You did it: you brought back MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000! Thanks to you, MST3K will be able to shoot FOURTEEN NEW EPISODES next year, including a new holiday special!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
IMPORTANT: Confirm your current shipping address for rewards by SATURDAY, SEPT 30, at 11:59 PM!!!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Sep 28, 2017 at 10:39:13 PM
Dear MST3K Revival League,
Just a quick housekeeping announcement for anyone still waiting for rewards:
We're about to start boxing and packing up all of the remaining Kickstarter rewards* so that we can ship them out at the beginning of November.
(*The one exception, as Joel said in the last update, is the coffee table book, which we're still writing and designing -- we expect that to be delivered sometime in early 2018.)
We want everyone to get their rewards at the same time, so we're sending all of the remaining rewards out when we've finished packing all of them -- which means our warehouse will basically spend all of October packing up rewards for shipping.
But here's what that means right now:
If you need to update your shipping address in BackerKit, you have just over 48 hours – until Saturday, Sept 30, at 11:59pm – to make the change.
In the next few hours, you should receive an email from BackerKit reminding you that this is your last chance to edit your address before we start shipping out rewards.
Please note: this does not mean the rewards are shipping out in the next 48 hours! It means that this is the final deadline to change your address so we can start packing up 35,000+ boxes to ship. You will receive the rewards at the beginning of November, and we'll send another update to let you know when all rewards have been put in the mail, as well as tracking numbers for your packages.
But, if you'll be living at a different address by the first week of November – or will be out of town and need the rewards sent somewhere else for safekeeping – please be sure to use the link in the email and let us know before the deadline.
If we don't have the correct address on Sunday morning, it's likely that your final rewards will be sent to the current address we have on file right now, and we can't promise that we'll be able to replace rewards that get lost or stolen.
So, PLEASE confirm your address!
(And yes, if you're getting a coffee table book, you'll get one more chance to update your address before we ship those out, early next year. Right now, we just need the confirmed address to send out everything else you're waiting for.)
As always: if you've got questions, please be sure to ask our Backer Support team by emailing [email protected]. Do not post your questions in the comments here, because we can't promise the support team will see them or be able to respond.
We're looking forward to getting all of the the remaining rewards packed, shipped and into your hands. Thanks for your help, and for confirming your address!
Your Friends, Team #BringBackMST3K
Getting Last Call Add-On Rewards (LINK)
over 6 years ago
– Sun, Aug 27, 2017 at 12:03:56 AM
Dear MST3K Revival League.
In this morning's update, Joel reminded you that you've got ONE WEEK LEFT if you want to get any more ADD-ON REWARDS... but forgot to remind you where to get them!
You can order Last Call Add-On Rewards right here.
. And if you've got friends or relatives who have been admiring your #WeBroughtBackMST3K rewards, be sure to let them know -- it's their last chance too!
Thanks! The Management
Netflix Renewal Status, Final Kickstarter Rewards & Last Call for Add-Ons. PLUS: A Summer of Snakes!
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 10:50:59 PM
Dear MST3K Revival League,
Joel here, just back from our first-ever MST3K Live summer tour. I know it's been a little while since the last update, but I have an excellent excuse: I’ve been on tour, and Ivan has had a much needed vacation in Japan. As you know, we really collaborate on these updates. So I wanted to give the guy a much-needed break from MST3K, because he’s done an amazing job for the last two years. I hope you've been keeping busy too, and had time for a vacation as well.
Anyway, now that I'm back, I wanted to tell you a little bit more about our experiences on the road … but first, I also wanted to give you some quick updates about questions I know some of you are wondering about. So yeah, let's get those out of the way first.
Q: What's happening with Netflix? Will there be more new MST3K?
I know everyone's number one questions are, "Joel, what's happening with Netflix? Are they going to make more new episodes? And when?" Those questions came up a bunch during the live tour, so I know they're on everyone’s mind.
The short answer is, we're still working on it! I wish I could tell you more, but I have a whole phalanx of lawyers parked in my living room waving their hands and mouthing the words, "Not yet," so I guess I'd better not say anything. But of course, I promise that when I'm able to, you will be the first to know.
