Few shows have had the longevity beyond their initial run like Mystery Science Theater 3000. After initially going off the air in 1999, the writers and performers who made robot puppets and made fun of old cheesy movies went on to various other projects, most notably RiffTrax which began in 2006 riffing new movies via MP3 downloads. MST3K itself came back with new seasons in 2017 following a hugely successful Kickstarter. Now, the worlds are colliding again. Today, RiffTrax’s Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett announced a Kickstarter for the trio to return for four new episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Everyone has their era of MST3K and mine is definitely the Syfy years, spanning seasons 8-10, from 1997 to 1999. During that period, the main cast was Nelson as the host, Murphy as Tom Servo, and Corbett as Crow T. Robot. When I think fondly of the series, these are the voices I hear and the episodes I return to most often. This will be the first time since ’99 that all three will return to the series. The new project entitled MST3K: The RiffTrax Experiments will film this year in Minneapolis, where the original series was produced. Murphy and Corbett will also reprise their “Mads” roles of Professor Bobo and Brain Guy, respectively, as will Mary Jo Pehl as Pearl Forrester.
RiffTrax is partnering with Shout! Studios, current rights holders of the MST brand, for the experiment. Both brands have YouTube channels with full riffs and shorts. (RiffTrax YouTube, MST3K YouTube) “Getting a chance to revisit MST3K after all this time has really energized all of us at RiffTrax. And for my part, hey, I truly did miss standing next to plastic puppets. It’s been too long.” said Mike Nelson of RiffTrax.
“We’re excited to join forces with RiffTrax as Mike, Kevin, and Bill return to the Satellite of Love for a new chapter of MST3K. This partnership reinforces our dedication to growing valuable entertainment properties by serving their fandoms with high-quality storytelling,” said Matt Arsulich, Associate Vice President, Product Management at Shout! Studios.
The Kickstarter campaign only just launched Monday morning and already, as of Monday afternoon, they have raised over half a million dollars. With 42 days to go, that will certainly go up. No word yet as to what the four episodes will be, but the various tiers of pledging will get you digital downloads, physical Blu-ray, enamel pins, t-shirts, and more.
After 2022’s season 13 saw creator and original host Joel Hodgson return to the riffing seat, so having Nelson back in the jumpsuit will complete the quadrifecta. Not a word. Anyway, I’m excited.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.