# Mystery Science Theater 3000 - What's the deal with it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845 "2004-11-27T05:27:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/41 "2004-11-27T19:53:27Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > After our Thanksgiving dinner last night, for reasons beyond me, my aunt played us two episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I’d never seen it before in my life, though I’d heard about it constantly. I knew there was a guy and two creatures/robots that sat in the theater cracking wise about the cheesy movies playing. > > So I saw it, and it sucked. My dad fell asleep, I tried to wake him up, he went back to sleep 5 minutes later, and then I fell asleep. That’s how boring it was. The wisecracks from the fake guys in the audience weren’t witty or funny at all, in my opinion, and they talked too much, so much that you couldn’t concentrate on the humorously bad movie. > > It would have been better, I think, to just compile old shitty movies and then watch them without 3 annoying fake guys in the “theater” making jokes that AREN’T FUNNY. > > Here’s the question: did I watch the wrong episodes? > > The episodes I saw were 1, a film called “A Date with the Family,” about etiquitte for family dinners, and 2, something about “Housewives of the Future,” a ‘training video’ for girls teaching them to be housewives. > > I thought the movies were kind of funny, since they were so awful, but I absolutely could not stand the jerk-off guys in the “theater.” Everything they said sounded like it came from the mouth of that sardonic hipster guy in your photography class with the black-framed glasses and the tight-ass jeans. I used to like it when it was trully cheesey with Joel Hodgeson, but the he _moved on_ and then they had more money, Mike Nelson and the kind of cheesieness that money buys and it began to suck(and this was not in the nice way). ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/42 "2004-11-27T20:13:06Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > So the guys are sitting in the theater, watching the opening credits. The title card comes up, filling the entire screen: _Squirm_ > > Mike and the 'bots look at one another, shrug, say “OK” … and start squirming. You know what’s awful? I would watch Squirm UN-MSTed. I didn’t think it was a terrible movie, and it rocked when the worms were approximately 30 feet deep, lol. As for the Mike vs Joel debate…eh. If Joel had stayed, you would have heard exactly the same jokes because Mike was still the writer. It’s pointless to get all bent out of shape. I personally like them both for different reasons–maily the relationship with the robots. Joel was like the big brother they looked up to…sure they could be brats, but they still loved him. Mike was the baby-sitter they liked to torment. That equals comedy gold to me. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/43 "2004-11-27T20:17:52Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > **CandidGamera:** Nobody hardly _ever_ mentions _Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell_. It’s one of the greatest episodes ever. > > “Guess what _I’ve_ been doing?” “Oh… you clever fox. So the editor’s working with you?” ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/44 "2004-11-27T20:26:21Z")
You people seem to know your mst3k so I want to ask, which should I get season 3 or 4? Although I have probably seen fewer than 10 episodes ever, I have never laughed so hard at a show. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/45 "2004-11-27T20:33:09Z")
lol scratch that last post and just tell me which season you think would be the best to purchase, preferably one that has a lot of episodes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/46 "2004-11-27T20:37:21Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > And I think everybody should watch “Wild World of Bat Woman” because it’s good to question your own sanity every once in awhile. It’s not _my_ sanity I question when I watch “Wild World of Bat Woman”, let me tell you. The first episode I ever saw was “Lust in the Dust”, not long after I’d seen it for the first time. Much better MSTied. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be one of the ones for sale. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/47 "2004-11-27T20:37:31Z")
> [@pool](#): > > lol scratch that last post and just tell me which season you think would be the best to purchase, preferably one that has a lot of episodes. 😉 I don’t think you _can_ purchase specific seasons. Since each one has different copyrights (depending on the movies), they only release by episodes. Unless, of course, they’ve changed that, in which case-WOOHOO!!! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/48 "2004-11-27T20:47:54Z")
