Tag: MST3K

MST3K

MST3K Season 14 Crowdfunding starts

Written by TardisCaptain October 26, 2023October 26, 2023

As I’ve mentioned several times previously on my blog, I’ve been a big fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 ever since I first discovered it in the 90’s. When the season 13 crowdfunding campaign was announced, my wife and I donated so that we could see more MST3K.

Well, the bots are at it again. This time crowdfunding for a season 14 of new episodes, shorts and something called “surgically enhanced” episodes. These appear to be re-masters of older MST3K episodes that looked too grainy. This video explains a lot.

So the goal is to reach $7.4 million by November 24th. Joel and the gang have moved to a new crowdfunding platform. From what I understand, this new platform won’t be taking as much of the cut as other platforms. Yes there will be both digital and physical perks. I loved getting my season 13 perks just recently and I’m really tempted by the magnets on this round. You can donate at https://showmaker.mst3k.com/

The social media hashtags used to promote this campaign are #MakeMoreMST3K (as used in previous campaigns) and #MST3KShowmaker. This is also a special event because this is the 35th Anniversary of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I wonder what movies they will use for season 14? What movies would you recommend? What are some of your favorite MST3K episodes? Let’s talk about it on my Discord server. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.

MST3K

Kickstarter rewards from the MST3K Gizmoplex

Written by TardisCaptain September 19, 2023

I love it when something unexpected happens and it inspires me to make a blog post. Delivered today was some of the Kickstarter rewards for Let’s Make More MST3K & Build The Gizmoplex! that I had backed in 2021.

When the box arrived, there was nothing on the outside that indicated what it was. I was pleasantly surprised when the Gizmoplex popcorn bucket was the first thing I saw. My wife, also a MST3K fan, reminded me that Kickstarter rewards are gift that past you sends to current you. Both the popcorn bucket and the drink holder will get used for future viewing.

The red t-shirt is in 3D (you can’t really see it in the photo) and I can’t wait for a proper event to wear it at. As for the stickers. Well the bumper sticker will have to wait until I get a better car. But the other Gizmoplex Founding Member sticker is now sitting on the back of my laptop.

I hope that we will get an announcement about another season of MST3K soon. I really enjoyed season 13. I think my favorite episodes are H.G. Wells’ The Shape of Things to Come and Doctor Mordrid. I also enjoyed watching the specials and behind the scenes videos that were available for backers.

Archer, Character Creation Challenge, Comic Books, Conventions, Cosplay, Doctor Who, Dune, Fan Club, Horror, Horror Hosts, Humor, James Bond, Movies, MST3K, Music, No One Lives Forever, Reviews, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Spy-Fi, Star Trek, Star Wars, TV Review, Video Game, Website

2021 is in the rear view, now onto 2022

Written by TardisCaptain December 31, 2021February 25, 2024

So another year has come and gone and I am glad. While 2021 was not as bad as the year that shall not be named, it wasn’t the easiest. There are still some challenges in this world that I really hope that our society can come together to get past. I’m still trying to focus on the positives of the past year.

==Role Playing Games==

2021 started out with the first #CharacterCreationChallenge. Amazingly enough I was able to knock out 31 characters in 31 days. I loved reading all of the different responses that the other participants and even made a few new friends along the way. I’m looking forward to the 2022 Character Creation Challenge.

There was also the #RPGaDAY2021 Challenge during the month of August. I really had a struggle with this one, but I was glad that I had participated in it.

I also had a chance to finally play an online Star Trek Adventures game. We have a second session in our “one-shot” planned very soon. The kewl thing is, the game was announced with less than a 24 hour start time. I was able to use my Star Trek Adventures entry in the Character Creation Challenge to quickly drop into the game. Playing on just Zoom is difficult, but doable.

I also had some friends get me into an online Starfinder game that lasted several months (with 1-2 sessions per month). It was interesting, but it really turned me off using Fantasy Grounds as an online platform. It’s an app instead of a browser based system and it is a resource hog like nothing else. Even the players with high end computers were having issues. Unfortunately real life caused the game to end after a few months. The Starfinder system is ok, but a bit crunchy to what I’m use to. The Pathfinder in space mentality didn’t really appeal to me either. I know I was gaming more for the company than I was for the system and universe.

I still want to get into a D&D 5th edition game or a regular Star Trek Adventure game. I’d also prefer to get back together with gaming in person, but with the way the variants are running wild, I’m not certain that will happen any time soon. I’m open to an online game if the schedules can be worked out (the same old problems).