We know that you worked hard to help us #BringBackMST3K, and now that it's back, we're going to work hard to keep it going! Thanks to our summer tour, I got to meet thousands of you, and pretty much everyone wants it to keep going … so, you know, I guess we all have to try to "just relax" and think positive thoughts.
Also, while we work through all of those details, our team at Alternaversal has also been busy developing plans for the first-ever MST3K comic book series! As you might know, my business partner Harold actually used to be a vice president at Archie Comics, and that's how we first met: Harold wanted to talk about doing an MST3K comic years ago!
So, it's been a long time coming, and we're pretty excited about it. We're trying to make it as good as the TV show, with really cool innovations too. Comics also really open up some new possibilities, so some things we could never attempt on the show are going to be happening to Jonah and the bots. Right now, the initial plan is a series of six issues, and it's slated to come out from Dark Horse Comics in the spring! More on that as we get closer.
Q: When do we get the last of our Kickstarter rewards?
This one is a lot easier to answer, friends:
Almost all remaining Kickstarter and "Last Call Add-On Rewards" are still right on schedule, and should be shipped out by early November!
To be more specific, here are the rewards that we'll be shipping by November:
The Collector's Set: Season 11 (on DVD or Blu-Ray)
The Collector's Tape: Episode 1101 (on VHS)
The MST3K MIMOBOT® USB Drives
The MST3K Mystery Gifts
The Art of MST3K: 18-Month Calendar (1/18-6/19)
The Last Call Add-On Rewards (shirts, hoodies, posters + the above)
Once these rewards are shipped out, the only remaining reward will be the OFFICIAL MST3K COFFEE TABLE BOOK*, which I'm really excited about. You know, we probably could have rushed this and gotten it out in November, but like the show, I'd rather take a little longer to work on it, because I want to make sure you get something really special. So, for those of you who ordered the book, I appreciate you being patient for so long. I think you'll be really pleased once you get the finished product.
*Don't worry, we haven't forgotten the digital soundtrack collection. More on that next week!
Also, if anything was missing from your previous rewards and you contacted our Backer Support team, your missing rewards will also be included in this shipment of rewards. If you're still missing something that isn't on the list above, be sure to let our team know as soon as you can by emailing [email protected].
And of course, don't forget that you can always see a full, up-to-date schedule about reward shipment and timing right here, as part of the MST3K KICKSTARTER FAQ.
Q: How much longer do we have to get Add-On Rewards?
Wow, another good question! If you're still wishing you had gotten some of the Add-On Rewards during the Kickstarter, or that you had picked up both of the t-shirt designs, then I hope you're still reading, because I'm pretty sure this is your last chance to grab some of our best Kickstarter Add-On Rewards:
You can still order selected MST3K Add-On Rewards for one more week, until SEPTEMBER 1, 2017!
Ivan tells me this will be your absolute last chance to get the official #WeBroughtBackMST3K t-shirts, hoodies, posters, and calendar, so be sure you don't run out of time. All of these Add-On Rewards will ship by early November, so if you want to beat the rush, you can get all of your MST3K holiday shopping done right now!
(After September 1st, you'll still be able to order the MST3K COFFEE TABLE BOOK, until we send the final proof to our printers and place the order for our one-time print run.)
Anyway, now that all of the official business is out of the way, I thought maybe I could tell you a little bit more about how the cast and I spent our summer … traveling around the United States and meeting a lot of you!
Behind the Scenes of our MST3K LIVE TOUR!
It was a six-week bus tour, with two separate new shows, visiting 26 cities, and playing 36 shows in all. And, you know, we only had about two and half months to plan it. Whew!
As I think I mentioned in some of the updates this spring, we started working on the idea for the live tour right after all the press simmered down for the Netflix series. So it was in mid- April that we began work in earnest for the “Watch Out for Snakes Tour.”
There were lots of new challenges along the way, but the biggest were:
How do you bring the full MST3K show experience to the stage?
How do you build the show so it can travel and be repeated daily?
Then, as you start to figure those questions out, there's a lot of new work that has to be done:
imagining this new iteration of the show, as well as finding the two films we would be riffing, which meant working and planning with the cast, crew and writers. Then there's design, planning and communication, including the design and construction of props, sets, roadworthy puppets and costumes; seeking better prints of films, pre-produced ("taped") segments with Felicia and Patton; and (of course) designing some killer merch, man!
