When was the first episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000?
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 home video releases
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American TV show which aired between 1988 and 1999, and began a new series in 2017. This page summarizes video tape and DVD releases of episodes of the show. Episodes were initially released by Rhino Entertainment, with the rights later being purchased by Shout! Factory. Releases usually consist of boxsets of 4 episodes, although early releases consisted of just single episodes.
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 home video releases
One "MST3K" volume pack ("Volume 10") was discontinued 2 months after its initial release due to licensing issues with "Godzilla vs. Megalon." The volume pack was reissued by Rhino "Volume 10.2", with a new episode ("The Giant Gila Monster").
Joel Hodgson
The project was released on Netflix as "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return" in April, 2017, and stars comedian Jonah Ray as Jonah Heston, alongside original co-star robots (puppets voiced by actors) Tom Servo, Crow, and Gypsy, much like when Hodgson hosted the show himself. Hodgson himself makes an appearance on this series as "Ardy," although he is hidden under a HAZMAT suit in this character. The series was met with mainly positive reviews, and has been certified "Fresh" by Rotten Tomatoes, and features a nationwide live tour, titled "MST3K Live! Watch Out for Snakes! Tour." Hodgson will be present for each show, marking the first time he's hosted the show in several years, and his first time hosting alongside Jonah Ray.
List of CBS Radio Mystery Theater episodes (1981 season)
This is an episode list for the 1981 season of the radio drama series "CBS Radio Mystery Theater". The series premiered on CBS on January 6, 1974 and ended on December 31, 1982. A set of 1,399 original episodes aired between January 1974 and December 1982. The series was broadcast every day of the week for the first six years with re-runs filling in empty slots starting in February 1974. All episodes are available free at the Internet Archive.
Mike Nelson (character)
Michael John "Mike" Nelson is a fictional character in the comedy science fiction television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Portrayed by actor/head writer Michael J. Nelson, Mike is a likeable temp worker from Little Chute, Wisconsin who comes to work for the mad scientists ("Mads") Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's Frank in Deep 13 while they prepare for an evil-scientist audit in episode 512, "Mitchell".
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (web series)
New episodes were scheduled to be posted every Monday. However, despite regular updates to other parts of the site, no new episodes of the cartoon have been posted since November 26, 2007. In June 2008, the website was redesigned and the cartoons removed for unspecified reasons; however the Flash likenesses of the characters were still present on some pages. On July 18, MST3K fansite "Satellite News" posted an interview with Jim Mallon, who explained that the cartoons cost more to produce than was initially estimated. He also stated that the existing cartoons will return to the site, and expressed hope that the series may continue at some point in the future. Animation producer Shadi Petosky responded that the costs were low and flat rates that never changed from the original estimates, she suspects that the revenue was the problem and the mouse pads, post-it notes, and T-shirts being sold to pay for the show did not sell as fans did not like the poorly designed and written animated characters.
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 home video releases
Rhino Home Video released several episodes from the Comedy Central era on VHS from April 1996 to January 2001. As of 2004, all of the tapes are out of print, but all episodes originally released on home video have been released on DVD either as a single or part of a volume pack (except for "309 – The Amazing Colossal Man" due to licensing issues in the original movie).
Zaat
Shout! Factory released the "MST3K" episode on DVD, along with three others, on March 16, 2010 as part of "Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Volume XVII", after managing to properly secure the rights.
Coronet Films
After the earliest films entered the public domain (a large percentage of the library is still privately owned), the films of Coronet were recognized by many as notable kitsch, especially after a few became shorts for "Pee-wee's Playhouse" & the cable TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K) which mocked the films' production values and underlying messages. Shorts featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K) include "Are You Ready for Marriage?" and "What to Do on a Date". Many of Coronet's other films were later riffed by Rifftrax, a successor to MST3K, created by former MST3K cast member Michael J. Nelson.
O.K. Connery
"O.K. Connery" was featured on the television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" on September 11, 1993 as "Operation Double 007".
Red Owl (retail chain)
In Season 9, Episode 9 of the "Sci-Fi Channel's" "Mystery Science Theater 3000" which features the 1980 Italian film "The Pumaman", Mike uses some of the movie's music which resembles commercial theme music to make up a jingle with the phrase "Dick's Red Owl, selection and service!". Mystery Science Theatre 3000 originated in Hopkins, MN which is Red Owl's headquarters.
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes
Episodes are listed in production number order, not production order or air date order. The episode title is next, and if the original film title is different from the episode title, the former follows in parentheses. If the episode features any shorts, they are listed below. In the third column is the film's initial release year, a color/black & white notation, the production company (if known), and the country of origin. The last column shows the initial air date of the episode. Below this is a brief synopsis of the featured movie and shorts, with significant cast/production/character notes or changes noted in "italic."
Mystery Science Theater 3000
During Hodgson's period on the show, the final sketch aboard the "Satellite" often included reading of fan mail from the "MST3K Fan Club." Fan mail readings decreased during Mike Nelson's tenure as host and were dropped entirely once the show moved onto the Sci-Fi Channel. The final sketch of an episode typically ends on the Mads, with the lead Mad asking their lackey to "push the button" to end the transmission and transitioning to the credit sequence. After the credits, a humorous short clip from the presented film is replayed as a "stinger" to end the episode.
The Unearthly
The film aired on television as early as 25 March 1962, and eventually received multiple releases on VHS. It was released on DVD on 6 August 2002 by Image Entertainment. The DVD of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring "The Unearthly" (originally aired 14 December 1991) was released by Shout! Factory on 16 November 2011.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 2014, 80 episodes of the show were made available for purchase or rental on the video streaming site Vimeo. Shout! has uploaded some episodes to YouTube with annotations, as documented by "The Annotated MST" fansite, to explain some of the sources of the jokes in the riffs. In February 2015, Shout! launched its own streaming service, Shout! Factory TV, of which selected episodes of "MST3K" were included on the service. Selected episodes were also made available on demand through RiffTrax starting in November 2015. Twenty episodes from previous "MST3K" seasons were released by Netflix in all regions in anticipation of the revival series.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
The film opens with mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, working from an underground laboratory, explaining the premise of the film (and associated TV series). Mike Nelson and the robots Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, along with Gypsy, are aboard the Satellite of Love high in Earth's orbit, when Forrester forces them to watch the film "This Island Earth" to break their wills; as in the television show, Mike, Crow, and Tom riff the film as it plays.
