Like a lot of people of my generation, I filled a ton of empty space in my room with the sights and sounds of (preferably) Jole Robinson (Hodgson) and (in a pinch) Mike Nelson and the crew of the Sattelite of Love. The show was pretty much the background to my teenage years, having gotten hooked on it on Sunday mornings when the best thing Comedy Central had to offer was Abbot and Costello reruns and MST3K (which wasn't bad at all, as far as I was concerned).
I, like everyone, enjoyed the riffing. It was part of a whole cultural attitude that was shifting toward a self-awareness with entertainment. It preceded the internet's obvious attitude that everything we were doing, no matter how mundane, was being, and should be, watched. And these guys were right in the middle of that transition, which is what made them so iconic.
They had the greatest job in the universe (as far as I could tell), which entailed, within the context of the show, being spacemen who were FORCED to watch movies with friends and, in the context of reality, being television personalities who watched movies with their friends and tons of people WATCHED THEM do it! Greatest job ever, however you want to look at it. That being said, the charm of the show came from that amazing Midwestern attitude that they were still at work. These were pleasant, good people, basically happy to be alive, but they still seemed like they were daydreaming about laying in the hammock or building another model. They had that, 'Yeah, it's another great day, but, you know, I'm at work' vibe that I loved, and I still love. When I saw Hodgson speak a while back and then, randomly, ended up going out to dinner with him and a bunch of people (including two other Scotts), he was still the same. Just kind of doing what he had to do, talkin' about how he was working for NASA (!). I wanted to hug him and tell him 'thank you' for some reason that I couldn't quite figure out.
Even more than the actual movies, I really liked the intermittent skits that they crew came up with. I loved the banter and invention exchanges with Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank. I thought that they should have a show that was mostly that. When the 'movie' came out, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more of that. That Mike didn't go on some adventure a la Beavis and Butt-Head in their movie. Now I'm glad they stayed true to their roots, but....
Which brings me to the trouble. Now on the show, I like the riffing the best, because that's the part that has stayed true. Just some dudes (and one lady) watching movies and rippin' on em. The show is still MST3K, no doubt, and I'm contemplating going to see the live tour version that is happening, just for the pure weirdness of it. But I am aware that THEY are aware that they are part of something special. The new cast seems absolutely ecstatic to be there. Especially Day and Oswald. They are pretty famous in their own right, they are celebrities on a TV (internet) show, no doubt about it. Gone are the days of feeling like you could (and, in my case, would) eventually just go grab a taco with these guys. It's obvious that they are huge fans and they are so happy to lend their talents to the MST3K legacy. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with that, and I totally understand where they are coming from, but it just isn't the same. I liked the unimpressed, borderline annoyed quality that the show used to have. After all, these were slaves being forced to watch crap by people who were evil AND at work. The new, upbeat slavers subjecting their subject to torture just seem too excited about the whole thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment