Mystery Science Theater 3000
Format	Comic science fiction
Created by	Joel Hodgson
Starring	Joel Hodgson (1988–1993) Mike Nelson (1993–1999) Kevin Murphy (1990–1999) Trace Beaulieu (1988–1996) Frank Conniff (1990–1995) Jim Mallon (1989–1996) Mary Jo Pehl (1992–1999) Bill Corbett (1996–1999) Josh Weinstein (1988–1990) Patrick Brantseg (1997–1999)
Country of origin	United States
No. See also Science fiction, Comedy Comic science fiction is a sub- Genre of Science fiction that exploits the genre's conventions for Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer comedian and television actor Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer comedian and television actor Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for Kevin Wagner Murphy (born November 3, 1956 in River Forest Illinois) is a United States Actor Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer writer and actor Mystery Science Theater 3000 Frank Conniff (born August 30, 1958 in New York, New York) is a writer and actor Jim Mallon is an American television and film producer and Writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award -winning series Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre Josh "J Elvis" Weinstein is an American writer and performer best known for his roles as Dr Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer The United States of America —commonly referred to as the  of episodes	198 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	92 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	KTMA (1988–1989) Comedy Channel (1989–1991) Comedy Central (1991–1996) Sci-Fi Channel (1997–1999)
Original run	November 24, 1988 – August 8, 1999
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (often abbreviated MST3K, sometimes MST 3000 or MST 3K or just MST) is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. that ran from 1988 to 1999. This is a list of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. Each entry starts with a code which represents its episode ("experiment" number WUCW (Channel 23 analog 22 digital) is an affiliate of The CW serving the Minneapolis-St The Comedy Channel was an all-comedy cable television network owned by Home Box Office, a division of Time Warner Comedy Central is an American Cable television and Satellite television channel that carries predominantly Comedy programming Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer comedian and television actor Best Brains Inc (first known as Hair Brain Productions) was a Television production company based in Eden Prairie Minnesota. The year 1988 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1988. The year 1999 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1999.

The series features a man and his robot sidekicks who are trapped on a satellite in space and forced to watch a selection of terrible movies, especially (but not initially limited to) science fiction B-movies. A robot is a mechanical or Virtual Artificial agent In practice it is usually an electro-mechanical system which by its appearance or movements SideKick was an early Personal Information Manager (PIM Software application by Borland launched in 1983 under Philippe Kahn BEFORE INSERTING A MOVIE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT IT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DEFINED "THE WORST" BY A REPUTABLE SOURCE A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double The man and his robots make a running commentary on the film, making fun of its flaws and wisecracking their way through the film in the style of a movie theater peanut gallery. A peanut gallery is an audience that heckles the performer The term originated in the days of Vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest (and ostensibly rowdiest Series creator Hodgson originally played the stranded man, Joel Robinson. Joel Robinson is a Fictional character featured in the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science When he left in 1993, series head writer Michael J. Nelson replaced him as new B-movie victim Mike Nelson, and continued in the role for the rest of the show's run. Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double Michael J "Mike" Nelson is a Fictional character in the Comedy Science fiction Television series

The format proved to be popular. During its eleven years and 198 episodes (including one feature film), MST3K attained a loyal fan base and critical acclaim. Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie (1996 produced by Best Brains, Inc The series won a Peabody Award in 1993, and was nominated for writing Emmys in 1994 and 1995. The George Foster Peabody Awards, better known as simply the Peabody Awards, are annual international awards for excellence in Radio and Television broadcasting

Premise

The loosely-defined plot of the show serves chiefly as a pretext for the movie commentary and the comic sketches known as "host segments" which appear throughout each episode.

Two mad scientists, Dr. Clayton Forrester (named after the main character in The War of the Worlds), played by Trace Beaulieu, and his sidekick Dr. Laurence Erhardt, played by Josh Weinstein, launch Joel Robinson (Hodgson), a janitor working for the Gizmonic Institute, into space and force him to watch truly horrible B-movies. Doctor Clayton Forrester is a fictional character in the 1953 science fiction film The War of the Worlds, the first film adaptation of the H The War of the Worlds (also sometimes known as HG Wells' The War of the Worlds) is a 1953 Science fiction film Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer writer and actor Dr Laurence "Larry" Erhardt is a fictional character and one of the two original villains on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Josh "J Elvis" Weinstein is an American writer and performer best known for his roles as Dr A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double They do this in order to measure how much bad-movie-watching it takes to drive a person crazy, and to pinpoint the perfect B-movie to use as a weapon in Dr. Forrester's scheme of world domination. Forrester's scheme was that when he found a movie so bad that it broke Joel's spirit, he would unleash it on an unsuspecting populace and turn everyone into mindless zombie slaves. The sycophantic TV's Frank, played by Frank Conniff, replaced Dr. TV's Frank, played by Frank Conniff, is Mad scientist Dr Clayton Forrester's lab assistant in the television comedy series Mystery Science Mystery Science Theater 3000 Frank Conniff (born August 30, 1958 in New York, New York) is a writer and actor Erhardt in the second season premiere following Weinstein's departure from the series.

Trapped on board the Satellite of Love (S. O. L. ) — a reference to the Lou Reed song — Joel builds four sentient robots that populate the ship (ostensibly because he is lonely, and as a homage to the 1970s film Silent Running). Lewis Allan Reed (born March 2 1942 is an American rock Singer-songwriter and Guitarist. " Satellite of Love " is one of Lou Reed 's best known songs Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive subjectively. It is an important concept in the philosophy of Animal rights, in buddhist philosophy and in Silent Running is a 1972 ecologically-themed Science fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull which depicts a future in which all Plant life The robots are Tom Servo (voiced first by Weinstein, then by Kevin Murphy beginning in Season 2), and Crow T. Robot (voiced first by Beaulieu, then by Bill Corbett beginning in Season 8), who accompany Joel in the screening room; Gypsy (voiced first by Weinstein, inhaling as he spoke, then by Jim Mallon and later by Patrick Brantseg, both using a falsetto voice), who does not appear in every episode but handles the "higher functions" of the S. Tom Servo is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television show Mystery Science Theater Kevin Wagner Murphy (born November 3, 1956 in River Forest Illinois) is a United States Actor Crow T Robot is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science Theater Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre Jim Mallon is an American television and film producer and Writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award -winning series Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer The term falsetto (Italian diminutive of falso, false refers to the Vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the Modal voice register and O. L. (such as steering the ship); and Cambot, the recorder of the experiments who is visible only in a mirror during the opening credits and occasionally interacts with the others (for example, when Cambot is asked a yes-or-no question, the onscreen image will shift back and forth or up and down, as if Cambot were nodding or shaking itself in a "yes" or "no" gesture. Cambot is one of the fictional robot characters on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series ) Also making intermittent "appearances" in the show's early years is Magic Voice, a disembodied female voice whose primary role is to announce the start of the first commercial break in each episode. Magic Voice is the voice of the Satellite of Love 's computer on the Science fiction / Comedy TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Joel has no control over when the movies start, for, as the theme song states, "he used those special parts to make his robot friends". He must enter the theater when "Movie Sign" flashes, because Dr. Forrester has numerous ways to punish Joel for non-compliance, including shutting off all oxygen to the rest of the ship and electric shocks. As the movies play, the silhouettes of Joel, Tom, and Crow are visible at the bottom of the screen, wisecracking and mocking the movie (a practice they often referred to as "riffing") to prevent themselves from being driven mad.

Several times during the movie (about every half-hour when shown with commercials), Joel (and later Mike) and the bots perform skits, songs, or other short sketch pieces (called "host segments") that are usually related to the movie they are watching. These segments sometimes even feature "visits" by prominent characters from a shown movie, such as Torgo from Manos: The Hands of Fate, "Jan in the Pan" from The Brain That Wouldn't Die, and Mothra from Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster. Torgo may refer to Torgo (comics, a vampire in the Marvel Comics universe Torgo (robot, an alien robot in the Marvel Comics universe Manos The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American Horror film written directed and produced by Harold P The Brain That Wouldn't Die, also known as The Head That Wouldn't Die, is a 1962 science-fiction / Horror film directed About Mothra Since her first film Mothra has been depicted in various stages of the lepidopteran life cycle: Mothra's mammoth egg is decoratively colored Godzilla vs the Sea Monster, released in Japan as, is a 1966 Tokusatsu film directed by Jun Fukuda, and was released by Toho However, before too much frivolity can transpire, the movie sign lights flash, signaling the resumption of the movie.

Many episodes without movies long enough to fill the show's run time also include screenings of unintentionally hilarious short films or "shorts", including propaganda-style films from the 1950s, a training film for Chevrolet sales managers, and films intended to teach children about posture or personal hygiene. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM Posture or posturing may refer toIn humans Neutral spine or good posture Human position Abnormal posturing Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness On one occasion a Gumby cartoon was used as a short. Gumby is a dark green Clay humanoid figure who was the subject of a 233-episode series of American Television which spanned over a 35-year period These are less frequent in later episodes. They are nonexistent in season 8 (the first Sci-Fi Channel season), because during that season the Sci-Fi Channel's executives required that every film be a science-fiction, fantasy, or horror movie. The restriction was lifted for the last two seasons, with season 9 featuring two shorts (including the aforementioned Gumby film) and season 10, one short (in the penultimate episode).