Teenage Caveman (1958 film)
"Teenage Caveman" was featured in episode 315 of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", along with the shorts "Aquatic Wizards" and "Catching Trouble". The episode debuted November 9, 1991, on Comedy Central. MST3K writer Mary Jo Pehl struggled "to find a positive thing to say about "Teenage Caveman"", in which Vaughn appeared to play "a thirty-something teenage caveman", and called Corman "a "horrible" director .. [who] wasn't trying to make good films, just films that came in under budget".
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Hodgson aimed to follow in the pattern of what made for fan-favorite episodes from the original series, borrowing equally from the Joel and Mike eras; he noted there were about 30 episodes that he and fans universally agreed were the show's best, and expected to use these as templates as the basis of the new show. The new episodes include the Invention Exchange that had been part of the Joel era (and some of the Mike era) of the show. Additionally, while not required by the streaming format of Netflix, the new episodes include bumpers that would have wrapped around commercial breaks if shown on network television; Hodgson considered these breaks necessary as a "palate cleanser" as well as to support the narrative for Kinga attempting to commercialize on the "MST3K" brand.
Hercules (1958 film)
The MST3K version of "Hercules" was included as part of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume XXXII" DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory in March 24, 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include "Space Travelers" (episode #401), "Radar Secret Service" (episode #520), and "San Francisco International" (episode #614).
J. Elvis Weinstein
Weinstein was one of the founding writers/performers of the show in 1988 at the age of 17. Weinstein worked on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" during its original appearance on Minneapolis UHF station KTMA-TV from 1988 to 1989, and its first season on Comedy Central (then called the Comedy Channel) from 1989 to 1990. However, a significant age gap existed between him and the other cast members; he was only 17 when he joined the show, having been recruited by Joel from his "Creative Stand-Up and Smartology" comedy classes. This ultimately led to Weinstein feeling unhappy with the more professional approach to the show the move to the Comedy Channel demanded, and caused him to leave the show.
Zaat
Cult television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" featured "Zaat" in a season 10 episode under the title "Blood Waters of Dr. Z". The episode, which originally aired May 2, 1999, mocked the film's low-budget effects and general tepidity. Director Don Barton was reportedly annoyed with "MST3K" for mocking his movie, but later clarified that the only reason he was annoyed was because Syfy (then known as the Sci-Fi Channel) had failed to secure the proper rights to the film. Barton issued a cease and desist and a lawsuit, so Syfy pulled the episode, and only reran it twice two years later, when they had cleared the issue with Barton out of court.
Patrick Brantseg
Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and performer for "Gypsy" on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer, mid-way through the show's eighth season. He began his career at Best Brains, Inc. as an intern in 1992. In that same year he was hired to work in the art department under the direction of Jef Maynard. In 1993, after Michael J. Nelson took over as host, Bransteg was given the title "utility infielder," which meant that he took care of many smaller duties around the BBI offices.
Teen-Age Crime Wave
The MST3K version of "Teen-Age Crime Wave" was included as part of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXXIII" DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory in July 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include "Daddy-O" (episode #307), "Earth vs. the Spider" (episode #313), and "Agent for H.A.R.M." (episode #815).
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The film was featured in episode 513 of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". This film was the first movie watched by Mike Nelson in "Mystery Science Theater 3000", after he replaced Joel Robinson (Joel Hodgson) on the series. "Jan in the Pan" is the nickname given to the female lead by the characters on the show.
Cinematic Titanic
Cinematic Titanic was a project by "Mystery Science Theater 3000" ("MST3K") creator and original host, Joel Hodgson.
The project involved "riffing" B-movies, in a manner similar to that of "MST3K".
Joining Hodgson were some of the original "MST3K" cast, as well as some cast members who joined later in the show's run. These included Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl.
It was first performed live on December 7, 2007 and first aired on December 22, 2007.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The season 10 finale, "", premiered on August 8, 1999, during which, in the show's narrative, Pearl Forrester sent the "Satellite of Love" out of orbit, with Mike and the 'bots escaping and taking up residence in an apartment near Milwaukee. A "lost" episode produced earlier in the season but delayed due to rights issues, "Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders", was the final season 10 episode of "MST3K" (and the last of the original run), broadcast on September 12, 1999. Reruns continued to air on the Sci Fi Channel for several years, ending with "The Screaming Skull" on January 31, 2004. The shows later moved to off-network syndication.
RiffTrax
The movies chosen for "Mystery Science Theater 3000" were predominantly low-budget B-movies because the show itself was low budget and producers could only afford films that had either its copyright expired or that had otherwise cheap licenses. The idea of RiffTrax came about after "Mystery Science Theater 3000" was canceled and Nelson had researched and consulted a lawyer about the possibility of directly releasing DVDs of films with the commentaries included. But Nelson realized this initial idea was not feasible since he would be "sued out of existence." Instead, the best way to distribute the commentaries would be to sell them independently of the films, to avoid having to obtain the rights to distribute the movies themselves. There would be no legal or monetary restrictions to prevent Nelson from producing them, though viewers would have to provide the movies themselves.
The early RiffTrax were almost all solo efforts on Mike's part, but it soon became apparent that there was a strong demand for them, and Nelson was quickly able to recruit more riffers for the project. Most official RiffTrax (not counting fan-made iRiffs and the spin-off RiffTrax Presents series) have a stable cast of Mike and former "Mystery Science Theater 3000" co-stars Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, a line-up that is identical to that of "The Film Crew" and the last three seasons of "MST3K". That said, the guest slots vary often; other "MST3K" alumni have been featured, such as Mary Jo Pehl and Bridget Nelson, in addition to Internet personalities Richard Kyanka (of Something Awful fame), Josh Fruhlinger (writer of The Comics Curmudgeon) and Chad Vader, as well as actors Neil Patrick Harris, Fred Willard, and Joel McHale, and parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. Nelson has said that he would like to bring in other guests. The enthusiasm of guest riffers for the project led to the establishment of RiffTrax Presents, a series of tracks exclusively hosted by guest riffers and sanctioned by Nelson. The success of the guest format is such that "Three Riffer Editions" of some films previously solo riffed by Mike have been produced for the VOD service, which feature new riffs by Mike in conjunction with Murphy and Corbett, and Mike has ceased producing solo riffs since 2007. Most recent works created by Rifftrax are crafted by a small team of writers; longer works are divided into 20 to 30 minute sections for each writer to rewatch and develop riffs for before assembling the entire work.
