Mystery Science Theater 3000: My Thanksgiving Tradtion

Ah, Thanksgiving traditions.

Some of them are sweet; sitting around a table surrounded by people you love, giving thanks for all the things you’ve been given. Some of them are funny; deep frying an entire turkey or playing board games with a bunch of drunk family members. And some of them, well, some of them we’d really like to never go through again; dodging the inevitable “why are you still single / what are you studying / what are you going to do with a liberal arts degree?” question or watching your uncle’s face turn red as he realizes your politics in no way represent his.

My family has a lot of traditions (many of which include alcohol and loud Italian yelling matches), but one of my favorite things to do every year as a kid was sit down in front of the TV with my aunt and uncle and watch Mystery Science Theater 3000.

You may not have heard of this small, late 80’s to late 90’s show, but Mystery Science Theater 3000 remains one of the best concepts ever invented.

Even though the actual premise sounds like something a bunch of your stoner friends came up with (“In the not too distant future, a man and his robots are trapped on the Satellite of love, where evil scientists force them to sit through the worst movies ever made”), the episodes mostly consisted of a guy and his two sarcastic robot friends sitting in an empty movie theater, making fun of ridiculous old movies.

If you’re one of those people who love talking your way through stupid films, considering YouTubing Mystery Science 3000 this Thanksgiving.

Whatever happens, it’ll be better than staring at a photo album dedicated to that perfect cousin you hate.