> [@pool](#): > > lol scratch that last post and just tell me which season you think would be the best to purchase, preferably one that has a lot of episodes. 😉 Number of eps per season: 1st & 2nd: 13 eps each 3rd - 6th: 24 eps each 7th: 6 (or 7 if you count the Turkey Day version of #701) 8th: 22 eps 9th & 10th: 13 eps each The 4th season is probably the best season to start with. Be warned, however, as ep #424 is Manos. As for the Joel vs Mike thing: I’ve noticed that females tend to choose Joel while guys tend to choose Mike. Keep in mind that Mike is also responsible for most of the original music for the show. When they were at KTMA, the theater bits had hardly any scripting and there’s lots of silence. It can be hard to watch at times. In the first season, the writers were just getting their feet wet so several experiments aren’t as good. Robot Holocaust is the exception. The relentless assault of the lead actress’ accent is hilarious (the Dog One?). As with any show that runs 10 years, you’re gonna have some eps that aren’t as good as others. Still, on a percentage basis, MST3K stands head and shoulders above shows with similar runs. The shorts tend to be funnier (Mr. B. Natural is funnier than the entire last 3 seasons of MASH, for example) since they try to jam as many jokes as possible into such a short amount of time. The sixth box set contains a disc of shorts (Including Mr. B)! Join us! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/49 "2004-11-27T20:50:05Z")
While entire seasons will be unlikely to come out (especially due to the animosity between Sandy Frank and Best Brains), you can trade eps (except commercially released ones). Go the official site and you will find a list of traders. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/50 "2004-11-27T20:57:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > My favorites: (in no particular order) > > _Puma Man_ I think you mean pu-MA-man… I love MST3K. Favorites of mine: Shrieking Skull The Final Sacrifice Devil Fish: “Man, what an electrician lover” ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/51 "2004-11-27T21:01:34Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > One of the best quick scenes in “Girl…” is when the greasy guy suddenly appears in the diner. Wolfgang Puck’s sad demise. Father: Don’t get smart with me! Michelle: I’m not getting smart with you. Mike: I can’t! What? Because I secrete oil? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/52 "2004-11-27T22:19:49Z")
> [@Agrippina](#): > > Wolfgang Puck’s sad demise. > > Father: Don’t get smart with me! > Michelle: I’m not getting smart with you. > Mike: I can’t! > > What? Because I secrete oil? And here I thought **Mr. Blue Sky** was referring to the “Icky Elf” guy and his amazing teleportation ability: “Did anyone notice I’m _here_ now?” But then it’s easy to get your oily guys mixed up in that movie. You also had dance club owner/narcotics kingpin Leo “Tower of Oil” McCabe; his doppleganger henchman; master safecracker and town drunk of L.A. Harry Blatz (aka “Bob Ovalhead”); Yasser Arafat in a cameo role as a hep-talking pusher…in fact, now that I think about it, was there anyone in that movie who _wasn’t_ oily? Yeah, that was a good one, all right. By itself, it would probably be a nigh-unwatchable movie; but through the alchemy of Mike and the 'bots, transformed into comedy gold. Thank you, Dr. Forrester. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/53 "2004-11-27T22:47:10Z")
As long as we’re on the subject, I discovered last week that three of the old Best Brains group are working on a radio show entitled “The Film Crew.” So far, all they’ve done is a couple of short segments on NPR, but they’re loads of fun if you’re an MST3K fan. [Here’s the official website,](http://filmcrewonline.com/index.html) and [here’s a sample of their recent hilarity.](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4181189) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/54 "2004-11-27T23:00:06Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > And here I thought **Mr. Blue Sky** was referring to the “Icky Elf” guy and his amazing teleportation ability: “Did anyone notice I’m _here_ now?” Actually, I was. You don’t see many teleporting sleazebags in movies anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/55 "2004-11-27T23:13:59Z")
Well, I’m a guy, and I prefer Joel. That may be because I started watching during Season Two, when Joel was still the host. IMHO, seasons Three and Four were the apex of the entire series. While Mike was brilliant in writing the jokes, I just preferred Joel’s delivery. My favorite Joel episodes: Season Two: [ul] [li]Sidehackers (the first MST show I ever saw; came across while channel-surfing and stayed there)[/li][li]Rocket Attack USA (“Help me.”)[/li][li]King Dinosaur (mainly for Joel and the 'bots’s “Joey the Lemur” song)[/li][li]Any of the Godzilla movies[/ul][/li] Season Three[ul] [li]Any of the Gamera movies[/li][li]Cave Dwellers[/li][li]Pod People (probably my all-time favorite)[/li][li]Time of the Apes[/li][li]Amazing Colossal Man (maybe 2nd favorite)[/li][li]Teenage Caveman (perhaps more for “Catching Trouble,” the short played before the main feature)[/li][li]Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (the best holiday special ever! A Christmas tradition in my house–like Crow says, “There’s no tradition like a new tradition!”)[/li][/ul] Season Four: [ul] [li]Attack of the Giant Leeches (kind of like _Deliverance_ but not very good. And with a less-convincing monster)[/li][li]The Killer Shrews[/li][li]Any of the Hercules movies[/li][li]Fire Maidens of Outer Space (movie isn’t very good, but the host segments, with Timmy, Crow’s evil double, are sheer genius. “Let him go, you bitch!”)[/li][li]Manos, the Hands of Fate (need I say more?)[/li][/ul] Season Five:[ul] [li]Eegah![/li][li]I Accuse My Parents[/li][li]Mitchell[/ul][/li] Most of the Season One episodes aren’t very good. I’ve never seen any of the KTMA-TV shows (few people have), but I understand they weren’t very good at all. I didn’t like the Mike shows as much, except for “The Beast of Yucca Flats” and “Last of the Wild Horses” (the latter good only for the host segments, which brilliantly parody Star Trek’s “Mirror, Mirror”) I stopped watching regularly after Season Six, when Pearl Forrester replaced the recently-departed (and beloved) TV’s Frank. I’ve only seen one or two episodes on the SciFi channel (you’ll have to turn to others in this thread, like **Guinastasia** , for advice on those shows). ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/56 "2004-11-27T23:17:12Z")
