On August 18th the creative talents that were a vital part of Mystery
Science Theater 300, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett
entertained fans all over the country with a Fathom events broadcast of
their live show. Aside from providing side splitting audio tracks that
riff on several modern and past films from blockbusters to the more
forgettable, Rifftrax skewers them all.
The 1961 classic “Mothra” is the latest to get riffed, and after settling
in and enjoying the humor laden screen cards before the show, the live
show started with the cast taking the stage from their locale in TN.
After some opening remarks the trio ripped on an old hygiene short that
featured a dubious character named Soapy who woke up a sleeping boy to
tell him all the benefits of properly cleaning himself.
Naturally the dated material was rife with material and the trio used
jokes ranging from “Brokeback Mountain” and countless pop culture
references to generate huge laughs from the audience.
Once the film started it was clear that the film was going to get ripped
to shreds as the bad dubbing, over the top acting, iffy production values,
and nonsensical plot was like pouring gas on a fire as the talented crew
cut loose.
References to scenes just stopping without a transition, the length of
time it took for Mothra to actually appear and the questionable FX just
kept setting up one fantastic joke after another.
It was two hours of constant laughs as well as a reminder of my Mystery
Science Theater 3000 was such a beloved and enduring series as it has not
only spun off several projects but is poised to resume in a new series
soon.
The trio commented that “Carnival of Souls” will be their Halloween
broadcast on Fathom and based on this show, you will not only want to
catch it but the rerun of “Mothra as well which will air Tuesday, August 23rd at 7:30 PM.
Check out Fathomevents.com for tickets, locations, and showtimes.
