Mystery Science Theater 3000

FavoritedFavorite 39
Comedy Central (ended 1999)
EDIT

Show Summary

  • Ended
This is a show about an evil experiment where a guy is trapped on a satellite and is forced to watch bad films. He is forced to do this by Mad Scientists, who want to find a movie so bad that they can inflict it on the world and take over. We see the movie with the subject (Joel or later Mike) and his robot pals Crow and Servo, in silhouette at the bottom of the screen making jokes and wisecracks during the movie.

Episodes: 197 color episodes, 9 specials, 1 unaired pilot, and 3 direct-to-video releases.''Production Company: Best Brains, Inc.

MST3K Broadcast History 1988-1989 -- KTMA TV 23, Minneapolis, MN 1989-1991 -- The Comedy Channel''1991-1996 -- Comedy Central 1997-1999 -- Sci-Fi Channel

MST3K Syndication History MST3K was in syndication for only one year: from September 1995 to September 1996. During this time, several episodes from seasons 2, 3, and 4 aired on local network affiliate stations.

MST3K Re-Run History After production of new episodes ended in 1999, Sci-Fi Channel continued to show re-runs of MST3K on Saturday mornings for several years. They stopped showing reruns in early 2004, with the last one airing on 1/31/04.

MST3K commercially available episodes''On DVD: 20 episodes from seasons 1-6, 3 episodes from season 8, 1 episode from season 9, 4 episodes from season 10.''On VHS: 21 episodes from seasons 1-6, 1 episode from season 9, 3 episodes from season 10. See episode guide for exactly which episodes are available.''"MST3K: The Movie": is available on VHS only. The DVD has been out of print for years. A new updated version was released in May 2008.

MST3K Marathons''1991- 1st Annual Turkey Day marathon (30 hours)''Theme: Dr. Forrester is trying to take over the world by forcing 30 hours of the world's worst films upon the earth. Meanwhile, Frank is trying to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.''1992- 2nd Annual Turkey Day marathon (30.5 hours)''Theme: Dr. Forrester is force-feeding Frank 30 turkeys, each one dressed in the of a bad movie.''1993- 3rd Annual Turkey Day marathon (32 hours)''Hosted by MST3000 fans at a Halloween party with by Debbie Tobin.''1994- 4th Annual Turkey Day marathon (28 hours)''Hosted by Adam West.''1995- 5th Annual Turkey Day marathon (14.5 hours)''Theme: Dr. Forrester must try to take over the world while entertaining guests that Frank invited for Thanksgiving.

MST3K Conventions''1989 - "1st MiSTy Confab". Featured stand up from the show's cast, a showing of the never-aired pilot, and a display of some props.''1992 - "MST Alive". Live riffing of the film World Without End at the Downtown Theater in Minneapolis. Also short intro pieces featuring Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank.''1994 - "Conventio-Con-Expo-Fest-a-Rama". Featured prop museum, merchandise sale, viewing rooms that showed all episodes from seasons 1-5, keynote session featuring Q and A from the shows writers and cast, speeches by Beverly Garland, David Worth, and John Humphries, and autograph session, and a live riffing of the film This Island Earth, and a costume ball. 1996 - "Conventio-Con II: Electric Boogaloo". Featured a keynote session with the entire show's cast (including Trace Beaulieu, who had recently announced his departure from the show and Bill Corbett, who had just joined the cast), a celebrity panel with Kim Cattrall, Russel Johnson (TV's Professor), and Rex Reason, there were showings of scenes cut from MST3K: The Movie, as well as a showing of the short Assignment: Venezuela, there was a Doom competition where fans could play against Mike, and a shopping spree with Bridget Jones and Mary Jo Pehl.

MST3K Awards and Award Nominations''1992-Nominated for Cable ACE Award for Best Comedy Series.''1993-Nominated for Cable ACE Award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series. 1993-Awarded 1993 Peabody Award for Outstanding Programming.''1994-Nominated for the following Cable ACE Awards: Art Direction in a Comedy Series, Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Series. 1994-Nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Music or Variety Program. 1995-Nominated for Cable ACE Award for Best Comedy Series. 1995-Nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Music or Variety Program. 1996-Nominated for Cable ACE Award for Best Comedy Series. 1997-Nominated for Cable ACE Award for Best Comedy Series.moreless
8.9
out of 10
Average Rating: Great
1,323 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate It

Episode Guide

See All
S 11 :  Ep 10 Aired 7/24/99
go
Fancast
Free
S 10 :  Ep 13 Aired 9/12/99
S 10 :  Ep 12 Aired 8/8/99
S 10 :  Ep 11 Aired 8/1/99
S 10 :  Ep 10 Aired 7/25/99
go
Hulu
Free
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy

Watch Mystery Science Theater 3000 Full Episodes

See All

Mystery Science Theater 3000 News

See All

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Fan Reviews (70)

See All

  • Just plain funny and awesome

    10
    "Perfect"
    By NoahBarrett, Oct 02, 2011 Report Abuse
    MST3K is about a ordinary guy named Joel who was sent up to space because his bosses didn't like,so Joel makes some robot friends to not get lonely,though his bosses send him horrible b movies,so Joel and the bots riff on the movies,which is where the comedy comes from.Also the robots names are Crow a gold crow look like(sort of)bot,Tom Servo a gumball look a like robot,Gyps a robot that looks like a vacuum cleaner,and cambot the camera man.The riffing is just hilarious,but I have to admit the movies are plain atrocious.Though I have to say that mike the guy in the later seasons is OK.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    3 0

