Back in a more analog time of TV watching, if you wanted to make sure you could watch a show or event a second (or twentieth) time, you had to record it on a Video Home System (VHS) tape in a thing called a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR). The quality would be eh, whatever, but if you used the SLP setting, you could fit three full movies on one tape. Or, as in the case of me, three full Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, perfect for marathons any day of the week.
Well, now you don’t have to have antiquated electronic equipment to enjoy your movie riffing from the not-too-distant future, because, beginning June 26 at 11:00 am PT, there will be a six-day, 38-episode marathon of classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Shout Factory’s Twitch channel.
These are episodes from the Comedy Central and Sci-fi Channel (here are our favorites of those) days, from 1989-1997, featuring hosts Joel and Mike. Back then, there would often be marathons of the series on the odd Saturday or holiday, and part of the fun was seeing which episode would be next. That’s why last Thanksgiving’s Turkey Day marathon consisting of a countdown of fan favorites was so fun; we’re always excited what they choose!
But, this is something that would have blown my mind when I was a kid–a full six days of MST3K episodes, without the burden of choosing any yourself. Twitch has become the haven for nostalgia shows to have days-on-end marathons, like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage with Carl Sagan, Julia Child’s The French Chef, The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, and Saban’s Power Rangers.
The live stream will kick off on Monday, June 26 at 11:00am PT, and will last through Saturday, July 1. That’s a pretty great way to lead into a holiday weekend, no?
Which episodes do you hope they show? Will you watch the whole shebang? Let us know in the comments below!
Image: Best Brains/Satellite of Love, LLC
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and a lifelong MSTie. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
