Joel Hodgson, creator of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000‘ and star of its first 100 episodes, wants to see a return to greatness and is trying to Kickstart a revamp of the series. It was a show made timeless by bringing cheesey, classic, campy, and horrible science fiction and horror movies to the small screen awhile making fun of them. The rights have prevented Hodgson from bringing back this series of classic movie riffing – UNTIL NOW!
With the help of Shout Factory they were able to have the rights reverted over this last summer and now they are hoping to bring back ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ with the help of fans new and old!
The original show’s premise was simple. One lab monkey of a man was sent into space by mad scientists who were using him as an experiment. Trapped there with a few robots he is forced to watch bad movies and they work together to try and make them manageable so that they don’t lose their sanity.
Here is a little video teaser of what Joel Hodgson has in mind moving forward:
The show’s creator was in the starring role for 100 episodes and left after that due to a fallout with the series producer. Mike Nelson took over the role for another 97 episodes and one film until 1999 when it all came to a close. No word if Nelson might be back though as he is busy with ‘Rifftrax’ these days I don’t imagine that we’d see him for more than a cameo at best.
Sixteen years later we all still love the show and the concept is brilliant and Hodgeson also points out that there is a very important reason to bring the show back:
Ever since MST3K was cancelled, I’ve felt the world is missing something. Or at least, the world in me. When all the ‘pistons were firing,’ I think MST3K offered a pretty good model for how to survive the cheesy movie you sometimes have to live through. If you have a few friends that you think are funny, and who share your worldview, riffing can make the whole thing tolerable. Is it too much to say that MST3K was about friendship?
To bring it back there are a few of rewards being offered. From coffee mugs to postcards to posters to the big spenders getting a shot to be on the show or owning the actual puppets of Tom Serveo or Crow T. Robot with the biggest spender of all getting both! Under a day in the show already has collected over $400,000 of it’s $2,000,000 goal and with 31 days to go at the time of this writing I suspect with ongoing support that we’ll be in for a treat with the return of our favorite movie riffers.
Are you excited about the potential return of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’? Share your thoughts below!
You can find out more and donate at the Mystery Science Theater 3000′ Kickstarter!
