I grew up in the Northeast too, and I think what originally made the Carvel references fun was imitating Tom Carvel’s voice, which everyone who grew up with his voice remembers, That seems to have been discarded in favor of “Fudgie the Whale” references, which aren’t nearly as interesting.
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It’s amusing how they keep reusing the same few pan designs for their ice cream cakes.
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I love Joel’s character to pieces but his Tom Carvel attempt was so Not It. Anyway, the internet and sound file-sharing wasn’t a thing back then, so I forgive him.
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I imagine it’s Frank who would have been more familiar with Tom Carvel than Joel was. Maybe the problem was that Frank wasn’t in the theater.
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Yeah, or he tried to describe how T.C. should sound, but it didn’t quite work.
Me, I’ll hear that voice in my head forever no matter how hard I try to forget. Also, once in awhile there’d be an unnamed married couple doing some of of the worst comedy in history: when they needed to run a radio ad but the boss was out of town, I guess.
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Stupid, Sexy Flanders (It’s like I’m wearing nothing at all!) comes from an episode of The Simpsons that premiered January 2000, just after MST3K ended originally. Nearly (now over) 20 years of pop culture to catch up on, whether they became memes in the current landscape or not, or just there, modern references make sense to make. The animation industry grew in such a way while they were gone, that modern staff could grow up with it, like, how much anime references were they making in the final years of the original show that if they had actually made any do you think wouldn’t have come off as out of touch? That their best frame of reference is Speed Racer, Astro Boy and GoLion/Voltron?
As for my feelings, the celebrity appearances probably would’ve felt better integrated had schedules allowed them to be on either set. I did make a thread asking people’s feelings, it got some traction.
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I liked both Netflix seasons and agree with the general consensus that the “core” of the show – the theater riffing experience – is still intact, and works as well as ever with the new parts. I wasn’t crazy enough to try watching “The Gauntlet” in a single binge, so to me it was a shorter season with correspondingly fewer top-tier episodes, but as others have pointed out, Season 7 was much the same.
I think the biggest change I noticed was that they were mostly riffing longer films, so there wasn’t as much room for the kind of meandering, somewhat sillier host segments that gave the early seasons a lot of their charm. Also, filling the show’s universe with new bots (and Kinga’s henchpeople) meant that there wasn’t as much time spent with each one, so IMO they (as well as Kinga and Max to some degree) kind of have yet to “break out” and endear themselves to me as characters in the way that Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank did. (I know Growler is basically Rowlf the Dog and is a great fit in that role, but I’m still not sure what M. Waverly’s deal is.)
The way I see it, the goal of #MST3KTheReturn was to update the show without really changing it, and I think it accomplished that mission. So I’m glad to see it back once again, and in a form that may actually be both sustainable and “by fans, for fans.” Maybe someday we can have this discussion again and compare the top 20 episodes from all four hosts – I’m looking forward to it!
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I had no issues with the Netflix seasons it was the same show with updated jokes and riffs
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It’s still mst3k to me. I returned & became fully immersed in the series very shortly after season 11 was released, like the month of. It was a pleasant experience to come back to, felt very refreshing
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I read an interview with Joel before Season 11 dropped, where he said he took the approach that the show had actually been on the air all those years it wasn’t, and that a long-running tv show would naturally go through changes over time. Keeping that thought in my head has made the transition to new people and changes in production methods and whatnot feel more natural.
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The show is also already framed as an experiment, and experiments have phases, or make alterations to test certain aspects. I mentioned in the Gauntlet anniversary thread that shorter host segments made it less of what makes MST3K MST3K, but it was clearly telegraphed that it was an experiment within an experiment. It didn’t matter what audiences thought. There wasn’t going to be a second Gauntlet regardless of when MST3K went back into production. There was no reason to get mad at them for tinkering and making temporary changes. This is no “Phantom runner at second base in extra innings” in Major League Baseball
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The Host segments are only a small part of the runtime, but they make the show. I know the bumpers are superfluous, but I’m old and I like that stuff.
I don’t hold any netflix-required changes against them. Much as I don’t blame them for the green silhouettes in those two or three first season eps.
