From: jenkins@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu (jenkins lisa)

Subject: MST3K -- Time magazine article

From: Time

Date: October 29, 1990

Headline: My In-Law, the Housefly

Subline: Off-the-wall comedy flourished in out-of-the-way places

Photo: Hodgson of "Mystery Science Theater 3000": Movie heckling in outer space [Joel Hodgson leaping in space]

Author: Zoglin, Richard

Page: 95

[...]

"Mystery Science Theater 3000" has origins in the heartland as well: the show began life on a Minneapolis UHF station before being picked up last November by cable's Comedy Channel. Crummy old movies ("Rocketship X-M", "The Corpse Vanishes") are unspooled in their entirety, while three characters--one human being and two gabby robots--offer wisecracking commentary at the bottom of the screen.

It's the year's funniest prank. The hecklers jeer at love scenes, hoot at tacky special effects and pounce on every dumb line. Creator Joel Hodgson and his colleagues throw in savvy technical references ("I think we just flew through a disolve," someone cracks during an airplane flight) along with a torrent of smart-mouthed ad libs. "How do we stand on fuel?" asks an onscreen astronaut. "I'm for it," comes the offscreen retort. In the tense few seconds before lift-off, a voice pipes up, "Did I leave the water running?" A scientist leans into a pair of earphones, trying to pick up a weak radio signal; the invented line is "I can't see a thing." Not since Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily?" has anyone had so much fun with bad movies.