Background and history

Inspirations and influences

Hodgson credits Silent Running, a 1972 sci-fi film directed by Douglas Trumbull, as being perhaps the biggest direct influence on the show's concept. Silent Running is a 1972 ecologically-themed Science fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull which depicts a future in which all Plant life Douglas Trumbull (born April 8, 1942, Los Angeles) is an American Film director and Special effects supervisor 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. Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an Academy Award -nominated American Screen Actor. His remaining companions consist only of three robot drones (the third robot was destroyed in the beginning of the movie), though they are not able to converse with him. MST3K and the Joel Robinson character also occasionally reflected Lowell's "hippie"-like nature. The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world ^[1]

Hodgson cites Beany and Cecil as having likely been a subconscious childhood influence. The 1960s Bob Clampett cartoon series centered on a boy and his sea serpent friend. Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett ( May 8 1913 &mdash May 4 1984) was an American Animator, producer In an interview, Hodgson made loose retrospective comparisons to elements between the two shows, such as the ship (the Leakin' Lena, to the S. O. L. ), and the characters of Beany (to Joel), Cecil (to Gypsy), Huffenpuff (to Tom Servo), Crowy (to Crow), and Dishonest John (to Dr. Forrester). ^[1]

Another childhood influence was the CBS Children's Film Festival, a 1970s live-action program which starred Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Burr Tillstrom's puppet troupe which was made famous during television's early days in the '40s and '50s. CBS Children's Film Festival was a television series of live action films from several countries that were made for children (several of them dubbed into English) Kukla Fran and Ollie was an early Television show using Puppets originally created for children but soon watched by more adults than children Franklin Burr Tillstrom ( October 13, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois - December 6, 1985 in Palm Springs California The characters consisted of a human (played by Fran Allison) and her two puppet friends (both performed by Tillstrom). Fran Allison ( 20 November 1907 &ndash 13 June 1989) was a television comedian and singer Each episode of Film Festival featured an international children's film, with Kukla, Fran and Ollie serving as hosts. Fran would lead discussions of the film as the episode went on, in similar fashion to MST3K's host segments. ^[1]

The signature silhouetted movie seats were partially inspired by several Looney Tunes shorts in which an on-screen character would interact with a "theater audience member" who could only be seen in silhouette. A silhouette is a view of some object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior with the silhouette usually being black Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969

The name of the Joel Robinson character is a reference to the 1960s television series Lost in Space, which followed the adventures of the shipwrecked Robinsons, a family of astronauts (which itself traces the theme of castaway Robinsons through The Swiss Family Robinson [1812] back to Robinson Crusoe [1719]). Lost in Space is a Science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore While the situation usually happens after a Shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island either For the 1960 film produced by Disney see Swiss Family Robinson (film The Swiss Family Robinson (German Der Schweizerische The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (of York Mariner Who lived Eight and Twenty Years all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America near the Mouth In the pilot and first season on KTMA-TV, Hodgson used his real last name.

KTMA era

Hodgson initially came up with the concept for the "Mystery Science Theatre". ^[2] The "3000" suffix was added later to sound like a version number, though Hodgson originally wanted it to be "2000". Unfortunately, a partner of his mistook this as being a year number and claimed that 2000 was "too close". ^[1] Drawing partly on his own comedy act (which he was performing in the area at the time), the show's format was to showcase Hodgson. These initial episodes were filmed at the now defunct Paragon Cable studios/customer service center in Hopkins, Minnesota. Two views of Mainstreet (the local spelling

In September 1988, Hodgson enlisted Twin City-area comedians Trace Beaulieu and Josh Weinstein, and producer Jim Mallon, to help him shoot a pilot for the show. The robots and the set, in their crudest format, were built overnight by Hodgson. The next morning, shooting commenced, and a 30-minute pilot, in which selections from the 1969 science-fiction film, The Green Slime, were the test subject film. Joel watched the movie by himself, and was aided during the host segments by his robots, Crow (Beaulieu), Beeper, and Gypsy (Weinstein). Camera work was by Kevin Murphy, who worked at the station and also created the first "doorway sequence" (see "Characteristic elements") and theater seat design.

Mallon met with station manager Donald O'Conner the next month and managed to get signed up for thirteen consecutive episodes. The show had some slight alterations — 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 segments and the theater segments was shot. The back story was also altered from the pilot; In the pilot episode it is explained that Joel Hodgson (not yet using his character name of Robinson) had built the Satellite of Love and launched himself into space (according to an interview with Hodgson on StarWars. com, it was set in a post-apocalyptic future). ^[3] Once the series was picked up this was retconned, with Joel now having been a janitor at a "satellite loading bay", who was launched into space against his will by his evil "mad scientist" bosses. Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction Joel's captors (played by Beaulieu and Weinstein) did not actually appear outside of the opening theme until several episodes later.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered at 6:00 p. m. on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1988 with its first episode, "Invaders from the Deep", followed by a second episode, "Revenge of the Mysterians" [sic], at 8:00 p. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) m. Initially, the show's response was unknown, until Mallon set up a phone line for viewers to call in. Response was so great that aside from the first 13 episodes, the station extended the season to 21, with the show running to May 1989. During this time a fan club was set up and the show held its first live show at Scott Hansen's Comedy Gallery in Minneapolis to a crowd of over 600. Despite the success, the station's overall declining fortunes forced it to cancel MST3K.

Comedy Channel/Comedy Central era

Cambot, as he appeared in the early years of the series

Just as its run at KTMA was ending, the creators used a short "best-of" reel to pitch the concept to executives at the Comedy Channel, a national cable channel that was being created. Cambot is one of the fictional robot characters on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series WUCW (Channel 23 analog 22 digital) is an affiliate of The CW serving the Minneapolis-St The Comedy Channel was an all-comedy cable television network owned by Home Box Office, a division of Time Warner It became one of the first two shows picked up. New sets were built, the robots were retooled, and a new doorway sequence was shot. Another major change was the show's writing format: instead of ad-lib riffs in the theater, each show was carefully scripted ahead of time. Writer/performer Weinstein did not care for this new format, and subsequently left after the first season. Murphy replaced him as the voice of Tom Servo and Jim Mallon took over as Gypsy. Frank Coniff was Weinstein's replacement in Deep 13. At the same time, Mike Nelson was promoted to head writer.

After the second season, The Comedy Channel and rival comedy cable network HA! merged to become Comedy Central. Ha! The Comedy Network, owned by Viacom, was one of the first American all-comedy channels available to basic cable subscribers Comedy Central is an American Cable television and Satellite television channel that carries predominantly Comedy programming During this change, MST3K became the cable channel's "signature series", expanding from 13 to 24 episodes a year, which would continue until its seventh national season, as the show gradually fell out of favor with the network's new management at the time.

Comedy Central ran a 30-hour marathon of previous MST3K episodes during Thanksgiving, 1991, including special promos and a "making of" show (This Is MST3K, hosted by Penn Jillette) that featured a behind the scenes look at episode scripting, filming, voicing, and puppet construction. Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Comedian, Illusionist, juggler and Writer known Bill Corbett first stumbled upon MST3K during this marathon and became an instant fan; he later assumed voice and puppeteer duties for Crow T. Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre Robot, as well as the role of a new character, Observer.

The show's run coincided with the growth of the Internet, and numerous fans (MSTies) devoted websites to the series. MSTie, rarely spelled MiSTie, is a term for a fan of the show Mystery Science Theater 3000. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages

Conventions

There were two official fan conventions in Minneapolis, run by the series' production company itself (zanily called "ConventioCon ExpoFest-A-Rama" (1994) and "ConventioCon ExpoFest-A-Rama 2: Electric Bugaloo" (1996), the second being a dual reference to the movie Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo and the children's TV series The Bugaloos). A fan convention, or con, is an event in which fans of a particular TV show, Comic book, or Actor, or an entire style of entertainment Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo is the Sequel to the 1984 Breakdancing Film Breakin'. The Bugaloos was a children's television series in the United States produced by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft in 1970

Change of hosts

When Joel Hodgson decided to leave the series, halfway through season five, an episode was written in which his character escaped from the S. O. L. (after being forced to sit through the Joe Don Baker movie Mitchell). Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American film actor perhaps best known for his roles as real-life Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser Mitchell is a 1975 Film starring Joe Don Baker as an abrasive alcoholic police detective Joel escaped with the help of Gypsy and Mike Nelson (a temp worker hired by Doctor Forrester to help to prepare for an audit from the Fraternal Order of Mad Science), after they discovered an escape pod (named the Deus ex Machina) in a box marked "Hamdingers". Michael J "Mike" Nelson is a Fictional character in the Comedy Science fiction Television series The most general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person organization system process project or product A deus ex machina ( lat. ˈdeːus eks ˈmaːkʰina literally "god from a/the machine" is an improbable To replace Joel, Dr. Forrester sent Mike up in his place. The series head writer Michael J. Nelson played Mike from 1993 until the end of the series. Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for

The Mystery Science Theater Hour

Among the many troubles the Best Brains staff had with Comedy Central was the latter's desire to cut the show down to a 60-minute time slot. As part of this effort, in the summer of 1993, the MST3K staff selected 30 episodes to split into 60 one-hour segments, hosted by Mike Nelson in his "Jack Perkins" persona. Jack Perkins (born December 28, 1933, in Cleveland Ohio) is an American reporter commentator War correspondent, and Anchorman The resulting repackaged series was titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour, and its 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. ^[4][5][6]

Feature film

A feature film, in which Mike and the bots worked over This Island Earth, was released in 1996 during the gap in the show's run between seasons 6 and 7. This Island Earth is a 1955 Science fiction Film directed by Joseph M Unfortunately, Universal Studios invested few resources into the resultant Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie (1996 produced by Best Brains, Inc Distributor Gramercy Pictures had a limited advertising budget and devoted its funds instead to the marketing of the Pamela Anderson film Barb Wire. Gramercy Pictures was a Film distributor launched in 1993 a joint venture of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1 1967 is a Canadian -born actress, Sex symbol, glamour model, producer, Author, and Barb Wire is a 1996 film based on the Dark Horse comic book series Barb Wire. ^[7]

The film was never given wide release, instead playing for a limited time in different cities and then moving to another city. The result was that many fans did not even know it had been released. The movie was released on DVD in the United States by Image Entertainment, but that release has since gone out of print. Image Entertainment Inc. is a leading independent licensee producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North America with approximately 3000 exclusive DVD Universal Pictures announced plans to re-release the film on DVD, scheduled for May 6, 2008. Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The re-release will feature a new anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5. 1 Surround Sound mix, and the film's original trailer. ^[8] The movie is still available on DVD in Germany as of October 2007.

