Favorite Letters Read on the Show.
It might be a limited topic, but it could involve any letter or post card and they don’t even have to be read on the air. Sometimes Joel or Mike get interrupted by something or someone during the letters segment.
My favorite is the postcard read in episode 507: I Accuse My Parents, featuring the Barcorammer, “The perfect date for Tom or Crow.”
I enjoyed the letter read by Mike as Glenn Manning in episode 319- WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST. “‘He sleeps during the movies.’ Who can blame him?” The reading glasses are a great touch.
What’s your pick?
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That was me. Sorry about that.
I know this isn’t what you’re asking for, but to kick things off I must say I enjoyed Crow and Servo as thespians performing a staged reading of the play “Love Letters” in the Atomic Brain episode. Off topic but it does have letters in it!
My favorite letter was the bomb squad robot named Crow at the end of the The Day the Earth Froze episode. With Crow and Servo as spirit winds softly moaning in Joel’s ear, it was pretty amusing to watch. oooohhh aaaahhhh. Joel ripping open the mail bag and the bots starting to panic was a riot, too.
Mine would have to be is when Joel is trying to read some letters and Crow and Tom are coming up with a better ending for The Girl in Lovers Lane.Pygmies are involved,I believe..
I’ve always loved Joel reading the letter at the end of Killer Shrews. The Shrews are encroaching, and Joel is racing as fast as he can to finish. The author of that letter must have been proud! (I hope I’m remembering correctly–there was a letter read during that scene, right?)
The little girl who called Crow ‘Art’ for all the references it ended up getting as the show went on.
I especially like the ones written by young children, who are now in their
20s or 30s. Have they taped them? Shown them to their children?
Oh, and how about the couple who sent them their wedding invitation (sadly,
I believe Gypsy wasn’t able to get away to be a bridesmaid). :(
@ CK — Yeah, I second the first MSTies to have their wedding announcement on the air.
Four words — Master Ninja Theme Song
Can’t remember the episode, but I distinctly remember Joel reading the mail and saying: “What’s a Sampo?”
:-)
The best letter ever, as far as I’m concerned, was in the Creeping Terror episode. I have long wondered who Jason of the Salt Right of Fun is, why fun requires directions and salt, and just what that kid’s deal was!!! Cracks me up every time I see it!!! :laugh:
There’s one where some kid says he hates school and Joel suggests he eat breakfast. That kid is now 34. Wonder how he is doing?
Coming in a close second to Jason of the Salt Right of Fun (rofl!) is the letter at the end of The Beatniks from Cee, who had called her mom a dickweed and was sentenced to write “I will not call my mom a dickweed” a million times. Joel and Servo’s discussion of ‘dickweed’ being a swear word or not is awesome, but Crow calling Tom a dickweed out of the corner of his mouth at the end makes it timeless!
Interesting topic!
When I think of the reading of the letters, two immediately spring to mind for me:
1) The letter that asks Crow to say “Kitties”, and he does. I love how he says “Kitties” too… :-)
2) Beginning of the End. Using all those postcards as Bert I. Gordon effects is hilarious. “The grasshoppers are attacking…The Beatles!”
The one letter from The Giant Gila Monster, simply because of one thing Joel said to Crow:
“She thinks you’re Art.”
Also, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, due to the poignant letter and the Bots’ humming Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
I do sometimes wonder what became of the girl that called Crow “Art”.
The letter from Joel’s last regular episode “The Gunslinger” was kind of interesting. I like how Joel gets confused when the writer says he’s been enjoying all the MST3K episodes given to him by his “supplier”.
From “The Atomic Brain” with the kid who supplied a photograph of his home-made Crow puppet. Then, Mike exclaims it’s really George Lucas.
And then this gem from “Danger Death Ray”.
Mike (reading letter): “How come Servo’s transparent head can’t be seen through when you guys are in the theater.”
Servo: “Um. It’s because of physics. Thank you.”
I think it’s I ACCUSE MY PARENTS where they read the letters ala the Bowry Boys. Great stuff.
Also, whichever episode where the Bots deep-fry the letters – I still kinda bummed you can’t get deep-fied pies at McDonalds like you used to…
Count me in as another fan of Jason of the Salt Right of Fun. Crow’s “Superman’s dead” kills me every time.
I can’t remember which episode it is off the top of my head (“Space Travelers”, maybe? I’m pretty sure it was early Season 4, anyway) where Joel shows off some really well-drawn fan art depicting him and the bots in typical early ’90s gear like backwards baseball hats and the like, and he simply describes it “a picture of us in…clothes.”
“Alien from LA” has another great one from some little kid who came in late and has all the usual questions (what Gypsy is for, why we never see Cambot, why the bots’ arms don’t work, etc.) and Mike gets more and more harried as he reads it and Servo shouts “WHO DO YOU WORK FOR, MAN?”
And having just watched “Godzilla vs. Megalon” last night, I’m also reminded of the one from Jay Bob the super fan who claims to be from an alien race and writes that big long spiel about how his race climbed out of the primordial cheese and prophesied about MST3K’s arrival. “P.S. Crow must have my baby.” (“I can’t, I don’t have a womb.”) Which is then starkly contrasted with some little six year old who writes to Servo with “I like your act do you like your act”.
I think its Godzilla vs Megalon where the guy wants Crow to have his child
Crow: I don’t have a womb
I’ve seen it mentioned but I also love the letter in Master Ninja, all the guys are singing and Joel is trying not to laugh. I wonder if its the singing or the letter.
I loved the one where someone wrote “Superman is a comic book not a graphic novel.” Crow looks at the camera and says “Superman’s dead.” This was right after the Superman comic books(or graphic novels if you may) featured the “Death of Superman” series. It was a big deal at the time, although no one was the least bit surprised when it was soon followed by “The Return of Superman”.
I always like the bit with Mike reading the fake letter with obvious misspellings and getting inexplicably more and more frustrated as he reads it.
“Your my favorite, and ‘you’re’ is misspelled! I would love to meet Tom Serbo and ‘Servo’ is misspelled! THIS IS A FAKE LETTER!”
Which is it? “Code Name Diamond Head”?
The letter at the end of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians about the wife serving in the Coast Guard. Tom’s humming of Hark the Herald Angels Sing gets a little wibbly and as a result so do I.
Of course the right answer is the IS DICKWEED A SWEAR WORD letter! I grew up in Mass and never heard anyone say that til MST3K!! Is that a Mid Western thing?? I think it’s as close to swearing as you can get! I find it perfect for the golf course. You can say something nice and insulting at the same time… Nice shot! Dickweed!
The law student who offers to represent the SoL crew in a lawsuit against Dr. F. and Frank for Unlawful Marooning in Space from The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman.
A Few Favorite Letters:
– Where the kid refers to Crow as “Art”.
– The “natural killer cell vs. Tom Servo” letter.
– The kid’s letter with the “Puma, Puma, Puma” in it.
– The “I like your act do you like your act?” letter.
And how about a followup to the intern crew who
wrote a letter to the SoL?
Was it Tom or Crow who said something like:
“I feel confident knowing they’re going to be doctors.”
Which episode was it when the letter included a picture of a Tom Servo Christmas tree star and Tom said “That must be a weird feeling.”?
I agree with the Jason of the Salt Right of Fun letter. I also like the one where Tom tell the kid that the “K” in MST3K stands for “Karl. He invented lightning.” Don’t recall which episode that is. I think it’s the same letter segment where they accuse the one bot-builder kid of secretly being George Lucas….which is also a funny one.
My favorite was from Peanut at the end of “Thing that Couldn’t Die”. He was sent to the year 2112, and met a nice girl named Ludmila Nelson 0_o! That was the best one. That, or the various wedding invites.
“This letter comes all the way from Iceland–Quick, Crow, what’s the capital of Iceland?”
“Uh, Ice City!”
@21– Yeah, it’s funny that they’d do that, considering they would say “Your” and not “you’re” all the time. They’re pronounced differently, folks!!!!
My favorite, due mostly to the delivery(love that outrageous Bowery Boys accent!) is the one at the end of The Unearthly, where the writer asks how Tom can see the movie “without any peepers?”
Like all right-thinking human beings, I like the letters from little kids the best, especially the ones who sent pictures.
Anyone else remember the one where the kid drew them watching the movie, complete with word-ballooned ‘quips’? “What Is This?” “Who Are You?”
And, of course, “I like your act. Do you like your act?”
Agree with #22, the Christmas letter full of “sophomoric drivel” at the end of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Servo’s humming makes it, plus it’s a feel good cap to a feel great episode.
–
Also
gotta mention,
did anybody else every think that the letters were fake? As a young viewer back in 94-98 (when I was a teen) I was convinced that the letters from kids were all fake. I just couldn’t wrap my head around children “getting” the humor of the show and being fans. As the years have gone on, I realized I was wrong (as we often do) and I wonder what happened to those kids that wrote those letters. Anybody know anybody that had a letter read on the show?
Three off the top of my head: 1)Joel and the one that starts off something like “My who friend…” 2)Jason Of the Salt Right Of Fun. Love Crow going “What the hell is that?” 3)The letter that Mike nearly destroys because he thinks it’s a fake letter. “But it could be a real kid Mike!” “Still it might not be!” *bashes letter*
Which MSTies on here will come forward and claim authorship of a letter read on the air? Let’s hear it!
The only MSTie that had a letter read on the show that we know of today is Teresa Dietzinger who had the lost Superdome segment.
I can’t recall her exact profession, but I think she’s a fashion or costume designer now.
I also just remembered that, while *technically* not a letter….
Back in the KTMA days the little boy who called in and left a message asking Joel and the bots to come to his birthday party.
It was so sweet and Joel and Josh’s response was equally adorable.
^ that’s mine too! Birthday party. That was hilarious. Although, yeah…telephone call. Still counts if you ask me.
Remember the smart-aleck who accused Joel of not really being trapped in space and who called the bots “puppets?” Loved J&TB’s nonchalant response of vague concern for the author’s sanity. “Huh. Takes all kinds to make a world, I guess.”
I never cared too much for the letters. I can’t recall any of them.
The letter Frank wrote, can’t remember the episode. It cracks me up every time watching how excited he gets.
I like the fake letter. I forget, what does he bash it with? Did Mike happen to have a bat in his hands?
I remember waiting forever before I sent a letter asking to be part of the fan club but I still ended up being member 1935. How many are earlier than that? One of the newsletters joked that the first 2000 members are now millionaires. I’d just like to say it’s true.
In Giant Gila Monster when Tv’s Frank sent up a drawing of the SoL crew that he drew himself.
The episode with the results of “What is the COOL THING contest” With drawings of such things as an elephant in a hula skirt and the “Trippy Thing”
Joel: “I bet you listen to Rush.”
Some of the cast drawings the children sent in were neat.
I can’t remember which episode it was from, possibly one of the Hercules movies, but I love the bit where Joel is reading a letter by an especially young fan, then puts his/her scribbly drawing up on still-store and Crow comments, “it’s not very good,” landing himself a time-out, if I remember correctly.
( Like “I want to decide who lives and who dies,” this is just one of many beautiful lines that only a puppet could get away with.)
The Art crow letter is iconic, but I also like REKyevic and the letter read during the Master Ninja Theme song.
Has anyone who comments here ever had a letter read? I would think the types of people who wrote letters to the show would probably frequent fan sites these days. If I ever had a letter read I’d probably watch that episode every other day.
Oh yeah, I’d like to also say the letter reading was one of my favorite aspects of the show. Really showed how close to their fans the Brains were and was a sweet touch to the end of the episodes that bridged the Joel mike eras.
@#29: I’m reasonably sure that one was from The Deadly Mantis.
So why did they stop reading letters. I thought
they added a nice touch to the show. On the other
hand, the invention exchnage went on beyond its
expiration date.