Night of the Blood Beast
"Night of the Blood Beast" was featured in the seventh season premiere episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", along with "Once Upon a Honeymoon" (1956), a short film about a married couple forced to postpone their honeymoon even further so that the husband can write a song for a telephone company and an angel who helps them out. "Night of the Blood Beast" was one of several Roger Corman-produced or -directed films that were featured on the show, along with "It Conquered the World" (1956), "The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent" (1957), "Teenage Caveman" (1958), and "Attack of the Giant Leeches" (1959). "Night of the Blood Beast" was originally broadcast on November 23, 1995, as a Thanksgiving special; the non-movie segments revolved around Thanksgiving in Deep 13, the headquarters of the mad scientist who ran "MST3K"'s bad movie experiment. The episode was later broadcast with all new non-movie segments; the original version ran only four times, none after the non-Thanksgiving version debuted February 3, 1996.
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964) is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the cult television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" ("MST3K"). Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's original eleven-year run, and spent half of that time as the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson. In addition to writing books, Nelson is currently part of the online movie riffing sites RiffTrax and The Film Crew with fellow "MST3K" alumni, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. He has written articles for Cracked.com.
Mighty Jack
This series has several humorous references to the early Ultra Series.In 1986, American producer Sandy Frank took the first and sixth episodes of "Mighty Jack" (without any of the episodes that were released in between) and combined them into a dubbed, feature-length film of the same title. The movie gained its widest exposure in the United States when it was shown as a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episode on Comedy Central (originally shown on the UHF station KTMA TV 23 during the show's KTMA season).
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 1997, the videogame magazine "PlayStation Underground" (Volume 2, Number 1) included a Best Brains-produced "MST3K" short on one of their promotional discs. The video opened with a host segment of Mike and the Bots playing some PlayStation games, only to go into the theater to riff on some videos from the magazine's past. The feature is about seven minutes long. An Easter egg on the disc has some behind-the-scenes footage of Best Brains filming the sequences.
Project Moonbase
As with most first season "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episodes, the episode is not considered one of the series' better efforts; it did not make the Top 100 list of episodes as voted upon by MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers., and writer Jim Vogel ranked the episode #164 (out of 191 total MST3K episodes). Vogel rated episode #109 the highest of the first-season episodes and says, "There’s some glimmers of later-season MST3k goodness in there ... Still, it’s nice to bid adieu to season 1 episodes on this list."
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The first "MST3K" live event was held on June 5 and 6, 1989 at the Comedy Gallery in Minneapolis. Jim Mallon served as the emcee of the event that featured stand-up sets by Joel, Josh Weinstein, and Trace Beaulieu. A Q&A session about the show was conducted, and the show's original pilot was shown. The robots and various props were on display for attendees to see.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 2001, Mike Nelson, Patrick Brantseg, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy and Paul Chaplin created "The Adventures of Edward the Less", an animated parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and others in the fantasy genre, with additional vocals by Mary Jo Pehl and Mike Dodge, for the Sci Fi Channel website.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
As part of its live show events for 2016, RiffTrax presented a "MST3K" reunion at a live show in Minneapolis in June 2016. Hodgson, Bridget Nelson, Pehl, Conniff, and Beaulieu all joined the three regulars along with Jonah Ray from the revived series. The gathered cast riffed on a variety of shorts as part of the event.
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
In 1980, the New York offices of ITC, under the supervision of Robert Mandell, combined episodes from the original series to make two compilation films for American audiences, with the aim of reviving transatlantic syndication sales. This became common practice for Anderson productions during the 1980s, with made-for-television films comprising episodes of "Stingray" and "Thunderbirds" airing to US cable audiences under the generic promotional banner of "Super Space Theater". On 24 November 1988, the second "Captain Scarlet" film, "Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars", was broadcast as the second episode of the American television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", from Minneapolis, on station KTMA.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Recording and most of the production was completed over September and October 2016 in Los Angeles on a very condensed schedule. In the revival, Ray, Yount, and Vaughn recorded the riffs for all fourteen episodes in a sound studio over a period of a week, allowing them to better synchronize the riffs with the film. This also helped to simplify the process of recording the theater segments, since they then only needed to act out their parts. The 'bots were controlled by multiple puppeteers both in the theater and in skits; Yount and Vaughn used radio-controlled equipment to move the 'bots' mouths, while members from The Jim Henson Company helped with manipulating the bodies, allowing them to achieve effects they could not do in the series' original run such as having Crow appear to walk on his own. All skits for the episodes were completed within a single day, which did not allow them for doing multiple takes unless necessary.