There were several new additions to my role-playing game collection. Between purchases and donations from friends I’ve been able to add to my gaming shelf. I also took advantage of several PDF sales. Instead of listing them all here, I’m planning to save them for my Character Creation Challenge entries. I also added to my dice collection including a special die.

==Video Games==

I’m still playing my old standbys of No One Lives Forever and Tron 2.0. However thanks to a gift card for GameStop (actually ThinkGeek) I was able to pick up a few other video games that I’m looking forward to trying out. I’ve been playing Balder’s Gate and it’s been… interesting. I think I might be playing it wrong.

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order has been good so far, but I think my daughter is enjoying it more than I am.

==Movies==

Even though it came out the year before, I had the chance to see Wonder Woman 1984 and I enjoyed it. I wished I could have seen it in the theater. 2021 was also the 25th Anniversary of the Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie.

Through streaming I was able to enjoy Black Widow and Godzilla vs Kong (wish I could have seen this in the theater).

Finally getting back into the theater I was able to enjoy watching the latest James Bond movie. We finally saw the sci-fi epic Dune and loved watching the new Ghostbusters film. I still want to watch the latest Matrix movie, Spiderman movie and The King’s Man while they are in the theaters.

I’ve also watched a ton of cheesy sci-fi, fantasy and horror films on streaming services. Some were good, some were not so good.

==Television==

Creature Features held it’s 50th Anniversary. During the summer I had my photo aired on a segment of Svengoolie and my kid’s artwork promoted on Creature Features.

Netflix’s Army of the Dead was a good adventure. Amazon’s The Tomorrow War was interesting to watch. Ice Road was also interesting, but probably not a repeat watch. The Wheel of Time didn’t catch my attention at first, but slowly got a little better. I never read the books so I don’t know how it compares. I really enjoyed Foundation after I was worried how the books were going to translate to the screen. Invasion was an interesting concept, but starts out really slow. I’m glad I stuck with it. I need to finish Y: The Last Man and I’m really disappointed that we will only get one season of Cowboy Bebop.

Thank you What We Do In The Shadows, Archer and South Park for being funny. Crossed Swords was a challenge, but I was able to get into it. I’ve really enjoyed the animated Disenchantment series on Netflix. It was also good to see Animaniacs again.

On the Star Trek front, Star Trek: Prodigy has been interesting. I’ve also been enjoying Star Trek: Discovery as well. I really think that Star Trek: Lower Decks has knocked it out of the park. I am really looking forward to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I wish there was more Short Treks. Wil Wheaton’s after show “The Ready Room” has been very enjoyable and informative.

Disney+ brought us several good entries for 2021. The Muppet’s Haunted Mansion was really, really good. I really wish that they would give us more Muppets Now. WandaVision and Loki were really good from the Marvel entries. Falcon and the Winter Soldier was ok. I haven’t seen the Hawkeye series yet but plan to sit down and watch it. I really liked the What If!?! series. On the Star Wars side, The Mandalorian continued to be great. Visions was ok, but I wish I hadn’t binged it since it probably would have been better in smaller doses. The Bad Batch was also enjoyable. There has only been one episode of The Book of Boba Fett so I’ll be watching to see where this goes.

Because I missed a lot of Doctor Who episodes while I was studying for college, I spent part of the year catching up. Not only was I able to complete this task, I was able to watch the latest season as it aired. I’m looking forward to the New Years Day special.

2022 will finally get us the third season of The Orville and I’m really looking forward to the next season of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

==Books and Comics==

I really enjoyed the Star Trek: Picard novel, Last Best Hope. There are several other books that I’ve been reading on my kindle and in dead tree format. I’ve been trying to read The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance as well but I haven’t completed them.

The War of the Bounty Hunters in the Star Wars comic series was good, but frustrating. I really wish that they had a better system to follow the flow of the story that spans across several publications. I felt like a few times I was re-treading over the same ground.

The Mirror Universe stories and Star Trek Year Five was really good from IDW Publishing. I’m looking forward to reading more of these stories.

Doctor Who, James Bond and The Orville was other comics I had been pulling from my local store.

==Cosplay and Conventions==

I was able to add the Admiral Picard uniform to my collection. I had a chance to wear this at FanX: The Salt Lake Comic Convention. It was the only con I attended in the year. Hopefully 2022 will be better convention wise. I’d love to get an Admiral Vance uniform from Star Trek: Discovery or a Monster Maroon from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. However those are long term goals.

==Live Events==

Thanks to 103.1 The Wave, we were able to take the family to Lagoon. With the vaccines helping out, we’ve been able to attend the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance and the live Mystery Science Theater 3000: Time Bubble Tour. I’ve already got several concerts and events planned for 2022. The Beyond Van Gogh experience was probably the closest I’ll ever get to a holodeck experience. The Egyptian exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah was very enjoyable.

