“In the not-too distant future, next Sunday, A.D.” “The satellite of love.” “The mads.” “Robert Lippert? Oh, yikes!” “Push the button, Frank!” “Movie sign!”
From 1988 (when it started on a small Minneapolis UHF station) to 1999, “Mystery Science Theater 3000” showcased “cheesy” movies, including “Manos: The Hands of Fate,” the “Gamera” films, “Laserblast” and countless others during the show’s run (on Comedy Central from 1989-96 and the Sci-Fi Channel from 1996-99).
The movies (and campy educational short films) were hilariously riffed by Joel Hodgson (who also created the show) and later by Mike Nelson, along with the wisecracking robot companions Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, who were forced to watch “golden turkeys” sent by evil overlords Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu), Laurence Erhardt (J. Elvis Weinstein), “TV’s Frank” (Frank Conniff) and in the last years of the show, Pearl (Mary Jo Pehl).
Fellow MSTies (including the writer of this blog) will be in for a special treat on Thanksgiving day.
“MST3K Turkey Day Marathon 2015!”
Shout! Factory will present the “MST3K Turkey Day Marathon,” with six vintage episodes of the cult series (along with “turkey day 2015” wraparounds by Hodgson and the bots).
The company (which has also released episodes of the cult series on DVD) resurrected the MST3K “Turkey Day Marathon” in 2013 to capture the essence of the original Comedy Central “turkey day” marathons, which lasted from 1991-1995.
The marathon will be streamed live on Thanksgiving day, starting at 12:00 p.m. eastern/9:00 a.m. pacific, through the official “MST3K Turkey Day” site.
“Bring Back MST3K!”
Earlier this month, Hodgson announced that he wanted to bring back “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” through the use of crowdfunding (via Kickstarter). He is aiming for $5.5 million to produce 12 new episodes of the series, before the Kickstarter deadline date (on Dec. 12). Recently, the project has met the minimum funding goal of $2 million.
Why you should watch the MST3K “Turkey Day Marathon” (for those that have never seen MST3K):
For those that have never watched “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” watching this year’s “turkey day” marathon will introduce you to the art of riffing cheesy “B” films, through the courtesy of Joel, Mike and the “bots.”
The author of “Silver Screen Reflections” wishes everyone out there a happy (and safe) Thanksgiving. Enjoy!
Mystery Science Theater 3000 “Turkey Day” Live Streaming Marathon (presented by Shout! Factory TV)
Starts on Thanksgiving day, 12:00 p.m. eastern/9:00 a.m. pacific, on the official “MST3K Turkey Day“ site (NOTE: will not be streaming on the main site for Shout! Factory TV)
The return of Fan Mail: According to Katie Rife of A.V. Club, Joel will be reading fan letters/fan mail from fellow MSTies. Send in your fan mail before November 25th to infoclub@mst3k.com.
RSVP the “MST3k Turkey Day 2015 Marathon” (via Facebook)
Can’t wait for the MST3K marathon? No worries- Shout! Factory TV has select, full-length episodes streaming for free!
MST3K Volume XXXI: The Turkey Day Collection DVD set (available from Shout! Factory)
Documentary on the various MST3K “Turkey Day” marathons
And of course, Keep circulating the URL! (Official “Bring Back MST3K” Kickstarter portal)
Questions/comments about MST3K? Drop a line at the comments section!