MSTing

MSTing /ˌɛmˌɛsˈtiː.ɪŋ/ or MiSTing /ˈmɪstɪŋ/ is a method of mocking a show in the style of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) and, in particular, is a form of fan fiction in which writers mock other works by inserting humorous comments, called "riffs", into the flow of dialogue and events.

Style

In MSTing, the author picks a badly written piece of text—usually a Usenet post, web page, or some other source such as a rant, spam or fan fiction—and inserts mocking comments from fictional readers of the text, essentially writing a script as if the MSTing were a movie. While "standard" MSTings attribute these comments to the three main characters of the MST3K cast, others might use characters - usually (though not always) from the universe of the story being mocked. Often a prologue, epilogue, and intermissions are added in which the characters discuss a topic on the same theme as the original text, although intermission segments are usually dropped if the original work is short. Over time, the term MST has also been usedTemplate:Who to describe general fan fiction mockeries, without the use of the MST3K character-based joke format.

History

MSTing began in the early 1990s, as fans of the show, many of whom were involved in Usenet discussions in groups such as popular MST3K newsgroup rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc, began adding amusing or critical remarks to others' posts, attributing them to the show's characters (typically, Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo, Joel Robinson, and later Mike Nelson).

The MSTing Mine credits Eric Alfred Burns as the writer of the first MSTings in February 1993, three short lambastings of Internet criticisms of MST3K itself. The "canonical" MSTing style mostly derives from these first three postings, including Usenet-style quoting of the original work and script-style lines for the riffers and characters outside the theater. Other authors followed suit with MSTings of other works. By the end of the year, at least 29 original MSTings had been posted.

As the phenomenon grew, it spread to other media and other forums. The newsgroup alt.tv.mst3k.mstings was established on Usenet for this fan writing. A discussion category on Yahoo!, "Entertainment > Humor, Jokes, and Fun > Parody > Usenet Parodies > MiSTings" (no longer active in 2007), was created for discussions there. MSTing for popular TV shows such as Star Trek: Voyager, other genres such as anime, Usenet postings, and the MSTiers' own original works were fodder for this written mockery. Recently, technologies not present when MSTing was started, such as Wikis and YouTube have been used.

Cheap Seats, a show that ran on ESPN Classic from 2004 to 2006, borrowed its format from Mystery Science Theater 3000. The cast of MST3K apparently were pleased with the show and afforded it a high honor - they appeared in the fourth season opener in their normal silhouette format, making fun of the Sklar's host show bits. So far it is the only time Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy have appeared as their MST3K characters Mike Nelson, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo since MST3K was cancelled. A Similar Text based series, Known as Fanfiction Failure Involving a group of characters, of which a trio named Troy, Hawk and Claus seem to be the most popular, mock Fanfiction.

Issues and ethics

Generally for copyright and ethical reasons, "MSTers" attempt to gain the permission of the original story's writer before writing an MST treatment of the work in question. While it is not clear that this is legally or ethically necessary--the Fair Use doctrine technically permits reproduction for the purpose of parody--such permission is usually sought out of courtesy. As with the television version, some authors of works that have been made in into "MSTings" have been rather negative about the treatment of their works and have requested the "MSTing" to be removed (which is generally done when requested), while others appreciate the humor and light criticism the collective result brings. Works of some of these latter authors (notably Stephen Ratliff for his Star Trek: The Next Generation fanfiction, in which teenage character Marissa Picard became an ensign in Starfleet shortly after her 14th birthday) became works that many "MSTers" seek to use as a basis for a "MSTing".

Additionally, some fiction sites such as FanFiction.Net have banned the posting of MSTs, either because they do not allow "script format" works (i.e. formats that are not standard for short stories, novellas, or novels, including those in teleplay or screenplay format, or those meant to imitate chat room conversations), or because they contain copyrighted material not written or owned by the MST's creator, or because the sites in question simply do not want to deal with upset authors getting angry about MSTings of their work.

External links

• The MSTing Mine - An archive of MSTings originally posted to the MST3K Usenet newsgroups.
• The MSTers' Reference Centre
• EWIC MSTing FAQ Sheet
• How to Write MiSTingsArchive copy at the Wayback Machine
• The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Fanvid and Live-performance DatabaseArchive copy at the Wayback Machine
• A MSTing For All Seasons
• Atomic Monsters.com - Reviews of the cheesiest monster movies of the 1950s
• Project A.F.T.E.R. - Features fan fiction mockeries that do not use traditional character-based jokes.

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