Crowdfunding failed. MST3K is the best, but it's over.

[@npc1386]

MST3K is alive and well at Rifftrax.

[@robertroy92]

That is right

[@vampsith]

I love MST3K, but part of the charm was the lower budget, midwestern style. Not sure what their plan was with that high of a budget, especially when Rifftrax does the same thing with much less. We don’t need Patton Oswalt, we need dopey Milwaukee janitors.

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

That’s right, Jay.

[@epicfox567]

Exactly

[@zechwheeler5939]

The appeal of MST3K is that it costs practically nothing to make. They've got the puppets and the set, why do they need several million dollars to make the puppets talk?

[@ricklmire6593]

Licensing is completely different now, If you sing a few bars of a popular song, you pay royalties. The license for the films are also vastly more expensive. The crew is larger and more sophisticated. Previously the films were just purchased for broadcast at KTMA thus they could be riffed for free. When they got released on home media you have to pay for the right to do so to whom so ever owns it. In the current era of streaming many people or companies hold on to the rites hoping they can generate more money by selling a library of films for streaming for more money. Puppet prices remain largely the same.

[@vulgaritar48]

To build upon the previous post, it's also worth noting that a lot of those old campy movies that nobody gave a crap enough about to maintain copyright or liscensing were already tackled by previous iterations of MST3k or its spinoffs. The well was not bottomless. Now to find "quality" riff-worthy movies to lampoon, they have to buy the liscensing and distribution agreements - a major expense that, at one time for this series, was not an issue because they had a library of free material to chose from. While I agree that the latest version of the show felt really overproduced, it's also doubtful that a major distributor would pick up a back garage production. Hollywood's mentality these days is that good can only come from high budgets. To build their own platform was... ambitious. A shame they can't go low-production and just make a youtube series or something.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

@@vulgaritar48 I think the bottom line is that "new" kids making basement videos with $10's worth of props on KZbin these days (i.e. pretty much what the MSTK crew were circa 1989) are garnering more views and higher ROI (percentagewise) than these new reboots are getting, on Netflix or elsewhere. Besides, I have to face it-- I first saw MST3K when I was in my 20s, in the early 90s. I loved the show because it constantly harkened back to and poked fun at all the countless shows and jingles I grew up with in the 70s and 80s. I still break into guffaws when I hear the guys start singing "oh those Golden Grahams!" during the suspiciously similar soundtrack of "Radar" or whatever the movie was. Why? Because I freaking heard that jingle 10,000 times during my childhood. It would be unrealistic to ask 20-somethings today to write jokes incorporating Golden Grahams jingles that they've never heard before (nor do jingles really exist anymore as a genre for some reason) in order to entertain 50- and 60-somethings who were the core audience of the show when it was popular originally. And I guess the original crew are now either too old or have better things to do than get back together and fire the SOL back up, the way it was.

[@Tamlinearthly]

Does it cost next to nothing, or do you just assume that?

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

@Tamlinearthly yes, kids make money-making KZbin videos these days with barely any props, and make lots of money. The difference is they're the writers, directors, producers, and performers, just like MST3K was originally. They don't have to pay Patton Oswalts and Felicia Days and other expensive actors to ruin oops I mean perform their lines.

[@UnwantedStudios3]

they need to hire the rifftax guys back

[@TheVampirePredator]

The hosts aren’t the issue, but what they’re allowed to joke about is. Joel took a lot of things off the table for the scripts in order to make the riffs inoffensive to everyone.

[@ExUSSailor]

Without Joel, or, Mike, it was not the same, anyway.

[@lucymoody4927]

Yeah, fact is the reboot wasn't that great to begin with

[@dougnockles29]

I did like the new hosts, but having 2 made it confusing and they should have streamlined it a bit and it is missing the original spirit of the show with Joel and Mike, @@lucymoody4927

[@theaveragegamerno1589]

The Netflix seasons felt like they cared more about making a quip, god or bad, and too often drowned out the movie with endless bad marvel-like jokes. There was nothing unique or special at all about the new show. This guy wants to blame rich people for not funding? Refers to the voices of the robots as a faction? MST3K isn't dead, just this guy's version. I'll keep watching the old dvds and appreciate Mike and Joel.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

I was in my 20s (and a lonely Marine stationed far from home) when original MSTK hit the airwaves, and I was hooked. I loved Joel's "sleepy" but snarky delivery, and then I loved Mike's more "blue collar" take on it (only later did I learn he'd been the writer behind most of the success). As the seasons went on into the late 90s, it started to go sour-- I didn't really like Corbett or the Pearl character, I missed Frank and then Dr Forester, and the "Bobo" and time travel stuff was dumb... I stopped watching circa 1997-1998. Got to meet Joel at a con in about 2015, it was great. When I learned circa 2017 that there would be a reboot, I was psyched! How awesome, what could go wrong, Joel seemed so confident about it. I excitedly fired up Netflix and started to watch the new episodes. Ugh, what a disappointment. It was clear the "Jonah" guy had not only NOT actually written the material, but he had barely read it before delivering it, and didn't understand most of it. Plus, I was in my 40s by then and wanted to hear references to all the old movies and commercials etc that were close to my heart since I grew up in the 70s and 80s (like Joel and Mike did). None of that was forthcoming from the new group... the delivery was way too frenetic and choppy and unfunny, the 'jokes' were bad, and Jonah, as opposed to Joel and Mike, seemed WAY too to eager to be there, it did not at all seem like he was being 'forced' to be there... I could go on and on. Disappointment.

