Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff, known to fans of the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 as “Dr. Clayton Forrester” and “TV’s Frank” respectively, present a new series of livestreams, The Mads Are Back! Every second Tuesday at 8pm ET, Frank and Trace continue the tradition of Mystery Science Theater 3000-style movie “riffing” LIVE and online, where viewers can watch from anywhere in the world.
Beaulieu, who also provided the voice of “Crow T. Robot” during Mystery Science Theater 3000’s initial run, portrayed evil mad scientist “Dr. Clayton Forrester,” while Conniff acted as Forrester’s lab assistant and sidekick, known as “TV’s Frank.” Both Beaulieu and Conniff were writers on the show and have continued to collaborate since leaving MST3K, as members of the similarly-themed live show Cinematic Titanic, and also as co-hosts of the weekly movie podcast Movie Sign with The Mads.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on local affiliate KTMA-TV (now WUCW) on November 24, 1988. Comedian Joel Hodgson created and starred in the TV show, which found him playing a janitor in the “not-too-distant future” imprisoned aboard The Satellite of Love, forced to watch a series of bad movies in an effort to drive Joel and his robot friends insane. The show was eventually picked up by Comedy Central and later the Sci-Fi Channel, before being rebooted by Hodgson in 2017 for Netflix.
In 2015, Beaulieu and Conniff began touring movie theaters throughout the country as The Mads Are Back, offering their signature brand of quick-witted commentary (known to MST3K fans as “riffing”) over numerous B-movies. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beaulieu and Conniff collaborated with producer Chris Gersbeck of Dumb Industries to bring their touring show online, offering monthly live-riffs of movies, including some they had previously screened on tour including Glen or Glenda, The Tingler, and Walk The Dark Street.
Since launching The Mads Are Back as a ticketed livestream in July 2020, The Mads have released over forty livestreams including 13 shorts compilations, and have welcomed guests such as Mike Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, Bridget Nelson, Beez McKeever, Rich Koz (“Svengoolie”), Jonah Ray, and many other cast members and writers from Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as regulars in the world of comedy and cult film. The Mads also released a YouTube channel in 2021, regularly releasing new shorts and other content.
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The Mads Are Back! Join Mystery Science Theater 3000 stars Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff (“Dr. Clayton Forrester” and “TV’s Frank”) for this special livestream event as they present an all-new live-riff on a B-movie... the worst they can find (la la la)!
Stick around for a post-show Q&A with The Mads and a very special guest TBA