Joel Hodgson Returns to Riffing For MST3K Live 30th Anniversary Tour

Something is about to happen that hasn’t happened in the world of movie riffing for several decades: Joel Hodgson is suiting up to make fun of some bad movies with the full MST3K cast.

Yes, the godfather of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a show we’ve ranked all 191 episodes of in the past, is getting back in the saddle. The occasion? The show’s 30th Anniversary Tour, which will also be a celebration of the upcoming season 12 of MST3K on Netflix. This was the occasion grand enough to make Joel don the red Gizmonics jumpsuit for the first time in a staggering 25 years. Alongside current MST3K host Jonah Ray (and the robots, of course), he’ll be hitting the road for a 29-city tour that kicks off on Oct. 9, 2018 in Portland, ME. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, June 8 to the general public, via AXS.com and local box offices.

“The craziest and most exciting thing for me is that I am putting on my old jumpsuit and will be riffing live, shoulder to shoulder with Jonah, Crow, and Tom Servo for two incredibly strange feature films,” says Joel in his official statement. “I’m going to have to go into training to get caught up to the skill level of Jonah and this new cast. If you saw last year’s tour you have some idea just how talented these young movie riffers are.”

As with last year’s experimental live tour (which we also reviewed ), most of the venues will actually play host to not one but TWO movie riffs, each of which are treated as a separate, ticketed event. The first show will feature 1988 Canadian sci-fi horror film The Brain, while the second is the 1983 sword-and-sorcery feature Deathstalker. Please note: The latter is the first film in the Deathstalker series, and is not to be confused with 1988’s Deathstalker and the Warriors From Hell, which was memorably featured in season 7 of MST3K. Neither of these films have been tackled by MST3K in the past.

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The tour announcement follows some significant news about season 12 of the show on Netflix, which Hodgson first released to Kickstarter backers at the end of last week. As he explained then, season 12 will consist of only six episodes, rather than the 14 that comprised season 11. His explanation suggested that the shortened run of episodes would help speed production, while also suggesting that each season might now be tied together by some kind of specific theming in the films and host segments. It seems safe to say that much more information will be forthcoming, but here’s Joel, responding to fan concerns about the reduced slate of episodes:

But yeah, for those of you worried because we’re “only” making six new episodes, I promise, there’s nothing to panic about, so repeat to yourself: “I should really just relax.” Shorter seasons don’t mean we’re going to make fewer episodes, they just mean we’re going to make fewer at a time! And like I said last week, that also means we should be able to get them out sooner, and not make you wait so long in between seasons. It’s also, we feel, the best way to help grow the MST3K community – and obviously, that’s a really important goal so that the show can keep on having a long and productive life.

So there you go. As for the MST3K 30th Anniversary Tour, a full schedule of all the performances can be found below.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live 30th Anniversary Tour 2018

October 9 – Portland, ME – State Theatre – The Brain – 7:30 PM
October 10 – Boston – Shubert Theatre – The Brain 7:30 PM
October 11 – Boston – Shubert Theatre – Deathstalker 7:30 PM
October 12 – DC – Lisner Auditorium – The Brain 7:00 PM
October 12 – DC – Lisner Auditorium – Deathstalker 10:00 PM
October 13 – New Haven – College Street Music Hall – The Brain 7:00 PM
October 14 – NYC – Playstation Theater – The Brain 3:00 PM
October 14 – NYC – Playstation Theater – Deathstalker 7:00 PM
October 16 – Norfolk – Harrison Opera House – The Brain 7:30 PM
October 17 – Durham – Durham PAC Deathstalker 7:30 PM
October 19 – Ft. Lauderdale – Parker Playhouse The Brain 7:00 PM
October 20 – Orlando – Hard Rock Café – The Brain 4:00 PM
October 20 – Orlando – Hard Rock Café – Deathstalker 8:00 PM
October 21 – Atlanta – Atlanta Symphony Hall – The Brain 3:00 PM
October 21 – Atlanta – Atlanta Symphony Hall – Deathstalker 7:00 PM
October 24 – Cincinnati – Taft Theatre – The Brain 7:30 PM
October 25 – Cleveland – Agora Theater – Deathstalker 7:30 PM
October 26 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre – The Brain 7:00 PM
October 26 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre – Deathstalker 10:00 PM
October 27 – Wilkes Barre – F.M. Kirby Center – The Brain 5:00 PM
October 28 – Royal Oak – Royal Oak Music Theatre – The Brain 3:00 PM
October 28 – Royal Oak – Royal Oak Music Theatr – Deathstalker 7:00 PM
October 30 – St. Louis – Peabody Opera House – The Brain 7:30 PM
October 31 – Nashville – War Memorial – The Brain 7:30 PM

November 2 – Dallas – Majestic Theatre – The Brain 7:00 PM
November 2 – Dallas – Majestic Theatre – Deathstalker 10:00 PM
November 3 – Houston – Cullen Performance Hall – The Brain 7:00 PM
November 4 – Austin – Paramount – The Brain 3:00 PM
November 4 – Austin – Paramount – Deathstalker 7:00 PM
November 6 – Los Angeles – The Novo – The Brain 7:00 PM
November 7 – San Francisco – Warfield Theatre – The Brain 8:00 PM
November 8 – San Jose – National Civic – Deathstalker 7:30 PM
November 9 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – The Brain 7:00 PM
November 9 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – Deathstalker 10:00 PM
November 11 – Seattle – The Moore Theatre – The Brain 3:00 PM
November 11 – Seattle – The Moore Theatre – Deathstalker 7:00 PM
November 13 – Boulder – Macky Auditorium – The Brain 7:30 PM
November 15 – Milwaukee – Riverside Theater – The Brain 7:30 PM
November 16 – Chicago – Athenaeum – The Brain 7:00 PM
November 16 – Chicago – Athenaeum – Deathstalker 10:00 PM
November 17 – Minneapolis – State Theatre – The Brain 7:00 PM
November 17 – Minneapolis – State Theatre – Deathstalker 10:00 PM