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| Samurai Cop |
Many years ago, a little show called Mystery Science Theater 3000 was canceled. A small - miniscule, almost invisible - portion of the TV viewing audience fell into a deep depression, lasting many years. Luckily, much of the original cast reunited on a project known as RiffTrax, and has now been bringing a small - indescribably small, hardly noticeable - portion of the world the joy we so desperately need for over a decade.
Now they - and a lot of Internetters - need your help! By backing their latest Kickstarter project, you get all sorts of free stuff! But, more importantly, I get a bunch of free stuff. You can even watch these monkeys dance LIVE! for your amusement until they reach their stretch goals.
Batman v Superman desperately NEEDS the @RiffTrax treatment! Can you spare $1 to make it happen? RiffTrax.com/Kickstarter.
© The Weirding, 2017
Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator, Joel Hodgson, has created a Kickstarter campaign to bring back MST3K! Various rewards are being offered according to the amount you donate, and (depending on the amount they raise), the team looks to put together anywhere from three to 12 new episodes. If the shows do well, it will be much easier to bring the show back to network/terrestrial TV.
© The Weirding, 2015
We fully realize that the American Thanksgiving holiday bears a dark cloud historically but, for us here at The Weirding, it's less about history, nationalism, or football, and more about the food, the people, the food the people bring, the food over which we get into fistfights with the people... the important things.
This post was written well in advance because we have no idea what Thanksgiving will bring, so we may or may not even be around but, if everything went as planned, you should be able to find at least one or two Thanksgiving-themed B-Raters episodes on The Weirding YouTube Channel - including the Troma classic, Poultrygeist.
Speaking of traditions, Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey-Day Marathons have been a part of my Thanksgiving ritual for over 20 years now. Last year, Shout! Factory revived the tradition online and once again this year, Joel Hodgson hosts the MST3K Turkey Day Marathon featuring episodes chosen by the viewers. I watched the whole thing last year but I had to turn off the YouTube chatroom because the scroll was so fast that it was interrupting the video playback. The comments were great, though!
© The Weirding, 2014
A reunion of sorts is in the works for two Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast alumni, Joel Hodgson and Trace Beaulieu, as both have signed onto the new Yahoo Screen series, Other Space. The series hopes to launch in 2015.
Although little is known about the project aside from those involved, Other Space is a sci-fi comedy set in the 22nd-Century. Beaulieu will again play a robot - Art, which MST3K aficionados will recognize as Crow T. Robot's alter-ego in an episode or three.
Once again this year, Shout Factory is running a Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathon, just like in the Good Ol' Days. Joel Hodgson even hosts!
© The Weirding, 2014
This week's movie is one for the ladies. And several men - even more men, once alcohol is introduced into the mix. ALLEGEDLY. And often.
This week, The Weirding Presents Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon! In a time when men's shirts were considered "gay," and women's shirts "mandatory," comes a tale like no other! We don't screen the movies ahead of time, so we don't know what it's about though.
Join us Saturday at 9:30pm CST on The Weirding @ YouTube for this mantastic classic.
You can also RSVP under the Events Page on the Google+ account or the Facebook Page.
© The Weirding, 2014
The Weirding MiSTy Theater Presents John Agar in Night Fright - LIVE! Tonight at 9:00pm CST /10:00pm EST.
First of all, The Weirding and The Weirding MiSTy Theater are in no way affiliated, nor associated, with Mystery Science Theater 3000, RiffTrax, or Cinematic Titanic, nor any of the properties or companies concerning these properties.
To "MiSTy a movie" refers directly to Mystery Science Theater 3000, and means to mock a movie (generally in a group) the way it was done on the show. But use of this slang, as well as any other images or references to the classic TV show, is in no way meant to suggest nor establish any actual association with those properties nor anyone who owns, or is affiliated with, them. MST3K is obviously the source of inspiration for this repeating event and all references to it are meant to honor the show on those grounds.
The Weirding does not own the rights to the movie, Night Fright, nor do we own the rights to any of the movies we MiSTy, many of which are in the public domain. We are well within our legal rights as artists to mock them though, as - pursuant to American Copyright Law - we are actually adding value to the original product. Which, in many cases here, is the only value these movies have.
We're still learning, so don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure you can join the Hangout without a microphone or camera and post in the chatroom. You may not even have to join the Hangout to use the chatroom. We are just now starting to figure out Hangouts and what the hell we're doing here, so please bear with us. There is a chatroom, somewhere, but I'm not sure how you get there nor how it works. If need be, we will establish a chatroom for the audience that does not require logging-in to the Hangout.
Again, not 100% certain about this, but I believe you can watch the live broadcast on both/either Google+ and[/or] the YouTube channel (see top and sidebar for links, which are also posted in the Event). You do need to have the movie itself playing at the same time (in another tab or window). We will count you down when we start the movie so that everyone is in-synch - this is the Infamous Countdown. We will announce the current timestamp throughout the film, as well, and you can always request it.
Once the movie starts, it does not stop until it ends. We will excuse ourselves if necessary but it's simply too much trouble to start and stop the film. Sometimes we will stop the movie to resynch if someone gets too far off the time but it's rare.
Absolutely no topic is off-limits and no joke goes "too far." If jokes regarding race, rape, general violence, necrophilia, religion, politics, pets - whatever you got - offend you, The Weirding MiSTy Theater is not the place for you. In fact, The Weirding is not the place for you. Please do not make a scene.
Showtime is 9:00pm CST, promptly. Hope to see you there and be sure to tell your friends!
