There's something special about Mystery Science Theater 3000. After it was originally canceled, the people behind it went off to do their own thing, creating their own projects like Cinematic Titanic and the still-chugging Rifftrax. But the original series still found its way back, with a successful Kickstarter campaign giving it new life on Netflix. But it still remained largely the same, to the delight of its fans. Now, after 2 seasons and another abrupt cancelation, that spark still hasn't died out, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 is ready to return to the hopefully not too distant future.
After series creator Joel Hodgson recently launched a new Kickstarter for Mystery Science Theater 3000, many were curious about its unorthodox approach. The idea is that new episodes of the beloved movie-riffing classic will essentially be self-published on a new self-contained media platform. The campaign calls the show's new platform the "Gizmoplex," but what will it do? Hodgson recently spoke about the idea in more detail, in order to hopefully give fans an idea of what they might be getting themselves into.
In the wake of the series' unfortunate and unexpected cancelation on Netflix, Hodgson decided to take its future back and put it in the hands of its backers, removing the ability for any network or streaming service to determine Mystery Science Theater 3000's lifespan. The Gizmoplex was his answer, and aside from essentially taking control of how the show releases, Hodgson also wants it to be an immersive experience. That means it won't only serve as a sort of community for fans to watch and discuss the series, but it will be part of the show in-universe as well.
"The Gizmoplex is also a component of the TV show," said Hodgson when speaking to Collider, "where the Mads are building the Gizmoplex, and they're falling all over each other, trying to rip off the audience or do things to Jonah and the Bots." For those unfamiliar, Mystery Science Theater 3000Â features a trapped worker on a space station living with 2 robot friends. They're all forced to watch "cheesy movies" by mad scientists (the Mads) for experiments, which is about as bizarre a framing device as someone could get. But as the theme song itself recites in every episode, "it's just a show, [you] should really just relax."
Hodgson compared his wishes for Mystery Science Theater 3000Â going forward to more traditional forms of television. While Netflix releases its original series like Stranger Things as full season groups, Hodgson appears to want to keep the convenience of choosing when to watch while also setting a proper premiere for everyone to watch at once if they want to take part. That seems to be the main draw of the Gizmoplex. The Kickstarter describes the platform as a "virtual online theater," and the idea is apparently to emulate the experience of meeting and interacting with people at a physical movie theater, only in an online setting.
Honestly, it still kind of sounds confusing, but if Hodgson and his team can pull off what they're planning, it could breathe a different kind of life into the long-running series. Just think, still being able to watch the show any time, but also hanging out with friends and family around the world to watch the premiere at the same time, and not just for the traditional MST3K Thanksgiving marathon? It's an ambitious goal, and hopefully, it will come to fruition. Preferably by next Sunday A.D.
Anyone interested in backing Mystery Science Theater 3000 can check out its Kickstarter here.
Source: Collider