Deep 13 operations have been remarkably stable during such uncertain economic times

From-the-start MSTie here. You know what? I’m gonna ‘go there.’ Mike was just as good as Joel. Not better... but not worse.

Ok, I apologize for the length (ahem) but since the subject came up... *MST3K Thoughts from an Old Timer* I did indeed prefer Mike Nelson to the original host, Joel Hodgson. Joel appealed more to the show's original Penn & Teller, Church of the SubGenius "irony" crowd, but Mike came across as a funnier guy. From what I know of it, all of the great musical numbers were Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy. Joel had almost nothing to do with them. Not for nothing did the musical numbers increase - and get increasingly good - once Mike was hosting. While Joel gets the 'credit' for the two best/worst movies they ever did - Manos and Monster A Go-Go - most of the information I’ve seen credits Mike and Trace with the writing. MST3K under Mike was a different show than under Joel. The whole tone changed, and changed even more when the series returned on The Sci-Fi Channel.   Under Joel, the soul of the show was about appreciating bad movie trivia and subculture while at the same time having some fun. Under Mike, it became more straight-out comedy: "Laugh at the awful movies." Mike frosted a lot of the older fans who were members of that media subculture and felt a sort of tribal proprietary identity around Grade-B (and Z) films. This early crowd liked Joel because they got the sense that, underneath the mockery, he actually appreciated these moldy oldies on some level. Joel was "one of us" to the kind of people who spent thousands of dollars on laserdiscs. They regarded Mike, on the other hand, as a smart but disrespectful upstart who was just there to piss all over their guilty cinema pleasures. Whereas Joel was part of fan culture, Mike was a mere comedian. The show became a lot more adult under Mike, with more ribald and gallows humor. When Corbett replaced Beaulieu as Crow, the "kiddie" element was gone completely. Mike's rapport with the 'bots was one fellow adults wise-cracking, whereas Joel had been going for a Silent Running-esque vibe of a man teaching his "kids" about life and humanity. This could have been a good hook to hang the show on, but was so fleetingly explored that it became irrelevant. Also, in-theater riffing required the 'bots to be cynical and knowing, as opposed to innocent and curious, so that killed it as well. Of a piece with that, I found Joel's Uncle Floyd-ish "comedy variety" approach to the show oddly off the mark. I sometimes wondered who Joel thought the MST3K audience actually was. I did not miss the Invention Exchange. It was a holdover from Hodgson's stand-up comedy days which, apart from some few, great moments (Johnny Longtorso) was often the weakest part of the show; something to be endured until the riffing commenced. (You know what's really fun? Find some of those thin-skinned, obsessive movie cultists who are actually offended by MST3K and loudly praise the show in their presence. They just go bugshit - like Trekkies when you point to a picture of the Enterprise crew and ask, "Which one is Chewbacca?") Deep 13 and the Mads were a tough act to follow, but I found Bobo and Observer very funny. I certainly didn't envy Bill Corbett the job of having to replace Trace Beaulieu - who not only played two principal characters but also co-wrote and co-founded the show - but he did a solid job. -push the button-

This is funny.

They spend the entire second season searching for Zap Rowsdower.

He’s from Wisconsin.

This is not good for me. I love Joel’s character.