MST3K.COM

[shad]

I wasn't going to post because y'all scare me but these comments are bumming out my studio so I want to make an appeal that you don't write off the animated bots right away.

The site and first animation "Reel Livin'" were finished and then Jim brought us on board. We gutted the site and have a bunch of talented folks working to make the animations better. (Max, the guy who animated the first one. is actually super-good but busy working on his graphic novels.) The bug-me-less version of the site will be up soon and our first animation goes up on Monday. You'll see improvement from each one to the next. I swear.

While Jim, Paul, and the new comedians are feeling out how to write and act for animation, we're working on making it look better. We figure that things will really start coming together around episode five. We got the audio of the bots talking on the site-front page for Thanksgiving and it's pretty funny.

If it doesn't get a heck of a lot funnier...we're out of here too. No one wants to spend day in and out animating garbage.
We all love MST3K and as geeks and Minnesotans feel like it's in our blood and we not going to let it get spoiled.

Yep.

Shad - PUNY / Big Time Attic

Oh, and a couple of notes that maybe I'm not supposed to say:

-The bots were designed to be flat and use puppety animation so that they stay...puppety. (by a really cool guy named Steve) He tried to boil them down to their essence. I think this was a good plan but we're going to flesh them out a little over time without going all "Saturday Morning Cartoon" on them. Plus they have to be fairly easy to animate, Jim wants to keep the episodes coming despite no network $$.

-The bots are on SOL instead of on Earth/Continuity because animation gives them a really cool opportunity to explore the Satellite without building huge sets. These are short bits that folks should look at as expanding the show and having some fun in this new medium..not replacing it.

-Paul especially didn't want to put up "Reel Livin'" first but it was the only one done and everyone figured that if we waited until really good ones came along,..then who knows when the site would launch. All the MST3K guys have a DIY "show the warts and all" mentality that made the show so great in the first place. So...we went ahead and threw up the site as is, that animation, and then a quick store to help pay for hosting and stuff.

-There will for sure be new videos, behind the scenes bits, and I sat in on a brainstorm that had a lot of Internet-centric ideas that cracked me up. They still got it.

Thanks!

[CBG]

Thanks for the encouragement, shad.

[Katie]

Thanks Shad, it definitely helps to hear the reasoning behind the stuff.

I hope your right, that it gets better. Time can have amazing effects on things, so we'll see where it is, around epsidoe 5 like you said. I'm not giving up on this project yet, I'm sure something good can come out of it.

Animation is fine by the way, I actually like the look of the bots and sets, i just didnt find reel livin funny at all.

[Mr. Atari]

shad, thanks so much for posting.

It's gotta be rough for Jim, Paul & everyone else re-entering a world with such a rabid fan base. Just ask Gene Rodenberry.

Here's hoping you and your studio has great success with this!

I'm still happy with a wait-and-see attitude of patience. Remember the difference between KTMA and what eventually became our favorite show.

[BathTub]

Well putting up stuff you suspect to be below standards is going to be counter productive. It's not like there was a huge outside demand for a Nov 5th starting date. The time should have been taken to ensure that the first one was the best it could have been. First impressions count, especially in a situation like this where you have to overcome a lot of skepticism towards the project.

[GoldenTriangle]

Again, Shad, thanks for posting. And thanks for being a voice of reason.

I, for one, am beginning to come down off my general unwillingness to accept this new project - which is just a long-winded way to say I'll give this thing a chance. It is MST3k, after all.

...sort of.

[Cerrita]

I've gone back and watched the clip a couple of times since it aired, and I'll admit that it's growing on me. True, Crow's speech is long-winded and boring, but Crow tends to do that. I point to his Lois Laine presentation in Invasion USA. And like that host segment, the real interest is watching Tom on the sidelines, doing what he normally does to generally (if unintentionally) hog all the attention.

And, as I've stated before, I'll keep watching irregarless of the quality. It's just good to see something new.

[Trumpy's Magic Snout]

Cheers Shad. Hope you don't get into trouble for what you said but it does sound encouraging. My position was always to take a wait and see approach with the whole thing, give it time to find its feet. The cartoon could become pretty good although the news that was more exciting to me was the site itself. The possibilities for it and the store are endless so fingers crossed it begins to flesh itself out and become a worthy home for MST3K.

[RAD]

Jim wants to keep the episodes coming despite no network $$

Ahhhh..... What an altruistic soul Jim must be!

[Mr. Atari]

rad said:

Jim wants to keep the episodes coming despite no network $$

Ahhhh..... What an altruistic soul Jim must be!

Such sharp sarcasm. Coming from RAD?

I hope you haven't been at the whiskey again. I may have to change your custom title from "Southern Gentleman" to "Southern Comfort".

[ciredark]

I'm willing to give it a second chance.
I'm enthused and grateful that the fans were heard and it's going back to the drawing board.

"The bots were designed to be flat and use puppety animation so that they stay...puppety. (by a really cool guy named Steve) He tried to boil them down to their essence. I think this was a good plan but we're going to flesh them out a little over time without going all "Saturday Morning Cartoon" on them."[/i]

I can understand that, but they were TOO basic. Especially Crow. Tom is easy enough, but let's at least attach Crows' "beak" to his head.

The bots are on SOL instead of on Earth/Continuity because animation gives them a really cool opportunity to explore the Satellite without building huge sets.

I'm anxious to see the bots "explore" the SOL. But perhaps some kind of acknowledgment of some kind of human that we're used to seeing them with, is in order. The Human straight man used to be a critical part of the act. Where's the third Stooge?!

Larry, Moe, .... wtf!?

[Ben Murphy]

Yes, the human is a critical part of the chemistry between the bots.

Here's a bold concept, why not create a "new" human to interact with the bots? (Mike's cousin? Joel's nephew?)

There's nothing to lose.

[goflyers]

What if this is what went on when Joel or Mike was asleep. Do the bots sleep?

[ciredark]

goflyers said:

What if this is what went on when Joel or Mike was asleep. Do the bots sleep?

I'd even accept that, as long as some kind of acknowledgment is made.

"Now that we've tied up that fleshy guy and locked him in the closet, our madcap hijinks know no bounds!"

[Mr. Meek]

What about the Peanuts approach?

Maybe the odd animated arm sticking in to frame with muted trumpet speech. I'm mostly kidding, but it would be something that doesn't require a huge jump away from the established fiction.