MST3K History Lesson

MST3K is my favorite TV show.

What...? Oh...MST3K? MST3K is short for Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the uninitiated. The premise of the show can be boiled down thusly:

A man and 2 robots are forced by "mad scientists" to watch movies which in many cases are really bad. To survive the "experiment" the trio riffs, or makes fun of, the movie. Many of the jokes are bad, but they make the movies bearable. Some episodes are better than others, but all usually have something funny to offer.

The show started on KTMA in Minnesota in the fall of 1988 featuring Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu and Josh Weinstein. Joel played the human subject Joel, Trace and Josh played the Mad Scientists and also provided the voices for the robots Crow and Beeper (and eventually Tom Servo). Weinstein also did the voice of the robot Gypsy.

The show was a success and (eventually)moved to Comedy Central. Josh also moved on after the end of the first Comedy Central season and he was replaced by Kevin Murphy as Tom Servo and Frank Conniff as the new "mad". Losing Josh was not a bad move, though I will talk about him more later. Kevin and Frank added much to the show.

Halfway through season 5 Joel left the show and was replaced by Michael J. Nelson, who was the head writer of the show. Mike went on to "host" the show for the rest of its run and the move to the Sci-Fi Channel. A few seasons after this move Frank left the show and was replaced by Mary Jo Pehl in the role of Dr. Forrester's mom. Later, Trace left and was replaced by Bill Corbett in the role of Brain Guy and Crow. In season 10 Mike and the Bots crash land back on Earth and we are left with a scene of them sitting on a couch, watching a bad movie and making fun of it.
One of the hottest debates over the years was Mike vs. Joel.

So....Mike vs Joel.

I, as the saying goes, like Mike. Mike was the host I saw originally, or at least the one that I remember most. He brought such episodes as Prince of Space and Invasion of the Neptune Men. Two of the best episodes ever.

As I have gone back and watched the Joel days, I feel more and more of a Mike supporter. Both men did a great job, but I just like Mike better. His timing and delivery was more to my liking.

But the other changes caused some debate as well.

Josh vs Kevin? Kevin by a long shot. Beeper was annoying and poorly designed. Tom Servo was funny and witty. As Servo, Josh had this deep voice that didn't seem to fit with the design of the 'bot, while Kevin matched up perfectly and gave him a depth that was missing.

Josh vs Frank? Again, Frank by a long shot. TV's Frank was funny, Dr. Erhardt had this nasally, whiny voice that annoyed me so much, I would skip through any segment with him in it.

Trace vs Mary Jo? Trace by a hair. I always liked Dr. Forrester. Mrs. Forrester started out annoying, but eventually came to enjoy her.

Trace vs Bill? Bill by a hair. I liked the new direction that Bill added to the show, especially in his role as Brain Guy.

So, 11 years after the show has been off the air and I still think it was the best show on TV.

Look for more on this show as well as the various side projects that have cropped up over the years.

Plus, I'll give Josh Weinstein some love.