For longtime MSTies as Thanksgiving approaches our thoughts turn of course to MST3K and how we miss those cable network Turkey Day marathons. For many years now I’ve been making my own Turkey Day marathons at home since the event is no longer broadcast on cable. It’s become a traditional bit of fun around my house. We just stay home and have a nice relaxing day together, me and my wife and son. I roast a turkey dinner for us and we watch multiple episodes of MST3K on home video. These days I let my son help choose which episodes to watch. I often start on the Wednesday night before just like the great, early Comedy Central marathons used to do. Sometimes we play board games while watching. Favorite episodes around my home include Rocketship X-M, Catalina Caper, Wild Rebels, First Spaceship On Venus and Space Mutiny to name but a few.
I thought it might make an amusing Satellite News weekend discussion thread to ask other MSTies how they spend Thanksgiving. Do they stay home and watch the show? How many episodes do they try and watch and which ones are their favorites? Are there any episodes that always make it into their personal Thanksgiving marathons? Which episodes if any do they avoid for their Turkey Day celebrations?
For me, Thanksgiving is the beginning of a two-part holiday tradition: I watch “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (I may watch the Cinematic Titanic version this year) on Thanksgiving, and “Santa Claus” on Christmas day.
What are your traditions? Happy Thanksgiving!
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Although nothing to do with Thanksgiving itself, my favorite MST3K for the holidays is “MST3K: The Movie” which bashes “This Island Earth.” Followed closely by a well deserved trashing of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”. Other episodes are mixed-in too.
On Thanksgiving, I’m generally too busy to watch MST3K (I’m a football fan as well as a MiSTie, and three NFL games in one day is pretty darned tempting) but I do love to pop in “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” every Christmas. (This Christmas, of course, I will have two versions of it and “Santa Claus” as well. I’m spoilt for choice. :) )
I have such fond memories of the Turkey Day Martahons from Comedy Central. I was stationed in Hawaii then, and I would put an 8 hour VHS tape in and record, record, record.
I told my son (who is now a huge fan of the show) about Turkey Day, and he mentioned how much he would have loved to have seen them.
So I am going to try and find the VCR, and my old tapes and we will either watch those, or if they cannot be located, have our own marathon with the DVD’s we have.
As I have 25 episodes spanning every season except K, 1, and 7, it’s definitely a marathon for me. Unfortunately, i’m the only true MSTie in the house, so I watch ’em alone.
I NEED TO FIND A GIRL! :cry:
Happy Holidays to all fellow MSTies! (well, and everyone else too, but especially MSTies). Like John Seavey in #2, there is too much family stuff going on to have a marathon (kids home from college, dinner at the in-laws etc.), but I will fit in at least one episode. No specific episode each year, just whatever I feel like tomorrow. For Christmas, however, we will screen “A Patrick Swayze Christmas” song, if not the entire episode.
On an unrelated note (to Thanksgiving, that is), I emailed Satellite News about a week or so ago, but have not heard back from them. I have a whole bunch of Creem magazines, and in the October 1984 issue they have an article and interview with a 22-yr-old Joel Hodgson- would anybody be interested? If there is enough interest, I would love to see it posted on Satellite News (although I’m not sure how copyright laws work in relation to something like that). So anyway, just wanted to put that out there. Again, Happy Holidays!
Thanksgiving, while the turkey is cooking, I watch the MST Scrapbook tape I got at the last conventio-con. It is 1.5 hrs. and runs through the entire history of the show, including turkey day bumpers. Then, the main course…”Night of the Blood Beast”, the turkey day episode with Forrester’s thanksgiving dinner. If there is room after the pumpkin pie, I watch whichever episode just feels right. This year, I will include in my thanks Shout Factory. The next set will include NotBB with all the trimmings. Christmas, of course, is a double feature of both xmas eps.
I, too, must watch SCCTM, followed by “Manos”. I get up at 6am on Thanksgiving to start cooking, so by the time guests leave at about 7pm, I’m ready for a nice bottle of Riesling. SCCTM just perfectly kicks off the holiday season, and “Manos” makes one think about what might happen if one shows up as an unexpected overnight guest, Thanksgiving or not. “Hey, got room for 3 more? Can you set 3 more places at the table?” Yes, right after I INTRODUCE YOU TO THE MASTER….
