So...that new MST3K season...

[Cette]

Only three episodes in but so far I'm pretty sold.

The new Gypsy and Tom voices I'm not in love with and both the musical numbers and Patton Oswalt would make the show better by their removal. The riffing and skits have been super solid though and they've made some damn fine movie choices so far.

 

[happyninja42]

Fuck the haters, MST3K is back!

Yeah, in a soulless stiff, humorless sorta' way. Like a zombie. An MST3K zombie. A defiled corpse given unnatrual life and sent to shamble and moan until its mercifully put down.

I still don't get your hate for it, especially given the criticisms you listed are ALL things the original material had as flaws, especially in the early years as the cast were finding their groove.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Fuck the haters, MST3K is back!

Yeah, in a soulless stiff, humorless sorta' way. Like a zombie. An MST3K zombie. A defiled corpse given unnatrual life and sent to shamble and moan until its mercifully put down.

I still don't get your hate for it, especially given the criticisms you listed are ALL things the original material had as flaws, especially in the early years as the cast were finding their groove.

To be fair some of the early seasons, especially the public access ones, are virtually unwatchable.

and the reason I hate it is because the whole thing comes off as so cynical. Created not for the fans, not for MST3K, but so the writers and actors can say they're got enough nerd cred, see they did MST3K.

I don't trust for a second they people who made this new season did so out of love and respect for MST3K. They did it so they can add an extra $5000 to their ComiCon booking fees and be able to hold court in another panel about how awesome they are to have done MST3K.

 

[happyninja42]

Fuck the haters, MST3K is back!

Yeah, in a soulless stiff, humorless sorta' way. Like a zombie. An MST3K zombie. A defiled corpse given unnatrual life and sent to shamble and moan until its mercifully put down.

I still don't get your hate for it, especially given the criticisms you listed are ALL things the original material had as flaws, especially in the early years as the cast were finding their groove.

To be fair some of the early seasons, especially the public access ones, are virtually unwatchable.

and the reason I hate it is because the whole thing comes off as so cynical. Created not for the fans, not for MST3K, but so the writers and actors can say they're got enough nerd cred, see they did MST3K.

I don't trust for a second they people who made this new season did so out of love and respect for MST3K. They did it so they can add an extra $5000 to their ComiCon booking fees and be able to hold court in another panel about how awesome they are to have done MST3K.

Seeing that this entire reboot was spearheaded by Joel, I don't really see how you are implying some sinister intent by an outside party, to try and bank on 20 year old niche nerd cred for some fictional plan today. The guy who created it, has recreated it.

I don't get the cynical you are spouting. It seems just as corny, and campy, and stupid as the original show. I mean, if cynical is a flaw, then again, I don't see how the original was any better. Especially under Pearl, when they were fighting with SciFi about how the show would work, a lot of their skits came off as uninspired and as a hidden Fuck You to the company. They make fun of stupid movies, and have fun doing it.

*shrugs* It seems perfectly fine to me, it's just as genuine, stupid, cheezy, and heartfelt as anything from the rotating door of members from before.

It's a different world than it was 20 years ago, when we were in highschool watching this (I'm assuming your roughly my age, as I don't see a younger kid developing such a passionate love for a show that likely went off the air before they were out of diapers). Different sense of humor, different references, different mindset. To complain that it's different seems flawed to me. If it was the exact same show...well I'd just go buy some rifftrax files instead. It's it's own thing, with respect to the original material, but with a different spin on it.

I know nothing I say is going to change your opinion, but that's how I see it. Sorry you don't like the show, I just don't get why, based on what you are saying is wrong with it specifically.

 

[Groxnax]

I don't care what you guys think of it I just know that I like it.

 

[RabbiSteve]

I put a lot of money in to help Kickstart this. I'm a big fan of MST3K and Rifftrax. I even did a live riffing event with two stand-up comics of KILLERS FROM SPACE. We were just okay.