[@KC-sb2sm]

Exactly

[@legoseanland1760]

Never understood why we should fund production AND pay to watch, if we crowdfund we should get to see it free

[@lewis45acp]

100% The pitch was that the crowdfunding allowed them to do what they needed to do to make the shows. “You can make this happen!” So, if that’s true, then what is the $ on memberships or pay per views for?

[@GAMECLOSET]

Well said.

[@kylinsky]

My fandom can only be pressed so far, I'm fine with one (even two) Kickstarter campaign to get a project off the ground, but at a certain point it has to sustain itself without a new campaign every time they want to do another season. I think if they cannot afford another season, then they dropped the ball with monetizing the content they produced with the last Kickstarter funds. I really wish they had partnered with RiffTrax, instead of developing the Gizmoplex.

[@TehBellcarl]

Why would rifftrax want that? Mike saw the writing on the wall. Why have any visuals at all? Sell an audio track to use with a movie you don’t need to license or film. No props. No sets. No puppets. why ruin that successful business with more headache

[@From-North-Jersey]

three things were wrong with the new MST3K 1)patton oswalt, 2)patton oswalt 3)patton oswalt.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

You left out Patton Oswalt. Also, I was already so tired of Felicia Day, she was literally in EVERYTHING. She even ruined Supernatural.

[@echoechoecho7142]

1000%

[@echoechoecho7142]

Yep. Overkill. @@historyandhorseplaying7374

[@Randomcomicsfrommyspinne-xt5kq]

@@historyandhorseplaying7374 I enjoy Rifftrax more because there's no lame hosts. The new kids are mediocre. The Sci Fi Channel insisted on an ongoing story with Pearl each week which was awful.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

@Randomcomicsfrommyspinne-xt5kq I agree with you about Pearl-- she as a character and even actress was not good, she should never have been elevated beyond just being Dr Forester's mom. I actually preferred Joel or Mike aa hosts w segments because it made you care about those doing the commenting, versus just disembodied voices. I feel like I wouldn't care what random people unknown to me would have to say, versus people who you at least feel you have watched interact. Even Film Crew had small "host segments" for that purpose. Anyway I wish they'd all just get back together and recreate the OLD show, including Forester and Frank. And the kids are "mediocre" and always will be because they weren't even alive when the old shows and commercials the original crew referenced were popular.

[@50shadesofbeige88]

They should just make MST3K a web show. It could be done SO cheaply.

[@BaronFeydRautha]

Nope, gottta have 14 writers, "celebrity" regulars and re imagined for the illusive modern audience. There's a good reason it didn't get the funding. It has no singular direction or vision anymore. Like everything else now.

[@travtotheworld]

We have that. It's called RedLetterMedia.

[@dlxmarks]

@@BaronFeydRautha While watching the Netflix version I kept shaking my head at how much time and money they wasted on those long host sketches, musical numbers, and special guest stars instead of focusing on their fundamental strength: riffing on bad movies.

[@BaronFeydRautha]

@@dlxmarks And none of it was the level of even the old KTLA or whatever the public access episodes were on. Now they have "celebrities" like Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt to pay. 15 writers who are all trying to push "The Message"tm. Then there's the needless gender swap of Crow. I don't mind a female host as long as she's funny or has good material. Pearl was my favorite MST3K villain. Like you said, it's just being wasteful with its finding. Patton, Felicia and Joel could fund this shit out of pocket in an instant but no. We, the fans need to be the ones that have that financial burden.

[@ashtraydekay6624]

I remember the first time I saw m.s.t. A friend, and I were really stoned, and drunk in highschool....and we thought the TV was broken at first, like we couldnt figure out what was going on, but couldn't stop watching.......... I still remember the magic of that first time seeing.......

