I'm a huge fan of the 90s cult show Mystery Science Theater 3000. The basic gist of the show is that an ordinary guy (Joel Robinson or Mike Nelson, played by Joel Hodgson and Michael J. Nelson, respectively) gets launched into space and forced to watch movies ranging from cheesy to downright terrible aboard what is known as the Satellite Of Love. While watching, the guy riffs, wisecracks, and generally makes fun of the movie du jour with two robots (Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot) aiding him. It's hard to talk about the history of the show when you're trying to introduce it to someone, since it's gone through quite a few cast and format changes over the years it's been on the air.
It's also hard to know what episode to use as a good starting point for the show. However, I feel that a good starting point is through the shorts that are shown before certain movies, since they're not as long as the films but are a good introduction to what riffing entails.
A little note, by the way, Tom Servo is sitting on the left, Joel or Mike is in the center, and Crow is sitting on the right. There, hope we've avoided some potential confusion with that.
So anyway, here's a selection of some of my personal favorites when it comes to shorts:
A Case Of Spring Fever
From: 1012- Squirm
This was my personal introduction to the show as well as the final short that was featured on the show. It involves this poor dope who wishes that he never has to deal with springs again, only to accidentally summon Coily The Spring Sprite (who I swear is voiced by Pinto Clovig) who grants his wish. Realizing that a world without springs would, well, kinda suck, he takes back his wish and proceeds to preach about his newfound wisdom about springs.
Mr. B Natural
From: 319- War Of The Colossal Beast
Easily the most famous of the MST3K shorts for one reason: Mr. B Natural (who is played by a woman) and his/her incredible flamboyance. So anyways, the sexually androgynous spirit of music helps this nerdy boy learn about musical education and the benefit of the right instruments.
Gumby In: Robot Rumpus
From: 912- The Screaming Skull
As someone who was a fan of Gumby growing up, I really enjoyed this riffing and it makes me wish that the crew riffed on more animated shorts. In this outing, Gumby gets robots to do his lawn work but they run amuck, so he has to stop them. The ending traumatized the bots so much that they viciously attacked the short later on in the episode.
Body Care And Grooming
From: 510- The Painted Hills
The last short featuring Joel before he left the show, this PSA going over body care for adolescents manages to get some fun riffing from the guys.
Keeping Clean And Neat
From: 613- The Sinister Urge
Man, if people of the 50s were really THIS obsessed with cleanliness and neatness, it makes me glad to be a child of the 90s! Anyways, another PSA for body care with some more fun riffing.
Johnny At The Fair
From: 419- The Rebel Set
This little kid ditches his parents at the Canadian National Expedition and proceeds to explore the sights and sounds. We get some hilariously dark riffing from Joel and the Bots in the process.
Cheating
From: 515- The Wild Wild World Of Batwoman
Ya gotta love whenever someone makes a PSA designed to scar viewers and make the subject seem like the worst possible thing imaginable. A school boy manages to cheat his way to the top, but when he's caught, he's ostracized and it seems like his life is practically ruined. The dark lighting and atmosphere certainly doesn't help matters either. During this movie's host segments, (which occur in between the movie so as to provide breaks for the characters) Mike and the bots satirized this short mercilessly.
Circus On Ice
From: 421- Monster A Go-Go
Monster A Go-Go is easily the worst thing that was ever riffed on MST3K, but at least it had a delightfully dark riffing of a short to be paired up with. I wasn't sure how long Disney has been on ice, (sources say 1981 was when it first started,) but apparently somebody decided to make a circus themed ice show long before and, from the looks of it, the final result didn't blend well.
Alphabet Antics
From: 307- Daddy-O
Leave it to the guys on the Satellite Of Love to get a lot of mileage out of a whimsical and often unusual alphabet themed short for children.
Aquatic Wizards
From: 315- Teenage Caveman
An announcer tries to flaunt the marvels of water skiing. Joel and the bots proceed to mock it.
Catching Trouble
From: 315- Teenage Caveman
Hoo golly, this one is pretty damn uncomfortable. It doesn't stop Joel and the bots from coming up with some hilarious riffs, but man, if you hate animal abuse, this might be kinda hard to sit through. So anyways, this spineless creep named Ross torments snakes, a bobcat and two bear cubs before capturing them and selling them to the zoo, and it's exploited in the worst way possible. Even Joel and the bots acknowledge just how wrong it all is.
But to help cope with the above short, here was the host segment that followed right after it, where Joel, Tom and Crow proceed to give Ross a taste of his own medicine.
A couple of city kids spend the summer at their uncle's farm. I love how Mike, Tom and Crow try to make it seem like the kids' time at the farm is absolutely miserable and that they're even missing out on some things back home.
A Date With Your Family
From: 602- Invasion U.S.A.
Ah, more 50's wholesomeness. Let's watch Mike and the bots tear apart the outdated and questionable ethics of having dinner with the family.
Last Clear Chance
From: 520- Radar Secret Service
This short on traffic safety, particularly around railroad tracks, is one of those shorts that actually managed to outshine the film that it was paired with.
The Truck Farmer
From: 507- I Accuse My Parents
This short involving modern (at least modern at that time) farming techniques gets some glorious riffing from Joel and the bots.
Progress Island USA
From: 621- The Beast Of Yucca Flats
A short travel documentary that's clearly from the 70s promoting Puerto Rico and all it has to offer. The riffing is funny, of course, but one thing I will give the short is that I do love the music they used for it.
Until next time, keep circulating the tapes (or video links, or whatever.)
All Artwork And Videos belong to Dwayne "Cheeks" Gissendanner
Dwayne “Cheeks” Gissendanner (a.k.a. 80s90sicon, Orbillenium,
Orbcreation) is an artist who loves old-school stuff, namely cartoons, TV shows
and music from the 80s and 90s. Over on Youtube, he became known for creating a
really well-edited video series called “Y2K After Effects”, where he points out
where things went wrong after the turn of the millennium, in terms of the
entertainment industry, fanbases, humanity, and other things. He has currently
shifted his focus from making these videos to working on his artwork and making
plans to create cartoons. As a fan of this video series, as well as a fan of
his incredibly awesome artwork, with its eccentric coloring, stylistic drawing,
and that retro atmosphere, I see a lot of potential for the guy and I felt like
getting to know him a little more and letting people know a little bit about
him as well. So later on last year, I had the good fortune to be able to interview him through DA notes and learn some more about his creativity and insight.
LK: Your hobbies seem to consist of drawing, skating, video
editing and old school stuff, from what I know of. Do you have any other
hobbies or interests that I didn’t mention?
DG: Actually you pretty much got them all. There are times
when I do Bboy but not much.
LK: What convinced you that the entertainment industry was
going down the tubes?
DG: The day I turned on the TV and realized that I hated
every channel I turned to. There was nothing of my interest I wanted to see and
nothing to my liking on the radio. When I saw what kind of cartoons they were
producing nowadays, I started looking up old school Nickelodeon videos and
realized that entertainment was so much better back then. This was when I first
discovered YouTube back in ‘06. I then started to watch videos of people
ranting about today's entertainment. So I figured I could take a stab at making
rant videos of my own. That was the start of the Y2K series.
LK: You sure Nostalgia Filter has nothing to do with this,
that entertainment really was better back then in comparison to now?
DG: This is my first time hearing about this Nostalgia Filter.
Most of my findings in terms of the way things were then and now were based on
what I liked to watch and listen to, watching tons of Youtube videos, reading
the comments on the videos and watching many rants on why other people thought
that the past was better. Everyone has their own reasons for why they believe
the past is better, some of them being the same as others. For me, it was all
about the atmosphere. It's not just about TV shows and music, but the
atmosphere that encompasses TV shows and music. The way people dressed, the
kind of shows they watched and the Saturday morning experience of being able to
wake up early to your favorite bowl of cereal and cartoons after having been
enslaved through five days of school knowing that after that last Friday school
bell, Saturday was a day that you earned and you treated it like it was your
day to be a kid with no limits and full fledged childhood freedom. The way
everybody connected with one another, the type of clothes they wore, the
trends, and the people that would be looked at as heroes and idols, motivators
that would help inspire their future (Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Hulk Hogan,
etc.)
LK: Is there anything about today’s world that you do like?
DG: The only thing that interests me about today's society
is technology. To me, it soared high while humanity failed, for it’s what we do
on computers and phones now, and all the technical devices we have at our
disposal that has made life better and easier.
LK: So the increased technology interests you the most about
today. Is there nothing in the modern entertainment industry that you like or
that interests you in the slightest?
DG: Not really. There may be some rare moments when
something might catch my eye, but it doesn't happen often.
LK: Who or what would you consider influences for your
artwork?
LK: So basically, 80s and 90s cartoons, promos, commercials,
TV shows, and other stuff from your childhood, right? And do you consider
people that can draw better than you to be some of the animators and
cartoonists that created some of those shows you grew up on?
DG: Yes, and yes. Animators, comic book artists, Youtube
artists and people on deviantART contribute to my inspirations.
LK: I’ve heard you talk some about cartoons and TV shows,
but I don’t think I’ve ever heard your thoughts on movies. What would you
consider to be some of your favorite movies?
DG: Well, I'm not much of a movie person, but I do have some
favorites, like House Party, the Back to the Future trilogy, Friday, Space Jam,
A Goofy Movie, and The Lion King, just to name a few.
LK: What about favorite TV shows, cartoons and/or anime, if
any of the latter?
DG: Favorite cartoons are Ren and Stimpy, (the very show
that got me into drawing,) Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Doug, Rocko's
Modern Life, Pepper Ann, Garfield, What-a-Cartoon Show, Dragonball Z, and there
are many others I can't name. As far as shows go, pretty much 90% of anything
Nickelodeon had on in the early to mid 90s and most of everything that came on
Cartoon Network.
LK: What about the other 10% with Nickelodeon? Care to tell
me that?
DG: The other 10% would be Hey Dude, Space Cases, Welcome
Freshman and Aaahh! Real Monsters. Although Welcome Freshman and Hey Dude had
damn good intro music, I found myself turning the channel after the intro was
over. There was just something about the shows that I just couldn't connect
with and the same goes for Aaahh! Real Monsters. Given how much I loved
cartoons then, I just couldn't get into that show. Space Cases, I didn't like
at all. I didn't like the intro or anything about the show. I think the only
reason I thought that show might grab my attention was because it had the Black
Power Ranger as one of the casting members.
LK: From what I gathered from your Y2K After Effects videos,
you seem to like rock and hip-hop from the 80s and 90s when it comes to music.
What do you consider your favorite bands/artists? Are there any other music
genres that you like?
DG: I did have a lot of favorite rock bands like Metallica,
Static-X and Slipknot, and I have a passion for "old school" hip-hop.
These days, I pay no attention to what's on the radio and I can't remember the
last time I saw a full-length music video on TV, let alone watched much TV.
These days you can tell when people just don't care to put any effort in music,
especially when the music videos are full of materialistic stuff and no real
music. Nowadays, I listen to underground hip-hop, unknown artists and music on Youtube.
As far as a favorite genre of music goes, I always had a thing for Smooth Jazz
and I have recently got into Lounge music. Keeps me calm, and I enjoy being
relaxed.
LK: Ok, so basically that would represent most of your
opinion in regards to music. Any other bands/artists that you would consider
favorites?
DG: Paul Hardcastle (Smooth Jazz), Damu Fudgemunk (Youtube
Hip-Hop artist), and Ethereal Universe (Youtube artist)
LK: I’ve heard some of the music you’ve created. Pretty cool
stuff. May I ask what inspired you to try your hand at creating music?
