This is MST3K was a half hour "making of" special produced for Comedy Central in which Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame (and then Comedy Central talking head host) explains the premise of Mystery Science Theater 3000 to the audience. The format is kind of interesting, as there would be footage of Penn talking about the series in a manner that is not unlike Mike Nelson's parody of Jack Perkins in the Mystery Science Theater Hour only to be interrupted by another Penn Jillette who is watching the footage down below from silhouetted theater seats. Penn's heckling doesn't tend to be very clever, with generic quips like "Your fly is open!" and whatnot, though it's all there to set up some behind the scenes footage of the series that not a lot of fans would get to see at the time.
The special is told in three parts. The first section explains the concept of the show, as Penn relates the idea of taking a movie and talking over it (you know, in case the audience doesn't understand that it is possible to watch a movie without total silence), and he also tries to explain the premise of the show about Joel, his robots, and the mad scientists who torture them. Between all of this is a bunch of talking head interviews with notable celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris, select newspaper critics, and even the executive producer of Cheers while also interviews with fans of the show on the street. This is probably the most laborious portion of this special, as it tries really hard to sell and over-explain the series. If you're already sold on it, you don't need this.
The second section is a bit more interesting, as we start to dive into how the show is put together and we get interviews with the cast and crew. There are tidbits about writing jokes and what kind of films work and don't work and just how it's compiled into a whole. This section also uses a lot of footage from the show, mostly as examples of how many jokes they can do in this comedic style and how many types.
Probably the most interesting segment (at least for fans back in the early 90's) is the final segment, where they discuss the origins of the show and how it came to be on Comedy Central. While it's abridged and not in-depth, there is a lot here that's just interesting enough to hook a fan into wanting to know more. They have footage of Joel's appearance on Saturday Night Live and how his LA stint led him back to Minneapolis and being approached by Jim Mallon for making something for KTMA. They even use a small clip of KTMA footage for reference, which I'm sure not a lot of people had seen at the time. They also discuss how they pitched the show to Comedy Central and got traction with it, and also close out with a look at the writers' room and filming the theater segments. It's not a whole lot of info, but it's satisfying.
Flaws with the special is mostly regulated to Penn Jillette being a very overbearing host when he's onscreen. I understand why he was used (and Penn is actually a fan of the series, to my understanding) though he has a tendency to talk down to the audience while he's selling it to them. This might have worked for selling the show in the 90's, though it can be disruptive if you're already a fan. There are also clips from first season episodes, but there is no mention of Josh/J. Elvis Weinstein during the special and they don't cover the Tom Servo actor switch. I guess they don't need to, but some more acknowledgment of the show's history might have been nice. Basically I'm just asking for less farting around and more information because that's what we're here for and we only have a half hour.
This is MST3K was a fun little novelty in the 90's but in the many years since it has become obsolete. We have so many more features by Shout Factory overviewing the show that the scraps we were given back then don't cut it anymore. But it's a nostalgic trip to see the series explored while it was still at its peak, so This is MST3K does have some historic value.
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