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: July 26-30, 2021
over 4 years ago
– Sun, Aug 01, 2021 at 05:23:17 AM
In This Update
Production News: Robot production photos! New offices!
Kickstarter News: Surveys haven't gone out yet! ETA: Next 2-3 weeks!
RewardNews: Work is starting on challenge coin designs.
Gizmoplex News: Blueprints drawn! Limited features in OTT apps.
NEW EVENT: The MST3K Summer Film Series starts next Friday!
Meet the Team: Clinton Trucks, Producer
Plus: Updates on the discussions forums + MST3K Live tickets!
Guten Tag, Freunds!
Lesley and Ivan again, back with your end-of-week update for July 26-30, complete with some photos from behind-the-scenes of production. Let’s begin!
PRODUCTION NEWS
Episode Writing Continues! As of today, we’ve reached the 1/3 point for writing Season 13… and with all of our movies locked, we’ve also confirmed the order in which the remaining episodes will be written, which host will be subjected to each movie, and — we think — the order in which we’re planning to premiere them.
Bot Fabrication Continues! We’ve teamed with the incredible pros at Monkey Boys for bot building and other prop fabrication and they’re making fantastic progress. We’ve now got a dedicated pro named Dylan, who is focused on MST3K 24/7. (You’ll meet him in a future update.) As of now, we’re just about done making our new round of Servos — complete with a new control mechanism for the mouth — and since we’re still waiting for some parts that we need to start fabricating Crow, we’ve skipped ahead to start working on some new GPCs.
We stopped into the workshop to get a few photos for you:
Off with their heads! Which haven’t gone on yet.
See? Plenty of heads. Everything is fine.
New GPCs in progress, for both the series and the live tour.
We’re Moving! Offices, anyway. As we get into production, we wanted to find a location with a lot more space, and also one that’s closer to the workshop where most of our props and robots are being fabricated. So, we’ve signed a lease to move to a new office starting in September — and it has enough space that we are planning to do most of our model and miniature filming right in the office. There’s nothing to see inside for now, but we do have this uninformative picture of the Alternaversal crew outside the front door!
Joel, Sharyl and Matt pose with the sign that almost definitely WON’T stay on the door.
KICKSTARTER NEWS
1. The REWARD SURVEY has not been sent out yet, but we’re getting closer!
This week, we made a lot of progress toward launching the reward survey, and have finished migrating “late pledges” from CrowdOx into BackerKit. If you’ve got friends (or enemies) who wanted to pledge and haven’t gotten the chance, they’ve still got a little more time to make a late pledge through our BackerKit store.
The survey itself isn’t 100% finalized, but it’s very close, so we’re hoping we’ll be able to get them sent out to you within the next 2-3 weeks at most. Stay tuned to these updates for more info about that.
2. We’re making progress on more REWARD DESIGNS.
At this point, the main obstacle to launch is finalizing the design (and pricing) for more of the new rewards, because we want you to have at least a basic idea of what you’ll get, while there’s still time to adjust your pledge and select more Add-Ons.
(Our aspirational slogan is: #MakeMoreMST3K! Now with 85% Less FOMO!)
We don’t have any images of reward progress we can show this week, but we can share this diagram of all of the possible metals available for our FOUR CHALLENGE COINS.
We think we know which ones we’re going to use, but take a look and let us know what metal(s) you’d be most excited to see. And while you’re at it, if you’ve got last-minute suggestions for what you think would look coolest on each coin, let us know your thoughts!
Also, while our original plan was to design the coins without additional color on them, we’ve received some beautiful examples of coins that use color in really elegant, unexpected ways, so we’re re-considering that plan now.
GIZMOPLEX NEWS
1. We’ve been working on the (literal) blueprints.
As strange as it might sound, one critical step toward launching the Gizmoplex is designing literal blueprints and floor plans showing how the entire theater is laid out in physical space. This is more complicated than you might think, because we want to make sure the Gizmoplex works both as a functional interactive experience — i.e. has clear, intuitive navigation that doesn’t require an instruction manual to use — and as a location that will appear within Season 13. Basically: In order to start working on the final illustrations and/or physical models, we need to know exactly how the entire space is laid out, and how you’ll navigate around when visiting.
