History YMMV / MysteryScienceTheater3000

** Kelsey Ann Brady's voice for Crow, some ethier appreciate it for having her own take on the charatcer, or criticize it for sounding way too out of place and jarring.

* FoeYay: Mike and Pearl could get very friendly when she wasn't trying to kill him...
-->'''Mike:''' ''(over coffee)'' So, Pearl... how come you're so evil?\\
'''Pearl:''' ''(considering the question thoughtfully)'' Hm... I'm filled with hate... I'm not sure if that helps.
** Pearl and Crow are close friends, though Pearl refers to him as "Art". (See IAmNotShazam)

* AcceptableTargets:
** The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Green Bay Packers]]. The shows' creators were all fans of the Minnesota Vikings, sworn enemies of the Packers.
** Wisconsin in general, despite ([[SelfDeprecation because of?]]) both Hodgson and Nelson having grown up there.
*** Minnesota also gets some deprecating comments thrown its way, in a more unambiguous form of SelfDeprecation. From the short ''Snow Thrills'':
--->(over a shot of a frozen landscape)'''Crow:''' Fourth of July in Minnesota!
** Any film or scene set in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} will inevitably have a reference to the Cubs' (now ended) 108-year losing streak.
** Any of the series' repeat offenders, most notably Creator/JoeDonBaker, Ross Hagen, Sandy Frank and Creator/ColemanFrancis.
** Crew members with old-fashioned, pretentiously aristocratic-sounding names always get a share of this. "Oh, is the great ''Hollingsworth Morse'' going to direct?"
** The Sci-Fi era took particular delight in bashing the home countries of non-American movies. Notable targets include Japan (for ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen''), Canada (''Film/TheFinalSacrifice''), Britain (''Film/{{Gorgo}}'', ''Film/TheDeadlyBees''), and Maltese men in ''Film/FinalJustice'', at least to Crow.[[note]]The Film Crew had Mike attacking the Basque, which disturbed Bill and Kevin because, as Bill remarked, "They have ''guns''!"[[/note]]
** Overweight characters especially get jokes about how much food they must eat and/or being an unchecked {{Gasshole}}. And the guys aren't above going after women for their appearance: see ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S07E05Escape2000 Escape 2000]]''.
** Music/JacksonBrowne after Creator/DarylHannah accused him of abusing her. In later seasons, they constantly referenced Browne when a man was shown on screen attacking a woman.
** Jabs at the NRA and/or their celebrity spokesmen Creator/CharltonHeston and Music/TedNugent were prevalent during the Mike years.
** Long story short: There were definitely lines of good taste and class that they wouldn't cross, but generally speaking, if they could get a joke out of something they were most likely going to.

** Season 13, the first season to be entirely self-produced and filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic, is visibly cheaper looking than Seasons 11 and 12, primarily due to Covid restrictions requiring them to film the entire show against a greenscreen. Depending on who you ask, it's either shocking that they spent $6,000,000 on something that looks like an old [=YouTube=] production, or it's a nostalgic return to form for a series which has always prided itself on looking cheap.

** Season 13, the first season to be entirely self-produced and filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic, is visibly cheaper looking than Seasons 11 and 12. (This is primarily due to Covid restrictions requiring them to film the entire show with a greenscreen, something they get away more often than not on the Satellite of Love but which is very apparent in the Mad's hideout.) Depending on who you ask, it's either shocking that they spent $6,000,000 on something that looks like an old [=YouTube=] production, or it's a nostalgic return to form for a series which has always prided itself on looking cheap.

** Season 13, the first season to be entirely self-produced and the season which was filmed during some of the worst parts of the Covid-19 pandemic, is visibly cheaper looking than Seasons 11 and 12. (This is primarily due to Covid restrictions requiring them to film the entire show with a greenscreen, something they get away more often than not on the Satellite of Love but which is very apparent in the Mad's hideout.) Depending on who you ask, it's either shocking that they spent $6,000,000 on something that looks like an old [=YouTube=] production, or it's a nostalgic return to form for a series which has always prided itself on looking cheap.

