow them on social media, most of them are more than a little irked about the reboot (or rather, being left out of it).

    I think this is a way for Mike to help his old castmates/friends more than anything else. And to give Frank/Trace’s riffing project, The Mads, a boost. I imagine Mike realizes that he would never be where his is with Rifftrax without all the other people from MST3K and this is a way to help them get appreciated after being kicked to the curb by Joel.

       23 likes

  17. Ralph C says:

    I just gave the Rifftrax-ers my two cents…okay, it was a bit more than that. ????

       2 likes

  18. Atorgo says:

    Not interested in Re-iff-treads (Rifftreads?), but it’s cool to see these movies uncut riffed and to see/hear what Trace and Frank add to Sci-Fi era movies. Bring it on!

       2 likes

  19. Be Right There says:

    Just made my contribution. Looks like they’re in pretty good shape-more than halfway there on the first day alone!

       2 likes

  20. Pulatso says:

    Crow T Robot 13:
    I thought Mike & the Rifftrax crew said they’ve moved on from MST3K & that was why they didn’t want to be a part of the new shows.Is an MST3K reunion show considered moving on?

    I wouldn’t classify a one off event (reunion show) in the same category as starting on a new series. They’re not appearing in character, and it’s a single show, so the commitment is far less.

       9 likes

  21. JeremyR…he pretty much left Mary Jo, Trace, Frank, and Josh high and dry…being kicked to the curb by Joel.

    Isn’t it great that now that he’s in charge, we can just assume all the worst things possible about Joel and pass them off as fact?

    He’s the Jim Mallon for the next generation!

       17 likes

  22. Retcon says:

    Was there ever an explanation given for why CT ended? Maybe the MST3K family wasn’t a happy one and there was some infighting and bad blood among them?

       3 likes

  23. ready4sumfootball says:

    Okay, so far so good… Let’s get Joel in on this…

       1 likes

  24. Sean says:

    Retcon:
    Was there ever an explanation given for why CT ended? Maybe the MST3K family wasn’t a happy one and there was some infighting and bad blood among them?

    Nothing of the sort. They’re just five people living in five different states with five different careers having difficulty in getting together for something they were doing fun.

       7 likes

  25. EricJ says:

    Mike:
    I’d like to hear from EricJ!

    Why bother, this one just WRITES its own punchline! :-D

    (In fact, it would if it just stopped at “Kickstarter”.)

       1 likes

  26. Lavendare says:

    EricJ:

    What’s your problem now? You don’t like Kickstarter? ????

    EricJ: Why bother, this one just WRITES its own punchline!

    (In fact, it would if it just stopped at “Kickstarter”.)

       3 likes

  27. Lavendare says:

    Or are you just an unhappy, miserable person?

    EricJ: Why bother, this one just WRITES its own punchline!

    (In fact, it would if it just stopped at “Kickstarter”.)

    EricJ: Why bother, this one just WRITES its own punchline!

    (In fact, it would if it just stopped at “Kickstarter”.)

       4 likes

  28. For the record says:

    JeremyR: But when Joel pulled the plug on CT, he pretty much left Mary Jo, Trace, Frank, and Josh high and dry. If you follow them on social media, most of them are more than a little irked about the reboot (or rather, being left out of it).

    How dare Joel work on Cinematic Titanic for only six years!?

    How dare the agents of Mary Jo, Trace, Frank, and Josh, force/allow the actors to sign contracts for jobs/positions in CT that could legally leave them so high and dry!? (unless they didn’t use agents, but for some reason signed on while believing it was an eternal gig, only to be left high and dry and kicked to the curb.)

    How dare anyone point out that Joel and Trace both currently work on Other Space!? It’s obvious they can’t stand being around each other. They certainly don’t get along on set and have separate trailers.

    Rumor has it that Other Space creator Paul Freig could someday stop the project and leave everyone without a job. High and dry!!!!

    Hollywood is a harsh mistress. Thank goodness JeremyR is keeping his fingers on the pulse of the stars and a laser eye on social media and using his mental gizzard to grind down and interpret events into a gruel we can hopefully understand.

