Mystery Science Theater 3000: C/D, S/D.

You're going to have a long year ahead of you.

It will feel like 366 days.

Soooo ... does everyone hate Joel now as much as they hated Mallon?

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12360330_10102547487042497_108857818019013401_n.jpg?oh=4717b0f64f0ff38a1d635d62b746102b&oe=571BA69B

Phew.

Meantime, on a brighter note, the last streaming double feature is running now. Starting with The Final Sacrifice (just did the Canada song).

J. Elvis did add this:

https://twitter.com/JElvisWeinstein/status/675378742663901184

And:

https://twitter.com/JElvisWeinstein/status/675432153765646336

True, but then this exchange ...

‏@PinkertonTom 3h3 hours ago
@JElvisWeinstein @TraceBeaulieu I appreciate your clarification, but still seems like there's a lot of bad vibes floating around MST3K...

‏@JElvisWeinstein 2h2 hours ago
@PinkertonTom @TraceBeaulieu That was always my experience.

Yeah I mean, I'm comfortable with it always being something mixed in the memory for a lot of them rather than utterly great or utterly horrible. Though combined with an extra dose of Minnesota nice.

Minnesota passive-aggression, I'd say.

Anyway, it's over $5.5 million and the last new goal is $5.9 for an extra holiday episode.

I'm seeing it at $5.1 million - think they just threw in the extra goal for a little boost.

Host dude needs to shave and take off his stupid hipster nerd glasses, and I say this as a frequently-unshaven man who wears stupid hipster nerd glasses.

You have to count the little purple extra -- it's the funds raised outside of Kickstarter as add-ons, and isn't reflected in Kickstarter's own official count. They're well over $5.5 million at this point.

Oh, huh, cool! Didn't know that.

And the final streaming episode in this week's telethon as such is Mitchell which I think is rather...telling.

Anyway, so while we wait and/or dread, some other news:

http://sidelongglancesofapigeonkicker.blogspot.jp/2015/12/anthony-cardoza-1930-2015.html

Cardoza produced/appeared in The Coleman Francis Trilogy (if you will) as well as The Hellcats. Didn't even realize he was still with us!

Thing I just learned: Robot Holocaust was directed (under the name Tim Kincaid) by gay porn auteur and current Hateful 8 character namesake Joe Gage.

Now there's a detail.

Update.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k/posts/1488469

And now...a different Kickstarter and a different revival, as it were.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rifftrax/rifftrax-live-2016-mst3k-reunion-time-chasers-live

Yes, a Mystery Science Theater 3000 reunion broadcast to hundreds of movie theaters all across America! To help celebrate our 10th year at RiffTrax, we're planning an amazing night of riffing and comedy with most of the original MST3K stars, including RiffTrax regulars Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, PLUS confirmed special guests Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl and Bridget Nelson!

We've also invited the other veteran cast members as well as the cast of the New MST3K, and we're hopeful they'll join us too.

im all for this and stoked to see this but also why the fuck cant fathom events fund this stuff?

Good frickin' point!

Anyway this one is off and running; it's already 10% funded and climbing.

I do like the mention of where any extra money goes:

We raised past our goal in our last three Kickstarter projects, and all of the money collected went towards getting the rights to the movies (plus getting additional movies to riff live), top notch production of the event itself, and in creating and fulfilling rewards. It will be no different this time around.

Making these shows a reality costs meaningfully more than our base goal, and so if we raise more money, it will go towards movie acquisition costs for two more shows this year, better production values, and towards all the awesome rewards. And perhaps you know that since RiffTrax started offering Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, we have been giving a portion of sales to all the MST principal cast members. RiffTrax will put a meaningful portion of all additional proceeds beyond our Kickstarter goal into this same pool.

Anyway, they're over 75% there so it'll obviously happen at this point. Looking forward to seeing it.

Is the cold war over? (Nelson shared it on social media insisting this is not a joke.)

http://www.avclub.com/article/rifftrax-exclusive-joel-hodgson-and-jonah-ray-join-234659?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=feeds

so this is their 4th (?) Kickstarter for Rifftrax?

and if you contribute to this

every backer at every level gets first dibs on tickets to see the live shows in person - including the MST Reunion show, which is sure to sell out. That's an EXCLUSIVE advance purchasing window just for backing us on Kickstarter

i love these guys but it's kind of blowing my mind that they want to raise a quarter of a million dollars for these two shows. i've seen a video of the Rifftrax live before, it's them showing a movie in a theater while people sit and riff, and that's it isn't it? "We may not have the puppets or costumes, but we will have a blast". and the shows aren't free, they are still selling tickets on top of that?

:-\

is the State Theater a really fancy place or something?

The only thing I can think of is paying for rights to some big movie.

Elliott Kalen of The Flop House (and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) will be the head writer.
http://www.avclub.com/article/daily-shows-elliott-kalan-will-be-head-writer-new--237120

Good choice.

