For a lot of people who were watching a lot of tv in the '90s, MonsterVision was their first introduction to horror films, b-movies, classic and old films in general. At the time, there weren’t any video-on-demand platforms, so the only way to watch these movies, especially for kids and teenagers, was through this variety series.
Remembered mostly for its legendary host, movie critic Joe Bob Briggs, and his hilarious commentary, the show would fill the night slots of Fridays, and eventually Saturdays, from 8:00 p.m. EST until the next morning with a movie marathon. Here are some facts you may not know about it.
There Was A MonsterVision Before Joe Bob Briggs
MonsterVision occupied the TNT nights for a long time. In fact, the show went on for almost 10 years before its cancellation in September of 2000, being transmitted in almost the totality of all the '90s. Within those years, it had several iterations.
One of them was the inclusion of a full-time host in the form Joe Bob Briggs, the movie critic from Dallas for whom many people remembered and liked the show. But the thing is, Joe became part of MosterVision only in 1996, five years after the show started.
Penn & Teller Hosted Several Marathons
Before Briggs took over and made MonsterVision what it is remembered for today, different hosts were in charge of presenting the show. At first, there was this claymation character, a moon with a humanoid face, that introduced the films to the audience.
On some occasions though, the TV event would shake things up by bringing nonother than magicians Penn and Teller, who served as host of the show by playing security guards versions of themselves. They delivered commentary (mostly Penn, for obvious reasons) on the movies between commercial breaks.
Joe Bob Briggs Commentary
Once Joe Bob Briggs came into the show, many things changed around MonsterVision's format. Some examples were the addition of a stage with thematic decoration, cast members that play different comedic sidekicks between movies and commercial breaks, and Brigg's own commentary.
Briggs instated his particular way of introducing movies, giving the audience his "Drive-In Totals," a list of what he considered to be the most notable, gory, or humorous points in the film. Delivered in a death pan way, these included things like the number of rolling heads, “forehead drilling,” and fight scenes.
Longer Movie Marathons
Traditionally, MonsterVision was known for transmitting 2 movies, back-to-back, throughout the duration of the night. This double-feature was often interrupted by Briggs, who intervened around sixteen to twenty-four times during one show or appeared in sketches specially created for the in-between commercial breaks.
However, the show was so malleable that it permitted producers to broadcast up to sixteen hours of horror movie marathons, such as the 1997 "Super Bowl Sunday Special.” These ordeals were proceeded by Briggs discussing the film and responding to fan mail.
Special Guests
As the show grew, Briggs was able to expand his interventions and eventually got to bring special guests, part of the movie world or not, to discuss the movies that were going to be broadcast. These gests interviews help to legitimize the program, evidencing that horror fans around America were watching.
Within examples of its guests, MonsterVision received filmmakers such as John Waters, who directed cult classics like Pink Flamingos and Hairspray, and Wes Craven, creator of the franchises A Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream. Even Ice-T was a guest.
There Weren’t Always Monster Movies
There are so many horror movies a program can broadcast, and, as the channel wanted to reach new audiences (mostly women), MonsterVision started to explore other genres in the classic movie field. This allowed Briggs to show off his knowledge in cult films.
Joe Bob's Hollywood Saturday Night and MonsterVision was a new iteration of the program created in 1999. Like the name of the new show suggested, the broadcast was divided into two half, one that programmed regular and more popular movies, and one that transmitted classic cult films in the cut of the original MosterVision.
Thematic Marathons
Joe Bob's Hollywood Saturday Night wasn’t an accident since it wasn’t like the only things the program broadcasted before were monsters and horror movies. The influence of Briggs on the show let it program differents films according to a theme, making these episodes among the more memorable.
Genres like western, kung fu, blaxploitation, and even regular dramas and comedies were featured, especially at the end of the show's run. "TNT Salutes The Outer Limits," "Halloween Night," "Attack of the Sea Monsters," "A Christmas Nightmare," and "Harryhausen Havoc," were some examples of these thematic marathons.
One Of The Early Users Of The Internet
Trying to connect more with the fans of the program, MosnterVision became one of the first entertainment shows to develop a presence on the internet. Specifically, through their own website called "tnt.turner.com/monstervision," where fans could chat with each other in Joe Bob’s Rec Room, an early internet forum.
If fans wanted to participate in contests to win thematic T-shirts or rare VHS of cult movies, this was the way. Also, fans were able to ask questions directly to Joe Bob Briggs, who would answer there or on the show.
TNT’s Censorship
One of the running gags during the broadcast of the show was the constant references to Ted Turner, the owner of TNT. As TNT wasn’t able to show gory or too violent content to its audience, most of the movies shown in MonsterVision were censored.
This beat the purpose of a horror movie-centric show, and no one was more aware of this than Joe Bob Briggs, who constantly made jokes on behalf of Turner. This culminated in a hilarious sketch where Briggs was trying to hide because Turner wanted to “kill” him.
Eventual Revival
With the new millennium, TNT’s MonsterVison was no more. The show had moved from Dallas to Los Angeles and its increasing budget could not be justified by the network considering the program's low ratings. Briggs himself attributed this to the channel censorship, and many viewers expressed their interest because of Briggs and not the censored movies.
Since then, there has been a lot of talk about binging MonsterVision back to life, and a spiritual successor came to fruition in 2018 when Shudder TV hired Briggs to host The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. This new show is in the spirit of the original MonsterVision and its second season is available now on streaming.