New 'Mystery Science Theater 3000,' Same As the Old 'MST3K'
by EG
When I first heard that Joel Hodgson wanted not only to revive his most famous creation, the “talking back to the movies” TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, but to revive it with an all-new cast, the only reaction I could muster was scoffing disbelief.
The original series, which ran from 1988 until 1999 on several different networks, did switch out its host and the voices of its robot puppets over the course of its run. But that happened gradually. A voice might change here, an onscreen performer there, but most of the show’s core remained present, especially in its Emmy-nominated writers’ room. Eventually every major role had turned over, without ever really rocking the boat.
But replacing everything at once, especially when nothing was wrong with the original series, seemed like a pointless overhaul. I’m not a huge fan of TV reboots in general, but if they have to happen, they tend to work best when they can put a new cap on a series that ended poorly. (See: Gilmore Girls.) Hodgson’s argument that the show could be like Doctor Who — changing casts every so often, even as its premise remained largely the same — struck me as a weird idea. I wanted my Tom Servo, dammit!
Well, consider me chastened, because the new MST3K is a lot of fun.
Read the rest of this article at Vox.
The original series starred Joel Hodgson as the beleaguered host, and Michael J. Nelson took his place later.