We made a lot of progress on that planning this week — enough that we’re hoping to start visualizing the “final version” of each room and space within the Gizmoplex next week, and to be able to start developing the underlying interactions that will make it all work online.
2. An update on the OTT APPS for phones, tablets and TVs.
As we said during the Kickstarter, our goal for the Gizmoplex was to accomplish it with the smallest (initial) budget possible, so that most of what we raised could be used to make new episodes of MST3K.
So, while we’ve seen in the forum conversations that there are a lot of ambitious ideas and hopes about what the Gizmoplex apps will include – at least in their first incarnation – we want to manage everyone’s expectations a bit, so that you won’t be disappointed by our actual plans.
While we have a lot of ambitious, interactive plans for the web-based version of the Gizmoplex, including a virtual space that you can explore, watch parties, and more, our current budget will not make it possible to put a lot of that advanced functionality into the Apple, Android, Roku and Amazon apps that we’re developing.
Those device-specific apps are being developed through a partnership with Vimeo OTT (the same platform that we’re building the Gizmoplex site on top of), but there are definite limits to how much we can customize the interface or content of those apps.
Right now, our top priorities are to make sure that the apps are able to:
Stream any episodes you’ve bought from the Gizmoplex Video Store.
Stream any episodes you’ve gotten as Kickstarter rewards.
Browse, rent/buy and stream more content from the Video Store.
Download those episodes on phones/tablets for offline viewing.
Stream the livestream events and premieres we host each month.
Stream the monthly Gizmoplex Pass “featured selection” episodes.
In order to add more advanced features to the MOBILE AND TV APPS — like watch parties, navigation around a virtual theater, chat and message boards, etc — we’d have to dedicate a much larger budget to developing and maintaining completely custom apps. Again: we're still aiming to launch those features in the web-based version, but as of now, have no way to include them in the stand-alone apps.
While we’re definitely interested in exploring all of those features — and more! — in the future, our immediate goal is to make sure that we deliver what we promised during the Kickstarter: the ability to access all of your Gizmoplex content on device-specific apps.
If you've got more questions about this, please join the discussion on the MST3K forums – Ivan will do his best to read and answer as many questions as he can!
NEW EVENT: MST3K SUMMER FILM SERIES!
Last week, we mentioned that we’ve been working on something to make the rest of the summer a little bit more fun, and today we’re ready to tell you more.
During the Kickstarter campaign, a lot of you joined in for our series of LIVESTREAM RIFF-ALONGS, where a group of MST3K cast and special guests watched classic episodes together, made some new observations, and generally enjoyed themselves. When the campaign ended, a lot of you told us that you’d miss those regular livestreams, and as it turned out, we missed them too!
So, while we’re hard at work building the Gizmoplex to enable even bigger livestream experiences in the future, we thought it would be fun to get the cast back together for a SUMMER FILM SERIES, and watch some summer-appropriate classic MST3K episodes, and this time, we won’t even need to interrupt to ask for donations!
If you want to join in, here are the details:
Bonus points if you recognize the poster reference.
Next week, we’ll share the program of movies we’ve got planned, but for now, we hope you’ll save some time to join us for the next FIVE FRIDAY NIGHTS — from August 6 to September 3 — for our first-ever summer film screenings! Each screening will start at 5pm PT / 8pm ET.
And since we don’t want anyone to miss out, don’t worry: if you can’t participate live, you’ll be able to rewatch the livestream for 24 hours after it ends.
So order some beach snacks, grab your towel, and we’ll see you next Friday night!
Just a reminder that tickets to #MST3KLive’s Time Bubble Tour are currently on sale at MST3Klive.com. We’re still waiting on onsale dates for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Chicago; that timing depends on the theater, so if you’re waiting on one of these dates, we encourage you to (politely) call your local venue — you can find this info at MST3KLive.com — and ask them when they expect tickets to become available (and yes, backers will still get a 48-hour presale head start).
More dates will be coming in August, too!
NEW: MEET THE TEAM!
A few weeks ago, we asked for your suggestions about what to cover in these updates, and based on the responses, it seems like a lot of you are interested in learning more about the different people — and roles — that are working to #MakeMoreMST3K for you.