The film ran for 74 minutes, making it shorter than any episode of the actual series, and shorter than the original film, This Island Earth, itself.

Sci Fi Channel era

When Comedy Central dropped the show after a seventh season of only six episodes, MST3K's Internet fan-base staged a precedent-setting write-in campaign to keep the show alive. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks This included taking contributions from MST3K fans worldwide for a full-page ad in the television trade publication Daily Variety magazine. A trade journal is a Periodical, Magazine or Publication printed with the intention of Target marketing to a specific Industry or type Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman One notable contributor to the campaign was TV personality and Biography host Jack Perkins, whom Nelson had impersonated on the series several times. Biography is a Documentary television series. Originally produced by CBS in 1962 and hosted by Mike Wallace, the A&E Network Jack Perkins (born December 28, 1933, in Cleveland Ohio) is an American reporter commentator War correspondent, and Anchorman This effort led the Sci Fi Channel to pick up the series, where it resumed with some cast changes and ran for three more seasons.

By this time, Trace Beaulieu, who had played Dr. Forrester and Crow, had already departed the series. Mary Jo Pehl took over the lead "Mad" role as Dr. Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Forrester's mother, Pearl, who had been featured as a regular in season 7. Pearl Forrester is a character on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Television series played by Mary Jo Pehl. Her sidekicks were the idiotic, Planet of the Apes-inspired Professor Bobo (played by Murphy) and the highly evolved, supposedly omniscient, yet equally idiotic Observer (AKA "Brain Guy"), played by writer Bill Corbett. Planet of the Apes is a 1968 Science fiction / thriller film directed by Franklin J Professor Bobo is a fictional character who appeared in the final three seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a comedy television series that mocks B-movies Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre In addition, Corbett aptly took over Crow's voice and puppetry; with this replacement, the series' entire central cast had changed from the original KTMA / Comedy Central cast. In the middle of the first season on the Sci Fi Channel (the eighth national season overall), Mallon handed over the voice and puppetry work for Gypsy to BBI staffer Patrick Brantseg. Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer

Mike and the bots watch The Crawling Eye (in their apartment on Earth) at the end of the series finale

At first, Sci-Fi Channel officials mandated that every movie featured on the revived series had to fit within the channel's broad definition of science-fiction (which included horror and fantasy), instead of the varied genres present in past shows. The Trollenberg Terror is the title of both a 1956 "Saturday Serial" ITV television program and a better-known 1958 Black and white By the final season, this restriction appears to have been loosened, allowing movies such as Girl in Gold Boots and the Joe Don Baker film Final Justice. Girl in Gold Boots is a 1969 crime / Drama film about the seedy underworld of Go-Go dancing, directed by Ted V Final Justice is a 1984 film starring Joe Don Baker and directed by Greydon Clark.

Cancellation

The series finale, "Danger: Diabolik", premiered on August 8, 1999, although a "lost" episode produced earlier in the season, "Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders", was the last new episode of MST3K broadcast on September 12, 1999. Danger Diabolik (also known simply as Diabolik) is a 1968 feature film from Italian Filmmaker Mario Bava based on Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders is a 1996 Film starring Ernest Borgnine. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Reruns continued on the Sci Fi Channel until January 31, 2004. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Including the feature film, the MST3K cast and crew produced 198 full episodes of the show. This is a list of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. Each entry starts with a code which represents its episode ("experiment" number

As with the run on the Comedy Channel, the Sci Fi Channel run ended due to a change in management. As a two-hour show involving long negotiations for the use of third-party films, MST3K was a tough sell for networks, despite the fan base and ratings. However, many former members of Best Brains insist to this day that they would have loved to continue the show indefinitely, as evidenced by similar new projects such as Cinematic Titanic, RiffTrax and The Film Crew. Cinematic Titanic is a project by Mystery Science Theater 3000 ( MST3K) creator and original host Joel Hodgson. RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedian Michael J The Film Crew were a comedic team similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000, comprising former MST3K cast members Michael J

The future

Main article: Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Flash series)

Eight years after the original series ended it was announced on October 29, 2007 that the Tom Servo, Crow and Gypsy characters would be returning in a series of cartoon webisodes. Mystery Science Theater 3000, also referred to as "The 'Bots Are Back!" is an Internet Cartoon created by Best Brains Inc. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. A webisode is an episode of a Television show that airs initially as an Internet download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or Cable On November 5, Best Brains, Inc. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) launched a new official website featuring a weekly series of "animated adventures". The project is headed by former Executive Producer Jim Mallon, who is joined by one of the original show's writers, Paul Chaplin. In addition, Chaplin provides the voice of Crow; the voice actor for Servo is James Moore. The animated series is exclusive to the relaunched mst3k. com along with various behind-the-scenes material from the BBI archives and a new, fully-online version of Best Brains' "Great Stuff You Can Buy" MST3K merchandise store.

Reactions

In the May 30-June 5, 2004 issue of TV Guide, a feature article listed Mystery Science Theater 3000 among the "25 Top Cult Shows Ever!":

" 11 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1989-1999)

A space traveler and his smart-ass robots watch and crack-wise about bombs like The Brain That Wouldn't Die and The Killer Shrews. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem TV Guide is the name of a North American weekly magazine about television programming The Killer Shrews is a 1959 science-fiction movie directed by Ray Kellogg

Cult-ability: 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. "^[9]

In the book The Amazing Colossal Episode Guide (written by the season 6 MST3K cast members), Kevin Murphy related two tales about celebrity reactions he encountered. In one, the cast went to a taping of Dennis Miller's eponymous show; when they were brought backstage to meet Miller, the comedian proceeded to criticize the MST3K cast for their choice of movie to mock in the then-recent episode "Space Travelers" (a re-branded version of the Oscar-winning film Marooned). Dennis Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American Stand-up comedian, political/sports commentator, and television/radio personality Marooned is a 1969 Film directed by John Sturges and starring Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, James Franciscus ^[10] In the other, Murphy discussed how he met Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., one of his literary heroes. Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black When he had mentioned the show and its premise to Vonnegut, the author suggested that even people who work hard on bad films deserve some respect. Murphy then invited Vonnegut to dine with his group, which Vonnegut declined, claiming that he had other plans. When Murphy and friends ate later that night, he saw Vonnegut dining alone in the same restaurant, and remarked that he had been "faced. . . but nicely faced" by one of his literary heroes. ^[11]

The reactions of those parodied by MST3K has been mixed. Sandy Frank, who held the rights to several Gamera films parodied on the show, was "intensely displeased" by the mockery directed at him. Sandy Frank is an American Television producer and film distributor Appearance Gamera's size rivals that of Toho 's own Kaiju, Godzilla. (The crew once sang the "Sandy Frank Song", which said that Frank was "the source of all our pain" and implied that he was too lazy to make his own films. ) Because of this, Frank reportedly refused to allow the shows to be rebroadcast once MST3K's rights ran out. ^[12]However, this may in fact be a rumor, as other rumors indicate that the Gamera films distribution rights prices were increased beyond what BBI could afford as a result of the show's success. ^[13]

Kevin Murphy had said that Joe Don Baker wanted to beat up the writers of the show for attacking him during "Mitchell". Mitchell is a 1975 Film starring Joe Don Baker as an abrasive alcoholic police detective ^[14][15] Murphy later said Baker likely meant it in a joking manner, although Nelson said he deliberately avoided Baker while the two were staying at the same hotel. ^[16]

Rick Sloane was outraged at his treatment at the conclusion of Hobgoblins and by the selling of the rights to his film without his permission. Rick Sloane (born 1961 in Los Angeles, California) is an American Exploitation feature film director. Hobgoblins is a low-budget B-movie directed by Rick Sloane, often seen as a rip-off of Gremlins. ^[17] In a recent interview, however, Sloane clarified his comments, saying that "I laughed through the entire MST3K episode, until the very end. I wasn't expecting the humor to suddenly be at my own expense. I was mortified when they dragged out the cardboard cutout and pretended to do an interview with me. I was caught off guard. I had never seen them rip apart any other director before on the show. " He also credits the success of the MST3K episode with inspiring him to make a sequel to Hobgoblins, due to be released in 2008. ^[18] Jeff Lieberman, director of Squirm, was also quite angry at the MST3K treatment of his film. Squirm is a 1976 film starring Don Scardino and Patricia Pearcy. ^[19]

