As Mystery Science Theater 3000 returns, let’s take some time and think about the older series. There were 199 episodes, counting the KTMA season and the movie, but not the pilot/promo. But, for our purposes, we’ll not count the pilot/promo nor the KTMA season, okay?
So, here’s today’s question: Which episode is the best for introducing a new viewer to the show?
Thanks to IMAO reader Mark who asked this yesterday as an aside in the question about songs. It’s a good question, and deserves your full attention. Mark limited his question to the episodes on Netflix, but there are only 20 currently streaming. Shout Factory TV — apps are available for Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV — carries 68 episodes.
I think most of the streaming episodes would be a good introduction. But what do you think? If you were introducing someone to the show, what episode would you play for them?
I’m not culturally educated enough to answer that question.
Depends on what sort of movie they like, but Pod People gets mentioned often and I’ll endorse that. The Giant Gila Monster was one of the first I saw in its entirety and I think it’s a good choice. If I’m concerned about the person’s attention span, I might pull up “Johnny At the Fair”, the short I already mentioned as my favorite, as the riffs fly fast and funny. I know Netflix leads off with Manos, but unless the person seems really into the “bad movie” angle, I would save that for later. That’s just me, though.
Further to what “Slou” says re “Johnny at the Fair,” I generally enjoy the short subjects more than the feature-length movies. That film about the middle-class 1950s family learning about the wonders of electricity cracks me up every time.
I also concur with Slou. I’d start out with Side-hackers or The Giant Gila Monster or maybe Radar Secret Service. I’d save the Japanese movies, and Manos for later.
I was introduced via Eegah and I think that’s as good a place to start as any. Pod People also good. I have a friend who first saw The Movie/This Island Earth and is now a bigger MST3K fan than I am.
Really, I would say if you’re trying to introduce someone to it, the best episode is whatever your favorite one is! (with a couple of exceptions)
I mean, I wouldn’t start with Mitchell because a newbie won’t understand why Joel leaving is a big deal. Likewise, I wouldn’t start with Final Justice, because a newbie wouldn’t understand the Mitchell callback.
I know this is a highly debatable topic, but I would also start with a Joel/Dr. Forrester/TV’s Frank episode. But there are a lot of great Mike/Pearl episodes, so if that’s what you prefer don’t let me stop you.