MST3K's OTHER New Network

We all know the new version of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is coming to Netflix next year, but some fans may not be aware it will also join another network in a couple of weeks.

Comet TV, a sci-fi channel owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, has been around since last Halloween. It's been best known for showing cheesy sci-fi movies like Troll 2, The Raven, In the Year 2889 and Terrordactyl, along with Stargate SG-1, Johnny Sokko and both versions of The Outer Limits. Now, it's announced it will air Mystery Science Theater 3000 every Sunday starting September 4th, It already has its own section to the website which includes a complete episode guide. Does this mean all episodes will be airing on Comet?

Well, we do know that when it starts on the 4th, Comet will have Manos and Teenagers From Outer Space. (Update: it will air Attack of the Giant Leeches and Wild, Wild World of Batwoman on the 11th.) It's expected to have two episodes every Sunday night.
Thing is, Comet has NO press release on which episodes it will be airing, When Retro TV started airing MST3K a couple of years ago, it provided a list of episodes it would air. It's added another 26 this year, but didn't reveal which ones ahead of time. The ones that arrived were pleasant surprises, including Killer Shrews, The Beatniks, Swamp Diamonds, Hercules Unchained and Bloodlust.

If Comet is airing MST, will that mean Retro will let the Satellite of Love go? I have tried everything from social media to e-mails, but it's not saying anything. As of now, it's still on the schedule, and Retro could air Manos the day before Comet does.

I also sent an e-mail to Comet about its plans for MST3K. It says it answers every e-mail, and I am hoping that includes mine.

Fortunately, I have heard from fellow MSTies who have said Retro is keeping the show, and it looks like Retro and Comet will have two sets of MST3K episodes to show. So far, though, both packages seem to overlap. If Comet wants to stand out, it should promote episodes Shout Factory doesn't have. Imagine the excitement of showing Amazing Colossal Man, Rocketship X-M, Hellcats, Monster-A-Go-Go, or Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders. Even some titles it does have, including Catalina Caper or Space Travelers, would also be great.
UPDATE:  Comet told me through Facebook it's airing "a season of its best episodes". That could mean the top 22 episodes out of the whole series, but no specifics on which episodes it will offer.

It's surprising that as recently as three years ago, the only place to see MST3K episodes is through DVDs and YouTube..and circulating the tapes. Now, two over-the-air digital channels are showing classic episodes, and Netflix will present the next generation
These are good days in the not-too-distant present.

Return of MST3K, But Still Not Everywhere

In the not too distant future, tomorrow, A.D...

Mystery Science Theater 3000 returns on over-the-air TV, but sadly not everywhere.
I was checking the responses of fans who learned that Retro TV will start carrying the show July 5th, starting with "The Mad Monster". While some were happy they have Retro TV, others were upset that they didn't have it, or used to have it until the local channel that carried it changed to getTV, Me-TV or AntennaTV. They were also upset that some movies that were in the original list were taken out because of rights issues. That includes "Time Chasers" and "Space Mutiny". On the other hand, it meant the addition of "Pod People" and "Secret Agent Super Dragon." One fan suggested "Mad Monster" was too weak an episode to start the return.

I am in the Reno area, where Retro TV is available...along with a semi-local weekend horror TV host named Zomboo. Let's just say his list of movies is similar to those who have been mocked at the Satellite of Love. I'm hoping to get cable...and my own place...before "Super Dragon" because it's one of the episodes I don't have.

Still, it's a great way to introduce movie mocking to a new generation who thinks they have no way to strike back after they unwisely spent 12 bucks on the latest Transformers movie, Amazing Spider Man 2 or Transcendence (nowhere nearly as good as a certain scene from Captain America's second movie). Sure, they may have heard of Rifftrax, but they may wonder how such a thing was invented. Well, thanks to Retro TV, they can find out how some guy and his two robots changed instant movie reviewing forever. Take that, Zomboo.
This will especially please the online-challenged. While these episodes can be seen on Amazon, iTunes or YouTube, not everyone can get used to downloading TV shows or movies. Seeing the show on cable TV, just like the old days of Comedy Central, can be a comfort for some.

What's interesting is that Retro seems to be interested in showing unriffed versions of previous MST3K targets. It's planning to show The Violent Years after MST3K, and Teenage Caveman in some areas. Maybe it's daring us to riff on these movies at home.