Others have been more positive: Robert Fiveson and Myrl Schriebman, producers of Parts: The Clonus Horror, said they were "flattered" to see the film appear on MST3K. Parts The Clonus Horror, also known as Clonus, is a 1979 Science fiction Horror film about an isolated community in a remote ^[20]

Miles O'Keeffe, the star of the film Cave Dwellers, called Best Brains and personally requested a copy of the MST3K treatment of the film,^[16] saying he enjoyed their skewing of what he had considered to be a surreal experience (the film was shot in Italy). Miles O'Keeffe (born June 20, 1954 in Ripley Tennessee) is a television and movie Actor. In the form of an essay and e.e. cummings-esque poem, Mike Nelson paid tribute to Miles with a humorous mix of adulation and fear. Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14 1894 &ndash September 3 1962 popularly known as E ^[21]

Adam West, star of the 1960s Batman TV series, co-starred in Zombie Nightmare, another film MST3K mocked. Adam West (born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928) is an American Actor who is best known for playing the role of Batman is a 1960s American Television series, based on the DC Comic book character of the same name. Zombie Nightmare West apparently held no grudges, as he hosted several MST3K marathons on Comedy Central, including the "Turkey Day" marathon in which the episode featuring Zombie Nightmare had its broadcast premiere. Mamie van Doren, Robert Vaughn and Beverly Garland (who'd appeared in many MST3K-featured Roger Corman films) also hosted. Mamie Van Doren (born February 6, 1931 some sources say 1933 is an American actress and Sex symbol. Robert Francis Vaughn (born November 22, 1932) is an American Academy Award -nominated actor noted for stage, Film Beverly Garland (born October 17, 1926) is an American film and television Actress, businesswoman and hotel owner Roger William Corman (born April 5 1926) sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies (though he himself rejects this as inaccurate Rex Reason, star of This Island Earth, has also appeared at several MST3K events and credits MST3K with introducing the film to a new generation. Rex Reason (born in Berlin Germany on November 30, 1928) is an American actor This Island Earth is a 1955 Science fiction Film directed by Joseph M

The crew of Time Chasers held a party the night the MST3K treatment of their film aired. Time Chasers (aka Tangents) is a 1994 Science fiction film directed by David Giancola and starring Matthew Bruch Reactions were mixed, but director David Giancola said, "Most of us were fans and knew what to expect and we roared with laughter and drank way too much. David Giancola (born June 24, 1969) is a Vermont based American filmmaker I had a blast, never laughed so hard in my life. "^[22]

Awards

MST3K won a Peabody Award in 1993, 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". The George Foster Peabody Awards, better known as simply the Peabody Awards, are annual international awards for excellence in Radio and Television broadcasting Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (maʁsɛl pʁust (10 July 1871 &ndash 18 November 1922 was a French Novelist Essayist and Critic Gilligan's Island is an American TV sitcom originally produced by United Artists Television. ^[23]

In 1994 and 1995, Mystery Science Theater 3000 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. The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American Primetime Television Dennis Miller Live was a weekly talk show on HBO, hosted by comedian Dennis Miller.

MST3K was also nominated for CableACE Awards each year from 1992 through 1997, the last year of the awards. Its DVD releases have been nominated for Saturn Awards in 2004, 2006 and 2007. The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in Science fiction, Fantasy

Celebrity fans

Some noted fans of MST3K include: film directors and producer Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, songwriter-musician Neil Young, musician-composer Frank Zappa (whom the show honored at the end of episode 523 on January 22, 1994, a month after his death), writer-director Paul Schrader, cartoonist Matt Groening, former Vice President Al Gore, Time film critic Richard Corliss, TV critic Tom Shales, singer/songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic (who later collaborated with Mike in a RiffTrax of Jurassic Park), actors Emilio Estevez and Neil Patrick Harris (who also collaborated with Mike on Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory RiffTrax), the rock band Rush (who mentioned the show in the liner notes of the Counterparts album), MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann^[24][25] and film director and animator Ralph Bakshi. Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (Hon (born December 18 1946 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer. Neil Percival Young OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto Ontario) is a Canadian Singer-songwriter, Musician Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Paul Joseph Schrader (born July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids Michigan) is an American Screenwriter and Film director Matthew Abram Groening (ˈɡreɪnɪŋ GRAY-ning) (born February 15 1954 is an American Cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland __FORCETOC__ For the Vice President of the United States, their roles and other information see Vice President of the United States. Albert Arnold Gore Jr (born March 31 1948 is an American environmental Activist, author Businessperson, former Politician, and former Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Richard Nelson Corliss (born 1943 is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on Movies, with the occasional article on music or sports Tom Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American critic of television programming and operations Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (ˈjæŋkəvɪk born October 23 1959 is a Grammy Award winning American singer Musician, actor satirist RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedian Michael J Jurassic Park is a 1993 Science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Emilio Estévez (born May 12, 1962) is a Golden Globe - and Screen Actors Guild (SAG Award -nominated American Actor Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15 1973 is an American Golden Globe - and Emmy -nominated Actor. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 motion picture based on the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of Counterparts is the fifteenth studio Album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music) MSNBC is a 24-hour cable television news channel based in the United States and available in Canada. Keith Olbermann (born January 27 1959 is an American Sportscaster, news anchor, and Political commentator. Ralph Bakshi (born October 29 1938 is an American director of animated and occasionally live-action films ^[26] Brad Pitt also mentions the show in the first few minutes of the audio commentary for Ocean's Eleven. William Bradley "Brad" Pitt Pitt received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys

Characteristic elements

Several unusual elements of Mystery Science Theater 3000 provide a unique feel to the show, and were featured in many (if not all) episodes.

Theater silhouette

The theater silhouette, trademarked as "Shadowrama" (sometimes "Shadowramma") — a row of chair tops with Tom Servo, Joel or Mike, and Crow sitting at the right side — is a simple row of rounded shapes cut from black painted foamcore board. Joel/Mike and the robot operators sit down in front of these, facing a white wall. When shot from the back it gives the illusion of sitting in a theater. A photograph of this appears in the book The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, depicting Mike Nelson with a script on his lap and puppeteers Trace Beaulieu and Kevin Murphy working their respective robot puppets in front of the theater seat cutout. ^[27] Its characteristic appearance has been used in several works, often as an homage to the show.

Door sequence

Featured in most transitions between the theater segments and "host" segments is a camera tracking through a tunnel leading from the bridge of the Satellite of Love into the theater, or vice versa. Access to the tunnel from the bridge is through a hexagonal doorway, originally decorated with a large, gear-like "G" (for Gizmonic Institute, the original lair of the Mads) In mid season 5, upon Joel's departure, the main bridge door's Gizmonic "G" logo was altered to a full pinion gear wheel/hub design for the Mike Nelson episodes (season 5-7). Regular hexagon The internal Angles of a regular hexagon (one where all sides and all angles are equal are all 120 ° and the hexagon has 720 degrees The Gizmonic Institute is a Fictional scientific Institute from the TV program Mystery Science Theater 3000 (often abbreviated This change was made per Joel Hodgson's request that all references and logos to Gizmonic be removed upon his leaving the show. For the Sci-fi Channel era, the main bridge door was redecorated again with a Satellite Of Love profile shape locking hinge and planet design. This replaced the "gear wheel" design. ^[3] As the camera (implicitly Cambot) moved through the opening doorway, a countdown of hatches, decorated with unusual artifacts and numbered "6" through "2" (in the style of a film leader countdown), moves out of its way, finally opening on the theater and the film. A film leader is a length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a Projector or Telecine. The doorway sequence was changed three times during the series duration. The first one was used for the KTMA season, and a more colorful and elaborate one was built and filmed for season 1 on Comedy Central which would remain in place until Joel left in episode 512. Beginning with episode 513, a newer more sophisticated doorway sequence was built and filmed in keeping up with the show's art direction at the time with more dark grey colors, more props and a more proportionally shaped hexagonal tunnel. This doorway sequence would remain for the duration of the series. The season 1-5. 5 door sequence is known amongst fans as the "Joel Doors" and the season 5. 5-10 sequence is known as the "Mike Doors". In Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, Best Brains acquired props to use an actual door sequence instead of recording one. Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie (1996 produced by Best Brains, Inc ^[28]

Hexfield Viewscreen (HVS)

The HVS was, as its name implies, a hexagonally shaped opening on the SOL's bridge that served as a kind of monitor, through which the inhabitants of the SOL could interact with a wide and diverse range of visitors, often characters taken directly from whatever movie they were watching at the moment (Gamera, Jan-in-the-Pan, etc), and sometimes not (Yakov Smirnoff, rowdy redneck neighbors, etc). While an ostensible viewscreen, it was actually a small stage area, covered with a dark fabric screen with an "iris" mechanical door in front of it; and was often "deactivated" by simply turning off its lighting at the end of a transmission, as the door moves rather slowly. The HVS was used more frequently during the Comedy Central years. During the SciFi Channel era, it was used on a few occasions, such as during the season 8 send up of "The Mole People" and during season 10 in episodes "Soultaker", "Final Justice", & "Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders". The Hexfield Viewscreen premiered in episode 201 ("Rocketship X-M") and was originally manually operated with a hardware store bought window shade before episode 205 when the more familiar iris mechanism and frame backlight were installed. Rocketship X-M ( 1950) was the second of the American Science fiction feature films of the space adventure genre begun in the post-war era in 1950 The HVS frame had different backlight colors through the years. It had a blue light from mid season 2-early season 3, white lighting in mid season 3, then yellow lighting in late season 3 and finally blue again from season 4 through 10.

