Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000
Also known as	MST3K MST 3000
Genre	Science fiction comedy Adult puppeteering Film review
Created by	Joel Hodgson
Written by	Various head writers Trace Beaulieu (1988–1996) Joel Hodgson (1988–1993, 2017–2018) Jim Mallon (1988–1991) Josh Weinstein (1988–1990) Kevin Murphy (1988–1999) Michael J. Nelson (1990–1999) Frank Conniff (1990–1995) Paul Chaplin (1991–2018) Bridget Jones (1992–1999) Mary Jo Pehl (1992–2018) Bill Corbett (1995–1999) Elliott Kalan (2017–2018)
Starring	Various actors Joel Hodgson (1988–1993) Trace Beaulieu (1988–1996) Josh Weinstein (1988–1990) Jim Mallon (1989–1996) Kevin Murphy (1990–1999) Frank Conniff (1990–1995) Michael J. Nelson (1990–1999) Mary Jo Pehl (1992–1999) Bill Corbett (1997–1999) Patrick Brantseg (1997–1999) Jonah Ray (2017–present) Patton Oswalt (2017–present) Felicia Day (2017–present) Hampton Yount (2017–present) Baron Vaughn (2017–present) Rebecca Hanson (2017–present) Emily Marsh (2022–present)
Voices of	Various voice actors Crow T. Robot – Trace Beaulieu, Bill Corbett, Hampton Yount, Kelsey Ann Brady Tom Servo – Josh Weinstein, Kevin Murphy, Baron Vaughn GPC – 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" (1988–1989) "Mighty Science Theater"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	13
No. of episodes	230 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Various executive producers Jim Mallon (1988–1999) Joel Hodgson (1988–1993, 2017–2018) Elliott Kalan (2017–2018) Harold Buchholz (2017–2018) Bob Emmer (2017–2018) Garson Foos (2017–2018) Richard Foos (2017–2018) Jonathan Stern (2017–2018) Tom Gates (2017–2018) Dan Lanigan (2017–2018) John T. Lyons (2017–2018) Amelia Kane Shannon (2017–2018) Greg Tally (2017–2018) Meredith Tally (2017–2018) Larry Tanz (2017–2018) Mike Aronow (2018) David McIntosh (2017–2018) Aaron Meyerson (2017–2018)
Producers	Kevin Murphy (1997–1999) Ivan Askwith (2017–2018) David Soldinger (2017–2018) Jonah Ray (2017–2018)
Production locations	Hopkins, Minnesota (1988–1989) Eden Prairie, Minnesota (1989–1999) Los Angeles, California (2017–2018)
Running time	92–97 minutes
Production company	Various companies Best Brains, Inc. (a.k.a. Hair Brain Productions) (1989–1999) Alternaversal Productions, LLC (2017–2018) Satellite of Love, LLC (2017–2018) Abominable Pictures (2017–2018) HBO Downtown Productions (1992–1996) Comedy Central (1989–1996)
Original release
Network	KTMA-TV
Release	November 24, 1988 (1988-11-24) – May 28, 1989 (1989-05-28)
Network	The Comedy Channel
Release	November 18, 1989 (1989-11-18) – February 2, 1991 (1991-02-02)
Network	Comedy Central
Release	June 1, 1991 (1991-06-01) – May 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)
Network	Sci-Fi Channel
Release	February 1, 1997 (1997-02-01) – September 12, 1999 (1999-09-12)
Network	Netflix
Release	April 14, 2017 (2017-04-14) – November 22, 2018 (2018-11-22)
Network	Gizmoplex
Release	March 4, 2022 (2022-03-04) – present
Related
The Film Crew RiffTrax Cinematic Titanic
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (abbreviated as MST3K) is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then moved to nationwide broadcast, first on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central for seven seasons until its cancellation in 1996. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three more seasons until another cancellation in August 1999.^[1] A 60-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1993 and broadcast on Comedy Central and syndicated to TV stations in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, first released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, with another six-episode season following on November 22, 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort in 2021 produced 13 additional episodes shown on the Gizmoplex, an online platform that Hodgson developed which launched in March 2022. As of 2023^[update], 230 episodes and a feature film have been produced as well as three live tours.

The show initially starred Hodgson as Joel Robinson, a janitor trapped by two mad scientists ("The Mads") on the Earth-orbiting Satellite of Love and forced to watch a series of B movies^[2] to monitor his reaction to them. To keep his sanity, Joel crafts sentient 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 (often edited for time constraints), sometimes preceded by various old shorts and educational films, with Joel, Tom, and Crow watching in silhouette from a row of theater seats at the bottom of the screen. These "theater segments" were framed with interstitial sketches called "host segments". The show's cast changed over its duration; most notably, the character of Joel was replaced by Mike Nelson (played by Michael J. Nelson) halfway through 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 2017 revival features a primarily new cast, including Jonah Ray who plays the new human test subject Jonah Heston, along with Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt as "The Mads" and Baron Vaughn, Hampton Yount, and Rebecca Hanson voicing Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Gypsy, respectively. Season 13 brought back this cast while integrating Emily Connor, played by Emily Marsh, and others from the live tours in this era.

MST3K's original run did not garner high viewership numbers. However, the show's popularity spread through online word-of-mouth by its fans known as "MSTies" or "Mysties" (who would remind others to "Keep circulating the tapes"), frequent repeats, syndication, and home media offerings produced by Rhino Entertainment. Currently, this popularity continues through Shout! Studios, who along with Hodgson, now own the rights to the show and supported the revived series. MST3K was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME" in 2007, and TV Guide has noted MST3K as one of the top cult television shows. The show won a Peabody Award in 1993,^[3] was also nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1994 and 1995, and for the CableACE Award from 1992 to 1997. The show was considered highly influential, contributing towards the practice of social television, and former cast members launched similar projects based on the riffing of films, including The Film Crew, RiffTrax, and Cinematic Titanic. MST3K also brought to light several older movies that had fallen into obscurity or had received little or no public attention when originally released. Many of these films were subsequently identified as among the worst movies ever made, most notably Manos: The Hands of Fate.