How can they win back the NUMST3K haters?

[geordiegirl]

I've seen a few posts on the various forums/ posts I read that have people saying they don't like the NUMST3K or they don't like Jonah/ Emily and their cast and that was a reason they didn't donate.

Now, I'm not saying this was the only issue that did stop people donating, but I am wondering how much of a part it played. I read a lot of "It's not MST3K without Mike/Trace/Frank/Kevin etc." and how they don't like Jonah or Emily or any of the new cast. Or if x came back they wouldn't donate. Or they wouldn't donate until X was confirmed.

I know it's easy to say that the old fans should "move on" but I am genuinely interested if people think those fans can be won back or if they are gone forever (I've seen the question asked before but it didn't really start a discussion, or if a discussion did start, it was just shut down pretty quickly with people being labelled as haters) what do you think Joel/Matt etc can do to stop alienating those old fans while still embracing the new era? Is there a way?

Ideally, what would you like to happen with the show going forward, story wise? (the S14 postmortem thread has some great production ideas) I'd like the gizmoplex destroyed, and it centering on the Satellite of love again, with one mad (i dont care who) and one crew (I dont care which crew, iike them both. I don't like Milhouse Crow!) I really wouldn't like Joel to become a mad but maybe have him being forced to do their bidding (maybe the other host is trapped somewhere and the mad(s) are threatening their life if Joel doesn't comply) Maybe an alternative universe, but I'm sure you guys have much better ideas


Also I do use the word "haters" but I don't mean it in a negative way, it was just the best word I could think of to put in the title:)

[ds_36]

I don't really think they can. The "haters" aren't a monolith. Each one has a different opinion of why the show doesn't work now. But in general it comes down to the show isn't how I remember it when I most loved it. Neither side can go back in time to make episodes exactly how they were at any certain point in time so I think it's time for viewers who aren't enjoying it to move on.

[BoB3K]

I think an as big question is what do you do with the new NuMST3K fanboysngirls if you're retooling to try and get back the lost fans. I'm suprised/not-surprised by the number of people who have magically become emily and crew super-fans after like 5 eps and would throw a fit if they ditched them.

I think Joel has really dug a hole he can't get out of here.  I think the show might just have to end again, at least for a few years.

[starschwar]

Step 1 - and this is not directed at the topic creator:

Stop conflating hate/dislike of the modern show with not donating. That's an unhealthy and unrealistic way of approaching things that Joel kept propagating. "If the fans want more we will make more." was a slogan joel equated with the fund raiser. There's plenty of people who do want more, and have a long list of reasons - and disparate reasons between themselves - for not chipping in for a third or fourth time. Virtually everybody wants more MST3K. Whether they have the means and desire to pay for it in advance again is a different matter.

[monkeypretzel]

I chose writing in the poll because that's my biggest issue, but just changing the writing staff isn't going to get me back immediately.

I don't like spending money on a product unless I'm reasonably sure I'm going to like it and get some use out of it. I don't want to donate to make more NuMST even if there are wholesale changes in the approach until I get to see at least one finished episode, to make sure it's actually worth my time and money. That means while it's possible I could donate for a Season 15 if I liked changes made for Season 14, I'm not giving a dime to Season 14.

I'm sure that most people won't have as hardline a stance as I do, but I'm going by past performance.

[RedTom]

Emily Marsh was absolutely atrocious. They could have put Tina Fey in as the Hostess just as easily and brought Pearl back as the main Mad in an overthrow of power and that would have been a much more interesting storyline, but they didn't do that. Her host segments were cringeworthy, her riffing lacked presence and she was definitely part of the consideration when it came to NOT pledging for season 14. You know, that and the new show turning the fanbase TOXIC, that certainly didn't help matters.

[funkypleasance]

Dec 30, 2023 18:07:13 GMT -5 RedTom said:

Emily Marsh was absolutely atrocious. They could have put Tina Fey in as the Hostess just as easily and brought Pearl back as the main Mad in an overthrow of power and that would have been a much more interesting storyline, but they didn't do that. Her host segments were cringeworthy, her riffing lacked presence and she was definitely part of the consideration when it came to NOT pledging for season 14. You know, that and the new show turning the fanbase TOXIC, that certainly didn't help matters.

Tina Fey?  Is this a joke?

[intonyeon]

Well clearly if they had Zac Efron we’d have season 23

[RedTom]

Dec 31, 2023 4:04:55 GMT -5 funkypleasance said:

Dec 30, 2023 18:07:13 GMT -5 RedTom said:

Emily Marsh was absolutely atrocious. They could have put Tina Fey in as the Hostess just as easily and brought Pearl back as the main Mad in an overthrow of power and that would have been a much more interesting storyline, but they didn't do that. Her host segments were cringeworthy, her riffing lacked presence and she was definitely part of the consideration when it came to NOT pledging for season 14. You know, that and the new show turning the fanbase TOXIC, that certainly didn't help matters.

Tina Fey?  Is this a joke?

It would have still been a vast improvement. So NO!

[foreign object]

I think "haters" is a pretty harsh term. I tried the first reboot and it did nothing for me so it's not like I hated it, I just didn't care for it. The original was lightning in a bottle and lightning usually doesn't strike twice. Even the original series is a little hit and miss with Season 1 being a little hard to watch. Even when Trace and Frank left the show was still good but not at it's apex. I moved to Rifftrax after MST3K as I still wanted to re-capture the whole Mike Kevin Bill take on things and I bought a lot of their product. Over time, tastes and point of view on things change and now I hardly play Rifftrax at all as I got tired of the smarminess and mean spirited vibe of their riffing and the "sketches" that were more annoying than anything else. Things change. Your favorite musical artist will not continue to put out great albums and you drift away as things change. Seasons 2-6 were the pinnacle and that's where I'll leave that thought but as for all the reboots, I wish them the best but I will never be a "hater" and you will never bring me back.