I was also interviewed on the radio for the Star Trek Day 2021. That was an interesting experience. But also not the first time I’ve been interviewed on the TV, Radio or even print.

Our Seventh Fleet and USS Ticonderoga meetings and events have been able to get back in person. This was a very good thing as we are a close knit Star Trek family. We’ve been able to grow and succeed because we get together and see each other’s smiling faces.

==Website==

I was able to get some photo albums online and I’ve added to them as I’ve found more photos. I’ve been able to keep to a regular schedule of several blog posts per week (counting the Star Trek Quotes listings). I should do more gaming articles and reviews of things I’ve watched/read/enjoyed. However, I still need to get some of the other sections of my website filled out. I’m a little upset with myself that I haven’t gotten more of the website completed. This will be a goal for 2022.

It’s good to have goals. I think I’m going to spend 2022 trying to achieve more of them.

Humor, MST3K, Reviews

MST3K Live Time Bubble Tour visits Salt Lake

Written by TardisCaptain December 16, 2021December 16, 2021

My wife and I getting ready to enjoy the show.

In March (of the year that shall not be named) my wife, myself, my brother and his wife had the opportunity to visit the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Cheesy Movie Circus Tour at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah. Joel Hodgson was the host for the show. We were also introduced to future MST3K host, Emily Marsh. It turns out that we were lucky to see one of the last shows on the Cheesy Movie Circus Tour. A week or two later, everything shut down in the story we all know. That show was one of the few highlights in the year that shall not be named.

Fast forward to a year and a half later and the MST3K Time Bubble Tour arrives back at the same theater in Salt Lake City. Armed with a vaccination card (or proof of a negative test) fans could once again laugh at the live riffing of a bad movie we had hardly heard of. It felt good to keep our sanity with the help of our robot friends. And… not everything went off without a hitch. But that is why they call it a live show.

At the previous show, we were far in the back in one of the balcony sections. My mother had purchased the tickets for all of us as a Christmas gift. For 2021, we purchased our seats on the ground floor only eight rows back. Unlike the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert last month, everything was on the main stage. So we wanted to be as close as possible. We were not disappointed.

Oh no… we’ve been captured in a time bubble by the evil Mega Synthia.

Yvonne Freese came out on stage as Mega Synthia and set up the scene. This clone-relative to the various Forresters (the baddies of MST3K) has invented a time bubble that will surround the theater and move us back and forth in time while she subjects Emily and the bots to the latest experiment, a bad move from 1985 called “Making Contact“. Let’s just say that the movie was worthy of being heckled by the bots.

We are introduced to our cast, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, Mega Synthia and Emily.

The jokes were wonderful. We were laughing our butts off the entire show. Especially over all of the different 80’s references seen in the movie. You could tell this was made in the days before you had to have permission to show it in your movie. There was a ton of stuff from Star Wars, Sesame Street, major league sports teams, Star Trek and more.

Why is Mega Synthia wearing a 1920’s Flapper outfit? Watch the show to find out.

As with any MST3K show, there were several comedic skits. They were very well done and very funny. I would recommend watching the show to see how these skits, with props, were used in the Time Bubble Tour.

And then… disaster happened.

A light rain which had started when the show begin, turned into a major snowstorm. Friends on twitter had talked about Thundersnow that was happening outside. These were big thick heavy flakes. We don’t know if it contributed directly to what happened in the live show, but I’d believe it. There was only about 20 minutes left in the show when suddenly the lights started flashing and the fire curtain slowly came down in front of the actors. They were waving at us as the curtain reached the stage with this surprised look on their faces. Not knowing if this was part of the show or not, I didn’t pull my phone out to take a photo. Thankfully, Justin Carmony documented the incident on twitter confirming for me (afterwards) that this was not part of the show. The actors had to do some improvisational lines to get us back into the show. The final of the movie was a bit confusing, because I have no idea what happened. Wikipedia doesn’t really have a description of the movie at the end. This also lead to another oddity that afflicted the show.

When all of the graphics come back up, they are backwards. This includes the final skit where we all escape from Mega Synthia’s time bubble. Again more improvisation was required. Luckily, we were able to escape. Only to find out the snow has turned Salt Lake’s roads into a massive slush pile.

Utah drivers are bad enough when the weather is pleasant. Add enough snow to sled down on and you’ve got a slippery situation. So our exciting day is ended by a very long and very slow trip home. Thanks to the iron nerves of my wife behind the wheel, we were able to make it. Remember people, four-wheel drive doesn’t mean four-wheel stop.

If you get a chance to see the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Time Bubble Tour, go. Especially if you’ve ever enjoyed any of the MST3K series. There are tributes to the past actors who have paved the way for this new group and they are carrying the torch proudly.

Dungeons and Dragons, Movies, MST3K, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction

#RPGaDay2021 Day 8: Stream

Written by TardisCaptain August 8, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 8: Stream

Inspiration can come from a wide variety of sources. The original source can be very good work, or it can be a bad one with a good idea, just poorly delivered. An example of this is the 2000 film, Battlefield Earth. Yes this disaster of a film actually inspired a story idea for me. It was being shown on a channel after midnight (probably the only way to really watch this box office bomb) and I didn’t need to get up in the morning so I decided to see if the rumors of how bad this movie was true. Let me just say, it’s very true. But the ending made me think, what would happen to a series of conquered worlds if the occupying aliens suddenly found their source of power and transportation gone?

So I love watching various science-fiction, fantasy and horror TV shows and movies. Both the good and the bad kind. If a show is too bad, I can elect to not watch it. There is plenty of other shows to move onto. But where can you find these shows? I have lots of memories in the 80’s and 90’s visiting the local video rental store. When I went with my family, I was always trying to find the weirdest, oddest film to watch. Often I was over ruled since my siblings usually wanted to watch something from Disney or other main-stream films. So later when I lived on my own, I had to be lucky to catch the show on a time it was aired (such as Battlefield Earth listed above) or I had to buy a VHS tape (later DVD). This had two issues, if it wasn’t a money maker, it may not have had a lot of media releases. When they were found, they were either really expensive, or really cheap in the discount bin. If cost wasn’t too big of a factor, what would I do with the media afterwards. I don’t mind buying DVDs of Star Trek or other favorites that I would enjoy watching at any time. But would I really want to watch Hell Comes to Frogtown again and again?

Luckily the internet came to our rescue. The rise of streaming services has given some of these diamond in the rough films a home where you can give them a view. So I thought I’d share where I’ve found some of my more unusual films. Yes there is a large variety on Netflix, Hulu or Paramount+. However these services are like cable channels. They only hold the rights to some films for so long (unless they are originals specifically for the streaming service). I’ve discovered that some of the streaming services like Amazon Prime, Pluto TV and Tubi have held some interesting titles. I’ve been able to watch some of the films in the Darkstalker series (boy that was cheesy). You can also find shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Creature Features, Elvira and more where they re-show off-kilter films (sometimes by adding comedy in the process).

Another amazing service for films and different documentaries has been plain old YouTube. As I type out this blog post, I’ve been watching episodes of Timeline (where they are building a medieval castle and exploring the life of ordinary people who built them).

I’ve also added apps on my Smart TV for Xumo, Crackle, Ruko TV and others, but I don’t get a chance to get into those as often. But you can find a cheesy 80’s sword and sorcery film that may give you an idea for your next Dungeons and Dragons game.

Final Thoughts:

I suspect that fifteen years ago this topic wouldn’t have come up in an #RPGaDAY style challenge. At least not one that would have inspired discussion on streaming services. I wonder if this single suggestion was used to gather links on possible streaming sources for other’s to explore?

Horror Hosts, Humor, MST3K, Quotes, Reviews, Star Trek

MST3K: The Movie 25th Anniversary

Written by TardisCaptain April 19, 2021March 29, 2022

On April 19, 1996, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was released into theaters riffing on the sci-fi classic “This Island Earth“. Unfortunately, it was only twenty six theaters on the opening weekend. I remember wanting to watch this movie the moment I heard the news about this special show. I don’t recall when it finally came to Utah, but I was there when it made it’s Beehive State premier at a Salt Lake City art theater. MST3K: The Movie was shown at The Tower Theater on 9th and 9th. It may have been one of the many cult midnight movies that this theater was known for showing. I went with a group of friends who were all excited to see the movie. In typical MST3K fashion, we riffed the movie in the theater. The one I remember the most was at the start when Michael Nelson was in the hamster wheel. While he was jogging, we all started singing the theme from Rocky. Da-da-daadaa Da Da da…. Gonna Fly NOW!!!!! We were constantly quoting lines from this movie at various opportunities. One of the more unique ones is when the crew sings “normal view. Normal View. Normal View! NORMAL VIEW!!!”. We were playing the Star Trek: Customizable Card Game where one of the cards was titled Mortal Q. You can guess what we sang.

mortal q. Mortal Q. Mortal Q! MORTAL Q!!!!

