Carolyn Kiel – Keep Circulating the Tapes

Claudia Henock 0:05
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Your Most Precious Thing, the show that talks about the stories about items we hold near and dear to our hearts. I’m your host, Claudia Henock, and let’s meet our guest for this week.

Claudia Henock 0:18
Carolyn Kiel is an experienced instructional design manager of employee training programs. She hosts an award-winning neurodiversity podcast called Beyond 6 Seconds. Carolyn has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

Claudia Henock 0:40
Hi, Carolyn, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Carolyn Kiel 0:43
Hey, Claudia, I’m doing great. How are you?

Claudia Henock 0:46
I’m doing good. So to start this episode, what would you say is your most precious thing?

Carolyn Kiel 0:54
My most precious thing is a black hoodie, that I got as part of a Kickstarter, I guess promotion or event that is from a TV show called Mystery Science Theater 3000, which is sometimes abbreviated as MST3K. It’s a hoodie. It’s an exclusive hoodie that was used to raise funds to bring the show back after it had been cancelled in like 1999. And it was a favorite show that I used to watch with my mom all the time when it was on Comedy Central, and then the Sci Fi Channel, especially when it was running for probably close to 10 years, like back in the late 80s to the late 90s. And yeah, so we actually decided to just sort of reconnect over that. So the hoodie came from the Kickstarter to bring it back. And, you know, kind of interesting history behind that once I actually got this hoodie, how it wound up becoming my most precious thing.

Claudia Henock 1:58
That’s awesome. And just to, just in case, anyone who’s listening is not familiar with the show. Can you describe the show for the audience to someone who’s not familiar with it?

Carolyn Kiel 2:10
Yes, absolutely. So Mystery Science Theater 3000 is a show. It’s a comedy sci-fi show. So basically, it’s, it was started by a comedian in the Midwest. And it’s the premise is that this comedian is like a, someone who gets stuck on a spaceship by evil scientists who force him to watch really bad cheesy sci-fi and horror movies to like, monitor his mind and kind of see if they can make him go crazy by watching terrible movies. And the way that comedian deals with this is that he builds these like puppets to keep him company.

Carolyn Kiel 2:48
So they basically sit in front of the movie. And you as the viewer watching this as well. And they riff on the movie, like they just make fun of the dialogue, or comment on things that are going on with the scene. So it’s basically like, imagine if you were in a theater watching a terrible movie, and just like, you know, making fun of it, except they’re doing that on the show. So there were several episodes of that for probably like a good 10 years of, of this type of show. It’s funny, because even way before that my mom and I always had a love of like, really bad sci-fi movies. Like, I think we went out of our way to try to watch Plan Nine from Outer Space, which kind of is one of the most infamous like, terrible, like sci-fi movies, I think the movie Ed Wood came out much later and kind of brought that a little bit more into popularity. But before it was like, “This is the worst movie ever. We’ve just got to see it and see how terrible this is.”

Carolyn Kiel 3:39
That’s basically the premise of the show. So it’s, it’s silly, it’s, you know, it’s meant to be funny. And, you know, it’s also a good bonding experience, because they have a whole range of like cultural references that span from like, the 1960s. Because the comedian, he’s, he’s in his 60s now himself, so it’s from his childhood, all the way up at that time to the 90s. So like, my mom would get some of the references, I would get some of them. And then a lot of us, you know, some, we would get both of the references. So it was interesting. It’s just a fun show to watch.

Claudia Henock 4:11
That actually sounds really cool. I’ll definitely try to see if I can like watch a few episodes as well. Because that does sound really cool. And you mentioned having a love for, just using sci-fi as a way to connect with your mom. Before you guys started watching the show together, do you guys watch any other shows or any other movies relating to sci-fi as a way to like connect with each other?

Carolyn Kiel 4:32
I think, gosh, there’s an, I’ll be impressed if anybody listening to the show remembers what this is because I’ve never heard of it outside of what my mom and I watched, but there was this other sci-fi show with a character called Zacharlee, who is sort of like a Dracula character, but like a comic, like sort of absurd, strange version, like of a vampire, and I think he used to host like little clips and things. So we would watch that. I don’t even know, I’m sure there’s some, like whole history behind Zacharlee that I’m just not familiar with because I was too young at the time. He’s like, from a much, much older time. So I think we were watching that a little bit before Mystery Science Theater. But yeah, I think mainly in the 90s, which would have been like when I was in high school, and then even when I was in college and would come back home, was most of the time that I was watching MST3K. So yeah, it was just it was a good bonding experience. Because, you know, it’s, you don’t have to think too hard. It’s just meant to be funny. And there are so many jokes that it’s okay if you don’t get every reference, or if you don’t understand everything, because like the next jokes coming right up.

Claudia Henock 5:39
Yeah, it’s like, if we were both watching the episode together, like you might get some of the references I might not, and like vice versa, too, which makes it still enjoyable for everyone.

Carolyn Kiel 5:48
Exactly.

Claudia Henock 5:50
And so what made you guys decide to support the Kickstarter, like many, many years later?

Carolyn Kiel 5:55
So it was something that I kind of followed, like, so the show ended in 1999, which is really at the very, like, early stages of the internet. So it was still like a very, like, analog following. Like, I think it was part of like, you know, one of those fan clubs that wasn’t online, but it was like you they mail you newsletters, and like mail, mail you and stuff. So it was like through a mail thing. So I kind of stayed in touch. And then as the internet started to grow, I think I was, you know, probably, like shortly after college at that point, you know, you can find these things online. So I was like following websites and Googling it.

Carolyn Kiel 6:33
And then I found out, I don’t even remember how I found out probably just through social media somehow, that this Kickstarter was going on that was being run by Joel Hodgson, who is the main character of it, and he’s the creator of the show. He wanted to bring it back. He thought that, you know, he’s like, I know, it’s a very different time now in like, think it was like 20…2015 was about the time of this Kickstarter, 2016? It’s like, “I know, things are very different now. But I still think that there’s room for a show like this in, in the culture”, there was certainly still like this cult following of people like me and my mom and like everybody else who was watching this show for all these years. So I just said, yeah, why not like that would be cool. If you know to contribute to this Kickstarter, maybe they’ll make some more shows. And then we can watch some new, you know, some new Mystery Science Theater episodes, because we had just watched like all the old ones like a whole bunch of times at that point.

Carolyn Kiel 6:33
So I decided to support the Kickstarter. And the hoodie was something that I got is like an add-on. So with Kickstarter, if you’re familiar with it, you they’re usually like different levels based on your donation levels. So you get all different kinds of stuff with it, depending on how much you spend, or how much you pledge for a Kickstarter. So for this one, I bought like one of them. So you get like a bunch of stuff like a keychain or stickers or like collectible postcards or a mug, and then you get like the box set. But a lot of the stuff with Kickstarter, they haven’t made the stuff yet. They’re like, please give us money. And then if we meet our funding goal, then we will take the time to like use the money to make the show, you know, produce the stuff that we promised you in the Kickstarter. So it takes a lot of time between when you pledge, and when you actually get your stuff. So let’s see, I’m trying to think of what the dates are, I think I actually ordered the hoodie in like December 2015. So I’m like, I will be like Christmas present or something like that’d be kind of cool. Even though I’m not I knew I wasn’t getting it in December 2015. And it was actually shipped to me in January 2017. So that was like a good almost like two years, which I guess for Kickstarter isn’t really that unusual.

Claudia Henock 8:45
Yeah, I don’t think that’s that unusual, either. Because I’ve supported like a few, I think I supported like a Kickstarter myself for like, kind of like this ITA like backpack thing. And it was like a similar time range as well. Like, it was off by like one or two months, but we still got the merchandise in time. And plus some I, I don’t know how familiar you are with the webcomic Homestuck. But during its heyday, they did a Kickstarter for, for a video game that they were doing. And it was, let’s just say it was a bit of a disaster, and a lot of my friends didn’t actually get the stuff that they pledged for. And eventually they switched studios, and eventually the game got made. So I guess with Kickstarter, it does vary between like who’s behind the project, and even if you’re waiting an extra year or two you’re still gonna get the merchandise as well.

Carolyn Kiel 9:34
Yeah, yeah. And that that is kind of a risk with Kickstarter. You’re right. It really does depend on the Creator. And, you know, because it takes so much time there is always a risk to that either they won’t make their funding goal, and I guess at that point, you get a refund. I’m not quite sure how that works, or they get their funding goal, but they just can’t make something for some reason, or they can’t ship it. So yeah, you’re kind of taking a chance. It’s with the crowdfunding type of thing, but I said “Yeah, I think this looks cool.” And I feel pretty at that point, I was pretty confident they were going to make their funding because I think they had made some like intermediary goals about like, if we make this much, we can make eight episodes. And then for, if we raise a little bit more, we can make 10. And then more, we can make 12. So I think they raised enough to make like 14 or something. So they actually did make episodes, they sold the series to Netflix. So it was actually on Netflix, I think for two seasons at that point. So that was cool. So I get to watch it with my mom at my parents house because my parents have Netflix. So we watched that over there and got to see some new episodes.