So, moving forward, we’ll be including mini-profiles and interviews with a huge range of people involved in all aspects of bringing MST3K to life… starting now!
CLINTON TRUCKS, Producer
In a sentence or two, what do you do on MST3K? My credit is simply Producer. But more specifically, I am the physical / line producer. This means that I take all the creative content that comes from Joel and the other writers and I decide how to spend our available resources to accomplish it. These resources are usually budgetary, but just as frequently cover our personnel and general morale.
What do you love most about your job? What I love most about my job is watching an idea or a joke turn into a real world thing that we can share and enjoy and exists forever.
Tell us a fun fact about you. I am most passionate about sandwiches and tabletop roleplaying games. The rpgs you can see on my actual-play Twitch channel, Stream of Blood. The sandwiches I enjoy without an audience.
That’s all for this week! You can join the discussion about today’s update over on the dedicated forum thread, or in comments below. Have a spectacular weekend, friends!
Your Correspondents,
Lesley & Ivan
MakeMoreMST3K Weekly Update: July 19-23, 2021
over 4 years ago
– Sun, Jul 25, 2021 at 01:51:51 AM
In This Update
Production News: All movies locked! Five scripts written! COVID guidelines!
Kickstarter News: Surveys haven't gone out yet! Reward designs in progress.
Reward Previews: The Musical Snowglobe + Todd Nauck's poster artwork!
Community News: Come join in on the new MST3K forums!
Tour News: More dates and locations still to be announced in August!
Greetings, friends!
Welcome to your Friday update for July 19-23, 2021. Lesley and Ivan here, and we’ve got some exciting new details and sneak peeks for you in this week’s roundup, so... let’s hop to it!
PRODUCTION NEWS
Film Licensing: It’s official, friends. We've now selected and locked in all 13 movies + 12 shorts for season 13, including the movie for our next holiday special.
EpisodeWriting: Writing is now in progress for Movie 6, and finishing up today for Movie 5. (Again, the order we release the episodes will not necessarily be the order in which we’ve written them, but we are nearing the halfway point for the writing process.) Lesley has been in the writers room for Movie 5 for the past two weeks, and can report that we have some amazing writers working hard at baking hot fresh riffs for you. But you’ll hear more — much more — about the writing process in updates to come.
Robots & Costumes: In bot news, we're currently working on building a new set of Waverlys and Growlers – we only had one of each, until now. We are almost done building all of the Servos for the new season and will be moving on to Crows soon. We are also shipping Beez McKeever a heap of existing robot costumes from storage in LA to her workshop in Minneapolis so she can continue developing costumes for the new season.
Pre-Production: We are also dealing with changing-by-the-day guidelines on how to handle COVID on set, and what's required for vaccinations, and other questions. We have to plan ahead to make production happen, but the uncertainty created by variants is making that more complicated than we’d like it to be.
KICKSTARTER NEWS
1. The REWARD SURVEY has not been sent out yet.
We’re still getting closer each day, but it’s not ready to go quite yet. But remember, as soon as it goes out, we’ll send a special Backer Update to let you know… so until then, please don’t worry. You (still) haven’t missed anything!
2. We’re still finalizing as many REWARD DESIGNS as possible.
While we won’t have all of the reward designs finalized before you receive your reward survey, we’d like to show you near-final designs of as many rewards as we can, so that you can make informed choices in your reward survey. And, as we’ve mentioned before, that also takes time to finalize.
A few specific updates on the rewards in progress:
We're getting close to finalizing the CONCESSION KIT, and choosing our popcorn bucket and drink cup. We’re grateful that so many of you have shared your thoughts and feedback for that on the new MST3K forums, and want you to know that we are doing our best to factor that into our final decisions.
Since we know a lot of you are wondering, the CLASSIC EPISODE DOWNLOADSwill be available before the official launch of the Gizmoplex. We don’t have a definitive date for the downloads yet, because there’s still a lot of work involved to prep the files, but we’re doing our best!