*Kalan

I am v into this announcement, Kalan is perfect for this

It's the first thing that has me legit excited about what this could be

if you've ever listened to the flophouse, he is the nerdiest nerd to ever nerd, basically

& super funny

Dramatically upping the refs to early 90s XMen comics per episode

well i won't get the jokes on this version, then

dont be so sure eeyore

I am v into this announcement, Kalan is perfect for this

It's the first thing that has me legit excited about what this could be

Yesss, I went from like 20% sure I would watch this to 100%.

Frank Conniff ‏@FrankConniff 17h17 hours ago
Say, does anybody have an in with this guy so I could maybe get him to read my spec script?

Anybody else catch the reunion show? Went to the airing tonight w/fanatic friends, and while I enjoyed myself throughout (not a hardcore fan or anything), I'd swear my buds pissed themselves and were great at hiding the evidence.

http://www.avclub.com/article/mystery-science-theater-3000-announces-netflix-deb-240027

Neat, but I was really hoping that there would be an announcement that the previous episodes be put on Netflix as well. Now that would be fantastic.

I am somewhat skeptical of Harmon's ability to work under a head writer but i could be wrong. he just always seems drunk & full of ego

mchale is interesting. feels like theyre afraid of not being funny or current enough? idk

could be awesome, wtf do i know

yech worst news but u kinda saw it coming.

"oh here's a brilliant idea: what if the robots were ...... drunk!!!! and the episode was about ..... writing an episode of MST3K!"

simply genius, you've done it again, harmon.

Harmon seems like he would be able to riff funny stuff about bad movies. Thumbs up.

Backers update only but filming of the revival is now fully underway:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k/posts/1691343

And another backers only update -- 'Production on our new season is now completely finished!'

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k/posts/1713309

Looks like it's editing to go. Guess we'll be due to see it all sometime next year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Mfmn7vN4g

One of my favorites, that one.

"Is he wearing a Braille jacket?"

Next set announced, due out in March:

602- INVASION U.S.A. (with short: A DATE WITH YOUR FAMILY)
605- COLOSSUS AND THE HEADHUNTERS
618- HIGH SCHOOL BIG SHOT (with short: OUT OF THIS WORLD)
1007- TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST

That's some prime trash there. "California laaaaaaady...."

Preorder bonus disc includes a slew of KTMA snippets, that'll be a fun bonus. (Maybe even some of the ones from the first couple of episodes, IE, the ones that nobody has a copy of at all?)

So here's what's left of the classic run that has never been formally released on DVD and/or digitally (a number of the older Rhino sets are still out of print for now, though Shout Factory has rereleased 1 through 4 with more to come and a few of the individual ones as well):

*Season 1*
Complete

*Season 2*
201 – Rocketship X-M
212 -- Godzilla vs. Megalon (brief DVD release, withdrawn)
213 – Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

*Season 3*
309 – The Amazing Colossal Man (VHS release only)
311 – It Conquered the World

*Season 4*
416 – Fire Maidens of Outer Space
418 – Attack of the The Eye Creatures

*Season 5*
Complete

*Season 6*
601 – Girls Town
623 – The Amazing Transparent Man

*Season 7*
Complete

*Season 8*
807 – Terror from the Year 5000
809 – I Was a Teenage Werewolf

*Season 9*
905 – The Deadly Bees
906 – The Space Children
913 – Quest of the Delta Knights

*Season 10*
1013 – Diabolik

Interesting fact: a clutch of these may not surface no matter what because the rights are specifically held by Susan Hart, an MST3K 'veteran' thanks to appearing in The Slime People. Hart, as this article details, ended up marrying Jim Nicholson, Samuel Arkoff's partner in American International Pictures. He died in 1973, Arkoff sold the company in 1979, and a slew of films made in their limited partnership in the 50s got split between Arkoff, Nicholson's daughters and Hart herself. I forget all the exact ones she has but It Conquered the World and I Was a Teenage Werewolf are among them and I think she has six all told, and so far, no budging. Setting aside Toho and the Godzilla films as their own thing to be worked out if ever, Hart may end up being an even bigger roadblock than Sandy Frank was supposed to be!

Separately, new update from Joel:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k/posts/1713665

Postproduction still happening, editing to be complete by the end of January, new season on Netflix "in the first half of 2017."

And Turkey Day Marathon via ShoutFactoryTV happening on Thursday as always, supposedly being the top six choices from an online voting thing earlier in the year via the Kickstarter, with a full list of 100 shared after the marathon ends. Joel cohosting with Jonah Ray:

https://youtu.be/BTZI6wd5pXc

Joel also added:

One more thing: even though I don't have a new episode of MST3K ready to share with you for Turkey Day, I still want you to have something special to look forward to.

So, if your Kickstarter rewards include any "bonus classic episodes of MST3K," save some room on Turkey Day for a bonus reward that I'll send on Friday to go with your leftovers. I've got a pretty special treat to share, which some of you have been waiting a long time for.

Stay tuned for that!

Plenty of rumors already flying, including the idea that it's a KTMA episode, which I find...unlikely. Guess we'll see.