See ‘The Singles Ward’ mocked ‘MST3K’-style
If you live in Utah, you might be aware that KJZZ-TV shows the lousy Mormon comedy “The Singles Ward” now and then. But this Thanksgiving, the broadcast will be different. This time, the movie will be funny!
That’s because Daryn Tufts, Randy Tayler, and Trenton James will be providing snarky commentary on it, in the manner of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” They’re calling it “Talkies.” It will be like watching a bad movie with three of your funniest friends. Or three of my funniest friends, anyway.
But the reason I’m telling you about it isn’t just that the guys are friends of mine, but that some of the snide remarks© they’ll be making were written by me, Eric D. Snider. Yes, though the performance is carefully crafted to look like they’re ad-libbing their responses to the movie, they are in fact scripted. (Such was the case with “Mystery Science Theater,” too.) Daryn asked if I wanted to write some jokes, and I was glad to do it, though it did mean having to watch “The Singles Ward” again.
(Added dimension that the “MST” gang never had to deal with: Daryn is actually in “The Singles Ward.” He’ll be mocking his own performance.)
So if you find yourself in Utah on Thanksgiving, turn your TV dial to KJZZ at 3 p.m. to record this one-time-only broadcast of “Talkies” featuring “The Singles Ward.” If the audience response is favorable, Daryn and the gang may have a chance to give other films in KJZZ’s library the “Talkies” treatment.
After the jump are some YouTube clips of the show. Daryn warns that the picture and sound are rough in these clips, but they’ll be smooth and delightful in the actual broadcast.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Korea. Ha!
November 19th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
It looks pretty good. What are the chances that the whole thing will end up either broadcast in DC or on YouTube?
November 19th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Boy that last clip was some uber-over-acting on the part of the lead. The flashbacks were wholesome–the reaction shots were spawned by Satan. These clips are pretty funny if you grew up in the area or saw the film. Good MST parody of comedy that both needs and is a parody. I hope that made sense…
November 19th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I was perfectly fine with the fact that I wasn’t going home to Utah for Thanksgiving this year, but now… now I am sad that I can’t watch this in full! Thanks for ruining my day. : (
November 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I don’t think that I could bear watching that atrocious piece of crap again, even with hilarious commentary. There are a few MST3K’s that fall in that realm, too, so bad that they’re painful even with the mocking. I remember one where Tom Servo started yelling at the movie. Good times.
November 19th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I feel that the last clip was by far the best. I will try to tivo this and will enjoy it after the Thanksgiving vacation ends.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Sorry, while the mocking was half as lame as the original movie, it still isn’t up to par. What I saw I’d say a B- would be generous (since the original was a C-). While I chuckled at a few points, it wasn’t clever.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Oh man, not fair… I wanna see this. Eric you HAVE to get your friends to YouTube the whole thing after it airs, please please please?
I didn’t think Singles Ward was all that bad of a movie though. I’d have probably given it a B-.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
So I was cracking up the entire time. I agree, this needs to go on youtube so a lowly Washingtonian girl can watch it.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
This is one of the first times since I moved away that I’ve wished I were back in Utah! Daryn and Randy are two of my funniest former acquaintances!
November 19th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Surprised to see they’re going with the silhouettes - I thought Best Brains held some sort of copyright on such a thing. Even without rights problems, doesn’t it lean too much for comfort into rip-off territory?
(On the other hand, hooray for good comedy and for local TV!)
November 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I have to admit, phenomenal idea but only moderately funny. The original “Single’s Ward” was a poorly made movie but it hit too close to home and has to be a classic in my mind. Some scenes are such great ideas that I forget the poor film quality.That may be why this parody is not as funny as the old MST3K which ripped on horrible films that had no reason to be created.
The final youtube clip was pretty good.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I’m not sure there’s anything that could get me to watch that horrible, awful movie ever again.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
We should have called it “Mystery Science Original TV Show Idea Theater”.
The silhouettes were decided on in post. We had a secondary shot from the side where you could see our faces and such, but it proved problematic to do a little window where you could see us from time to time. And we had to have SOMETHING visual there, lest people tune in and hear this commentary and not know what in the world was going on.
I’ll admit I’m concerned the whole product won’t be up to snuff. (Snuff is very funny, after all.) But I know we do have a few jokes in it that STILL make me laugh when I think about them, so that’s good. I certainly came away with more respect for Mike Nelson and the MST crew.
November 20th, 2007 at 5:50 am
Hey, I served my mission in Korea, and I call BS on the comment about eating the dogs. Those dogs are much too old and sinewy to eat. For good tender dog, you need to get ‘em young.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:11 am
“We should have called it “Mystery Science Original TV Show Idea Theaterâ€.”
Hee. Yeah, there’s no way around it without a mountain of other problems, I suppose. Best of luck to you, snuff and all!
November 20th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Those are great - too bad I won’t be in Utah anytime soon…
November 20th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Not all of MST3K’s jokes are roaring successes either. But every once in a while you get a gem. I found the same in the clips here. Good luck with it.
November 23rd, 2007 at 12:16 pm
I watched the thing last night. It had its funny moments but I think the concept would’ve been more effective if you had guys who had nothing to do with the movie or had not even seen it before. When you have guys who were in the movie, it just comes off like an audio commentary track you’d find on the DVD.
The whole unfunny comedian jab got really old after the 100th attempt. It’s like the guys couldn’t think of anything else to use to mock the character.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:45 am
eugh, you guys should post this in full online somewhere! Mormons who aren’t in Utah should get a chance to see it, too!