Over the next week, we’re working to lock down the design of the #MakeMoreMST3K HOODIE, which will be available both as an upgrade to the T-SHIRT reward and as a stand-alone Add-On in the reward survey. As with the hoodie from our first Kickstarter, we’re aiming to include elements from one of the shirt designs, but with some adjustments to make it “work” as a hoodie.
Last week, we showed you some of the possible samples for the KINGAVISION 3-D GLASSES, and heard two things loud and clear: (1) A lot of you do want us to offer an option to upgrade to a more premium pair with a plastic frame, and (2) a lot of you have expressed concern about how the 3D glasses will work if you already wear corrective lenses. Based on your feedback, we are going to make sure you can upgrade to premium frames, and we’ve addressed the concerns about glasses on the forums. (TLDR: A lot of us wear glasses too, and can confirm that both the cardboard and plastic options we’re evaluating fit comfortably on top of most regular lenses.)
So, those are some of the things we’re working on. But – as promised in last week’s update – we also have a few new preview images to share this week.
3. Reward Preview: The MST3K MUSICAL SNOWGLOBE!
First, we’re happy to announce that the design, paint and music of the Musical Snowglobe are now completely locked, and the finished globes are in production. If you want to know what it’ll look and sound like, keep reading — but if you want to be surprised, maybe skip this next part.
First, as you might recall, we’ve learned a lot more about the musical limitations of music boxes than we ever anticipated, and have had to do some substantial revision to the MST3K “music box” theme that Paul Sabourin composed during our original Kickstarter.
In the end, we all agreed that the best option was to focus on an abridged segment of the theme, which will loop several times. If you can tune out the background noise in the factory, you can hear how it turned out:
While we still wish we could have gotten Paul’s entire rendition into the music box, the whole team feels this was the best available option. And, since that original music box rendition is too good not to use, we’ll also make sure that everyone receiving the musical snow globe also gets an MP3 of the full original version.
But wait, there’s more! We’ve also finished the paint design for the globe, which involved over 20 rounds of back-and-forth revisions with our partners overseas to get just right… and we’re honestly thrilled with how it came out.
See for yourself:
Fun detail: the Gizmonic “G” and checkerboard pattern on the side of the Backjack were too small to hand-paint, so we designed a special decal that will be put on each one by hand… and it’s just 2 mm x 6 mm in size.
We’re waiting to receive an actual physical sample now, but we’re really excited about how this came out, and proud of all of the work that went into it, so we hope that everyone receiving the snowglobe will be thrilled with the result. And, before you ask: yes, we ordered a few hundred extra, so if you didn’t get one during the Kickstarter campaign, you’ll still have a chance to get it when the reward survey comes out.
4. Reward Preview: TODD NAUCK’S POSTER
Last month, we also shared a look at the progress on Todd Nauck’s amazing poster artwork, which was unlocked as a free “bonus reward” for everyone getting the OFFICIAL POSTER reward, and based on the response, it sounded like you all liked it as much as we do.
Well, Todd has finished up some revisions and done a beautiful job of colorizing it, so we’re now able to show you the final design:
(Apologies for the watermark text. It won't be there on the actual poster!)
Also, we had Todd make an addition to the artwork which we want to point out. Since this image serves as a kind of “history” of Mystery Science Theater, we realized there was one important element missing: all of you!
And while we didn’t have room for 35,000 more people on the poster, we did want it to acknowledge everything you’ve done – both to #BringBackMST3K and to #MakeMoreMST3K… which is why you’ll now see two of our favorite Kickstarter rewards (the tiki mug and the musical snowglobe) in the scene, with the mug carefully positioned to announce “#WeBroughtBackMST3K.”
So, there’s the second poster. We’re thrilled with it, and we can’t thank Todd enough for volunteering his talent and time to bring this one to life.
COMMUNITY NEWS
The forums beta test continues, and we continue to welcome your feedback!
If you missed the invite link from Tuesday’s update, here it is again.
And here’s a small selection of this week’s active discussions:
Tickets to most of the second wave of dates for MST3K Live’s TIME BUBBLE TOUR go on sale to the general public TODAY at noon ET, so tell ALL your friends.
As always, all of the latest tour info is available on MST3KLive.com.
YES, more tour dates are coming soon. In August, to be more precise. Also, we will share the presale info for the few dates that haven’t gone on sale yet as soon as we can. (Looking at you, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Chicago. Thanks for your patience!)
