“I get to use our club's office, which is furnished with couches, a TV, and a Nintendo 64. It's hard to ask for more.”
- Tom Medved, Director of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 club

If anyone has ever laughed at very bad science fiction or old horror films, you are not alone. There is actually a student organization at the University Wisconsin-Milwaukee just for that, called the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Club or MST3KC for short.

Talking with the club’s director, Tom Medved, you get a little taste of how funny bad can be. The original “Mystery Science Theater 3000” was a show which ran from 1988 to 1999. The show featured a man and his robot friends, who were trapped in the Satellite of Love where an evil scientist tortured them by forcing them to watch really bad movies. The managed to survive only by making up their own scathing commentary to accompany the films.

UWM Post: When was the organization started?
Tom Medved: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Club at UWM (MST3K at UWM) was officially formed back in October of 2005.

Post: How many members did it have then, compared to now?
TM: The club kind of started as a joke, so I initially just cajoled three friends into signing up as officers. We had nine people at our first meeting, but it's ballooned into a steady rotation of between 20 and 30.

Post: Are there actually paid staff?
TM: Nope

Post: What do you do at meetings?
TM: We get together and watch episodes of MST3K. If this means anything to you, you should show up.

Post: How many movies do you think you have watched so far?
TM: We've watched around 40 movies so far.

Post: What's it like to work there?
TM: It's great to be in the MST3K Club at UWM. I do all the planning, scheduling, advertising and general paperwork for the club. But it's all worth it. I get to watch MST3K on a big screen with a bunch of like-minded people. I also got to meet one of the show's stars and head writer, Mike Nelson. And I get to use our club's office, which is furnished with couches, a TV and a Nintendo 64. It's hard to ask for more.

Post: What sorts of people do you get in, does it vary?
TM: We tend to get nerdy males and females, as well as a few film buffs (nerdy people who just don't like being called nerdy). We also get a fair amount of the Union's yellow-shirted cleaning crew when they take breaks or hide from work.

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