Class of 3000
The series made its world premiere (previously advertised as a live premiere with performances by Chris Brown) on November 3, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with a one-hour special, came to Cartoon Network UK on May 28, 2007 and premiered on Cartoon Network Australia/New Zealand on February 4, 2008. The show was co-created and developed by Thomas W. Lynch and Patrick M. Verrone. In January 2010 all mentionings in the website about the show were removed, meaning that Cartoon Network has abandoned it. Although there has not been a DVD released in Region 1, seasons 1 and 2 of the show is available on Google Play with the exception of "The Cure" from season two
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (web series)
Mystery Science Theater 3000, also referred to as "The 'Bots Are Back!" is an Internet cartoon created by Best Brains, Inc. It was inspired by BBI's original "Mystery Science Theater 3000" TV series, and was directed by former Executive Producer Jim Mallon. The series featured the robot characters from the original series in a variety of brief sketches taking place at an undetermined point during the original show's fictional timeline. However, no human character (Joel or Mike) is present.The animated version of MST3K was first announced on the Satellite News website (formerly BBI's official website) on October 29, 2007. The new cartoon was described as a "weekly series of animated adventures," and would debut as part of an all-new MST3K website. This new site would also feature content from the original series as well as a new online store. The website went live on November 5, 2007 along with the first installment of the animated series.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Hodgson decided to leave the series halfway through Season Five due to his dislike of being on-camera and his disagreements with producer Mallon over creative control of the program. Hodgson also stated that Mallon's insistence to produce a feature film version of the show led to his departure, giving up his rights on the "MST3K" property to Mallon. Hodgson later told an interviewer: "If I had the presence of mind to try and work it out, I would rather have stayed. 'Cause I didn't want to go, it just seemed like I needed to." Though they held casting calls for a replacement for Hodgson on camera, the crew found that none of the potential actors really fit the role; instead, having reviewed a test run that Nelson had done with the 'bots, the crew agreed that having Nelson (who had already appeared in several guest roles on the show) replace Hodgson would be the least jarring approach. The replacement of Joel by Mike would lead to an oft-jokingly "Joel vs Mike flame war" among fans, similar to the "Kirk vs Picard" discussions in the "Star Trek" fandom.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 1993, the show's staff selected 30 episodes to split into 60 one-hour segments for "The Mystery Science Theater Hour". The repackaged series' first-run airings of these half-shows ran from November 1993 to July 1994. Reruns continued through December 1994, and it was syndicated to local stations from September 1995 to September 1996, allowing stations to run the series in a one-hour slot, or the original two hour version. "MST3K" returned to television for the first time in ten years in July 2014, when RetroTV began broadcasting the series on Saturday nights, with an encore on Sunday evenings. The following year, they started showing on PBS member stations. In the summer of 2016, Sinclair Broadcast Group and MGM's joint venture sci-fi network Comet picked up the series for a weekly Sunday night double-run; by coincidence, Sinclair's CW station, WUCW in the Twin Cities, which had originated the series when it was KTMA-TV, carries Comet on their second subchannel, returning the series to its original home for the first time in 27 years. As of June 1, 2018, the show has been removed from Comet's schedule.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Despite the show's success, the station's overall declining fortunes forced it to file for bankruptcy reorganization in July 1989. At the same time, HBO was looking to build a stable of shows for their upcoming Comedy Channel cable network. HBO approached Best Brains and requested a sample of their material. Hodgson and Mallon provided a seven-minute demo reel, which led to the network greenlighting "MST3K" as one of the first two shows picked up by the new network.
Invasion of the Neptune Men
On October 11, 1997 the film was shown on the movie-mocking television show "Mystery Science Theater 3000". In his review of the film, Bruce Eder of AllMovie described the episode as a memorable one, specifically the cast watching the repetitive aerial dogfights between spaceships, and one of the hosts remarking that ""Independence Day" now seems like such a finely nuanced movie".
The Projected Man
"The Projected Man" was the premiere episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000"'s ninth season. The episode debuted March 14, 1998, on the Sci-Fi Channel. "MST3K" writer Paul Chaplin says Halladay possessed "a crippling lack of screen presence" and that if "Haliday was considered to be someone who could carry a film ... [then] in mid-1960s England they must have been about three million years behind the music."
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 characters
Over its run, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" has seen the arrival and departure of various characters. It also featured many recurring guest characters. Below is a listing of both the main characters and the recurring characters from the series.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 2008, to commemorate the show's 20th anniversary, the principal cast and writers from all eras of the show reunited for a panel discussion at the San Diego Comic-Con, which was hosted by actor-comedian Patton Oswalt. The event was recorded and included as a bonus feature on the 20th Anniversary DVD release via Shout! Factory. Also that year, several original "MST3K" members (including Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff) reunited to shoot a brief sketch to be included on the web-exclusive DVD release of "The Giant Gila Monster". The new disc was added to Volume 10 of the "MST3K Collection" DVD boxed set series, replacing the "Godzilla vs. Megalon" disc which could no longer be sold due to copyright conflicts. The new package was sold under the name "Volume 10.2", and the sketch was presented as a seminar to instruct consumers on how to "upgrade" their DVD set, which merely consists of "disposing" of the old disc and inserting the new one.
The Mysterious Planet
The Mysterious Planet is the first serial of the larger narrative known as "The Trial of a Time Lord" which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series "Doctor Who". It was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 6 to 27 September 1986. The title "The Mysterious Planet" is not used on-screen and only appears in the serial's scripts with the four episodes that comprise the story being transmitted as "The Trial of a Time Lord" Parts One to Four.
Joel Hodgson
Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating "Mystery Science Theater 3000" ("MST3K") and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, "MST3K" was listed as "one of the top 100 television shows of all time" by Time.com. Between 2007–2013, Hodgson was part of the "movie riffing" project "Cinematic Titanic" with several of his fellow MST3K alumni, performing live and producing content for DVDs and direct download. He has also served as Creative Lead for Media at Pennyslvania technology firm Cannae, though it is unclear if he still holds this title due to a website redesign which removed the names of their staff.
Hodgson was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin in 1960. He was raised in an Evangelical Christian upbringing, and later claimed that the various shows his church would put on had a profound influence on his desire to become an entertainer. Hodgson began his career in seventh grade as a magician and ventriloquist. Joel performed for local events in his hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and attended Ashwaubenon High School. Upon graduation, Joel moved to Minneapolis to attend Bethel University (Minnesota) to study Theatre and Mass Media. While there, Joel further developed his magic act by adding comedy and began opening for musical acts at Bethel as well as performing in coffee houses and comedy clubs. Joel cites a Theatre of the Absurd class at Bethel taught by Dr. David Horn for helping him crystallize the meaning of his comedy. In 1981 he won the Campus Comedy Contest and then the first annual Twin Cities Comedy Invitational in 1982. In November of the same year Joel moved to Los Angeles where he became a regular performer at the Comedy Store and the Hollywood Magic Castle, as well as the Comedy Magic Club. At the Comedy Magic Club, Joel was spotted by "Late Night with David Letterman" producer Barry Sand and three months later at age 22 had his network television debut. He later made four other appearances on the Letterman show, as well as four on "Saturday Night Live" as a guest act. Joel also was a featured performer on HBO’s "Eighth Annual Young Comedians Special" hosted by John Candy along with Bill Maher, Paula Poundstone, and the Amazing Johnathan.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The 12th season was broadcast on Netflix on Thanksgiving aka "Turkey Day", November 22, 2018, which coincided with the show's 30th anniversary. As to avoid conflicting with the new season’s release, the annual Turkey Day Marathon was pushed forward to November 18, 2018.By the conclusion of the Sci-Fi era, a total of 197 "MST3K" episodes across eleven seasons had been produced. This does not include "The Green Slime" pilot episode, which was used to sell the concept to KTMA but otherwise was never broadcast. The revived show currently consists of two seasons of fourteen and six episodes respectively, bringing the total episode count to 217.
