The mad scientists are back to their old tricks of making a poor test subject watch cheesy movies as Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Rifftrax Experiments, the latest iteration of the nearly 40 year old comedy franchise, debuts its first of four episodes. And fans both die-hard and casual, will find that this new version is as sharp as the series has ever been.
The first of the four new episodes of the series had a theatrical debut this past Thursday and will repeat at selected theaters on Sunday, September 13. It will become available on VOD on October 9, with subsequent episodes following the three weeks after.
For the uninitiated, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was the brain child of comic Joel Hodgson, who imagined a television series that combined the goofy charm of locally hosted movie programming on television with affectionate ribbing of the b-grade films that would often appear on such shows. For the host segments, Hodgson played, Joel Robinson, who is shot into space aboard the Satellite of Love by a pair of mad scientists who force him to watch bad movies as some sort of experiment. The show quickly became a hit for the fledgling Comedy Channel, but Hodgson decided to leave after five seasons with head writer Mike Nelson taking over host duties for another five years and a change of network to the Sci-Fi Channel.
For years, when you meet a fellow MST3K fan for the first time, conversation will invariably turn to how your favorite host was – Joel or Mike. There was nothing partisan about it, each “era,” had its own peccadilloes and strengths. For most folks, it was like choosing your favorite out of two different flavors of ice cream that you really liked. When Joel Hodgson set out to reboot the show in 2015, it felt as if he were handing the show over to a new set of writers and cast including two new hosts. The result was thirty-three new episodes produced first for Netflix and then a specialty streaming service for the entire franchise. Meanwhile, Nelson and castmates Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett went off to create Rifftrax, downloadable audio comedy commentaries that users synch up to specific movies at home, allowing for a wider variety of films being mocked without having to worry about pesky licensing issues.
But this new iteration from the Rifftrax team is more of a throwback approach in terms of production and writing. Its a reunion of MST3K veterans not just in front of but behind the camera as well. And as such, it feels like a cozy blanket that not only feels warm but one that tickles the funny bone. Both approaches are equally valid, and at least for this fan who has been around since 1990, entertaining in their own ways while still adhering to the show’s basic premise.
The quality of any MST3K episode often depends on the quality of the movie that is being riffed. And Sting Of Death – a low-budget regional horror film shot in the Florida Everglades – certainly qualifies. The story involving a bunch of college students whose vacation in the everglades is interrupted by a jellyfish-like monsters. For longtime fans, think the Catalina Caper episode by way of Attack Of The Giant Leeches and Blood Waters Of Dr. Z. It’s got bathing suit-clad “teens” who look like they’re pushing 30, a bad late-60s pop song (Sung by Neil Sadaka no less!), outrageous turns of plot, some decidedly low rent “special” (for lack of a better word) effects and some dicey filmmaking.
MST3K creator Hodgson used to say “We never ask, ‘Who’s gonna get this?’ We always say, ‘The right people will get this.'” and that remains true with The Rifftrax Experiments. As expected, the comedy ranges from the silly to deeper cut references. (Multi-generational families who are MST3K fans will probably have some interesting conversations when the kids ask who Reverend Jim Jones was.) This initial episode does expend a small bit of shoe leather to get Mike and the ‘bots back up to the Satellite of Love, but since that business is now out of the way, there’s nothing stopping them from getting right to the fun for the next three episodes.
