Mystery Science Theater 3000

It is, as they say, "just a show," but it's an absolutely hilarious one and a joy to watch. Probably the single greatest influence on my sense of humor.

The end of the final episode - where, finally free of the false tyranny of the Satellite of Love, Crow, Servo, and boytoy Mike now voluntarily spitball a shit film - is one of the more touching moments of TV I've seen. I realized, finally near the end, that MST3K has always been a champion of the underdog, a celebration of the content they make fun of, drawing joy out of the worst of movies. They are the Philosopher's Stone of shit films, making comedy Gold out of discarded rock-hard crap.

My first big fandom, and one that taught me that I didn't have to just sit back and accept what I was given, when it came to movies. A truly great show, if not a perfect one - constrained by the attitudes of the time, especially once Joel left. But its attitude, its implicit challenge to media all over the world - "be *better*" - and its willingness to fight for the right to be silly have all left their mark on me. Love. (Oh, and a recommended episode for newbies: Teenagers From Outer Space.)

(Reviewed from assorted episodes.) Bad movies suck, and people talking during movies sucks, but with good enough writers anything can work, and it does, although the breadth of quality is considerable. For those new to the series and daunted by its huge catalog of feature-length episodes, some personal favorites: The Final Sacrifice, Santa Claus, Manos the Hands of Fate, Mitchell, Warrior of the Lost World, Time Chasers, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, Boggy Creek 2, and the short Mr. B Natural.

A great achievement of contemporary satire, a treasure trove of pop culture intertextualism, and of course - hilariously funny.

Varying quality can't keep the highlights (of which there are many) from shining through. It's silly and smart and at times sweet.

They vary largely on how watchable the 'bad' movie is, because sometimes even cutting humor can't save the abysmal. About 25% are pure gems, 50% are decent, and 25% aren't worth your time. Still. This concept and execution has made me laugh until I cried more times than I can count.

My friends love MST3K but the silly humor only makes me mildly amused. Humor is that way I guess.

Varies from film to film, and the host segments are usually forgettable, but when it gets good it gets goooood. Takes the idea of "riffing" and elevates it to an art form. Endlessly watchable.

Seen through which episode?