Carolyn Kiel 10:36
And then, you know, my stuff from the Kickstarter, pledges started coming, and I got the hoodie. And at the point that I got it like, it’s kind of a cool hoodie, it has, I know Claudia will probably post some of the pictures of the hoodie, with their show notes. But on the front, it has like the Mystery Science Theater 3000 logo on the front and a hashtag that says like, #webroughtbackmst3k which is like, you know, hurray to the fans thank you sort of thing. And then on the back, there’s a design. It’s like an illustration of the bots like, sort of like a Frankenstein type thing where they’re like bringing one of the other bots back to life and stuff. So it’s like a cartoon illustration type of thing on the back. And I tried on the hoodie, and, you know, I kind of guessed at the size, you don’t really know like, what exactly it’s going to look like or feel like when you order it. And at the point I was like, you know, it’s it’s nice, but like it’s kind of big, and it’s kind of like soft, so I’m like it’s cool, but I don’t know that I’d really wear this outside much, because it doesn’t quite, you know, it’s a little too like loungy for, like going outside and wearing it. So I’m like, but I still really like it. So I kind of like set it aside and it was, you know, around for a while.

Carolyn Kiel 11:47
And then, we had another MST3K related event. So you know, the show is on Netflix for two seasons. I think Netflix just like either doesn’t pick it up for another season, or there’s some sort of like falling out or disagreement. So now it’s back off the air. So Joel, who’s the main, the creator and the main character in it decides to go on like a live tour of MST3K I’m like, oh, that’s kind of neat. And that was in like 2019 beginning of 2020. And I found that they were coming to New Jersey, to a theater that’s not too far from where I live. So I call my mom like, “Hey, you know, this will be kind of cool. You know, Joel saying it’s like maybe like his final tour, and we’ve never been to a live show and it’s not on TV. So hey, do you want to come you know, I’ll buy us tickets, and we’ll go into this theater and watch the show and, and see how that goes.” So she was like, “yeah, totally, let’s do that.” And I also bought, like, an extra, like, VIP package so that you could meet the cast beforehand, because I’m like, you know, am I ever gonna be able to do this again, if it’s allegedly, like, the last time he’s done a tour? I’m like, why not? Like he’s coming close to me. Why don’t you know, I’m going there. Why don’t we do this?

Carolyn Kiel 13:03
So went with my mom, we actually got to meet Joel. And like the bots, which are like puppets, honestly, and puppeteers, and they did like a Q&A session before and that was really cool. And then, you know, we had to wait a little bit. And then, and then we got to see a live show, which is basically, you know, them, you know, they do some skits here and there, like comedy skits. But it’s basically Joel and the bots, the puppets, like making fun of this terrible movie. It was like, it was like, called Circus of Horrors. It was like some ridiculous like, circus themed, like a horror show. It was just awful. It was so bad. But it was very funny. It was bad in a funny way. And I wore the hoodie to that show. It was the first time I actually wore it anywhere. I’m like, of course, I’m gonna wear this hoodie. Like, you know, which is now several years old. But Joel, I could tell definitely recognized it. I thought there will be more people in stuff like that. But maybe a lot of people didn’t spring for buying the Kickstarter here to get that point.

Carolyn Kiel 14:01
But what makes this especially significant is I mentioned that tour started in 2019. It ended in 2020. And our date was one of the last dates on the tour. It was like, it was a Saturday, and then the next day was like the final date. And then that was when the tour ended. So the date was March 7, 2020. So I’m honestly I’m sitting there, because people are already starting to wonder about like this thing called COVID. And like, you know, what is this and are we going to be able to do stuff like should we be concerned about this? And I’m literally waiting for them to like email me and say like, “Hey, shows off,” like, you know, it’s a little sketchy because I’m going to a theater like filled with people that was pretty much sold out. But they didn’t call and cancel because at that time it was still like too early in our area for there to be any like real concern about it. It’s like, okay, like, you know, be cautious, but we’ll go to this. And yeah, it was there. Everything was fine. but very shortly after, like the next week, and I don’t remember exactly when, but that’s really when everything started to close down.

