Want to grab any of our Kickstarter-exclusive rewards before they disappear forever? If it's listed below, you've still got time to pre-order now!
PLEASE NOTE: The physical rewards below will not ship until at least July 2022. Digital rewards will be distributed as soon as they are ready.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
MST3K Weekly Update: Dec 6 - Dec 10, 2021:
over 4 years ago
– Tue, Dec 14, 2021 at 02:10:54 AM
In This Update
Production: Shoots continue in LA and PA + what happens next?
Reward Preview: Sneak peek at the Kingavision 3D Glasses!
Meet the Team: David Nonini, Transcriptionist
Bonjour, Mes Amis!
It’s the best part of your week (maybe): your weekly MST3K backer update! Ivan and Lesley here, back with the latest news and behind-the-scenes photos, plus answers to a lot of your questions about Kickstarter rewards, so there’s no time to waste: let’s get cracking!
PRODUCTION NEWS
LA FILMING ALMOST COMPLETE: Things continue to move at a breakneck pace, but we’re pleased to report that Jonah, Baron, and Hampton have now completed recording the host segments for their episodes, along with all of our “sponsor advertisements” and a bunch of additional material that will appear in the Gizmoplex. We’ve also finished shooting all of the scenes featuring M. Waverly and Growler, and are nearly finished with all of the scenes involving Pearl Forrester and Dr. Erdhardt… and everyone is really happy with how things are turning out.
Crow, Jonah and Tom rehearsing a scene.
Jonah gets touched up; Matt McGinnis checks a shot; the set during lunch.
When we’re shooting the Mads and other full-body shots, the desk joins the rest of our props “backstage”.
Growler and Waverly in their dressing rooms, waiting to be called to set.
And, because we know that some of you have a fascination with seeing our craft service table and knowing what snacks are available during production, this shoot was where we discovered that there’s a specific, awkwardly named pastry that no one enjoys:
This went on for two weeks. No one ever ate them.
MODEL SHOOT COMPLETE: Over the past week, Joel and the Alternaversal Team also staged and completed all of the model shots needed for Season 13, including some ambitious new visuals set on the surface of the moon. We don’t want to spoil too much of what Joel’s got planned, but here are a few behind-the-scenes shots to give you a small idea of what you might see in the new episodes:
The “undressed” table used for most of the model shots.
A moonscape in perspective, with A/C controls on the wall behind.
Miniature supervisor Dylan Pecora “laying pipe” to transport Kingachrome.
Joel and Sharyl (Alternaversal COO) laughing in between setups.
WHAT’S NEXT? Today (Monday), we’re shooting one final day of footage with Kinga, Max, and Pearl, and then we’ll be wrapped in Los Angeles for this season! At that point, we’ll release most of our cast and crew for a few weeks of well-deserved holiday break, and production will “go dark” until early February, when we’re scheduled for two more weeks of production back in Philadelphia. During January, some of our team will be focused on preparing some final props and costumes for the remaining episodes, while our post-production team starts reviewing and editing everything we’ve already shot.
WHAT’S LEFT? During our final shoot in February, we’ll be focused on getting all of Joel’s episodes done, capturing some additional material for our first 3-D episode, and then finishing up with our most ambitious episode: the holiday special season finale, which will also be the first episode ever to feature three hosts riffing a single movie.
Once again: if you haven’t filled out your BackerKit reward survey yet, this is your weekly reminder that we’re almost three months past the deadline, and need your answers ASAP in order to include your rewards in our main wave of reward shipments early next year. If you haven’t finished (or received) your BackerKit reward survey yet, please follow these instructions to get it re-sent, and then submit it ASAP.
2. HOLIDAY CARDS: Going in the mail this week for 29,054 backers.
If your rewards include the MST3K HOLIDAY CARD, you should have received an email from BackerKit about 10 days ago, notifying you that we were about to “lock addresses to send your rewards,” which gave you a chance to update your mailing address if it was no longer accurate. Since we aren’t able to customize those emails, here are a few things you should know:
The HOLIDAY CARDS are the only reward shipping out this year. While the email seemed to suggest all of your rewards were shipping, this was just for the holiday card. Most of the other Kickstarter rewards are still being produced, and as of now, we’re expecting to ship them in mid-to-late February 2022.