Rocket Number Nine

Sometimes Joel/Mike and the Bots would become aware of something happening outside the ship, and would instruct Cambot to "give [them] Rocket Number Nine". Once they did this, they were provided with an external view of the ship and whatever was nearby. This is an oblique reference to a tune by Sun Ra. Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, Legal name Le Sony'r Ra; ^[29]

Light/button signs

During the host segments, a set of three colored light-up buttons was located on the table's left side (mid season 1 through 10) (to the viewer) and above the door to the theater (Season 2-10).

• The leftmost light was red and would light to indicate that the Mads were calling; Mike discovered in episode 517 (Beginning of the End) that the button could be pressed to contact Deep 13, but commented after seeing the Mads in an uncomfortable domestic scene, "So, I guess we can call the Mads. Beginning of the End is a 1957 Science fiction film starring Peter Graves and Peggie Castle. . . You know what, I don't think we should do that again. "^[30]

• The rightmost was yellow - "commercial sign" - and would light to indicate that the show had to cut to a commercial break.

• The middle light was green (season 2 and 3) and purple/blue (season 4 through 7) and would light to indicate a visitor in the Hexfield Viewscreen (this occurred only during the Comedy Central episodes). While one of the characters would usually touch the flashing light to "execute" it, there were never any consequences for failing to do so.

• When all three lights flashed, it indicated "movie sign". When this happened the camera would shake, a buzzer would sound, and everyone currently on the bridge would scatter while yelling "We've got movie sign!" or some variant thereof.

The lights were absent from the early episodes of the series, and did not appear until halfway through the first season of the Comedy Central era. Before the lights appeared Joel would simply slap the table due to the lack of buttons. During Season 1, the color order of the light buttons were different than from later seasons. The green and red buttons were reversed. Green was used for commercial sign and yellow was for the Mads. Red was only used with the others during "movie sign". The rotating strobe lights above the doors did not appear until the set was revamped for season 2. Beginning with season 4, the center green light and green desk button was now a purple-esque/blue colored light and button. This was due to the blue chroma key used for the door sequence having been replaced with a green chroma key and the green lights did not show up well on camera with green chroma key and vice versa. Chroma Key is the name under which ex- Dream Theater Keyboardist Kevin Moore records When the S. O. L set was again revamped for the Sci-Fi channel era in season 8, the rotating strobe lights were replaced with solid square block lights (similar to the lights used in the feature film) and the color order above the doors was changed. The blue light was on the left, yellow in the middle and red on the right. However, the desk lights retained the same color order from the Comedy Central era.

Invention exchange

The Joel Hodgson era of the show (as well as the first five episodes of the Mike Nelson period) featured the "Invention exchange". This was always in the host segment which followed the first commercial. Joel and the bots would give their latest idea for a new invention to Dr. Forrester (often ending with the now-familiar line "Whaddaya think, sirs?") and vice versa. This ranged from a karaoke machine that only played public domain music to the machine that made fun gifts into practical gifts. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The final invention exchange occurred in episode 519, "Outlaw" (only the seventh show featuring Mike Nelson as the host), wherein the Mads presented "the first really real time machine" opposite Mike and the bots' instant Fabio kit. Fabio or Fábio is a given name may refer to Fabio Lanzoni, Italian male model Fabio Bencivenga, Italian water polo The reason the invention exchanges were discontinued was, according to Kevin Murphy in The Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, that "Joel was the gizmocrat, the one who brought that invention exchange spirit on board" and "Mike is many things, but he is not a tinkerer". Though the invention exchanges were discontinued, Dr. Forrester and Frank continued to present new inventions and experiments throughout Seasons 5 and 6, usually sending them to Mike and the bots to test them out.

Stinger

See also: Post-credits scene

A brief (generally, three to five seconds) clip from that episode's movie (or occasionally the accompanying short) which played following the end credits of the show. A post-credits scene (also called a stinger, tag, or coda) is a short clip that appears after some or all of the Closing credits of a Film The clip generally highlighted a moment or line of dialogue that the show's writers found to be particularly amusing. The tradition started with the second-season episode featuring Rocket Attack U. S. A. , with a shot of a blind man walking down the street, then suddenly stopping to exclaim "Help me!" The stinger was replaced for three episodes of season eight with images of the Observers, and for a fourth with a shot of Bobo after a disastrous fall.

The button

At the end of each episode during the "Frank" years (seasons 2-6), Dr. Forrester would instruct Frank to push "the button", which was located on a computer keyboard. When this was done, the image would shrink and leave a black screen to make way for the end credit roll. "Push the button, Frank" has since become one of the show's more recognizable lines among fans. (Some believe that the line is a reference to a running gag of "Push the button, Max!" in the film The Great Race. The Great Race is a 1965 Slapstick comedy movie directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A ) Occasionally there were variations of this custom, as in Daddy-O where "the button" malfunctioned and would repeatedly interrupt the credit roll to switch the show back to the Mads in Deep 13.

Low budget

Just like the films that they riff on, part of MST3K's charm is its economical use of its low budget. Everything, right down to the sets, props and robots are made from household items found at thrift shops. Part of this started during the KTMA years, as there was little to no budget supplied to the crew for the set, so such items had to be made out of various "found junk". Despite an increasing budget, Best Brains never forgot their roots as a "cowtown puppet show" and subsequently kept the bric-a-brac motif of the show.

Midwestern references

Many of the riffs and cultural references made by the humans and bots in the show are specific to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, reflecting the origin of the show (filmed throughout its eleven seasons in this area) and the Best Brains staff's Midwestern roots. ^[31] For example, in episode 422 (featuring The Day the Earth Froze), Crow remarks how Scandinavia resembles southern Wisconsin with the crack: "It's the Swedish Dells!" He then says in a heavy Swedish accent: "The Dooks! Ride the dooks!" (that is, the 'Ducks', an amphibious tour vehicle). Sampo (Сампо is a joint Finnish and Soviet production based loosely on the events depicted in the Finnish National epic Kalevala Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States Wisconsin Dells is a city in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2418 as of the 2000 census. The DUKW (popularly pronounced "duck") is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck that was designed by General Motors Corporation during World War II There is also an episode where they reference former U. S. Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis. Edward William Proxmire ( November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the The character of Mike Nelson is also from Wisconsin and in episode 810, "The Giant Spider Invasion", which is set in Wisconsin, the crew accordingly mocks riotous mobs by shouting variations of "Packers won the Super Bowl!!" (The show's cast and crew are ardent fans of the arch-rival Minnesota Vikings, even having Vikings running back Robert Smith in a dialogue-less cameo in one episode. The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay Wisconsin. The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based out of Minneapolis Minnesota. A running back ( RB) is the position of a player on an American or Canadian football team who usually lines up in the offensive backfield. Robert Scott Smith (born March 4, 1972 in Euclid Ohio) is a former American football Running back who played with the Ohio State ) References to the Twin Cities suburbs such as Maplewood and Edina are also common i. EDINA ( is the UK national academic data centre based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. e. "Featuring Music normally heard at the Days Inn lounge in Columbia Heights". Columbia Heights is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Mary Jo Pehl's home town of Circle Pines, Minnesota is also mentioned in a number of episodes. Circle Pines is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States.

Riff density and callbacks

Once the Best Brains staff gained some experience from the earlier KTMA shows, they gradually increased the amount of riffing until they estimated they were doing about 700 jokes per 90-minute episode. ^[3] Many of those riffs are "callbacks", or references to earlier episodes and running jokes. The running gag is an often amusing Joke or reference that appears repeatedly throughout a work or series of works

Letter readings and Info Club

A common feature on the show was the reading of fan mail during the closing segment of the show. See Fanmail (album for the 1999 TLC album Fan mail is Mail sent to a public figure especially a Usually, only one letter was read per episode, although up to four letters have been read in some episodes. During the beginning of each letter, Cambot has the note up on "still store" so that the audience can see the text (or fan art, if any. Fan art or fanart is artwork that is based on a character costume item or story that was created by someone other than the artist ) This began during the KTMA season of the show, though early episodes had Joel only playing phone messages from fans — the tradition didn't evolve to letter-reading until about halfway through the inaugural season.

MST3K also boasted an "Info Club", a system where you could write in to the specified address (the same one used to collect fan mail) and receive newsletters about events and information related to the show. A newsletter is a regularly distributed Publication generally about one main topic that is of Interest to its Subscribers Newspapers and The address would appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen twice during the theater segments, and again in conjunction with the letter readings.

The letter reading ended mid-season 7, with the last episode to feature letter readings being episode 705, "Escape 2000".

Musical numbers

The host segments of many episodes (almost every episode in the Joel era, less often in the Mike era) feature a musical number written by Michael J. Nelson. Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for The songs usually mock the movie that's being watched (the "Sidehacking" song from "Sidehackers") or one of the people involved with production ("The Sandy Frank Song" from "Time of the Apes"). The Sidehackers is a 1969 film (also known as Five the Hard Way) about motorcycle racing with a twist (literally "SF Drama Army of the Apes" produced/filmed in 1974 and released in 1987, is a Japanese Science fiction film Several of these songs make up the majority of the archive material on MST3K.com.

Interestingly, the number of musical numbers featured on the show went into decline once Nelson's tenure as host began, despite the fact that he wrote almost all of the musical numbers.

