The mads unearth the most forgotten discarded music imaginable, and the bots and test subjects are forced to DJ and grow their listener base.
Between songs they share facts, poke fun at the lyrics with riffs. They also get guests to come on and have a interview hour where they uncover the story behind the music.
I love Radio so much, and for some reason this idea really excites me. Just imagining this type of content with our favorite characters.
Imagine with me!
What would be the music they uncover?
What kind of ads would they run?
What kind of tickets would they give out?
What contests would the bots come up with?
What themes and daily “talk show” styles would they adopt?
What radio DJ nicknames would they have?
What rhyming music would they play so the mads couldn’t understand?
AND most importantly, what song would you call in to ask to be played that is a VERY underrated song that the mads may mistake as bad, but it’s actually quite good?
In case anyone is curious, here is what ChatGPT came up with:
In this alternative universe, Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank, the villainous Mads from Mystery Science Theater 3000, have devised a diabolical new plan to take over the airwaves of the cosmos. They have trapped the Bots (Crow and Tom Servo) and the test subjects (Joel, Mike, or Jonah, depending on the era) in a rundown space radio station called “Cosmic Radio Catastrophe” that broadcasts horrible music across the universe. Their goal is to build a massive listener base and dominate the galactic airwaves, forcing their terrible taste in music on an unsuspecting universe.
Here are some ideas to bring this concept to life:
Musical Misadventures: The Bots and the test subjects are tasked with creating and hosting different shows on the radio station, each with a different theme of horrible music. They might have shows like “Galactic Garbage,” “Cosmic Cacophony,” or “Astro Audio Atrocities.”
Interstellar Requests: To increase their listener base, the captives have to take interstellar song requests. However, these requests often come from bizarre and unknown alien species with unusual music tastes, making their job even more challenging.
Space DJ Battles: The Mads could occasionally challenge the Bots and test subjects to space DJ battles, where they have to compete in creating playlists that attract the most listeners. This could involve themes like “Planetary Punk” or “Interdimensional Indie.”
Unpredictable Guests: The radio station could attract bizarre and eclectic guests from different corners of the universe. These guests could be musicians, artists, or even alien creatures with unique stories to share. The challenge for the captives is to interview these guests and keep the listeners entertained.
Mads’ Mischievous Interference: Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank could continually meddle with the radio station’s equipment, causing unexpected technical glitches, alien interference, or even broadcasting their own shows that compete directly with the Bots and test subjects.
Space Adventures and Music Hunts: In their search for new and terrible music, the captives might have to embark on space adventures to discover undiscovered planets with unheard-of musical genres.
Secret Resistance: The captives could form a secret resistance group to fight back against the Mads and their horrible music agenda. This could involve attempting to broadcast their own good music to counteract the bad, or even plotting daring escape plans.
Fan Interactions: The show could engage with fans from across the universe who tune in to listen to the terrible tunes. Fans might send in their own creations, which the Bots and test subjects have to incorporate into the broadcast, no matter how awful they may be.
Musical Rehab: As the captives listen to terrible music day in and day out, they might suffer from strange musical maladies or become desensitized to good music. This could lead to hilarious moments where they have to rediscover what constitutes good music.
Galactic Music Awards: The Mads could hold an annual “Galactic Music Awards” event, where the captives have to promote the worst music they can find to win the dubious honor of “Worst Song in the Universe.”
“Cosmic Radio Catastrophe” would be an entertaining blend of sci-fi, comedy, and music, as the Bots and test subjects try to survive their musical ordeal while striving to outwit their mad captors and build a loyal listener base across the vastness of space.
And I’m pretty sure Hamilton would be mentioned because yow! it’s incredibly annoying. I’ve never made it through more than 90 seconds of any song involved.
I wonder how they’d deal with the conundrum of terrible musicals often producing really good songs which stuck around long past the show’s run. To the point where only historians remember the standard’s origin. Though in some cases, the songs should be remembered, but aren’t.
Yacht Rock, and lots of it! (I actually am a parrot head, and even named a boat after a JB song… but, I think they’d dip into that well frequently?)
Besides Yacht Rock? Obscure folk music from around the world.
Ads? The ads would be a bit of an Invention Exchange hybrid I think? Musical Pursuit? Cheeseburgeropoly? Clogs R Us?
Tickets? All the made up cover band names any of us have ever come up with from any of the movies? Besides that? Hmmm “How to Talk Minnesotan, the Musical, in German!”
Contests? Bots? with each other or listeners? Hmmm… What was the artist … enjoying… when recording this?
Themes? All music all the time, but also weather and traffic on the hour and hijinks.
Nicknames?
Warwilf Jack Servo
Sleepy Joel Nelson
Golden Idol Crow (edit - or Art Murder?)
GPC Queen
… rhyming music… can I get back to you on that?
What song would I request? Hmmmm… I’m torn… Jimmy Buffett’s “Treetop Flyer” would probably already be in the rotation? All That’s cover of “Lil Liza Jane” maybe? Or maybe one of Prince’s lesser known songs? (Edit - Or, maybe Fingers Taylor’s song “I Like Eaten With Fingers”?)
I could see Tom and Crow have a segment where they do a “candid karaoke” where they recorded Mike singing songs in the shower and broadcasting that out into the void of space.
