All, if anyone is interested in the classic episodes without ads, I believe that the official MST3K/Gizmoplex channel on Roku/AndroidTV/Apple TV etc and gizmoplex.com website are still ad-free for the classic episodes. You have to register, but it's free. Note, I used the Roku app (I do not use any ad-blocking software/infra) and did not encounter ads, but have no experience with the website or other app platforms.
The technically unnecessary due to pluto.tv, twitch streams etc. if you want to relive that early 2000's period of pre-youtube Shoutcast streaming, a guy has kept a number of low-rez streams going for posterity and nostalgia - including two MST3k streams. You can control-n these right into VLC:
Something about the way they aggressively released all their content, streaming it 24/7 on all platforms, removed the magic for me completely.
I used to love these, but now I can't sit through more than 5 minutes, because that sense of "oh this is special" is gone. I think for slow burn/buildup art, you have to kind of keep it special.
I'm not trying to be a dick, but there is nothing stopping you from self regulating.
We watch one episode of mst3k as a family Sunday night. Popcorn, lights off, huddled under blankets on the floor.
If anything, it's more special for my kids (than it was for me) because they can see what we'll watch next week, and enjoy looking up random trivia about the terrible movie throughout the week.
I get the parent's point though. There's a certain late night weekly thing that, for many of us, is hard to replicate with anytime/anywhere even if you could in principle.
There are shows like "Twin Peaks" that, if you first introduction to them is binge watching, you'll wonder what all the fuss was ever about. (Some shows seem to need some water-cooler time in order to keep you on the edge of your sear, wondering, trying to make the connections yourself.)
I don't really disagree. There's something to be said about being able to watch things at your own pace on your own schedule. At the same time, you give something up by not having historical broadcast TV schedules. Though I expect a lot of people (perhaps here more than in general) would deeply resent that sort of scheduling. And I say that as someone who doesn't even get broadcast TV any longer.
While it had its flaws, Babylon5 was like that as well. Probably Lost even if it IMO went downhill latterly. I'm not really a fan of binge-watching. A lot of shows are constructed in a way that rewards a slow rollout even if that's not the modern style.
I remember enjoying quite a bit of MST3K but also have been burned by revisiting nostalgia too many times so I tend to just leave things alone now. I know it's subjective and not a fair question, but is the newer MST3K worth following up on?
The host segments with Jonah aren't too bad. I don't care for the host segments with Felicia Day & Patton Oswalt; but, I didn't care for Pearl and Bobo, either. I don't care for the changing voices and characteristics of the bots, either.
I think the riffs are more "generalized." In the original, there were riffs that were regional or more obscure (e.g. Hamdingers).
I don’t like them as much, but Jonah at least feels like a legitimate third human on the satellite after Joel and Mike. Starcrash is one from that Kickstarter season to check out.
At this point it sees the fans are split into people who follow whatever MST3K and Rifftrax do, “keep sharing the tapes,” and people who liked MST3K because it was funnier and scrappier than other shows and tapered off when it lost that. I lean toward the latter, but I’m friends with the former and we make it work.
The vibe is not the same, but Jonah is likeable, Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt are good as the Mads, and the movie selection is fantastic: Reptilicus? Munchie? The Christmas Dragon? Every film is a magnificent slice of different B-movie territory.
pluto.tv has the older "Joel" episodes and I've been enjoying them occasionally. The newer stuff for me has a bit too much "drama kid" energy, if that makes sense.
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