The Masked Reviewer
Meets
Some Members of the Cast
of Mystery Science Theater
30000
and Interviews Them
Part III - Their Thoughts on New Movies
Here you will find some general information about Kevin Murphy (aka Tom Servo) and Mike Nelson (himself) from MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000). Be sure to read their predictions about a whole mess of films coming soon to theaters near you!
Some general information gleaned during a lecture given by Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy.
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There are 176 episodes of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". |
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A common misconception is that the show was originally put together as a public access program; it was, however, originally broadcast on UHF. |
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Some people claim that they remember watching the show in Minnesota, when it was called "Mystery Science Theater 2000", but they are lying. |
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The show won a prestigious Peabody Award. |
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Mike Nelson originally started on the show in the role of "typist". He can type over 100 words per minute. |
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Kevin Murphy is disturbed at the fact that there is a film called Last Seduction 2. If there was a "last seduction 2", then the first last seduction wasn't the last. Perhaps they should have called it "penultimate seduction". |
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As a child, to feed his hot-burning creative furnace, Mike Nelson drew a comic strip based on one of his classmates, Steve Nelson (no relation). |
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Kevin Murphy thinks Aristophanes is very funny. |
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Mike Nelson can't understand why some people think Pauly Shore is funny. |
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While working as a stand-up comic, Mike Nelson learned how to win over a crowd. His secret technique would be to wait until someone stood up to leave, and then he would say into his microphone "Would all homosexuals please stand up and report to the bathroom?" |
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Kevin Murphy was very interested in music in his youth. He played in "Sweet Buzzy Simpson and the Sweat Babies", as well as the well known folk trio, "The Dry Creek Trio". |
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While the cast of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" are known for making obscure references, the most obscure reference was a joke made about an Asian woman running away on screen during one film. The joke was "Stop her, she's got Mike's keyboard!" and was a reference to an ex-girlfriend of Mike Nelson who had stolen his musical keyboard and never brought it back. |
Here is a test about comedy. Please answer whether the following ten items are funny or not funny.
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Giant foam cowboy hats.
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"Hagar the Horrible".
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Rip Taylor.
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Armpit farts.
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Carrot Top.
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Curly Joe DeRita
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Interrupting Cow Knock-Knock Joke.
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Lucille Ball
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Ray Jay Johnson.
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The Songs of Leonard Nimoy.
(Answers: 1. Funny. 2. Not funny. 3. Funny. 4. Funny. 5. Not funny. 6. Not funny. 7. Funny. 8. Not funny. 9. Not funny.10. Funny.)
Kevin and Mike gave their fall movie predictions about some upcoming films. Hear are a few brief excerpts:
Payback (Ben Aflleck, directed by John Woo): Mike wonders whether Ben's face move at all? Never has, never will. He's Mt. Rushmore.
In the Cut (Meg Ryan): Mike says that even though it's a dark and creepy thriller, we can still expect to see her creeping around in feety pajamas like a fuzzy squirrel. Kevin thinks Meg Ryan is "a boiled potato in a wig."
Elf (Will Ferrell): Kevin says, "It's a classic premise. Will Ferrell is big...but he's an elf! But he's big! But...he's an elf! But he's BIG! But he's an elf! He's a big elf!"
Matrix Revolutions (Keanu Reeves): Mike's prediction: "What happens in this one is that Keanu emotes and the world explodes."
Alamo (directed by Ron Howard): Kevin - "This is the one that Ron Howard dumped." Mike - "He dumped, all right." They both seem to have trouble believing a whole movie can be set in a car rental company.
Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Brendan Frasier): Mike believes that Brendan Frasier will really stretch himself, by not playing a Jay Ward cartoon character.
Cat in the Hat (Mike Meyers): Kevin just screams in agony.
Around the World in 80 Days: It's by Adam Sandler's production company, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rob Schneider. Mike and Kevin that it will "suck so tremendously, they might shut down the film industry."
Radio (Cuba Gooding, Jr.): Kevin points out that in this film, Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a 5-watt transistor radio. However, he also points out that if you hate it, you must hate all mentally ill people. Mike points out that Kevin hates all mentally ill people, to which Kevin retorted that Mike isn't supporting our troops.
Love, Actually (Hugh Grant): It's Hugh Grant in his natural habitat, with lots of blinking and stuttering. European clowning makes Mike feel ill...like someone "dragged something dead through the room."
Haunted Mansion (Eddie Murphy): Kevin thinks that this may be the first movie based on a ride based on a movie, which will spawn a new ride which will spawn a new movie based on that ride, possibly forming a naked singularity.
Bad Santa: Could this be the sequel to Bad Lieutenant in which we finally get to see Santa's little elf?
Timeline (written by Michael Crichton): Mike thinks that a bunch of archaeologists going back 600 years will be very much like going to a cut rate Ren Faire in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Something's Got to Give (Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson): Kevin believes "Something's got to blow!" Diane Keaton does this kind of film so she can fund her coffee table books. This type of film will always do a steady amount at the box office. They're like low-risk mutual funds. Mike believes that Jack Nicholson won't be doing any scenes barefoot because then you'd be able to see his cloven hooves.
Mike points out that Tommy Lee Jones has an upcoming film in which he actually turns into a Sharpie.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: According to Kevin, Tolkein didn't know how to end a book. The story ends, and then there's an extra 300 pages at the end where they're moving and playing golf.
Stuck on You (Matt Damon and Greg Kinear): To fit both of their meaty faces on screen, it can only be shown in widescreen, so Mike says.
Kevin Murphy and Mike Nelson have both written amazingly funny books about movies. You can buy them and find out more here:
Mike Nelson's homepage: http://www.michaeljnelson.com/home/
Kevin Murphy's homepage: http://www.ayearatthemovies.com/
To buy the DVDs of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", try here:
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 1
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 2
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 3