ALSO! We are working on an announcement for next week – not related to the live tour! – that we hope will make the rest of the summer a little more fun while you're waiting for Season 13.
Backer Presale for MORE CITIES on MST3K Live’s TIME BUBBLE TOUR Starts WEDNESDAY at 12pm ET!
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Jul 21, 2021 at 03:33:13 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
#MakeMoreMST3K Weekly Update, July 12-16
over 4 years ago
– Sun, Jul 18, 2021 at 09:22:52 PM
Greetings, friends!
Welcome to this week’s backer update. Starting today, Ivan and I will be sending out a weekly report every Friday afternoon, just to let you know about any progress we’ve made on the show and your Kickstarter rewards, plus any other news and interesting developments that come up.
We’re still working on those in-depth behind-the-scenes stories, but as they take a little longer to do, this approach will ensure you’re getting the weekly updates we promised.
This means some weeks you’ll get multiple backer updates from our team. More updates = more fun.
PRODUCTION UPDATE
Film Licensing: We’re still locking in our last 2 or 3 movies, but we have most of them secured — including our next holiday special, which, as a reminder, will feature Jonah, Emily, and Joel as co-hosts!
Episode Writing: Our writers are currently working on scripts for movies 4 and 5. Just to be clear, this doesn’t necessarily mean these will be episodes 4 and 5 — we don’t write the episodes in the order we plan to release them. Those decisions will come later, along with deciding which host gets which movie. Right now, the process is focused on writing the best possible riffs.
Pre-Production: We’ve booked a soundstage in Pennsylvania in preparation for our east coast production with Emily, Nate, Yvonne, and Conor. We’ll be shooting their episodes first, because those need to be wrapped up before that cast heads out on the live tour this fall. We’re still scouting for a place to shoot in Los Angeles, but have narrowed it down to a few options.
Props & Costumes: We’ve also gotten to work fabricating updated robots for season 13, and are in the midst of figuring out all the props and costumes we’ll need for the first movie, the script for which is pretty close to done. While we do that, Beez has already gotten to work on some of the costumes for the live tour.
KICKSTARTER UPDATE
1. The REWARD SURVEY has not been sent out yet.
At this point, we’re still expecting that we’ll be ready to send the survey within the next 2-3 weeks, but we can’t commit to a specific date just yet. As soon as it’s ready, we’ll send an update to let you know -- but until then, please don’t worry. You haven’t missed anything!
2. We’re switching to BACKERKIT for surveys.
We’ve decided to switch from CrowdOx to BackerKit as the platform for sending and managing reward surveys. We’re doing this because the two companies recently merged, and our understanding is that BackerKit will be the platform that sticks around long-term. So, we’re making the switch to BackerKit now so that you’ll still be able to re-download your digital rewards, even 2-3 years from now.
3. SHIPPING won’t be collected until later this year.
The other big decision we’ve made is that we’re not going to charge you for shipping physical rewards when you first fill out your reward surveys. That’s because USPS and carrier prices are fluctuating a lot right now, and we don’t want to over- or undercharge. Later this year – 4-6 weeks before we start shipping your rewards – we’ll follow up to confirm your address and collect your shipping fees.
4. We’re FINALIZING REWARD DESIGNS as fast as we can!
Fun fact: Over the last few weeks, we learned that international shipping is currently taking 2-3 times longer than it did during our first Kickstarter – thanks, COVID! – which means that we need to place all of our manufacturing orders a lot sooner than expected.
So, we’ve also been working hard to lock down more of our reward designs and plans… which means that we’ll have more previews to share with you next week!
For today, we thought we’d share a sneak peek at how much work goes into even the “simple” rewards, like the Gizmoplex 3-D glasses, popcorn buckets and drink cups. We take all of our rewards seriously, because we want to be proud of them, and we want you to be satisfied.
