The Mads are Back

E1. Glen or Glenda

Trace Beaulieu & Frank Conniff, "The Mads" from Mystery Science Theater 3000, took their touring act online on July 21, 2020 with a live-riff of Ed Wood’s GLEN OR GLENDA (1958), and have held the monthly tradition ever since. Presented here is the full recording from The Mads' first livestream, including a post-show Q&A with Trace Beaulieu & Frank Conniff, hosted by Chris Gersbeck. Glen or Glenda, the legendary debut film from director Ed Wood, Jr. (the infamous visionary behind Plan 9 From Outer Space), is a hilariously confusing but gentle tale of a young “transvestite” (played by Ed himself) who must come to grips with his identity as an angora-loving cross-dresser while also struggling to find acceptance from his fiancé and society at large.

E2. The Tingler

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 recorded live August 18, 2020, as they live-riff through William Castle's 1959 classic, The Tingler, with a Q&A afterwards featuring very special guest Victoria Price, daughter of the legendary horror icon Vincent Price. Hosted by Chris Gersbeck. The Tingler tells the story of a scientist who discovers a parasite in human beings, called a "tingler", which feeds on fear. The creature earned its name by making the spine of its host "tingle" when the host is frightened. The Tingler remains most well known for a gimmick called "Percepto!", a vibrating device in some theater chairs which activated with the onscreen action.

E3. Walk the Dark Street

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 recorded live September 15, 2020 as they live-riff through 1956 film noir Walk The Dark Street, with a Q&A with Frank & Trace, plus special guest Jonah Ray. Walk The Dark Street (1956): A platoon leader returns from the Korean War and seeks out the brother of a soldier who had been killed while under his command. The men agree to engage in competition to "hunt" each other through the streets of Los Angeles using camera-guns. The platoon leader does not realize that the brother blames him for the soldier's death, and intends to kill him.

E4. A Night of Shorts

The Mads’ fourth livestream from October 20, 2020, including their first live-riff compilation A NIGHT OF SHORTS 1 and a post-show Q&A with Trace Beaulieu & Frank Conniff and very special guests Rich Koz & Jim Roche (host and producer of MeTV’s Svengoolie), hosted by Chris Gersbeck. A Night Of Shorts 1 Contains The Following Shorts: Are You Listening? (1971) How Friendly Are You? (1952) Mighty Mister Titan (1964-65) Office Etiquette (1950) Halloween Safety, 2nd Edition (1985) More Dates for Kay (1952) Health - Your Cleanliness (1953) Danger! Poison The Cautious Twins (1960)

E5. The Brain from Planet Arous

Gor, a powerful criminal from the planet Arous who takes the shape of a disembodied human brain, assumes the body of scientist Steve March, played with gusto by John Agar. What follows is the schlocky sci-fi classic The Brain From Planet Arous! Available exclusively at Dumb Video, The Mads Are Back: The Brain From Planet Arous finds Trace Beaulieu & Frank Conniff live-riffing over the entire film during the livestream event hosted by Chris Gersbeck and featuring a post-film Q&A with comedian Dana Gould! Recorded live November 17, 2020.

E6. Santa Claus vs. The Devil

A recording of The Mads: Santa Claus vs. The Devil livestream on December 15, 2020. Features the entire film and post-show Q&A with Frank and Trace, plus special guests Andy Kindler & J. Elvis Weinstein. The film was also featured in the fifth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (episode #521), which first aired on Christmas Eve 1993. The devil Pitch became a recurring character on MST3K, played by writer Paul Chaplin. Chaplin said, "It's kind of a fun movie, and we all enjoyed it", noting that he made "quite an attractive demon". The episode may be the origin of the phrase "nightmare fuel"; during the movie, Crow T. Robot calls an animatronic Santa "some good old-fashioned nightmare fuel", and the phrase spread through MST3K message boards.