New MST3K and RiffTrax Crossover Is Great News for Mike Enjoyers
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back again, with a twist!
When Joel Hodgson left as the host of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1993, it was a sad day for fans of the delightful comedy series he’d created, but Hodgson was quickly replaced by one of the show’s writers, Michael J. Nelson, and things moved on. Though Nelson had a different hosting style from Hodgson’s, he soon settled into the role and continued to front the show for the rest of its run, earning the respect of audiences who were initially unsure whether MST3K could continue without its original host.
Post-MST3K, Nelson has been creating audio commentary tracks for B-movies with RiffTrax, along with Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, who voiced Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot in later seasons of MST3K. It’s been a successful endeavor that has been happily trucking along for 20 years, but this week Nelson announced that RiffTrax will boldly cross over with MST3K for four new, as-yet-untitled episodes called The RiffTrax Experiments.
“Getting a chance to revisit MST3K after all this time has really energized all of us at RiffTrax,” Nelson said (via Variety). “And for my part, hey, I truly did miss standing next to plastic puppets. It’s been too long.”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments is being backed by a new Kickstarter campaign that will help RiffTrax riffers Nelson, Murphy and Corbett return to their MST3K roles, with Mary Jo Pehl also confirmed to return as Pearl Forrester. The campaign aims to raise $20,000 to fund the new episodes, but it has been emphasized that they’ll proceed regardless of whether that goal is met.
For Mike enjoyers everywhere, this upcoming MST3K–RiffTrax crossover is terrific news, but it follows a more bittersweet announcement elsewhere. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was revealed that Hodgson had sold his joint interest in MST3K to Radial Entertainment and planned to move on from his enduring creation once more.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky to spend my adult life making a living as an entertainer, and MST3K has been a big part of it,” Hodgson said in a statement. “Creating your own comedic art form like MST3K is deeply fulfilling and fun — but that doesn’t mean I’m required to work on it every day for the rest of my life. This move feels like the best way to encourage MST3K to find its future, while I find mine, including the chance to focus on some new and different projects with fewer moving parts.”
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments will be released later this year.