[@bootsthecat6718]

I remember accidentally turning on DVD commentary for The Pest. I had no idea what was going on, at first I thought I was still getting the audio from the cable box but was highly confused that the dialogue was related to the movie I was watching 😅

[@steveharrison9901]

There is no energy anymore. None. It (the show) feels like a job that nobody loves, going thru checklists and waiting to clock out for the day. I don’t feel an ounce of love for just goofing on a movie. My Rx: trim the staff. There is no need for PAGES of ‘producers’. Build real sets. Greenscreen of DRAWINGS has no life to it. No matter how clever Joel thinks he is, doing a shadowplay with cutouts is rank amateur time. Get Jonah a real personality, a reason. Joel was about invention exchange, Mike was musical comedy, get Jonah his own thing. I think the real danger is that like so many of our beloved pop culture mavens and creators, Joel has come to believe the fannish hype: he believes he a flawless genius and everything he does is THE RIGHT THING . Just look at how they have muffed up the simplest things like the three lights-mads calling, commercial sign, movie sign. It was a Pavlov gag, the light blinks, you hit the right button, get a treat. There was meaning and purpose and ritual there. They stopped doing the treats long ago but the process stayed and it was a gag that worked. Now it’s just a toss off reference with no life to it. I keep saying that don’t I? But it’s true. They have no investment in the ‘world’ which gives me no reason to invest myself. I wish MST3K well, but i think the whole kickstarter thing,ON TOP OF the paywall of the Gizmoplex, has left a really bad taste in the mouth.

[@TheVampirePredator]

Season 13 was complete garbage. Everything made antiseptic and safe. It was like watching Ric Flair trying to wrestle at 73 years old.

[@DavidBrown-ke8cb]

I watched since the Comedy Central days in the late 80s. I contributed to the first Kickstarter campaign - my credit is on the Avalanche episode. But when they did the next crowd funding, I decided that, if the show could not find business backers, it was time to say goodbye. I watched two of the last season's episodes and they were unfunny and a chore to get through. I have all the old episodes on DVD and they can sustain my MST3K fix.

[@dlxmarks]

Giving season 12 the subtitle of "The Gauntlet" was so ironic on an unintended level. I got through it by fast forwarding through all the host sketches, musical numbers, and special guest appearances.

[@HeroicRecaps]

Patton Oswalt ruined it. Just like he ruined Justified.

[@BeeHatGuy]

He's seriously not fun to watch most of the time

[@stoptominate]

"👌 it stinks "

[@bleachdemon7321]

MST3K needs to remain a cherished memory, the new seasons are kind of soulless to me. What made the original run of MST so special was the Mid-West humor and delivery. The new episodes just lack that coy dry humor that i loved. They could and did roast everything in a film, now it feels like Bob Evil from GenCorp is jangling keys in a Sbarro's at some jokes.

[@legoseanland1760]

I just want to add, TUSK!

[@hizzlemobizzle]

Cheap was the magic of MST3k they seem to have forgotten that.

[@NinthDensity]

I absolutely hated the stupid reboot anyway. It’s amazing how something can only get monumentally worse when trying to do the same thing 30 years later.

[@AnitaLife27]

I wish they’d pay off the Final sacrifice guy and make that available! Rowsdower and Troy…and Mike Pipper!

[@BrianQuarfoth]

Yes! It stinks not having one of the most iconic episodes in rotation. And the DVD is crazy expensive now on ebay!

[@thadd4156]

.....mmmmm, good dope....

[@toolthoughts]

"keep circulating the tapes"

[@goatscrote]

watching the old ones on Pluto. Some of the new ones are played, the stark contrast in what used to be lightning in a bottle type of deliveries on riffs that will bring you to tears, to the sort of forced almost laugh track insert jokes of the new ones is somewhat painful and disappointing. I do love Jonah and we wouldn’t have kaiju rap but after the first Netflix season you really start to question why they try to force a bit and start to dull. Some riffs you can see coming from a mile away and I’m not saying mst3k was “edgy” but it’s painfully real to see a kind of avoidance of what some would consider touchy subjects, when you could’ve had a great riff, instead you get silence. All the while you’re wondering “are they not even going to mention what we all just saw on screen?”

[@trafyknits9222]

This was such an amazing success story, but it might be time to turn out the lights. Joel and Mike (and the bots) were innovators and great comics. I love the original series, and still watch it to this day. But, all good things come to an end. Let it leave with dignity. Thanks for the memories.

[@thepayne7862]

Besides we still have Rifftrax.

[@RetroDaze]

It’s just not funny… the new hosts and writing. It’s cringe-worthy. I’d much rather watch a Rifftrax with Mike, Kevin, and Bill.

[@jamesgoward5687]

Rifftrax and The Mads are two things I regularly turn to with great content and with real MST3K alumni. And we can all keep circulating the tapes...

[@velveetaslingshot]

I watched the first season, but I never really clicked with Jonah and the new bots. But you nailed it on the head. MST3K was always about that moment in time. It was for people that still felt a powerful nostalgia for the old sci-fi/creature feature movies of their childhood. And there was still that shine of the last remaining innocence of America before it faded. Its sad, but that world is long gone.😢

[@From-North-Jersey]

Patton Oswalt is the kiss of death.

[@NinthDensity]

Yeah just ask his wife.

[@mellowboba9298]

Not to mention that the latest turkey day marathon had some weirdly tense moments between Joel and that producer.

