GPC (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
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GPC | |
---|---|
Mystery Science Theater 3000 character | |
First appearance | K00 – The Green Slime |
Created by | Joel Hodgson |
Portrayed by | Josh Weinstein (KTMA season) Jim Mallon (season 1 – episode 813 – Jack Frost, Patrick Brantseg (episode 815 – Agent for H.A.R.M. – season 10) Rebecca Hanson (season 11 – present) Yvonne Freese (2019 Live Tour - Present) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Robot |
Gender | Female (male in the pilot episode) |
GPC, formerly Gypsy,
Role
According to the MST3K storyline, GPC takes care of the higher functions on board the
As the series progressed, she became a more frequent participant in the host segments, and appeared more intelligent, even attempting to sit in on an experiment during one of the
GPC played a key role in the series' overall plot in episode #512,
In season six, the show introduced a device usually referred to as the Umbilicus, although in some episodes it was referred to as either the Umbilicon or the Umbiliport. The Umbilicus was a long tether that connected the Satellite of Love to the underground lair Deep 13, and allowed objects to be sent back and forth between Mike and the mad scientists who had stranded him in orbit. In its first appearance on the show, in episode #601: Girls Town, the Umbilicus was directly connected to GPC's snake-like body, with objects being sent or received through her mouth. The receiving station was later changed to an oven-like hatch on the bridge of the Satellite of Love.
GPC also developed an independent bohemian feminist side to her personality, beginning with the Creeping Terror episode during the Mad Scientist's "coffeehouse poseur" experiment, when she sang, "you, the middle-class white male, are my personal oppressor!" As the series progressed, she penned her own one-woman, cabaret show: "Gypsy Rose Me!" (a reference to burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee).
After the Satellite of Love crashed into the Earth in the final episode of the original run of MST3K (#1013: Diabolik), GPC is not present with Mike and the Bots in their shared apartment. Tom Servo is seen reviewing a "ConGypsCo Annual Report", and the guys reflect on their failure to have taken up new corporate mogul Gypsy on her public offering.
During KTMA episode #6,
In the Season 1 premiere, GPC managed to uncoil herself, revealing that she was at least fifty feet long. Joel explained that he just kept making her longer and longer compulsively when he built her (comparing it to, "When you start connecting paper clips, you get hooked on it...").
Hodgson confirmed that GPC would appear in the 2017 revival series, where she is played by Rebecca Hanson, an alum of The Second City. Hodgson reworked how GPC would be constructed and interact with the Satellite crew as to correct some of the faults he found in her appearance in the original series; while she still operates the ship, the power of cloud computing allows this responsibility to be shared among all the 'bots, and she will be able to dedicate more of her computation cycles to participating in conversation, including appearing in some of the theater riffing. The new test subject host of the show, Jonah Heston, upgraded GPC with features that include her now traveling through the Satellite of Love via an overhead flyspace and speaking in a feminine Midwestern United States accent.
After the show's 2017 return, some viewers expressed concern that the term "
Behind the scenes
Gypsy's head was built out of a "Century Infant Love Seat". Parts of an Eveready
During the initial KTMA season a different children's car seat was used for the head portion, the entire puppet painted a copper color. Also during this season, her name was sometimes given as "Gypsum."[5][dubious ] This Gypsy, with small alterations, would later be used for Cambot during the opening of season one episodes.
During the
In February 2017, it was confirmed that Gypsy would be renamed "GPC" and be a character on the new season. Joel Hodgson announced (via a message to the Kickstarter backers) that GPC would be voiced by Rebecca Hanson. The GPC puppet was operated by Tim Blaney.
References
- ^ a b Hodgson, Joel (9 April 2021), "Update #2 Joel Takes Some Questions, Part I", kickstarter
- ^ "Satellite News – 20 Questions Only Joel Can Answer about MST3K". Mst3kinfo.com. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ Hodgson, Joel (September 22, 2019). "The new Gypsy (GPC) was inspired here in New Haven last year by a fan who made a Gypsy hand puppet. #MST3KLivepic.twitter.com/KEaF8FLxEB".
- ^ "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour [No Retreat, No Surrender & Circus of Horrors] (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, October 26, 2019)". I Just Read About That. October 27, 2019.
- ^ "MST3K.com's KTMA Snippets « Satellite News". www.mst3kinfo.com.