Why not bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000?

[BathTub]

Oh I can guarentee this board is full of Firefly fans.

[gammer]

   As for MST3k, I think anything can happen. I've seen numerous shows brought back from the brink of death by the fans (ex: X-Files) and then outright brought back literally from death (ex: Family Guy) outright by the fans. I think in MST3K's case, it depends on if the writers/creators want it back or no. The fanbase is certianly there. There might even be enough of us to influence a network. Life moves on for many, but I'd be happy with just reruns, personally. Either way I'm happy because 1) MST3K lives on forever on DVD and in the fan community and 2) Rifftrax is here to scratch the riff itch.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I think the MST Fanbase was the basis to start up RiffTrax...and thats why RiffTrax is a success.

And yes, thanks to Rhino and the fans, all of the MST eps are available on DVD (fan made).

[Tyrant]

Oh I can guarentee this board is full of Firefly fans.

   That's nice to know. Around here in this little town in NM, the only Browncoats that seem to exist are Pak and myself. We won free tickets to see the sneak preview of Serenity and we were looking forward to seeing other fans there. Unfortunatly, it seemed that we were the only ones there that knew anything about the TV series.    Twas lonely.

[MrTorso]

   As for MST3k, I think anything can happen. I've seen numerous shows brought back from the brink of death by the fans (ex: X-Files) and then outright brought back literally from death (ex: Family Guy) outright by the fans. I think in MST3K's case, it depends on if the writers/creators want it back or no. The fanbase is certianly there. There might even be enough of us to influence a network. Life moves on for many, but I'd be happy with just reruns, personally. Either way I'm happy because 1) MST3K lives on forever on DVD and in the fan community and 2) Rifftrax is here to scratch the riff itch.

X-Files ratings at their lowest still trumped by a wide margin the ratings that MST3K got. Family Guy came back because of tremendous DVD sales. First week sales of Family Guy probably trumps whatever sales MST3K has had for all the releases to date.

[Msampo]

Every one thyinks its impossible!... Thats a bunch of bull!... Sieriosly like tyhe whole nine yards.. Robots Movie Sign MITCHELL! I miss it i dont know why you guys dont just stand up and do it again!... It would be like a break through!! I may sound crazy.. But it would be the coolest thing in the world! Please guys cmon think about it!

I would guess that some sort of one-off special reunion show is not completely and totally out of the question (especially if Rifftrax continues to gain popularity). But starting up the show as a regular series is about as likely as the return of dial telephones. For these reasons:

1. The fan base is a mile wide and an inch deep. I've noted elsewhere that MST3K is the fondest-remembered TV show nobody ever actually watched. Stop your average joe on the street and ask him about MST3k. Remind him its the show with the robots and bad movies. Suddenly a light will dawn: "Oh yeah! I loved that show!" he'll say. Now press him. Ask him what his favorite episode was. Ask him how often he watched. What you'll quickly find out is that he saw about 20 minutes one time at a friend's house...and maybe a half hour when he happened on it while channel surfing one night...
The real fans were few and far between, as the show's ratings--middling at best, usually terrible--showed. Yes, the right people will get it, and both Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel claimed that, while it wasn't huge, MST3K brought in a good demographic. But anybody who thinks MSTies are legion out there in the countryside is fooling himself.
(One of things that makes Rifftrax so brilliant is that, unlike a mainstream TV show with all its overhead, Rifftrax can thrive on a much smaller slice of the market.)

2. No network wants to program a two hour show. Back in the late 80s when these cable channels were starting up, they needed content to fill up time. They have plenty of content now. Plus, unless you're a hardcore fan, a two-hour committment to MST3k is something most people seldom want to make. My own experience is that non-fans start to get restless after about an hour and ten minutes. That's pretty much what Grammercy officials found out when they brought in focus groups to watch MST3k: The Movie (which is why it's so short).
(One of the things that makes Rifftrax so brilliant is that it's only as long as the movie is.)

3. But the movie rights issue is really what did it in. It's the thing that makes MST3K different from every other TV show. By time you pay for the movie rights, and pay Best Brains, the profit margin's gone. That, really, was what killed it. Costs rose, and the viewership (and, hence, advertising rates) stayed flat. You have to have a VERY understanding head of programming when that happens.
Every other classic TV show has a second life in reruns. MST3K won't. I'm confident in saying that, short of some sort of miracle, you will never ever see an MST3k episode on TV again (except, again, for some sort of new special or something). Yes, some of the movies they did are in public domain, but many many more (including many of the classic episodes) are not. Cherry picking a few episodes out of the series to run over and over would be very unsatisfying (anybody old enough to remember that one summer when they ran the "Giant Gila Monster" episode about 15 times in three months? That movie's in PD.)
Every other classic TV show gets released on DVD a season at a time. MST3K won't. It can only be released in dribs and drabs, as the Rhino execs manage to clear the rights to this or that movie.
(Of course, this is the chief brilliance of the Rifftrax concept: no rights fees + low overhead = plenty of profit and happy beancounters who say "more, more!")

Them's the facts of life and TV, folks.

Sampo

[MontyServo]

It would not surprise me to see MST3K brought back at some point as a one time reunion special.  I remember when the show was taken off Sci-Fi, there were rumors that AMC or Showtime might pick up the show.  But that never came to pass, obviously.

2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of what is now Comedy Central, so maybe there will be something done for that occasion?