I really want to like this. I've watched about 4 episodes and so far I mostly don't. I'm glad there are those who do. It just doesn't make me laugh. I go to a brand-new RiffTrax Live Fathom event, and I hurt at the end, I laugh so much.

This just doesn't work for me. Feels like they're trying too hard. Too much production value. Not enough organic humor.Riff timing feels off somehow: too fast. Too many. Doesn't let the movie or the jokes "breathe". Something...

Or maybe I'm just not their target audience. Maybe younger people will like this. Or a whole new audience. I still have the old ones, and all the new RiffTrax.

I'm not giving up yet. I'll eventually try to watch all of them, maybe fast forwarding through some of the skits, and the "commercial breaks" (the latter of which I just find annoying). And even if I have the same opinion at the end of this first season, if they do a second season, I'll still give it another chance. I really, really want to like this. I just - so far - don't find it funny.

Again, glad others do, since I feel like I invested a lot into this.

 

[RabbiSteve]

P.S. Loving some of the movies, but sometimes the riffs don't enhance them, just distracting. But glad to be introduced to some great terrible turkeys.

 

[Kyrian007]

I might have agreed after a couple of episodes, but they just kept getting better. I had problems with the new bots voices early on, but that went away as I got used to the new voices. And surprisingly the new human elements, I found them to be good mixes of their old counterparts. I used to think Mike was the funnier host, but liked how Joel was far more likely to break out into funny musical numbers. Jonah seems to find a spot right in the middle. Same with Kinga, who I find to be a nice mix of some of the good sides of Clayton and Pearl Forrester. She has all of the back to basics mad scientist vibe of Clayton with all of the personal foibles outside of villainy that we saw from Pearl.

And the Skeleton Crew... I love the Skeleton Crew. Playing remixed versions of classic MST3K songs... brilliant. Sorry Canadians, but I always sing along when they play The Canada Song.

 

[RabbiSteve]

I might have agreed after a couple of episodes, but they just kept getting better. I had problems with the new bots voices early on, but that went away as I got used to the new voices. And surprisingly the new human elements, I found them to be good mixes of their old counterparts. I used to think Mike was the funnier host, but liked how Joel was far more likely to break out into funny musical numbers. Jonah seems to find a spot right in the middle. Same with Kinga, who I find to be a nice mix of some of the good sides of Clayton and Pearl Forrester. She has all of the back to basics mad scientist vibe of Clayton with all of the personal foibles outside of villainy that we saw from Pearl.

And the Skeleton Crew... I love the Skeleton Crew. Playing remixed versions of classic MST3K songs... brilliant. Sorry Canadians, but I always sing along when they play The Canada Song.

Well, again, because I love the original, Joel and invested so much in this new incarnation, I'm not giving up yet. I'll keep watching and give it a fair chance. And the verdict is simple: if I laugh, it's good. And to hear that for you feel it improved from the beginning to later, gives me hope.

I have to admit, I'm not (yet) a fan of the Skeleton Crew. But that might change as I watch more as well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience with the new MST3K.

 

[happyninja42]

I might have agreed after a couple of episodes, but they just kept getting better. I had problems with the new bots voices early on, but that went away as I got used to the new voices. And surprisingly the new human elements, I found them to be good mixes of their old counterparts. I used to think Mike was the funnier host, but liked how Joel was far more likely to break out into funny musical numbers. Jonah seems to find a spot right in the middle. Same with Kinga, who I find to be a nice mix of some of the good sides of Clayton and Pearl Forrester. She has all of the back to basics mad scientist vibe of Clayton with all of the personal foibles outside of villainy that we saw from Pearl.

And the Skeleton Crew... I love the Skeleton Crew. Playing remixed versions of classic MST3K songs... brilliant. Sorry Canadians, but I always sing along when they play The Canada Song.

Well, again, because I love the original, Joel and invested so much in this new incarnation, I'm not giving up yet. I'll keep watching and give it a fair chance. And the verdict is simple: if I laugh, it's good. And to hear that for you feel it improved from the beginning to later, gives me hope.

