Mike's Fall 1999 TV Guide article on MST3K's cancellation
Aug 5, 2017 20:55:07 GMT -5
crowschmo and kmorgan like this
Post by Udvarnoky on Aug 5, 2017 20:55:07 GMT -5
Found it through the Wayback Machine here. I'm not sure how widely known this one is (I wasn't previously aware of it), so I thought it might be worth re-printing:
August 8 marks the final new episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on the Sci Fi Channel, ending a run of 10 years on cable television — the longest for any show featuring a man in a blue jumpsuit talking to dolls. As head writer for the show for most of its run, I feel privileged to have been a part of it, not that my night job at the Ice Creemme Shoppe isn’t satisfying, too. But sometimes, as I practice the roll-off on a soft-serve swirl or mix up yet another Avalanche Free-zee, I smile and remember a time when I talked to puppets on a regular basis without being jailed. I mustn’t let my reminiscences slow me down, however, because my Team Leader, Jason, is the most hard-driven 14-year-old I’ve ever worked for. But I can pause for a moment from restocking fruit toppings to offer some highlights.
MST3K began producing shows for cable in 1989 out of a small studio in a suburb of Minneapolis called Eden Prairie. Eden Prairie, it should be noted, has no prairie whatsoever, and with a 3-1 ratio of strip malls to citizens, only the most optimistic person would call it Eden. But it allowed us the anonymity we needed. The premiere episode, hosted by series creator Joel Hodgson, aired November 1989 and featured the film The Crawling Eye (1958), starring a pre–F Troop Forrest Tucker. We had no idea what viewer reaction would be — this was long before our fans named themselves "Mysties." In fact, this was long before we had fans. So we were delighted when three letters arrived several days later, one trying to sell us a postal meter, the other two asking us to shut up the reindeer (that would be Crow T. Robot, operated by Bill Corbett) and the gum-ball machine (Kevin Murphy’s robot Tom Servo) so they could hear Forrest Tucker.
Through most of the run we holed up in Eden Prairie but occasionally were flown to Los Angeles for the CableACE awards. We were nominated six times and never won, once even losing out to a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. One award we did win was the Peabody award, an honor usually given to very learned people who make documentaries with weighty topics. Very rarely is a Peabody given to clumsy Midwesterners holding marionettes. The ceremony was a tony affair in Manhattan. We were introduced late in the program, after various clips of beautifully produced, sometimes heartbreaking documentaries. Our clip featured us tittering at a man’s naked butt cheek.
Over the years, MST3K lampooned 176 films, many of them featuring John Carradine, none of them very good. Many would have been vastly more effective had their monsters not been wearing tennis shoes and sensible slacks, or if they’d featured real actors instead of the guy who sold the producer his fishing boat. But this is nit-picking. The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy is about more than just hearing the actors, or even seeing the actors. It’s about a robot built by a mad scientist who sometimes dresses up as a bat and sneaks into women’s rooms. And the kindly mummy who tries to save an ancient treasure. Such stories need not be shackled by technical restraints.
Who knows why MST3K lasted as long as it did. Perhaps our channels — first Comedy Central, then Sci Fi — just forgot to cancel us. Or maybe the people involved were too afraid to get real jobs. Anyway, it’s my hope that as long as there are bad movies (a sure bet as long as Bruce Willis acts), there will be someone out there, sitting in the dark with two plastic puppets shouting derision at the screen. In reruns, at least, that person will be me.
MST3K began producing shows for cable in 1989 out of a small studio in a suburb of Minneapolis called Eden Prairie. Eden Prairie, it should be noted, has no prairie whatsoever, and with a 3-1 ratio of strip malls to citizens, only the most optimistic person would call it Eden. But it allowed us the anonymity we needed. The premiere episode, hosted by series creator Joel Hodgson, aired November 1989 and featured the film The Crawling Eye (1958), starring a pre–F Troop Forrest Tucker. We had no idea what viewer reaction would be — this was long before our fans named themselves "Mysties." In fact, this was long before we had fans. So we were delighted when three letters arrived several days later, one trying to sell us a postal meter, the other two asking us to shut up the reindeer (that would be Crow T. Robot, operated by Bill Corbett) and the gum-ball machine (Kevin Murphy’s robot Tom Servo) so they could hear Forrest Tucker.
Through most of the run we holed up in Eden Prairie but occasionally were flown to Los Angeles for the CableACE awards. We were nominated six times and never won, once even losing out to a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. One award we did win was the Peabody award, an honor usually given to very learned people who make documentaries with weighty topics. Very rarely is a Peabody given to clumsy Midwesterners holding marionettes. The ceremony was a tony affair in Manhattan. We were introduced late in the program, after various clips of beautifully produced, sometimes heartbreaking documentaries. Our clip featured us tittering at a man’s naked butt cheek.
Over the years, MST3K lampooned 176 films, many of them featuring John Carradine, none of them very good. Many would have been vastly more effective had their monsters not been wearing tennis shoes and sensible slacks, or if they’d featured real actors instead of the guy who sold the producer his fishing boat. But this is nit-picking. The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy is about more than just hearing the actors, or even seeing the actors. It’s about a robot built by a mad scientist who sometimes dresses up as a bat and sneaks into women’s rooms. And the kindly mummy who tries to save an ancient treasure. Such stories need not be shackled by technical restraints.
Who knows why MST3K lasted as long as it did. Perhaps our channels — first Comedy Central, then Sci Fi — just forgot to cancel us. Or maybe the people involved were too afraid to get real jobs. Anyway, it’s my hope that as long as there are bad movies (a sure bet as long as Bruce Willis acts), there will be someone out there, sitting in the dark with two plastic puppets shouting derision at the screen. In reruns, at least, that person will be me.