Sorry. Just a fond wish. :evil:
Happy Thanksgiving!
I don’t follow Ball of Foot so the MST3K Turky Days were a terrific alternative. It made perfect background chatter when you have a house full of guests and it always seemed to draw the kids and adults into talking with each other.
These days I still pop them in when the house settles down. I don’t know why, but I usually opt for Prince of Space or Space Mutiny.
I don’t have any real tradition of watching MST3K on Thanksgiving. I am also a fan of football and it has a longer history for me. This year however, I will be a passenger on a long drive and will be taking along at least a half dozen episodes to watch during the ride. If my fellow travellers don’t like it, they can kiss my hinder. It’s my DVD player.
This year the Packers are playing on Thanksgiving so I’ll be glued to my in-laws tv. My in-laws have no idea what MST is so I don’t even bring it up. I only watch 1 episode a month anyways so it’s no big deal but I do remember the turkey day marathons on Comedy Channel and before I was married I’d spend half the day watching those.
John Seavey, there’s only two NFL games on T-day… or do you still count the Lions as an NFL team? (cue: rim-shot — I live in MI and am a Lions fan, or at least try to be).
No extended family on Thanksgiving Day, that’ll wait until Saturday and Sunday (drag). So it’s just me and my wife for our marathon. No set episodes, but two definites are “The Day the Earth Froze” and “Jack Frost”. Maybe we’ll re-watch the two newest Rifftrax DVDs, “Voodoo Man” and “Planet of the Dinosaurs”, the latter being just an awful excuse for a film.
Stoneman, I think it’d be cool if Satellite News could show the scans of the Creem article.
I watch “The Giant Claw”.
I haven’t gotten around to getting a copy of “Blood Freak” yet.
I’ve done personl marathons now for several years. However I don’t go 30+ hours straight like Comedy Central used to. Instead I’ll watch 10-12 episodes over the course of the entire 4 day weekend. That way I still get normal sleep. Last year my theme was season 4. (My personal favorite season. At that point everything was firing on all cylinders and it was morre or less pre-Joel vs Jim strife.) I watched every episode available on Rhino and Shout Factory at the time. It was cool in that you picked up on some of the season long running gags and in-season callbacks that you might miss by watching them on a normal broadcast schedule.
This year I think I’ll do Season 3 and since last year I’ve begun trading unreleased episodes so I have a few more than just the Rhinos and Shouts. One of these years I’ll probably recreate a past Turkey Day using the broadcast schedules on this website.
I don’t have any Thanksgiving MST3K-related traditions, but when the family all gets together for Christmas, my sister and I have a tradition of watching the two Santa Claus episodes while we wrap presents for the others. I recall it beginning when we were in college and both of us worked retail jobs on the side, which can really dampen one’s enthusiasm for Christmas. MST3K’s cynical tribute to the holidy seemed to help negate our memories of long lines of bickering, stressed shoppers. Now we simply continue the tradition for fun.
When I first “discovered” MST3K it was around the time when Adam West hosted Turkey Day on Comedy Central. I had VHS recordings going at my mother-in-laws house and my nephews house. I was driving back and forth at all hours of the day/night to get all the episodes. That was about the time my in-laws started to have doubts about my sanity. I like to watch those tapes on Thanksgiving. From Kitten With a Whip to Zombie Nightmare.
Too many people over on Thanksgiving Day to watch in peace. The night before I’m going to try the Netflix party mode to watch some episodes on X-Box with the family that are fellow misties.
This is the third year in a row where I’ve been re-creating the Turkey Days, to the best of my ability. I have all the links. I have all the episodes. I usually start about a week before Thanksgiving and watch one or two episodes a night.
I think it actually works better when you have it playing all day and MST becomes a great background. You tune in for a hour, go about your business and then come back for a bit.
This year, we are recreating the 1993 Turkey Day. Last night, we watched Mitchell. Tonight, depending upon when I get home from work, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die and, hopefully, Beginning of the End. I do miss the Dr F. and TV’s Frank links, though.
If we were having the holiday in our house, I’d have MST playing all day. But, tomorrow, before we go out, I’ll finish it up with Teenage Strangler.