Carolyn Kiel 15:08
So like I was going to work at that time in an office, like a little bit further south of me here in New Jersey, they sent us all home, they’re just like, you know, come get your stuff and just like go home and setup remotely, and then we’ll figure out what’s going on with this. I think a lot of people were going through the same sort of thing at that time. So it was just a really uncertain time when the world just started shutting down. Like that. So yeah, and we, you know, I think most people probably remember this, it’s still recent history. But yeah, we really didn’t know like, what was going to happen, when we were gonna be able to go back to quote, unquote, normal, like, whatever that is, you know, three years into it now. But um, but the significance of the hoodie is that now I’m in the house all the time, because fortunately, I had a job that was compatible with working from home, remotely. And I tend to get like kind of chilly in the house, like no matter like how much the heat is on or not. So I started wearing this hoodie, like all the time, because it was oversized, because it was comfortable. And it’s kind of like, you know, plushy or soft in the interior liner. So that was really nice. So now I’m wearing this hoodie, like, all of the time, like almost every day, because like, I’m not really on video much at work. Like if I’m on video, I’ll change out of it. And obviously, I’m not wearing like all day, every day. But I think at least for part of the day, almost every day I was wearing this hoodie because I’m just in the house. It didn’t really matter at that point, what I was wearing too much. So yeah, and even through that I still continue to wear this hoodie pretty, pretty frequently. I’m surprised it’s held up as well, as it has with like, having, you know, constantly going through the laundry. And I don’t know, just wear and tear, but it’s held up really well. And I kind of, you know, when you asked me like what my most precious thing is, it’s like I really couldn’t think of anything. And I was like looking around like, I don’t really, you know, I don’t really get like, I can’t think of any like particular objects that I have, like, strong sentimental value of, but it was almost like that one was just like in plain sight. It’s like, oh, obviously, this thing that you wear all of the time, is probably your most precious thing. So um, so yeah, so that was interesting. It has an interesting continuity over the years. So yeah, even today, I’m still like, I’m not wearing it right now. But I was wearing it earlier today. The only reason I’m not wearing it now is because we’re actually having a very hot day. Otherwise, I would be wearing it on this call, too.

Claudia Henock 17:34
Yeah, it’s like 80 degrees, where it was like 80-90 degrees where I am today. So I totally understand.

Carolyn Kiel 17:39
Yes. Yeah. So that’s the story behind that hoodie. Kind of an unexpected object to have as my most precious thing. But I think that it is.

Claudia Henock 17:51
I don’t think any item is considered to be unexpected, though. If it has some significance or some importance to you, it’s your most precious thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hoodie. Like, I’ve had people talk about wallets, photographs, crystal points, nurses’ scrubs. If the item has some sort of connection to you, that’s like personal to you, because I see, I don’t see just a hoodie. I see a love for a fandom, a love for a show, the strong relationship you have with your mom because of the show too. Like, sometimes it’s not just like the physical item. It’s just kind of like the ideas and the stories behind this as well.

Carolyn Kiel 18:30
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It really could be anything, and especially something that has sentimental value. Really, it could be for any reason. It could be any type of thing. So yeah, absolutely.

Claudia Henock 18:42
And another reason why I was actually really excited to see your, I’m probably gonna mispronounce the myst…I’m probably gonna refer the show to as Mystery Science, if that’s okay?

Carolyn Kiel 19:25
That’s fine. A lot of people do that. That’s totally fine.

Claudia Henock 19:31
Awesome. I just want to be sure that was okay.

Carolyn Kiel 19:39
Yeah!

Carolyn Kiel 19:39
Yeah, I think, yeah, I know, I like, I know a lot of people in my life and throughout my life who have been, like involved in different fandoms like not always the same ones that I’m involved in, but there’s just so many different options, and I feel like there’s just so many choices today. Like it was just very different growing up like without the Internet. So if you were into some thing, you probably there’s a good chance that you were like the only person who was into it, it was much harder to find like those communities because you couldn’t just like, go on social media, or go find a website, or something you had to find like locally. So, I mean, I’ve been part of other like fandoms growing up and just remember, like, searching everywhere, like flea markets, and like record stores and stuff, just looking for anything like a particular band I was really into, or like other things like that, like clipping out like magazine articles like this, it was just so hard to find anything to connect like that with.

Carolyn Kiel 20:33
And then, you know, once the internet started taking off, it’s like, oh my gosh, like, it was so much like, even with Mystery Science Theater 3000, one of the things that they always said at the end, it was like a tagline, towards the end at the bottom was, at the, at the statement appeared, keep circulating the tapes, because what they knew people were doing was taping the episodes on their VCRs, and sharing them, like mailing them to each other, so that they could see the shows, because back then if like, if you miss the show one day, like, you know, it wasn’t coming back on, you couldn’t get it on demand, that just wasn’t a concept. So I think they updated that phrase in the 2000s to like, keep circulating the URL, which doesn’t really have the same ring to it. And I don’t even know, I think that’s probably outdated at this point. Now, I think there’s, again…

