# Joel or Mike? (MST3K) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326 "2015-11-11T21:25:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/21 "2015-11-12T02:12:23Z")
Really equal. However, if pressed, I vote Mike. Still, both Joel and Mike are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/22 "2015-11-12T02:15:52Z")
Mike. Joel seems so sleepy he makes me tired. Maybe he could run for president. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/23 "2015-11-12T03:04:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I chose “other” because I really can’t choose between the two–I like them both equally and I really don’t notice which one of them is hosting it. They obviously have different styles, but I can’t say I prefer one over the other. This. I did like how Joel was like a parent to the bots but Mike was like a big brother. Very different styles, but both funny as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/24 "2015-11-12T03:13:22Z")
I never liked Mike’s style. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/25 "2015-11-12T05:44:29Z")
I agree with the assessment that the show became more acerbic after Joel left which I enjoyed. I also think Mike was cuter which I know is not really a valid reason, since most of the time all we see is the back of their heads but so sue me, I’m human. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/26 "2015-11-12T06:01:14Z")
I like 'em both and didn’t really have a preference. However, I definitely preferred the original Mads (Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank) to Pearl. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/27 "2015-11-12T07:35:25Z")
I was surprised not to see “Joike” as a possible response. Then again, I can see if the OP really wanted to make us actually decide. > [@Infovore](#): > > However, I definitely preferred the original Mads (Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank) to Pearl. ORIGINAL?!? Fake geek Doper!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/28 "2015-11-12T07:37:23Z")
I think Mike just edges out in front of Joel for me, mostly because we share a the same moniker. We Mikes got to look out for one another. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/29 "2015-11-12T12:28:42Z")
I gotta go with Mike. Joel was an absurdest comic that I didn’t like very much before the show. Am I the only one who remembers him on SNL? That humor carried over to his inventions and the pieces between movie clips. I thought those parts fell flat most of the time except when Mike was involved. His movie commentary was fine and I still loved the show then but I thought the Mike episodes were funnier. Joel may have [another chance](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k) at it. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/30 "2015-11-12T15:37:54Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I gotta go with Mike. Joel was an absurdest comic that I didn’t like very much before the show. Am I the only one who remembers him on SNL? I remember Joel from SNL. He did a routine with a [Mr. Quarterback](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b6/b2/2a/b6b22a61294345c0148d4a6b1e0dd10d.jpg), which I thought was hilarious partly because I owned a Mr. Quarterback. (I was probably 10, 11 at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/31 "2015-11-12T15:55:00Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > I remember Joel from SNL. He did a routine with a [Mr. Quarterback](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b6/b2/2a/b6b22a61294345c0148d4a6b1e0dd10d.jpg), which I thought was hilarious partly because I owned a Mr. Quarterback. (I was probably 10, 11 at the time.) I always found his standup to be too Kaufmanesque although he just had the one sleepy persona instead of a bunch of characters. Not that I disliked him on MST3K. Just the opposite. I feel in love with the show with Joel. I just thought the shows with Mike improved and they aged better. Bonus: [Joel talking to Seinfeld](http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/joel-hodgson-a-taste-of-hell-from-on-high) in Comedians in Cars. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/32 "2015-11-13T02:02:07Z")
At one point I would have been very strongly on Team Joel, but while I still lean in that direction over time I did come to appreciate Mike and his own hosting style more. > [@jayjay](#): > > This. I did like how Joel was like a parent to the bots but Mike was like a big brother. Very different styles, but both funny as hell. A friend once mentioned that while he liked Joel a lot he felt the parental relationship he had with the bots by its nature wasn’t as funny as the more equal relationship Mike had with the bots. I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but this may also explain some of the more acerbic humor in the Mike episodes. A joke involving the characters making fun of each other might come across as mean-spirited if the audience perceives them as a father and his children but be fine if they’re perceived as having a sibling-like relationship. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/33 "2015-11-14T01:07:25Z")
Joel. Mike was no slouch, but I _liked_ how Joel’s sense of humor was sweet and non-ascerbic and sleepy/dopey/bashful[del]/and Doc[/del]. It made him stand out from the usual biting-and-sarcastic crowd. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/34 "2015-11-14T02:03:34Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Mike. Joel seems so sleepy he makes me tired. Maybe he could run for president. “You wake and bake!” I voted for Joel. He seemed to fit naturally with the Bots. Mike had more of an edge. But, heck, I’m looking forward to the next round of MST3Ks, too. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/35 "2015-11-14T02:10:17Z")
Mike! Both are, of course, great. Joel always seemed mildly stoned, though many times to good comedic effect. > [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Anyone want to do a fave Bots poll? > > Cambot > > Gypsy > > Tom Servo > > Crooooow That’d just be mean - Tom’s self esteem would take a hit when the results come in for Croooow. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/36 "2015-11-14T02:20:35Z")
My preference for Joel was justified when I learned that Mike is a right-wing religious Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/37 "2015-11-14T03:19:25Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > My preference for Joel was justified when I learned that Mike is a right-wing religious Republican. There is the Mike of real life, and there is the Mike of the SoL. They are two distinct individuals. (Although, yeah, the needle just swung a little towards Joel for me, too.) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/38 "2015-11-17T21:34:37Z")
I understand the appeal of Joel and he was first, but I find Mike a lot funnier. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/39 "2015-11-18T00:22:23Z")
I love them both, but I like Mike. I thought Mike was a better foil for the Mads, even though Trace Beaulieu - oh man, I spelled it right on the first try! - bailed on the show early. I really liked the Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds sequence. Also, [Mike can really rock a pony.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xvhn122ygc) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326/40 "2015-11-18T02:10:19Z")
I know this is blasphemous, but Pearl kind of edges out Dr. Forrester and Frank for me (and I’ve never seen whatsisname…WAY before I ever heard of the show). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joel-or-mike-mst3k/737326.md?page=1)