Mystery Science Theater 3000 | |
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Genre | Comic science fiction |
Created by | Joel Hodgson |
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Opening theme | "Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000" |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 10 |
No. of episodes | 197 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Jim Mallon Joel Hodgson (1990–93) |
Producer(s) | Kevin Murphy Vince Rodriguez |
Location(s) | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Running time | 97 minutes |
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Picture format | 1.33 : 1 |
Audio format | Dolby |
Original release | November 24, 1988 | – August 8, 1999
Chronology | |
Related shows |
The Film Crew RiffTrax Cinematic Titanic |
External links | |
MST3k Official Site |
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) is an American television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. The show premiered on KTMA in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It later aired on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central for another six seasons until its cancellation in 1997. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for another three seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. In its ten seasons, 197 episodes and a feature film were produced. In 1995, there was also The Mystery Science Theater Hour (a sixty-episode syndication package). In 2015, Hodgson led a crowd funded revival of the series with at least fourteen episodes in its first season, to initially broadcast on Netflix in April 2017.
The show initially starred Hodgson as Joel Robinson, a janitor trapped against his will by two mad scientists on the Satellite of Love and forced to watch a series of B movies as a part of the scientists' plot to take over the world. To keep his sanity, Joel crafts a number of robot companions—including Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Gypsy—to keep him company and help him humorously comment on each movie as it plays, a process known as riffing. Each two-hour episode would feature a single movie in its entirety along with associated public domain films, with Joel, Tom, and Crow watching in silhouette from a row of theater seats at the bottom of the screen. These scenes were framed with interstitial sketches. The show's cast changed over its duration; most notably, the character of Joel was replaced by Mike Nelson (played by Michael J. Nelson) in the show's fifth season. Other cast members, most of whom were also writers for the show, include Trace Beaulieu, Josh Weinstein, Jim Mallon, Kevin Murphy, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl, Bill Corbett, Paul Chaplin, and Bridget Jones Nelson. The revival will feature a primarily new cast, including Jonah Ray as the new human test subject, along with Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt.