The Once-in-a-Blue-Moon-"Rifftrax"-Related-Post...

[krpalmer]

I was looking at the Satellite News site to see if its now-regular series commenting on the episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000's fourth season had added any updates, and noticed an item that Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy are going to release an audio track "riffing" on the movie Cloverfield. That somehow broke my usual crusted disinterest in the whole process, and I decided to see what the comments were like... and there was a considerable amount of nasty "it deserves it" snarking on the movie, something that casts an ambiguous light on my slight feeling that the conclusion of the movie was sort of a "downer." Somehow, I was troubled that my suspicion that the "Rifftrax" are somehow nastier than the series and help feed an attitude of "All pop culture is inherently flawed and unsatisfying, except for our attacks on it" got something resembling even oblique confirmation...

Comments

[jeanerj.livejournal.com]

Yes, it does appear, on occasion, that Rifftrax can be somewhat more, oh, rough, than the show. IMO, it's understandable. It must have been difficult for the Brains to be chained to a 'family oriented' medium for ten years. I remember once Mrs. Pehl stated she wanted to do an X rated version called 'Mystery Nights'. And I do love something Mr. Nelson said a few years ago: 'We are devouring our culture faster than we can create it', which might lead to more intense observations. He was so right.

[krpalmer.livejournal.com]

I think there's a difference between telling jokes you can't tell on TV and somehow encouraging those who say "this movie deserves to be ripped apart moment-by-moment!" as opposed to "this movie could be quite funny if you just make the right comments about it"... but I suppose it's just my own stupid fault, a tic developed while reading MSTings while somehow staying interested in more than one "easy target." Still, I wouldn't begrudge anyone the enjoyment they get from "Rifftrax," and that is an interesting comment from Mike Nelson.

[jeanerj.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. The Brains never devolved to a point of just tearing something apart, like berserker Visigoths. At worst, they portrayed a benign and synthetic outrage, not to be taken seriously. I think it's because, as performers, they had an innate respect for anyone who would at least give it a try, even if the results were embarrassing. I've met a few msties (very sad) with no (none!) discernible sense of humor. They liked the 'cruelty' of it all. Now, those folks truly did not 'get it'. It would be sad if any current or former Brain exhibited such a trait, but if he/she had such a capacity, it would have likely shown up by now.

RiffTrax

[conorlastowka.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)]

Stumbled across your post on a blog search. My name's Conor, I'm a writer for RiffTrax. I think that if you were a fan of MST3K, you ought to give us a shot. I don't know where the misconception arises from that all a RiffTrax is is harping on the flaws of a movie, it couldn't be further from the truth. I can assure you that RiffTrax are a healthy mix of observations, pop culture, obscure references, bad puns, silliness, high and low humor. We've never said for a minute that the only thing worth your time in pop culture is our commentary. We're just trying to make people laugh, and I think we do a good job of it. If you get a chance to try one, let my know, my email is my first name at rifftrax.com We also have a bunch of old public domain shorts that we've riffed, if you wanna try it out, they're probably a good starting point, they are short, only 99 cents, and you can download the whole video with commentary - no synching needed!

Re: RiffTrax

[krpalmer.livejournal.com]

Again, my words have reached someone I never quite expected them to, and I am contrite. I do have to admit that I always liked the shorts shown on Mystery Science Theater... I can indeed see myself checking the "RiffTrax" shorts out.

Re: RiffTrax

[conorlastowka.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)]

Glad to hear you may give us a chance, I hope you enjoy them and try out a whole movie if you do.