[Tarantulas]

It would not surprise me to see MST3K brought back at some point as a one time reunion special.  I remember when the show was taken off Sci-Fi, there were rumors that AMC or Showtime might pick up the show.  But that never came to pass, obviously.

2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of what is now Comedy Central, so maybe there will be something done for that occasion?

Unless its a MadTV marathon or 20 hours of South Park (which really built their network), I wouldn't hold my breath.  There were tons of great shows on CC back in the day, and they are all lost to the ages.

I'd love to see some sort of reunion, and I think we are truely getting that in the form of the Film Crew DVDs that will be coming out soonish (as of this posting).

Also, great post Sampo...  I'd glad you are still in the game.  And I've noticed that every region has it's own MST fanbase, I'm working Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.  I've even heard there is some sort of official club in the St. Louis area.

[Sharktopus]

...since riffing tends to imply that a movie is bad, no one wants to pay some guys with puppets to make fun of their movies.

Oh, really?

*emoticon*

But Greg The Bunny is parodying movies, not showing the actual movie while tearing it a new one. Obvious parody exempts you from copyright violation, which is why stuff like Greg The Bunny and Robot Chicken can exist.

[6079SmithW]

...since riffing tends to imply that a movie is bad, no one wants to pay some guys with puppets to make fun of their movies.

Oh, really?

*emoticon*

But Greg The Bunny is parodying movies, not showing the actual movie while tearing it a new one. Obvious parody exempts you from copyright violation, which is why stuff like Greg The Bunny and Robot Chicken can exist.

Actually, you can outright use pieces of the original in parody- there was some case back in the 90's where a band was sued for using long clips from a Kenny Rogers song in their own making fun of him, and the ruling was in the bands favor. Unfortunately, I don't think you could get away with showing essentially an entire movie under that ruling.

[Sharktopus]

...since riffing tends to imply that a movie is bad, no one wants to pay some guys with puppets to make fun of their movies.

Oh, really?

*emoticon*

But Greg The Bunny is parodying movies, not showing the actual movie while tearing it a new one. Obvious parody exempts you from copyright violation, which is why stuff like Greg The Bunny and Robot Chicken can exist.

Actually, you can outright use pieces of the original in parody- there was some case back in the 90's where a band was sued for using long clips from a Kenny Rogers song in their own making fun of him, and the ruling was in the bands favor. Unfortunately, I don't think you could get away with showing essentially an entire movie under that ruling.

I think that also had something to with ASCAP and how you can broadcast songs on the radio, blah blah blah, but motion pictures explicitly prohibit public exhibition, blah blah blah, and oh, I've gone all cross-eyed.

[6079SmithW]

I think that also had something to with ASCAP and how you can broadcast songs on the radio, blah blah blah, but motion pictures explicitly prohibit public exhibition, blah blah blah, and oh, I've gone all cross-eyed.

Nice.

Internet law (as practiced by internet lawyers) is a confusing thing, isn't it?

[LadyKenobi]

Fantastic post, Sampo.  I just about to uncork a let... it... go, but you applied this amazing thing called "logic", and I plan to just link to that explanation whenever this comes up again.  Which it will.  Over and frickin' over.

I love this show, and I know Mike and the others are genial when asked about it, but please.  These people are artists who need room to grow creatively.  Let them move on.

[pyro]

It would not surprise me to see MST3K brought back at some point as a one time reunion special.  I remember when the show was taken off Sci-Fi, there were rumors that AMC or Showtime might pick up the show.  But that never came to pass, obviously.

I've actually been wondering on and off about Showtime, it seems like a match to me even though it's not possible for every reason that Sampo pointed out....

Also, great post Sampo...  I'd glad you are still in the game.  And I've noticed that every region has it's own MST fanbase, I'm working Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.  I've even heard there is some sort of official club in the St. Louis area.

Every so often I search "MST3K" and "Mystery Science Theater 3000" on craigslist philly out of curiosity but all I ever find is people selling the Rhino DVDs or DAP avi's...

[Fingal]

Every one thyinks its impossible!... Thats a bunch of bull!... Sieriosly like tyhe whole nine yards.. Robots Movie Sign MITCHELL! I miss it i dont know why you guys dont just stand up and do it again!... It would be like a break through!! I may sound crazy.. But it would be the coolest thing in the world! Please guys cmon think about it!

Y'know, I've been sayin' the same thing about Firefly!!!

I don't understand why they don't bring it back!


We can't always get what we want.  

Yes, listen to the wisdom of Mick Jagger...


I love MST3K. I wish it would have never,ever gone off the air, however, Rifftrax is that MST3K fix,baby. No more jonsin' for me.

[Sharktopus]

Every one thyinks its impossible!... Thats a bunch of bull!... Sieriosly like tyhe whole nine yards.. Robots Movie Sign MITCHELL! I miss it i dont know why you guys dont just stand up and do it again!... It would be like a break through!! I may sound crazy.. But it would be the coolest thing in the world! Please guys cmon think about it!

Y'know, I've been sayin' the same thing about Firefly!!!

I don't understand why they don't bring it back!


We can't always get what we want. 

Yes, listen to the wisdom of Mick Jagger...

...lyricist behind the classic sheep-f*cking song "Hey McCloud, Get Off My Ewe."

Thank you, than you. I'll be here all week. Try the veal and don't forget to tip your waitress.