Nov 24 2008
MST3K: Turkey Day and More!
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is perhaps one of the most highly-celebrated science fiction television shows in cable history. Beginning Thanksgiving 1988, the television show made several moves from station to station (beginning at a local television station in Minnesota, moving to Comedy Central, and finally to the SciFi Channel (where it remained until the end of its run in 1999; its re-runs lasted until 2004)). Regardless of where it was being shot, the show had strong ties to Thanksgiving throughout its run.
The concept was very simple. A man (from 1988-1993, it was character Joel Robinson; from 1993-1999, it was Mike Nelson) working as a janitor at an electronics institute is involuntarily blasted out into space by his superiors; he is forced to watch “cheesy” movies while his superiors monitor his mind in an experiment. The only company he has in the spacecraft (and during the movies) are robots he has crafted from what is implied to be the video controls (therefore he has no control over the films that he watches; he cannot start nor stop the film, fast forward, etc.). They watch the film in several parts while providing humorous commentary; while the audience is watching the show, it is like watching the film with Joel/Mike and the robots – their silhouettes are at the bottom of the screen as if they are in the front row of a movie theater. There are host segments between these sequences. These segments contain anything from science experiments to satirical re-enactments of famous films. Week after week, the mad scientists (“the mads”) would send Joel/Mike a new movie to torment him.
Some of the series’ most celebrated episodes include the presentations of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Godzilla Vs. Megalon, Manos: The Hands of Fate, The Giant Spider Invasion, Monster A-Go-Go, The Pod People, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, Laserblast, The Incredible Melting Man, and so many more.
The show would become a favorite amongst science fiction fans, and would usually make an appearance in the form of a marathon spanning the Thanksgiving holiday. These “Turkey Day” marathons would feature some of the most memorable episodes of the show.
Since the one-of-a-kind series is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this month (premiering on Thanksgiving Day), this reviewer will be watching a mini-marathon of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes beginning at 6:00 PM EST (after watching the “Kong” marathon beginning at 12:00 PM). It’s highly probable that many fans of the series will do the same.