Guest characters

The MST3K cast was occasionally augmented by "guest stars" from the films — characters so memorable that they made interesting visitors to the Mads' lairs or the Satellite of Love. (See "Recurring guest characters" below. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced ) These film characters were always portrayed by Best Brains staffers, giving some screen time to behind-the-camera workers. Other "guests" were real-life people portrayed by MST3K cast and crew. MST3K has only had two non-staffers make guest appearances on the show: the aforementioned Smith cameo appeared in a season 8 episode, with Smith as "Howard", a "gift" to Pearl from her ape worshipers,^[32] and film critic Leonard Maltin, who had been mercilessly mocked for some of his ratings of MSTied films, appeared as himself in episode 909, "Gorgo". Leonard Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American Film critic and Film Historian. ^[33][34][35]

Cast

From left to right, Crow T. Robot, Joel Robinson, and Tom Servo (the latter dressed as a candystriper)

Recurring guest characters

• Jack Perkins (Michael J. Nelson) - in real life the host of the A&E Network's Biography program, Perkins first appeared in MST3K simply to annoy the Mads by describing the movie with glowing praise. Joel Robinson is a Fictional character featured in the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer comedian and television actor Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer comedian and television actor Joel Gordon Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer comedian and television actor Michael J "Mike" Nelson is a Fictional character in the Comedy Science fiction Television series Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for Crow T Robot is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science Theater Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer writer and actor Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre Paul Chaplin (born Paul Schersten on May 1, 1956) is an American writer and comedian best known for his work on the Television series Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer writer and actor Tom Servo is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television show Mystery Science Theater Josh "J Elvis" Weinstein is an American writer and performer best known for his roles as Dr There are many people named Kevin Murphy: Kevin Murphy (actor (born 1956 American actor author and puppeteer Kevin Murphy (historian socialist James Moore and Jim Moore are the names of Cowboy Jimmy Moore (b Mystery Science Theater 3000 Frank Conniff (born August 30, 1958 in New York, New York) is a writer and actor Josh "J Elvis" Weinstein is an American writer and performer best known for his roles as Dr Jim Mallon is an American television and film producer and Writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award -winning series Jim Mallon is an American television and film producer and Writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award -winning series Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer Jim Mallon is an American television and film producer and Writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award -winning series Cambot is one of the fictional robot characters on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series There are many people named Kevin Murphy: Kevin Murphy (actor (born 1956 American actor author and puppeteer Kevin Murphy (historian socialist Magic Voice is the voice of the Satellite of Love 's computer on the Science fiction / Comedy TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Doctor Clayton Forrester may refer to Doctor Clayton Forrester (War of the Worlds, lead character from the 1953 film War of the Worlds Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer writer and actor Trace Beaulieu (born November 6, 1958) is a puppeteer writer and actor Dr Laurence "Larry" Erhardt is a fictional character and one of the two original villains on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Josh "J Elvis" Weinstein is an American writer and performer best known for his roles as Dr TV's Frank, played by Frank Conniff, is Mad scientist Dr Clayton Forrester's lab assistant in the television comedy series Mystery Science Mystery Science Theater 3000 Frank Conniff (born August 30, 1958 in New York, New York) is a writer and actor Mystery Science Theater 3000 Frank Conniff (born August 30, 1958 in New York, New York) is a writer and actor Mystery Science Theater 3000 Frank Conniff (born August 30, 1958 in New York, New York) is a writer and actor Pearl Forrester is a character on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Television series played by Mary Jo Pehl. Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Professor Bobo is a fictional character who appeared in the final three seasons of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a comedy television series that mocks B-movies There are many people named Kevin Murphy: Kevin Murphy (actor (born 1956 American actor author and puppeteer Kevin Murphy (historian socialist Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre Crow T Robot is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science Theater Joel Robinson is a Fictional character featured in the American Science fiction Comedy Television series Mystery Science Hospital volunteers work without regular pay in a variety of Health care settings usually under the supervision of a Nurse. Jack Perkins (born December 28, 1933, in Cleveland Ohio) is an American reporter commentator War correspondent, and Anchorman Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for A&E is a cable and Satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Biography is a Documentary television series. Originally produced by CBS in 1962 and hosted by Mike Wallace, the A&E Network When MST3K appeared in syndication as The Mystery Science Hour, Nelson's fake "Jack Perkins" hosted the show.

• Jan-in-the-Pan (Mary Jo Pehl) - a woman's severed head from the movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die. Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and

• Jerry and Sylvia (various actors) - two "mole people" from the movie The Mole People (featured much later as a season 8 episode) who occasionally assisted the Mads and stopped by for social events. They also work Deep 13's camera in the first host segment of "Lost Continent". For the first seven nationally broadcast seasons of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 ( MST3K) Deep 13 was the subterranean hideout for the Lost lands are Continents, Islands or other regions believed by some to have existed during Prehistory, but to have since disappeared as a result of Presumably named after Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, the creative team behind Space: 1999 and Supermarionation shows like Thunderbirds and Stingray, some of which were featured as KTMA-season episodes. For complete histories of her work with Gerry Anderson, and of AP Films/Century 21 Productions see the linked articles Space 1999 ( ITC Entertainment and RAI, 1975-77 is a British science-fiction television series Supermarionation (a Blend of "super" "marionette" and "animation" is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of Puppetry Stingray is a children's Marionette Television show created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films

• "Krankor" (Bill Corbett) - a vain, would-be conqueror with an unfortunately chicken-like appearance and a drawn-out, braying laugh (described by BBI as "like a Buick not turning over"), "Krankor" (technically, "The Phantom", dictator of the planet "Krankor" in the movie Prince of Space) appeared in a host segment during the "Prince of Space" episode, and returned three episodes later in a host segment for "Invasion of the Neptune Men", featuring a movie with a similar plot. Bill Corbett is a writer and performer for television film and theatre Buick (ˈbjuːɪk is a Marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, and An automobile self-starter (commonly "starter motor" or simply "starter" is an Electric motor that initiates rotational motion in a car's Internal is a 1958 Tokusatsu Superhero television series Created by veteran writer Masaru Igami and produced by Nippon Gendai and Senkosha, the is a Tokusatsu SF / Superhero film produced by Toei Company Ltd

• The Nanites (voiced variously by Kevin Murphy, Paul Chaplin, Mary Jo Pehl, and Bridget Jones) - self-replicating, bio-engineered organisms that work on the ship, they are microscopic creatures that reside in the S. Nanorobotics is the technology of creating machines or Robots at or close to the microscopic scale of a Nanometres (10-9 Metres. There are many people named Kevin Murphy: Kevin Murphy (actor (born 1956 American actor author and puppeteer Kevin Murphy (historian socialist Paul Chaplin (born Paul Schersten on May 1, 1956) is an American writer and comedian best known for his work on the Television series Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Bridget Jones (born September 24, 1964) is an American Screenwriter and performer for Mystery Science Theater 3000 O. L. 's computer systems. (They are similar to the creatures in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Evolution", which featured "nanites" taking over the Enterprise. Star Trek The Next Generation ( STTNG or TNG) is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning science fiction television program created by Gene Roddenberry " Evolution " is the 49th episode of the Science fiction Television series Star Trek The Next Generation and the first episode of the ) The Nanites made their first appearance in season 8. Based on the concept of nanotechnology, their comical deus ex machina activities included such diverse tasks as instant repair and construction, hairstyling, performing a Nanite variation of a flea circus, conducting a microscopic war, and even destroying the Observers' planet after a dangerously vague request from Mike to "take care of [a] little problem". Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of Applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an Atomic and Molecular A deus ex machina ( lat. ˈdeːus eks ˈmaːkʰina literally "god from a/the machine" is an improbable A flea circus refers to a circus Sideshow attraction in which Fleas are attached (or appear to be attached to miniature carts and other items and encouraged They also ran a microbrewery. A microbrewery, or craft brewery, is a modern Brewery which produces a limited amount of beer usually with an orientation toward distinctive and flavorful products The Nanites were largely forgotten about during the show's last season, and we are not given an explanation of their fate following the series finale.

• Ortega (Paul Chaplin) - an unintelligible, decrepit, cigar-smoking henchman from the movie The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies, Ortega recurred frequently in the three Sci Fi seasons. The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (sometimes "!!?" is appended to the title is a 1964 Monster movie

• Pitch (Paul Chaplin) - a devil from the Mexican movie Santa Claus, Pitch was one of the few characters from the Comedy Central seasons to return in the Sci Fi Channel seasons. For the 1985 Alexander Salkind/Jeannot Szwarc film see Santa Claus The Movie Santa Claus is a 1959 live action

• Santa Claus (Kevin Murphy) - appeared twice on the show, including a fight with Pitch, bellowing, "I'm here to chew candy canes and kick ass, and I'm all out of candy canes!"

• Torgo (Michael J. Nelson) - a monster/henchman (with bad knees) in Manos: The Hands of Fate, Torgo was among the most frequently returning "guest characters" of MST3K. Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the There are many people named Kevin Murphy: Kevin Murphy (actor (born 1956 American actor author and puppeteer Kevin Murphy (historian socialist They Live is a 1988 Film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the Screenplay under the Pseudonym "Frank Armitage Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for Manos The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American Horror film written directed and produced by Harold P He got his knees fixed and returned as "Torgo the White" (an obvious parody of Gandalf the White) to accompany TV's Frank to "Second Banana Heaven" and was never seen again (episode 624, "Samson vs. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain the Vampire Women").