  • Bravo! Bravo!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By timtoiletpaper, Sep 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    This is my favorite TV show ever. Period. This show is about a guy( Joel in the first seasons, Mike in later seasons) who gets sent up into space to watch cheesy,old(usually), B-movies. He and his robot friends(Tom Servo, Crow) watch the movies and make humorous comments about the movies. People say MST3K should be brought back, but honestly they might have ran out of movies. The reason Sci-Fi and Comedy Central didn't keep this is because most people don't have the attention spans to watch a whole episode, which is why talks with Fuze and Adult Swim fell through. It also has a great theme song! In a not-too distant future Next Sunday A.D There was a guy named Joel Not to different from you and me He worked at the Gizmonic institute Just another face in a red jumpsuit He did a good job cleaning up the place But his bosses didn't like him So they shot him into space We'll send him cheesy movies The worst that we can find(la-la-la) He'll have to sit and watch them all And we'll monitor his mind(la-la-la) Now keep in mind he can't control Where the movie begins or ends (la-la-la) Because he used those special parts To make his robot friends Robot Roll Call: Cambot! Gypsy! Tom Servo! Croooow! If you wonder how he eats and breathes And other science facts(la-la-la) Just repeat to yourself its just a show I should really just relax For Mystery Science Theater 3000moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    2 0

  • Greatest Show Ever!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By BentCox, Jan 08, 2011 Report Abuse
    Mystery Science Theater 3000 was probably one of the most funniest, wittiest and creative shows i have ever seen. With great writing, acting and likeableness of the show. It also had a great feel to the show and was awesome with sci-fi good humor and nerdiness this show lead up to be the greatest ever!

    Pros:
    Humor is great
    Writing is the best i have ever seen on a TV Show
    Acting is Good Joel was probably the best in my opinion

    Cons:
    None that i can think of but TV.com failures will say the show sucks... Dont listen to people who think Hannah Montana is good they are deprived of all aspects of humor in general and sanitymoreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Goes down in history as one of the most brilliantly written, and funniest shows of all time

    10
    "Perfect"
    By That_TV_Dude, Nov 04, 2010 Report Abuse
    I am sorry to say I was too young before I heard of MST3K and I never saw it or heard of it. As the years went by though, I heard plenty of it to the point where I fell to pressure and decided to give this show a chance, and I was shocked to see what I missed. MST3K is what you call the ultimate comedy show, it's wonderfully written, has great comedy, the characters are extremely lovable, and it has unending laughs. The show's premise is that a man named Joel is sent into space by his boss so he can experiment how long a person can watch bad movies before going insane. Joel eventually leaves, but is replaced by another person named Mike, who goes through the same ordeal as Joel. Mike has built robot friends to help him get through the movies, they are Cambot, Gypsy, Tom Servo, and Crow and all the robots are hilarious and never fail to amuse me. As the bad movies play, Mike and the robots provide commentary of their own on the movie and ridicule it with jokes and make fun of the movie's stupidity. I have seen 5 episodes and I still love it, and I can't believe I missed this as a kid. I hereby give my complete recommendation to see this show if you haven't seen it yet. This show is awesome and hands down, it's one of the most brilliant, energetic, and funniest show I have ever seen and that's saying quite a lot. So to wrap up this review, go to Youtube and watch episodes of MST3K if you haven't seen it and enjoy the comedy of Mike and the robots.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    1 0

  • What was the point to all of that?

    2.0
    "Terrible"
    By MsFoxxy06, Nov 04, 2010 Report Abuse
    I just really didn't understand what the point was.I just didn't find it funny. I guess maybe I had a different view on what was funny and what wasn't. Perhaps it wasn't that bad of a show. I don't know. I'll have to see if again and then I'll come to a final conclusion.

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 12
 

Forums

See All
Last Activity
Replies
  • Joel or Mike?
    Who do you guys like more? I think they were both great.
    By horseygall, Aug 02, 2007
    Yesterday
    23
    Reply
  • Films in need of a good riffing.
    Heartbreak Ridge.I always say really boring things in that low grumbly voice, and now I'm convinced there was some sort of fabric ...
    By horseygall, Jan 18, 2008
    3 days ago
    18
    Reply
  • Worst films featured on MST3K
    The show is all about making fun of bad movies, but I'd like to know what you think the most God-awful suckiest films riffed on ha...
    By pharmmajor, Aug 12, 2008
    3 days ago
    9
    Reply
  • MST3K KTMA Episode
    I found what is apparently the earliest available episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 from the KTMA era. If you havent seen it...
    By horseygall, Jul 28, 2007
    3 days ago
    8
    Reply
  • Worst Movie Poll
    which of these do you think is the worst? they're all the crappiest movies for their own individual reasons -- be it poor writing/...
    By ApacheMan2K, Mar 28, 2007
    01/06/12
    9
    Reply

Photos

See All

Related Shows

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings

Categories

Comedy, Science Fiction

Themes

Breaking The Fourth Wall, Celebrity Impersonations, Dry Humor, Improvisational, Light Science Fiction

BROWSE | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use