August 22, 2007

Mystery Science Theater 3000 lives! Sort of.

Via an ad at Something Awful, I just discovered a site called RiffTrax. It's an endeavor by Mike Nelson from MST3K which essentially carries on the MST3K tradition:

Welcome to RiffTrax.com, an innovative new site featuring the hilarious DVD commentaries of Michael J. Nelson - Star of the legendary Mystery Science Theater 3000!

At RiffTrax.com, you can download Mike's feature-length commentaries and listen to these "RiffTrax" in sync with your favorite, and not so favorite DVDs. It's like watching a movie with your funniest friend. And it's super easy to do! Just play the DVD and RiffTrax MP3 together and Voila! The Matrix, Star Wars and others just got way funnier!

Basically, a person would download an MP3 for $2.99 (worth it to me), rent or buy the movie (unless they own it, obviously), sync the two, and enjoy an awful film get what it deserves. I just downloaded Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones, and the parts I've listened to are pretty funny. The syncing process is way easier than coupling The Wizard of Oz with Dark Side of the Moon. The syncing process is a bit of an issue, but not too much to the point of ruining the overall experience.


Glitter

Anyone who wondered what Mike and the Bots from MST3K would do to a film like, say, Glitter, or Fantastic Four, need no longer live in ignorance. Scanning over the many selections, it would appear as if most of the MST3K cast is involved, particularly Kevin Murphy, the voice of Tom Servo(!). They even get a little help from Chad Vader on Attack of the Clones:

Rifftrax has an account at YouTube where people can see all the previews before downloading the MP3s.
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1 comment:

  1. torgosPizza7:12 PM

    I'm sorry you had issues with syncing. We've generally found that it works well (I've watched several myself with nary a problem) and most problems stem from the DVD's layer-change, or a bogged-down computer drive, etc etc.

    We're working on a player that will make syncing a thing of the past, as well. Stay tuned to rifftrax.com/blog for news on that as it becomes available! (Hopefully sometime this month).

    Happy riffing!

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