Tuesday, July 24, 2012

MST3K: Season Seven Wrapup

Mike with Crow, Servo, & Gypsy during The Movie.
I'm watching all of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes in order. More about that here and here.

Seven seasons down, three seasons to go.

Unless you count the KTMA Season. Then, it's eight seasons down, three seasons to go.

Best Brains really doesn't count Season Zero, the KTMA Season. But, you can if you want to. We covered them here, so I suppose we're counting that season.

Whatever. Season Seven is behind us.

Season Seven was the final season on Comedy Central. MST3K went national on The Comedy Channel in November, 1989, survived the merger between The Comedy Channel and HA! and became the most popular show on the network.

Mrs. Forrester turns Dr. Forrester meek.
However, that wasn't enough.

Jim Mallon wanted to do a feature film based on the show, and Joel Hodgson didn't. For that and other reasons, Joel ended up leaving the show he created and the plans for the film went forward.

Word is that the network wasn't happy with the crew's focus on the film, and new leadership at the network canceled the show.

The show would survive cancelation, though. The Sci-Fi Channel would pick it up and carry on for three more seasons. We'll get to Season Eight soon.

For now, let's wrap up Season Seven.

It was a short season, consisting of six episodes. Or seven.

Season Six ended in March, 1995. Season Seven sort of began in November of that year. But not really.

Dr. Forrester conducts a focus group.
What happened is a special edition of Episode 701: Night of the Blood Beast aired. The Host Segments were tied to the Thanksgiving Day Marathon.

In February, 1996, the standard version of Episode 701: Night of the Blood Beast, officially beginning Season Seven.

We saw a different Dr. Forrester. Very different.

TV's Frank (Frank Conniff) had left the show at the conclusion of Season Six, which meant that Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Movie featured a solo Dr. Forrester. However, when the season began, they carried over the Thanksgiving Day Marathon storyline of Mrs. Forrester showing up and staying. Essentially, Mary Jo Pehl, who had been writing behind the scenes, as well as playing various characters in the Host Segments, replaced Frank Conniff.

Mike, Crow, & Servo turn into pure energy. Gypsy will follow.
The addition of Mrs. Forrester put Dr. Forrester in a subservient position to his mother. That lasted most of Season Seven, but we saw the old Dr. Forrester, large and in charge, during the final episode.

The ending of Season Seven saw M&tB being transformed into pure energy at the edge of the universe after Dr. Forrester set the Satellite of Love adrift. It also saw Dr. Forrester revert to being a baby by way of a 2001: A Space Odyssey kind of experience.

It was a great way to end the series.

Only, it didn't end.

Season Eight would eventually occur, although 259 days would elapse between the last new episode of Season Seven, and the first episode of Season Eight.

Season Seven was the oddball season. Only six episodes, plus a "we've been canceled so we're wrapping everything up" episode. Oh, and two versions of one episode. Oh, and a movie thrown in for good measure.

A lot packed into such a short season. Had this truly been the final season of MST3K, it would have been a great way to end everything.

But, there is more to come. And that's today's life lesson: nothing's over until we say it's over. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Words to live by.

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