Anyone that knows me probably also knows what a diehard, somewhat obsessive MST3K fan I am. I've loved the show since first discovering it in 1993 with the episode Alien in L.A. I had actually seen that movie before on USA's Up All Night, or some such late night movie show, so I was baffled by the silhouettes in the corner making hilarious jokes and was even more so when they came out of the theater. Who was this guy and his little robots? The show had all the look, and budget, of a children's show but the crude and sophisticated jokes of an adult show. I was about 12-years-old at at the time, so was at a perfect age to appreciate the show on both of those levels. The episode was airing on MTV as a limited time promotion of the newly minted Comedy Central, so I didn't get to see this bananas show again until I randomly caught the episode Pod People on syndication.
After that, the show became this elusive thing I was always keeping an eye out for. I'd go over to my friend's house to spend the night, ostensibly to hang out, but but also because he had a satellite dish and I could catch MST3K if I stayed up late enough. When the episodes were released on video tape by Rhino, I would save up money, buy every one I could get my hands on, and show them to my friends. The episode Mitchell was a consistent hit, so I'd always show that one to newbies. When Sci-Fi Channel aired the first teaser commercial that MST3K was coming to that network, my head nearly exploded into confetti:
Honestly, I lost my goddamn mind. I ran around the house screaming about it to my parents (who could care less) and to my little brother (who actually did care, but not quite as much me). It was like when I saw the trailer for the MST3K movie all over again. I had no idea that this was even something that was in the works. The commercial just came out while I was watching Sci-Fi on some idle Saturday, and for a moment, I thought I had imagined it. Finally, my favorite comedy show was being broadcast on a channel I had access to. I videotaped every episode and even wrote for an MST3k fansite that a friend and I started (back when having a website was still an impressive feat) called "The Appleberry MST3K Fansite". Then in 1999, my last year of high school, Mystery Science Theater 3000 aired its final episode, Diabolik. It was a fantastic episode and a great way to bow out, but I was deeply saddened to see the show go away for what appeared to be the last time.
Cut to now, and the point of this blog post. I'm still as enthusiastic a fan of the show as ever, and now there are a wealth of episodes to access at my fingertips whenever I'm bored (which, let's face it, happens a lot). Thankfully, the crew of MST3K are still producing new stuff such as Riff-Trax and Cinematic Titanic, which are both very funny... but just aren't the same. I miss the dynamic between Mike (or Joel) and the Bots. I just can't get past it. Then last year I saw that Joel was hosting the MST3K traditional Turkey Day marathon online, and it made my fanboy day to see the show carry on, if only in spirit, by its own creator. Then Joel showed up again, wearing the Gizmonics suit and all, after a choral performance of "Patrick Swayze Christmas". It then occurred to me... why not bring MST3K back one more time??? If Kickstarter could be used to raise over 3 million dollars for a Veronica Mars movie, it seems feasible that it could used to fund more MST3K (which would probably cost significantly less). Wouldn't be amazing to see a special episode, or even a feature film, where half of it is Joel and the other is Mike? Or both together? Of all the crazy ideas in this crazy world, this seems by far the least crazy.
As if the idea of an MST3K reunion wasn't enough, the movie they could watch? Miami Connection.
As the voiceover guy in Street Fighter II would say: "PERFECT!"
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