[@zechwheeler5939]

I know Joel would appear 'jokingly' deadpan, but he seemed checked out in the same way the cast of Star Wars and GoT were done with it. I'm wondering what were some particular moments you could point out where it got tense? I didn't watch the whole marathon

[@mellowboba9298]

@@zechwheeler5939 truth be told I’m being a bit hyperbolic. The small segments that contain the producer and Joel were looping the same few videos throughout the marathon. The producer made a comment about how it’s the anniversary and then Joel said well that’s only if you don’t count the original KTMA episodes to which I thought the producer replied a little bit curtly. I guess seeing that interaction over and over again throughout the marathon stuck with me.

[@charlesloomis2224]

The producer was annoying. He wasn’t humorous. He was woke. Tried watching new episodes. I didn’t laugh once.

[@DansTravels5823]

I discovered MST3K in college, it was a Saturday morning and I was flipping channels and saw a movie with a jet powered turtle flying in space. At first the guys at the bottom of the screen talking were annoying, but when I listened, I fell in love. While I did enjoy the last season, I was annoyed that they were still cutting the films. There's just no reason for that any more.

[@chrisbrooks6697]

When everyone from the original series is doing their own version of the show and apparently doing just fine, why would they want to do the old show again? I mean, I'd like to see the puppets and the skits again, but I have their subscription to their website and watch their riffs all the time, and it's almost the same thing. The only ones who aren't there are Trace Beaulieu, Joel Hodgson, and Frank Conniff. Everyone else is together on their website riffing movies just like old times...

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

I believe Joel said that around half of the money goes to licensing the films. If you want to blame someone, blame the studios that illegally claim ownership of public domain films. And blame Disney for extending film ownership to infinity. Anyway, we don't want "Mac and Me." Let me just throw out a few directors who's films are pretty much all in public domain (at least for the time being.). Don Dohler , Ted V. Mikels, Al Adamson, Ray Dennis Steckler, Andy Milligan, Donald G. Jackson, Del Tenney, ... MST and Cinematic Titanic already did a couple of films from these directors, and they are all SOME OF THE BEST EPISODES. Mac and Me is walk out of the theater and never see again bad. Guru, The Mad Monk - 1970, Battle of the Worlds - 1961, Fiend - 1980, How To Make a Monster - 1958, Rat Pfink a Boo Boo - 1966. Try these and whatever foreign films are in that "grey area" of ownership. I know Joel has to pass the films they chose by their lawyers to protect them when Disney, Fox, Sony etc. steal the films from public domain, but you are now a web show. Go down in a blaze of glory until you are eventually sued into oblivion. Which is what Disney is all about these days.

[@thepayne7862]

I'd imagine that even licensing for lesser known movies isn't exactly cheap either.

[@moonverine]

Never saw the appeal of the post SciFi show. There's already enough MST3K out there with the KTMLA, Comedy Channel, Comedy Central, and Sci-Fi years. and honestly, the show never felt right after Frank and Trace left.

[@moonverine]

Also, IIRC MST3 Poopie was the blooper reels and snippets from the pilot. Keep Circulating the Tapes!

[@AnitaLife27]

Yep! I can’t stand Jonah and even the new Joel ones feel flat as a pancake. Still love rifftrax. Oh, I can’t stand the new villainess. I miss the Mads, Pearl, brain guy, Mike, Bobo…and the cleverness of it all. It’s really gone to hell.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

I agree. I'm not too crazy about The Mads re-doing movies that the gang already did back in the 90s. Why would I want to watch a NEW version of Manos, when the original was so awesome?

[@sagaswp]

Just watch Rifftrax, it's ten times better than this (new) show ever was.

[@flintcityhc1524]

Thanks to youtube my kids have grown with MST3K and the Netflix series kept it going. I wish Mike would have done a cameo on Netflix like Frank, Brain Guy, Bobo and Pearl did. Ive always believed theres beef between joel and mike but they dont talk about it.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

I think Mike was the real writing brains and talent behind the duo (or group), as can be seen by the relatively high success of the Mike 'group' starting with The Film Crew etc compared to Joel's stuff. Joel's delivery was outstanding but I think Mike's writing was much better.

[@bleachdemon7321]

@@historyandhorseplaying7374 I for some reason recall Joel in an interview saying Mike was made the head writer as he could pull everyone's styles together best for an episode. Maybe that was Trace instead, when I got to chat with him. Regardless there was lightening in a bottle back during the original run.

[@dlxmarks]

@@historyandhorseplaying7374 Mike was recognized early on as their best writer; the MST3K book mentions that he was maintained on salary while everyone else drew unemployment between seasons 1 and 2 to keep him from leaving. If Joel had beef with anyone, it would be Jim Mallon whose ambitions always seemed to outstrip his abilities. Joel left because of friction with him over the show's future. Mallon also seems to be the one MST3K alum who is persona non grata with all the spin-off factions.

