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The MST3K Thread


Josh

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I'm similar. There's a subtle difference in style, beyond the simple "I like Joel's riffing better than Mike's" or vice-versa. I've waxed philosophical on this way too many times before, but Joel had a more free-spirited approach to the show and had a more parental relationship with the bots. Mike, on the other hand, felt more like the bots' roughhousing sibling and the show during his era felt like it had a more rigid structure. Of course, 3 seasons of the Mike era were on SciFi - which initially insisted upon an overall story arc to the seasons, as well as "SCI-FI MOVIES ONLY" for the movies they riffed. Those edicts faded away toward the end though.

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I don't want to use the term jumped the shark, because to me the show never did that. But it did go downhill a bit when Trace left.

As for Joel and Mike, I don't have a preference. I like both, but did miss the invention exchange after Joel left and they realized there was no reason for Mike to be doing it since he wasn't an inventor.

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I will say the Mike/Kevin/Trace combo era (halfway through Season 5-Season 7) is definitely the sweet spot for me. But I don't think Trace's departure hurt the show that much. There was a recovery period where Bill and Mary Jo were finding their feet as Crow and Pearl 2.0 respectively, but once they did the show was still excellent. Any other difference in quality during that time period I attribute to the restrictions SciFi put on the show.

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I adore Bill Corbett's Crow. I love the loaner Crow from the start of Quest of the Delta knights is one of my favorite things!

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I always hear in it in the Tor voice, actually. Which makes it all the more tremendous.

Growing up, I preferred the Joel/Kevin/Trace combination ("Women cracked open like loaves of bread!"), but the generally more sophomoric humor of Kevin/Mike/Bill has me going back nowadays. The turning point for me was when Frank went to Second Banana Heaven. I think that's when it finally clicked in my pea brain that the show was not much longer for this world.

And I still rank the "Love Theme" as one of the saddest songs I've ever heard...because it always meant no more MST3k. :(

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It is a bittersweet little tune.

I think you're right about Frank's departure. Joel leaving was big, but once Mike settled in (and he did admirably quickly) it seemed this could go on twice as long (and it did.) When Frank left, it felt more like "you can't have this ensemble forever." That said, Season 7 (right after Frank left) is my absolute favorite season. It benefits from being the shortest season, but there's not a bad episode in there. All of the movies are their own kind of dumb/weird, the riffing is solid throughout, and the host segments were some of the most experimental of the Mike era.

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