#k00

Sleep with me.

General Notes: So here it is, the very first episode of MST3k. Sort of.

     Actually, this isn’t a proper episode. It’s a proof-of-concept thingy made to sell the idea to the channel. And as such, it’s very different from MST3k as we know it. As Joel said in last year’s Turkey Day streaming…thing, “Kind of looks like MST fanfiction, doesn’t it?”

     Most of the basic things are there in some form- the bots (kind of, Beeper’s basically a proto-Servo), the door sequence, Movie Sign, host segments, and of course, the silhouettes in the theater. Another note on the bots- apparently Joel stayed up the night before they shot the pilot making the first versions of the bots, and Trace and Josh picked them up for the first time that day. You can tell Impressive, right?

     One idea that is NOT really present, however, is actually riffing the movie. That doesn’t really come about until a few episodes into KTMA, and even then, the constant riffing concept hadn’t even formed yet. You guys probably know all of this already, but I just have to cover it again because a lot of people complain about how slow the KTMA eps are. I just don’t think it’s very fair to compare KTMA with any of the other seasons because A) it was all ad-libbed (The fact that it was funny at all is pretty darn impressive. Improv is really hard.) and B) they were still figuring out the whole riffing thing. Nobody had ever done it before, and they had to feel it out. So be a little more lenient with KTMA, okay? I’ll get off my soapbox now.

     Anyway, the other majorly important part missing from the pilot is the Mads! From what Joel’s said in interviews and things, they didn’t even come up with the idea of the mad scientists until they wrote the theme song after like three episodes. Before that, the concept was that Joel had shot himself into space because of the apocalypse or something and was trying to contact Earth, and was watching movies for some reason? Yeah, I think the bosses-didn’t-like-him idea is a much stronger one. It’s a lot less dark (although I guess it’s actually still pretty dark if you think about it too hard, which is not recommended in this fandom) and it’s a better excuse for why he’s watching bad movies.

     But you probably knew all of this, too. In fact, all the versions of The Green Slime on YouTube (that I’ve seen) come from a con where Joel goes over most of this stuff before he shows it, so I guess I really didn’t have to. But I already typed it, so here it stays.

     ANYWAY, I swear the “General Notes” section will not usually be anywhere close to this long and rambly, but I wanted to go over some stuff, since we’re at the beginning and all. On the cusp of greatness. And on that overly-dramatic note, let’s dive in.

    * Actually, one more thing (sorry!) -another note I don’t have a place for. The format of this…episode, for lack a better word, is a little different. It’s got an invention in a weird spot, and an extra host segment/movie section, so the guide format will be adjusted accordingly. That is all.*

Thoughts on the movie: This section will usually hold, well, thoughts on the movie. But obviously, that doesn’t really work here, because we only get to see tiny bits of the movie. That being said, it looks really goofy.

I also promise that this section will usually be short.

Prologue

Of course, no theme song. Makes the intro feel a little spooky.

There’s no prologue in this one, not being a real episode.

Movie intro

Another different thing that lasts all of KTMA- Joel is called Joel Hodgson. He didn’t change it to Robinson for the show until they moved to the Comedy Channel.

Interesting set, different even from the later KTMA eps. You’ve still got the desk and the button panel (what is that thing called?), but he’s got a vase, too.

Joel’s jumpsuit is turquoise here, which I think lasted through (the lost) K02. After that, it would change to beige for the remainder of KTMA.

Joel’s super sleepy in this one, even for him. Makes sense, since he was up all night building robots. Poor baby c:

Also, let’s take a moment to observe his long hair. I think it’s super attractive, which is totally weird because I’m not generally a fan of long hair on men. But I think it actually works well for him. Paradoxically, it kind of makes him looks more masculine by emphasizing his jawline. I guess that’s the artist part of me noticing weird things like that. Anyway, apparently he grew it out to imitate Bruce Dern from the movie Silent Running, one of the inspirations for MST3k’s premise and art direction.

Joel says that the S.O.L. is “a space station of [his] own design”. Obviously this was retconned later and nobody cared because nobody had seen this. Also because it’s MST3k.

A bit more technical jargon in the dialogue here. Looks like they weren’t sure how hard they wanted their sci-fi to be yet.

Joel seems to be the one playing the movies for the audience here. He also refers to the theater as the Mystery Science Theater 3000, which didn’t happen again until Wild Rebels in Season 2, and then never again after that. *shrug*

I kinda like that “We’ll go around, you can go through” thing. They used it a few more times in KTMA.

Movie pt. 1

The proto-door sequence is fun c: Apparently, it was Kevin Murphy who cut it together.

Joel says “Excuse me” while finding his seat in the theater. Who is he talking to?

Also, first line ever in the theater was actually a piece of trivia. Again, *shrug*.

Again, being a proof-of-concept, there aren’t really movie segments as we know them.

He says “Excuse me” again when he leaves. What’s the deal, Joel?

They don’t have an outro door sequence for the theater yet, so the movie just keeps playing until they fade it out.

Host Segment 1/ Invention Exchange

Ah, the first glimpse of the ‘bots. Crow’s recognizable, although it’s a very rough version of him. His bug eyes are a little creepy, and his mouth doesn’t seem to work too well, but it’s definitely him. His combination robot/baby voice is a bit off-putting at first, but I find it kind of endearing, in a weird way. He seems bright and curious right from the beginning (This was before he grew into a little troll c: )

Beeper’s not all that interesting, to be honest, so I’m gonna move on. (Sorry, Beeper!)

