Watch the New Cast of ‘MST3K’ Riff on ‘Stranger Things’
Alright, a gold friggin’ star to the person who thought of this one. With the new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 hitting Netflix today, most of the conversation has been dominated by lifelong fans of the show — fans like myself — who are some combination of excited and apprehensive about the return of their favorite television series. But what about the next generation of MST3K fans? How does Netflix introduce them to their service? Why, by riffing on another Netflix property that everyone already knows and loves, of course!
In a brilliant example of corporate synergy, this brief promo for the series shows new host Jonah Ray and his faithful robot Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot — voiced by Baron Vaughn and Hampton Young, respectively — tackling Stranger Things, the most talked about, analyzed, praised, condemned, and just generally mentioned show of last year. It’s a great introduction to the humor of the show; MST3K’s jokes have always sat somewhere between a film studies graduate student and a grade schooler, and that blend of pop culture awareness and silly jokes is present in this clip. Poor David Harbour takes the brunt of the jokes, but hey, I suppose that’s what you get when your first appearance on a television series is you snorting yourself awake in unzipped jeans and no shirt.
With a lineup that includes such legendary stinkers as Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t, and The Beast of Hollow Mountain, this latest season of MST3K promises fans a chance to dive back into some of the best-worst titles in movie history with jokes for a new generation of fans. And here’s hoping Netflix recognizes what’s it got and allows Jonah and the bots to keep riffing on their other shows. I, for one, would love to see what the crew of the Satellite of Love has to say about The Ridiculous 6. You know it’s the right thing to do, Netflix.