Anyway, MST3K airs Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 5 PM. Check myretrotv.com for more info, including plans to run classic episodes of Doctor Who back in the days when he was a staple on PBS and the early days of SyFy,

Naturally, Retro TV will encourage you to ask your local station to carry the channel. If that doesn't work, you could circulate the tapes...or buy them on DVD....or download them online.
Man, things have changed, haven't they?

MST3K Goes Retro This Summer...But Not Everywhere

OK, so what is Retro TV?
It's like Antenna TV or MeTV, digital subcarrier channels also found on cable TV that air old movies and reruns of classic TV shows. You know, what your local independent TV stations used to air before relying on infomercials, court shows and talk shows that shouldn't exist.
These channels are the homes of former TV rerun staples like Bewitched, All in the Family, MASH, Gilligan's Island, I Love Lucy and Perry Mason. 

So what is the Satellite of Love doing there?
Satellite News broke the story that Retro TV will air 26 episodes from the series, and it includes a few from the Comedy Channel and Sci-Fi Channel days. Many fans were stunned that this had happened at all. Many of us would give out eye teeth, and our eyes, to see the Satellite of Love fly again, and not have to rely on Hulu or Amazon TV.

The show will start on Retro TV in July, and here's what's coming:

103- The Mad Monster
105- The Corpse Vanishes

This means two episodes from the J. Elvis Weinstein years

211- First Spaceship On Venus

Only one from season two? It was just biker movies, cheap dinosaur movies, and "The Phantom Creeps", but they should have been included. Also, early TV's Frank!

320- The Unearthly
323- The Castle of Fu Manchu
402- The Giant Gila Monster
409- The Indestructible Man
412- Hercules And The Captive Women
419- The Rebel Set
424- Manos: The Hands of Fate

The fact that Manos is included (but not Bride of the Monster, which means we won't see part one of "Hired") makes this first batch very attractive. 

507- I Accuse My Parents
511- Gunslinger
517- Beginning of the End
518- The Atomic Brain

Yep, it won't include the big change from Joel to Mike. We'll just have to rely on the new opening to explain why Joel's gone. 

610- The Violent Years
616- Racket Girls
619- Red Zone Cuba
701- Night Of The Blood Beast

Decent episodes from season six, and we get the non-Turkey Day version of how Pearl Forrester moves in with Dr. Forrester. 

812- The Incredibly Strange Creatures…
820- Space Mutiny
821- Time Chasers
822- Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
908- The Touch of Satan
1002- Girl in Gold Boots
1003- Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders
1009- Hamlet

A good sample of Sci-Fi shows, especially with "Incredibly Strange Creatures", "Space Mutiny" and "Time Chasers", but there's a shortage of season nine stuff. Why not include "Pumaman" and "Final Sacrifice"? 

The mix of shows is still good, 12 with Joel and 14 with Mike. It's interesting that Retro preferred to get the full shows, rather than the "MST Hour" versions from Comedy Central from the mid 90s. Actually, that version had really good shows from the Joel era. 

So what will this mean for MSTies?
First off, they'll actually have to look for Retro TV. Here's where you can check to see if it's broadcast in your area. Long-time fans will get a chance to see shows they haven't seen in a while, or show their children and grandchildren (hey, why not?) what they used to watch at midnight some weekend.
However, some of those kids may point out they can see the shows on YouTube, Hulu or Amazon Video on their computers. So why see it on a really obscure cable channel?
Simple. The only way to really appreciate the genius of Cable TV's Greatest Contribution To Mankind Before The Sopranos is to see it on a cathode ray TV, on a Saturday night, eating junk food, and even updating the riffs Tom Servo, Crow and Joel/Mike are lobbying at the lame movie. Sure, you can cheat and get the shows on Hulu or Amazon Video beamed into the 50-inch flat screen, but it's best to enjoy the MST experience just like our elders did 20 years ago.
Still, if all you have is a flat screen, fine. Just watch it on Retro TV if your cable outlet has it.

This has been some week for MSTies. Next Tuesday, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett will sit and mock National Geographic shows. It's the first time since appearing on ESPN's Cheap Seats, starring a couple of guys who riff on televised sports. Wonder where they picked up that habit?