© The Weirding, 2014
In 2009 or 2010, I spoke to Mary Jo Pehl via e-mail about her upcoming project for Bluewater. The project was never released, to my knowledge, and I lost the computer on which I had the interview to lightning, so I never ran it.
However, MTV recently spoke with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumnus about all sorts of things. Just follow the link to check it out.
© C Harris Lynn, 2012
Not only will they be broadcasting live from Nashville to select theaters across the country, it is also National RiffTrax Live Week. Okay, Kevin Murphy probably made that up, but I'll go with it!
If you are unaware of Mystery Science Theater 3000, you are not an actual "geek." That's not a bad thing; in my day, being a geek got you beat the hell up. Often. These days, it's great to be a geek, but you simply cannot hold your ground if you do not know your MST3K.
RiffTrax takes it one step further, adding their hilarious commentary tracks to new releases and popular classics, as well as the ridiculous shorts old people like myself were forced to suffer through in our school days. Even better, they'll be joined by stand-up comedian and pop-culture commentator, Paul F. Tompkins!
Tickets in my area are only $12.50, which... you know, I have a stick, but I just can't bring myself to beat it.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
We're on Hour 9 and we're going all the way, guys and dolls! My fellow MSTies and myself are hitting the #marathonriff all over the Interwebz. We're hitting the 'cast streams intermittently, relying largely on www.archive.org and similar, free, Interwebz movie archives. You need Axon to join us, and... it kinda helps if you know someone, but if you can find us, we're happy to have you! So come on, bring your best punchlines, and get druck as funk with us!
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space, widely considered the worst movie ever made, is getting a celebrated theatrical re-release, only this time, it's in 3D. And why not? Plan 9 will be in select theaters later this summer, and available on-demand in stereoscopic vision, and I'm sure it will eventually make its way to DVD and Netflix, et.al. The film was restored and colorized by Legend Films in 2006.
Wood made his magnum opus for under $60,000; applying the 3D effect to the film is going to cost far more than that! San Diego's PassmoreLab is handling the production. PassmoreLab applied the 3D treatment to George Romero's horror classic, Night of the Living Dead, last year.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
I won't be able to watch along IRT today, but seeing as how we don't have a chatroom or forum or channel or anything setup right now, I don't guess you'll be able to tell. I will be MST-ing tonight and no, I do not know what they are playing.
I changed the viewing order a bit, like I said I would, so that things flow better. I wish we had more MST3K to offer - it would be a permanent fixture at the 11:00 "toy/puppet" hour - but we're stuck with what Hulu offers right this moment. I'm going to be incorporating more Netflix content soon.
The Weirding TV
Saturday Playlist, Week 6
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Popeye - Goonland
Robotech: Macross - Blitzkrieg
Astonishing X-Men - Gifted: Ep. 6
Mighty Mouse - Goons from the Moon
South Park - Chickenlover
Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Secret Agent Super Dragon
Dead Like Me - Reaping Havoc
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
It's true! Cinematic Titanic (Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Coniff, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Mary-Jo Pehl) is playing five shows in five nights at L.A.'s Largo at the Coronet. The whole thing gets going this Sunday, the 25th, and you can purchase tickets at the link above or by calling 310-855-0350. Check out this interview with Joel Hodgson, while you wait.
As a musician living basically midway between Memphis and Nashville, hipsters fail to understand why I say I live in a cultural wasteland... but I still wouldn't live in L.A.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
For four years she was part of a cruel cabal, subjecting a lone astronaut and his robot buddies to a series of tortuously bad B-movies, but now Mary Jo Pehl is sharpening her wit for a new comic book project with Bluewater Productions.
Pehl, best known as a writer and character Pearl Forrester from the cult show Mystery Science Theater 3000, is penning an original limited series comic entitled Jailbait.
Written as a tongue-in-cheek B-movie serial, Jailbait follows the adventures of an all-female undercover organization looking to hunt down predatory perverts by any means necessary and prevent children from becoming targets. It has been described as To Catch a Predator meets Charlie's Angels meets Ed Wood’s The Violent Years.
“The story may be firmly rooted in satire and Mary Jo’s unique humor will be keep you laughing, but it has a serious message about keeping kids safe from predators, both online and off-,” said Bluewater president and title creator Darren G. Davis. “In each issue, we will provide information on important resources parents and children need to know; phone numbers of organizations and law enforcement.”
Slated for a first-quarter 2010 release, this four-issue mini-series pairs Pehl with artist Alejandro Figueroa (Watchmen spoof Whatmen?) and cover artist Azim Akberal.
“There’s a great story there to be told, and I hope to do it with honesty, accuracy and humor, and well-rounded characterizations.” Said Pehl, who is currently a writer/producer for the direct-to-DVD comedy series, Cinematic Titanic, which takes on bad movies in the same spirit as MST3K.
Pehl has also written for numerous magazines and newspapers, and has appeared in several anthologies, including Life's A Stitch: The Best of Contemporary Women's Humor, and Travelers' Tales: The Thong Also Rises. In addition, her commentaries have aired on NPR's All Things Considered and Weekend America.
And yes, in case it has been nagging you for 4 years, her name was the answer to 2 across in the April 18, 2005 issue of the TV Guide crossword puzzle.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
Yes, on this very day in 1988, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) -TV's greatest show ever - premiered to puzzled viewers in Minnesoooota. Some 15 years later, Sci-Fi Channel executives would screw it up like they do almost everything. Five years or so before that, Comedy Central executives would screw it up, then go through alternating periods of being the Saturday Night Live Channel and MadTV Channel. They, too, have a tendency to screw-up everything they touch.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