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes
In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season which was released on Netflix. A feature film, titled "", was also released on April 19, 1996.
List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes
The eleventh season of the series is listed by Netflix as "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return".
The twelfth season, consisting of six episodes, was released on Netflix on November 22, 2018. The season is presented as "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet", where, in-universe, the Mads are challenging whether Jonah and the bots can sit through six bad movies back-to-back.
Soultaker (film)
"Soultaker" was featured in the tenth-season premiere episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" ("MST3K"), a comedy television series in which the character Mike Nelson and his two robot friends Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo are forced to watch 'bad films' as part of an ongoing scientific experiment. The episode was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel on April 11, 1999. The episode also saw the guest appearances of series creator and original host of "MST3K" Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson and Frank Conniff as TV's Frank. Jokes comparing Vivian Schilling to Tonya Harding were made. Schilling did not watch the episode but did not like the comparisons with Harding.
The Trollenberg Terror
Under the title "The Crawling Eye", the film was the first of many productions to be mocked on the TV series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", after the series moved from KTMA to Comedy Central. The episode aired on 11 November 1989. "The Crawling Eye" was also briefly mentioned at the end of the season 10 finale covering "".
ABC Mystery Theater
ABC Mystery Theater, also known as just simply Mystery Theater or Mystery Theatre, was an American radio anthology, crime and mystery series from the 1950s. The program starred originally, actor Robert Carroll in the title role of Inspector Mark Saber, a British detective from "The Homicide Squad" then by actor Les Damon for seasons two and three. The program also centered on Saber's assistant Sgt. Tim Maloney, originally portrayed by character actor James Westerfield for the first half of season one, actor Douglas Chandler for the second half of season one and finally by character actor Walter Burke for seasons two and three.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The Comedy Channel offered Best Brains $35,000 per episode but allowed Best Brains to retain the show's rights. Best Brains was also able to keep production local to Minnesota instead of the network's desire to film in New York City or Los Angeles, as it would have cost four times more per episodes, according to Hodgson. Best Brains established an office and warehouse space in Eden Prairie for filming. With an expanded but still limited budget, they were able to hire more writers, including Mike Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, and Frank Conniff, and build more expansive sets and robot puppets. They created the characters of Dr. Forrester (Beaulieu) and Dr. Erhardt (Weinstein) and crafted the larger narrative of each episode being an "experiment" they test on Joel. The show began its national run shortly after the Comedy Channel went on the air in November 1989.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 1996, Universal Pictures released "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie", a film adaptation in which Mike and the bots riffed "This Island Earth". The film was released on DVD in the United States by Image Entertainment. Universal re-released the film on DVD on May 6, 2008, with a new anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix and the film's original trailer.
WUCW
As production manager Jim Mallon sought to fill a gap in the Sunday night line-up, he talked to his contacts in the local comedy community and ended up meeting Joel Hodgson. After a successful lunch meeting with Mallon to produce a new locally produced program for KTMA, Hodgson created "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (also known under the abbreviated title "MST3K"), which began in November 1988.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Both old movies and music inspired several of the show's character names as developed by Hodgson. The show's name came from the promotional phrase "Mystery Scientist" used by magician Harlan Tarbell and a play on the name of Sun Ra's band, the Myth Science Arkestra. The "3000" was added to spoof the common practice of adding "2000" to show and product names in light of then-upcoming 21st century, and Hodgson thought it would set his show apart to make it "3000". Dr. Forrester was named after the main character of "The War of the Worlds". The "Satellite of Love" was named after the song of the same name by Lou Reed. Crow T. Robot was inspired by the song "Crow" from Jim Carroll's "Catholic Boy", while Rocket Number 9's name was inspired by the original name of Sun Ra's album "Interstellar Low Ways".
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film and a film adaptation of the television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", produced and set between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. It was distributed by Universal Pictures and Gramercy Pictures and produced by Best Brains.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 1995, a limited selection of episodes were repackaged into an hour-long show titled "Mystery Science Theater Hour", meant to be better suited for off-network syndication. In these, the original episode was split into two parts of roughly 45 minutes each excluding commercials. New skits leading and ending each episode incorporated Mike Nelson portraying television host Jack Perkins in a parody of Perkins' "Biography" series in mock flattery of the "MST3K" episode being shown.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The revival retains the live, handcrafted look from the original, a decision that Hodgson had to set down against others involved in production. Set and prop designers included Wayne White, Pendleton Ward, Rebecca and Steven Sugar, and Guy Davis, while live and practical special effects were planned by Adam Savage. Among other staff included returning "MST3K" crew, including: Charlie Erickson, who composed the original show's theme song and composed the new show's theme and other musical arrangements; Beth "Beez" McKeever, who worked on the original show's props and designed costumes and props for the new show; Crist Ballas performed hair and makeup design; and Paul Chaplin, one of the show's original writers to help write the new shows, along with contributions from Pehl and Corbett. Hodgson himself remained primarily off-camera as the executive producer for the remake, though does appear briefly as Ardy, one of Kinga's henchmen that send Jonah the episode's movie. Hodgson was assisted by Kalan, Richard Foos, Bob Emmer, Garson Foos, Jonathan Stern, and Harold Buchholz. The revival was produced by the companies Satellite of Love, LLC, Alternaversal Productions, and Abominable Pictures.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Pehl, Corbett, and Murphy cameo on the revival, reprising their roles as Pearl, Brain Guy, and Professor Bobo, respectively. Hodgson opened up to the show any of the other cast members to make cameo appearances or aid in the creative process. However, Nelson and Beaulieu stated that they would not be involved with the MST3K revival; Nelson said, "The brand does not belong to me, and I make and have made (almost) zero dollars off it since it stopped production in 1999." Conniff noted on his Twitter that Shout! Factory would be "cutting [the former cast members] in, financially at least" on the profits from the series. In addition, other cameos on the new episodes include Neil Patrick Harris, Jerry Seinfeld, and Mark Hamill. Weinstein initially expressed disinterest in returning to the show, but eventually reprised his role as Dr. Laurence Erhardt in the second season of the Netflix revival.
