Cinematic Titanic visits MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann

I kind of missed the boat on this one (BIG SURPRISE!) but Trace, Joel, and Josh appeared on MSNBC last week, on long-time MSTie Keith Olbermann’s show. You can see it above and, yes, it’s about as charmingly Midwest-Awkward as you might expect. With exposure like this, I expect to see not just a ton more live shows, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of them heading into the studio sometime this year.

Not that I want to start a stupid Rifftrax vs. Cinematic Titanic discussion, but has Rifftrax ever received this level of promotion? Or is this the most mainstream exposure a Brains project has gotten since MST3K?

Something MSTies might like: Retro Game Challenge

This doesn’t really explicitly have anything to do with Mystery Science Theater 3000. However, the premise and nature of this video game may be appealing to a number of MSTies out there, and I felt it was worth mentioning.

Recently released for the Nintendo DS handheld system, Retro Game Challenge is based around the premise of a “Game Master” trapping gamers in the past and making them play old video games. As The A.V. Club pointed out, this just smacks of our favorite show. Kind of. The games they’re playing aren’t bad, per se… but give me a break. I like video games and I wanted to post something. Work with me!

I know that there are a fair number of MSTies out there who are also gamers, as well as currently non-gaming MSTies who grew up playing old NES games. So, if nothing else, this might be an amusing trip down memory lane.

Mike Nelson’s bacon diet makes the local news

If you’ve been keeping up with Brain-related news — and hopefully you have, despite my prolonged, shameful absence — then you know that Michael J. Nelson has been eating nothing but bacon, for the entire month of February. Why? Because the internet kids love the dead-pig product, and Mike Nelson loves the internet kids.

Evidently, the stunt caught the attention of the local news, and San Diego’s NBC affiliate did a story on Mike’s pork-fest. It now seems that what, to the naked eye, would appear to be suicidal madness, is actually turning out to be kind of beneficial: Mike’s lost some weight, and his blood pressure’s even gone down.

So, assuming that Mike survives the month, what should the Rifftrax crew tackle next? Should March be Bill’s month of chicken? Or maybe Kevin should spend April supping on Slim Jims? Will Cinematic Titanic counter with a month of veggies?

Reminder: Shout Factory’s MST3K set is out now

Yeah, I know I just posted about it a few days ago, and I realize you probably already know about it, but this is big stuff! A new MST3K set! Not made by Rhino! That doesn’t suck! So, you should buy it. Right now. Yes, quickly, go. (And I’m still broke, so enjoy it extra, for me.) This new release also means that MST’s getting some publicity.

With this publicity, comes a fair amount of, as we say on the Internet, “lulz.” I would particularly like to point and laugh at Wired.com. One of their articles touts “MST3K Vets Talk[ing] Fan Faves From New DVD Set,” suggesting an interview in which the cast discusses the contents of the set, right? I believe one answer comes close to vaguely addressing one of the movies. They also think KTMA counts as season one.

I laugh at them.

Meanwhile, Ain’t It Cool News took a break from spoiling things to interview Joel. Entertainment Weekly dug the set, even if they’re nuts for not even mentioning Laserblast. The LA Times had a nice little article on the set/series. And lastly, Satellite News spotted a random few articles. As for McClatchy Newspapers, well…

If only they knew.

Is Weezer’s new album a musical MST3K episode?

Since 2000, I’ve been a tremendous fan of the rock band Weezer. In fact, they’ve probably been one of the most influential artists in my life. And now it looks like, once again, two of my greatest loves — MST3K and Weezer — have crossed paths… unfortunately. Weezer’s new album, a self-titled LP nicknamed “The Red Album,” is apparently so bad, it’s MST3K-worthy.

The reviews have been below-average to downright scathing. Now, a review from Beacon News has likened it to watching an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 — so bad, it’s almost kinda good. Has lead singer Rivers Cuomo become the Ed Wood of music; 100% enthusiasm and sincerity, but 110% suck? The band’s last two albums were mostly shmaltz, silliness, and lyrics at a junior high reading level. I mean, I still love the band, but yeah… they’ve gotten pretty bad.

This actually isn’t the first time MST3K and Weezer have crossed paths. The CD booklet of their 2001 self-titled release, aka “The Green Album,” contained an image of the band on-stage, in-concert — with the infamous silhouette of Mike and the robots hidden in the lower right-hand corner, pointing at them in mockery.