DG: I'm no musician, but I just got tired of hearing what
everyone's definition of music was these days. So I took a stab at making my
own music. I knew what type of sounds I wanted to hear, so I would attempt making
my own music tracks.
LK: Do you have any original characters or concepts that
you’ve come up with for shows and that kinda thing?
DG: Well for the most part, I haven't come up with any
concepts for TV and stuff like that. I don't have any intention to put my
characters on TV and what not. My goal is to build my Orbillennium name as a
way to host quality art (my cartoon characters) and quality videos, like the
stuff on my Youtube and deviantART accounts.
LK: I was going to ask you about your goals and that kinda
thing, but that's a fairly decent answer as to your intentions. Do you have any
other goals or other specific ones in mind? Also, about the name
"Orbillennium", where did you come up with that?
DG: Well, my other goals would be to make comic books and/or
online comics, videos and animations with my characters. The name Orbillennium
came from me being tired of how this millennium has been in terms of humanity
and entertainment. I thought it would be kinda cool to create my own millennium
rather than just some company. The "Orb" name comes from an idea I
had for a comic book company name that I came up with in high school called Orb
Comics. But as time when on and things got more crappy in society, the “Orb”
name soon branched into its own millennium.
LK: So I take it you’ve been trying to come up with some
ways to combat these “Y2K After Effects”. How are you going on that?
DG: Well so far, not very good, given all the financial woes
I’ve had and not having much motivation or free time to draw, with work and
personal stuff and whatnot. I'm sure that sooner or later, things will start to
go good for me and I can rise to the occasion of dealing with these Y2K After
Effects.
LK: Oh geez, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I hope for the
best, since I see a lot of potential in you as an artist. I'd ask about what
you do for work and all that, but that's most likely another question for
another time. Anyways, next question: what do you use to create your artwork?
DG: I usually use HB pencils, Faber Castell drawing pens,
and depending on the mood I'm in, I will either color it by hand with Prismacolor
pencils or markers on Bristol board paper or I'll scan it in my computer and
color it in Photoshop.
LK: How about your videos and music? How do you make those?
DG: Depending on what type of video it is will determine how
I will approach it. For example, those Y2K videos I did. Everything starts with
inspiration and motivation. I would watch several videos whether it was based
on nostalgia or rant videos. In my head I begin to create a story of what I
want it to look like. So with careful planning and editing, I try to bring out
the scare factor of why things are the way they are in entertainment today.
With the music I make it's no different. The only difference being that it's
from a musical perspective. I am no musician, so I create by ear. I know what
kind of vibe I'm looking for and what sounds I want to hear so I just start
trying out different things until I come across something that compliments what
I'm looking for. I don't have any high tech equipment or anything like that.
All I have is a Midi keyboard and music software and so far, that is all I've
really needed.
LK: Ok, but what software do you use to make your videos?
DG: I use Vegas Movie Studio 10 to edit videos, and I use FL
Studio to make my music.
LK: Also, when I asked about your videos, you mentioned
trying to "bring out the scare factor of why things are the way they are
in entertainment today." So was it your intention to "scare people
straight" with these videos? The Teeny Bopper Bacteria one in particular I
felt was pretty terrifying.
DG: My intention wasn't to scare people senseless, but to give
somewhat of a scare as to where entertainment is nowadays and where it's
headed. And yeah, the teeny bopper bacteria video was illustrating the fail of
the human race and who today's lack of entertainment is catering to. But the
way I put it together, it looked like a virus that was spreading and infecting
everyone that actually appreciates quality entertainment.
LK: I was talking to a friend about the bumpers, promos, and
commercials on Nickelodeon back in the 80s and 90s, and how there was something
in the classic Nickelodeon that the modern Nick sadly lacks that I couldn't
quite put my finger on. He suggested that it was probably the surrealism and
over-exaggeration in the look of the channel and that nowadays, the bumpers and
commercials want to be as plain and generic as possible. Would you say that's
part of the reason, aside from the lack of quality programming and the teeny
bopper targeting, why most of these networks have fallen from grace?
