Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000, also called MST3K, wascult television comedy series originating from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, which aired on Comedy Central andSci-Fi Channel from 19881999. The show started withshort run on Minnesota UHF station KTMA channel 23.
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2 History 3 The cast 4 External links |
Premise
The premise ofshow was thatjanitor working forGizmonics Institute (played by Joel Hodgson) had been shot into space by two mad scientists, Dr. Clayton Forresterhis sidekick TV's Frank, as an experimental test subject. The experiment was meanttest how many awful B-movieshuman could endure before going mad.Trapped on boardThe SatelliteLove, Joel built two robot companionsameliorate his lonely existence: Tom ServoCrow T. Robot. The ship was also populated by Gypsy, who handled"higher functions" ofS.O.L.,Cambot, who recordedexperiments. Gypsy doesn't appearmost episodesCambotonly seen once inpilot episode duringrobot roll call, thoughcharacters occasionally interact withlater. Also occasionally making an 'appearance'Magic Voice,female voice ofsatellite's main computer.
Since Joel built TomCrow outship parts, he has no control over whenmovies start. Asmovies play, Joel, Tom,Crow can be seensilhouette atbottom ofscreen, endlessly mockingmoviewisecracksorder notbe driven mad. They leavetheatre occasionally times duringmovieperform skitssongs spoofingmovie even more, butalways forcedrun back intotheatre whenmovie suddenly resumes.
When Joel Hodgson decidedleaveseries halfway through season five, an episode was writtenwhich his character escapes fromS.O.L. withhelpGypsy. Mike Nelson, Dr. Forrester's temp,sent up toSatelliteJoel's place. Mike was played by series head writer Mike Nelson,appeared from 1993 untilseries' end.
Amonghorrid films deconstructed onseries were Santa Claus ConquersMartians, Manos: The HandsFate, five Japanese Gamera monster movies, andEd Wood film Bride ofMonster. It should be pointed out that most ofmovies hadbe heavily abridgedmake room forsketches surrounding them. Altogether nearly 200 episodesMST3K were produced.
Most ofearly episodes also included screeningsunintentionally hilarious short films, such astraining filmChevrolet sales managers, or films intendedteach children about posture or personal cleanliness.
History
The show's run coincided withgrowth ofinternet,numerous websites were devoted toseries. Fans also sent one another tapesback episodes,practiceshow's creators encouraged by flashingtitle "Keep circulatingtapes!" during each episode's closing credits. Several Star Trek-ish fan conventions were held. Celebrity fans included Time film critic Richard CorlissMSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann.After KTMA was forcedcancel MST3K duefinancial difficulties,show began its run oncable channel Comedy Central. When Comedy Central droppedshow afterseriously abridged seventh season, MST3K's internet fan base stagedprecedent-setting write-in campaign forshowcontinue. The show was picked up bySci-Fi Channel, whereresumedmost oforiginal cast. Trace Beaulieu, who played Dr. ForresterCrow, left. Mike and'bots were now menaced by Dr. Forrester's mother, Pearl, played by Mary Jo Pehl. Her sidekicks wereidiotic, Planet ofApes-inspired Professor Bobo (Kevin Murphy) andhighly evolved, omniscient, yet equally idiotic Observer (The "Brain Guy"), played by writer Bill Corbett. Corbett also competently took over Crow's voice.
Duecontractual obligation, every episode onSci-Fi Channel hadbe ofscience-fiction movie (instead ofvaried genres presentpast shows), although byfinal season this restriction seemedbe loosened. In any event,network's vast librarylow-rent science-fiction films meant there was no shortagebad moviesspoof.
When Nelson took over from Hodgson, there was, not surprisingly, heated debate among fans aswho madebetter host,whether or notshow's overall quality was declining. But all ofseries' fans ralliedits support when Comedy Central decideddrop it,whenshow resumed onSci-Fi Channelconsensus seemedbe thatmove had refreshedseries creatively.
A feature film,which Mike and'bots worked over This Island Earth, was released1996 betweenshow's move from Comedy CentralSci-Fi. About two dozen oforiginal Comedy Central episodes have been released on VHSDVD.
The cast
"The guys"
- Joel - Joel Hodgson (1988 - 1993)
- Mike - Michael J. Nelson (1993 - 1999)
- Crow T. Robot - Trace Beaulieu (1988 - 1996), Bill Corbett (1997 - 1999)
- Tom Servo - Josh Weinstein (1988 - 1989), Kevin Murphy (1990 - 1999)
- Gypsy - Jim Mallon (1989 - 1997), Patrick Brantseg (1997 - 1999)
- Cambot - Kevin Murphy
The bad guys
- Dr. Clayton Forrester - Trace Beaulieu (1988 - 1996)
- TV's Frank - Frank Coniff (1989-1995)
- Mrs. Pearl Forrester - Mary Jo Pehl (1996 - 1999)
- Professor Bobo - Kevin Murphy (1997-1999)
- Observer (The "Brain Guy") - Bill Corbett (1997-1999)
