A few months ago, my dad gave me a copy of a James Michener book called The Eagle and the Raven. “Read the introduction,” my dad said. “I think it will speak to you.”
He was right. The introduction was all about how Michener saved everything he cut out of his novels, and described how the book I held in my hands was born from material he’d cut out of a different book he’d written years before. I never throw away anything, and it was spiffy to read that one of my behaviors as a writer is mimicked by someone who probably cut more words out of his novels than I’ll write in my entire life. I thought about this earlier today when I came across a file called introduction.odt, which I assume it was going to be an introduction to something, at some time:
When I was twenty or twenty-one, I read an interview with Joel Hodgson, one of the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000. He was asked about the uncommonly high number of obscure references and jokes that were lost on a large portion of the audience. Those obscure jokes were one of the main reasons I loved MST3K so much, so I paid very close attention when Joel said that they didn’t ask themselves, “Will anyone get this joke?” but instead they said to each other, “the right people will get this joke.” That philosophy was and continues to be a very strong influence in my writing, so
and then it just ends. I can’t remember where I was going with this, or what it was for (I didn’t check the date stamp on the file before I reflexively saved it after opening it this afternoon) but it remains true: MST3K was a huge influence on me during some of my formative years.
The MST3K crew reunited recently to give an interview to my old stomping grounds, The AV Club, and in it, Joel said:
No one was saying, “Don’t put that in, no one will get that.” We had a very open architecture in the writing room. The only person that could remove any joke was basically an individual who said, “I have a problem with that joke, it offends me.” And then we would throw it out, no questions asked.
I’m doubt that Joel or anyone from MST3K will see this, but I want to publicly thank them all, not just for entertaining me during the exciting rock climbing portion of my youth, but for inspiring me to never worry about trying to be all things to all people.
I got some important work done today, and I’m going to celebrate by watching something from the 20th anniversary box set, probably First Spaceship on Venus .
Oh, while I’m talking about MST3K: People who can make this happen, please get Lost Continent and Rocketship X-M onto DVD, mmmkay? I haven’t seen them since 1990, and after waiting all this time, my lungs are aching for air.
Lost Continent is on YouTube FWIW:
…as is Rocketship X-M:
I was so obsessed with MST3K I programmed a Hypercard stack episode guide. I stayed up all night to swap out tapes during Turkey Day marathons (taking naps). I still say “hikeeba!” way too often. And now I have infected my children, who will spontaneously yell “Watch out for snakes!” and “I said, ‘Any fruit to declare!!'” at inopportune moments. The Mike years were good, but the Joel years were better–they were subversive. I missed that edge once Joel left. Once again, Wil, you prove yourself a geek’s geek. 🙂
Huzzah is also part of my vocabulary thanks to mst3k. I still have some of my VHS tapes from the Mystery Science Theater Hour on PBS.
Sandstorm.
I was just walking around today singing “A Patrick Swayze Christmas” and frightening the children. I regret nothing!
I also happen to have both those episodes and am a big believer in circulating the tapes, too…
He triiiiiied to kill me with a forklift… ole!
I love *insider* details like that, and I also like the art of writing in the margins of a book, and seeing what others have written.
Read: The Meaning of Everything, The history of the Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Everything-Oxford-English-Dictionary/dp/0198607024
Dammit. That is the quote I always reference whenever you talk about MST3k. Now I’m going to have to come up with a new one.
Mmmm… new potatos…
One of the first aspects of MST3K that won me over was the obscure joke content. The fact that they weren’t pandering to the audience added to the overall integrity and hilarity of the show.
Also, I don’t know if you already know this but someone from MST3K has read this blog entry. I tweeted a link to it to Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy & Bill responded.
You can see his tweet here – http://twitter.com/BillCorbett/status/1014134308
Wil, I share your love for MST3K. I don’t want to condone piracy here, but there are pretty easily found sources (Google “utternerd mst3k”) for every single episode online, including those that were never for sale. I have several DVDs, as well as the complete series in iTunes in AppleTV format so I can get my fix whenever I want at any TV in my house. You never know when or where the mood will strike after all…
i had a random thought. you should totally do a guest spot on The Big Bang Theory, as yourself. It would be of awesome.
The best thing about living in Minneapolis growing up was getting MST3K from the very beginning. Even when they moved to national cable, they put a lot of jokes about local stuff in, and we loved it — we thought that only we would get the jokes, that they were written specifically for us. Awesome.
Thanks for linking the article, I had completely forgotten it was an anniversary for the show. It’s amazing to me how many more people knew and loved it than I used to think. Watch out for snakes!