Claudia Henock 21:22
The Pirate Bay, but then again…

Carolyn Kiel 21:24
Well, you know what, now, there is an app called Pluto TV that a lot of smart TVs and an Apple TV and stuff like that can get, and I think there’s actually a channel now. And that’s where they’re playing a lot of these older Mystery Science Theater episodes, and maybe some of the newer ones too. So it actually is much easier now to see it like, now you don’t even have to pay for Netflix, or some other streaming services because Pluto TV is free. So, if you watch it on the app, you can actually see these things, which is unheard of because it was so hard to find these shows unless you knew when they were on, or you happen to catch them in syndication, or you got some VHS tape from some guy in Brazil, who taped some other show that you didn’t get to watch. So yeah, it’s interesting how fandoms have evolved in terms of the levels, and the abilities to connect with different fans in the fandom.

Claudia Henock 22:12
And that’s really, really cool to hear. And, and I really, and with this show, especially with how a lot of objects themselves are associated with fandoms, too. I really want to like, I guess do that as kind of like a mini series within this series too, because I thought it would be something really cool to explore as well.

Carolyn Kiel 22:30
Yeah. Oh, yeah. There’s a lot. Yeah, it depends on, because I was trying to, like, think through all the details of, of this, it’s like, “Okay, well, how detailed we’ll be getting to the Fandom of MST3K.” And it’s like, you know, I don’t even remember, like all the details about like, you know, like, I haven’t memorized like all of the episodes, and what movies they’ve done. Like, I remember a few that were standout, and memorable for me. But it was really just kind of the experience of, “Okay, we’re just gonna go in and have fun and be silly and make fun of something that’s really cheesy. And yeah, and just laugh about it.” So it was that kind of communal experience as well.

Claudia Henock 23:09
And sometimes that’s the best type of experience that you have.

Carolyn Kiel 23:14
Yeah, absolutely.

Claudia Henock 23:16
So, Carolyn, I want to say thank you so much for coming on my podcast, if people want to get to know more about you and your work. And plus, you actually also have your own podcast that we work together on. Where can people find you?

Carolyn Kiel 23:29
Absolutely. So yeah, you can find me actually probably through my podcast web page is the best way to get in touch with me. So my podcast is called Beyond 6 Seconds, you can find me at beyond6seconds.net. That’s the number six, or just look up Beyond 6 Seconds on your favorite podcast app, and it should come right up. And yeah, the links to my socials is there, contact form is there. And yeah, I would love to check it out. Yeah. And that’s great. Yeah. Thank you so much. Claudia, I really appreciate you having me on your show. This is so much fun to talk, I never get to talk about this. So this is just such a great topic to be able to talk about on the show.

Claudia Henock 24:07
Thank you. And I’m trying to get better with like talking. Like one of the reasons I actually started this podcast was to actually just get better with talking with people in general. And just, and one of the main things I’ve discovered is basically talk about things that people are passionate about. And so that’s kind of like a strategy that I’ve used with the show as well.

Carolyn Kiel 24:27
Yeah, absolutely. That works really well. That was a similar strategy I used when starting my podcast, too. And yeah, if you’ve just something people are passionate about, they’ll talk about it, and it’s a great way. Great way to practice.

Claudia Henock 24:39
Awesome. Well, Carolyn, I want to say thank you so much for being on my show. Do you have any last words to anyone who’s listening right now?

Carolyn Kiel 24:47
Oh, gosh, I would say, if you’re a member of a fandom, I think it’s like a really wonderful and fun thing. I think it’s much more like acceptable, or quote unquote cooler now to be able to be in interested in all different kinds of things. So I would say if you’re, if you’re in a fandom, I think it’s a great way to build community, and find people who have similar interests as you. So I definitely encourage you to, to enjoy it as much as you’re able to if you are part of a fandom

Claudia Henock 25:16
And that’s definitely some great advice to hear. And, Carolyn, I want to say thank you again for being on my show and have an awesome night.

Carolyn Kiel 25:24
Thank you, you too.

Claudia Henock 25:27
Thank you for listening to this episode of Your Most Precious Thing. If you want to support the show, you can leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share your favorite episode with a friend. You can also contact me @claudiahenock on Instagram and Twitter, and Claudia Henock on LinkedIn. In addition, you can also contact me at claudiahenock1@gmail.com. You can also follow Your Most Precious Thing through my official website, www.claudiahenock.com, and anywhere where you listen to your podcasts. Intro and Outro music is Synapse by Shane Ivers and you can also listen to his music on silvermansound.com