Mystery Science Theater 3000 was an experiment in entertainment that grew far beyond the wildest expectations of its creators. Featuring a host character and several puppeteered bots, the show purported to tell the story of an exiled spaceman forced to endure an experiment that tested the limits of the human mind subjected to the worst films of all time. The character endures by making fun of the films along with his robot companions. Growing quickly from local television program to featuring on a succession of cable channels the show’s popularity soared to extreme heights until it was cancelled ten years later. In recent years, the series was brought back on Netflix. In this episode we take a look at MST3K. We discuss the phenomenon of watching characters watch something else and why it appeals. We talk about our favorite episodes. We also debate who the greatest host of the series is.
This week’s five-minute controversy asks whether Pepé Le Pew’s scene should have been cut from Space Jam 2.
This week Beth, Page, and Mark join the cast.
Show Notes:
The Gizmoplex
MST3K Season 13
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Man in the High Castle is a dark tale of an alternate Earth where the Axis powers won World War II. In this reality the United States has been occupied by both forces and split down the middle with Japanese states and Reich states. Hope seems lost for those who resist these powers until they start discovering films of what appears to be other Earths where things happened differently. In this episode we talk about Man in the High Castle. We discuss the various characters and how their various arcs progressed. We get into the concept and whether or not we found it entertaining or disturbing. We also debate the various plot lines and whether they worked or didn’t for us.
The What If..? series was a surprise hit from Marvel. Distinguishing Marvel Animation in a way that the company had not managed previously, the series boasted high quality animation and intriguing storylines that pushed the boundaries of the MCU. In this episode we explore the third season of the series. We discuss the individual episodes and what each meant to us. We talk about the characters and how the various alternate scenarios influenced them. We also get into our overall sense of the story, whether we thought that the final two episodes were a worthy resolution, and and whether we’d like to see the What If concept make a comeback.
Travelers is a Netflix original series about time travelers from a bleak future coming back to improve our world. The series broke with several conventions of the time travel sub-genre while mixing together other elements from various time travel series to create a unique experience that resonated with many fans. In this episode we discuss this series. We talk about our favorite characters and why their arcs worked for us while others may not have. We discuss the the various plots of the series and what we liked and didn’t about each. We also delve deep into the concepts and themes to get into what resonated with each of us about this series.