Hi Reddit! I’m Mary Jo Pehl from Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax here to answer your questions. Ask me anything!

hi omg i’m a huge fan and i’m so stoked i got here early because i always miss the AMAs i would most want to ask questions in

as for my question: what, in your opinion, is the most decent and genuinely enjoyable movie that’s been on MST3K? i personally loved kitten with a whip wholeheartedly and i thought the screaming skull was legitimately gripping for the most part as well.

I think Kitten With A Whip was well made, for sure, it was just the melodrama that made it right for us.

How are you doing? We miss you here in Austin.

Doing okay, all things considered. I miss Austin. Austin, TX that is - not Austin, Minnesota, SPAM Headquarters

Hi Mary Jo! What is your favorite memory from making MST3K, CT, or Rifftrax?

All of them: getting to laugh so hard all the time.

MST3K: Bobo (Kevin’s) butt in my face when Pearl and brain guy were in the fan. I always loved how Kevin would push the funny.

Cinematic Titanic: all the live shows but the time when we were backstage, I said my feet were cold, so Joel put two buns around my foot from the snack bar to warm me up.

RiffTrax: some of the lines Bridget has written and said… always fun, but sometimes I’ll think of one out of context - which currently escape me - and start laughing.

Hi Mary Jo!

How much of Pearl Forrester's character was created/written by you? She seems to have a lot of your humor to her, and I think she's one of the best villains ever!

Wow, thanks! I think she was informed by my mom and an aunt of mine, and we writers had a good simpatico in our writing, so we all contributed in shaping her.

But I definitely was working out a lot of personal aggression!

How did you start work at MST3K? Were you recruited by them, or did you "apply" for a job?

I applied! Best Brains has a “Now Hiring” sign as I was driving by so I went for it!

I knew everybody from the Twin Cities comedy scene, I knew they were working on a show, but I didn’t have a TV at the time so I had NO idea what it was about. Then I heard they were adding to the staff, so I mustered up EVERY OUNCE OF COURAGE I had to call Head Writer Mike Nelson and submit materials.

Did you get to keep anything from your MST3K days—props or uniforms and such? And is there anything you would have liked to have kept?

I think most of the props, costumes, sets, etc. got sold. I only kept one prop because I am an ascetic - in one host segment Crow did a book report on the Civil War which was naturally convoluted and ill informed…

And Patrick Brantseg (prop master extraordinaire along with Beez McKeever) made the most amazing, ridiculous hilarious map of the Civil War sites. The only thing I ever kept, I loved it so much

What is something you wish fans of MST3K understood?

That is you’re wondering where we got the movies, it’s been covered in about 8 million interviews.

For real - y’all are great and I think we’ve all been a little humbled and overwhelmed by the FANS who let us keep doing what we do.

First off, Naturally A Girl is one of my favorite shorts, so thanks for that!

Does riffing professionally make it tough to watch a non-terrible movie or show immersively? Are you always writing jokes for it in some part of your mind?

Naturally a Girl is sooo great!

And no, honestly, I’ve managed to start turning off that part of my brain so I can just simply watch something and enjoy. Or NOT enjoy. But not feel compelled to riff!

What's your go-to Torchy's order?

GAH! It’s been so long since I’ve been there. Honestly, I’ll take anything off the Torchy’s menu!

If you were given a plane like in "Time Chasers" what year would you go to and what would you do?

WHOA! BIG QUESTION!!

Probably go back to summer 2018 and not go zip lining with my sisters. I was terrified, had to be lowered from the course midway through, and STILL have nightmares. My sisters bravely soldiered on, not giving me a second thought!

Hi! How many times do you have to watch these shitty movies in order to write your own scripts?

At MST3K we watched the movie approximately 9 or so times. And that was drilling deep, starting and stopping. Cinematic Titantic at least four or five to write, each of us drilling down into a section we’d been assigned. Same with RiffTrax.

Do you doctor frozen food like your parents? Love you and Bridgette riffing, a perfect match!

No, I do not “doctor food” like my parents! You know how kids rebel!! For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, please refer to my Ted Talk.

What is sidestream about exactly? How do I tune in?

It’s a way to watch a movie with a bunch of like-minded folks.

Tonight I’m hosting the The Evil Brain From Outer Space, and it’s a way to hang out and have fun at the movies together. Super easy to access.

Here’s the link: https://watchsidestream.com/maryjopehl

This is a huge treat, and love your portrayal of Pearl Forrester, you're an amazing Mad!

I heard you mention at a Q and A you weren't a huge, 'sci-fi / fantasy' fan, do you think this made it easier to write more broad jokes, situations?

