Comic Minds Behind 'Rings Parody
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From Chris

New Spin on Mystery Science Theater

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 18, 2001 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- After years of exile in outer space, the comic minds behind "Mystery Science Theater 3000" are turning toward Middle-earth for their next parody.

Former writers and performers of the cult cable-television favorite are re-teaming for "The Adventures of Edward the Less," an illustrated streaming video series premiering Oct. 25 on www.scifi.com.

The 13 five-minute episodes are a loose takeoff on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Middle-earth" books, "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Instead of diminutive hobbits on a quest for a powerful ring, Scifi.com says "Edward the Less" features "an average little guy ... who yearns to trade in his fairy-tale existence for a taste of real life."

Scifi.com is the official Web site of the Sci-Fi Channel, which carried "Mystery Science Theater 3000" from 1997-99. The Twin Cities-produced show featured a trapped-in-space human and his homemade robots mocking cheesy movies, such as "Soultaker" and "Invasion of the Neptune Men."