I have to admit, I'm not (yet) a fan of the Skeleton Crew. But that might change as I watch more as well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience with the new MST3K.

I'm in the same camp of "it gets better with time". The first episode especially felt REALLY frenetic. There was no pacing or pausing between riffs, they just kept coming over and over. The later episodes, they seemed to slow down the constant chatter, letting some of the jokes have more time to grow and blossom. I find the Skeleton Crew amusing, especially at the end of The Loves of Hercules. The one in the background at the end, really amuses me for some reason. But then, that episode was my turning point for the show. The ones before that were progressively getting better, but Herc, omg that Herc flick. The riffs killed me, every time I heard them. Still do really.

 

[RabbiSteve]

Just watched Ep 9 "Yongary". I must be honest and admit: I did laugh and smile a lot more for this one. I actually liked the musical number they ended with. And I'm definitely a fan of the movie. I'm a tokusatsu fan anyway. And it is nice cheesy one. The dance scene alone was worth the price of admission! And they honored it with most of their riffs. I could see myself watching it again.

Ok, it does improve as they find their footing.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I don't really know if the world needed a continuation of MST3K. I guess it's easy to say that as long as there are bad movies there's a place for a format like that but, quite honestly, part of what made the old show compelling was that there was kind of an improvisational feel to it. You had that tv channel that had a bunch of old b-movies to fill time and for the fun of it they had the idea to add a running commentary with a framing device about a guy and a bunch of robots on a space station being forced to watch them. It was an inspired idea, the kind people usually just don't have anymore, but I don't see how you could remake it without losing that feeling of spontanity and creativity. Especially not with all those Comicon people like Felicia Day and Whil Weaton and whowever else they could distract from their twitter long enough to fill an episode.

I think there's a place for something like MST3K but if they really want a show that stands on its own merits they should change or, hell, lose the framing device and do something with smaller, lesser known comedians. Not a bunch of aging professional nerds trying to drag the corpse of a classic around.

 

[happyninja42]

I don't really know if the world needed a continuation of MST3K. I guess it's easy to say that as long as there are bad movies there's a place for a format like that but, quite honestly, part of what made the old show compelling was that there was kind of an improvisational feel to it. You had that tv channel that had a bunch of old b-movies to fill time and for the fun of it they had the idea to add a running commentary with a framing device about a guy and a bunch of robots on a space station being forced to watch them. It was an inspired idea, the kind people usually just don't have anymore, but I don't see how you could remake it without losing that feeling of spontanity and creativity. Especially not with all those Comicon people like Felicia Day and Whil Weaton and whowever else they could distract from their twitter long enough to fill an episode.

I think there's a place for something like MST3K but if they really want a show that stands on its own merits they should change or, hell, lose the framing device and do something with smaller, lesser known comedians. Not a bunch of aging professional nerds trying to drag the corpse of a classic around.

Have you actually watched the show? Or are you just criticizing it without even seeing it. Because I hate to break it to you, the original was improv either. They were very scripted and paced episodes. And you think after 10 years of doing it, they were still channeling some indy "spontaneity" ? Hardly. There was a system to the episodes, that they final honed and crafted over years of producing that show.

The new show isn't any different.

 

[RabbiSteve]

Whether "the world needed" it or not, I and many others ***wanted*** it. I invested a good bit of money to have it and was grateful that I was not alone. While I have already stated that a) I was not in love with this new version at first and B) still don't love certain elements of it, I have always loved the initial sci-fi premise of a guy trapped in space with some robots forced to watch bad movies and riffing on them.

And I as I said in one of my earlier comments, the only thing that's important is whether it makes me laugh or not above and beyond my affection for the original. I am now finding that as others have stated, as it moves on, it does find its footing, and does get funnier . So the true litmus test is not whether "the world needed it" or not, but rather is it entertaining or not. Even with its flaws, that even the original had, I am finding it such. Obviously, YMMV, and it sounds like for some it's low mileage. I'm getting some decent mileage out of both my money and now my time.