** Thanks to technical difficulties at the start of the Season 13 premiere, the Gizmoplex video player was only showing a large, white dot. The chat immediately fell in love and lavished endless praise for THE DOT while waiting for things to get underway.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: He only appeared for four episodes, but Peanut was instantly adopted by the fans - and by Mike's relatives, it seems.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** During the host segment for ''Film/GirlInGoldBoots'' where Crow strips, one of Tom's reactions to Mike's horror is to call him "Mike '[[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Taliban]]' Nelson."
*** The Taliban, prior to 2001, were an obscure group on the State Department's "hostile but ineffective" crazies list - getting the gag was a GeniusBonus at that time. The Taliban were simply thought of as a RealLife version of the town leaders from ''Film/{{Footloose}}''. ("I can't believe it, but I'm starting to agree with the Taliban Militia. Dancing should ''not'' be allowed.")
** There are numerous school shooting jokes in "The Home Economics Story".
** This line from the otherwise hilarious classic, ''Hike Up Your Pants'' song, "...Yank your trousers higher than Creator/CoreyHaim, oh wow..."
** The quip in ''Prince of Space'' "Creator/WoodyAllen asked me out", then a reference to Allen's marriage to his stepdaughter Soon-Yi took a much darker tone after his stepdaughter Dylan accused him of having molested her.
*** Same goes for the joke "The Woody Allen Story!" when the "A Date with Your Family" title screen comes up.
** The release of ''Film/{{Logan}}'' a couple months before the revival series rather kills a joke in ''Avalanche'', that [[spoiler:one of the characters is harder to kill than Wolverine. Doesn't help that the mainstream Wolverine had been dead years before the events of ''Logan''.]]
** In ''At the Earth's Core'', one of the jokes is that the bots were hoping for the new host to be a Creator/TJMiller type instead of Jonah, as that's what they imagine someone who was equal parts Joel and Mike would be like. Then in late 2017 TJ Miller’s history of sexual harassment and misconduct surfaced...

** The "Johnny Long-Torso" invention exchange just before ''Film/MonsterAGoGo'', which featured an action figure that was sold in pieces to create more revenue. The episode aired in 1993, but anyone familiar with the modern-day video game industry (or the "Build a Figure" accessories meant to ensure that fans will buy every figure in the current assortment) will find the episode chillingly prophetic.

** The references to PETA, which were common in the Joel era, can come across as this. At the time, PETA was a respected animal rights group that no one really had much problem with. These days... [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment let's just say they're a bit more controversial]].

** While there are enough songs to warrant its own page, special mention is deserved for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ree220FiOEg United Servo Academy Men's Chorus Hymn]]. Why? Well, the combination of hilarity and soul lifting beauty earned this song at last count 578 'likes' and only 3 'dislikes'. Have fun.

** The Sci-Fi era took particular delight in bashing the home countries of non-American movies. Notable targets include Japan (for ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen''), Canada (''Film/TheFinalSacrifice'', ''Film/ZombieNightmare''), Britain (''Film/{{Gorgo}}'', ''Film/TheDeadlyBees''), and Maltese men in ''Film/FinalJustice'', at least to Crow.[[note]]The Film Crew had Mike attacking the Basque, which disturbed Bill and Kevin because, as Bill remarked, "They have ''guns''!"[[/note]]

* WinTheCrowd: For ''The Return'', many cite either Jonah's "Kaiju Rap (Every Country Has a Monster)" with its catchy lyrics and endearingly homemade quality or the second episode ''Film/CryWilderness'' featuring a film with a truly baffling plot, a slightly slower pace of riffs with some great running jokes, and a truly manic host segment with the 'Bots as raccoons.

** [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E08CodeNameDiamondHead "Code Name: Diamond Head"]] comes off very strange now, as Creator/IanMcShane was still several years away from his CareerResurrection in ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' meaning the only big role of his that anyone could apparently think of was ''Series/{{Lovejoy}}'', which they just keep hitting incessantly.

