After much tape circulating, a bevy of internet rumors, and a successful crowdfunding campaign, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back at it again with more bad movies than you can shake a Netflix series at. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return is the long-awaited continuation of the cult-favorite television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 or MST3k and boy is it just like old times. Have no idea what Mystery Science Theater 3000 is? You’re not alone, but God do I pity you nonetheless you sad, sad individual.

Like its predecessor, MST3k: The Return takes the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” to its logical conclusion with a hokey sci-fi twist. In the show, host Jonah Heston (Jonah Ray) and his two robot pals Tom Servo (Baron Vaughn) and Crow T. Robot (Hampton Yount) watch old, bad movies and make fun of them at the behest of their cruel mad scientist taskmasters Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day) and Max (Patton Oswalt). In addition to the “riffing” of these old films which makes up the bulk of the show, there are also interstitial bits of traditional situational comedy focusing on the interactions between these characters and a rotating cast of bit-players including Neil Patrick Harris, Mark Hamill, and Jerry Seinfeld.

This show has charm coming out of its ears, and plenty of other places, and it all starts at the production quality. Everything we see on-screen; from the claymation spacecraft, to the goofy costumes, to the robot puppets has been constructed and produced with a handcrafted low-budget flare, emulating the earnest low-budget flare of the original public access-era Mystery Science Theater 3000 show of the late-80s. MST3k: The Return has the money and the star power of a modern television series, but it doesn’t lose itself in that. Its main focus is on keeping with the authenticity and quality of its low-fi predecessor and I love that about it. There isn’t a sudden shift in production values because the show got more funding, it just keeps being MST3k, and it doesn’t try to overstep those bounds.

With a writing staff bolstered by the likes of Rick and Morty’s Dan Harmon and helmed by former Daily Show head writer Elliott Kalan, the goofs are back and stronger than ever in this new iteration. The jokes, references, and bits delivered by Ray and company fly fast and furious, and as a fan of the original series I felt right at home from the first wisecrack. The writing, sprinkled with references new and old, manages to appeal to the more modern audience of Netflix while also keeping in the spirit of the original show without missing a beat. It’s smart, it’s gut-stomp hilarious, and even bits that would rely on knowledge of the previous run of the show are still funny enough on their face to have newcomers to the world of MST3k guffawing along.

The strongest episode of the season, and one I’d start on if I’m not too sure about the show, has to be “Avalanche” wherein Jonah and the Bots riff on the 1978 disaster movie of the same name starring Rock Hudson as a creepy land developer, Mia Farrow as Rock Hudson’s journalist ex-wife who he’s weirdly obsessed with, and featuring Jeanette Nolan as Rock Hudson’s constantly-drunk mother.

So give it a shot, I say. You’ll never have a better time watching a bad movie, I guarantee it.

5 out of 5 Satellites of Love