When Joel Hodgson’s MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 broke through the crowdfunding stratosphere by raising more than $6 million on Kickstarter (at 114% of its funding goal) to make a triumphant return, I was elated. I loved that show because it tapped into many of the fundamental elements I myself regularly responded to as a kid — watching silly old space and monster movies, seeing robots, puppets, and gumball machines, and play-acting with my friends — all with a snarky sense of humor. I loved how it skewered many of the goofy B-movies that I watched as a tot on a Saturday afternoon in my ’70s shag-carpeted den.
What I didn’t realize was that this time around with the show’s new episodes, some of the most beloved, crappy films that I watched as a kid in the theater first-run would get the MST3K treatment. While I used to watch the likes of REPTILICUS and YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP on ABC’s THE 4:30 MOVIE because they were released before my time, such craptastic films as AT THE EARTH’S CORE, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT and STAR CRASH were films that I made an effort to see at my local movie theater. I’ve gotta tell you, that makes for a hard look in the mirror. I guess I have to face facts that am indeed of the “vintage” variety myself.
Before I post that interview for readers of IT CAME FROM…, I wanted to add that a few years later after my first interview with him, I tapped Hodgson again for Famous Monsters of Filmlandto get a few choice bon mots for our GAMERA 50th anniversary issue (the giant turtle monster has been very good to MST3K, providing fuel for a few truly inspired episodes). And then Hodgson was kind enough to join last year’s 2016 Comic-Con panel that I assembled for the Forrest J Ackerman Centennial Celebration. There, he shared his love and respect for the founder of Famous Monsters of Filmland, the particular issues that he devoured as a kid,and how they all influenced his upbringing, mindset, and ultimate MST3K career choices. Joel is a true Monster Kid, albeit a bit of a subdued, self-effacing one at best.
Here’s my ET interview with Joel Hodgson from November 25th of 2013:
“The cult classic movie-riff comedy show Mystery Science Theater 3000 celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special MST3K: 25th Anniversary Edition DVD from Shout! Factory, and creator Joel Hodgson tells ETonline that much of the show’s recipe for comic success had to do with the unexpected.
“When you go to a movie, you really know what you’re getting because it’s been presold to you in so many different ways,” Hodgson tells ETonline. “With Mystery Science Theater, I think people liked it because it’s kind of like being taken into a haunted house with guides — you don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re just kind of strapped in, and you’ve got to go watch this movie, and that’s an unusual exercise in today’s world. … You just don’t watch movies you don’t know anything about [these days]. It’s just unusual.”
For those not in the know, Mystery Science Theater 3000 basically centers around a couple of witty guys (who are silhouettes in the audience) riffing on bad movies, making comments and making up dialogue as the classic cinematic missteps play to hilarious effect. The show is framed by a plot device that has Hodgson trapped on a space station by an evil scientist, forced to watch bad movies as part of a psychological experiment. Luckily, he’s got his robot/puppet companions Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo and Gypsy alongside to riff on the ridiculous plots, cheesy dialogue and painful special effects.
“I really kind of cued off of SCTV because I loved that show when it came out,” says Hodgson of MST3K‘s inspirations. “I realized that [show], and Dr. Who, surprisingly — both of those shows kind of showed me that as long as you remain consistent in the quality, it would work. Dr. Who was consistently low quality. It was like a very ambitious show that was always really cheap-looking, but because they kept the tone the same, you accepted it.”
While many think that the show’s hilarity is entirely improvised, Hodgson counters, “It’s all scripted, and I think the art of it is to make it look like it’s fresh. There’s so many riffs in there — I mean, 700-800 in a usual show — it’s like music. You have to play it like it’s just happening. But it’s all written, and I think that’s the thing that confounds people, because a lot of people think we’re just talking.”
Asked if he has a favorite of the many movies he’s riffed on, Hodgson singles out Pod People. “This movie seems like it’s a huge misunderstanding,” he says with a laugh. “They’re trying to make E.T., but it’s horrible and there’s all these things that are going wrong, and E.T.’s mom is killing people, and so there’s a lot of confusion; I think those things are real fascinating when they happen.”
POD PEOPLE
After four-and-a-half seasons, Hodgson left Mystery Science Theater 3000 in ’93 and the show’s head writer Mike Nelson took over the hot seat for the rest of the run of the series. Hodgson says his departure from the show stemmed from a disagreement with his creative partner Jim Mallon over the future of the project when the option for a series of feature films instead of the TV series was dangled in front of them.
“We started fighting and it just kind of escalated, and I just felt like I didn’t like the way it was going,” explains Hodgson. “I was always really happy when I was making Mystery Science Theater and I could see the end to that, and I felt like that would be really bad. I didn’t want to be one of those bitter comedians — I’m unemployed, being the sad clown. So I left, and it turned out to be the right thing. Everything’s kind of reverted back. For example, you’re talking to me about Mystery Science Theater, not Jim Mallon, so I feel the universe is in the right place.”
As for the future of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Hodgson is optimistic about a return: “You know, people bring it up all the time, and I kind of hope that happens,” he says. “The stars have to align for that to happen, but I really do hope so. It’s kind of built to keep going, I think. Everybody in the cast has been replaced and it didn’t seem to hurt the show, and so I kind of hope that happens.”
The five-DVD MST3K: 25th Anniversary Edition set features the films Moon Zero Two, The Day The Earth Froze, The Leech Woman and Gorgo and is packed with extras including the three-part documentary Return To Eden Prairie: 25 Years Of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Life After MST3K: Mary Jo Pehl, Ninth Wonder Of The World: The Making Of Gorgo (MST3K Edition) and Last Flight Of Joel Robinson, plus MST Hour wraps and four exclusive mini-posters by artist Steve Vance. The collectible tin also includes a bonus DVD with a double feature of two long-out-of-print fan-favorite episodes — Joel’s last episode, Mitchell, and Mike’s first episode, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.”
While I used to watch the likes of REPTILICUS and YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP on ABC’s THE 4:30 MOVIE because they were released before my time, such craptastic films as AT THE EARTH’S CORE, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT and STAR CRASH were films that I made an effort to see at my local movie theater. I’ve gotta tell you, that makes for a hard look in the mirror. I guess I have to face facts that am indeed of the “vintage” variety myself.
to get a few choice bon mots for our GAMERA 50th anniversary issue (the giant turtle monster has been very good to MST3K, providing fuel for a few truly inspired episodes). And then Hodgson was kind enough to join last year’s 2016 Comic-Con panel that I assembled for the Forrest J Ackerman Centennial Celebration. There, he shared his love and respect for the founder of Famous Monsters of Filmland, the particular issues that he devoured as a kid, and how they all influenced his upbringing, mindset, and ultimate MST3K career choices. Joel is a true Monster Kid, albeit a bit of a subdued, self-effacing one at best.“When you go to a movie, you really know what you’re getting because it’s been presold to you in so many different ways,” Hodgson tells ETonline. “With Mystery Science Theater, I think people liked it because it’s kind of like being taken into a haunted house with guides — you don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re just kind of strapped in, and you’ve got to go watch this movie, and that’s an unusual exercise in today’s world. … You just don’t watch movies you don’t know anything about [these days]. It’s just unusual.”
IT CAME FROM... 