** [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E08CodeNameDiamondHead "Code Name: Diamond Head]] comes off very strange now, as [[Creator/IanMcShane]] was still several years away from his CareerResurrection in ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' meaning the only big role of his that anyone could apparently think of was ''Series/{{Lovejoy}}'', which they just keep hitting incessantly.

** Wisconsin in general, despite ([[SelfDeprecation because of?]]) both Creator/JoelHodgson and Michael J. Nelson having grown up there.

** Any of the series' repeat offenders, most notably Creator/JoeDonBaker, Ross Hagen, Sandy Frank, and Creator/ColemanFrancis.

** The Sci-Fi era took particular delight in bashing the home countries of non-American movies. Notable targets include Japan (for ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen''), Canada (''Film/TheFinalSacrifice'', ''Film/ZombieNightmare''), Britain (''Film/{{Gorgo}}'', ''Film/TheDeadlyBees''), and Maltese men in the episode ''Film/FinalJustice'', at least to Crow.[[note]]The Film Crew had Mike attacking the Basque, which disturbed Bill and Kevin because, as Bill remarked, "They have ''guns''!"[[/note]]

*** Joel's return in the ''Film/{{Soultaker}}'' episode pokes fun at the fan rivalry. Mike is somewhat jealous of Joel's new life as the manager of a hot fish shop, but the bots remind Mike not to compare himself. "It ain't healthy."

** The [[FillingTheSilence silence-filling]] style of riffing has also gotten mixed reactions from fans. Some hate it, because it gives the impression they're afraid of losing the interest of younger fans if there's ''any'' silent moments, while others are okay with the more rapid-fire pace of riffing because it means [[RewatchBonus more jokes to catch on later viewings.]] Although it's worth noting they slow down the pace considerably in the back half of the season, leading yet another faction to point out it was at least partially because the new cast took a few episodes to really [[GrowingTheBeard grow the beard]] (the season 11 riffing segments were recorded in order).

** In Tom Servo's planetarium show in the prologue for the ''Skydivers'' episode, he refers to the speed of light as "well over five hundred miles an hour" (which is technically true but also incredibly imprecise: the speed of light is 670.6 ''million'' miles per hour) and calls UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} "the brightest star in our galaxy". Needless to say, Crow and Mike can't resist derailing the show.

* EpilepticTrees: About the end of Season 11: [[spoiler:Kinga knew full well what Max was up to, and had arranged her own deal with Reptilicus Metalicus to send Jonah back to the SOL after the episode ended. After all, a cheap cliffhanger implying a major character's death is even more of a cynical publicity stunt than a wedding.]]

* FanficFuel: Even after learning Kinga's mother is [[spoiler:Kim Catrall]], we still get nothing on how they hooked up and what their relationship was like beyond falling apart due to Forrester's failure to convert her to mad science. And of course the possibility of Kinga trying to re-establish ties now that she knows. [[note]] That being said, [[TheWikiRule the show's official wiki]] suggested that Forrester could be lying about her parentage. After all, he is evil. [[/note]]
* {{Fanon}}: Many online sources contend that Joel Hodgson pulled an all-nighter finishing the robots before the first episode, and that this is the source of his on-screen character's sleepy-eyed, laid-back persona. All-nighter notwithstanding, Joel's relaxed attitude was a holdover from his stand-up/prop comedy act prior to [=MST3K=]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EQI9xS2ltI Evidence abounds]] on Website/YouTube.

--> '''Mike''' ''(over coffee):'' So, Pearl... how come you're so evil?
--> '''Pearl''' ''(considering the question thoughtfully):'' Hm... I'm filled with hate... I'm not sure if that helps.

