Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996, produced by Best Brains, Inc., distributed by Gramercy Pictures) is a theatrical adaptation of the cult television hit Mystery Science Theater 3000. The date of the movie's production, between seasons 6 and 7 of MST3K, explains the absence of both TV's Frank (Frank Conniff), who left the series in the finale of Season 6, and Pearl Forrester (Mary Jo Pehl), who arrived in the premiere of Season 7 (the final Comedy Central season).
MST3K: The Movie was filmed away from the Best Brains corporate headquarters and studio in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, at Energy Park Studios in St. Paul. Like the TV series, it starred Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, and Jim Mallon.
MST3K: The Movie was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Synopsis
The movie opens with mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu) explaining the premise of the film (and associated TV series). This is a break from the TV series, where the opening theme ("Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000") typically explains the premise in lyrical form. A love theme was recorded for the film by David Allen, formerly of The Blasters, but ended up being cut. A portion of this theme survives in the official screensaver for the film.
Following Dr. Forrester's intro, we are introduced to our heroes, Mike Nelson (Michael J. Nelson), Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), and Tom Servo (Kevin Murphy), along with Gypsy (Jim Mallon). Cambot and Magic Voice play no role in the movie.
After brief introductions, Mike, Tom and Gypsy are startled to find Crow deep in the lower sections of the Satellite of Love, pounding at the hull with various digging instruments. He has convinced himself that he can tunnel back to Earth, he tells them. A hull breach soon follows, which Tom Servo remedies in an unexpected way.
They return to the Bridge, as Dr. Forrester announces that he is about to make them watch the 1955 classic Rex Reason sci-fi thriller This Island Earth in an attempt to break their wills. In the process of doing so, Mike and the Bots mock (or "riff") the movie mercilessly.
During a break in their movie watching, Mike is taunted by Crow and Tom into steering the satellite himself...and promptly crashes into and destroys the Hubble Space Telescope. During another break, Mike and Crow venture into Tom's bedroom in search of an interociter, which might help them escape. They find one, but the Metalunan they contact isn't much help.
After the movie, their wills completely unbroken, Mike and the bots unwind with a little "Metaluna mixer" (a This Island Earth-themed party), much to the aggrivation of Dr. F.
Commentary
MST3K: The Movie is remarkable in that it is several minutes shorter than an actual television episode (75 minutes vs. 91-103). And although the movie-theater quips come, for the most part, at the same rate as on a typical TV episode (with the exception of a long quiet period early in the film), many long-time fans noted that the jokes were an order of magnitude less complex, the references less obscure. Best Brains later explained that much of their material was "dumbed down" at the insistence of Gramercy officials, who were worried the concept would not be accessible to average movie-goers. A small number of riffs—actually rather conspicuous in the milieu of the series—included profanity, in order to save the film from a "G" rating, which, Gramercy officials told Best Brains, would have been the kiss of death for a young adult-oriented comedy.
The choice of This Island Earth for the film to be riffed in MST3K: The Movie was questioned by some. While not a "good" film, some sci-fi buffs seem to have a soft spot for it, and there is no denying that its visual quality is considerably higher than virtually all of the films seen in the series. This was intentional: Best Brains and Gramercy agreed that average movie-goers would not sit through the sort of dreary, black & white fare normally featured on the TV series, and that the concept would be more successful if the film that was featured was visually engaging and action-packed, which This Island Earth, whatever its other failings, surely is.
The movie's brevity came about as Gramercy officials, worried by test-audience reactions indicating that impatience with the concept grew steadily at about the 75 minute mark, pressed Best Brains to cut the film down. All in all, because of various constraints placed on the Brains by Gramercy, most of the Best Brains team have identified the movie as the least satisfying project they have worked on.
The production values of MST3K:TM were considerably higher than those of the TV series. The sets were much larger than the sets for television and showed off more of the Satellite of Love's interior than the TV show.
Release History
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video to rental outlets such as Blockbuster Video on October 1, 1996. The film was released for retail sales on April 8, 1997 on both VHS and Laserdisc formats.
