# Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back, what movies will become the next experiments? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297 "2015-12-13T02:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/21 "2015-12-14T14:25:29Z")
Considering the amount of money that asked for in the Kickstarter (3.3 million for three episodes), one would expect them to be able to afford some pretty solid properties to make fun of. I’ll be disappointed if they stick with unknown movies so old and obscure they might as well be in the public domain. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/22 "2015-12-14T15:26:56Z")
Early in the campaign, Joel said “Right now, none of the movies I’d like to include in the next season are in the public domain.” He elaborated in a subsequent update: > [@Joel Hodgson](#): > > **What kinds of movies will we riff in the new episodes?** > > So, you know, I think this is probably the question I’ve gotten the most this month. > > Well, no … the real question is usually, “What specific movies will you riff?” And hey, I guess I understand why some of you are asking. Maybe you wanna know what to expect from the new episodes, or try to decide if we’re gonna do something different than before. Like, maybe something you wouldn’t like as much. But I’ve gotta tell you… > > \*\*I don’t want to tell you the specific movies in advance! > \*\* > It’s not because I don’t think you’ll like them. (Believe me, the movies we’re hoping to riff in our next season are just as cheesy as ever.) But if I tell you the movies now, it’ll spoil a lot of the fun that comes from discovering the movie when you watch it for the first time. > > In today’s media-dense world, we rarely – if ever – see a film we don’t already know pretty much everything about. It’s de rigeur (a French word) to be pre-sold a film before we ever step foot in a theater or see it at home. We see the whole film laid out days, weeks, or months ahead of time, in trailers, or interviews, or news stories, because that’s supposed to make us want to see it. > > MST3K works like that, only in reverse: the less you know about what’s about to happen, the better! See, I’ve always felt that MST3K took advantage of what I’ll call “The Haunted House Theory.” Watching a really good episode of MST3K is like exploring a haunted house at the edge of town with three companions. > > I just think that if you know what’s coming, it can’t be nearly as good. So, I won’t be announcing the films ahead of time, or trying to say, “Oooh, just imagine all the fun we’re going to have with this clunker of a movie! Start dreaming about how funny it’s gonna be!” > > Still, if you wanna try to draw some conclusions, that also probably means I’m less interested in featuring movies everyone’s heard of. So, I doubt we’ll be riffing big blockbusters or franchise movies any time soon, no matter how bad they are. (And even if we wanted to, I don’t think we could afford the rights!) > > Here’s the last thing I’ll say about this: ever since we started MST3K back at KTMA, I’ve really felt that movie riffing can work with any kind of movie, and I still feel that way today. > > So actually, I guess there aren’t really any “rules” on what kind of movies we can riff. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/23 "2015-12-14T17:10:12Z")
I’d love to see some early eighties Sword and Sorcery movies done. Beastmaster comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/24 "2015-12-14T21:01:22Z")
**Star Trek: Into Darkness** springs to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/25 "2015-12-15T01:22:38Z")
That bad D&D movie. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/26 "2015-12-15T14:28:15Z")
Oh, please, _please_, PLEASE let one of them be Avatar! Silly, pretentious dialog and pseudo-environmentalist New Age plot. God, it’s perfect. They could get two episodes out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/27 "2015-12-15T14:41:39Z")
[Mommie Dearest](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082766/?ref_=tttr_tr_tt) It’s Christina Crawford’s account of her upbringing, with Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. It was meant to portray the dark side of JC that nobody got to see and show her daughter in a sympathetic light, but it’s such over-the-top melodrama, it’s unintentionally hilarious. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/28 "2015-12-15T15:14:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Considering the amount of money that asked for in the Kickstarter (3.3 million for three episodes), one would expect them to be able to afford some pretty solid properties to make fun of. I’ll be disappointed if they stick with unknown movies so old and obscure they might as well be in the public domain. One thing they are looking at doing is actually paying people what they are worth for the work they are doing. I don’t think anyone was getting paid much before. Too many of the movies mentioned so far are action movies. Although there is snark to be had in action sequences most of the material comes from the dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/29 "2015-12-15T15:42:54Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > And I was forgetting how some of the best work from MST3K came from tackling