Cheap Seats (TV series)
"Cheap Seats" was shot in New York City (with segments filmed in Los Angeles) and had made use of local comedians as guest stars in its sketches. Most of the bit parts were played by stand-up comics whom Jason and Randy met during their years on the road as standup comedians themselves. The show was influenced chiefly by "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and MTV's "Beavis and Butt-head", as the hosts' comment on the material in the style of a peanut gallery. The "Creative Breaking/K-1 Fighting" episode guest-starred the cast of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", in their theatrical silhouette form, cracking on sketches the Sklars performed.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 2004, the show was listed as in a featured "TV Guide" article, "25 Top Cult Shows Ever!", and included a sidebar which read, "Mike Nelson, writer and star (replacing creator Joel Hodgson), recently addressed a college audience: 'There was nobody over the age of 25. I had to ask, "Where are you seeing this show?" I guess we have some sort of timeless quality.'" Three years later, "TV Guide" rewrote the article, and bumped "MST3K" to #13. In 2007, the show was listed as one of "Time" magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time". In 2012, the show was listed as #3 in "Entertainment Weekly"s "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years", with the comment that ""MST3K" taught us that snarky commentary can be way more entertaining than the actual media."
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Original home media releases were issued by Rhino Entertainment, initially starting with single disc releases before switching to semi-regular four-episode volume sets. According to Hodgson, the people at Rhino that were involved in the distribution of "MST3K" eventually left Rhino and joined Shout!, helping to convince that publisher to acquire the rights from Rhino. Since 2008, all releases of "MST3K" have been through Shout! (including some reprints of the first Rhino volume set) and have typically been multi-episode volumes or themed packs.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The 2017 relaunch was generally met with similar praise as the original series, keeping with the spirit of the show's premise but with enough improvements to make it accessible to modern audiences.
Monster Shark
On August 15, 1998, "Monster Shark", under its alternative title of "Devil Fish", was featured on an episode of the movie-mocking television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", on which it was spoofed for its poor acting and erratic editing. One scene of this film contains a brief glimpse of a male character's genitals, which the Sci-Fi Channel censored by superimposing the MST3K logo, and two key death scenes were removed.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
There were two official fan conventions in Minneapolis (run by the series' production company Best Brains) called "ConventioCon ExpoFest-A-Rama" (1994) and "ConventioCon ExpoFest-A-Rama 2: Electric Bugaloo" (1996). At least 2,500 people attended the first convention.
Baron Vaughn
On November 23, 2015 "Mystery Science Theater 3000" creator Joel Hodgson announced that Vaughn would provide the voice of Tom Servo in the series' reboot, a role previously played by Josh Weinstein and Kevin Murphy. The new series aired April 14, 2017.
Radar Secret Service
The MST3K version of "Radar Secret Service" was included as part of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume XXXII" DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory in March 24, 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include "Space Travelers" (episode #401), "Hercules" (episode #502), and "San Francisco International" (episode #614).
Mystery Science Theater 3000
By the show's sixth season in 1996, Comedy Central had started creating an identity for its network under new leadership of Doug Herzog, which would lead to successful shows like "The Daily Show", "Win Ben Stein's Money" and "South Park", leaving "MST3K" as an oddity on the network taking up limited program space. Herzog, though stating that "MST3K" "helped put the network on the map" and that its fans were "passionate", believed it was necessary to change things around due to the show's declining and lackluster ratings. The network cancelled "MST3K" after a six-episode seventh season.
Radar Men from the Moon
In 1989 the serial regained notoriety as the first shorts shown by the cult series "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The first eight-and-a-half chapters of this Commando Cody serial were lampooned before their main feature-of-the-week (only half of the ninth installment was shown, with the in-show excuse being "the film broke").
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 2007, a new online animated web series, referred to as "The Bots Are Back!", was produced by Mallon. The series planned a weekly adventure featuring Crow, Tom Servo, and Gypsy, with Mallon reprising his role as Gypsy and Paul Chaplin as Crow. However, only a handful of episodes were released, and the series was abandoned due to budgetary issues. The general internet response to the webisodes was largely negative.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
An annual event in the Comedy Central era was the Turkey Day marathon that ran on or near the Thanksgiving holiday. The marathon would show between six and twelve rebroadcasts of episodes, often with new material between the episodes from the cast and crew. While the show was on Sci-Fi, one Thanksgiving Day marathon of "MST3K" was held during its first season, but lacked any new interstitial material.
List of CBS Radio Mystery Theater episodes (1979 season)
This is an episode list for the 1979 season of the radio drama series "CBS Radio Mystery Theater". The series premiered on CBS on January 6, 1974 and ended on December 31, 1982. A set of 1,399 original episodes aired between January 1974 and December 1982. The series was broadcast every day of the week for the first six years with repeats filling in empty slots starting in February 1974. All episodes are available free at the Internet Archive.
Observer (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
Observer (also known as Brain Guy) is a fictional character in the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" television series. He is played by Bill Corbett, and appears in the eighth through eleventh seasons of the series.
Laserblast
"Laserblast" was featured in the seventh-season finale episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", a comedy television series. In the show, the human character Mike Nelson and his two robot friends, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, are trapped in a satellite and forced to watch bad films as part of an ongoing scientific experiment. "Laserblast" was the sixth episode of the seventh season, which was broadcast on Comedy Central May 18, 1996. It marked the final episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" on that network, before the series moved to the Sci-Fi Channel for its eighth season. At the time of broadcast, the "MST3K" creators did not know the show would eventually be renewed at a different network. Mary Jo Pehl, an actress and writer with the show, felt "Laserblast" was a particularly bad film: "The lead guy, Kim Somebody, is another sterling example of how filmmaking is not a meritocracy. The fact that this film was even made proves that 'anybody can do it.' You can find this either inspiring or depressing."
