Mystery Science Theatre 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000
Also known as	MST3K MST 3000
Genre	Comic science fiction Adult puppeteering
Created by	Joel Hodgson
Written by	List of writers Trace Beaulieu (1988–96) Joel Hodgson (1988–93) Jim Mallon (1988–91) Josh Weinstein (1988–90) Michael J. Nelson (head writer; 1990–99) Kevin Murphy Frank Conniff (1990–95) Paul Chaplin (1991–present) Bridget Jones (1992–99) Mary Jo Pehl (1992–present) Bill Corbett (1995–99)
Presented by	Joel Hodgson (1988–93) Michael J. Nelson (1993–99) Jonah Ray (2017–present)
Starring	List of actors Trace Beaulieu (1988–96) Josh Weinstein (1988–90) Jim Mallon (1989–96) Kevin Murphy (1990–99) Frank Conniff (1990–95) Michael J. Nelson (1990–99) Mary Jo Pehl (1992–99) Bill Corbett (1997–99) Patrick Brantseg (1997–99) Jonah Ray (2017–present) Patton Oswalt (2017–present) Felicia Day (2017–present) Hampton Yount (2017–present) Baron Vaughn (2017–present) Rebecca Hanson (2017–present)
Voices of	Voice actors Crow T. Robot - Trace Beaulieu, Bill Corbett, Hampton Yount Tom Servo - Josh Weinstein, Kevin Murphy, Baron Vaughn Gypsy - Josh Weinstein, Jim Mallon, Patrick Brantseg, Rebecca Hanson
Theme music composer	Charlie Erickson (music) Joel Hodgson (music and lyrics) Josh Weinstein (lyrics) Best Brains (lyrics)
Opening theme	"Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000"
Ending theme	"Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000" (1988–89) "Mighty Science Theater"
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	211 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	List of exec. producers Jim Mallon (1988–99) Joel Hodgson (1988–93, 2017–) Elliott Kalan (2017–) Harold Buchholz (2017–) Bob Emmer (2017–) Garson Foos (2017–) Richard Foos (2017–) Jonathan Stern (2017–) Tom Gates (2017–) Dan Lanigan (2017–) John T. Lyons (2017–) Amelia Kane Shannon (2017–) Greg Tally (2017–) Meredith Tally (2017–) Larry Tanz (2017–) David McIntosh (co-exec producer, 2017–) Aaron Meyerson (co-exec producer, 2017–)
Producer(s)	Kevin Murphy (1997–99) Ivan Askwith (2017–) David Soldinger (2017–) Jonah Ray (co-producer, 2017–)
Location(s)	Hopkins, Minnesota (1988–89) Eden Prairie, Minnesota (1989–99) Los Angeles, California (2017–)
Running time	92 minutes
Production company(s)	List of productions co. Best Brains, Inc. (f.k.a. Hair Brain Productions) (1989–99) Alternaversal Productions, LLC (2017–) Satellite of Love, LLC (2017–) Abominable Pictures (2017–)
Distributor	List of distributors KTMA (1988–89) The Comedy Channel (1989–1991) Comedy Central (1991–96) Rhino Home Video (1996–2008) The Sci-Fi Channel (1997–99) Shout! Factory (World-wide) (2008–present) Vivendi Entertainment (USA) (2008–present)
Release
Original network	KTMA-TV (1988–89) The Comedy Channel (1989–1991) Comedy Central (1991–96) The Sci-Fi Channel (1997–99) Netflix (2017–present)
Picture format	480i (4:3 SDTV) (seasons 1-10) 1080p (16:9 HDTV) (season 11-)
Audio format	Dolby Stereo 2.0 (seasons 1-10) Dolby Digital 5.1 (season 11-)
Original release	Original series: November 24, 1988 (1988-11-24) – August 8, 1999 Revival series: April 14, 2017 – present
Chronology
Related shows	The Film Crew RiffTrax Cinematic Titanic
External links
MST3k Official Site	mst3k.com

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 seven seasons until its cancellation in 1997. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A sixty-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, released on Netflix on April 14, 2017. To date, 211 episodes and a feature film have been produced.

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 features a primarily new cast, including Jonah Ray as the new human test subject, along with Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt.