Filmic Friday 216: MST3K

You may have noticed that early on, I reviewed a lot of MST3K episodes. I love MST3K, so I've seen a lot of episodes and have kind of an addiction. I donated to the Kickstarter to bring it back. I carry my membership card in my wallet with my library card, I have the Mission Patches sitting in a bowl nearby, and I wear my MST3K: The Revival shirt almost every week. I love this darn show!

But who is my favorite host? Where did I begin? What's my favorite episode?

Let's start with hosts.

I wouldn't say I have a favorite host. I like each of the three hosts pretty strongly, but I find each has their own sense of humor and their own sensibility that they bring to the show. They all interact with their 'Bots and Mads differently, and they all riff differently. I don't feel one style is superior to another, because sometimes I want to watch something that's more slow-paced, sometimes I want something a little smoother, and sometimes I just want some good old-fashioned Millennial jokes.

Joel Robinson
He was here first
This is the Satellite that Joel Built

Joel's presentation style is... well... let's be honest. The man was so chill he was basically a walking ice age. His mellow voice and steady personality gave Crow & Tom Servo something to bounce off of spastically. He was calm in the face of shrill and devious Mads, and his movies were such utter crap that you couldn't help but love both him and them.

Mike Nelson
Just a regular Joe they didn't like.
But we like Mike!

 Mike is a little bolder & brasher than Joel in his presentation. His interactions with Crow & Tom are less paternal and more "slightly doofy room-mate who is, nevertheless, more responsible and sensible". Mike also dressed in drag more often and his Captain Janeway impersonation haunts me to this day. Mike was my first Host, so I definitely have a soft-spot for him. The fact that he is the host for Laserblast, Revenge of the Creature, and Werewolf definitely makes him one of my most-watched hosts, I'll admit.

Jonah Heston
Heroic Tendencies = Getting Kidnapped
At least the 'Bots aren't lonely now

I was too young to follow Mike & Joel's careers as they began, seeing as how MST3K is older than I am now. I've since learned a bit (Joel's comedy career, for instance), but Jonah is someone I've been following for years. It's the mid-to-late 2000s, Z has handed me a new MP3 player. It has some podcasts on it. I had no idea what a podcast was. He wanted me to listen to an interview (probably with Nathan Fillion). It was The Nerdist, way back before Chris Hardwick had The Talking Dead. Before being a nerd was cool. Before Jonah really had a presence anywhere outside the stage comedy scene.

And here's this guy, talking to some other guys, talking to a movie star.

Over the years, I'd hear bits and pieces of Jonah's life, but by the time MST3K: The Revival was in the works, I'd fallen out of listening to The Nerdist, and I'd mostly forgotten about him. Then the news came out that someone named Jonah Ray was going to play the lead. Immediately, I remembered the nerdy Hawaiian guy I'd been listening to for years. I sat for a moment and thought "yeah, that could work! Good for him!" And it's been pretty great ever since.

I like that his Jonah Heston was hoodwinked like both Joel & Mike were, dragged into his Mads' plans by force & deviousness. I like that he's both a bit of a hapless goof and a genuinely and obviously decent guy in the show. He has a friendly, if slightly bullied, rapport with the 'Bots, and he's quick-witted in the theater.

I think he's a great addition.


If you're wondering where I started with MST3K, it's not a very long story. I used to sleep over at my aunt's place a lot as a teenager (just because I could, to be honest), and one night, my cousin was watching a movie on the tv, and there were these silhouettes making fun of it in the bottom right hand corner. The movie was SQUIRM, the host was Mike, and I was hooked. SQUIRM freaked me out, by the way. I couldn't sleep for a while afterwards. I am a wimp, what can I say?

Despite being my first MST3K, SQUIRM isn't my favorite episode. No, I'm stuck with a three-way-tie among Mitchell, Werewolf, and Laserblast.

What about you guys? What's your relationship with MST3K? Who's your favorite host? What's your favorite episode? Do you have an episode you've never been able to finish? (Mine's First Spaceship on Venus)

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