I wish there was a show like MST3K but instead of only mocking the films there was a healthy dose of appreciation and some background info on the films they show.
I like the MST3K format, but I’ve always hated that they can only point and laugh. They never give any context for the circumstances in which these films were made and that alone would go a long way in changing the perception the viewer has toward the movie.
But, appreciation is for stupid old people and entertainment should be aimed at pre-teens at all times. These are facts.
That’s not really their job, anymore than it was for Elvira or any of the horror movie hosts of my youth. There’s always Turner Classic Movies for that. I’ve liked some of the movies done on the show enough to seek them out in their uncut form, and those that have extras told me more than enough. And there’s always the interwebs.
And they have given a little context in the past. They acknowledged Manos was made by an El Paso businessman, and that SoulTaker was a vanity project by it’s lovely star Vivian Schilling. They never fail to point out a “movie” that’s really a unsold tv pilot, or two episodes of a tv show awkwardly stitched together. Heck, even the skits on “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank” are an acknowledgement it was made for Public Television.
How much context does one really need to understand “Operation Double 007” is a shameless Italian Bond ripoff starring Sean Connery’s brother?
Many of the MST3K DVD box sets since Shout Factory took over from Rhino have had short, but very informative documentaries about the respective films, and the people behind them.
Alas, no amount of context can ever explain the soul sucking bleak cinematic vision of Coleman Francis.