In the not too distant past, there was a TV series called Mystery Science Theater 3000. The series followed Joel (later Mike) and the robots Tom Servo, Crow, and Gypsy on the Satellite of Love. Placed there by the “Mads”, they are subjected to bad and cheesy movies that they “riff”, or make jokes about, to keep their sanity. Lasting almost ten years and three channels, it gained a following and became a cult classic. After 17 years, and the power of Netflix and Kickstarter, Mystery Science Theater 3000 has returned for an eleventh season.
The eleventh season picks up many years after the original. While on a mission for Gizmonic Institute, spaceship pilot Jonah Heston is captured by Kinga Forrester, daughter of Dr. Forrester and granddaughter of Pearl, and TV’s son of TV’s Frank, otherwise known as Max. He is sent onto the rebuilt SoL to resume the experiments. Kinga, instead of taking over the world, drives to make money (and sell the brand to Disney for a billion dollars). After the first episode, there is not much of a story until the later episodes when it becomes more serialized. The story works well and never takes itself too seriously. It all works well and ends on a great cliffhanger.
The main pull of the series is the movies and their subsequent riffs. The movies in the season are a great mix, containing a good mix of monster, fantasy and sci-fi films. The riffs always vary have a good mix of inside jokes from previous episodes ( “Watch out for snakes!”), various pop culture references, and comments about the film’s actors, story, or effects. One of my favorite small changes is that Gypsy will pop in at the theater and offer a few riffs of her own. About four times during the movie, Jonah and the bots will leave the theatre and do a host segment. These sections often involve a small skit relating to the film and can vary from a rap about world-wide monsters to a visit from one of the many travelers of space. These are very creative and almost always provide a laugh.
The performances in the series are great. Jonah Ray is a satisfactory host, bringing great comedy to the performance, while also carving ut his own style from Joel or Mike. Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt are great as Kinga and Max, creating believable performances and clearly having fun with the role. The voices of Crow and Tom Servo, although they take some time to get used to (since they are different voice actors) are also pretty good. There are also some special guest stars that appear that are great.
I can say I really enjoyed the new season. The riffs and sketches were funny and the characters great. The actors and actresses were also satisfying in their performance. Although I had only recently become a Mystery Science Theater fan, I was satisfied and cannot wait for the next season.