Joel seems to look to Crow to translate Beeper’s beeping and buzzing. Interesting. Maybe I’m reading too much into that.

The way Joel addresses the “people of earth” seems a little weird, doesn’t it? Almost like he’s an alien who’d never been there before. Maybe he was supposed to have been in space a really long time after whatever apocalypse happened? Of course, it doesn’t really matter since they changed the backstory, but it’s interesting to wonder.

Crow seems excited when Joel introduces him to the people of earth/the President (of Earth?) c: Also, the way that he shakes his head when Joel mentions the shows he didn’t like and bobs up and down with excitement is adorable.

Also, why does Joel think the president needs to know what shows he liked/didn’t like? Another *shrug*, I think.

It’s the Chiro-Gyro! (although he just calls it the Chiropractic Helmet here) The prop was originally part of Joel’s stand-up act, and it makes a reappearance for the invention exchange a Season 1 episode.

I like Joel’s swivel chair that he slides out of the way at Movie Sign to let Cambot through c:

Movie pt. 2

Crow seems to be having a hard time sitting down when they first come into the theater. Joel has to help him. He also doesn’t seem to be able to focus on the movie very well, or maybe he doesn’t want to. He seems very fidgety.  But he is essentially a little kid, so it’s pretty understandable.

Beeper’s not in the theater with them. Is he not allowed?

Joel’s comment about the “number 2 position” as they leave is kind of gross. *motherly disapproving face*

Same deal with the doors again.

Host Segment 2

First Gypsy sighting! KTMA Gypsy looks quite different from her later design, but the basic shape is the same. A lot of people think this version is a little scary-looking.

They didn’t really start to expand her character until Season 2, but she’s extra dumb here.

Joel wipes some drool of her mouth. He’s already becoming such a dad c:

He actually seems to refer to Gypsy as a “he” here. They kind of go back and forth for the first few episodes before deciding that she’s female.

Joel mentions 25 other robots working throughout the ship. Obviously, they scrapped that idea pretty early.

When the bots laugh at joke he makes, he admits that he programmed them to laugh at his jokes. “I mean, when you spend as much time out in space as I have, it can turn you into kind of a freak.” He clearly removed this function at some point, because in later seasons they definitely don’t laugh if they don’t think his jokes are funny. He does say he gets bored with them just thinking he’s funny all the time. I guess that explains why he changed it.

Also, look at his stupid, cute, smug little face when he’s telling his dumb jokes.

“Cheese it, it guys”?

Movie pt. 3

Joel brings Beeper into the theater this time. I guess last time he forgot him or he didn’t want to come.

Joel seems to be eating popcorn. He has a bag of something, at least. I guess it could be anything, but popcorn seems likely.

Host Segment 3

Joel give us a little intro to his vacuum flowers. I could see him being something of a gardener back on Earth, now that I think about it. Unfortunately, the flower (and everyone else) has foaming disease.

Joel has doctor stuff? I guess he’d have to. But what kind of stuff do you use to doctor a flower? (Keep in mind that this is all for-fun kind of wondering, not a criticism of the show. The nice thing is since it’s another science fact, it doesn’t matter and it can be something totally silly C: )

His explaining to Gypsy how the flower is sick is very sweet.

Also, his wiping of her/his nose doesn’t seem to be doing much good. Maybe that’s why he stopped trying.

Joel asks Crow to “bring the baby in [there]”. I guess Beeper is really supposed to be a baby. That explains why he can’t really talk.

Joel accidentally hits Gypsy and (s)he freaks out even more. Poor Gypsy! It looks like it was an actual accident rather than written into the sketch.

Movie pt. 4

Gypsy’s in the theater this time! And Joel seems to have Beeper on his lap.

But, it only lasts a few seconds, and then we swing right into the next host segment.

Host Segment 4

Apparently Joel doesn’t know that much about thermometers, although Crow seems to. Poor Gypsy, again.

Gypsy has feet?

When Beeper gets the foam virus, too, Joel tells him “It’s okay, honey”, setting a long-running precedent for the S.O.L. residents calling each other “honey”.

Crow handing Joel a towel is really cute, mostly just because of Crow’s ridiculous little claws.

When Joel sneezes out the foam, it’s pretty obvious that he’s holding some kind of sprayer. But I’ll cut them some slack on the special effects- it was their first time and all c:

Movie pt. 5

Joel’s in the theater alone again this time.

He claps at the end of the movie. Is it sarcastic clapping, or is he serious? Or is he just happy that it’s over? We didn’t get to see the movie, so it’s hard to tell.

Conclusion

Everybody got better over the past movie section c:

Joel seems pretty dismissive of Crow’s theories regarding the origins of the foam virus. But Crow was being kind of difficult, too.

Crow looks so happy to be spraying foam everywhere, including on Joel, who just seems amused by it.

The end

       So. There it was, the first foray into MST3k. Mostly for the people that made it, since none of the viewers got to see this until many years later. It’s really fun to see the origins after seeing what it grew into. What they changed, what they kept, what worked and what didn’t. I’m guess I’m actually surprised that that host segments work as well as they do this early on (I know I’m kind of an odd duck in that the host segments are my favorite parts of the show, generally speaking) Sure, it’s not up to par with what we come to expect later, but it’s good.  I think it says a lot about the camaraderie of the writers/performers that they made something that was pretty good and fun in such a short amount of time. The lack of riffing confuses/puts off a lot of fans, but you can already see something very special brewing there.