Former Mystery Science Theater 3000 and current Rifftrax writer/performer Kevin Murphy (best known as the voice of Tom Servo) conducted an Ask Me Anything interview on Reddit earlier today. He’s actually not finished yet, and will be back on around 6:30 EST according to his current message on the page.But we’ve been following along and–like we did with Community‘s Yvette Nicole Brown a while back–we’ve culled through the mountain of text that inevitably forms on those pages to find the high points of the interview for you, including a brutally blunt first question that draws the cleanest, most articulate answer about Joel Hodgson’s departure from Mystery Science Theater 3000 that we’ve yet seen.Enjoy. The first bit of text is Murphy’s own introduction.
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I’m Kevin Murphy. I played Tom Servo for nine seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000. I’m also author of the book “A Year at the Movies: One Man’s Filmgoing Odyssey.” presently I work with my fellow MST alums Mike Nelson and Bill Corbett on Rifftrax.com. We’re doing a live riff of “Manos: The Hands of Fate” in theaters nationwide this Thursday, which you can check out here: https://rifftrax.com/live In the meantime, ASK ME ANYTHING, although maybe not about algebra. I suck at algebra. This is my first IAmA, and frankly I’m more wigged out about this than I am about doing Manos live. Oh and here’s proof, over at my Twitter profile:
myconoid: So, what really happened to Joel? Aliens? Boredom? Fist fight with YOU?Kevin Murphy: Joel, God bless him, was always interested in trying new stuff. Also, he had a lot of conflict with Jim [Mallon], making work pretty unpleasant for him. so he decided to start new stuff elsewhere.jeremiahwarren: Rifftrax are amazing. How do you feel about the people that have pirated them through YouTube?KM: I’d just reiterate that if you like us, and want us to keep doing our stuff, then vote for us by paying for us. I think we’re a good entertainment bargain.OxGaabe6: Any thoughts on doing an actual tour, riffing a movie live and present in theaters/venues across the country/world? I think you’ve done them before, but I might be confusing it with Cinematic Titanic.KM: Yeah, the “Live in Theaters” show gets us to a lot of places that a live-on-stage show could not, small towns, remote towns. And the ticket price is pretty decent.beevbo: Do you miss being a puppeteer? I think you did an amazing job getting Tom Servo to emote for a puppet who had no eyes and a face that wasn’t malleable.KM: I miss the character – Tom was so damn much fun to perform. I do not miss holding ten pounds of polystyrene over my head.susaninparis: What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?KM: I shot training videos for my Dad’s Employment agency. I hated that job, hated his business, loved him though.maxbarkly: Given the changing landscape of media from when MST3K started to Rifftrax now, what are some of the legal and copyright hurdles you’ve had to go through over the years and have they gotten better or worse? Are there any shows or rifftrax you guys did that you couldn’t release due to rights problems?
- What’s the best performance you’ve seen in any of the MST3K or Rifftrax film?
- I do get a kick out of you being friends with Neil Gaiman. Makes Peter David’s old Sandman Mystery Science Theater joke come closer to reality.
- Have you ever eaten at McCoy’s Public House in Minneapolis? My brother is the manager and I wanted to give him a plug.
KM: I think that Trace, on any given day as Dr. Forrester, could slay me with a look. He was wonderful. And Mike as Michael Feinstein or as Morrisey or Jack Perkins, brilliant.Neil is a sweet, affable, brilliant fellow, with a sly and goofily English sense of humor.I have had drinks at McCoys! Great bar there. Great place to meet up with friends.lizardinmycoffee: In MST3K, when you would perform choral pieces as Tom Servo, like Starfighters and Quest of the Delta Knights, who composed the songs and how long did it take you to record all of the parts?KM: Thanks! Mike and I generally composed all the chorale stuff that Tom did, and then it was just an exercise in overdubbing. I have a lot of harmony singing in my past, so the parts would come together pretty fast. Sometimes we’d use a keyboard as a reference, but we could often knock out a song in a day from idea fo finished concept. We had to, we had a deadline.tstads20: Will Mike be re-donning his Torgo costume for this upcoming show? If not, can we start a petition for this?KM: You’ll just have to come and see what happens, won’t you?Rowsdower_Rowsdower: IS CORN GRASS???!!!Seeing Manos on Thursday while vacationing in San Francisco with my wife. We can’t wait!KM: I now think that Corn is a mythical beast from Norse Mythology. Enjoy the show.spectre377: What’s your favorite bad movie? Mine is probably Birdemic, the special effects kill me every time.KM: Birdemic may be my current favorite, it’s so oddly sweet and earnest.MMX2: I’m a film major. What’s the best piece of advice you can give in order to make a good movie (or avoid making bad ones)?KM: Be honest in writing, efficient in shooting, ruthless in editing. Pay your writers, crew and cast, and be good to them. Stay humble. Think of your audience. Avoid Hollywood.BaldBombshell: Did you have any puppeterring experience pre-Servo? And how long did it take you to acclimate to being in that sort of position for segments?KM: I had a Danny O’Day Ventriloquist dummy as a kid, but that’s about it. Servo was pretty easy, since I could rest him on the desk and it was essentially head and beak movement. So it didn’t take me too long. Trace was very helpful.PopFreshenmeyer: Is there any television show after MST3k that you have wanted to work on or thought about contributing to, either as an actor or writer?KM: Oh man, right away I think Arrested Development, anything Ricky Gervais has done, 30 Rock, QI – any of those would be so much fun to work on.BobaFeta: I have never laughed so hard in my life (tears rolling down my face) as i did during the break scene during “santa claus” when everyone was caroling and the hot chocolate spills onto crow and his eyes fall out and everyone starts screaming hysterically.. was that planned or was that an accident? also, i would like to say i have a mini tom servo doll in my living room that i proudly display on a shelf of fancies.KM: Crow’s eyes falling out was damn near impossible to plan, and when it happened we always tried to roll with it. This is one example when it worked – didn’t plan the eyes popping out, but went with it. One time the eyes caught fire, and believe me those ping-pong balls go up fast and bright – I still laugh myself silly today when I see it.bababastard: I love the riffs of blockbuster movies, but I really, really love the stuff like Birdemic and The Room. I know The Room had a cult following, but where do you find stuff like Birdemic? It’s almost as if that movie was made for you guys.KM: We continue to comb the internets and check in with friends to learn about the latest cultural flotsam, and Birdemic was sort of traveling around the internet trying to find an audience.casualmat: Do you have a favorite recent riff that makes you laugh out loud every time you hear it?KM: We recently did a Mexican Luchador film called Neutron Vs the Death Robots, and Mike’s utterly senseless translatiosn of “Mexican” to English just slay me.BromanJenkins: How many Servos do you have at your house?KM: I have no Servos in my house except for a tiny cellector statuette. It would just be too weird, and he’d start telling me to kill people….
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