Hatton Influences: Part III: MST3k
“You’re doing it again…”
That’s what Bill of Silver Rage fame said to me as he read the ‘IDOL IDOL’ storyline. I had no idea what he was talking about, but he gestured to the Horsemen sitting in the front row and mocking Poseidon and whatever else is going on. Whether or not I (or any of you) realized it, there is another, more simple, story going on right underneath the main plot. The Horsemen have to sit and watch this… so they mock it.
If that’s not a small homage (one of many, mind you) to Joel, Mike, Dr. F, TV’S Frank, Pearl, and the Bots… nothing is.
I’m fairly certain my audience is pretty geek-savvy, but for the one or two of you who missed the MST3k boat, Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was a cable show (Comedy Central, Ha!, Sci-Fi Network) that featured the sillouette of a guy and his two robot pals mocking the best of the worst sci-fi, horror, and action flicks. Whether it was Sandy Frank, Toho Studios, or Ed Wood, they picked the creme de la crap and beat the hell out of it.
Raised in a sarcastic family, with a sarcastic brother and mother, and learning that shared pain is halved and shared joy is doubled leads you to the belief that runs hard in me today. If I laugh at it, it can’t be so bad. Ignoring the emotional ramifications of this (which are 100% accurate.. I laugh at the most horrible things), MST3k was the same reaction to cinema. It’s easy to tolerate anything when you can laugh about it with a friend. The show was meant to be watched by people like me… and whether it’s in IHL, or my wrestling reports, MST3k has continued to be a driving force behind all that I do.
If any of you Misties are out there and don’t know – Mike Nelson is currently doing RIFFTRAX, where he mocks big blockbuster hollywood movies – and Joel has joined back up with many of the team to do CINEMATIC TITANIC. I highly recommend them to all.
“If you’re wondering how he eats and breathes,
and other science facts…
Repeat to yourself it’s just a show,
I should really just relax…”
Jurassic Park Rifftraxx had Wierd Al as a guest – it’s awesome.
Jurassic Park Rifftraxx had a Rita Hayworth poster reference, too. Clearly, it was invented for Jamie.
I just got done re-watching the Brain That Wouldn’t Die episode…now I want lasagna.
I love Misty. Every day of summer was spent building with legos and watching MTS3K. And when I grew up and Joel left the show, I had a girlfiend who said something along the lines of “I hate MST3K, I liked it a lot better when it was Mystery Science Theatre 2000!” … at which point I both smiled, and hung my head in shame, because I knew exactly what she meant, even if how she said it was wrong.
Dude…Mystery Science Theatre…that show had such an impact on me and my friends. We quote it a lot. Before it existed we basically did a lot of what that show did so it was perfect for us when it came out. And the movies they chose were just fantabulous…Manos, the Hands of Fate. Oh man..thanks for the memories. <333
Yet another thing that I get to attribute my introduction and appreciation of to you, good sir. That show is like comfort food to me now, because it’s not only funny enough to make me laugh out loud, it also reminds me of some of those times when my big brother would let me watch TV and hang out with him. 🙂