I actually had the privilege of meeting James Michener here in Austin when I used to manage a restaurant from ’93-’95. He had a helper that would bring him in, and he moved slowly. He was a true gentleman, and he left a lasting impact with his work.
On another note, my wife and I truly miss MST3K, and I wish they would consider bringing it back at some point.
I am following you now on Twitter on the advice of my friend @BDC_Sharon.
Well, the gang has done Rifftrax: http://www.rifftrax.com/
and Cinematic Titanic:
http://www.cinematictitanic.com/
Not quite the same, but not that bad either. I do miss the bots, however.
right on Wil!! MST3K was awesome and so is that quote from Joel, “The right people will get this joke.” My favorite episodes were The Giant Spider Invasion, Riding with Death, and Space Mutiny!!
Wil, please tell me you’ve seen the MST3k Digital Archive Project:
http://www.dapcentral.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=MasterList2&file=index&show=1
Both Lost Continent and
Rocketship X-M are there.
Wil, this Ricky Gervais quote might be inspiring in a similar way:
“I’d rather the stuff I do be half a dozen people’s favorite thing, as opposed to 10 million people’s ninth-favorite thing. [Laughs.] I can’t think of anything worse.”
I discovered MST3K when I moved to San Antonio. I think they were in the 6th season at the time and I stayed up each night to watch. When things didn’t work out there I realized that what I was going to miss the most about being there was my daily dose of MST3K.
I went out and bought a bunch of VHS tapes and recorded whatever I could before I moved back to Canada. I also tried really hard to not watch the episodes I was taping so that they would be fresh when I got back.
I ended up with about 6 tapes with 4 episodes each and must have watched each of those episodes at least 10 times. I would go to a friends house and ask, ever hear of MST3K? Of course they hadn’t, so it was time to cue up Sky Divers, or, Red Zone Cuba (my personal favorite), or Pod People.
Soon my tapes were pretty much unwatchable because they had been through so many VCRs. But it’s okay, I probably don’t ever need to see the episodes again since I have many of them committed to memory.
MST3K was one of those shows that made me want to understand the references and forced me to go beyond the show to understand what they were talking about. Even to this day, as I learn new things, I’ll chuckle because I finally got a reference that I heard 8 years ago on MST3K.
I may be the only person to say this in a positive fashion: “Manos: the Hands of Fate” changed my life.
It was the first MST3K I saw, and was responsible for me (A) moving to the Midwest, (B) trying to find MORE via like-minded oddballs out there, which lead me to (C) my kooky husband of 8 years, who impressed me when he said that he and his friends had weekly extended screenings of the latest episodes, as well as bootleg, VHS copies of past epis.
It’s been 15 years since that episode aired, 20 for the show, and I still ask of you: is there ANYTHING MST3K can’t do?!?
“How much keefe is in this movie?? MILES O’keefe!”
Ah, “Lost Continent”. Never since Andy Warhols “Empire State” has a camera moved so little. I laughed so hard at that joke it hurt.
Joels comments echo something I heard in a documentary about the old Bugs Bunny Cartoons. I believe it was Friz Freeling who said, “People don’t understand, we didn’t make these for kids, we didn’t make them for adults, we made them for ourselves.” If they found it funny it went in. I’m currently reading a book about the history of “Saturday Night Live” and the writers basically say the same thing. Don’t worry about who will get it.
Rock climbing, Wil. Rock climbing.
aaaaiiiiieeeeeeee
Rock climbing, Wil. Rock climbing.
aaaaiiiiieeeeeeee
Could. not. agree. more.
MST3K was one of the only US TV shows that I ever thought was worth it’s salt and then some. Finally (finally!) a TV show that trusted the intelligence of its audience; it just made you feel like part of the gang. I have enjoyed Cinematic Titanic thus far, but nothing will ever top those early to mid years of MST3K.
Making me sit through ‘Manos: The Hands of Fate’ again has become my best friend’s new favorite thing to threaten me with. As in, ‘Don’t tell my new girlfriend about the hookers and blow, or it’s ‘The Hands of Fate’!’
I love MST3K, but nothing on this earth will make me sit through another viewing of that episode. I suggest saving that one for when the kids act up. 😉
I don’t have cable or satellite TV, I just have MSTie seasons 2-10 on DVD plus as many box sets as I can afford. It’s truly the funniest show ever made. I have to be careful that I don’t watch them too often and get stale, but that’s hard with Space Mutiny or Overdrawn at the Memory Bank. “Mom… my nuts?” and that jock guy shrieking like a little girl always get a LOL. MST3K, I love you and I always will.
I tend to watch them frequently on Shoutcast TV via WinAmp. Its like comfort food.
And the phrase that comes up a lot with my friends is: “That was dumb. Can’t believe we did that!.”