So, before placing orders, we also go through a process of getting tons of samples from potential manufacturing partners, so that we can evaluate everything from their print quality to the materials they’d be made out of. For example, here are some of the samples we’ve been evaluating for the KINGAVISION 3-D GLASSES:
Based on our budget, the basic pairs of Kingavision 3D glasses will still be the traditional cardboard versions -- but we’re also considering offering a “premium” pair with a plastic frame with Gizmoplex branding, which we’d offer as a new Add-On Reward in your surveys. (Let us know in the comments, or on the forums, if you’d be interested in those?)
We’ve also been going back and forth with manufacturers a lot trying to find popcorn buckets and drink cups for the official GIZMOPLEX CONCESSION KIT. The hardest part of that process is finding options that feel substantial and are durable. Most of the time, these items aren’t intended to be long-term collectibles… but we want these to last for years.
So, here are a few of the options we’ve been looking at:
Before you ask: yes, all of the options we’re evaluating are BPA-free.
But as you can see, there are also a bunch of choices and trade-offs to weigh: Do we want the popcorn bucket to be as big as possible, or should it be sized for a single person? Should it have a flat edge, or do we want the “scalloping” at the top that makes it feel more like an old-school theater box of popcorn? Should the cup have a lid and a straw, or should we focus on larger drink sizes? Can we get the shape and size we want for each item, but with a heavier plastic that is less likely to crack or warp?
All things we’re trying to figure out as quickly as possible.
And since these might not be the most exciting previews, here’s something to look forward to: next week, we’ll give you another look at how the MUSICAL SNOWGLOBE is coming along, and we’ll also share a full, colorized version of TODD NAUCK’S POSTER!
COMMUNITY UPDATE
The beta test is off to an amazing start. The forums have been BLOWING UP since we announced them publicly in the last update. Our beta went from about 200 people to 2000 people! Not that we’re surprised. We’re delighted to have you join us, just please remember this is still a beta test, so things could be subject to change as we build out this community space.
Still haven’t joined? In case you missed the first invite, here’s another one — and if you use that link, you should be automatically added to the “Backers” group on the forums. (If you already signed up and aren’t yet recognized as a backer, here’s a post explaining how to get verified.)
What’s happening on the forums? In case you’re curious, here are a few recent discussion threads to get you started:
More Cities & Shows To Be Announced on Tuesday! We know some of you have been bummed to be left out of the recent dates for MST3K Live’s THE TIME BUBBLE TOUR. But mark your calendars for this Tuesday, July 20, because we’ll be announcing the SECOND WAVE of tour dates on mst3klive.com and some of you will be very happy.
Even More Cities Coming in the Next Few Weeks! If the second wave still doesn’t include a stop near you, don’t despair: THERE ARE STILL MORE CITIES COMING! We’ll be announcing at least one more wave of tour dates announced in the coming weeks. (Probably more than one wave, in fact.) Keep an eye on these updates for more.
MST3K Forums Now in BETA! PLUS: Reward Survey Update and #MST3KLive Ticket Sales!
over 4 years ago
– Sat, Jul 10, 2021 at 02:15:05 PM
In This Update
Introduction from Lesley
Reward Surveys have NOT GONE OUT YET!
Time Bubble Tour Tickets on Sale at 12pm ET
MST3K Discussion Forums: Join the Beta Test!
Hello again, friends new and old!
It is I, Lesley!
You may remember me from Joel’s introduction a couple updates back. And I know that many of you are already familiar with me as a part of the MST3K team, either through the Kickstarter campaigns, or through the blog at mst3k.org. But just as a brief refresher:
I’ve been a devoted fan of the show since my preteen years. I wound up connecting with Joel after writing an article about the show that he really clicked with. I did this back in my former job as an editor in women’s media, and after I’d made a dramatic, less-positive first impression at a Cinematic Titanic meet-and-greet.* Anyway, Joel kept in touch, and within a couple of years I found myself advising on the first Kickstarter campaign, and then writing and riff producing on the new series…. and here we are, with me today taking charge of more regular communication with all you backers.
I share all of this to let y’all know that I am one of you (us?), and as I pick up the reins for more consistent backer updates, that I take communicating with you super seriously, because I know how meaningful it would be to me to get regular missives from the front lines of production.