You’ll be able to update your SHIPPING ADDRESS before we send the other rewards. We know that some of you will move to different addresses before the next rewards go out. Don’t worry! Starting next week – as soon as all of the holiday cards are in the mail – you’ll be able to update your own shipping address again.
Didn’t get to update your address before we sent the holiday card? Make sure you’ve requested mail forwarding (at least in the USA), so that the USPS can forward the holiday card along to your new address. If you don’t receive it by mid-to-late January, email our Support Team at [email protected] to let us know.
And, as noted in the last update: If we didn’t receive your completed reward survey before we sent the cards off to the mailing house, you’ll still get your card! We’ll just include it with all of the other rewards shipping out early next year.
3. PAYING FOR SHIPPING: Starting this week, BackerKit will request credit card info.
As you might recall, we have not collected shipping costs for physical rewards yet. This is mostly because – due to COVID – shipping costs have been fluctuating a lot. So, to make sure we don’t over or undercharge you for shipping costs, we’ve been waiting until we’re almost ready to ship everything out to collect them.
That said, you may get emails from BackerKit starting this coming week, which will ask you to provide a credit card number that can be charged when we do collect your shipping costs for physical rewards.
We will notify you before any shipping costs are collected, but if you want to be sure to get your rewards shipped ASAP, you should follow the email instructions and provide a card in advance.
4. VIRTUAL SET VISITS will resume in January.
If your rewards include access to our VIRTUAL SET VISITS, you might be wondering about the plan for the additional sessions we promised. Our original plan was to livestream at least one virtual set visit per month in November and December, but – as you can tell – we haven’t been able to stick to that schedule, and we apologize for not updating you sooner with our plan.
We’ve also been thinking about how to solve two challenges with virtual set visits:
First, we’ve realized that broadcasting a livestream direct from set could end up being disruptive, both to the performers (who would feel more self-conscious and distracted), and to the studio (since it would take up a huge part of their internet connection).
Second, a lot of you have asked if we could move virtual set visits to weekends or evenings, since it’s hard to participate in livestreams during work hours. The challenge, of course, is that most of the production work happens during work hours.
To deal with both of these concerns – and to make sure you still get to see everything we wanted to share with you during these “virtual set visit” sessions – we ended up deciding to record a feed from set “live to tape.” As a result, starting in January, we’ll be able to schedule the remaining virtual set visits outside of normal working hours.
For our next session, we’ll share an hour of footage recorded live on set during our riff shoots, then have some of our cast and crew join for a live Q&A session to talk about the process. We’re finalizing the schedule with our Q&A guests now, and should be able to share more details next week. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and understanding.
5. Your CLASSIC MST3K DOWNLOADS are coming before Christmas!
With winter vacation approaching, we also know that some of you are itching to start downloading and watching your CLASSIC BONUS EPISODE rewards, which were included in most pledge packages at EXPERIMENT 150 and above, as well as through Add-On Rewards.
We’re just finishing up the last steps involved in preparing those episodes now, so you should be able to download them starting no later than December 22.
And, if you claimed digital downloads of SEASON 11 and/or SEASON 12 as Add-On Rewards, those should also be available starting at the same time.
The ULTIMATE MST3K DIGITAL COLLECTION – which includes over 120 classic episodes – might take a little bit longer, but we’ll do everything we can to make it available by December 25th, in case you’re planning to give it as a Christmas gift.
So, if you’re still in need of some last minute gift options, we’ve got you covered.
Grab any of these last-minute DIGITAL ADD-ONS right now, and we’ll have a PDF gift certificate available to download and print starting tomorrow:
Finally, just to give you one more thing to look forward to next year, we’ve got a preview of the finished design for the KINGAVISION 3D GLASSES:
As a reminder, these cutting-edge anaglyphic 3D GLASSES were added as a free bonus reward for all backers who pledged during the Kickstarter campaign – but if your pledge rewards didn’t include them, or you want to get extra pairs for friends and family, you still can!
You can see all the currently-announced dates and theaters on our tour website at MST3KLive.com.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Have you checked out the new official MST3K forums yet? Join up here if you’d like to check it out. Here are a few delicious threads from the past week:
Is Space Mutiny actually a Christmas episode? Discuss.