The first four Turkey Days (’91-’94) all aired during my college years so they hold a big place in my heart.
Right after this finishes, I am going to spend the first few weeks of December plowing through Season 3 from beginning to end.
As I have all the episodes at my disposal, I am recreating the first Comedy Central Turkey Day with the help of my “Scrapbook” tape.
I’ve just gotten underway with “Ring of Terror”.
I try to watch some of the episodes that premiered on Turkey Day like Night of the Blood Beast and Zombie Nightmare then if there’s time get in a few of my favorites in a mini marathon.
#5 Stoneman
“For Christmas, however, we will screen “A Patrick Swayze Christmas” song, if not the entire episode.”
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Woo-hoo! Alert Tom Servo. It’s become a classic! :mrgreen:
Hey Icky Elf (#11), what do you call 40 guys watching the Super Bowl? The Lions! (Rim shot) Har! Har! Har!
Four years ago I really didn’t know Thanksgiving was the MST3K holdiay. It just so happened that I watched the MST version of Godzilla vs. Megalon with a relative (also a fan) that Thanksgiving and realized later that I had unintentionally participated in a fan tradition.
Ever since then I’ve kept the holiday. The year after I watched Attack of the Eye Creatures (which I hadn’t seen before) and The Starfighters and last year I watched The Day The Earth Froze and Outlaw (both new to me).
This year I’ve been watching the Gamera episodes in order for the last few days. I’d seen only the first Gamera and vs. Gaos before this. Tonight is Gamera vs. Guiron and tomorrow I’ll watch Gamera vs. Zigra and Incredible Melting Man – maybe more if there is time!
For Thanksgiving, there is nothing I enjoy more than firing up the old vcr and running my MST3K “holiday” tape while I wrap presents.
The episodes on the tape are:
Night of the Blood Beast (with the Turkey Day host segments, natch)
Santa Claus (good old fashioned nightmare fu- uh, holiday fun, yeah!)
Gunslinger (’cause it just happens to be on there)
Teenage Crime Wave (’cause hey, it takes place during Thanksgiving!)
I won’t be home on Thanksgiving, and it will probably be too late when I come home to watch any episodes, but I might watch some tonight, and on the weekend. Haven’t decided what episodes. Since I’m planning to get the next Shout! set, I probably won’t watch Night of the Blood Beast again until I get that. Maybe some Christmas episodes now and Thanksgiving eps on Christmas? :roll:
I do know I’ll be having a little marathon after Christmas. My mom was wondering what to get for me, and I told her to just e-mail Sky and buy a few episodes. :mrgreen: So, that should be good.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! :cool:
We always watch MST3K on Thanksgiving. For a special treat we have several old tapes of Turkey Day episodes with bumpers. As for Christmas, the tradition is Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on Christmas Eve and Santa Claus for Christmas day.
My first MST3K tape was six hours of Turkey Day. still have fond memories of those days.
Unfortunately, I work on Thanksgiving Day, live tv, rake in some big holiday pay bucks, but i’ll be thinkin’ mistie and watch some later. :)
I don’t really celebrate MST on Thanksgiving. There’s too much football, food, and family obligations to uphold to. I discovered MST when I was 15, in 1995, and I have fond memories of popping in an 8 hour VHS tape and recording the T-Day marathon while we went to my Aunt’s house, and the subsequent excitement of coming home and watching said tape, while popping in a new one to record the rest of the marathon. Every new episode I hadn’t seen was a great treat (candied yams). All the reruns that I already had on tape were kind of a small bummer (what, only TWO kinds of pie??). Awww, the memories. :smile:
I really celebrate MST during the Christmas season, watching the usual two episodes (you know which ones) and as many others as I can deem to fit in during the weeks leading up to X-mas. I also religiously watch Gremlins, Nightmare before Christmas, and Rankin & Bass’ Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer every year. Sometimes I kick it up a notch and watch Die Hard. Man, now THAT’S a great Christmas flick.
Sorry, getting ahead of myself. I’ll save the rest for the Christmas discussion thread.
To everyone out there, be you a MSTie or not, have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.
Oh, and one last thing:
GO PACKEERRRRRRRRSSSSS!!!!!
Happy Turkey Day! It’s offish here in Central Time.