I have a professional background as a writer and editor in many different spheres, and I hope to deploy those skills to keep these updates exciting for you. I know it’s not as magical as getting letters from Joel — and you will still get those! — but I am hopeful that I can provide inside looks at the making of MST3K that will be almost as interesting. If all goes as planned, you’ll be hearing from me – or another member of our team – at least once a week. We’ll be reporting on lots of different angles of how MST3K is built, but if you have a specific question or something you’re particularly curious about that you’d like to see covered in a future update, you can leave a comment below. There’s also an even better way to give feedback on updates, but I’ll get there in a second.
First, a few general updates for you.
No, you did not miss the reward survey!
The post-campaign reward survey is where you will make your final reward selections, like specifying what name you’d like in the credits, telling us what size t-shirt you wear, and also any remaining last-minute Add-On Rewards you’d like to grab.
We have not sent it out yet.
There are a lot of details to cover and we want to make sure we only need to do this once, so it’s taking a little longer than we’d anticipated, but we’re hoping it will be ready to send in the next few weeks. When we do, everyone who signed up to make a late pledge will also get a chance to finalize their pledge, select Add-On Rewards, and have their pledge collected. So, if you know anyone who was trying to get in the door before it’s too late, spread the word.
In the meantime, hang in there, and keep an eye on your inbox.
#MST3KLive tickets go on sale to the general public at 12pm ET TODAY (Friday, July 9th)!
If you see this email early enough, you’ll still have a little time to squeeze into the backers-only presale for the first wave of announced dates for THE TIME BUBBLE TOUR, featuring Emily Connor (Emily Marsh), Tom Servo (Conor McGiffin), Crow (Nate Begle), and GPC / Mega-Synthia (Yvonne Freese) taking on the legendarily ridiculous 1980s fantasy/horror film Making Contact. Find your local venue at MST3KLive.com and use the code MVSGN to get into the presale before noon ET today. After that, you’re buying tickets along with the general public, so no code is needed.
Also, remember, there will be additional dates announced in the coming weeks, so if you don’t see a nearby venue yet, it may still happen for you! I will keep you posted on new dates and cities as that information gets confirmed.
Also also, if you run into problems with buying a ticket, please contact your local venue directly — the ticket buying process resides with each theater and we can’t help you with problems related to ticketing.
Finally, I hereby formally invite you all to join a beta test for the NEW MST3K DISCUSSION FORUMS!
It’s actually absurd that we haven’t had “official” forums before now — luckily, MSTies are incredibly resourceful and independent thinkers, so you’ve been launching and running vivacious forum sites and online groups for literal decades.
We’re not trying to replace these existing MST3K communities, but I think we can all agree that it’s long past due for a fully-sanctioned MST3K community gathering place to complement the fan-run spaces. So, we’ve created Mystery Science Discourse 3000 (so named for the forum platform we’re using, Discourse, which is incidentally the same community software used by such internet luminaries as Boing Boing, Woot!, and Atlas Obscura).
Right now, we are still very much in a beta testing phase: kicking the tires, making sure the engine doesn’t burst into flames, that sort of thing. And now, you can be a part of it, by signing up here, taking a look around, and sending us feedback on what you think works well, as well as what could be better.
When you sign up, I strongly recommend using the same email address associated with your Kickstarter account. This will allow your status as a Kickstarter backer to be reflected there, and you can get access to any backers-exclusive forums stuff we do in the future. You’ll find a small group of folks has already been chatting on the forums for a few weeks; the #MakeMoreMST3K Street Team members got in first to start testing things out.
But, starting today, the forums are ready for everyone!
(Please do keep in mind that this is a beta test, so we are working on improving the space every day. When you see something that could be improved, we have a whole Forums Feedback category explicitly to collect your suggestions, or you can also direct message me.)
All right, friends, that’s all I’ve got for today… but I’ll be getting started on the next update on Monday, so be sure to speak up if there are things you’d like to hear more about!
Leave your questions and ideas in comments below, or head over to the Backer Updates Suggestion Thread on the forums and make it a more collective enterprise!
And in the meantime, have a splendid weekend.
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*I fully freaked out and made actual squeaking noises, which was as much a surprise to me as anyone, given that I am very much not a starstruck, squeaking-noises type of person. Also I do not recommend this as a job search strategy! I got lucky. Very very lucky.
