Films Outside the Loop

Jeanne Chappé


 

 Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
AND
MST 3K - The TV Series (1988 - ?)

Have you ever wondered what happened to all of those cheesy sci-fi movies that came out in the 50s, 60s and 70s? Believe me...they found a much better life after death!

Sometimes I fall backwards into really amazing things. One night when I was bored and channel surfing, I stumbled across this movie on cable. When the movie began, I thought it was a kid's movie. Boy...was I wrong! I got sucked in and discovered that Mike Nelson, Tom Servo, Crow and Gypsy are exiled in space (on a spaceship shaped like a giant dog bone). They are required, by a mad scientist, to watch REALLY bad sci-fi movies as their ultimate punishment. Mike Nelson and his two robot friends (Tom Servo and Crow) sit front row in the spaceship theater and comment, hysterically, on everything going on in the movie. The actual sci-fi movie within this movie is 'This Island Earth'. Hard to believe, but this movie is actually considered a classic sci-fi film. This movie contains the destruction of the Hubbell Space Telescope, a lot of William Shatner jokes and the fascination of anal probes. However, I am not giving Mike, Servo and Crow the credit they deserve. They have a truly incredible knowledge of the history of TV, music, movies, books, politics and so on and so forth. When the movie ended, I immediately said..."There should be a sequel or a TV series!" I was hooked! And, 10 years behind in the scope of things.

My cable company recently 'gave' me the Sci-Fi Channel. One day, while channel surfing, I gasped as I saw Mike Nelson, Tom Servo and Crow on the Sci-Fi Channel. I was ecstatic!!! I would now get more of what I had been craving since seeing the movie (3 or 4 times)! Turns out that 'MST 3K' (that is their cool TV nickname) has been a series since 1988! See what I mean about being 10 years behind? I am now glued to the TV every Saturday afternoon at 3pm! AND, I tape the shows as they are well worth watching more than once. There are actually cult-like groups that exchange tapes of the many shows that they have done. Mike Nelson, Tom Servo and Crow also did a preview of the 1998 Oscar Award Show that was beyond belief!

See the movie and you, too, will be addicted!

Runtime: Approximately 1:15

This film is available on DVD, VHS, cable or satellite.

 


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