I usually don’t watch full episodes beginning to end, but I do load up a playlist (um..er..stack up some tapes by the vcr…) and leave it running all day for the ambiance. It creates a Zen-like sensation for the whole day and puts me in the right mood to tackle Black Friday.
For Christmas, I usually gather friends to watch Santa Claus Conquers the Martians at some point in mid-December. A MST-less Christmas Eve is spent watching my old tape of Godzilla 1985. I have no idea why; I have simply done this since childhood.
Well, two of my brothers celebrate with their own families, so now it’s down to my Mom and the two other brothers for the day. This year, though, we had to have dinner on Wednesday night, since my brother Pat had to go to Louisville with the RU football team for tomorrow’s game. My Mom did the cooking, since the rest of us can boil water and turn on a microwave, but not much more than that.
In any case, I’ve set aside three experiments, the first run of Turkey Day bumpers, and “The Making of MST3K” for today. That’ll leave room for football, Charlie Brown, WKRP, B.C. and Bob Newhart. And I’ll post my annual Thanksgiving article on Even Deeper Blurting, and help my Mom with the dishes.
Not real exciting, but I once spent Thanksgiving in the hospital recovering from surgery. This is better.
Well – I COULD have been watching some eps today after all. The house I’m going to, they told us to come around THREE. :mad:
That’s a little late to get started. Maybe I’ll pop an ep in now and watch some of it. (It’s been a slow draggy day so far, gotta get up early for work tomorrow – ick – so I slept late today).
BTW – I’m STARVING!!! :evil:
Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. :grin:
Well, I have been going through some transitions lately, some good, some not so good- but I will be watching episodes both today and this weekend.
Here is my fantasy list for a 48 hour (32 ninety minute offerings) mstie marathon:
Wild Rebels
Touch of Satan
Daddy-O
Kitten with a whip
The Beatniks
The Mole People
Fugitive Alien I
Jack Frost
Warrior of the lost world
The Final Sacrifice
It conquered the world
Time Chasers
Master Ninja I
Boggy Creek II
Teenagers from outer space
Track of the moon beast
Fugitive Alien II
Girls Town
Time of the Apes
Santa Claus
Santa Claus conquers the Martians
Master Ninja II
Hobgoblins
Manos: Hands of Fate
Werewolf
I accuse my parents
The Leech woman
The Day the earth froze
Puma Man
Bride of the monster
Red Zone Cuba
Secret Agent Super Dragon
Thus far have viewed today:
The Beginning of the End
Catalina Caper
Thus far have viewed today:
The Beginning of the End
Catalina Caper
Rocketship X-M
Happy Turkey Day!
Well every day is MST3K Day for me, so I wasn’t quite sure what to watch today, but CHUD.com just published a list of Ten Terrific Turkeys. Devin’s list includes 3 movies featured in recent Rifftrax productions: The Room, The Happening, and Troll 2.
So far today, Space Mutiny, Hercules Against The Moon Men and Godzilla Vs. Megalon. Then a break for good movies, the extended DVD versions of For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, two of my all-time favorite movies. Later I’m hoping to get to Catalina Caper and some other MST3K.
My family and I always watch “Riding with Death” on Thanksgiving. TURKEY VOLUME GUESSING MAN!!
I started collecting MST3K DVD’s just this year, so I don’t have a Thanksgiving Tradition of watching MST3K. But this year, even though it was a busy day, I managed to squeeze in The Creeping Terror. I wanted to continue on with other episodes like Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster and “Manos”: The Hands of Fate, but all of the holiday festivities kicked in. But come next year, I’m gonna have my first MST3K Turkey Day Marathon!
From Sampo’s intro: “I watch “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (I may watch the Cinematic Titanic version this year) on Thanksgiving.”
I am currently watching this now. It’s very good, and different from our beloved Essential. Extended scenes and a new viewpoint riff-wise. No call-backs, that I’ve heard yet. I tried to watch this previously, too soon after watching the O.G. MST version, and couldn’t bear this staid, studio-bound take. But now, with distance, I can appreciate it’s flow.
I’m glad Joel & the Tits will be be releasing some new product soon. The live shows I witnessed were better than the DVDs, so maybe an audio recording of the on-stage riffing will be even more fun.