    He’s a regular Ryan Seacrest, That Jeremy.

    Huge asset to team MST3K and humanity in general.

       10 likes

  29. Kenneth Morgan says:

    Sean: Nothing of the sort. They’re just five people living in five different states with five different careers having difficulty in getting together for something they were doing fun.

    I would assume that Josh’s health problems may have also been a factor.

       3 likes

  30. Retcon says:

    Kenneth Morgan: I would assume that Josh’s health problems may have also been a factor.

    I didn’t know that, sad to hear. Even if they did end CT on mutual and decent terms doesn’t mean they aren’t peeved about Joel not inviting them for the new MST3K until after the big announcement. Also I doubt Mike and the rest of the Rifftrax crew are pleased about new competition for both profits and funding. Several fans here remarked they are tapped out from funding Joel to also fund RT. Riffing is a limited niche market with a limited pool of customers and donors like the sea can only support so many fishermen before the fish supply is exhausted.

    Not a slam against Joel, but he seems to be a bit of a flip-flopper going by his history. He created riffing as we know it and MST3K, chose to leave it and let others run it. Craws back to it over 10 years later with his old crew only to quit riffing again after a few years, now decides to craw back let again with a rehash of his old show and a complete new cast (probably so he can have greater control over it). Who knows if he decides to flop again and quit after a season or two of new MST3K. There is evan a pattern, the KTMA season and 5 CC seasons equals 6 years, the same CT lasted, I don’t see the new MST3K lasting more than 6 years if Joel follows his pattern. A lot of artists and creative people tend to be flaky and flip-flop often, it isn’t just Joel.

       2 likes

  31. Herandar says:

    I was going to ask if it was time to start over-analyzing the tweets of the principals involved as a joke, but it seems that some of us already have.

       10 likes

  32. Manny Sanguillen says:

    That’s the best news I’ve read in years!!!

    Plus Time Chasers live, what a country!

       7 likes

  33. Manny Sanguillen says:

    Oh and in case it hasn’t been said yet,

    We’ve got a whole building full of people here!!

       2 likes

  34. PrivateIron says:

    Six years is a long time to be involved in a creative endeavor. Maybe the people who hate Joel and the people who hate Mike could donate to ICWXP as their second choice. Then we could have three cool riff projects.

       6 likes

  35. Majorjoe23 says:

    EricJ: Why bother, this one just WRITES its own punchline!

    (In fact, it would if it just stopped at “Kickstarter”.)

    Now I get it, EricJ doesn’t understand punchlines. This all makes so much sense.

       19 likes

  36. David J says:

    When Rifftrax did Sharknado in Minneapolis they said there was a surprise and I was pretty sure it was going to be a surprise appearance by Trace since he’d popped up at local shows that Joel and Bill had been doing(alas it was just a preview of the Godzilla riff). So I’m not surprised that Trace will be there or that he’s bringing his collaborator Frank with(they’ve also done some local conventions here). Bridget and Mary Jo were also a given since they’ve been working with Rifftrax lately.

    I don’t subscribe to any of these “bad blood” theories since all the confirmed guests for this appeared at the 20th anniversary panel alongside Joel, Jim, Josh, and Paul(not to mention Patton). With what has been said by former cast members and fans, I can picture Jim deciding that now that he has let go of MST3K he’d want to leave it behind completely(like with George Lucas and Star Wars). But that’s purely personal speculation.

    Joel could go either way. Just like with Rifftrax selling MST3K digital episodes, this would be a great opportunity to promote the new MST3K season and maybe recruit alumni to appear on a future season. But his first priority is clearly the current MST3K revival and it sounds like he’s barely had time to eat lately. At the very least I’d hope that Paul and some of the new cast members might make an appearance. I remember Patton Oswald joking about doing a riff of the more notable technical difficulty moments from the Kickstart telethon and it would be fun to see that become a reality!

    I don’t really know what’s been going on with Josh, but he has shown some enthusiasm towards the MST3K revival.

    Regardless of who can make it, I’m looking forward to attending this event in person. I really hope they’ll do an autograph table afterwards.