Share your pet theories on the background details of MST3K characters, but also remember, it’s just a show, you should really just relax.
Each week, we’re introducing you to another member of the MST3K team. This week, it's...
David Nonini, Transcriptionist
1. In a sentence or two, what do you do on MST3K? I work as a transcriptionist in the writer's room, where I compile and organize the riffs for the films.
2. What do you love most about your job? As a longtime fan of the show, it's been an awesome experience witnessing the creative process that goes into making the riffs for the show, and it has been fun working with the incredibly funny and talented writers that make it possible! I think the fans will be very happy with the upcoming season!
3. Tell us a fun fact about you. When I'm not working on MST3K, I am an amateur Titanic historian and an aspiring musician. You can follow me on Facebook!
That’s all for the week in review, friends! As always, please join us on the dedicated forum thread with your questions and feedback. And have a wonderful week to come!
Your correspondents,
Ivan & Lesley
MST3K Weekly Update: Nov 29 - Dec 3, 2021
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Dec 08, 2021 at 01:50:15 PM
In This Update
Season 13 Lineup Revealed!
Season 13 premieres on MARCH 4, 2022!
Meet the Team: Mike Norton, Production Designer
Ahoy mateys!
We’ve completed another week of season 13 production on our Los Angeles, and as things have been so wildly busy, Lesley here with a slightly briefer update than usual, with plans to return to our usual thoroughness later this week. Anchors aweigh!
SEASON 13 LINEUP REVEALED!
We are thrilled with how many of you tuned in for our super-sized Turkey Day marathon. Besides watching eight classic episodes and sharing a slew of new host segments with Jonah, Emily, and the bots, we also announced all thirteen movies we’ll be riffing in the upcoming season of MST3K, premiering next year in the Gizmoplex.
In case you weren’t able to hang with us – or stay awake! – for the whole marathon, we’re sharing the whole list with you now. We realize not everyone can sit around and watch all day, so we’re also making the first twelve hours of the marathon available on YouTube for your convenient viewing pleasure. (YouTube only archives the first twelve hours of a livestream, unfortunately.)
You can check out teasers for all of these movies here. And, if you didn't stick around until the very end, you might have missed one more big announcement:
Season 13 will premiere on March 4, 2022!
We hope you’re as excited as we are! Come let us know in the epic Turkey Day Open Thread on the forums.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Have you checked out the new official MST3K forums yet? Join up here if you’d like to check it out. Here are a few thought-provoking threads from the past week:
Also, a reminder that the tour is coming to Los Angeles to play at The Theater at the Ace Hotel on December 22, and tickets are still available!
You can see all the currently-announced dates and theaters on our tour website at MST3KLive.com.
MEET THE TEAM
Each week, we’re introducing you to another member of the MST3K team. This week, it's...
Mike Norton, Production Designer
1. In a sentence or two, what do you do on MST3K? I think I'm a production designer? I don’t know, I draw and design silly things for people to make and laugh at!
2. What do you love most about your job? I’ve been watching MST3K since I was in junior high school, and have developed a severe love for only the most cheesy of films. Making stuff for the show is honestly a dream come true. Everybody is pretty nice too!
3. Tell us a fun fact about you. My high school art teacher once stabbed me in the chest with an x-acto knife. I don't think he meant to, so I didn't let it deter me from becoming a comic book artist as a career!
That’s all for last week, friends -- and as soon as we survive the rest of this week's production gauntlet, we'll be back to update you on production, Kickstarter reward progress, holiday cards, the timing for distributing your "classic bonus episode" rewards, the plan for more Virtual Set Visits, and more!
MST3K Turkey Day Marathon starts tomorrow at 9am ET / 6am PT… and we’ll reveal the FULL SEASON 13 LINEUP!
over 4 years ago
– Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 01:30:14 AM
Dear MST3K Friends & Family,
Turkey Day is nearly here, so we’re sending one last invitation:
Please join us tomorrow, NOVEMBER 25, for our annual MST3K TURKEY DAY MARATHON!
Starting at 9am ET / 6am PT, and running all day long, we’ll be serving up EIGHT EPISODES of MST3K, plus some BIG news!