MST3K: The Movie was released on DVD in 1998, as a discount title with a MSRP of $14.99. The disc was sold until 2000, when the distributor of DVD (along with several other Universal titles) were named in a lawsuit by Universal Studios accused of under-pricing their titles. MST3K: The Movie was one of about 10 titles affected by this lawsuit and was pulled from distribution. The price of a used disc has risen considerably, to an average of $80 to $100 common in 2005. This release of the film contained no special features, deleted scenes, trailers or other form of extra content.
In 2003, another version of MST3K: The Movie started appearing online and at science fiction conventions. This special edition was created by an anyonmous Internet fan (similar to The Phantom Edit although the film itself was not edited) and was a two disc set. This edition has the same print of the film as the 1998 DVD, along with the theatrical trailer, several television ads, a review from E! Television on the first disc; and has an hour long presentation on the second disc from the second official MST3K convention hosted by various members of Best Brains writers/performers. This presentation has a picture slideshow showing behind the scenes footage (along with BBI commentary), the "lost" theme song, a general discussion of the genesis and production of the film from Best Brains, and the cut host segument and the original, alternate ending to the film. This version of the film is recognizable for the tagline on the front cover that reads "Every year Hollywood makes hundereds of special editions. This isn't one of them", a parody of the original tagline.
As of late 2005 there is a rumor that the creator of the 2003 Special Edition is working on another edition to be released in 2006 for the film's 10th anniversary. The alleged title of this set is the "10th Anniversary Hamdinger Edition".
Deleted scenes
At the beginning of the film, it was originally planned to have a new version of the "MST3K Love Theme", but the song was cut. To trim the running time of the film, Gramercy ordered one of the host segments to be cut. In this scene, Mike and the bots were in a storm shelter to avoid a meteor shower. The ending of the movie was also changed as well.
The new theme song, cut scene, and alternate ending were shown at the "Mystery Science Theater 3000 ConventioCon ExpoFest-O-Rama 2: Electric Bugaloo" in 1996, but were not included on the VHS, laserdisc, or the original DVD version of the movie. However, both cut scenes and the lost "love theme" were included in the fan produced Special Edition that began appearing in 2003.
Quotes
- [In the theater, the movie title appears, one word at a time: THIS… ISLAND… EARTH.]
- Servo: This… island… Earth… can be yours, if the price is right!
- . . .
- Servo: Okay, let's see here. Shatner, Shatner… nope! Doesn't look like he's in this one. We're safe.
- . . .
- Servo: Hey, look! There's Taurus the Bull!
- Mike: And, uh, right underneath it, the constellation Feces.
- [Dr. Cal Meacham is interviewed as he's about to leave by piloting an U.S. military jet.]
- Reporter: How long has the Army been handing out jets, Doctor?
- Servo [as Reporter]: Yeah!
- Meacham: One of the boys at Lockheed handed me this one. I hope you taxpayers don't mind.
- Mike, Crow, Servo [as Reporters]: We do!
- . . .
- Reporter: Cal, are you working on anything along the, uh, lines you mentioned?
- Meacham: Roughly.
- Reporter: Well… remember me, will ya?
- Crow [as Reporter]: I'm the wormy guy.
- [Exeter and his "team" are having an elegant dinner, complete with music by Mozart.]
- Meacham: What do you think of Mr. Mozart, Exeter?
- Exeter: I'm afraid I don't know the gent—
- Servo [as Exeter]: I'm not an alien!
- Exeter: My mind must have been wandering. Your composer, of course.
- Meacham: "Our" composer? He belongs to the world.
- Exeter: Yes, indeed.
- Mike [as Exeter]: I'm not an alien.
- . . .
- Exeter: We won't start cracking the whip on Meacham until tomorrow.
- Servo [as Exeter]: Then I ram my ovipositor down your throat and lay my eggs in your chest — but I'm not an alien!
- [Riffing their own movie's end credits, Mike and the Bots observe a "Puppet Wranglers" credit.]
- Crow: Puppet wranglers? There weren't any puppets in this movie!
- . . .
- [Among the credits is "Best Boy Grip: L. MARIE FORD".]
- Crow: Come on down to L. Marie Ford. Free hot dogs and balloons for Mom.
- . . .
- ["Eastman COLOR FILM" is credited.]
- Servo: Eastman! He came out of the East to battle with the Amazing Rando!
See also
External links
