Tara McCauley May 9th, 2021 - 12:37 AM
On Friday evening, Mystery Science Theater 3000’s newest Kickstarter campaign came to a resoundingly successful close, raising $6.5 million for a thirteenth season. This means that Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans – known as MSTies – have officially built the Gizmoplex, a digital home for Mystery Science Theater 3000’s extensive archive and the upcoming season thirteen, which will bring back the entire cast from the series’ 2017 Netflix reboot including Felicia Day (The Guild, Supernatural), Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, A.P. Bio), Hampton Yount (Mystery Science Theater 3000), Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie, The Great Debate) and Jonah Ray (Hidden America with Jonah Ray) as this iteration’s captive host Jonah Heston.
Hey everyone, at 8:08am ET it became official: THE BACKERS WON THE SUPER BOWL…AGAIN!
Plus, we’ve still got 14 HOURS LEFT to #MakeMoreMST3K, so stay tuned to https://t.co/pE5bEC8q3c for an update from @JoelGHodgson.
And to all 30,453 of you: thank you. pic.twitter.com/iqj7dRIxg3
— Mystery Science Theater 3000 (@MST3K) May 7, 2021
The month-long Kickstarter campaign – run by Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson (Steven Universe) – marked the second multimillion-dollar fundraising effort from the cult series, whose 2015 campaign broke records on the site and lead to the eventual Netflix reboot. However, this newest campaign emphasized the importance of the fans with the erection of the Gizmoplex, a space for MSTies to enjoy the beloved series without the looming fear of network cancellation.
The transparency with fans throughout Mystery Science Theater 3000’s now-ended Kickstarter brought constant communication and updates from Hodgson and a bevy of engaging live events for fans who have been missing the series since its 2019 cancellation at Netflix. In order to entice backers, Hodgson even revealed two of the films that Jonah Heston and his robot friends would riff on in the now-funded season thirteen. “Never in the history of the series […] has the “experiment” at the heart of an episode ever been revealed before broadcast,” Paste writes about Hodgson’s break from tradition during the Kickstarter campaign.
The 1993 sci-fi film Robot Wars and the 2019 “shoestring” indie Demon Squad will be featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000’s twelve episode lineup at the Gizmoplex, via Paste. The latter addition, Demon Squad, raised eyebrows among MSTies, as the series has traditionally focused on older films. Paste writes that this decision “gives some stylistic novelty to this season,” one that ushers in a new chapter of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
While the remainder of the films and shorts up for riffing in Mystery Science Theater 3000’s upcoming season thirteen remain under wraps, Hodgson forecasted that the Gizmoplex could be up and running by the end of this year, via Kickstarter Introduction. For now, Hodgson, Ray and the rest of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 team have been celebrating the success of the Kickstarter and expressing their excitement to get this new season underway for the devoted MSTies who made it possible.
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