The MST3K LIVE Social Distancing Riff-Along Special (2020)

The MST3K LIVE Social Distancing Riff-Along Special is a special that aired on various streaming platforms on May 3, 2020. It features members of the cast of the Cheesy Movie Circus Tour. The Riff-Along was streamed on a number of platforms, including Pluto TV, Stirr, Xumo, Redbox, Vizio, YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook Live. Joel Hodgson appeared (as himself, not in character as Joel Robinson) throughout the event, responding to social media messages and interacting with the cast. The special consists primarily of an over-dub re-riffing of Experiment #111 - Moon Zero Two, with the cast filling in gaps in the film where no original riffs were done and reacting to the original jokes. Following the episodes, a new short was riffed, Circus Day.[1] According to Joel Hodgson, the Riff-Along was conceived of as a way to engage with fans while observing the social distancing guidelines necessitated by the global outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Joel and the cast acknowledged various fans who work in the health care field during the event. Following the event, Joel hosted The MST3K LIVE Riff-Along After Show on Facebook in which he was joined online by members of the cast and production staff, as well as Felicia Day, Tim Ryder, and Rebecca Hanson. Jonah Ray also appeared (in costume, but not in character as Jonah Heston) and performed an acoustic rendition of "Every Country Has a Monster".