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How Mystery Science Theater 3000 Changed My Life
Or, 13 Lessons I learned from the Best TV Show Ever
by Tyler Hauck
How could I resist reading a zine with a title like that?
In the not too distant past there used to be a TV show
called Mystery Science Theater 3000, or MST3K, which debuted back in the murky
1980’s on a backwater UHF station called KTMA in Minnesota . The early episodes featured Joel
Hodgdon, Trace Beaulieu and J. Elvis Weinstein and a cast of creaky robots made
from styrofoam and gawd only knows what. Joel would watch cheesy b-movies with
the bots and make ironic & sarcastic comments. Sometimes there would be a
stretch of several minutes with no commentary at all. I watched some of these
episodes and they barely hinted at the sheer genius that was to evolve on
Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as syfy, I believe).
This zine speaks to the converted (I’m a card carrying
MSTie) but would be a fun read for novitiates to the series. The “lessons” are definitely
there to be found if you’ve even watched just a handful of episodes of MST3K
and are well thought out and explained by Tyler .
There’s also plenty of other snippets and glimpses into the world of MST3K –
the invention exchanges, the skits and songs, the worst movies of all time. I
am grateful to have been introduced to the films The Creeping Terror, Red Zone Cuba
Bottom line: every aspect of this zine is excellent. There
may have been better “series” on television over the years, but in the spirit
of DIY fun, obscure pop references and clever writing, this was the best “TV
show” ever. Read this zine and find out why.
May the Satellite of Love rust in pieces.
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