Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

With the cult television classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 making it's glorious return to Netflix this week, I thought I would take a look back at when this quirky little show made it's way to the big screen with 1996's Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie.

The film stays true to the original series' premise. If you have never seen the show, the storyline is this. An evil scientist, Trace Beaulieu, is forcing a happy go lucky guy, Mike Nelson, and his robot pals Tom Servo, Kevin Murphy, and Crow T. Robot, Beaulieu, to watch the worst movies of all time in hopes of breaking their spirits. In the process, the three riff on the movies with a barrage of funny jokes.

For their big screen outing they actually get a science fiction classic, 1955's This Island Earth. Even though this is a well regarded film, there's still enough material in it for them to make fun of.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is one of my all time favorite shows, and the movie doesn't disappoint. Sure, there are episodes that are better than the movie, but it's still a lot of fun. You can say that about most tv shows that make the leap to the big screen, X Files, Twin Peaks, even the whole series of Star Trek is better than the first motion picture. What's kind of strange is that the movie has a runtime that's shorter then most episodes. Of course on tv they had to fill out that 2 hour window. With a movie there's a little more freedom to make it tighter and edit out the dead spots.

I remember when this was released, Gramercy Pictures had a weird way that they distributed it. They kind of sprinkled it out. Not one wide release, but a limited one. I remember catching it three times in it's theatrical run with each time a few months apart and in a different city. Even though the fans seeked it out, in the long run this really hurt it at the box office. I also think movies like this with a loyal, cultlike fanbase are sometimes screwed anyway. Those rabid fans will go see it opening weekend and by week two the crowds have dwindled. Kind of a shame.

If you're a fan of the series, well then I'm sure you've seen it. But if you are new to the MST phenomenon, than Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie might be a good introduction for you.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.