[@brianmatt4822]

Good !! With all the censorship/cancel culture now,it is no good ! I want Rifftrax & Cinemetic Titanic & the Mads. !! Those shows still say ( mostly ) what they want !! The new mst3k is too watched over,every word scrutinized,& it makes it way tedious.& the bots? What the hell happened to our beloved psycho bots? & that stupid character Kinga, now we need an evil Gizmoplex dominatrix ? Her little dance she does makes her seem like an erotic doll commercial at Xmas. I will say nothing of Patton Oswald, except THERE IS ONLY ONE TV'S FRANK.NO new mst,too censored. Like Joel said when he left the 1st time : I'm never coming back. Go forth,joel,& move on to better,funnier,not big-brother sensitivity training msts. Rifftrax,the Mads,& cinematic titanic is where things were getting Good. Down with sensitivity,up with genuine ,non-sensored revisits to a SOL I remember crashing. Love to all on the 1st show,& to new, don't be nice for our or the movies' sakes, brave new smart ass say what you want territory !! - bb

[@dennismorgan7866]

I can't watch anything with patton

[@HeroJournalism]

dude, I used to watch it locally back in TC too - was it on KLXI? KTXI?

[@BrianQuarfoth]

I don't remember the call letters, but I think it was channel 23.

[@bleachdemon7321]

KMTA?

[@dlxmarks]

@@BrianQuarfoth KTMA (now WUCW) premiering in November 1988. They've gone on record multiple times to declare that those episodes "weren't very good."

[@David7Wonders]

You are spot on. They expect fans to shoulder the financial risk and they reap the financial rewards. Anyone who funds a production is a Producer and an Investor. If the production makes money, then ALL Producers/Investors should receive a return on their investment if the production makes money. But do they? Nope. All the profits go to them. Not cool. And not right. And if you say that would then mean that the profits would be split between thousands of Producers/Investors and the amounts would be small or miniscule, well that's probably true, but it would still be the ethical way to do it. Joel and Mike were the ONLY good eras anyway. The Netflix stuff is a souless cash grab. It's just strip mining every last cent from a beloved show. Sometimes it's better to let a good thing go and cherish the great memories instead of milking it to death and destroying its legacy.

[@Caveman57]

Like Laugh-In and SNL, MST3K is/was lightning in a bottle. The combination of the perfect cast and crew and the perfect alignment with current culture are once in a lifetime events. You can keep them alive (like SNL), but you have to keep them on life support and they eventually cease to have the greatness they originally had. I'll always cherish the Joel and Mike years.

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

You're right, it would be like trying to 'reboot' the Carson show, without Johnny Carson.

[@blaisebaileyfinnegan8202]

MST3K was over after Season 10. They should have never tried to start it up again. Lightning in a bottle.

[@ShaneyBright]

As someone who gave my son the middle name of Mitchell simply because it was Joel's last show, I'd like to say... The lightning in the bottle that was the OG MST3K should be maintained for posterity. Is there a museum? There should be. It's a truly important part of 90s/Y2K pop culture.

[@FusionDeveloper]

I wonder what difference in funding they would need if they cut out all the scenes and only had the silhouettes with the jokes along with the movie. I bet it would cut the cost down by a ton. No need for sets, costumes, actors, etc. I bet that's where a lot of the money would go.

[@rhindlethered]

If they do that, it's no longer the show.

[@dlxmarks]

They seemed to forget that the sketches originally existed partly to give the show some variety but mostly to pad out running time so the episode would fit its broadcast time slot. The sketches were always secondary to movie riffing. That balance began to shift in the Syfy era but it went off the rails for Netflix with way too much money and effort spent on those segments.

[@rhindlethered]

@@dlxmarks Sorry, I don't buy that for a second. The sketches were always a major part of the show, even before "riffing" as we know it was (in the KTMA era). The original idea was an occasional joke here and there and the primary focus of the comedy was the sketches. So, no, the sketches weren't there to "pad out the running time".

[@roowasse8727]

Unfortunately, I agree that it is probably over. I've been watching and supporting them since the early days. When I saw the new free episodes that were just put out, I was excited. Then I heard the robot's voices and I just couldn't do it. Oh well.

[@k1ckpunch3r]

Love this discussion, thank you for this. Cinema Titanic, which I did get to see live (fantastic by the way, cherished memory getting to meet Joel, Mary Jo, Frank, and Trace), and RiffTrax seem like both valid and logical evolutions of MST3k. I've enjoyed both... any of the post Joel and Mike mainline / branded MST3k... not so much, but that's ok, I assumed I wasn't the target demo. Selfishly, would love more MST3K content from the channel, thanks again. :)

[@83shadow3]

This is one case of just because its possible to do it. It doesn't mean it should happen because it can never be made like it was originally. Because some people don't understand that a joke is a joke an nothing else. So that means if they tried to bring back MST3K. It would have no sense of humor because any joke could easily offended someone. So that means no jokes aloud no comments would be aloud. Ether because it could offended someone ether so comments would be off limits. Basically everything that makes the original MST3K so great. Would not be allowed today so it's best that it not be attempted at all. Like the one movie where they keep calling the wemon men in the movie. That would start a war now because people don't understand that a joke is just a joke. So it's best to just introduce MST3K to people nowadays. That understand that a joke is just a joke then let them enjoy it. Then let all these soft people piss off an watch something else.

