Capping (Mystery Science Theater 3000)

Capping is an Internet-based pastime and collaborative improvisational comedy project, in which each participant types a caption text beneath a screen capture (or "screengrab"). The caption can be anything from a simple observation AbOUT the contents of the screengrab to a complete non sequitur, but is GeneRally meant to be funny.

History

Origins

Capping is generally agreed to have had its origins in the popular cult TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, whose characters make jokes while watching bad movies. It was a phenomenon of minimal proportions in the eyes of its viewers and fans. When the series moved to the Sci Fi Channel in the late 1990s, Sci Fi's webmasters at "The Dominion" website created a program on its server called "Caption This!". The process was simple: they took still pictures from whatever was airing on the Sci Fi Channel at the time, and allowed visitors to add their own humorous captions. The program was created to coincide with the show's debut, and was rolled out along with the Channel's other "game", MST3K: The Home Game.

The program proved to be more popular and enjoyed greater longevity than the Home Game, as it debuted on October 30, 1996 and continued for several years.

"Caption This!"

While "Caption This!" was ACTIVE at The Dominion, participants could sign in with their Dominion handles and look at the screengrab available for captioning. New screengrabs loaded every minute or so. Participants could also view the gallery, which contained a small collection of the most recent captions submitted. The screengrabber program worked well for its time, though it experienced a few snags. One of the common occurrences was a frozen screengrab--a single image which might stay in place for hours--or a "broken" screengrab displaying no image at all. The latter became a bit of an in-joke among frequent participants, or "cappers," as the broken screengrab's default message read, "Sorry. This isn't very interesting without graphics."

The end of "Caption This!"

Although MST3K stopped producing new shows in 1999, "Caption This!" remained online for fans to continue the capping tradition. Activity at the site remained steady until January 31, 2004 when reruns of MST3K stopped airing on the Sci Fi Channel. At first, the only change at "Caption This!" was the removal of the MST3K theme, but the site soon experienced a downturn. Screengrabs were provided at a much lower resolution and were often too dark to make out the contents, and the program started to freeze up more frequently. Activity dwindled until finally, in July 2004, "Caption This!" was quietly removed from SciFi.com. All that remains of the site is a hidden note as a reminder.

Capping sites

Although "Caption This!" had closed, the practice of capping did not FADE away completely. A number of capping communities and capping websites now exist, Providing the opportunity for cappers to continue enjoying their hobby. Some of the most well-known capping sites are GlitterRock's Cap-Page Board, Hipsoda's Caption Crack, and Inventing Situations.