But, I'm happy to report the "vision team" at Alternaveral handled the entire affair, and everyone and everything appeared at our offices on time and on budget, so we could start rehearsals with the cast on July 1st. So, one thing I really want to say is how grateful I am for my team at Alternaversal: Harold, Sharyl, Matt, Seth and Lesley.
Also, I really want to thank our production partners at AEG -- they're the group that would book each venue, promote each show, and set up all of the complicated travel plans to transport us and our show over 6,000 miles of highways and byways to appear in "theaters near you." Or, near many of you. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to do a tour at all.
So, that's all the basic stuff. But once we had all of that figured out, my biggest question – and biggest fear – was: how in the heck do I live on a tour bus?
Life on the Road
Just so you understand, a “bus tour” doesn’t mean you ride on a bus and then sleep in a hotel, like a marching band tour to Disneyland. On a bus tour, you sleep on the bus! And you do it practically every night, except when you have a day off.
I don’t know why, but the whole thing was blowing my mind.
It seemed like something was missing from the whole equation, as all I ever had to compare it to were my shows doing stand-up, Cinematic Titanic, my one-man show ("Riffing Myself"), and years worth of Comic-Cons. (I think of those as “Weekend Warrior” shows: go out on a Thursday or Friday, and return on a Sunday.)
But living on a bus seemed to me the equivalent of going into space. Something inside me made me feel like I would never ever actually be anywhere. It just didn’t seem possible.
I’m on the other side. I understand it now.
The truth is, doing a bus tour is wildly efficient. You omit most of the usual “busy work” involved in traveling to other states for a show. When you travel by bus, I have learned, you are actually sleeping while you are doing the most exhausting part of travel -- the travel. The bus takes everything you need for the show – the cast, the crew, the sets and props, and sometimes even the merch and the merch crew – and delivers it from theater to theater AS YOU SLEEP. Contrast that with my previous experiences traveling to a show: drive to the airport, fly to the show, Lyft to the hotel, unpack and shower, take the shuttle to the show, do the show, take the shuttle to the hotel, and then Lyft to the airport, fly back home, drive home.
Look, I’m getting tired just explaining it.
Anyway, on the bus tour, the whole thing is much simpler: you finish the show, walk out the door, get on the bus, and go to bed. Then, you wake up the next morning outside of the next venue, and do it again.
At the theater, your dressing room has most everything you need: a bathroom, a couch and a shower, and access to a washer and dryer if you need it. A runner is available to get you anything out of the ordinary. Simply put, you spend your time focusing on the show, not moving yourself and your gear from point A to point B and back again.
So yeah, the draining part of travel – the actual travel – is accomplished when you’re asleep.
This affords you a unique opportunity: the shows are then stacked up, and feel as if they are delivered to you daily. For a performer and showman like me, this is bliss.
The Value of Going on Tour
Also, being on the road really helped me understand even more how important our Kickstarter success was, and how valuable it was to have Season 11 run on Netflix. The word is out, and we had packed houses for just about every show!
Anyway, each night worked the same way: I would open the show, and I loved doing it. Mostly, I was the warm-up act. I would do announcements, talk about hard-to-demonstrate items at the merch table, explain the technical specs for the films, introduce local celebrities and friends, and answer questions from the audience. And, as a lot of you know, at every show I tried to stop everything to call out you, the backers, and have the audience cheer for you. I also ran the VIP event before and after each show, where I got a chance to meet many of you face to face.
During the show, I mostly just watched our cast: Jonah, Hampton, Tim Ryder (our “Malibu Servo”*), Grant and Rebecca work their magic with our audience and a cheesy movie. Naturally, we also had some really cool pre-recorded pieces from Kinga and Max to help us bring to life the complete world of MST3K.
*We called Tim "Malibu Servo" because he was our Servo over the summer, on tour. I guess we could have called him "summertime Servo" to be more accurate, but it’s not as funny.
