'Myster Science Theater' creator brings movie-riffing to the Troc

JOEL HODGSON, creator of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," has made a career for himself by riffing on movies, lovingly poking fun at the big screen.

But for his next act, he'll take on a weightier topic then sci-fi B-movies. This time, he'll riff on his own life.

Hodgson, who lives in Bucks County, is the main attraction at "Sunday in the Dark with Joel" happening at the Trocadero and presented by local blog Geekadelphia. The evening (yes, it's this Sunday) consists of two parts: a presentation of Hodgson's new multimedia memoir, "Riffing Myself," and a screening of "The Pod People," a beloved episode of the show Hodgson created in 1988.

"It's basically my story," Hodgson said about "Riffing Myself." "It starts with when I was seven years old and I thought God was making the movies."

Like many cult figures, Hodgson is little known to the world at large, but much beloved by his devoted fans. Jerry Seinfeld recently featured Hodgson in an episode of his webseries "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," referring to Hodgson as one of his "favorite cultural visionaries."

That vision is on display in episodes of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," an entry in the cult-classic canon, featuring Hodgson as a janitor from the future who is sent to space and forced to watch cheese-ball movies alongside robot buddies. Hodgson and his robot friends comment on what they're watching to stave off the inevitable insanity caused by sitting through too many crappy movies.

Hodgson refers to "Riffing Myself" as "infrequent answers to frequently asked questions," like how Hodgson became a stand-up comedian and what inspired him to create "Mystery Science Theater 3000." Among the latter are Michael and Harry Medved's book, The Golden Turkey Awards. Hodgson calls it the "the Academy Awards for the worst movies ever made," covering films like "The Terror of Tiny Town," a western featuring an all-dwarf cast.

"Riffing Myself" is "one of the most sincere things I've ever seen a celebrity do. It goes into his childhood and what inspired him, his creative process," said Dan Tabor, who produced the event and serves as Geekadelphia's arts and entertainment editor. "He pulls back the curtain, and this is how he came up with everything."

Many have tried to create Hodgson's model of making fun of the movies, but few have succeeded. "He's not being critical. He's positive. I always think about that aspect reminds me of the Muppets and 'Sesame Street,' " said Kirsten Van Vlandren, the assistant director of Phoenixville's Colonial Theatre, a fan of Hodgson's since she saw him on HBO's eighth annual "Young Comedians" special in 1983. "They have a worldview that is not negative."

Van Vlandren has screened several episodes of "Mystery Science Theater" since 2010 at the theater, and Hodgson has done some shows there, including "Riffing Myself" and, with another movie-riffing outfit, "Cinematic Titanic."

According to Tabor, part of Hodgson's appeal is unadulterated love for the terrible movies he makes fun of. If Hodgson didn't make a living riffing on these movies, he would be watching them anyway.

Maybe Hodgson has retained that love of the movies and performance by removing himself from Hollywood. Hodgson left "Mystery Science Theater" in 1993 after getting in a fight with producer Jim Mallon about a movie adaptation. At the time, he claimed he was weary of performing, but he has since said that it was only to retain the "Mystery Science Theater" brand after his departure.

He continued to work in Hollywood for 13 years, developing new projects that were never greenlit by studios. "It was my wilderness years," he said, likening himself to a concept-car designer in Detroit who creates wild designs that are never constructed.

In addition to performing with Cinematic Titanic, Hodgson is now the creative lead for media at Cannae, a Newtown-based company that has developed new technology, called a Q-Drive, that would power satellites with solar panels, rather than fuel.

Hodgson said that he and the inventor, Guido Fetta, are kindred spirits: They're both funny and they're both sci-fi fans.

"After being in show business for so long," Hodgson said, "It's fun to work on something that's real."