The Show:
If you count its pre-Comedy Central days, MST3K ran for 11 years. Created by Joel Hodgson, it did what many of us were already drunkenly doing in our own homes on a random boring Tuesday night: riffing on crappy movies because nothing else was on and we were too bombed to find the remote. Only they did it much, much better than any of us ever could because I'm convinced they were all demons. Comedy demons.
Starting on a small UHF station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, they were eventually signed as one of the first two shows on the newly formed Comedy Channel, and quickly became a staple. On Thanksgiving, they would run 30-hour marathons of the show, and until it was finished, I refused to change the channel ... and that's how I found out who my true friends were. The ones who said "I wish they'd quit talking over the movie" were immediately kicked out of my house and then set on fire with punch friction.
Via Mst3k.wikia.com
Or at least had the cast give them the group shame stare.
Halfway through Season 5, Joel left and was replaced by Michael J. Nelson (who has written articles for Cracked), and he instantly became one of my favorite comedians of all time. Eventually, Comedy Central canceled MST3K, and it was picked up by Sci-Fi for its final three seasons. And that's the last anyone ever heard of them. Because they were all murdered.
849 Comments