       4 likes

  37. Lavendare says:

    I wonder where Patrick Brantseg is? He played Gypsy for two and half seasons.

    Well, no matter what, this is great news!

    It’s unfortunate, though, that now only one theater in NYC participates in the Rifftrax Live events. The theater nearest me that used to host them closed. :-(

       1 likes

  38. Bruce Boxliker says:

    Retcon: Even if they did end CT on mutual and decent terms doesn’t mean they aren’t peeved about Joel not inviting them for the new MST3K until after the big announcement.

    To all those saying this, I don’t believe any of the cast are actually upset with Joel or anyone else about this. I think what they were/are upset about was EVERYONE ON TWITTER (& elsewhere) HOUNDING THEM FOR WEEKS wanting to know why they aren’t a part of the new show. Remember the Joe Don Baker deal? That he was only really mad about the riffs on him because the media wouldn’t leave him alone & he got mad?

    Also, from what I understand, CT ending was not Joel alone deciding this – it was a mutual agreement among the entire cast.

    (sigh..) Anyway, I’ll be throwing in something for this, as I’ve done for every Rifftrax Live.

       8 likes

  39. Gummo says:

    Didn’t even get a chance to think about it – Mrs. Gummo was donating almost as soon as the email reached us!

    Lotsa good news in the last few months for the MST faithful.

       3 likes

  40. David J says:

    I got the impression that Joel did let the previous MST3K cast know about the new season ahead of time. At the very least I know that Josh was aware of it. And I’m pretty sure that Rifftrax was aware of why Joel and Shout Factory suddenly had the rights to the MST3K episodes when they were discussing them being sold digitally on the Rifftax site. So I don’t know why anyone would be bitter about the existence of the new season.

    I really don’t get all the tabloid style theories of drama between the Brains. The cast went their separate ways. Sometimes their current projects match up and sometimes they don’t. A lot of the time they are already working on something that takes priority, other times they just aren’t interested. I thought Kevin made some very good points about TV shows like Gilligan’s Island where getting everyone together to reprise their old roles just came off as depressing. At least half the cast seems to have a legitimate beef with the way Jim handled his job as producer and handled his ownership of the show. But public comments on those were at least kept at a professional level and everyone seems to be willing to share a stage with him as long as he isn’t their boss anymore.

    But as I said in a previous post, this event could certainly be a good way to promote the new episodes, just like Rifftrax hosting classic episodes has. Even if everyone from the new season is unable to appear in person, it would be a real treat to use the event for a trailer or preview for the new MST3K. Much in the same way that Rifftrax Live was used to host trailers for Sharknado and Sharknado 2.

       3 likes

  41. MonkeyPretzel says:

    David J:

    Joel could go either way. Just like with Rifftrax selling MST3K digital episodes, this would be a great opportunity to promote the new MST3K season and maybe recruit alumni to appear on a future season. But his first priority is clearly the current MST3K revival and it sounds like he’s barely had time to eat lately. At the very least I’d hope that Paul and some of the new cast members might make an appearance. I remember Patton Oswald joking about doing a riff of the more notable technical difficulty moments from the Kickstart telethon and it would be fun to see that become a reality!

    Jonah Ray is VERY enthusiastic about the Reunion show on Twitter and liked my Tweet asking him to join in if his schedule allows. I’d hope that at the very least, the new cast and/or Joel would make a short video expressing good wishes and support to be shown at the reunion. It would go a long way in soothing the fans.

       4 likes

  42. EricJ says:

    Lavendare:
    EricJ:

    What’s your problem now? You don’t like Kickstarter? ????

    Oh, I like it well enough, but Mike LOVES it now! It means fans will line up to pay more money to you now personally, to subsidize all your projects out of a religious duty of loyalty, rather than take chances with sales.
    And he can use that Church Tithe to now fund new projects, like…a reunion to remind fans that They’re The MST3K Guys! By doing…ANOTHER old rehashed public-domain ex-SciFi cult-fan episode! In fact, the same one they just plugged on their last RiffTrax, now that they’ve gotten the fan momentum going!

