Cinematic Titanic live in RI!

On Saturday, Oct 16, the crew from Cinematic Titanic bring their unique real-time movie riffing show to Edwards Auditorium at URI. For those who remember Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) with rabid affection (or, okay, maybe just fond nostalgia) this is a chance to see the original crew — Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Coniff, and Mary Jo Pehl — doing what they do best: making fun of cheesy movies.

It's a simple thing: a film being projected, a few chairs for the cast, and a live performance as they riff off the truly awful sludge of Hollywood's backlist. If you haven't seen MST3K, the method is a near-constant patter, drilling every gaffe, lame production value, ham-fisted thematic element, and wooden performance, all interlaced with meta-commentary, left-field references, and Zen-like insights. It is take-the-top-of-your-head-off hysterical.

We first discovered MST3K when we finally caved in and got cable, in 1992, and it became one of the few must-watch shows in our house. There are some shows — like, say, "The Giant Gila Monster" — which are, for us, the stuff of comedy legend. You can check out old episodes on hulu.com. The revivial, Cinematic Titanic, is even more interesting in some ways because it adds the edge of live performance.

Saturday's outing will be Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World, which the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) politely describes as a sword-and-sandal epic shot with the leftover sets from "Marco Polo."

Wow. I can't wait. Sound interesting? Get your tickets here.