2007 In Review: The State of The MSTie Union

You know it’s a special post when the title and the tags are both excessively, unnecessarily long. If you’re an ignorant, out-of-touch MSTie, then this blog post is for you. See, there’s been an incredible amount of activity in the past year related to our favorite eight-years-dead TV show. So much, in fact, that you almost might not think that it was dead. (Let’s all come to terms with it, kids – Mystery Science Theater 3000 as we know it, for the foreseeable future, is dead.)

Anyway, I’m going to try my best to summarize the recent goings-on in the MSTie community as efficiently as possible, while keeping an eye on 2008. There are currently six available ways to get your fix of Brain stew, most of which do manage to provide sufficient lulz. How can you get your fix? Click past the break for a rundown of the state of the MSTie union.

Darkstar Still Lives. Silently, Like A Ninja. Space Ninja.

Parallax Studios’ perpetually-upcoming sci-fi adventure game Darkstar has been blipping on and off the radar for over seven years, now. The game, which features six of MST3K’s former cast and crew in major roles, is MST fandom’s own Duke Nukem Forever — all promises, no fulfillment. Once again, the previously projected December release date has passed and it looks like their most recent estimate, this month, will also pass us by.

All is not lost, however, as the official Darkstar site was apparently updated several times while we weren’t looking, in November and December. The updates are varied, and they don’t give us a ton of pertinent information, but they’re enough to whet the appetite. Of particular note is one of the November 20th updates, which includes a Quicktime peek at a robotic character’s quarters, where blatant MST3K references abound. Other than that, there are some words from Frank, some storyboards, and a status update. To summarize: It’s still not out yet.

I think a lot of MSTies have either forgotten about this or they’ve just stopped caring. While Parallax is clearly devoted to making this game all it can be, I have a feeling that this game’s constant delays have already doomed it to fail. Judging from the available screens, it has a delightfully ’90s feel to it which, while charming, probably won’t guarantee huge sales numbers. MSTies and retro PC adventure game fans will probably love it, at least. But who knows? I’m looking forward to it, if only for the Rush soundtrack. I can haz soundtrack album?

Thanks to Adam for pointing me towards the updates.

Darkstar Content and A New MST Doc?

[For the uninitiated, Darkstar is a computer game that has been in development since before apes walked the earth (i.e. 2000). It features a large number of Brains in major roles, hence its relevance to this blog.]

It’s time I started remembering that Darkstar exists, as its release date continues to draw nigh. The website was updated several times, earlier this month. They put up a page of large screenshots of Trace Beaulieu‘s appearance in the game, which also includes a shot of Joel’s character. Looking sharp, sailor. *wink* Wait. No. Sorry. Forget I said that. The game now has a release deadline of Christmas 2007, but don’t hold your breath.

Also, perhaps more importantly, their July 4th news entry makes mention of a new MST3K documentary possibly being in the works. There’s no available information, beyond that cryptic mention. They do mention that it seems to be dependent on various rights issues getting sorted out. Again, don’t hold your breath, but this certainly is some good news to hold onto.

Special thanks to forum-goer GoldenTriangle for noticing these updates. Stay tuned to Deep Ape, as we try to stay a little more up-to-date on Darkstar.