[@epicfox567]

Mikes seasons of MST3K where always my favorite. Rifftrax is MST3K now

[@sm5574]

The "time frame" concept is spot on. It's the same with American Gladiators. There was a specific set of circumstances that made that show so popular (early 1990s, first-run syndication, etc.) that simply can't be replicated. Plus you've had the imitators that have come and gone along the way, diluting the uniqueness of the concept. Sure, you could make something similar today, even give it the same name, but recapturing that magic? Not so easy.

[@marcoparada6652]

The Netflix version sucked.

[@bootsthecat6718]

I was fortunate enough to watch most of the Marathon live and was very sad to see the goal not get reached, but after it was all over I went to search for some old mystery science theater on KZbin. When trying to decide what to search for I thought, "I don't want to have to sit through any skits, I'm gonna watch a rifftrax."

[@godshand6822]

Why would you search youtube when every season is free in gizmo plex

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

It didn't help that the marathon announcer guy seemed kinda creepy and didn't seem sure of himself at all.

[@MrJoshinJosh]

It’s so sad. Because there’s still countless movies that deserves to be made fun of. Especially from Disney.

[@jarhumor]

You never want the things you love to become "Fat Elvis." It's better if they go out in their prime like "Fit Jesus."

[@JustinJTime]

As some have said, there is power in letting things go. I am a gamer myself, and I in a way the same. Sometimes you wish you could have a sequel to a gaming series, like Command & Conquer, come back to the way it was. But things change and sometimes you can't go forward and capture that moment in time, you really can't. So I agree with you here, friend.

[@BaronFeydRautha]

They have like 12 writers. There's a reason the last two seasons have been trash. Too many cooks in the kitchen trying to be the Head Chef. There is no vision anymore. MST3K is trash now. It's numst3k like nutrek. Tom is the only male on screen now. The female cast isn't funny. Just straight up not funny. They are no Pearl Forrester or the crazy future chick.

[@thepayne7862]

I think MST3K will come back for another season eventually , they just need to do some retooling. No more welll known celeberity cameos, as much as i like Felicia day, her and Patton name wise are too well known to be the hosts, in my opinion. Get some talented relatively unkown people who are looking for a break and make them the hosts. When MST3K originally came out nobody really knew who the hell Joel, Trace, and J Elvis even were. I think they kind of need to go back to their roots and do a bit more with less in terms of production vaules and set designs. Looks the sets for the original run they were pretty simple and honestly not terribly complicated. I backed the new seasons that they released, and I've barely watched any of them. For me season 11 had too many musical numbers. Finally the newer seasons to me felt too much like a Hollywood production rather than a Midwestern one, it had more of a Hollywood sense of humor than a mid-Western one.

[@killershrew1]

MST3K WAS the best through Season 10... the new ones are, for me, utterly awful on nearly every level and I hope they are done making them because now they are infecting the Pluto channel and so forth... childish, unfunny riffs, poor delivery, terrible performances, etc. Even the "sets" are bad with the awful green screen stuff. I truly wanted to like them and have watched many of the new episodes in hopes something will click and I'll enjoy them but nope... I literally don't laugh other than maybe one or two times... If you enjoy them good for you, but I'd rather watch the old ones over and over again than watch even one of these terrible episodes... Fortunately RiffTrax exists which keeps the comedy going and going strongly (including the Bridget and Mary Jo releases which are some of the best...sometimes even funnier than the Mike/Kevin/Bill ones)...

[@Nummymuffincocobutter]

when I saw them in Fayetteville,Arkansas on their last tour and watched them riff No Retreat No Surrender,it was hilarious,but when I watched season 13 on dvd,it wasn't as funny..maybe a laugh here and there and that's including every movie and short combined...

[@Cousin_Uli]

The scrappy nature of the show was one of it's greatest strengths. It was a herculean effort from everyone involved but the show came off as effortlessly cool and irreverent. The revival seasons by comparison feel too clean and barren of that very specific "midwestern garage energy" of the earlier show. If MST3K is going to continue, it should be evolution not nostalgia. A complete rework, new bots, new crew the works. If they won't commit to that. Then it'll probably peter out and fade away.

[@Thrakus]

They got 70% funding , they should do half a season

[@MightyBjorn]

It speaks volumes when MST3k got backed by the fan base for 2 seasons and ended up falling flat on its face. Meanwhile, RiffTrax is still going and has been since 2005-2006 and without a streaming service like Netflix to back it either. The modern reboot of MST3k while it has its fans, is still a disappointment many.

[@GAMECLOSET]

I agree with what you said. It's all "sand storm"! Plus, why do we need Patton Oswold? UGH. I thought Jonah was okay in the second season, but the first season, they were just THROWING jokes as fast as they could and seeing what stuck. There was almost no timing. Second season was better. Also, my five-year-old daughter knows who Tom & Crow are... and whenever we need to push the remote control button so get to the next episode of something- she says what I say to my wife when she has the remote: "Push the button, Frank." 🙂

[@MrDaneis]

They killed MST3K by not putting Mike in the Netflix reboot and also including that weeble Paton Oswalt... Long live rifftrax

[@warcastle1133]

I agree. Don't search for the philosopher stone when you have gold right in front of you.

