In 1991, because they had nothing better to do to fill air time, Comedy Central went with the bad joke, and ran a twenty-four hour marathon of Mystery Science Theater 3000 they called “Turkey Day.” It was a massive hit, and for years, the marathon was a Thanksgiving tradition. At least until MST3K went off the air for good, and even then, a lot of fans kept the tradition alive. And now it’s officially back, albeit in a slightly different form.
Shout! Factory, the current distributor of episodes and circulator of tapes, is throwing a web-streaming event on Thanksgiving. Even better, it’s being hosted by, and curated by, none other than Joel Robinson himself. Which is especially important if you’re in a house full of football fans and don’t give a crap about the game.
Joking aside, I’m old enough that I actually watched some of the original Turkey Day marathons, which along with watching the Saturday morning airing over breakfast was a big part of my childhood and teenage years. And, even if it’s a web stream, it’s great to see the tradition coming back, especially since I’ve worn out my copy of Mitchell. I just hope there’s a medley of shorts, especially this one:
(Image courtesy of Le Yeti on Flickr)