Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Beyond!

[cue theme music]

Show of hands, how many of you actually know what my blog title is referring to? Well, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was a show from the 90's. The backstory of the show changed a lot in it's 10 season run, but the basic idea was to make fun of horrible movies, a show-within-a-show sort of feel. One thing always is consistent: a nice, regular guy named either Mike or Joel is stuck on a space satellite with two intelligent, sarcastic robots (Crow and Servo). A villain sends him tapes to conduct "experiments" on him to see how long he lasts watching a horrible movie, which he does with the help of humor.

I will be the first to admit it, the plot is non-existent (but as they say in the theme song "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes and other science facts, repeat to yourself it's just a show. I should really just relax"). It's an excuse to make fun of those B-grade movies that Mike and the gang are forced to watch. MST3K (as it's referred to by fans) began as a small station show in Minneapolis. After a few seasons, it was quite popular and Comedy Central picked it up, rocketing the cast to stardom. Although Comedy Central wanted to move the set and stars to New York or another upscale city to film, the cast was determined to keep filming from their dear state of Minnesota. They did so for the remainder of the show's run, keeping the original lure of the show with their everyday man approach to the movies, and not becoming spoiled stars.

Fast forward another 10 years. Where are Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy (voice of Servo) and Bill Corbett (voice of Crow) now? Well, they moved from riffing on bad movies to...riffing on bad movies? But wait a minute...wasn't Mystery Science Theater cancelled back in 1999? Yes, it was, but the MST3K crew has a new venue called Rifftrax, an online site that they and Legend Films began in 2006. For only a few dollars, a consumer can purchase the "riffs" on popular movies from the Rifftrax website. The MST3K crew is keeping up with the times, using embedded video clips as samples of their work. They even involve their avid followers with iRiff, where a person can riff on movies themselves and send it in for a contest. They also have their own Youtube channel that they post fairly regularly on.

It's good to see that these guys are keeping up with internet tools. I personally think they are brilliant. They don't resort to vulgar jokes (not often, anyway) and are very cinematically well-rounded. Mike, Kevin, and Bill are intelligent guys who I can relate to and would want as friends.

What do you think of this? Do you think that these guys should utilize more Web 2.0 tools, and if so, which ones? Did you ever watch Mystery Science Theater? Did you like it? What about Rifftrax? Have you ever heard of this before?

Before you post, I'd highly, strongly, greatly recommend watching a few Rifftrax "best of's". I promise that you'll laugh at least once. Here are some of my favorites:

Twilight Rifftrax

The Dark Knight Rifftrax

Star Wars Rifftrax

Pirates of the Caribbean Rifftrax

Valley City Comedy Tonight!

I have had the pleasure of being a part of Valley City Comedy Tonight!, a Saturday Night Live-esque production that VCSU Theatre is putting on this Thursday through Saturday night. In this blog, I am going to talk about all the different Web tools that this production is using and promote it.

First off, I'm going to explain the show. VC:CT is a mixture of sketches (prepared mini-plays), improv (making stuff up on the spot during different "games"), stand up (student comedians doing...well, stand up), and video (some student-made and some made especially for the production).

VC:CT is utilizing technology like we never have before. I don't want to give too much away (you'll have to come see the show) but one of the sketches involves Facebook. For this skit, a Facebook page is shown up on a screen with one of the characters interacting with it on their own computer. The bit centers around the fact that people take Facebook more seriously than real life events.

Another Web aspect that this production is using is email during the Improv game "Pocket Lines". The point of the game is to pull a line from your pocket and say whatever is on the piece of paper, no matter how out of context it is. Instead of putting the lines on a piece of paper and putting it in your pocket, the improv performers will be getting suggestions from the audience via e-mail. I am not one of the people planning that out so I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to work. I personally think that pocket lines would work better than the e-mail. There is also no chance of a technical malfunction when using paper. That said, I’m sure that using the e-mail will be just as entertaining as the pocket lines.

The entire show will be streamed on the internet live (Here's the link to it). This is something that has never been done before in a VCSU production, but I think it’s a good idea. Parents can watch their children perform in a play even if they live across the country or even out of the country. Friends who can’t make your play can watch it instead.

One bad thing about the show being streamed: ticket sales might go down. If people can watch from the comfort of their home, what’s to stop them from making this the deciding factor on whether or not to go to a show?

So…food for thought. Do you think streaming VC:CT will effect ticket sales (Keep in mind, it’s in Theater 320)? Do you think it will impact VCSU in a positive way, a negative way, or neither? Do you think it is a good idea for the theater at Valley City to use the web tools this way?

If you’ve seen the play by the time you read this, either live or by streaming, please comment on what you thought and your favorite part(s). Lastly, are you planning on coming to see the production? Alicia Kelly wrote some of the sketches and Zack Lee is a director/performer. I urge you to check it out. It's going to be pretty funny.

