If you long for the days of humorous commentary tracks alongside cheesy B-movies then we've got some pretty stellar news for you. After a fifteen-year hiatus from our screens, it has been announced that Mystery Science Theater 3000 will finally make a return. The road to the show’s return involved a grass roots movement funded by fans on Kickstarter, and their passion recently translated to a crowd-funding record for the site.
UPI reports that the Kickstarter campaign to fund a new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 has more than succeeded. After starting in November, the campaign accumulated $5,764,229 in donations from excited fans eager to see the show return. This number represents a new Kickstarter record, which had previously been held by Veronica Mars, which garnered $5,702,153 in donations. The campaign also incorporated the sale of merchandise, which bumped the total figure for Mystery Science Theater’s revival closer to $6.3 million. Setting a record like this is a serious achievement, and is perhaps the most telling argument that a show like Mystery Science Theater 3000 can still drum up a willing audience.
The announcement also indicated that the new season of episodes would star Jonah Ray and feature Felicia Day as well as Patton Oswalt. Towards the end of its run the campaign was beefed up by some serious star power, with celebrities such as Jack Black, Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Hamill and Bill Hader invited to cameo during the new season of episodes.
For those of you unaware, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is classic TV show that ran during the 1980s and 1990s. The core concept of the show is that an ensemble of comedians pokes fun at corny B movies as well as public access programs. Within the universe of the show, it centered upon a janitor forced to watch B movies against his will by a pair of evil scientists; to keep his sanity, the janitor starts riffing on the movies with a group of robot companions. In total the series ran for 11 seasons, consisting of 197 episodes and one feature length film until it was cancelled in 1999. Episodes would run roughly two hours in length and provide commentary on the films from start to finish.
Check out the compilation of clips below to get a better sense of the show’s format and structure:
While we’re as excited as anyone to see Mystery Science Theater 3000 return, the announcement regarding its revival said little to nothing about the potential films that might be skewered when it does. The revival is expected to arrive sometime in 2016.
