Back in the 90’s, a television show could feel like a secret. A two hour comedy involving a man and his robot friends watching cheesy movies? It wasn’t something you’d see on ABC’s TGIF or NBC’s Must See TV. No, this humble show about riffing movies was comfortably settled on basic cable, and because of that grew a loyal following.
Back in the 90’s, the Internet definitely felt like a secret. For those in the know, it was clear that something wonderful and unexpected was being built in this wild frontier of the Information Superhighway. But to many, the Internet was a curiosity. Something mentioned on the news, but not used in your day to day life. It’s not like you could walk around with it in your pocket or anything.
It would only be a matter of time before the two would meet. Usenet, one of the main forms of digital communication at the time, would soon have a handful of newsgroups dedicated to discussing Mystery Science Theater 3000. Fans of the show could gather together, share their favorite moments, crack a few jokes, and have a proper good time. To some, maybe it seemed that’s all it would be. If our story was to end there, well, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell, would it?
On February 8th, 1993, a strange thing happened. Someone posted on alt.tv.mst3k. Ok, it wasn’t the fact someone wrote to the group that was strange. Not even the fact that the person was just being a troll. It was one of the responses to that message that was unexpected. Eric Alfred Burns, struck with a burst of inspiration, took the obvious bait and added comments to it, done in the voices of Joel, Tom, and Crow. It was quick, it was dirty, and the people loved it. Others soon imitated the style, poking fun at the zaniness that could be found online. Inadvertently, Eric had birthed a new form of fanfiction: the MiSTing.
The stories started coming in fast and quick, being posted on alt.tv.mst3k and rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc. Any and every topic one could think of was up for grabs. Inane conspiracy theories? Of course. Spam emails? You bet. Strange crossover fanfiction? You don’t even have to ask.
While there were a handful of Usenet archives that existed (the largest being Dejanews, which started in 1995), there was a demand for these MST3K stories to be archived in a centralized location. Michael K. Neylon, using a humble Linux box, took up the challenge. Creating Website Number 9, MiSTings from Usenet and beyond had a place to call home. In time it became fancy, the list being searchable, with categories and rating systems and even yearly awards. It was the central hub for all things MiSTing.
Not surprisingly, Sonic the Hedgehog became one of the bigger subsets of MiSTed fanfiction on the net. The first to tackle the subject, Joseph Nebus, would go on to create the Amazing, Colossal Episode Guide To Sonic the Hedgehog MiSTied Fanfiction. Taking its cues from the Best Brains book of a similar name, it strove to collect the stories as archived on WS#9 and provide summaries and reflections, giving the novice a place to start. The guide proved popular enough that it had its own redirect on mistings.org, a site meant to provide links to the ultimate MiSTing locations.
The Sonic guide was last updated in 2001, and WS#9 disappeared from the Internet in 2003. While a loss, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. The community that had built itself during the 90’s was starting to dissipate, the number of new MiSTings dropping in the new millenium. What was the reason for this shift? There’s a number of possibilities to choose from. The series these stories were based on had been cancelled by the Sci-Fi Channel in 1999. The Internet was changing, Usenet becoming less relevant as the World Wide Web evolved, message boards and communities like LiveJournal becoming the main places people would talk to each other online. Perhaps the culture of the Internet was shifting, with lighthearted jabs being replaced by more angry responses at art that was “not up to snuff.”
A combination of any of those could be the reason. But perhaps the biggest issue was simply time. Those who drove the MiSTing community, college students and mid-20’s graduates with more than enough free time to dial up into Usenet suddenly had jobs, families, less free moments to create jokes based on strange Star Trek: Voyager tales. After all, while Michael K. promised in late 2003 that his site would be back up after he settled in from his move, it never happened. Simply the word “test” would sit on the front page of Masemware, his new domain, for fifteen years.
Then, in 2019, another strange thing happened.
Unexpectedly, the text files of Website Number 9’s MiSTing archive were reuploaded by Mr. Neylon. No frills, a simple directory listing, but they were all there. What inspired this sudden urge to make these stories available to the general public again after sixteen years? Who knows. But because of this single act, MiSTings that were considered lost were returned. The Sonic guide, long since abandoned by Mr. Nebus, could be restored to its former glory.
While the community itself may never again reach the levels it did back in the 90’s, the legacy lives on. The style of comedy has never truly left, continuing on with projects like Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic, or even the brief revival of the show on Netflix. With the ability to watch the original series 24/7 on Pluto and Twitch, anyone can enjoy Joel, Mike and the Bots poking fun at films that might have otherwise been forgotten. Perhaps in the age of streaming, the need to have written MiSTings by fans isn’t as needed as it was in the days when it would take hours to download an mp3.
MiSTing may seem like a lost art. But there will always be people who, while reading some baffling piece of text, be struck with the urge to crack a joke. To spout a riff, to make an impression. Heck, every once in a while, another MiSTing will be posted in the hallowed halls of Usenet, Joseph Nebus still doing the Mads’ work. So here’s to you, the fabled MiSTers of yesteryear. For all that which you wrote, and all that you were forced to read so others could enjoy.
Whaddya think, sirs?