Tear Down This Wall...Again

Today, November 9th marks two important dates in German history, one tragic and one triumphant. The tragic occured 71 years ago; the Nazis' Kristallnacht, or Night of the Broken Glass, an anti-Semantic tirade that caused the deaths of at least 91 German Jews, the destruction of hundreds of synagogues and vandalizing and looting of thousands of Jewish businesses in the state-sanctioned riots that night.

But November 9th also stands for hope, the day that the Berlin Wall was demolished, unifying East and West Germany into one again. To mark the 20th anniversary of the end of divided Germany, the country put up a fake "wall" (giant domino pieces installed along a stretch of the Berlin Wall's original path) at Brandenburg Gate and "tore" the wall down again. Reporting for NBC News was Tom Brokaw, the only anchor who reported live while the Berlin Wall was torn down the first time (link to his report from today). Brokaw shared some of his memories from 1989 and reported on the current events in Berlin. It was really cool to see Brokaw's 1989 broadcast next to his reporting that he did today. Brokaw's been around for a very long time.

I wasn't quite born when the Berlin Wall first went down (two weeks late!) Although I wasn't born, I know that this was a major event. It was the end of the Soviet Union and the end of the division of Germany. The United States saw it as much a win for them as they did for the Germans. My parents remember this day and they've lived in America their whole life. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the Germans who saw that wall torn down. I've heard stories where family members were separated by the wall. What would that have been like to finally see, say, your sister or your father after years of having a bit of wall separating you?

If you are old enough, do you remember when the Berlin Wall was torn down? How did you feel? What images do you remember the most? Did you see Tom Brokaw's broadcast from Berlin in 1989? How do you feel about the Berlin Wall in general? Do you think the Berlin Wall stood for something more than just a separated country?

A Gleeful Blog

I'm sure that you've at least heard the word "Glee" mentioned in the past months, be it on Facebook or in an actual conversation.

Glee is the newest Fox show, about a high school show choir with a rag-tag group of misfits including a diva, a jock, a soulful black girl, a gay boy, a kid in a wheelchair, a womanizer, a hypocritical cheerleader, and a punky Asian. The glee club, called New Directions, is taken over by Spanish teacher and former Glee member William Schuster. Mr. Shoe (as the kids call him) wants to return the glee club to its glory days and let the kids have tons of fun on the way. The only problem is that the cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, wants the glee club gone because her "Cheerios" are sharing the funds with the glee club.

The Fox Network took a big risk when they decided to show the pilot of "Glee" four months before the show would actually begin airing. This is unheard of in the world where episodic shows like Glee compete against reality television and broadcast TV. To keep up the buzz about the show, Glee delved into social networking, maintained an online presence, showcased the actors in malls across the country, and held a fan contest. The show embarked on an ambitious marketing scheme. Joe Earley, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Fox, said the show was screened at summer camps, stars engaged in a 10-city tour, street teams handed out "Glee"-related items, and trailers were shown in front of the latest "Harry Potter" film.

Online, characters had Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, the pilot was available for streaming, and the show's stars took handheld cameras to events to gather behind-the-scenes content. The director's cut of the pilot was followed by a "Tweet-peat" where the stars and the fans took to Twitter to discuss the episode.

Martin said he was present when Fox screened an episode at the geekiest of all events: Comic-Con in San Diego, California.

Such innovation may have to become the norm, "Particularly for those networks that skew younger such as Fox, CW and ABC to an extent, they are going to have to really promote all of their shows all year long and find new ways to keep them in front of their viewers and remind them that they are there," said Ed Martin, a television critic who writes for JackMyers.com. "What Fox did last spring was something totally new that had never been done before."

I have watched the current episodes of Glee, and I was impressed with the dance sequences, the choice of music, and the context in which it was used. Although I don't think the Glee versions of popular songs really compare to the original versions, it still has an emotional impact because of the story behind the song. In the case of "Don't Stop Believing", Mr. Shoe is thinking of giving up on his love of teaching and Glee Club to get a better paying job for his family, when he hears his students singing the Journey hit.

One thing I have to say about the show is that I was in show choir, and there is not nearly this much drama. The other problem I have with the show is that Mr. Shoe's wife is selfish and unlikeable, and we're expected to take this as the reason he should leave her and be with his neurotic co-worker, a school counselor. Well, if his wife is so terrible, then why did he fall in love with her in the first place? Plot device, that's why.

That being said, Glee is about finding the happy medium between keeping your hopes and dreams alive and being realistic. Is the storyline really that good? Well, I don't think so (and now they've burned out the go-to teen pregnancy plot line in the first episodes), but the dances are certainly creative and really fun to watch. Glee is a very marketable show and the fact that it is using social networking will only help propel it to Season 2.

Have you seen Glee? If so, what are you feelings on it? Do you think that it deserves all the hype it has gotten for the past months? Do you think that the extra publicity done for the show helped garner ratings for it?

And on that note, here's Kurt's Single Ladies Dance.