In the not too distant future, somewhere in time and space, Mike Nelson and his robot pals are back in that same old place.
For the first time in nearly three decades, Nelson is once again stepping in front of the camera to riff over B-movies on Mystery Science Theater 3000. He’ll be joined once again by Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, and Mary Jo Pehl, with Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff making guest appearances in the final episode. The new series, officially titled Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments, has a spiffy (and delightful) new introductory sequence with a theme song performed by Jonathan Coulton. io9 is proud to premiere MST3K‘s new intro, which you can watch below.
Corbett told io9 over email that the new intro is a love letter to the series. He said, “I love our new opening sequence because it pays homage to the original run of the show—and frankly, our past selves—but affectionately comments on it too. (See: variations of Mike twirling that Robot Roll Call clipboard.) Plus, it quickly showcases some of Trace Beaulieu’s brilliant design. (See: cool new Satellite of Love model!) And Jonathan Coulton is a wizard. I knew he could cover the theme in his sleep, but fortunately he did it awake for the full JoCo magic.”
According to Murphy, Corbett was the one who suggested Coulton for the theme. “When Bill suggested Jonathan for the new version of the theme, we all immediately agreed,” Murphy said. “He did such a wonderful job on the RiffTrax theme, and I think he gets us better than we get ourselves. And sure enough, he nailed it. It keeps the spirit of the original, but adds that hooky JoCo magic to it. It’s pure joy to my ears.”
As for Nelson, he was more than happy to let Coulton take over the theme song. “I remember talking many months ago about a new theme song and I couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about Coulton doing it,” he said. “I probably said something like, ‘Oh, yeah! He’s way better than me as a singer, a thousand times yes!'”
If the new introduction is anything to go by, we’re in for something really special with this new iteration of MST3K.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments will consist of four episodes. The first episode, which riffs on Sting of Death, premieres October 9 on the RiffTrax website. You can also catch it in theaters for two nights only on September 9 and 13. Tickets are available right here.
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