If you don’t already know, Turkey Day (or “Thanksgiving,” if you prefer) is an important milestone for Mystery Science Theater, since the very first episode of the show premiered on Thanksgiving in 1988. So, it’s not just a holiday in the United States: it’s also our birthday! And this year, we’re turning… 33, apparently?
Anyway, for this year’s Turkey Day Marathon, we’ll be running EIGHT CLASSIC EPISODES back-to-back, with half of them chosen by our team, and the other half by you: the viewers! Plus, to keep things festive, we’ve also got all-new host segments featuring Jonah, Emily, Tom Servo (Conor McGiffin), Crow (Nate Begle), and GPC2 (Yvonne Freese)!
And if you want something extra to look forward to, you’ll want to stay tuned in all day, because we’ll also be revealing ALL THIRTEEN MOVIES that our cast will be riffing next year in the Gizmoplex for our next all-new season of MST3K!
Where To Watch
This year, the MST3K Turkey Day Marathon will be streaming live across a lot of great streaming services and platforms, including...
The Shout! Factory TV App, on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire. Download the app to your device, then navigate to the MST3K 24/7 channel to begin watching.
On social media, include #mst3kturkeyday in your posts!
Speaking on behalf of the entire MST3K team, this year what we’re most grateful for is you, the backers, and your continued support of MST3K -- and if you want to share what you’re most thankful for, there’s a community thread on the forums right now to share in!
Now loosen your belt, find a comfortable place to sit, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
MST3K Weekly Update: Nov. 15-19, 2021
over 4 years ago
– Sun, Nov 21, 2021 at 09:04:26 PM
In This Update
Production: Progress in LA + unexpected setbacks.
Kickstarter News: Holiday cards + final overstock discovered!
Gizmoplex News: A look at the logotype design for classic episodes
Turkey Day Marathon: Join us on Thursday starting at 9am ET / 6pm PT.
Meet the Team: Paul Sabourin, Writer & Musician
Gobble Gobble, Friends!
It’s almost time for our annual Turkey Day Marathon, and the reveal of ALL 13 MOVIES we’ll be riffing next season… but that’s still a few days away. Right now, it’s time for your weekly update. Ivan and Lesley here with the latest news, so let’s see what’s on the menu today.
PRODUCTION NEWS
FILMING IN PROGRESS: We had another productive week of shooting in Los Angeles, where Jonah, Baron and Hampton completed recording on the riff segments for all of their episodes, along with a few episodes’ worth of host segments.
Recording the riff for (the already revealed) “Gamera vs Jiger.”
It might LOOK like Baron is resting. He’s actually just staying out of the shot.
Back in black (for silhouette shots). Photo from @jonahray Instagram.
NEW CHALLENGES: As all shows do, we’ve also had our share of unexpected production hiccups. This week, that included a FedEx shipment of props that went missing, and didn’t show up several days after we were scheduled to use them for host segments, as well as some last-minute scheduling adjustments when a few members of our cast and crew tested positive for COVID. (Nothing to be worried about, we promise: everyone was vaccinated and are feeling mostly fine, but there are a lot of strict quarantine protocols that have to be followed to prevent further spread.) Fortunately – with special credit due to our producers and directors – we were able to shuffle the order of shooting on a few scenes, so we’re still pretty much on schedule.
MEANWHILE, OFF SET: The team that wasn’t on set in Los Angeles this week has been hard at work on a lot of different tasks, including:
Finishing the editing for this year’s Turkey Day host segments
Putting the final touches on teasers for each of our 13 NEW MOVIES!
Working out the details for next year’s 12 BONUS LIVESTREAM EVENTS
Preparing for this season’s big MODEL SHOOT at the Alternaversal offices
As usual, if you haven’t filled out your BackerKit reward survey yet, this is your weekly reminder that we’re now two months past the deadline, and need your answers ASAP in order to include your rewards in our initial manufacturing runs. If you haven’t finished (or received) your BackerKit reward survey yet, please follow these instructions to get it re-sent, and then submit it ASAP.
2. HOLIDAY CARDS: Double-check your address by NOVEMBER 27.
As promised last week, the HOLIDAY CARD reward is now at the printers, and it’s looking beautiful. We don’t want to ruin the surprise and share the original artwork yet, but we can’t wait for you to see it – and we’re on track to get them all into the mail in early December!