Now, I had a few backstage tasks here and there. I would occasionally help with Gypsy, or lend a hand with props behind the desk. But mostly during the show, I would go out into the house and see how it all felt sitting in the audience... and I gotta tell you, that was just magical. I took notes, listened, marveled at Jonah and the bots and loved every minute of it.
One big opportunity for this tour was to demonstrate – to ourselves and to all of you – a “vision” of what the live show could be like, and to convince everyone that MST3K could be recreated as a great stage experience. Prior to that, it felt like our other experiments with live movie riffing were mostly effective, but structurally, felt more like “table reads” of an MST3K episode. Which is a great time, but I still wanted to see if we could re-create the full-blown Mystery Science Theater experience.
Another big opportunity the tour gave us, was the chance for the new cast to spend a few months working together as an ensemble to improve the show – a lot more time than we ever get to rehearse together for the recorded episodes!
That part of the experience was amazing. From the beginning, we moved from getting the show to its feet, to each person learning their roles, to being able to take that group effort and then using the force and energy of the bus tour, and ultimately, being able to anticipate and lean into the show with the intensity of each new day. This was like nothing I had ever experienced.
I also got to know these people and admire them for completely different reasons than just being really funny. I watched as they became an even stronger ensemble before my eyes, and – assuming we get the chance to make more episodes or go on tour again – I think you'll be able to see the difference too.
(And, just so you know, we’re already talking about doing another tour next year, and getting to some of the cities we weren't able to visit this time!)
So yeah, long story short: doing this tour has been among the most enjoyable and rewarding six weeks of my professional life. And, whether you were able to come see the show or not, I have you backers to thank for that. So, thank you.
And, since I'm thanking people, this is also the perfect time to thank our very perfect road crew:
Tour Manager: Gerard Hentz
Production Manager: Joe Werner
Lighting Design: Chris Galante
Sound: Ethan Chambers
Transportation: Darrel Henderson
Merch: Easy Partners
Anyway, that's all for this time, so again: thanks! I know some of you are impatient for answers about Season 12, but here's how I see it: between the Kickstarter, the Netflix series, the live tour, the comic, and – hopefully – lots more, the world of MST3K is becoming more dimensional, and going to more interesting places, than ever! I'm glad you're coming with us.
Cheers and Thanks,
Joel
Your 12-Hour EXCLUSIVE Backer Window for MST3K LIVE TOUR Tickets is TODAY from 10AM to 10PM, Local Venue Time!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 08:02:20 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
MST3K LIVE: The "Watch Out for Snakes!" Tour UPDATE
almost 7 years ago
– Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:00:32 AM
Dear MST3K Revival League,
Hello Kickstarter Brethren!
It is actually I, Lesley Kinzel, delivering a message from Joel, who is out there helping sling fresh hot riffage to all the lucky folks attending a show on the live tour. He wanted me to pass along this missive! I also have some links for you if you’ll be attending San Diego Comic-Con. Read on!
An early morning picture from the stage at St. Louis’ beautiful Touhill PAC.
Greetings from the road!
Thank you for helping make it possible to bring MST3K live to cities across the country. It’s been an amazing two weeks since the cast and vision team first met up at Alternaversal headquarters to start rehearsing the MST3K Live: Watch Out for Snakes! touring show.
Also, special thanks to the backers who joined us in Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Washington DC, Columbus, and St. Louis and received us so enthusiastically on the first leg of the tour.
Your response to the new shows has been truly amazing. It’s been great talking with so many of you at the VIP meet and greets.
I know a lot of you have been wondering what the live show is like. Experiencing MST3K “in the room,” hanging out inside the Satellite of Love with Jonah and the bots for two hours, enjoying world class movie riffing with fellow MSTies… it’s “MST3K immersion” like you’ve never experienced it before.
For me the greatest impact is seeing Jonah and the bots live and in person! When they first appear after the MST3K theme song, it is truly a thrilling moment. Jonah, Hampton, and Tim are at the top of their game as movie riffers, and I’m impressed that they’re only getting better as the tour unfolds…
Speaking of press, there’s been a lot, but here’s just a snippet, this one recently posted, a review of the NYC shows.
We hope you’ll be able to join us as we wind our way across the country and back, or tell your friends who live near these areas. You can access tickets here:
