Entertainment

New 'MST3K' Star Felicia Day Is A Geek Goddess

by Laura Rosenfeld
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Get excited. Mystery Science 3000 is back, y'all. Though the name of this series may sound like something from the future, the new Netflix series, which is officially titled Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return, is actually a reboot of the cult classic TV show in which creator and host Joel Hodgson provides his own commentary to some awesomely bad movies, along with his robot pals. But the new versionwill feature some new faces. Felicia Day plays Kinga Forrester on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return, and she seems like the perfect fit for the series.

There is actually somewhat of a plot to Mystery Science Theater 3000, although it may be as thin as those featured in the B movies that get riffed on in the show. As the original theme song to the show explains, Joel was working at Gizmonic Institute when one day his bosses decided to shoot him into space just because they didn't like him. They left him with only some "cheesy movies," and they monitored his mind as he viewed them.

In Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return, Day will carry on this legacy and play Kinga Forrester, the commander of the Moon 13 Research Station. She explains in the trailer for the show that she's reopening her family's "most legendary experiment," the Mystery Science Theater 3000. Day will also be joined by fellow newbie Patton Oswalt, who will be playing TV's Son of TV's Frank, another character in the original series.

It looks like Day will bring all the fun, absurdity, and clever comedy we've come to know and love from Mystery Science Theater 3000. But if for some reason you're still not sure if Day will do this beloved series justice, you needn't look any further than her resume for proof that she absolutely will.

This Isn't Her First TV Show

Day really got into show biz through her TV work. She played shy-girl-turned-fierce-fighter Vi on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She found herself among even more paranormal activity as hacker-turned-hunter Charlie on Supernatural. Day also had a stint on Eureka as rocket scientist Dr. Holly Marten. Clearly, she has dominated the genre TV scene.

She's Had A Major Impact On Online Entertainment

Day is perhaps best known for her work on the web. She starred as the love interest, Penny, in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a 2008 musical web series starring Neil Patrick Harris as the titular character and Nathan Fillion as hero Captain Hammer, which completely revolutionized what people would watch on the Internet. Day also created and wrote the popular web series The Guild, which follows the adventures of the characters and the real-life gamers behind them in a MMORPG guild. With all of her success on the web, it might not come as a surprise to learn that Day launched and funded her own YouTube channel called Geek & Sundry in 2012, according to the bio on her website. Legendary Entertainment eventually bought Geek & Sundry in 2014. You go, Felicia!

She Lives That Gamer Life

Day doesn't just make web series about gaming; she is also a proud gamer. She even has her own channel on Twitch.tv where you can catch her livestreaming her gameplay every once in a while.

You Can Read About Her Extraordinary Life

Day chronicled the epic tale of her life so far in her very own memoir released in 2015 titled You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost). In the book, Day recounts the impact the Internet has had on her life, from helping her discover her passions while being home schooled to giving her a platform to totally transform the entertainment industry with her influential web series. With the Internet continuously reinventing itself more than ever these days, I can't wait to see what Day does with it next.

She's A New Mom

Day revealed some exciting news at the beginning of 2017. She gave birth to her first child, daughter Calliope Maeve, in January, she announced on Instagram. Day confirmed on Twitter that her baby girl's first name refers to the muse of epic poetry, and her middle name is a nod to the name of a folkloric fairy warrior queen. The fact that Calliope Maeve was put into a onesie that says "Bard in Training" after her birth, as Day revealed on Twitter, means that she's bound to be a great gamer just like her mom.

She's A Cultural Icon

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What all of this amounts to is that Day has earned the title of "Queen of the Geeks," given her immense impact on and championing of geek culture over the years. Although, she won't use that term to refer to herself. “That implies I represent everybody, and in life I think you need to represent yourself,” she told the New York Post in 2015. Still, you can often find Day out at a comic con or other centers of nerd culture near you.

But really, fans are lucky to have someone as talented and successful as Day to look up to and watch on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return.