MST3K - Season 11 First Reaction

Now, I don't personally believe there is such a thing as "spoilers" for Mystery Science Theater, but if you do, stop reading now.

I just finished watching the new season of MST3K. I wasn't specifically trying to get through it fast, it just sort of happened that way. The only thing nerdier than binge-watching MST3K would be to post a full, detailed review of it on my blog and my self-image couldn't take that right now. So instead, I just wanted to get a few observations out of my system.

First off, they did a great job. This is a reboot in the vein of Star Wars (oh no, I've mentioned Star Wars, this is spiraling out of control fast) in that they made something new, made something their own but were lovingly loyal to the original, and therefore didn't "piss off the fans". The jokes are funny, they throw in a fan-service in-joke every once in a while, some of the original writers are involved, the movies are terrible, they got some celebrity cameos but made sure their presence made sense in the context of the show and the jokes are funny. They continue the tradition of musical numbers excellently and there's even a Christmas episode.

So overall, I loved it.

There's also lots of "world building" in the show - not something I need but it adds some nice color.

Going into the season, I was pretty curious about the celebrity cameos. Previously, the biggest guest star they had gotten was Leonard Maltin. But, as I said, they turned out to be a nice surprise. For those of you interested, here are some I remember:

• 11.01 - Erin Gray and HWil HWheaton
• 11.04 - Neil Patrick Harris
• 11.06 - Jerry Seinfeld
• 11.12 - Mark Hamill
• 11.14 - Joel McHale
• And also Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Bill Corbitt and Paul Chaplin appear throughout.

One thing I started picking up (and subsequently made notes on) was that it became evident that one of the writers is a native of Philadelphia, though I don't know who - imdb hasn't been updated and it would take more googling than I cared to do. I know Joel has lived in the area for a little while but I don't think it's coming from him. Here are some of the references someone threw in:

• 11.02 - Cry Wilderness - A reference to the Phillie Phanatic.
• 11.08 - The Loves of Hercules - A reference to the Mummers.
• 11.09 - Yongary - A "traffic" joke about the Schuylkill.
• 11.10 - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom - A reference to Citizen's Bank Park.
• 11.13 - The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t - A reference to Bryn Mawr.
• 11.14 - At the Earth's Core - A reference to the Human Heart exhibit at the Franklin Institute. [Deep cut].

And just for good measure here are my favorite episodes so far:

1. 11.01 - Reptilicus.
2. 11.03 - The Time Travelers
3. 11.10 - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom
4. 11.02 - Cry Wilderness
5. 11.06 - Starcrash

You'll note that the list is heavily weighted towards the earlier episodes. The season doesn't really fall apart as it goes along, that's probably just my subjective mood at the time. These are all first impressions, after all.

One final note. There's been a lot of hype and hoopla about adding a new bot to the crew: Mr. Waverly. It's a big risk introducing a new character into the mix. I consider what they do with that character to be one of the masterstrokes of the new season.