Flash series

Main article: Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Flash series)

On October 29, 2007, Jim Mallon announced through the Official MST3K Web Site that Best Brains, Inc. Mystery Science Theater 3000, also referred to as "The 'Bots Are Back!" is an Internet Cartoon created by Best Brains Inc. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. was being reborn. To spearhead the production company's return to activity, a new online animated web series referred to as "The Bots Are Back!" is being produced. The idea is to release a weekly adventure based solely around Crow, Tom Servo and Gypsy, with Mallon reprising his role as Gypsy and Paul Chaplin as Crow.

All new actors and staff will round out the cast and writing crew. Never before seen behind the scenes footage will also be released through the MST3K.com site from the original series, in addition to an online store with all new merchandise. The website was launched on November 5, 2007. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[36]

Video releases and episode trading

Main article: Mystery Science Theater 3000 video releases

Episodes

Main article: List of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes

The first three KTMA episodes are considered to be the "missing MST3K episodes". The re-airing of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes on television and packaging of episodes for purchase are difficult because of rights issues involving the movies featured This is a list of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. Each entry starts with a code which represents its episode ("experiment" number No fan copy is known to exist. ^[37] (Jim Mallon had once mentioned that Best Brains' master copies are stored in a vault. ) The long lost episodes are K01 ("Invaders from the Deep"), K02 ("Revenge of the Mysterians"), and K03 ("Star Force: Fugitive Alien II"), with K03 being redone in season 3. "Episode" K00, "The Green Slime", is often counted among those missing shows, but is actually only a never-broadcast, half-hour sample from the film used to sell the MST3K concept to KTMA. is a 1968 Science-fiction film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It was co-produced by the Toei Company in Japan and MGM in the ^[37]

Several of the movies used in the MST3K series have consistently made the Internet Movie Database list of the Bottom 100 movies over time, including Hobgoblins (1987) (episode 907), Monster A Go-Go (1965) (episode 421), Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) (episode 424), Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (1995) (episode 1003), The Incredible Melting Man (1977) (episode 704), and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) (episode 321). Hobgoblins is a low-budget B-movie directed by Rick Sloane, often seen as a rip-off of Gremlins. Monster A Go-Go (also Monster A-Go Go and Terror at Halfday) is a 1965 Science fiction movie directed by Bill Rebane (credited Manos The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American Horror film written directed and produced by Harold P Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders is a 1996 Film starring Ernest Borgnine. The Incredible Melting Man is a 1977 science fiction Horror film written and directed by William Sachs Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (also titled Santa Claus Defeats the Aliens) is a 1964 science fiction film that regularly appears on ^[38]

Allusions to the show

• Surf rock/sci-fi band Man or Astro-Man? performed a cover of the love theme which can be found on their 1994 singles compilation album Destroy All Astromen! and on their 1995 live album Live Transmissions from Uranus. Man or Astro-man? is a Surf rock group that formed in Auburn Alabama in the late 1980s and came to prominence in the 1990s Destroy All Astromen! was the second CD/LP released by the Surf rock group Man or Astro-man?. Live Transmissions From Uranus!! is a full-length album released by the Surf rock group Man or Astro-man?. Joel Hodgson became a fan of the band and performed the song with them during a 1996 Los Angeles concert. ^[39] During Joel's return appearance to MST3K in the 10th season episode, Soultaker, his character mentions that he had gone on to do pyrotechnics for Man or Astro-Man? concerts since his escape from the Satellite of Love. Soultaker is a 1990 Fantasy film starring Vivian Schilling Joe Estevez Robert Z'Dar Man or Astro-man? recordings regularly feature audio samples taken from films riffed on MST3K (ex. The Leech Woman, It Conquered the World and Santa Claus) and the albums often make allusions to common themes and running jokes (ex. The Leech Woman ( 1960) is a Science fiction film directed by Edward Dein It Conquered the World is a 1956 Science fiction film about an alien from Venus trying to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist For the 1985 Alexander Salkind/Jeannot Szwarc film see Santa Claus The Movie Santa Claus is a 1959 live action album credits for John Agar in Is It ... Man or Astroman? and Peter Graves and Richard Basehart in Destroy All Astromen!). John G Agar ( January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American actor Is It. Man Or Astroman? was the first album released by the Surf rock group Man or Astro-man?. Peter Graves may refer to Peter Graves (actor (born 1926 American actor Peter Graves 8th Baron Graves (1911-1994 English actor and John Richard Basehart ( August 31 1914 - September 17 1984) was an American Actor. Destroy All Astromen! was the second CD/LP released by the Surf rock group Man or Astro-man?. Man or Astro-man? guitarist Hayden Thais (Dexter X) and drummer Brian Teasley (Birdstuff) were also members of the "all-robot band" Servotron, which was named for MST3K robot character Tom Servo's namesake. Servotron was a Science fiction -influenced rock band active from 1995 to 1999 Tom Servo is a Fictional character from the American Science fiction Comedy Television show Mystery Science Theater A handbill for at least one concert have featured an image of the robot puppet. A flyer (also spelled flier or called handbill) is a single page leaflet Advertising a Nightclub, event, service, or other

• Matt Groening is reportedly a fan of the show, and homages to MST3K appear in both of Groening's animated TV series, The Simpsons and Futurama. Matthew Abram Groening (ˈɡreɪnɪŋ GRAY-ning) (born February 15 1954 is an American Cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and The Simpsons executive producer Mike Reiss mentions in his commentary on the fourth season DVD that the theater silhouette scene in the episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie", was intended as an MST3K reference. Michael "Mike" Reiss (born September 15, 1959) is an American television comedy writer " Itchy & Scratchy The Movie " is the sixth episode of The Simpsons ' fourth season and first aired on November 3 1992 Further, in the sixth season episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)", MST3K can be seen playing on a TV in Moe's Tavern. Plot Part one Principal Skinner walks into school and discovers that a class Gerbil has died Description Dark and described by Dr Hibbert 's daughter as smelling "like tinkle " the inside of the bar is dank and spare In the second season Futurama episode "Raging Bender", Leela, Fry, and Bender briefly encounter Crow T. Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and "Raging Bender" is the eighth episode in the second production season of Futurama. Turanga Leela is a fictional main character in the animated television series Futurama and is voiced by Katey Sagal. Bender, full name Bender Bending Rodríguez, designated Bending Unit 22, is a fictional Robot character in the Animated television series Robot and Tom Servo (in silhouette) while at a movie theater, and with a great sense of irony, Crow tells them not to talk during the movie. Also, in The Simpsons Movie, the end credits have a portion with The Simpsons watching the movie, in the "theater view". The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated Comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons

• The Special Edition DVD of Ghostbusters 2 features an option to watch the movie with Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and Dan Ackroyd riffing their own movie MST3K style, complete with the sillouettes at the bottom right.

• The computer game Escape Velocity features many Mystery Science Theater references, including:
  • An Easter egg where the player can fly the S. Escape Velocity is a Single-player Role-playing space-adventure Computer game series first introduced in 1996 by Ambrosia Software O. L. ;
  • A secret weapon called "The Forklift" which plays a brief snippet of the MST3K song "They Tried to Kill Me with a Forklift"; and
  • By holding down the "Option" key, one can watch a parody of the MST3K theme song in place of the game's normal opening scrawl. ^[40]

• Wing Commander 3 has a mission set in the Torgo system. Wing Commander III Heart of the Tiger (commonly abbreviated WC3, WCIII, or HOTT) is the second sequel in Chris Roberts ' Wing In addition, a player can type "Mitchell" (a reference to the Joe Don Baker movie MST3K parodied) to put the game in cheat mode. If successful, the game plays an audio snippet of Joel, Crow and Tom Servo saying "Mitchell!"^[41]

• LucasArts' computer game Star Wars: Rebel Assault II contained an elaborate Easter egg that, if activated, would display the famous MST3K silhouette on the bottom of the screen. Star Wars Rebel Assault II The Hidden Empire is the sequel of the LucasArts action game Star Wars Rebel Assault, set in the Star Wars Afterwards, all the cut scenes in the game would display alternate, humorous dialogue in the style of the show. ^[42]

• In the 1997 Star Wars fan-made parody film Troops, the Imperial droid stolen by the Jawas is shown to be Tom Servo. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Troops is a Mockumentary film by Kevin Rubio, which made its debut on the Internet in 1997. Falleen Falleen is race of light-green human-like reptilian people who come from world of Falleen in Midrim region ^[43]

• The silhouette of the MST3K crew is on the cover of Roger McGuinn's 1996 album Live from Mars. James Roger McGuinn (known professionally as Roger McGuinn, previously as Jim McGuinn, and born James Joseph McGuinn III on July 13, ^[44]

• In the CD case insert of rock band Weezer's 2001 self-titled album (aka The Green Album), an MST3K silhouette cut-out is shown sitting in front of the band playing on-stage. Weezer (ˈwizɚ is an American Alternative rock band from Los Angeles California formed in 1992 Weezer is the third album by the American Alternative rock band Weezer. It can be found on the bottom right hand side of the crowd. Best Brains is given a courtesy credit in the liner notes. ^[45]

• The web-based MMORPG Kingdom of Loathing contains numerous references to MST3K including a "warwelf", an allusion to the "Werewolf" episode of MST3K, and the use of "hi-keeba", a popular MST3K meme first heard in the "Women of the Prehistoric Planet" episode. A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with Kingdom of Loathing ( KoL) is a Humorous browser-based, multiplayer Role playing game, designed and operated by Asymmetric Werewolf, also known as Arizona Werewolf, is a 1996 film that was lampooned in a 1998 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Also, the Satellite of Love appeared as "A Lovely Satellite" that players could view from an observatory. ^[46][47][48]

• Popular MMORPG World of Warcraft has an item called the "Hands of Fate", a reference to one of MST3K's most popular episodes. A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG There is also an NPC in Netherstorm with a robot companion named "Servo-bot"^[49]

• The flash animation site Homestar Runner makes a reference to MST3K in the cartoon "A Jorb Well Done", in which the HSR characters are trying to help Coach Z pronounce the word "job" correctly. Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes Surreal humor with references to 1970s '80s and '90s pop culture At one point, they are forcing him to sit through a film on diction where the Tom Servo character can be seen briefly with the Theater Silhouette in front of the screen. ^[50]

• On their "No Strings Attached World" tour, the boy band 'N Sync played a small video on a jumbo-tron during set changes that featured interviews with fans while the members of the band could be seen in silhouette at the bottom right-hand corner of the jumbo-tron.