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The bumpers I fondly miss. I pray they spray back in like the tide. The Host Segments are the personal touch. The mission statement in addition to the humor. I don’t begrudge Season 12. I cross my toes the alterations ebb back and I suspect they will.
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The host segments and bumpers make MST3K MST3K and distinguish it from what it spawned (Cinematic Titanic, Rifftrax and The Mads are Back). And hey, while the Netflix seasons played around with the bumpers in an ad-less environment, an ad-supported tier of The Gizmoplex might be enticing…
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I personally loved it, i have seen some people say it was too "polished " but that didnt bother me. Jonah took some getting used to but by the Kaiju Rap host segment I was all in on him. hes… PRETTY NICE!
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The effort was like no other. I had a grin on my face all day. Happy Anniversary Bring Back MST3K and 14 episodes! I pledged Experiment 300 McLargeHuge, bought a Hoodie for my Best Friend’s Brother, sprung on three Blu-Ray Boxsets. $700 in one bite. I have no regrets.
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I enjoyed the Netflix run quite a bit. It did take me sometime to get used to the more rapid-fire style riffing, but I figure that if I miss something, it’s a great excuse to re-watch it! 
I’ll add this: As someone who wears glasses, seeing Jonah rock the eyewear is appreciated and relatable.
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To backtrack a little: before MST3K made the jump to the Sci-Fi Channel, I only saw a few episodes thanks to the MST Hour and the Rhino VHS tapes. I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, especially since Trace Beaulieu wouldn’t be involved going forward. I wondered to myself, “Will they still rock it?”
Then Revenge of the Creature started up, and any apprehensions/worries I had were soundly annihilated by a funny-as-hell episode and a brilliant retooling of the show.
So it was with the Netflix era. The YouTube trailer looked great, even though it didn’t feature any riffing. The Kickstarter videos of the gang riffing on their own campaign had me thinking it could very well work. But I was still nervous about the whole thing.
When Reptilicus launched, all my worries and concerns? Soundly eliminated. That opening segment and new theme song sequence had me smiling from ear to ear, that Munsters riff over the movie’s title card had me thinking, “This is still very much what I signed up for!”, and Every Country Has a Monster solidified the notion that MST3K was back and playing for keeps!
I love these episodes. The new cast hit all the marks for me. Jonah more than ably stepped up to the role of test subject, and Hampton, Baron, and Rebecca owned it as the Bots. I dug the hell out of the new Bot additions in M. Waverly and ESPECIALLY Growler. The new Mads made it a fun as hell ride, too.
The movie selections were on point, and the riffing/writing was as good as it ever was (although the increased riff rate did take just a little getting used to). Those host segments? They reminded me of why I fell in love with the show in the first place.
Some of these episodes are among my absolute favorites of the whole series, including the two Wizards of the Lost Kingdom movies, Mac and Me, Yongary, Cry Wilderness, and Lords of the Deep. There’s not an episode in these seasons I would avoid, and the ones I didn’t mention by name are also hella fun in rotation.
If there’s one gripe I have with this run, it’s that the Season 12 episodes jettisoned a host segment to conform to Netflix’s whole “let’s make this bingewatchable” standards. But I’ll put that on Netflix, not the MST3K gang.
Okay, two gripes: I miss the commercial break bumpers in Season 12. I feel like they did a lot to hype up the movies and add to the world-building experience of the show.
The heart and soul of the show were very much intact and just as strong as they ever were. Hell, we got a Jacques Tati reference in Reptilicus and a Lawrence Welk riff in The Loves of Hercules, which goes to show that the new series run wasn’t merely/solely about contemporary references.
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overall. I’ve said before that the fast pace of the riffs makes them more rewatchable, because I hear something new each time. I turn to them when I’m feeling especially lazy and impatient (not wanting to dig out a DVD or sit through the hundreds of commercials on Shout).
These two seasons have produced some of my favorite songs (Every Country and Concepts) and favorite sketches (especially the Jonah McDonah sketch from Mac & Me).
I do miss the Midwest feel, but I don’t mind the overall evolution. Things get stale and turn me off if they remain repetitive.
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