If you build it, Servo will come. Last week, Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson (Steven Universe) returned to Kickstarter with bold blueprint for how his cult classic movie-riffing series could continue without a network, by building their own virtual theater.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 first shattered Kickstarter records in 2015 by raising nearly $6 million to produce a new season of the series, the first new content from the dark side of the moon in nearly a decade. The campaign was so successful that Netflix took note, providing additional funding and producing season eleven of the series as well as special twelfth season, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet, which was followed by a live tour. “But then in 2019 a new generation of MSTies got to share in the ultimate rite of passage,” Tor reported on the Netflix seasons when the show was cancelled. AGAIN.”
Hodgson, the original human host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Jonah Ray (Hidden America with Jonah Ray), the series’ most recent host, made a video introducing their newest Kickstarter campaign, which went live on April 7 and aims to continue the iteration of the series that started on Netflix. Hodgson, Ray and their robot friends Tom Servo and Crow explained that they want to make more episodes of the movie-riffing series without worrying about the whims of networks. “Networks aren’t the most reliable option,” Ray remarked about making more episodes of the show “maybe it should be up to the fans to decide how long we keep going” (Kickstarter Video).
The length of the crowd-funded season thirteen will depend on the Kickstarter’s ability to reach specific pledge goals, with three episodes fully funded thus far. At the $2 million dollar goal, the MST3K team will be able to launch their virtual theater, the Gizmoplex, in addition to producing the first three episodes of the new season. According to Tor, MST3K flew past that first benchmark in under 36 hours, with the campaign currently sitting at around $2.6 million.
At $3.3 million, the Kickstarter’s next checkpoint, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 team will deliver three more episodes of season thirteen and expand the Gizmoplex into a full-fledged app. The next goal, $4.4 million, will bring fans three more new episodes, plus a slew of live events at the Gizmoplex. The Kickstarter’s cap, $5.5 million, would result in a full-funded twelve-episode season of Mystery Science Theater 3000, complete with twelve short-film riffings from Ray’s Jonah Heston and his robot friends. This short film festival could serve to hold fans over between the feature episodes, which would air as they’re produced.
While $5.5 sounds ambitious, the cult classic series’ first Kickstarter endeavor in 2015 raised a similar amount. Hodgson, looking to the future, has even referenced plans for the Gizmoplex beyond those listed in the Kickstarter’s outlined goals, such as hosting a 3D film and creating a virtual reality experience. However, Hodgson recognizes that COVID-19 may hamper the Kickstarter’s success in comparison to the show’s last campaign. “If you can’t afford anything, that’s okay” Hodgson assures supporters “we’ll find other ways for you to stay involved, and to make sure you can still get access to all of our new episodes and Gizmoplex events” (Kickstarter).
For those who are able to donate, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 campaign offers a wide-range of perks and gifts. While rewards on the Kickstarter are stacking, there is also a feature that allows for add-on rewards that even include virtual classes in movie riffing and puppeteering.
The entire cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Netflix reboot, including Ray, Felicia Day (The Guild, Supernatural), Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, A.P. Bio), Hampton Yount (Mystery Science Theater 3000) and Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie, The Great Debate) will be returning to reprise their roles in the new project. For now, at least three new episodes will be awaiting fans in the not-too-distant future, as Hodgson mentioned in the introductory video that season thirteen may even land as early as fall 2021.
The Kickstarter ends on May 7, giving MSTies plenty of time to raise the funds for even more episodes of the series. Screen Crush commented that, even though it’s been nearly thirty years since the series first premiered on a Minnesota cable station, “there’s still an appetite for the show.” The next two months on Kickstarter will prove just how ravenous that appetite is and forge a new future for the seemingly timeless series.