Is there some kind of beef between Michael J. Nelson and Joel Hodgson?
- Thread starter Slayven
- Start date
KojiKnight
Member
They've contributed to a few things together, like the MST3K reunion that Rifftrax did. That said, there is certainly SOME level of distance between the two as noted by Mike not wanting anything to do with the new MST3K.
DiscoJer
Member
I don't think so. They just have had competing projects
The real beef was with Joel and Jim Mallon, which caused Joel to leave the show.
There was some bad feelings about the reboot between the some of the older cast members who felt left out (Mary Jo and Trace, seemingly) but that seems to have been patched over (as they appeared on the reboot in the skits on a couple episodes.
Especially since now Mary Jo does work for Rifftrax and Trace and Frank tour as The Mads so they feel they still have a creative (and financial) outlet.
The real beef was with Joel and Jim Mallon, which caused Joel to leave the show.
There was some bad feelings about the reboot between the some of the older cast members who felt left out (Mary Jo and Trace, seemingly) but that seems to have been patched over (as they appeared on the reboot in the skits on a couple episodes.
Especially since now Mary Jo does work for Rifftrax and Trace and Frank tour as The Mads so they feel they still have a creative (and financial) outlet.
What went on between Joel and Jim?
Gnomepowered
Neo Member
Definitely for the worst, I think. Almost everyone else at least showing up for a cameo made his absence super obvious, to boot. Plus I have always been a Mike guy- he was the host when I was living in the US and watching the show on SciFi, and I preferred the somewhat sharper, meaner tone and more antagonistic relationship with the bots to Joel's laconic style and sort of patriarchal relationship. Honestly, Joel always sounds like he's about to pass out mid sentence to me. I think the new show was definitely more on the Joel side, although the pace of jokes was definitely much higher in general, which helped a lot for me.
IamDodongo
Member
I love both guys, but Mike will always be best
DiscoJer
Member
Just basically fighting over control of the show. Joel and Jim both owned half of it and had creative differences.
http://www.avclub.com/joel-hodgson-1798207993
The reboot happened because ShoutFactory bought out Jim's share of the show
Mike spent like 15 years building up the Rifftrax brand, he's not going to dilute it by doing other stuff
Same, but I just think that it's because Mike's sense of humor is a little closer to my generation's rather than Joel's. Both are great, but something about Mike's delivery resonates better with me.
Charisma.
Yes, but you could also argue that Joel's dry humor is better depending on your tastes. My dad loved Joel, but I liked Mike way more.
I always preferred Joels sleepier, easy going style to Mikes meaner tone, but I liked them both and came to the show through the movie, so it's not like don't enjoy Mike's tenor.
That being said, I have a feeling if there is another season of the reboot, it'll explain where Mike is and what happened to the Tom and Crow living with him. Maybe Kinga tries to recruit him what with Jonah "dead"
DiscoJer
Member
I liked Joel better because his jokes were often weirder. Mike is too normal. Joel had a lot of nerd humor, like Isaac Asimov jokes, and then he'd do things like start singing Nitzer Ebb's Join in the Chant
That said, the real change in the show (to me) was when Trace left. Bill just never did it for me.
That said, the real change in the show (to me) was when Trace left. Bill just never did it for me.
GARlockSpiral
Member
Team Mike here.
Honestly never seen much beef between either party. Can't be too bad at worst, even Kevin and Bill showed up in the reboot, and Joel/Jonah showed up in last year's shorts show. The only antagonism is what i'd call from being the only two guys in the same business. That's a natural business rivalry, but both parties seem supportive of one another.
Honestly never seen much beef between either party. Can't be too bad at worst, even Kevin and Bill showed up in the reboot, and Joel/Jonah showed up in last year's shorts show. The only antagonism is what i'd call from being the only two guys in the same business. That's a natural business rivalry, but both parties seem supportive of one another.
superdeluxe
Member
I think the beef is in the past, if there was beef. Didn't they just participate in a reunion together? Like someone mentioned, seems like Mike has just moved on
RandomSeed
Member
I had no idea people that liked Mike over Joel existed. Huh. Learn something new every day. 
I don't think there's any beef with Joel, Mike just has his own company now. He's been generally supportive of the reboot and hasn't refused to be a part of it. Just the opposite, he wasn't in it because he wasn't asked to be (at least not yet; wouldn't be surprised if he made a cameo if there's another season).
For a lot of the MST3K crew, there is just a lot of bad blood with the show in general and Jim Mallon in particular. Nobody but Joel and Trace has gotten a dime out of the show since their pay checks back in the 90s. And as much as everyone else associates them with the show in a positive way, it's really unfortunate that one of the lingering memories of the show for most of the people who worked on it is of being fucked over by Mallon and not earning any kind of royalties from it.
I'm a Mike fan too but I think it all just comes down to whoever you saw first. I came into the show during the Sci Fi era, so that's quintessential MST3K for me.
For a lot of the MST3K crew, there is just a lot of bad blood with the show in general and Jim Mallon in particular. Nobody but Joel and Trace has gotten a dime out of the show since their pay checks back in the 90s. And as much as everyone else associates them with the show in a positive way, it's really unfortunate that one of the lingering memories of the show for most of the people who worked on it is of being fucked over by Mallon and not earning any kind of royalties from it.
Heh, Mike's humor is pretty dry...
I'm a Mike fan too but I think it all just comes down to whoever you saw first. I came into the show during the Sci Fi era, so that's quintessential MST3K for me.