** The quip in ''Prince of Space'' "Creator/WoodyAllen asked me out", then a reference to Woody Allen's marriage to his stepdaughter Soon-Yi took a much darker tone after his stepdaughter Dylan accused him of having molested her.
*** Same goes for the joke "The Woody Allen Story!" when the title screen of "A Date With Your Family" comes up.
** The release of ''Film/{{Logan}}'' a couple months before the revival series rather kills a joke in ''Avalanche'', that [[spoiler:one of the characters is harder to kill than Wolverine. Doesn't help that the mainstream Wolverine had been dead years before the events of ''Logan'']].
** In ''At the Earth's Core'' one of the jokes is that the bots were hoping for the new host to be a Creator/TJMiller type instead of Jonah, as that's what they imagine someone who was equal parts Joel and Mike would be like. Then in late 2017 TJ Miller’s history of sexual harassment and misconduct surfaced...

** Obscure art references abound: Susan Rothenberg, an abstract artist, gets two shoutouts (her last name is mistaken both times, however, leading to some headscratching - "Susan Rothco" in ''Film/CatalinaCaper'' and "Susan Rothstein" in the short "The Chicken Of Tomorrow").

** [[Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate Torgo]] [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings the White]] was this at the time - in 1995 when Frank Conniff left the show, the announcement of the Creator/PeterJackson [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings adaptation of the classic]] {{Doorstopper}} novel was still four years away.

* HoYay: Tom's got a roll of singles as thick as a pork roast for stripper Crow in the host part of the [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E02GirlInGoldBoots Girl In Gold Boots]] episode.
** The bots loved to pick on Mike, especially in the Sci-Fi Channel episodes, even going as far as to having mixed {{Tsundere}} traits towards him.

---->'''Kevin ''([[TheDanza Kevin Murphy]])'':''' So, Clay? You and Auntie [=McFrank=]? Are you...?
---->'''Dr. Forrester:'''...Partners?...Yes, we're...oh, look! Here comes breakfast!
** Dr. Forrester is also a ''little'' too affectionate towards Joel, giving him {{Affectionate Nickname}}s and whatnot.
** During one of the dance scenes in "Catalina Caper", Tom riffs "Girls just can't resist the frockling vibes of a hot guy... and neither can I!"
** And of course, Servo and Crow get married in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E16RacketGirls Racket Girls.]]'' [[labelnote:*]]Granted, the ceremony went to hell before the "I do's", but they still ''tried''.[[/labelnote]]

** Dr. Forrester has his moments at times, especially around his mother.
** Tom Servo can act a bit obnoxious and egotistical, but that's because he's incredibly insecure about his height and intelligence and has more than enough BreakTheHaughty moments to make you feel a bit bad for him.
** Kinga Forrester has her moments just like her father. As well, they also have them around Pearl.

-->'''Tom''': Watch as Rando The Great constructs sets with only ''the power of his mind!''

** A lot of fans went after Netflix when the news came that Season 12 would only have six episodes, thinking it was due to their budget being cut. In fact, as explained above in AuthorsSavingThrow, it was entirely the crew's own decision, to allow them to spend more time on the episodes and give faster releases of any future seasons.

* PeripheryDemographic: The series itself was actually surprisingly popular with younger children particularly during the Joel Era. (See WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids below.) Even though a lot of the jokes would either [[GeniusBonus go over their heads]] or probably be a bit too vulgar for their parents liking. But still a lot of the fan mail that was revealed at the end of an episode was sent in by kids still in Elementary School even though the series is more meant for Teens and Adults. This was more apparent during the early-to-mid '90s, back when the series was on Creator/ComedyCentral. When the series moved to the Sci Fi Channel in the late '90s, this was less apparent. Joel did call the show a "cow-town puppet show."
** Joel Hodgson was very well aware that young children were watching the show and insisted that the writers cut back on the raunchy jokes. Joel is also a Christian, so this doubled as a personal matter as well.

** Pearl Forrester managed to be this ''twice'' during the show's run; in season 7 when she replaced TV's Frank (it didn't help that her relationship with Dr. Forrester was almost the opposite of what Frank's had been), and then in Season 8 when she took over Dr. Forrester's role as the main bad guy. A lot of fans did warm up to her during the last three seasons, though, as she came into her own.

