Terrible Movie Night: Crowdsourcing the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Vibe

Recommended Videos

Howard Stern‘s intimately live-Tweeted account of Private Parts this past weekend brought renewed attention to the old, good idea of using social media as a platform for making movie-watching and other entertainment-consumption a more intimate, communal experience. And it just so happens that friend of Geekosystem Philip Bump has recently rolled out a project focused on just that.

Terrible Movie Night is a sort of crowdsourced Mystery Science Theater 3000: Viewers watch a chosen bad movie on Netflix at a predetermined time, and as they’re watching it, they take to Twitter or Facebook to comment as the movie progresses. What differentiates Terrible Movie Night from, say, a bunch of friends deciding to get together and do this informally is its timeline system: Commentary on the movie is archived by time stamp, and so the wisecracks of the users aren’t just a transient communal experience, but are preserved for posterity.

What this means for you is that if you happen to feel a yearning to watch, say, Supercop after TMN has given it the rundown, you can go to the timeline page and either jump around to given times or sync up the timeline to progress as the movie plays. It’s almost like having real friends to watch movies with!

If you’re interested in checking it out, Terrible Movie Night is watching Gojira at 8pm tonight; a longer schedule of movies to be watched is also available on their site.

(Terrible Movie Night | Tumblr page)


The Mary Sue is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Who Is That Sexy Cat King in ‘Dead Boy Detectives’?
Lukas Gage as the Cat King in Dead Boy Detectives.
Read Article Jonathan Bailey, Hayley Atwell, and More Join ‘Heartstopper’ Season 3
(L-R) headshots of Hayley Atwell and Jonathan Bailey.
Read Article The Ending of ‘Challengers’ Is a Lot To Take In
Mike Faist, Zendaya, and Josh O'Connor sitting on a bed together
Read Article ‘Bridgerton’: Who Is Francesca Bridgerton? Explained
Francesca Bridgerton in 'Bridgerton'
Read Article Counting Down the 13 Best ‘Bridgerton’ Characters Ahead of Season Three
bad love triangle is bad in Bridgerton
Related Content
Read Article Who Is That Sexy Cat King in ‘Dead Boy Detectives’?
Lukas Gage as the Cat King in Dead Boy Detectives.
Read Article Jonathan Bailey, Hayley Atwell, and More Join ‘Heartstopper’ Season 3
(L-R) headshots of Hayley Atwell and Jonathan Bailey.
Read Article The Ending of ‘Challengers’ Is a Lot To Take In
Mike Faist, Zendaya, and Josh O'Connor sitting on a bed together
Read Article ‘Bridgerton’: Who Is Francesca Bridgerton? Explained
Francesca Bridgerton in 'Bridgerton'
Read Article Counting Down the 13 Best ‘Bridgerton’ Characters Ahead of Season Three
bad love triangle is bad in Bridgerton