Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: jonah ray, MST3K, Mystery Science Theater 3000
MST3K host Jonah Ray spoke with us about his favorite shows, avoiding “self-aware” films, how the team has evolved over time, and much more.
There are such few iconic hecklers and stooges commenting from the peanut gallery these days. The Muppets have the older Statler and Waldorf, and Minnesota’s KTMA-TV had Mystery Science Theater 3000. MST3K has come a long way from local television, making its way to The Comedy Channel as it evolved into Comedy Central and wrapping its initial run on The Sci-Fi Channel (now SYFY). After an 18-year hiatus from terrestrial and cable television, the series made its way to Netflix in 2017 but only lasted two seasons, wrapping in 2018 before it’s currently home on the independently-owned and crowdfunded Gizmoplex. While promoting their annual Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Potluck of the Stars Marathon partnering with Shout!, host Jonah Ray spoke to Bleeding Cool about the importance of retaining the Netflix cast into the Gizmoplex, reuniting with Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt, personal favorites, and what the MST3K typically stays away from.
MST3K Host Jonah Ray on Stepping into the Gizmoplex with a Few Familiar Faces
Bleeding Cool: How did you feel you grew as a cast since your time on Netflix into the Gizmoplex with Felicia, Patton, and the current crew? How do you think it helped the show overall with that core?
Seeing how we played the roles, like during the first season. We’re all blind going into it. It’s not like there are rehearsals for a show like this. Luckily, Baron Vaughn and Hampton Yount play Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot. Luckily, we have known each other for a long time and already have a rapport. I have also known Felicia and Patton for a bit. Seeing who we were within the characters helped the writing process going into the Gizmoplex season. I’ve also directed tons of episodes for that season, so knowing what Felicia and Patton were capable of, and things I’ve always wanted to see on the show was fun to push. We were all more comfortable with each other, not that we ever weren’t, but we were more comfortable with each other concerning the show itself.
Did you have a personal favorite episode you’re in, or was it one before you came on board?
I always was a sucker for ‘Zombie Nightmare’ (1986) (from ‘MST3K’ season seven). I loved ‘Laserblast’ (1978) (from the same season) from the original run. The ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie’ (1996) is the one I was obsessed with the most because I had it on VHS. I watched it all the time, and I know it by heart. That was my favorite of all ‘MST3K’ stuff, and the film covered ‘This Island Earth’ (1955).
As far as my own, working with Elliott Kalan when we were solidifying the script for ‘Mac and Me’ (1988) was probably one of the most fun times and one I was most proud of the work we did (for season two). On the ‘Gizmoplex’ season, getting to do ‘The Mask in 3D’ (1961), which was this Halloween episode. When it comes to TV shows, usually the Halloween-themed ones are my favorite episodes. ‘Roseanne’ and ‘The Simpsons’ are some of my favorite shows of all time. Having the ability to do the first Halloween episode of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ was really cool.
There’s so much schlock out there. Was there a particular movie that stood out to you for all the wrong reasons? Films that are self-aware but know they’re bad and lean into it. Was there anything out there you felt tried to take itself way too seriously and failed in the worst way possible?
When they’re self-aware, it’s no good. The closest we ever got to doing a comedy was ‘Catalina Caper’ (1967) because there are some funny moments. You don’t want to “yuck” on someone else’s yuck. It’s a big thing in comedy where you don’t want to say, “Your comedy sucks. Mine is better.” We’re like, “If someone’s self-aware with their bad movie,” we want to stay away because they’re already doing the job for us. You want someone sincerely going and swinging for the fences, and it doesn’t necessarily mean the work is bad. It’s the outcome wasn’t great or wasn’t as intended.
When we covered ‘Demon Squad’ (2019) on the Gizmoplex season, it was like they were trying to make a neo-noir, kind of demon, a fantasy cop show or movie, but it felt like there was a lot of sincerity. I was hesitant about even doing ‘Atlantic Rim’ (2014) because of the whole world of cheesy remakes. I realize those are the new versions of old Roger Corman stuff. It’s ‘Atlantic Rim’ to ‘Pacific Rim’ (2013) as ‘Piranha’ (1978) is to ‘Jaws’ (1975). They’re doing things that’s always been done before.
Tune in to Shout! TV on 11/28 for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Potluck of the Stars Marathon, hosted by Ray and featuring guests David Dastmalchian, Mike Flanagan, Bryan Fuller, Mark Hamill, Matthew Lillard, and Kumail Nanjiani, and the cast and crew of MST3K.
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