by Jack Grimme, Contributing Writer
The history of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) has been turbulent to say the least. Creator Joel Hodgson’s opus originally debuted on a local channel in Minnesota in the late ‘80s. The cult hit spent the next decade jumping from channel to channel, miraculously surviving multiple cancellations. Unfortunately, the finale of Season 11, in 1999, appeared to be the program’s swan song. That is, until about 15 years later when Hodgson announced a Kickstarter that took the internet by storm. The campaign crushed financial goals, set site-wide records, and garnered the show a tremendous amount of attention. Eventually, Netflix picked up the program and gave it a brand new home. And then, just like Netflix tends to do with its fan favorite original series, MST3K was given the axe yet again. Hodgson was appreciative of Netflix for the opportunity, but he had clearly been burned one too many times. The creator posited that it was time he and the fans took the legacy of MST3K into their own hands. After a second immensely successful Kickstarter campaign, Hodgson and company were able to personally produce 13 new episodes and an exclusive streaming service to host them on. Suffice it to say, the road to Season 13 was a rocky one.
If you are not aware of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I don’t blame you. The show has a relatively niche premise that has been fueled by a passionate cult following. I fell in love with the show when I stumbled upon Netflix’s revival in 2017, and I haven’t looked back since. It follows a poor sap and his crew of witty robot companions as they are forced to watch “bad movies” by a group of evil scientists. The plot of the show is paper thin, but only because it is an intentionally thinly veiled vessel for a group of friends to sit around and crack some jokes about a movie. There are pretty much three pieces you can evaluate an episode of this show: the hosts, the riffs, and the subjects. When a show has been on air for over 30 years, the team clearly must make some hard decisions. How do you innovate in a way that keeps the program fresh yet familiar?
The host is the main character and is relatively grounded, for the audience to count on. They are the guinea pig being forced to sit through these films in the name of science and humor. Prior to this most recent revival, the show had a total of three hosts over the past few decades. Hodgson filled the role for the first few seasons, before passing the mantle to Mike Nelson. Jonah Ray carried the torch when Netflix gained the rights to the franchise. These individuals essentially set the tone for their episodes. The distinct senses of humor on display led to many viewers identifying with one host more than the others. Personally, I have always connected with Ray’s episodes more than his predecessors’. Maybe its because he was the host when I started having a stake in the franchise. Or maybe I just think he is the funniest of the bunch.
This is one area where they do a great job of expanding the formula with this new season. This is the first batch where the host varies from episode to episode. I think this goes a long way towards keeping the episodes fresh, and the audience engaged. Like I said, sometimes people just don’t align with the sense of humor of the lead. This is particularly important for a show where the episode lives or dies on the quality of the riffs. So the people who don’t love Ray’s bubbly, enthusiastic personality can just hop to the next episode and be comforted by Hodgson’s iconic monotone, dry wit. They also introduce a brand new host named Emily Marsh. I think Marsh fit into this world quite well. The new blood is always welcome, and I really anticipate her return in future episodes. She made a great splash, and will certainly only get better with practice! I also obviously must give a shoutout to the voice acting and puppeteering work behind the scenes as well. The two lead robots, Crow and Tom Servo, also tend to have different voices depending on the host. Just by nature of the way I discovered the show, Baron Vaughn and Hampton Yount will always be the default for the characters in my mind. They’re spectacular and deliver performances that almost always make their bits a home run. Kelsey Ann Brady and Conor McGiffin also deserve a shoutout for bringing Marsh’s bots to life. They are welcome additions to the family with distinct voices that I hope to hear more of!
Like I mentioned earlier, the quality of an episode tends to ride on the jokes. Humor is inherently subjective. Throughout the season, I had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. There were also moments that fell flat for me. Many of the jokes are pop culture references that, by nature, are hit-or-miss. Sometimes you’re the exact target audience, and sometimes they soar over your head. I think if you were to gather 13 random fans of the street, they would probably give you 13 different favorite episodes. My point is, its pretty hard to give this area an exact score. However, I think it gains the series points just because it showcases the well-intentioned spirit at the heart of the franchise. This show isn’t designed to tear down bad movies. The crew aren’t aiming to bash the hard work of people in the industry, largely because they are people in the industry. I think there is some fun to be had with cracking wise about a film that you don’t like, as long as you keep it above the belt. Ultimately, the message of the show is that everyone should be able to laugh at themselves. If you watch an episode of this show and see it as anything other than a celebration of pop culture, I think you are missing the point.
One of the most exciting moments in the life of a MST3K fan is when the new slate of films is announced. The team does a spectacular job of bringing completely forgotten films back into the public eye. And although there are a seemingly endless number of “bad movies” to choose from, not all of them are made to be riffed. If a film is too bland, it can be challenging to create engaging riffs. And if the movie is too off-the-wall it can distract from the hosts and their jokes. I think this year had a solid slate of films. 1992’s Munchie was designed for this franchise. Watching Jonah and company withstand this fever dream of a coming-of-age film is an absolute blast. Emily and her bots get to sit through a Doctor Strange ripoff and a Batwoman flick from Mexico that may or may not have been approved by DC. And the fact that the season culminates in a Holiday Special that brings multiple hosts into the theater for the first time is a stroke of genius.
All in all, if you are the type of person to gather a group of friends around a screen and throw on the most absurd movie you can find, this is the show for you. If an episode isn’t working for you, jump to the next one. At this point, the show has riffed over 200 titles, so I’m sure you’ll find something you can like. I think the main thing holding this show back at the moment is accessibility, which is completely irrelevant to the quality. I understand why they decided to abandon the mainstream streaming wars and set out on their own journey. However, I think it is going to make it incredibly hard for the average person to justify spending the time or money finding it. The legacy of this season, for better or worse, will definitely be that it was made for the fans by the fans.
Score: 8/10
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 13 is currently streaming on mst3k.com
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