European fantasy movies, so I think a good one will be\*\* Pinocchio (2002) \*\*with Roberto Benigni as Pinocchio. > > :dubious: \<=== Just what all critics thought back then by having a middle age guy play the main character of Pinocchio in a non animated movie. > > Not a popular one indeed and won many Golden Raspberry Awards. > [@Nava](#): > > **Iron Sky** please. > > The whole movie is so tongue in cheek it’s in danger of giving itself a piercing, but that only means we’d need an even-bigger popcorn bucket. > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > [Mommie Dearest](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082766/?ref_=tttr_tr_tt) > > It’s Christina Crawford’s account of her upbringing, with Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. It was meant to portray the dark side of JC that nobody got to see and show her daughter in a sympathetic light, but it’s such over-the-top melodrama, it’s unintentionally hilarious. These are all capital ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/30 "2015-12-15T15:52:35Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > One thing they are looking at doing is actually paying people what they are worth for the work they are doing. I don’t think anyone was getting paid much before. Don’t get me wrong - I’m all for the actors getting paid well for putting out a good product! But they’re clearly going to be operating with a much better budget than they had back in the day, and I hope that shows through in the finished product. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/31 "2015-12-15T16:15:03Z")
That Roberto Benigni version of Pinocchio is what I think of when people gripe that Disney wandered too far afield from the novel. This version WAS faithful to the novel–and didn’t translate well to the big screen at all. Sometimes, what makes for a good read doesn’t always make for a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/32 "2015-12-15T17:36:17Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > I’ve always wanted to see them dip into the **Billy Jack** oeuvre. Oh, great idea! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/33 "2015-12-16T07:41:32Z")
**Star Wars Holiday Special** ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/34 "2015-12-16T08:55:40Z")
Is **Pulgarsari** officially in the Public Domain? Or do North Korean propaganda films produced with a kidnapped director just not count as properly “copyrighted” in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/35 "2015-12-16T16:01:32Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > What channel is it going to be on? I don’t think they’ve said. My guess is it will be on-line only. YouTube or Yahoo! or PlutoTV or something like that. And hey! I \*liked \ ***Battleship**!! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/36 "2017-03-25T07:18:57Z")
Big time BUMP! 3 movies that will be turned to experiments have been revealed in a new trailer: > **[Brand-New Mystery Science Theater 3000 Trailer from Netflix](https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/828583-brand-new-mystery-science-theater-3000-trailer-from-netflix#oMVQ6vzXZcWUIght.99)** > > Check out the new Mystery Science Theater 3000 trailer for a look at new characters, sets and cheesy movies, including 1961's giant monster gem Reptilicus! > [@](#): > > Brand-new Mystery Science Theater 3000 trailer from Netflix > > On April 14, Netflix will be bringing Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans a brand-new, 14-episode season of the cult series, and they have just dropped a trailer for it. Check out the new Mystery Science Theater 3000 trailer below for a preview of some of the new characters, sets and — of course — cheesy movies, including > > 1961’s Danish giant monster gem **Reptilicus** , > > 1964’s **The Time Travelers** , > > and the 1978 Star Wars rip-off **Starcrash**! The Time Travelers! That was one movie that I saw when little on TV in the old country, even after forgetting the title it left an impression. [The music was great and it had neat musical bit with an optical piano/organ of the future](https://youtu.be/jVijqnMbm8I?t=902). Of course while for a little kid the effects and ideas were impressive the movie does painfully show its age nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/37 "2017-03-25T20:09:27Z")
They should tackle _Zardoz._ ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/38 "2017-03-25T21:52:56Z")
The funny thing is, Starcrash was used in [a fan-made MST3K continuation!](https://archive.org/details/MFT3K_Ep_F03) Also, if [this possible leaked list](http://imgur.com/GkSJpwF) is true, they’ll be doing The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t just like I hoped they would! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/39 "2017-03-26T13:27:36Z")
I agree it would be nice to see MST3K take on turkeys fro me major studios and big stars. The only question is whether their budgets would allow it. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297/40 "2017-03-27T13:29:51Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > They should tackle _Zardoz._ Absolutely MST3000 is a weird show:eek::eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-is-back-what-movies-will-become-the-next-experiments/740297.md?page=1)