After the country was overrun by the coronavirus, media companies have been forced to provide us with entertainment through cable or streaming channels. That's why we got several concerts or Zoom gatherings at first, followed by more complex events.
Since Rifftrax's theater events have been in limbo thanks to the pandemic (we're still waiting for Hobgoblins, which will be shown in theaters just before Halloween...we hope), the gang decided to experiment with something called Scener, where a couple thousand people can see the same screen and respond with others. The idea was to have Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy riff the first episode of Stranger Things while the viewers also rant via text. It was similar to The Mads doing an online riff on Glen or Glenda recently. The viewers were mostly either backers through Kickstarter or Patreon.
It was a rough first voyage for the crew, more glitchy than the live broadcast of MST3K's final day of their Kickstarter campaign. It started about five minutes late, and the tech crew had a tough time trying to get all three riffers online. At one point, Bill's mike was down and Kevin and Mike had to reboot like crazy to be heard. It was something to see.
Also, Mike was singing like Bing Crosby while coming up with puns. For example, he thought about a broken golf club that was "Stranger Pings" or how Chandler from Friends would show up in a spinoff called "Stranger Bings". This was while he couldn't hear or see anything else.
Ah, bloopers.
Once they got past the opening credits at around 6 PM Pacific, it worked very well. All three riffers were online, the video lagged a bit, but it worked great.
This shows Mike and the guys should try a couple more "beta tests" before making this the alternative to Fathom Events shows since nearly all theaters are closed for now, They have riffed on Game of Thrones, Westworld and Walking Dead's first episodes. They can use those for future beta tests or maybe a chapter from the Batman serial.
OK, now, how about the riffs?
They were rather 80s-centric, even commenting on what songs were being played in the background.
Again, they got much better once the Scener process worked better.
Now, let's list a few:
A scientist at the Hawkins lab runs into an elevator after something goes wrong (natch)
The elevator blood from The Shining is very late today.
Chief Hopper makes his first appearance
My Joe Don Baker Detector is going off the charts
The scientists at the lab get into hazmat suits before they confront the Upside Down
They're going to the grocery store in 2020 (only current riff)
Hopper talking to Will's friends: One at a damn time
My personal feeling about Marvel movies
Eleven stares at a fan and makes it stop
Kubrick stare. Everybody duck!
Joyce, Will's mom, answers the phone, hoping for news
Do you like scary movies? Oops, sorry, wrong number.
This version, different from the "Just the Jokes"version, also included riffs on Toto, Molly Ringwald, Schlitz, Delaware, and Stand By Me.
The riff for Stranger Things is available now at the website. It can be downloaded into the app, and people can synch it up if they see it on Netflix, or have the download or the DVD set