Mystery Science Theater 3000
While the cast of "MST3K" has changed throughout its history, the premise of the show remains relatively unchanged: a human test subject—first Joel Robinson (Joel Hodgson), then Mike Nelson (Michael J. Nelson), and most recently Jonah Heston (Jonah Ray)—has been imprisoned aboard the spacecraft "Satellite of Love" by mad scientists and their henchmen (collectively called "the Mads") and is forced to watch a series of bad movies in order to find one that will drive the test subject insane.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
"MST3K"s original run did not garner high viewership numbers, but the show's popularity spread through word-of-mouth over the Internet from its fans known as MSTies (or "Mysties"), frequent repeats and syndication, and home media offerings produced by Rhino Entertainment and currently Shout! Factory, who along with Hodgson now own the rights to the show and supported the revived series. "MST3K" was listed as one of "Time" magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME" in 2007, and "TV Guide" has noted "MST3K" as one of the top cult television shows. The show won a Peabody Award in 1993, was also nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1994 and 1995, and for the CableACE Award from 1992 to 1997. The show was considered highly influential, contributing towards the practice of social television, and former cast members launched similar projects based on the riffing of films, including The Film Crew, RiffTrax (ongoing as of 2018), and Cinematic Titanic. "MST3K" also brought to light several older movies that had fallen into obscurity or had received little or no public attention when originally released. Many of these films were subsequently identified as among the worst movies ever made, most notably "".
Mystery Science Theater 3000
"" was produced during the later half of the Comedy Central era and had a very limited theatrical release in 1996 through Universal Pictures and Gramercy Pictures. It featured Mike and the bots subjected to the film "This Island Earth" by Dr. Forrester. Though well received by critics and fans, the film was a financial disappointment due to its limited distribution.
Outlaw of Gor
Under the name "Outlaw", the movie was featured in episode #519 of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The episode debuted December 11, 1993, on Comedy Central. The episode marked the end of the invention exchanges between the Satellite of Love and the evil scientists in Deep 13, a feature of the show since the beginning. Kevin Murphy claims this change was made to fit with the non-technical nature of the character of new host Mike Nelson.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Hodgson approached Jim Mallon, at the time the production manager of KTMA, a low-budget local television station, with his idea of a show based on riffing on movies, using robots that were created out of common objects. Mallon agreed to help produce a pilot episode, and Hodgson hired on local area comedians J. Elvis Weinstein (initially going by Josh Weinstein but later changed to J. Elvis as to distinguish himself from Josh Weinstein, a well-known writer for "The Simpsons") and Trace Beaulieu to develop the pilot show. By September 1988, Hodgson, Mallon, Weinstein, and Beaulieu shot a 30-minute pilot episode, using segments from the 1968 science-fiction film "The Green Slime". The robots and the set were built by Hodgson in an all-nighter. Joel watched the movie by himself, and was aided during the host segments by his robots, Crow (Beaulieu), Beeper, and Gypsy (Weinstein). Hodgson used the narrative that his character named "Joel Hodgson" (not yet using his character name of Robinson) had built the "Satellite of Love" and launched himself into space. Camera work was by Kevin Murphy, who was employed by KTMA. Murphy also created the first doorway sequence and theater seat design. These initial episodes were recorded at the long since-defunct Paragon Cable studios and customer service center in Hopkins, Minnesota.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Other related projects by the "MST3K" crew following the show's end include:
In 2000, most of the cast of the Sci-Fi era of the show collaborated on a humor website, Timmy Big Hands, that closed in 2001.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Following its acquisition of the series rights, Shout! Factory has streamed Turkey Day marathons on Thanksgiving since 2013, broadcasting six of the "MST3K" episodes and wrapped with introductions from Hodgson alongside other cast members at times. The event was intended to be a one-off, but the fans' reaction to it led Hodgson and Shout! to continue the tradition in subsequent years. The 2015 Turkey Day coincided with the Kickstarter for the show's revival, while the 2016 Turkey Day includes the revival's new host Ray co-hosting alongside Hodgson. The 2017 Turkey Day was hosted by Hodgson, Ray and Felicia Day, and concluded with a surprise announcement that the show had been renewed on Netflix for another season.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Hodgson is credited for devising the show's concept. Prior to the show, Hodgson was an up-and-coming comedian from Minneapolis having moved to Los Angeles and made appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and "Saturday Night Live". He had been invited by Brandon Tartikoff to be on a NBC sitcom co-starring Michael J. Fox, but Hodgson felt the material was not funny and declined (the proposed sitcom went unrealized). He further became dissatisfied with the Hollywood attitudes when they tried to double their offer, acquiring what he called a "healthy disrespect" for the industry. He moved back to Minneapolis-St. Paul, taking a job in a T-shirt printing factory that allowed him to conceive of new comedy ideas while he was bored. One such idea was the basis of "MST3K", a show to comment humorously on movies and that would also allow him to showcase his own prop comedy-style humor. Hodgson called these jokes as "riffs", based both on the idea of musical riffs as well as the idea of comedy riffs, a term he attributes to "The Simpsons"s writer Dana Gould. In terms of movie selection, Hodgson had recalled that his college roommate had a copy of "The Golden Turkey Awards", and he had previously wondered why no one had made any program about these "adorable, weird movies" listed within it.
Hodgson said that part of the idea for "MST3K" came from the illustration for the song "I've Seen That Movie Too" (drawn by Mike Ross) in the liner notes from Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album, showing silhouettes of two people in a theater watching a movie. Hodgson also likened the show's setting to the idea of a pirate radio station broadcasting from space. Hodgson credits "Silent Running", a 1972 science-fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull, as being perhaps the biggest direct influence on the show's concept. The film is set in the future and centers on a human, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern), who is the last crew member of a spaceship containing Earth's last surviving forests. His remaining companions consist only of three robot drones. "MST3K" and the Joel Robinson character occasionally reflected Lowell's hippie-like nature. Hodgson wanted the feel of the show to appear homemade, and cited the example of a crude mountain prop used during the "Saturday Night Live" sketch "Night on Freak Mountain" that received a humorous reaction from the studio audience as the type of aesthetic he wanted for the show.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 2010, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Josh Weinstein, Beth McKeever and Clive Robertson voiced characters for "", a computer game created by J. Allen Williams.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The various cast and crew from the show's broadcast run have continued to produce comedy works following the show. Two separate projects were launched that specifically borrowed on the theme of riffing on bad movies. After the short-lived "The Film Crew" in 2006, Nelson started RiffTrax, providing downloadable audio files containing "MST3K"-style riffs that the viewer can synchronize to their personal copy of a given popular movie (such as ""); this was done to avoid copyright and licensing issues with such films. RiffTraxs cast expanded to include Murphy and Corbett along with occasional guest stars, and are able to use a wider range of films, including films and shorts in the public domain, and films which they could get the license to stream and distribute. In addition, they launched production of "RiffTrax Live" shows for various films, where they perform their riffing in front of a live audience that ismsimultaneously broadcast to other movie theaters across the country and later made available as on-demand video. , RiffTrax continues to offer new material and shows. As part of a tribute to their roots, RiffTrax has performed some works that previously appeared on "MST3K", including "Manos: the Hands of Fate", "Santa Claus", and "Time Chasers".