DG: Well, that is true. There is also the overprotective
parents who worry about everything being right these days and because there are
a lot of rules out there nowadays in reference to what they can show on TV. And
then there are the networks that are too afraid to take risk with some of the
content that they showcase on TV, and are in constant fear of lawsuits and
other overprotective parents complaining about kids’ entertainment.
LK: Ok, I've asked about some of the aspects of
entertainment like cartoons, TV shows, movies, music and that kinda thing, but
do you have any opinions about video games or are you not too familiar with
gaming to have anything to say about them?
DG: Well I haven't put much in what's going on in the video
game world other than the constant complaining and nagging about the graphics
being what makes the game instead of the gameplay itself and what not so I
can't say much about the gaming industry in general.
LK: I see. I take it you're not into video games all that
much, then.
DG: Well, I'm not much of a gamer. I'm trying to get back
into it but it's a slow process.
LK: Lately, I've been checking out old 80s and 90s
commercials, and I noticed how they actually tend to be more genuinely
entertaining than most of today's commercials. Do you think there's a reason
for that as well?
DG: If you look at some of the old commercials while there
is an emphasis to promote and/or sell something, it doesn't feel like it was
forced on the consumer. It feels more like it was done for fun....at least
that's how I see it. It's almost as if commercials were made to entertain
rather than sell something. And with less strict rules during that time and
less influence from soccer moms and other overprotective parties on what type
of content can be put on TV, it seems like people had more freedom and more fun
to make commercials the way they did back then.
LK: Looking back at your response to my question of what
convinced you that the entertainment industry was going down the tubes, you
mentioned that you felt entertainment was much better back then. In what ways
would you say they were better than today's entertainment?
DG: There was a better sense of creativity and fun. It felt
like people weren't trying to impress corporations or parents. It felt like
they were trying to impress themselves, which is why the entertainment had more
quality.
LK: One would figure that, going by your other Y2K videos,
you were just an overly nostalgic adult, but your “Childhood Innocence” Y2K
After Effects Video seems to show that, as well as the state of entertainment,
you feel concern for modern youth as well. I bet you consider childhood a very
important time in someone’s life. Care to explain why you feel that?
DG: Everything that happens during your childhood years
creates what will become of you in your teen and adult years. There’s always
the old saying that everything begins at home. When you hear of kids who are
disruptive and somewhat of a menace to society, it usually occurs from how they
were raised as a child. Not everything is based on childhood, but a good
majority of what happens in your childhood shapes you into what you will become
later on in your life.
Entertainment kept a lot of us out of trouble and kept us
all in a fun atmosphere making us want to do fun stuff, go out doors, etc. Some
of that entertainment also taught morals and lessons in life. But when that 's
taken away, you're left with menacing kids that cause trouble and are sucked in
by peer pressure.A good example
of this is in the "Childhood Innocence" video. Near the end of the
video there is a segment that discusses the peer pressures of what kids wear
and how they act around others because of infatuations with certain celebrities
and the fact that everyone thinks more about relationships and sex at a
ridiculously young age than they do about where they will be in life.
LK: You certainly seem passionate about this, I can tell. Is
it a fear of yours that children would grow up too fast?
DG: Well, I think that it’s already happened, but I do feel
that it could get much worse.
LK: Oh dear. Like how so? Do you have any way you plan to
prevent that and the other “growing up too fast” issues through your work?
DG: There isn't really much that can be done. Like the times
change, people change as well. The only real way that things can get better is
if they start learning to live better than they are now which will also take
the help of parents who can raise them right and as far as entertainment is
concerned, doing things independently like what I'm doing now may very well be
the only way because trying to rely on corporations (as you can see by the way
television entertainment is) isn't gonna do much good.
To end things on a positive note, he has just recently
started a new website for the Orbillenium name, which can be found here: Orbillennium
Definitely check it out when you can. And to Dwayne, thank you for agreeing to
do this interview and I hope you will be able to one day let your creativity shine for
all to see.