[@allentate3760]

I started watching MST3K in 1990. The newer episodes just aren’t up to par.

[@FrancisJFox]

The Green Screen of Season 13 looked pretty awful if you ask me. :(

[@scottpaddlety8741]

I hate what they made Crow. The voice is awful and the jokes were just as bad.

[@godshand6822]

Its not that good anymore. It fell off about halfway through the netflix run. Its sad but you know everything has its time.

[@TheSteveTheDragon]

Don't be discouraged. The economy is really tight right now and everyone is hurting. I'd suggest trying again in a year or four.

[@IgnatiusThorogood]

Hopefully, these three modern seasons will fade away and become difficult to find as time goes on. Just an uncherished memory of an ill-advised attempt to recapture the magic. Like the new Monkees.

[@LarryLeeMoniz]

Season 13 looked too cheap, and was too far removed from what it once was. It costs too much to keep the salaries of some of the cast members happy, and the show lost it's edge. It turned into a cartoon. Also, we only need one host, one SOL, and one set of bots. Bring Trace and Frank back as The Mads (somehow). Make it look and feel like the show we fell in love with, and maybe it could continue. However, in todays world... comedy is sadly dead. Killed by political correctness. Long Live MST3K.

[@TankCop]

I tell people to never find anything.

[@GAMECLOSET]

Second comment... My channel, Game Closet, is a comedy video game channel. I have two videos where I do the game reviews "Theater Style" which means I sit in front of the screen to review and riff the game with two robots (Terminator Ted and Officer Alex Murphy "Fake Robocop"). The most recent Fake Robocop and I reviewed Robocop: Rogue City. I don't use this format all the time, but it is fun when I do choose to do it this way. Besides, Terminator Ted & Fake Robocop have had beefs with each other since my early-on channel review of the Genesis game Robocop Versus the Terminator. It comes to a head in the review for the game, Hunt Down. That's the first one we did theater style. Robocop smacks Ted in the face al la Will Smith. So, yes, MST3K has had an impact on me too.

[@LarryRobinsonintothefog]

He does have a point, they shouldn't be crowd funding off of us and they have contacts that we don't have. Also redoing an original may not be very good. Maybe it should be left alone and the next generation can try something different.

[@DevlinDomini]

Kicked in $ for season 13 and loved it. RiffTrax is great, but it’s NOT MST3K. Be cool and kick in for S14.

[@WraithTDK]

The revival was just too over-produced for my tastes. I only watched the first episode, but the musical numbers and the new mads having henchmen and everything...it was just too much. The original show had a specific charm of beign very simple. Also I know that I'm not supposed to care and most people don't, but I dislike that everyone's just on board the SOL again withot any mention of the fact that they all returned to earth at the end of the original show.

[@MarcColten-us2pl]

Can't catch lightning in a bottle over and over.. The changes in people changes it format is not doing it any favors.

[@TomMSTie1138]

I contributed more than my fair share to the last funding campaign, but I must admit that as much as I love MST3K (fan since 89), all good things must come to an end.

[@FrancisJFox]

Season 13 was a low mark… I donated to season 13 & did not for season 14… nuff said

[@FrumpyJones]

I believe that Patton and Felicia love the show. They seem the type. I believe they didn't ask for much for their parts. But I'm sure thier ask was a big bite. The licensing had to be the biggest bite, though. That said, i think, sadly, with mst3k, we've hit an "all in the family" threshold (or, slightly more modern: a "Roseanne" threshold). Simply put, when it was original made, it was unique, and different, and sometimes dangerous, and pushed boundaries (obviously in different ways). But you can't make "all in the family today". It's a different world. They tried to recapture "Roseanne", but it's a different world (and she went crazy). I think MST3K has hit the threshold ( and gone past it a little too far) I funded the last season. I wasn't super-happy with the results. I didn't fund this season. I do believe its time has been its time. And i will watch and share with my children and friends, the joy I've gotten since i started watching (which was then the comedy channel). Even if they went back to basics, i don't think they can recapture what it once was. It's a different world.

[@83shadow3]

Exactly it's a different world where some people don't understand that. A joke is a joke an hummer is hummer an nothing else. There is no ill will it's just for fun an entertainment. That is lost to most people nowadays. You easley set people of by saying he or she or sir or madam. So the fact is that the kinds of things that made the show great when it started. Would never be aloud nowadays because some people are way to sensitive. That that need a safe space it you look at them wrong. It used to be sticks and stones with break my bones. But words can never hurt me. But nowadays it's words are like you are literally and figuratively killing me. On top of sticks and stones breaking my bones. It's a world that literally and figuratively any thing said. Can an will be considered hate speace then you get punished for it. So there is no way any new version of MST3K will be any good. Because they can't make any jokes or comments about anything. Because they may offend someone then they will get canceled.