Jim Mallon
In 1986, Mallon became the production manager of a new independent UHF television station, KTMA, in Minneapolis. There Mallon hired future "MST3K" cohort, Kevin Murphy. In 1988, Mallon met series creator Joel Hodgson and "Mystery Science Theater 3000" was born.
Best Brains
On November 5, 2007, Jim Mallon and Paul Chaplin of Best Brains revived the "MST3K" brand by launching a new series of Flash-based animated shorts featuring the robots of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" on the official website. The series was ended after several months due to cost issues.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 1993, "MST3K" won a Peabody Award for "producing an ingenious eclectic series": "With references to everything from Proust to "Gilligan's Island", "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fuses superb, clever writing with wonderfully terrible B-grade movies". In 1994 and 1995, the show was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program, but lost both times to "Dennis Miller Live". Every year from 1992 to 1997, it was also nominated for CableACE Awards. Its DVD releases have been nominated for Saturn Awards in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2018.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
The film was released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video to rental outlets on October 1, 1996. The film was released for retail sales on April 8, 1997 on both VHS and Laserdisc formats. "MST3K: The Movie" was released on DVD in 1998 by Image Entertainment, as a discount title with an MSRP of $14.99.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The general format of an "MST3K" episode has remained the same throughout the series' run. Episodes are approximately 90 minutes in running time (excluding commercial breaks) and begin with a short introductory segment in which the human host and the 'bots interact with the Mads before being sent the movie. During Joel Hodgson and Jonah Ray's tenures as hosts (and for a brief period at the start of the Mike Nelson era), the hosts and the Mads engage in an "invention exchange" in which they each show off their latest inventions. Sirens and flashing lights ("Movie Sign") then signal the characters to enter the theater.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mallon met with KTMA station manager Donald O'Conner the next month and managed to get signed up for thirteen episodes. Show production was generally done on a 24-hour cycle, starting with Mallon offering a few films from KTMA's library for the writers to select from. Riffing in these episodes was ad-libbed during taping using notes made during preliminary viewings of the selected film. The show had some slight alterations from the pilot — the set was lit differently, the robots (now Crow, Servo and Gypsy) joined Joel in the theater, and a new doorway countdown sequence between the host and theater segments was shot. The puppeteers worked personalities into their robots: Crow (Beaulieu) was considered a robotic Groucho Marx, Tom Servo (Weinstein) as a "smarmy AM radio DJ", and Gypsy (Mallon) modeled after Mallon's mother had a "heart of gold" but would become disoriented when confronted with a difficult task. The development of the show's theme song would lead to establishing elements for the show's ongoing premise, with Hodgson now portraying himself as the character Joel Robinson.
Daddy-O
The episode was part of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXXIII" DVD box set, released by Shout! Factory in July 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include "Earth vs. the Spider" (episode #313), "Teen-Age Crime Wave" (episode #522), and "Agent for H.A.R.M." (episode #815).
San Francisco International Airport (TV series)
The "Mystery Science Theater 3000" presentation of the series pilot first aired on November 19, 1994, as episode #614. In "The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide", writer Paul Chaplin remarked on star Pernell Roberts's "astounding pomposity and self-absorption ... Pernell struts and preens like a balding cock-of-the-walk." Three of the episode's non-movie segments focus on host Mike Nelson's imitation of Urkel from the ABC sitcom Family Matters, which Chaplin admits many found to be "an odd decision".
McCloud (TV series)
"McCloud" became the basis for a recurring joke on the movie-mocking TV series "Mystery Science Theater 3000": whenever one character in the featured movie would call out to someone else, host characters Joel Robinson, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot would chime in by calling out to other unrelated fictional characters such as Mr. Drysdale and "Mr. Eddie's father". Invariably, these exchanges ended with Servo calling "Chief?" and Crow responding with "McCloud!" The gag was most prominently featured in episode 303, "Pod People".
The Amazing Transparent Man
The MST3K version of "The Amazing Transparent Man" was included as part of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume XXXIX" DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory in November 21, 2017. The other episodes in the four-disc set include "Girls Town" (episode #601) and "" (episode #1013). The fourth disc, titled "Satellite Dishes", collected non-movie segments from MST3K episodes that are unlikely to be collected on DVD.
Drake Tungsten
The pseudonym "Drake Tungsten" appears to be an homage to Episode 410 (first airing in 1992) of the comic television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. "Drake Tungsten" was one of several "tough guy names" proposed by the characters to fit the model of a monosyllabic first name followed by a metal or hard surface as a last name. Others included "Nick Pigiron" and "Russ Tilefloor."
Mystery Science Theater 3000
All episodes of Season 11 were released on a DVD/Blu-Ray box set on April 17, 2018, which includes a documentary behind the making of the first revival season.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Starting in 2010, Hodgson had been trying to bring back "MST3K", spurred on by fan appreciation of the cast and crew 25 years since the show's premiere and the success of his "Cinematic Titanic" project. Hodgson also considered the timing to be ideal, with non-traditional outlets like Netflix picking up original series, and the success of crowdfunding for entertainment projects. However, Hodgson needed to reacquire the rights to the series, which then were still held by Mallon and Best Brains. By 2013, Hodgson was working closely with Shout! Factory, the distribution company handling the home media releases of "MST3K", and completed negotiations with Mallon to buy the rights for "MST3K" for a seven-figure sum by August 2015, enabling a Kickstarter campaign to fund the revival to move forward. Hodgson felt the Kickstarter approach was necessary so that the show's style and approach would be determined by fans rather than through a network if he had sought traditional broadcast funding, as well as to demonstrate the demand for the show through a successful campaign.
The Green Slime
"The Green Slime" was used for the pilot episode of the film-mocking television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in 1988 on KTMA. The episode differed from others as it lacked the character Tom Servo, instead featuring a puppet named Beeper who only spoke in beeps that Crow T. Robot could understand.