Michael Crawford - July 2 2016

July 2 2016

Everyone has an opinion about which Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode is their favorite. To each their own. For me, the greatest episode of MST3K is, hands down, Manos: The Hands of Fate, but not for the reasons you might think.

While "Manos" is, truly, the pinnacle of the Hodgson years, it's my favorite because I saw it for the first time with my friend Brooks Chelesvig .

We had a Saturday night ritual.

1) Hang out for the first hour of MST3K

2) Hit record on the VCR when we had to leave for the studio show at Simpkins Hall

3) Get back to watch the second hour of MST3K after the show.

Except, this time, as blasphemous as it was, we skipped the studio show! Joel, Servo and Crow were just too good to walk away from. I had never seen Brooks laugh that hard, gut-laughing until he was no longer actually emitting sound. His face was red and we were both unable to extricate ourselves from that spectacle to see the studio show that night.

It will always be the way I remember my friend. I will regret losing touch with him for the the rest of my days. In the wonderful picture posted by my friend Sean Byrd, Brooks is over my left shoulder, probably telling me who to hit with that hammer.

Brooks rocked. And the world is less great now that he's gone