In my comparison of “Attack of the Giant Leeches” to “Deliverance,” I stated that the former differed from the latter in featuring “a less-convincing monster.” That should have read “a less-_than_-convincing monster.” Sorry for the omission. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/57 "2004-11-27T23:22:43Z")
> [@Skopo](#): > > I stopped watching regularly after Season Six, when Pearl Forrester replaced the recently-departed (and beloved) TV’s Frank. I’ve only seen one or two episodes on the SciFi channel (you’ll have to turn to others in this thread, like **Guinastasia** , for advice on those shows). I was not a fan of Mrs. Forrester at first. When she went completely evil in season 8, she got more tolerable. The biggest problem with the Sci-Fi years was the seeming necessity to have story arcs. I must admit, I did enjoy watching Mike destroy three planets (including the 2525 Earth). ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/58 "2004-11-28T00:17:33Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Actually, I was. You don’t see many teleporting sleazebags in movies anymore. I figured you were talking about the Icky Elf, but there was also a scene where the Father suddenly appears from the back. Wait, don’t get oil on the pool table! I’m Critter. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/59 "2004-11-28T01:05:08Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > It really is hit and miss with those. > > Check out [MST3K : The Movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117128/). They should have it at your local video store. > > If you don’t find that one to be hilarious, then it’s simply not your kind of humor. I don’t know if I’d recommend going that route, as I think the movie is weaker than the show’s better episodes. And it doesn’t have the theme song! Oh, **Skopo** , you comparing **Attack of the Giant Leeches** to **Deliverance** reminds me…at a party in college we were watching the infamous **Manos** episode, and realized that has basically the same plot and characters as **The Rocky Horror Picture Show**. Only without the songs and with much, much more pain. That was also the party where we realized that the boyfriend of one of my friends looks uncannily like Torgo. Really. They even have the same hat. He was actually the first one to point this out, which was a relief to the rest of us (who had been biting our tongues out of politeness). ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845/60 "2004-11-28T02:04:16Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I don’t know if I’d recommend going that route, as I think the movie is weaker than the show’s better episodes. And it doesn’t have the theme song! I found _MST3K: the Movie_ to be rather disappointing. There didn’t seem much need for it. Other than hearing Servo say “shit” at one point, it didn’t seem much different from a weak episode of the TV series. Besides the fact that “This Island Earth” wasn’t _that_ bad of a film (by MST standards). > [@](#): > > Oh, **Skopo** , you comparing **Attack of the Giant Leeches** to **Deliverance** reminds me…at a party in college we were watching the infamous **Manos** episode, and realized that has basically the same plot and characters as **The Rocky Horror Picture Show**. Only without the songs and with much, much more pain. Don’t you mean, “ **deeeeep** hurting”? > [@](#): > > That was also the party where we realized that the boyfriend of one of my friends looks uncannily like Torgo. Really. They even have the same hat. He was actually the first one to point this out, which was a relief to the rest of us (who had been biting our tongues out of politeness). I think the connection I made between “Attack of the Giant Leeches” and “Deliverance” is a bit weak–resting only on the fact that both films featured hillbillies. But it let me get in a typical MST line–“It’s like [insert classic movie]… only not very good.” It’s a bit scary, though, when real life begins to resemble an MST film. I hope your friend’s boyfriend can do a good Torgo impersonation. He should do Torgo delivering a pizza (as MST did for one of their host segments): “I’ll get … your…chaaange…” **Mr. Blue Sky** , I’ve noticed that shift in the SciFi shows toward story arcs. In fact, it seems that shift began around the time Joel left. During the Joel years, the host segments were usually inspired, however tangentially, by the films they were watching in that episode–“Joey the Lemur,” for instance, was inspired by the presence of a lemur in _King Dinosaur_. During the Mike years, the host segments were pretty much replaced with a running storyline, which could be very funny (again, I refer one to the “Mirror, Mirror” storyline, during the “Last of the Wild Horses” episode), but usually had no relation to the actual movie/experiment. I also missed the Invention Exchanges, but since that was such a thoroughly Joel idea (similar to the props he uses in his stand-up routines), I can understand the reason for discontinuing that segment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-science-theater-3000-whats-the-deal-with-it/276845.md?page=4)