MonsterVision

Pre-Joe Bob Briggs (1991-1996)

When MonsterVision premiered on June 29, 1991, it was little more than a marathon of older horror, science fiction, or fantasy films beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET and ending well into the early morning. With a claymation-style moon character serving as the original narrator and 'host', broadcasts tended to air monthly, as well as certain holidays. Films often fit a general theme, such as "TNT Salutes The Outer Limits," "Halloween Night," "Attack of the Sea Monsters," "A Christmas Nightmare," "Harryhausen Havoc," or recurring "Godzilla Marathons," although other occasions had somewhat unrelated choices.^[12] Additionally, MonsterVision sometimes had special events, such as their "Dracula Weekend," which had a mini-interview with Christopher Lee in honor of the release of Bram Stoker's Dracula.^[13] A number of later marathons, beginning on June 5, 1993,^[14] were presented by the well-known entertainment duo Penn and Teller, before the show then transitioned to voice-over narration for the remaining duration of this period.

Joe Bob Briggs Era (1996-2000)

Beginning on June 28, 1996,^[15][16] Joe Bob Briggs (John Bloom), the drive-in movie critic, became the official host of MonsterVision, with the series transitioning into a regularly scheduled Friday time slot at 11:00 p.m. ET. MonsterVision would typically show no more than two films per night, though several episodes were much longer, such as the 1997 "Super Bowl Sunday Special", which consisted of sixteen continuous hours of horror movies.^[17] Nonetheless, on usual double-feature nights, Joe Bob Briggs would appear anywhere between sixteen and twenty-four times throughout the movies, significantly more than he did on his previous program. In these sections, Briggs would discuss the films, and more, from the inside and outside of a staged trailer home with a green neon TNT sign in the background. Briggs was also frequently visited by one of a succession of 'mail girls', including Honey (Honey Michelle Gregory), Reno, Summer (Kathy Shower), and Rusty (Renner St. John), who not only served as attractive, comedic 'sidekicks,' but also brought Briggs fan letters, sometimes from actual prisoners. TNT also added the segment Joe Bob's Last Call, which was used to showcase the final movie of the night.^[18][19] Similarly, the program was occasionally able to feature guests such as rapper and actor Ice-T, and directors Wes Craven and John Waters.^[20][21]

When it came to the movies, MonsterVision, under Briggs, would sometimes stray away from the typical horror and science fiction films, showing westerns, blaxploitation, kung-fu, dramas, comedies, and other film genres, specifically in the later years. Additionally, as a way to connect fans further to the movies being presented during episodes, MonsterVision was known for its early use of the internet at tnt.turner.com/monstervision. Here, fans were able to chat in Joe Bob's Rec Room, participate in weekly caption contests to win T-shirts, take part in Find That Flick contests to win obscure films, send fan mail, see images from the set, get free postcards, learn more about Briggs, and find out about upcoming films.^[22] Nevertheless, before each film, Briggs would often give the audience his formal on-air "Drive-In Totals," a list of what he considered to be the most notable, gory, or humorous points in the film, followed by a rating of up to four stars, usually all delivered in a deadpan style. He frequently played on the term "kung fu" to describe action sequences with a particular theme, such as 'Quicksand Fu' in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Briggs' introduction to Phantasm II, for example, comprised:

"Twelve dead bodies. Exploding house. One four-barreled sawed-off shotgun. Dwarf tossing. Ten breasts. Embalming needles plunged through various parts of various bodies. One motor-vehicle chase, with crash-and-burn. Ear-lopping. Forehead-drilling. Wrist-hacking. Bimbo-flinging. Grandma-bashing. Devil sex. Crematorium Fu. Flamethrower Fu ... Four stars. Check it out."^[23]

After each commercial break, Briggs would deliver a diverting short or long monologue concerning general observations about the film, as well as popular culture, society, and his thoughts about life in general. These could be more serious discussions, for example, of trivia about obscure film actors, or controversies such as the race debates around films such as Big Trouble in Little China. Conversely, Briggs' pieces could be more lighthearted, with deliberately outrageous political statements and occasional banter with his film crew. He frequently described his notional day-to-day activities, including supposed problems with his girlfriends (or lack thereof) and his four ex-wives (usually the fourth, "Wanda Bodeine"). Lastly, Briggs usually signed off each episode of MonsterVision with a casual debriefing on the movie just-ended, along with a series of deliberately bad jokes, and a reminder that "the Drive-In will never die!"^[18]

Furthermore, during these sections, Briggs routinely criticized and lampooned TNT's censorship of the films, with frequent reference to the channel's owner, Ted Turner. This running gag culminated with a Halloween marathon of Friday the 13th movies, which portrayed strange occurrences throughout the night, leading to Joe Bob realizing that Turner was trying to 'kill' him. The final scene saw Joe Bob give an impassioned apology to Turner, claiming he was an amazing person, before the video feed cut off eerily.^[24] A similar stunt was staged in Blair Witch-themed scenes for a later horror marathon, with the host mysteriously missing.^[25]

Beginning on June 7, 1997,^[26] the series moved to Saturday nights in order to avoid further conflicts with TNT sports broadcasts. Then, on September 11, 1999,^[27] the program was almost completely revamped in order to attract a wider audience, particular more women, resulting in the creation of Joe Bob's Hollywood Saturday Night and MonsterVision. Moving from Dallas to Los Angeles, not only was the general aesthetic of the show changed to feel more 'Hollywood', but the first film of each episode going forward tended to be more 'mainstream', while the second was usually in accordance with traditional MonsterVision. Subsequently, this meant that the Joe Bob’s Last Call segment would be dropped altogether. Although the original formula of the program was now changed, this transition allowed for more guests, such as Rhonda Shear,^[28] and horror movie specials still remained a staple of the show.^[29] Nevertheless, possibly due to a decline in ratings, TNT was unable to fully justify the increased budget after the move to Los Angeles, thus shifting to a one movie a night format starting on January 15, 2000.^[30]