    (Someone didn’t quite pick up on the context of why old-school fans rooted for Joel to realize his post-CC dream, but then he’s never been quite quick to pick up on fan subtleties in the first place.)

       1 likes

  43. maclen says:

    Not at all unreasonable to believe Joel ended CT to make way for the return of new MST3k episodes. The fact that Trace and Frank continue to riff as the Mads and Mary Jo returned to RT would bear out that theory. By Trace and Frank’s public comments regarding the new version of MST3K, they are not happy about it, whatever their actual reasoning behind it, whether not being invited back as regulars or for the axing of CT. But then, who else but Joel could bring back MST3k as a regular series?

       0 likes

  44. majorjoe23 says:

    EricJ: Oh, I like it well enough, but Mike LOVES it now!It means fans will line up to pay more money to you now personally, to subsidize all your projects out of a religious duty of loyalty, rather than take chances with sales.
    And he can use that Church Tithe to now fund new projects, like…a reunion to remind fans that They’re The MST3K Guys!By doing…ANOTHER old rehashed public-domain ex-SciFi cult-fan episode!In fact, the same one they just plugged on their last RiffTrax, now that they’ve gotten the fan momentum going!

    (Someone didn’t quite pick up on the context of why old-school fans rooted for Joel to realize his post-CC dream, but then he’s never been quite quick to pick up on fan subtleties in the first place.)

    Inside EricJ’s head: The final battlefront of the Joel v Mike war of 1993.

       21 likes

  45. schippers says:

    Yesterday I went home and told my wife about this Kickstarter, adding that if Joel and Mike appeared together riffing a movie one of my nerd dreams would suddenly come true.

    Will be giving them $50 this evening.

       2 likes

  46. schippers says:

    Follow-up – yes I know that Joel has not confirmed.

       0 likes

  47. Thad says:

    David J:
    Mike, Bill, Kevin, Bridget, Mary Jo, Trace, and Frank are all confirmed.That leaves Joel, Josh, Jim, and Paul.

    And Patrick!

    And Jonah, Baron, Hampton, Felicia, and Patton, since they said the new cast was invited as well. Not sure if that’s going to be possible since they’re hard at work on the new series, but as MonkeyPretzel said @41, maybe they could do a short video greeting or something if they can’t make it.

       1 likes

  48. Trumpy's Dad says:

    I think the reality is not one extreme or the other. John Cleese once said that he was friendly with all of the Pythons and wished them all to have success. But there was a part of him that wished they did not do better than he did. So, the original MST3K crew will not go on together forever. I think they still wish well for the others, but after all Trace did with the sets and the characters, he doesn’t want to think that MST3K will carry on as well or better without his contributions. Same with Mike, or Kevin or anyone else. Coworkers, yes, friends, yes, but they each want respect as writers and performers. And to do just a little bit better than the others.

       0 likes

  49. The Conductor says:

    (walking around, punching a star-shaped hole in everyone’s fan club card.)

    We’re coming up on a little town called, “Not Enough MST3K Kickstarter Updates,” and we’ll be arriving shortly.

    Might be a good time to grab some lunch and stretch your legs. There’s a museum in town called, “We’re Only Human Beings,” but few know it exists and even fewer visit it.

       3 likes

  50. Lavendare says:

    I don’t think anyone has forgotten they are some of the MST3K guys.

    So in your angry mind, it’s okay for Joel to use Kickstarter, but not Rifftrax?

    EricJ: Oh, I like it well enough, but Mike LOVES it now!It means fans will line up to pay more money to you now personally, to subsidize all your projects out of a religious duty of loyalty, rather than take chances with sales.
    And he can use that Church Tithe to now fund new projects, like…a reunion to remind fans that They’re The MST3K Guys!By doing…ANOTHER old rehashed public-domain ex-SciFi cult-fan episode!In fact, the same one they just plugged on their last RiffTrax, now that they’ve gotten the fan momentum going!

    (Someone didn’t quite pick up on the context of why old-school fans rooted for Joel to realize his post-CC dream, but then he’s never been quite quick to pick up on fan subtleties in the first place.)

       13 likes

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