I remember getting excited when the movie was finally released on DVD. I called my bother (another MST3K fanatic) and let him know it was out since I didn’t know the stores had it at the time. After purchasing, watched this movie over and over again. I had only wished that the original MST3K: The Movie DVD had the original film as one of the extras. It wasn’t until Svengoolie had shown This Island Earth on The MeTV Network several years ago that I had a chance to watch the uncut version of the film. Svengoolie even mentioned the MST3K movie as one of the first introductions to this movie that a lot of people had experienced. There was 30 minutes cut from the original film for the MST3K. Because of how many times I’ve watched this movie, I’ve had some RPG homebrew ideas for the Metalutians. When I get the examples done, the Metalutians will be one of the demo aliens that I’ll be creating.

In honor of the 25th Anniversary today, I found the DVD I had watched a million times and put it into the DVD player. I took some notes while watching for this blog. I loved how the opening scene (after the Rocky run) was an escape attempt and explanation of why Mike and the bots are on the SoL. This gave movie viewers who hadn’t seen any MST3K episodes a quick guide into the setup of the show. I’ve always thought that the “bow down” scene was a little disturbing. Yea we want to show that Dr. Forrester is EEEEVVVVIIILLLL (and a bit of a dickweed) but that always seemed to bother me for some reason. The only reason I can think of is that he was never that nasty on the TV episodes. Yea he was evil, but not “kneel before Zod” evil. I wonder how many people watching the movie now will get the “John Sununu goes for a haircut” joke? I liked how they used the film breaking to give Mike and the Bots a chance to do a skit. Just breaking for a skit like they do in episodes may have confused audience members not familiar with the show. I don’t know why I never noticed that the switch activating the manipulator arms is marked “Manos” (as in Hands of Fate). Good job on that one. The names of the “invisible pilots” are Claude Rains (who played the invisible man) and Harvey the Rabbit (another invisible character). Another item that was different in the movie compared to the TV shows is the crew riffed the end credits to the movie. And I also counted, there were eight Star Trek references in the film.

Some of the lines that stood out in the film.

“Service engine soon” I wonder what that’s all about?

Science and Industry! See big men sticking screw drivers into things – turning them – AND ADJUSTING THEM!

Well believe me, Mike, I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid… and I went ahead anyway.

Now place your hands above the rail [hands suddenly attach to the rail] … they’re magnetized. And if your hands were metal, that would mean something.

Increase the Flash Gordon noise and put more science stuff around!

Are you in Europe? Do you need an adapter?

Offer void in Utah.

It was great to watch this movie again. If you are a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, they are currently running a Kickstarter to make more episodes. You can support them at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/makemoremst3k

MST3K, Website

Website Updates: Photo Galleries

Written by TardisCaptain February 16, 2021

Kevin Murphy from MST3K — Meeting Kevin Murphy from Mystery Science Theater 3000 at Salt Lake Comic Con 2013

So I’ve had a chance to get a new section of the website put up. This is one that I’ve wanted to get done for a while. This is also why I’m using WordPress as my website editor. There was a wonderful plug-in that will allow me to organize my photo’s without cluttering the media used for the blog posts. I think I’m going to use this plug-in on other websites that I am managing.

I’ve broken the different galleries into different categories. Kewl Stuff is photos with astronauts, convention displays, TV appearances and other things that didn’t fit into the other categories. Artists are photos with various artists that I’ve had the opportunity to meet. This also includes scans of artwork that were done for me by some of those artists. In the Authors gallery, I’ve posted photos of when I’ve met some of the wordsmiths at various events. Someday I’ll join them in having published works out for others to enjoy. The Star Trek section is the largest and it contains photos of different actors and show runners that I’ve met in my travels. Likewise, the Star Wars section contains the various actors that I’ve also had the opportunity to meet. Other Actors are people I’ve encountered in different locations, but they could not be placed in other categories. I didn’t want a bunch of mini-categories so I combined them all into one here. Musicians kinda works as a name for this category. It’s the musicians I’ve had the pleasure of meeting as well as some of the concerts that I’ve attended. And finally, in the Sports section are photos from various games that I’ve attended, and was smart enough to take a photo while I was there.

As I was going through my archives, I thought of a few more galleries that I may add in the future. But I wanted to get these albums up since I had the photos where I could get to them. As I find or take more, I’ll get them uploaded to the galleries.

If you happen to have a photos of me that would fit into any of the above categories, please email it to me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com.

I will also continue to chisel out more pages for the website as time allows. I’ve noticed how busy I’ve been. I even have to plan out times just to play video games to relax.