Man, I could go for a ham dinger…
Loved MST3K, too.
OT, and old news maybe, but has anyone who uses gmail seen the new themes available for your account? The ascii style theme rocks.
I just learned my Grandfather was in a movie called, “Space Children”. And MST3K indeed did a great job tearing it apart. Haven’t laughed so hard in a long time!
Re: your earlier tweet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0tBKil4eqE
and related: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJMzS_Gbd8
Those are little miles…
And those are BIG miles.
“What does this have to do with ANYTHING, Lloyd?”
“I must be tired, I’m almost interested in what you’re saying.”
“Thank you Mr. White Male Reality.”
“By this time my lungs were aching for air!”
Suppose there was a war and nobody came.. where do you wanna be in two years?
(It’s like I saw this yesterday!)
Mike and crew are at Rifftrax… Joel and crew are at Cinematic Titanic. I think they’re different enough that there’s a place in our hearts for both.
Wil,
Did you get a chance to talk to the MST3K crew at SuperCon in San Jose?
For those who didn’t attend, MST3K was across the aisle from Wil.
Hi Wil,
I have both of those episodes on VHS tape. You can borrow them if you like.
“Trumpy, where have you been?”
“Killing people. You’re my alibi, kid.”
Over a decade of entertainment for me and my loved ones… my adoration for MST3K “cannot be sated.”
I so loved MST3K when I found it back on the Comedy Channel when I was in college (back around ’90 or so). I’d read some dry humanities text for class and then hear some reference to it by Joel not long afterwards (I suspect he had access to my syllabi, regardless of how improbable). It just wasn’t the same after he left, even though Mike was a writer before then and I did like him as well. I missed the obscure references (and the invention exchanges). Such a great show!
My friends and I used to put a cut-out of Joel and the ‘bots at the bottom of the t.v. and do our own lame version of MST.
It was especially funny on stuff like M.A.S.H. and programs we were familiar with.
It wasn’t until years later that I read about how Joel and Co. wrote jokes for the show, and it hit me… what dedication to your craft, to watch those crappy movies over and over, until the jokes were right.
I’ve certainly never seen all the episodes, but here’s two of my favorite quotes —
“Wow.. Really OLD teenagers from space..”
“It was about that time that the Duke boys decided to show Boss Hogg what “Side-Hackin” was all about.”
Keep circulating the tapes, Wil.
Rocketship X-M has been my favourite MST3K since I saw it. I have a copy on a battered old VHS tape that I won’t give up even after 3 moves in 2 years. Definitely a little inspiration for Spaceship Zero!
I guess I’ll have to track down Lost Continent
>>I didn’t check the date stamp on the file before I reflexively saved it after opening it this afternoon<< If one is using a 'sensible' application under Windows, then one may check the file's properties in Windows Explorer for the file CREATION date, which is maintained separately from the LAST MODIFY date. Of course, some programs destroy the original and then create a new file when one saves, so the create date may be destroyed anyway by a 'non-sensible' application. But it might be worth the look, if you're interested.
Geez, Wil, I only work with Mike Nelson. The least you could have done was ask me 😛
Off Topic, apologies – I think comments are closed for the following post:
http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/04/strength-and-co.html
Hi Wil,
Bug wisdom is powerful juju! I’m pleased and honored that you benefitted from the information I sent. I had hoped it would uplift and be applicable. This was a good time for me to find your post of gratitude. Thank you for mentioning me. 😀
‘Amanda Peckinpaw’
aka Dawn
Bug Whispering since 1999 ;}
Lol–back around 1993-1994 some friends and I drove down one January day to Minneapolis, down to the industrial park off of Valley View Road where MST3K/Best Brains studio was located. The place was closed for the weekend so we couldn’t take the infamous set tour. Two of Jim Mallon’s pink flamingos were placed on the lawn in the front. After peeking into the windows we left. When we got back home one of my friends pulled a surprise out of his jacket–he had swiped one of the flamingos. He didn’t want it so he gave it to me. That flamingo now sits on my table–a lasting personal token from my visit to the studio. Sigh…
If anyone remembers the short “Home Economics” my mother dated the male cheerleader in that film.
You might recall him as the “look at my crotch” guy. For awhile Comedy Central was using that clip alot in its promos.
That could have been my dad.
I know I have RXM on DVD, I moved it from old VHS tapes I had. I might have Lost Continent, too. Is there anyway I could get you copies?
The moment I got hooked on MST3K was when they did a riff on my heritage. That was the first time I’d ever heard anybody in popular media make a Mennonite joke. You’re right that the obscurity was half the fun!
Seriously, MST3K was one of the greatest things ever to happen to TV.