From: Star Tribune#

Date: July 10, 1992

Headline: The Mystery Science show touching down at the Uptown

Cover: VARIETY: Stage shtick: Cable TV's 'Mystery Science Theater' offers Uptown show

Photo(s): Staff Photo/Rick Sennott Joel Hodgson and his robot sidekicks on the set of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," which is touching down at the Uptown Theatre tonight. [From 1-r, Gypsy, Crow, Joel and Servo.]

Author: Holston, Noel

Page(s): A1, E1, E4

Note: IT'S ALIVE! preview; interview with *characters*

 

When last we encountered the culturally omnivorous heroes of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," they were wisecracking their way through a fetid chunk of cinematic Camembert called "Teenage Caveman" while orbiting in a satellite high above the Earth.

As you know, Joel Robinson, a precocious young human who works for the Gizmonic Institute, was blasted into space against his will by his evil and jealous boss, Dr. Clayton Forester [sic]. Forester saw to it that Joel's only entertainment would be cheap, brain-dead old movies such as "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster" and "Robot Monster."

Ever the inventive one, Joel countered by fashioning spare parts and junk into robot sidekicks he named Tom Servo and Crow. By competing among themselves to make the funniest and fastest quips about the movies' stupidity, they were able not merely to survive but to survive with something approaching dignity.

The diabolical Forester wasn't through, however. He secretly videotaped Joel and the robots' movie massacres, beamed the signal back to Earth and sold it--first to a small independent TV station in Minneapolis, then to the cable channel Comedy Central (where it airs locally at 11:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday).

And he's still not through. Only too aware of what a gold mine Joel and company have become, he is bringing them down to Minneapolis to perform their "Mystery Science" schtick [sic] live at the Uptown Theatre today at midnight and Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

In a long-distance conference call to the satellite last week, Joel told Star Tribune TV columnist Noel Holston that if the performances at Uptown are successful, Forester might send him and the robots on a tour of cities where "MST3K" is especially popular.

What follows is excerpted from the interview with Joel, Tom Servo, Crow and a third robot, Gypsy:

Star Tribune: Living together in such close quarters, is there much friction?

Joel: WD40 solves all problems.

Star Tribune: Who are your heroes?

Joel: I always liked Shari Lewis.

Tom: And the Playboys.

Joel: No, that's not it. It's *Gary* Lewis and the Playboys.

Tom: Dohhhhh! I'm sorry.

Gypsy: I'd have to say Richard Basehart.

Joel: One night I had her plugged in and she was, like, downloading data and she got the entire "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" library.

Star Tribune: What are your favorite films or TV series?

Joel: "Holmes & Yo-Yo."

Tom: "Tequila & Bonetti."

Crow: "Occasional Wife."

Gypsy: "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea."

Crow: "The Fishfinder Show."

Tom: Have you seen it? It's on about twice a month. These guys test the latest fishfinder products.

Star Tribune: What are your ambitions beyond "Mystery Science Theater"?

Tom: I would like to make enough money to buy Hef's mansion in Chicago, fill it up with beautiful babes, restore it to its former splendor. It's been taken over by the University of Chicago or something. It's sad.

Crow: I'd like to go into regional theater, starring in "The Ed Wynn Story," a one-man show.

Gypsy: I want to do "The Gypsy Specials," competing against Pat Miles. I'll interview local celebrities and travel around the country finding out facts about them.

Star Tribune: Who's high on your list of prospective interview subjects?

Gypsy: I'd probably start with Pat Miles. You know she has TV-test-colored blue eyes. Engineers can adjust them.

Star Tribune: There are people in our society who are very prejudiced against robots. Have any of you ever been victims of robot-bashing?

Crow: *We're* into robot-bashing.

Tom: Of each other.

Joel: Sometimes I hook them up and play "Rock "Em, Sock 'Em Robots."

Tom: I think that Joel sometimes forgets that robots have feelings, too.

Crow: We like to think the Industrial Revolution is over, and we won.

Star Tribnue: Are you AC or DC?

Tom: Let's just say that robots don't have to limit themselves by labels or roles.

Gypsy: Tom is trying to dodge the question. Tom is Mac-based, Crow's MS DOS, and I'm OS 2. Just switched over. It's the wave of the future.

Tom: And the sad thing is, Joel still have this hankering for his old Amiga.

Star Tribune: A captive audience is nothing new, but you're a captive cast. What's to stop you all from running away once you're finally back on Earth?

Joel: Dr. Forester is making us wear stun collars. *Eeeeyowww!*

With that sudden, sharp burst of sound--which could have been a telephone glitch or a yelp of pain--the phone went dead. Subsequent calls to the satellite were referred to the Gizmonic Institute, whose spokesman declined comment.