If your rewards include the MST3K HOLIDAY CARD, and you want to double-check your address to make sure we’re sending it to the right place, the deadline is next Saturday, NOVEMBER 27. On Sunday, we’ll be sending the list of addresses to the mailing house, and that’s where your holiday card will be sent.
If your rewards include a HOLIDAY CARD and we have not yet received your completed reward survey, or a mailing address, we will include your card with any other rewards we ship you.
Please note: You WILL be able to update your address again before we send out the next round of rewards. So, if you want the HOLIDAY CARD sent to one address, and everything else sent to another address, you’ll be able to update it again.
3. We found an extra stash of overstock MST3K MIMOBOTS and TOTE BAGS!
As part of the reward fulfillment process, we’ve also been pulling all of our remaining overstock rewards out of storage, making sure they’re still in good shape, and getting them ready to send to our warehouse to include with your other rewards.
This week, while sorting all of the MST3K MIMOBOT USB DRIVES into pairs, bagging them, and adding barcodes – the warehouse requires them for more accurate tracking – we discovered that we actually had about 80 extra pairs:
So, if you want to claim one of the FINAL sets of these #BringBackMST3K Kickstarter overstock originals – a pair of 8GB USB flash drives designed to look like your favorite robot friends – you’ve got one last chance: grab the final sets as an Add-On Reward now!
And, if you were hoping for one of the beautiful full-color “MST3K: THE GAUNTLET TOTE BAGS” from our Season 12 pledge drive, we also found a final box with 20 more:
Measuring 17.5” x 16”, with the NEW MST3K MOON and the official poster artwork from The Gauntlet, these bags will be perfect for carrying all of the other Kickstarter rewards we’ll be shipping out next year. So, last chance: grab one of the final tote bags now!
GIZMOPLEX NEWS
As we mentioned during the Kickstarter campaign, one of the main features of the Gizmoplex is that you’ll be able to browse, sort and view your personal collection of MST3K episodes, which will include any episodes you got as rewards during our Kickstarters or pledge drive, as well as any episodes that you decide to buy or rent from the Gizmoplex Video Store.
However, if you’ve ever streamed MST3K episodes on VHX – the platform that we used to deliver your episode rewards in the past – then you already know that browsing your collection isn’t the most visual or intuitive experience. Until now, browsing your collection of episodes on VHX presented you with a Netflix-like grid of episodes, where each title looks identical:
And while that was a good “starter” solution when we first set VHX up back in 2016, we felt like the Gizmoplex – and even the artwork on VHX – needed to look a little more exciting than that. So, we’ve been working through all of the movies’ title screens and original promotional posters for inspiration, and have been preparing new logotypes for each movie.
So, when you start receiving your digital episode downloads – both for new and classic episodes – they’ll all have unique artwork that makes them easier to tell apart. We’re not finished with all of them yet, but here are some samples of movies from the first few seasons:
To make episodes easier to browse and find, we’ve also been adding a lot of useful metadata to each episode, like descriptions, episode numbers, film genres, featured actors and characters, and more. So, if you want to quickly find an MST3K episode featuring giant monsters, spaceships or super spies, or just your favorite host or invention exchange, that should be a lot easier than before.
If you already own some episodes in VHX, you may start to see their artwork update over the next few weeks. That’s because, even once the Gizmoplex launches, we still intend to use VHX / Vimeo OTT as the underlying engine to manage all of our video content, cover art and metadata. So, whether you end up preferring the Gizmoplex website, our upcoming apps, or the original VHX / Vimeo website, you’ll still benefit from upgraded cover art and metadata.
The TURKEY DAY MARATHON!
Well, this year's TURKEY DAY TOURNAMENT has come to a close, all of the votes have been cast, and the winner(s) have been selected!
This year, Prince of Space dominated the competition to claim the top spot – and it's one of four fan-selected episodes that will be included in this year's Turkey Day Marathon broadcast.
The four fan-selected movies for this year will be...
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
Hercules vs the Moon Men
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
Prince of Space
And here’s your reminder that Turkey Day, our annual Thanksgiving cheesy-movie binge, happens next week. You definitely don’t want to miss this year’s event, as throughout the marathon we’ll be revealing all thirteen movies to be riffed in season 13 with help from Jonah, Emily, and the bots!
