The Mads are Back

Episode Synopsis

A recording of The Mads: Santa Claus vs. The Devil livestream on December 15, 2020. Features the entire film and post-show Q&A with Frank and Trace, plus special guests Andy Kindler & J. Elvis Weinstein. The film was also featured in the fifth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (episode #521), which first aired on Christmas Eve 1993. The devil Pitch became a recurring character on MST3K, played by writer Paul Chaplin. Chaplin said, "It's kind of a fun movie, and we all enjoyed it", noting that he made "quite an attractive demon". The episode may be the origin of the phrase "nightmare fuel"; during the movie, Crow T. Robot calls an animatronic Santa "some good old-fashioned nightmare fuel", and the phrase spread through MST3K message boards.