[@kevinsmckay]

Never was a Joel fan, tbh. Seems like the Rifftrax guys do it because they are addicted to riffing, and the MST3K crew are doing it soley for money.

[@DecadesApartProductions]

I definitely agree with you on Hollywood people using crowdfunding. It just comes across as greedy. I joined the crowd funding campaign for Other Side of the Wind and the majority of people STILL haven't received their perks and that project was picked up by Netflix. As for MST3K, I never watched the Netflix series and never heard anything good about it. I did enjoy it when it was on the Sci-Fi Channel though.

[@rhindlethered]

"As for MST3K, I never watched the Netflix series and never heard anything good about it." So, you never heard anything about it at all, I guess, since it would be impossible to read about it (with its 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 91% from the audience) and not hear *anything* good.

[@DecadesApartProductions]

@@rhindlethered Nice meme, bro. Everyone knows no actual humans pay attention to Rotten Tomatoes.

[@rhindlethered]

@@DecadesApartProductions Sure. Whatever you say...bro.

[@mechadeka]

@@rhindlethered I watched the episodes they use to "advertise" the new seasons on Shoutcast's MST3K stream. If that trash is the best they have, why would I pay for more?

[@historyandhorseplaying7374]

@@mechadeka Are they as bad as I've heard? I TRIED, and I mean TRIED, to watch the first "new" season on Netflix when it first came out in 2017 I think. I had to get a bucket, I was ralphing so bad, it was terrible. After that I never looked at any "new" stuff. Sigh, I guess you can't recapture circa 1992. It was a different world.

[@todbrowning4857]

I pitched in for the last season and still haven't been able to watch episodes. Money money money but have to pay for a new stream service this and that. No thanks. Been watching since the early 90s. I'll enjoy the older episodes again and again. Folk this new garbage.

[@MrTee3three]

I agree except that if Mike, Kevin, Bill, Trace and Frank are still riffing....(and Joel is not...) Seems like a wasted opportunity for everyone including the fans.

[@ericw48]

Scripts are important and help the flow of the video.

[@mikemckelvey5062]

Everything dies

[@ShakaCthulu]

I watched the ones with Jonah & a couple were on the same level as Syfy era MST3K, like the Cry Wilderness episode. But Patton Oswalt? Felicia Day. Why? Tons of unnecessary celebrity cameos & bloat. PlutoTV plays some of the newest S13 episodes with the Emily chick, and they’re worse. Inorganic, politically correct and timidly inoffensive, and the new Crow is jarringly bad. It’s pretty dire. Honestly I think Joel is milking MST3K and “damaging the brand” so to speak. It’d be in much better hands with Rifftrax.

[@k-jsr]

I couldn't get into the revival. The riff style just didn't work for me. The original series had some rapid fire jokes, but were mostly well timed with the film. There were beats. The new stuff was just so rapid fire that the movie dialogue became impossible to follow. It felt less clever and more "throw everything at them and hope some jokes land".

[@erwerwewerwer4575]

changing Gypsy's name to GCP (for all too familiar "reasons") was all I needed to know that this Netflix series was not going to be for me.

[@LowQualityCheese]

So, they're not doing a shorter season? No idea how much a season cost in the early 90s. There's too many characters, hosts and Tom/Crow voices now. The Netflix episodes were ok. Out of the new ones, I've only seen Munchie. Hope MST3K get's another ending or continues. Nothing beats the original run.

[@dankind80]

They could've tried to be cheap and funny. You know, like they used to be. At least they're not offending Romani people anymore, though.

[@josephedwards8604]

Yea I think the original guys would make it work. Not that the new weren't good it's all about nostalgia!

[@MD-Coin]

Do we know for sure that the 4 million was the entire amount needed to make the season? I figured that's just the amount they wanted to crowdfund and that the total cost was probably more. I could see oswalt's salary alone being 4 million. Which maybe the amount that they wanted to crowdfund because who would want to pay that loser

[@mechanoid2k]

Its quite simple. They went woke and Joel and Mike were the heart of the show. Just get rifftrax it quite literally is MST3K.

[@Dagger-Deep]

Just to see this kind of end is sad. But all good things must come to an end.

[@tonys8641]

Everything good has to come to an end, that's why the things we enjoy seem to end too soon.Missing it, I will, but something new and maybe better will come drom the ashes. Love your Hat Hole channel! great job!

[@LadyGreyBlack]

Sometimes rebooting is the kiss of death.

[@JAYZ-47465]

Its Joeover 😔

[@apoch003]

Get woke, go broke. Gpcy? Really???? Really???? Turn Crow into a girl which was a first season JOKE. Lots of problems with the new show since Jonah's run. None of which get addressed.

[@joker1087]

new season sucked. Human character had no likability. Mike was far superior

[@50shadesofbeige88]

Wow 2 videos back to back!

[@thegood9]

Harrumph....good luck to em.