Join us for this year’s Turkey Day Marathon on Thursday, November 25, starting at 9am ET / 6am PT.
This year, our Turkey Day Marathon features EIGHT back-to-back episodes: four chosen by you, and four chosen by us here at MST3K! You can get all the details, including the platforms where you can watch, at MST3KTurkeyDay.com.
TIME BUBBLE TOUR UPDATE
Where’s the Time Bubble Tour headed next week? We’re so glad you asked!
Fri Nov 26 + Sat Nov 27 - Minneapolis, MN - BUY TICKETS
You can see all the currently-announced dates and theaters on our tour website at MST3KLive.com.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Pssst, you might have heard, we’ve got these official MST3K forums! Join up here if you’d like to check it out. Here are a few delicious threads from the past week:
1. In a sentence or two, what do you do on MST3K? In addition to writing on numerous episodes over the past three seasons, my music partner Storm and I have written many of the songs from them as well. I’ve also worked as the show’s “music coordinator,” helping oversee the filming of songs, helping out during the editing process, and so forth.
2. What do you love most about your job? I’ve said this elsewhere, but it’s worth repeating… back in 1991, when I first saw MST3K (“Catalina Caper” was the first one I saw), I literally said how it would be a dream job to write for that show. All these years later, to have been able to be a part of this show’s legacy is a true honor and pleasure.
3. Tell us a fun fact about you. According to my Letterboxd list, I’ve seen nearly 2,500 movies. Several of them were actually good!
That’s all for this week. Since a lot of our team are traveling next week for the holidays, we won’t be doing our normal weekly “behind the scenes” update next Friday, but don’t worry: we’ll get back to the regular grind after Turkey Day.
Turkey Day 2021: Fan favorite movies selected + movie reveals coming!
Meet the Team: Sarah Mitchell, Set Costumer (PA)
Hail and Well Met, Backers!
Lesley and Ivan here, with your weekly update on all things MST3K.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned that production weeks are so busy that we haven’t even had time to finish these updates in time for Friday afternoons. So, from now on, whenever we’re in a production week, please expect the Weekly Update to arrive on Saturday.
And with that said: it’s the Saturday of a production week now, so join the conga line and let’s get this party started!
PRODUCTION NEWS
PRODUCTION BEGINS IN LA: We spent the first half of this week setting up our soundstage in Los Angeles, and yesterday afternoon, we wrapped up two full days of shooting scenes with Kinga and Max. Next week, we’ll record all of the riffs for the episodes featuring Jonah, Baron, Hampton and Rebecca, and then use whatever time remains to start shooting host segments and Gizmoplex bonus materials.
If you follow Felicia or Patton on Twitter, you might have already gotten a sneak peek at their costume fittings:
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mads’ World, and we’re happy to have ours back in uniform.
To give you a sense of the space where we’re shooting in Los Angeles – which is a lot smaller than the space where we shot in Philadelphia – here’s a quick look at the soundstage:
Jonah leans into the shot to check something on the teleprompter. We think.
The space in Los Angeles is a lot smaller than the one where we shot in PA… but just as expensive!
Jonah checks a shot on the monitor as Josh Fruehling (Assistant Director) reviews our schedule..
Just a couple of Mads and their test subject turned director. It’s a confusing dynamic.
If you haven’t filled out your BackerKit reward survey yet, this is your weekly reminder that we’re now more than a month past deadline, and need your answers ASAP in order to include your rewards in our main manufacturing runs. If you haven’t finished or received your BackerKit reward survey yet, please follow these instructions to get it submitted ASAP.
2. HOLIDAY CARDS: Printing this week + mailing in early December.
As we mentioned in a previous update, the first PHYSICAL REWARD we’re planning to send out is our MST3K HOLIDAY CARD, which we’re aiming to mail in early December.
If your rewards include a holiday card, and your mailing address has changed since you filled out your BackerKit survey, please be sure to update it by Friday, November 19, so that we don’t send your card to the wrong address.
If you’re not sure what address you provided, or need to update your address, here’s how.
GIZMOPLEX NEWS
We know that a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting more details about our progress on the Gizmoplex, and we’re looking forward to starting to share a little more of what we’re working on in these updates.
