“In the not too distant future, Next Sunday A.D.” has been a well-known start of the theme song to the hit TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (also well known as MST3K). The show started back in November 1988 on a local UHF Minneapolis-St. Paul TV station KTMA. The channel gave creator Joel Hodgson the opportunity to provide this unique, witty, and wonderful show to fans and it became an instant hit. A year later the show was picked up by cable station Comedy Central and it didn’t take long for the show to become a worldwide hit. The show eventually made it’s way to the Syfy Channel for a few years before later being revived via Kickstarter and picked up by Netflix. And while it may have ended it’s run over there, fans can still see classic reruns on Shout! Factory website and streaming channel.
During the TV show run, the MST3K crew did a few live events. But, it wasn’t until 2017 when they actually had a live tour with part of the Netflix cast and in 2018 for the 30th Anniversary of the show, we saw the return Joel Hodgson. 2019 brought the fans The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour but it would be Joel’s last appearance on the tour. And while 2020 put the tour on hold due to the pandemic, the show now returned in full force in 2021-2022 with MST3K Live: Time Bubble Tour!
This stop was held in Orlando, FL at one of my favorite venues The Plaza Live. The venue is easily convertible from handling concerts to theatrical performances. When I arrived, I was quite pleased to see the turnout for the show. It was a packed house! Even better, I truly appreciated The Plaza Live’s COVID-19 protocols for vaccination/negative test checks and requiring masks while indoors. As an MST3K fan since the very beginning, I was absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to see their live performance. I had caught the 30th Anniversary live show through a Fandango movie airing, but there is nothing like truly seeing a show live and in person.
As the lights dimmed, chills ran over me as the screen above the stage showed the classic opening of “Turn down your lights (where applicable)” which received a huge round of applause from the audience. And on stage we hear a woman’s voice and see someone fumbling around behind the curtain until finally, we get to meet Mega-Synthia (played by Yvonne Freese). Mega-Synthia explains that she’s a descendant of the Forrester’s and goes through the list of Dr. Clayton Forrester, Pearl Forrester, Kinga Forrester, Synthia, and also adds in the most beloved henchman, Frank. But, she is a clone with the DNA of both Pearl and Synthia. And being a Forrester, she has a nefarious plan for those at The Plaza Live.
We then get to meet host Emily Connor (played by Emily Marsh) with our favorite robots Crow T. Robot (played by Nate Begle), Tom Servo (played by Conor McGiffin), and GPC (played by Yvonne Freese). Cambot is with us too but not visible. The crowd applauded for the cast getting the MST3K vibe in the building, but Mega-Synthia said no applauding until Emily did the song. And with that performed a small modified version of the MST3K Theme song which drove the crowd wild. Mega-Synthia then explained she was capturing The Plaza Live building inside of a Time Bubble and was going to take us all back to 1988 and make everyone watch all the MST3K episodes from the very beginning. That got huge applause from the crowd, making Tom Servo exclaim, “Why are they cheering?! This is horrible!” And with that, lights flashed, alarms blared, and Emily shouted, “We have movie sign!” The screen above ran us through the well-known door sequence leading us to the theater for the film, while on stage Emily, Crow, and Tom Servo took their places facing the stage at a small table to the right.
For those who are unfamiliar with the MST3K format, the mad scientist (Mega-Synthia in this tour) forces group (Emily and the robots) to watch an awful movie to see the effects on them. And during the movie, the group provides witty and funny commentary, essentially making fun of the movie. Over the years the MST3K crew has pulled out some really bad films to mock. But, credits to the tour producers on the movie selection, because in all my years, this has to be the WORST movie I’ve ever watched during an MST3K show. And the worse the movie is, the better the commentary from the host and the robots.
The movie for the tour was Making Contact from 1985. It was a movie directed and written by Ronald Emmerich. The same Ronald Emmerich who directed Stargate and Independence Day. And man is this movie BAD. Let me try to sum up the plot, a young boy named Joey who’s Dad died is somehow talking to his Dad via a toy phone, while suddenly showing psychic powers, while finding at an abandoned house next door a ventriloquist dummy that’s alive, who torments Joey and claims Joey is not talking to his Dad, but instead to the evil ventriloquist who owned the dummy and that the dummy, who torments Joey with things like lightning through his hands and opening portals in Joey’s closet, is just trying to help him. Did you catch all that? Did I mention Joey has a small robot named Charlie that appears to be sentient? Did I mention there’s also a group of kids who bully Joey, yet Joey has to save them when they go into the abandoned house next door? Still with me?
Yet, with that Emily, Crow, Tom Servo, and even GPC provided a wonderful commentary throughout the entire movie. “Why do I feel like having a Twizzler?” as we watch a long camera show of the funeral that for some reason was roped off by the red-velvet rope you see at theaters. “Sorry for your loss” multiple times over as the funeral processing of cars pass by the screen. “That’s the voice of George Lucas’ lawyers!” as we see multiple Star Wars items strewn about in the movie. And the dialogue went on and on. But, truly the best was when Crow went off on this tangent involving mahogany wood when the ventriloquist dummy was sitting on a staircase that started spilling over into the mature side of comedy. It left not only the crowd crying because we were laughing so hard and even Emily was trying her best to keep herself composed. And when Crow went to reference “MAHOGANY!”, Tom Servo and Emily would quickly turn and say, “Stop it!” It was hilarious.
And we even had skits in the middle of the performance, much like they do on the TV show. The Bootleggies showed us all the wonderful bootlegged toys people wanted in their lives such as Mr. Tomato Head, LetGos, and Slonky. We also had the Spielberger Helper, the mixture when your movie has a major creation on a minor budget. They come in a variety of flavors like Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And, we had a few interactions of Mega-Synthia explaining to us where in time the Time Bubble had taken The Plaza Live and some skits referencing those time periods. The Roaring 20s was definitely my favorite with Mega-Synthia dancing in the flapper dress. The skits brought that familiar flair to the performance the fans knew and loved.
Eventually, Emily and the robots help the audience escape the Time Bubble (SLATS!) bringing us to the end of the show. Honestly, this was one of the best comedic performances I have seen in my life. I laughed so hard throughout the show, as did the entire audience. Everyone left the show laughing and talking about the jokes. If you have the opportunity to catch the show, you can find their tour stops over at https://mst3klive.com/. You can also find tour merchandise at the website too, and yes, I wasn’t leaving that show without a tour shirt. If you never seen MST3K or if you’re a fan of the show for many years, do not miss out on any of their live tours! I’m looking forward to them coming back to Orlando again!
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