Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet, also known as Season 12 of the original Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) series, was released on the streaming platform Netflix in 2018 before arriving to Amazon Add-on. Incorporating the same dichotomous blend of low-budget B-movie mockery and unabashed love for the cinematic art, it continues to entertain fans old and new alike.

The season, with six episodes in total, presents a new challenge for its protagonists, akin to running the gauntlet, hence the title of this iteration. It sustains the inventive premise of the original series that debuted on a local Minneapolis station in 1988 before blossoming into a major cult sensation on Comedy Central and later, the Sci-Fi (now SyFy) channel.

The show's canonical narrative revolves around Jonah Heston (played by Jonah Ray), a hapless janitor abducted by mad scientists and sent aboard the spaceship Satellite of Love. The mad scientists, known as 'Mads', are led by Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day), daughter of one of the original Mads from the original series, and TV's Son of TV's Frank (Patton Oswalt). Imprisoned aboard the spaceship, Jonah is subjected to a cruel and unusual experiment, where he is forced to watch a series of the worst movies ever made in an attempt to drive him insane.

Each episode in The Gauntlet operates under an interesting premise – Kinga Forrester and TV's Son of TV's Frank proclaim that Jonah and the robots are to run the gauntlet of six of the worst movies ever made, back to back, in a bid to drive them over the brink.

Thankfully, Jonah is not alone on this journey. He is accompanied by wise-cracking robots Crow T. Robot (Hampton Yount) and Tom Servo (Baron Vaughn), originally created to assist in maintaining the spaceship but now serve as Jonah's companions in enduring the cinematic torture. Together, they provide a humorous running commentary that picks apart the absurd plots, questionable acting, and visible boom mics.

The Gauntlet maintains the raucous enjoyment that the show is known for. In the tradition of its predecessors, it uses puppetry, prop comedy, skits, and songs to enrich its hilariously snarky commentary on B-movies. But what sets apart this new rendition of MST3K is its clear wouldn't-it-be-fun ethos in making it. The forced movie watching experience is deftly woven into an overarching plot, a story within a story where high concept hilarity is wedded to a larger fictional universe that deepens with each episode.

The series’ major strength, as always, is its ability to highlight how embracing absurdity can open the door to joy. The Gauntlet delivers this in spades, focusing on the endearing camaraderie between Jonah and his robot pals and their ability to survive the onslaught of truly terrible cinema.

The six film choices are perfectly ripe for the MST3K treatment: from the disorientingly wild Atlantic Rim, a shameless Pacific Rim knockoff, to the baffling horror film Lords of the Deep. They adhere to the MST3K tradition of catering cinematic misfires that range from thinly veiled copies of big blockbusters to productions that defy any sensible explanation.

In a true testament to the creators, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet maintains the droll, mutinous persecution of bad movies, while also carefully straddling the boundary between satire and genuine homage to the art of cinema. All in all, it's a laugh-out-loud funny, endearing offering that captivates its viewers with its quirky sense of humor, making it a memorable addition to the MST3K canon.