As we start to share our progress, please remember that our goal for the Gizmoplex was not to build a new platform from scratch, but to combine several other platforms and tools into a customized “MST3K-like” experience.
Throughout the Kickstarter campaign, we also know that many of you were clear that your pledges should be spent mostly on new episodes, and not on Gizmoplex development, so we’re doing our best to build our new theater with a very small team and budget.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped us from having a lot of additional, ambitious ideas and goals for how the Gizmoplex could work, so here’s our current plan: in order to make sure we’ve got the essential parts working, we’re now planning to launch the Gizmoplex in several phases.
For PHASE 1 – which we’re aiming to have working in time for the premiere of Episode 1301 – we want to make sure that the Gizmoplex site will allow you to:
Register and set up a Gizmoplex user account
Link your account to your MST3K video library on VHX
Browse and stream your collection of episodes
Browse a catalog of all episodes available to rent and / or buy
Attend the livestream premieres and special events
While there’s a lot more we’re aiming to do – especially in creating social viewing and interaction, adding watch parties, etc – some of those features will require more time to test and release, which means they probably won’t be part of the Gizmoplex when it first opens. However, as our “Founding Members”, we promise to keep you informed about the plans as we go.
BETA TESTING: If everything stays on schedule, we’re hoping to start our first small-scale beta test in December with about 100 volunteers, and then expand to more public beta as soon as we’re ready. If you’re interested in volunteering to join the beta test, keep an eye on these weekly updates: we’ll provide a link to a volunteer registration form in early December.
BACKUP OPTIONS: To safeguard your experience, we’re also working to make sure that – even if the Gizmoplex site experiences technical problems in the beginning – you’ll still be able to attend all livestream events and access all of your own video collection through other channels. More specifically, you will always have the ability to watch all content directly on VHX, as well as through the MST3K apps that we’ll be releasing before the first new episode premieres.
We’ll explain more about how all of these options work as we get closer.
TURKEY DAY 2021: TOURNAMENT UPDATE
The qualifying rounds of our Turkey Day Marathon Tournament are complete, which means we’ve now got our four fan-selected episodes for Turkey Day!
Based on your votes, this year’s Turkey Day Menu will include:
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
Hercules Against the Moon Men
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
Prince of Space
BUT: Just for fun, we’re going to continue the voting to see which episode comes out as this year’s favorite. These four winners will be combined with four surprise episodes chosen by us here at MST3K HQ.
That said, the real winners are everyone who watches the Turkey Day marathon this year. We’ll let Crow, Servo and GPC2 explain:
That’s right, friends! As part of Turkey Day 2021, we’ll be revealing ALL THIRTEEN MOVIES that we’re riffing for Season 13!
So, if you want to see what the next year has in store for you, be sure to tune in on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, starting at 9am ET / 6am PT. Find all of the details on where to watch on MST3KTurkeyDay.com.
TIME BUBBLE TOUR NEWS
If you’ve been to an #MST3KLive show before, you’ll know we play music before the show and during intermission. What you might not have known is that the show’s playlist was compiled by the cast and crew, and that you can go listen to it on Spotify right now!
Also, the date for WORCESTER, MA will be announced on Tuesday, November 16, and the backer presale will be happening Wednesday through Friday with code MVSGN.
As always, you can see all the currently-announced dates and theaters on our tour website at MST3KLive.com.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Hey! You might not have heard, but we’ve got these new official MST3K forums, and boy howdy, they are a riot. Join up here if you’d like to check them out. Here are a few delicious threads from the past week:
Each week, we’re introducing you to another member of the MST3K team. This week, it's...
Sarah Mitchell, Set Costumer (PA)
1. In a sentence or two, what do you do on MST3K? I am the set costumer for the Philadelphia shoot, which means I keep track of all the costumes for cast and bots alike, make costume adjustments as needed, that sort of thing.
2. What do you love most about your job? I would say learning how to costume puppets has been my favorite thing so far! That’s a whole new area for me.
3. Tell us a fun fact about you. This might be obvious, given what I do, but... Halloween is my favorite holiday.
And that’s all we’ve got for this week.
As always, join us on the dedicated forum thread with your questions and feedback. Have a stupendous weekend, everyone!