** Largely averted with Bill Corbett's portrayal of Crow, who most fans grew to accept over time and in some cases even preferred to Trace Beaulieu's. It didn't hurt that by the time Corbett came on board, the fanbase was used to dealing with changes in the series, so his replacing Beaulieu wasn't as big of a deal. If anything, Corbett tried ''too hard'' to mimic Trace's Crow, before Best Brains told him to relax and just do Crow with his own voice.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Michael J. Nelson really stands out now during his bit parts during the Joel years, even more so than other writers like Paul Chaplin or Bridget Jones. The same can be said about Mary Jo Pehl to a lesser extent after joining Deep 13 in Season 7.

** Jonah Ray's gargantuan 6'5" frame almost gives away that they aren't sitting in real theater seats as he towers over the fake backrest. If they were he would most likely be ''very'' uncomfortable.
** In ''Killer Fish'', they apparently just plain overlooked dubbing in one of Gypsy's riffs, though oddly enough Tom's shocked gasp in response to it was left in. Luckily, it was fixed after enough people pointed it out.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Joel returns for ''Film/{{Soultaker}}'', and he doesn't do any riffing with Mike and the Bots? (Joel explained that he wasn't able to help in the writing in this episode and didn't want to do anything he didn't contribute to.)

** Forrester and Frank put in their wills to have their ashes scattered to the tune of..."Idiot Control Now?" Many fans pointed out "Living in Deep 13" would have been a much better choice. And then we don't even see it anyway. [[note]] This could be because the two absolutely adored "Idiot Control Now" and didn't consider "Living in Deep 13" to be their best work, though it is rather head-scratching that they took the less narcissistic route... It seems Joel not only outdid them in inventing, but also songwriting, to the point that even the Mads liked Joel's song better! [[/note]]

** The references to PETA, which were common in the Joel era, can come across as this. At the time PETA was a respected animal rights group that no one really had much problem with. These days... [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment let's just say they're a bit more controversial]].

** The older series didn't shy away from offhanded jokes at the expense of gay and transgender people, most notably in its highly popular ''Mr. B Natural'' segments, which can certainly be a bit uncomfortable for some viewers nowadays.

*** In addition, most of the jokes came from Joel and the 'bots being genuinely aroused by Mr. B. ("Oh, Mr. B....")
** Another episode that has been known to cause discomfort in modern audiences is ''The Violent Years'', specifically the scene where Mike and the Bots gleefully play [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale the heavily implied gang rape of a man by four female criminals for laughs]].
* VindicatedByCable: This happened to many riffed films. This show is the only reason many of them have pages on this wiki in the first place.
** This actually ''backfired'' a bit. Some rights-owners saw the chance to actually make some money from a film which was only featured because it was a flop and tried to charge [=MST3K=] through the nose for the rights.

* WinTheCrowd: For ''The Return'' many cite either Jonah's Kaiju Rap (Every Country Has a Monster) with its catchy lyrics and endearingly homemade quality or the second episode ''Film/CryWilderness'' featuring a film with a truly baffling plot, a slightly slower pace of riffs with some great running jokes, and a truly manic host segment with the bots as raccoons.

* HoYay: Tom's got a roll of singles as thick as a pork roast for stripper Crow in the host part of the [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E02TheGirlInGoldBoots Girl In Gold Boots]] episode.

* MisBlamed: A lot of fans went after Netflix when the news came that Season 12 would only have six episodes, thinking it was due to their budget being cut. In fact, as explained above in AuthorsSavingThrow, it was entirely the crew's own decision, to allow them to spend more time on the episodes and give faster releases of any future seasons.

* {{Mondegreen}}:
** The theme song for the Mike episodes in seasons 5-7 feature Cambot saying "Show yourself!" But the muffled way Cambot speaks makes it sound like he's actually saying "Kill yourself!" Similarly, when Crow appears, he says "That's ''one'' O." But it almost sounds like he's saying "That's (or Bat) guano!" instead.
** In the original theme song for Joel, "shot him into space" can sound like "shot him in his face". This becomes something of an AscendedMeme in the Season 11 episode "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E05TheBeastOfHollowMountain The Beast of Hollow Mountain]]" when it's used as a riff.