And if I can ask a follow up, what was a hard, 'experiment' movie to write for? Not necessarily the worst but maybe a boring movie?

Not being a huge sci-fi or fantasy fan hasn’t helped, me thinks. It makes me out of the loop on stuff, and I’m sure there have been great jokes that could have been deployed but for me not knowing that much about the genres. But ask me anything about the Ottoman Empire, I’m your history nerd girl!

Hi there! My husband and I were just talking about the evolution of Pearl from her first appearance, coming up with a bunch of possibilities about why she gave herself a makeover. Is that something you thought about at all?

If memory serves, I think we were just trying to simplify the process. The early Pearl was about two hours at least in makeup, with the nails, the hair, the makeup itself.

It evolved so other people could have a turn in the makeup chair, because Bobo and Brain Guy had intensive makeup needs as well. And I was glad for it because trying to comb out my hair and take off those nails was a real bitch at the end of the day.

Mary Jo, hello!

You're best known for MST3K, but I know you've done a lot outside of that world. So, what career achievement or work are you most proud of that doesn't involve movie riffing (MST/CT/RT)?

I did a web series a few years ago called “Ruth Larson Lives” about a failed product demonstrator at a local grocery chain.

I’d been sitting on the idea for years, couldn’t get legs under me, and I finally did it.

It was hard for me to ask my hilarious and talented friends to work for free, but dammit, they all pitched in and they make me laugh so much. So whether or not it’s great art, meh, I’m glad that I followed through on something.

Pineapple on pizza? Yes or no?

Not for me personally. BUT I STAND WITH PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA-ERS.

What are the 5 most requested Movies you have been request to do on MST3000 that you have done yet ?

Don’t know that I could narrow it down - we’re always getting suggestions but I don’t keep track. What are YOUR five most MST3K requests that we should have done??

I just have general career questions, so apologies if this is overloaded with Q’s. Can you talk a bit about how you got into comedy? Were you always wanting to be a performer or a writer? What’s it like working with the same people for decades now? What’s the work in your career that you’re most proud of?

Your work has brought a lot of joy to my whole family. Thank you!

I didn’t think you could a performer or a writer - I come from a family of accountants and teachers. Comedy/writing found ME after getting fired from a lot of jobs because I didn’t get how the corporate/day job worked!

A friend dragged me to an open stage, I had three minutes of material, forgot two minutes, but it just kind of built from there.

I’m not just proud of MST3K, Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax, each in their iteration, I’m also proud of growing as a writer, continuing to discover my voice and hopefully being better at what I do.

Which of the robots is your favorite?

OH COME ON!! Way to put me on the spot!

Honestly, and I’m not trying equivocate, what Kevin, Trace and Bill brought them gave me affection for each version.

What is your favorite short that you have riffed?

I LOVE the Farm Family series that Bridget and I did.

What's the worst movie you ever roasted on your shows?

Manos is fairly obvious but… ANY of the Coleman Francis oeuvre.

Hi Mary Jo! How's Ruth Larson doing? I miss her vuh-logs.

You are soooo sweet!

Hoping to get more in the hopper one of these days, but world and time - and budget - enough!

Tell me.... as someone who has a lot of suggestions for films for Rifftrax, what's the bureaucratic process of identifying and obtaining rights to films? (I tweeted you about a FANTASTIC Corman film "Sorority Girl" a while back and really really want you and Bridget to riff it)

I’m not terribly familiar with how rights are obtained. On MST3K there were a lot of PD films and/or films that Comedy Central/HBO had the rights to.

Sorority Girl would be great, but we’ve found that once a filmmaker is on to us, they challenge access to their films - this was our experience with Roger Corman and a PD film we tried to do with Cinematic Titanic. Can’t speak to how RiffTrax goes about it.

Hey Mary Jo! Have you seen any of the tribute shows Achievement Hunter have done?

They have a show they do that they have said is directly inspired by the laughs and joy that your show has brought them.

No, I haven’t! I’ve seen a lot of other “comedy bands” who riff, and Master Pancake in Austin is a favorite who’ve I gotten to work with - I’ll have to check out Achievement Hunters. Thanks for the heads up.

How did the Sidestream event come to happen and/or are you thinking this could be the first of many?

Curious if you’ll be riffing on Sidestream or just watching along?

I decided to approach this Sidestream viewing a little differently! I’d never even heard of the movie, haven’t ever seen it, and I’ve chosen not to read anything about it!

I thought it would be fun to discover it with y’all or see who all has already seen it!

But I mean, c’mon, judging by the title and artwork, it’s right up our alley.