4 Reasons Why MST3K is One of the Best Shows Ever Made

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is infinitely better than Mystery Science Theaters 1-2,999. In fact, it might just be one of the best shows ever made

For anyone that's lived in the lowest levels of Deep Moon 13 for the past few decades, the premise of the show is in the theme song. A normal guy gets shot up into space and is forced to watch terrible movies with his robot friends. Somehow, from the orbiting space station the "Satellite of Love," these weirdos have managed to change life for us on earth. And life for me specifically.

Mike, Cambot (the bot that made it all possible), Gypsy, Tom Servo, and Croooow left us alone on earth in 1999 but now...

the bots are back (with the help of their human friend and Netflix). And it is just what the world needs right now.
    

 1. MST3K is about working together

  In interviews, creator Joel Hodgson explained that he saw MST3K as producing comedy in collaboration with the cheesy movies they screened. However, those filmmakers didn't know that in addition to the film they knew they were making, they also made a comedy (with the help of some robot friends). 

For example: Joe Don Baker made the movie Mitchell. Mitchell was supposed to be a mediocre and occasionally funny cop movie. After MST3K, Mitchell is still cop movie, but now it is also an excellent comedy. It became two movies! The only differences are that one them features robots, is intentionally funny, and people enjoy it.

2. MST3K made me feel like a part of their family

 In the same way that the Best Brains behind MST3K "collaborated" with these unique films, it made its TV audience feel like they were sitting in the theater between Crow and Tom Servo. When I was a kid I lived in Germany and got to see episodes through the circulated tapes mailed to me by my aunt in the states. In this show I found a movie theater where I was allowed to talk over the film, and an environment where I was allowed to engage with and question movies. I didn't have to accept their realities. I could think during the movie and could question my larger world. 

This show changed the way I (and kids in my generation) saw movies, and gave me inside jokes to share with my family and MSTies across the world. My family would reference it constantly. Our favorite line was “raspberry world, for all your raspberry needs" from the movie, but there seemed to be a fitting line for any situation. As a kid I wanted to be SOL on the SOL (an example of one joke out of many that I didn't understand until years later). I still want that.

3. MST3K has the best fictional universe (if you live on the SOL, not one of the planets destroyed by Mike, Destroyer of Worlds)

Today at the age of 26, one of my greatest dreams is to become an intern at Gizmontic institute (either making gizmos or cleaning up the place) so that my bosses wouldn’t like me and would subsequently shoot me into space. That seemingly bleak prospect feels delightful in the world that Joel Hodgson created.

Surprisingly, this TV show has an optimism almost unmatched by any other. None of the guys aboard the SOL need to worry about the science facts that consume the rest of our lives. There are no bills, no jobs, and questions like "how do I eat/breathe" aren't going to concern them. Instead they get free access to a curated collection of wonderful films without having to get a Netflix subscription (praise be unto to Netflix, reviver of shows).

Somehow, by virtue of living on the SOL you can transform from a janitor/intern/space trucker into someone who (like the bots) is programmed with limitless pop-culture knowledge, impression skills, and a degrees in engineering, robotics, and film. No one could watch that show without needing to feel as knowledgeable and witty as the characters on the screen. 

4. MST3K genuinely respects and loves its films as much as I do

MST3K is one of the few shows that respects the genuine love, effort, and sincerity that went into making those kinds of flims, because MST3K chooses films made by dreamers. It is the antidote to cynical billion dollar cash grabs that I will love and enjoy this summer. It says that anybody can kind of make a movie if you have about four dollars, some sort of camera, and the kidnapped children of a D-list star. The people that make these movies had hopes and dreams, and they didn't quite hit the mark, but after MST3K someone cared enough about their efforts to watch.

For example, Torgo is a goat/man/butler in Manos: Hands of Fate. And I have a confession. I have Torgo fever. I'd gladly accept a questionably warm Torgo Pizza, and I kind of liked the ending to Manos, Hands of Fate where the family is forced to serve or marry the Master. It genuinely surprised me, Torgo genuinely creeps me out, and the kid and dogs are genuinely adorable. The overall film is awful, but there is still a lot to like. 

Now the show has been revived and is operating under Joel's leadership and at its peak quality on Netflix. This time around we get great celebrity cameos and Felicia Day (from Doctor Horrible) and Patton Oswalt as series regulars! 



Alex Perry has lived in the jewel of the Arkla. tex (Texarkana), Germany, Waco, Houston, and has recently moved to Arkansas. She taught 6th grade ELA and is now starting a blog where she sometimes talks in the third person. She's supposed to create a "platform" to help get an agent for her science-fiction/humor/mystery manuscript. She clearly knows nothing about blogging so any helpful comments would be appreciated. You can go to her "professional" facebook page and read the first five pages of her first and second novels (they're infinitely better than the blog post you just read, promise).