• In Animaniacs, Vol. Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros 2 of the series disc set, the very first episode had a reference. In the segment called "Potty Emergency", they're watching a B-sci-fi movie in a theater. Above one of the doors in the movie it is labeled "MST3K". This was originally aired in 1993 and apparently the producers of Animaniacs were MST3K fans already.

• In the Food Network series "Good Eats" with Alton Brown, several episodes include a MST3K-esque Mystery Food Science Theatre.

• During the Fox News coverage of Paris Hilton's jail saga, Shepard Smith remarked, "I feel like Mystery Science Theater all of the sudden. Shepard Smith (born David Shepard Smith Jr on January 14, 1964) is an American TV news anchor. "

Influences and other appearances

Mystery Science Theater 3000's Mike Nelson (left) and Kevin Murphy, at "Exoticon 1" convention panel in Metairie, Louisiana, November 1998

• The videogame magazine PlayStation Underground (Volume 2, Number 1) included a Best Brains-produced MST3K short on one of their promotional discs. Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for Kevin Wagner Murphy (born November 3, 1956 in River Forest Illinois) is a United States Actor Metairie (local pronunciations /ˈmɛtəɹi/ /ˈmɛtɹi/ is a Census-designated place (CDP in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States 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 PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console 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. A virtual Easter egg is an intentional Hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, Book ^[51]

• During promotion for Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie Mike and the bots were interviewed in-character on MTV, and seen in silhouettes heckling footage from MTV News. MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. MTV News is the news division of MTV, the first and most popular Music Television network in the U

• The only appearance to date of the cast in character since the final episode was an episode of ESPN Classic's Cheap Seats, where they briefly appeared in a cameo to make fun of the hosts' own skits. For the Canadian channel of this name see ESPN Classic (Canada. Cheap Seats without Ron Parker (commonly shortened to Cheap Seats) was a Television program broadcast on ESPN Classic hosted by brothers The show, which featured two brothers "riffing" in an MST3k-like manner at clips of old sporting events, aired from 2004 to 2006. Mike Nelson and Tom Servo were interviewed in character for the show Space Ghost: Coast To Coast, but the segment was never completed. Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an animated spoof talk show The main characters of the show include Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and

• The anime convention Otakon ran a series of shows called "Mystery Anime Theater 3000" from 1997 to 2003. The show was one of the most popular elements of the convention. ^[52]

• Botcon, the annual Transformers convention, has featured a fan-produced MSTing of Transformers episodes, "TFMST", almost every year since 1997, with 2002 being the exception, as well as offering two performances in 2006, one at BotCon and a second at Iacon One, an unofficial show co-hosted by one of the TFMST writers. BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" (or OTFCC is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors The Transformers is a line of toys produced by the toy companies Takara and Hasbro. ^[53]

• Mary Jo Pehl (who played the "mad" Pearl Forrester) moved to Austin, Texas in 2007, after the demise of MST3K, where she has lent her talents to the Violet Crown Radio Players and to the comedy podcast Chicken Fried Radio. Mary Jo Pehl (pronounced Peel) born February 27 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is a writer actress and Pearl Forrester is a character on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Television series played by Mary Jo Pehl. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced

• A comedy group in Austin, Texas called Mr. Sinus Theater began a live version of the MST3K format in 2000, mocking popular films like Top Gun and The Terminator at the Alamo Drafthouse dinner theater. Top Gun is a 1986 American Film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer in association with The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction / Action film directed and co-written by James Cameron. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, United States. In 2004 they were sued by the creators of MST3K over trademark issues, and subsequently changed their name to The Sinus Show. As of January 2007, two of the original members of The Sinus Show left the troupe and it has since been renamed Master Pancake Theatre. ^[54]

• Writer/performers Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett have recently applied the format to major studio films by selling riffing-only audio tracks, called RiffTrax, on the web. RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedian Michael J

• The three have also revived The Film Crew which, much like the later MST3K seasons, features Kevin, Michael, and Bill riffing on old movies (but in a different setting). The Film Crew were a comedic team similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000, comprising former MST3K cast members Michael J The four-title initial run includes "Hollywood After Dark", "Killers From Outer Space", "Wild Women of Wongo", and "Giant of Marathon". A series of DVDs, each containing one title (plus skits and extras), are scheduled to be released beginning July 10, 2007. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Subsequent releases will be made available at the rate of one DVD per month.

• The Illinois-based Doctor Who convention -- Chicago TARDIS -- runs an activity called Mysterious Theatre 337, during which they view classic Doctor Who episodes and riff them using pre-scripted dialog. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. ^[55][56]

• The Library of Congress showed episode 1009, Hamlet, on August 21, 2007, as part of their "Screening Shakespeare" festival. The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[57]

• Joel Hodgson recently announced he is creating a similar project called "Cinematic Titanic" with original cast members Trace Beaulieu and Josh Weinstein, as well as former cast members Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl. Conniff has been part of "Cartoon Dump", a series of classically bad cartoons from the collection of Jerry Beck. In addition to web appearances, live shows are being performed in Los Angeles and New York City and Hodgson will make guest appearances. Conniff plays Moodsy Owl while Hodgson is Dumpster Diver Dan.

• Although MST3K was arguably the most successful television series to satirize the B movie genre, it was not the first. Prior to MST3K's 1988 debut, the nationally syndicated TV series, Mad Movies with the L. A. Connection and The Canned Film Festival, featured many of the same movies but each lasted for only a single season in 1985 and 1986 respectively. The Canned Film Festival was a nationally syndicated Late night television Comedy series that aired in the United States for

See also

• List of MST3K episodes
• MSTing
• Rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc
• RiffTrax
• The Film Crew
• Cinematic Titanic
• Films considered the worst ever
• Series finale
• Capping

References

• Best Brains (1996). This is a list of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. Each entry starts with a code which represents its episode ("experiment" number MSTing or MiSTing is a method of mocking a show in the style of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 ( MST3K) and in particular recartstvmst3kmisc is a Usenet Newsgroup for fans of the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 to gather and post public messages related RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedian Michael J The Film Crew were a comedic team similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000, comprising former MST3K cast members Michael J Cinematic Titanic is a project by Mystery Science Theater 3000 ( MST3K) creator and original host Joel Hodgson. BEFORE INSERTING A MOVIE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT IT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DEFINED "THE WORST" BY A REPUTABLE SOURCE A series finale is the very last installment of a Television series, usually a Sitcom or Drama. Best Brains Inc (first known as Hair Brain Productions) was a Television production company based in Eden Prairie Minnesota. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, 1st ed. , Bantam, 173 pages. ISBN 0-553-37783-3.  
• The Official MST3K FAQ

External links

Official sites

• Official website
• Satellite News: The Official MST3K Fan Web Site
• Rhino Records — The makers of the official MST3K DVDs.

Reference sites

• Mystery science Theater 3000 at the Internet Movie Database
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 at TV.com

Other reference sites

• Botspeak Lexicon — A guide to MST3K terminology (does not include KTMA references). TVcom is a website owned by CNET Networks. The service was launched on June 1 2005 and replaced the popular TV Tome website
• The MST3K Song Index — Lyrics and lists of all the songs from MST3K
• A list of references to MST3K in popular culture
• Too Much Information — A guide to the references on the show.
• The Annotated MST — Annotated MST3K episodes explaining key comments
• Daddy-O's Drive-In Dirt — Reference guide to the movies and shorts shown on MST3K.
• MST3K wiki at Wikia
• The MST3K Discussion Board The "Satellite News" endorsed MST3K discussion board

Reviews and interviews

• Buzzgrinder.com Interviews Mike Nelson - Mike Nelson Talks To Buzzgrinder about MST3K and his current work with RiffTrax and Legend Films
• Interview with Joel Hodgson, J. Elvis Weinstein and Frank Conniff on public radio program The Sound of Young America
• MST3K Review — Reviews of episodes along with interviews. Wikia (originally Wikicities) is a selective Free web hosting service for Wikis (or Wiki farm) operated by Wikia Inc The Sound of Young America is a Public radio program and Podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed nationally by
• Mighty Jack's - Reviews of every single episode.

Directories

• MST3K Reference Guide — Link page for all things MST3K.
• DMOZ MST3K Page