Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV 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. 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, 230 episodes and a feature film have been produced as well as three live tours.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a 1964 American science fiction comedy film directed by Nicholas Webster, produced and written by Paul L. Jacobson, based on a story by Glenville Mareth, that stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also features a ten-year-old Pia Zadora as Girmar, one of the Martian children. The film also marks the first documented appearance of Mrs. Claus in a motion picture, coming three weeks before the television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which also featured Mrs. Claus.
Michael John Nelson is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's original eleven-year run, and spent half of that time as the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson. In addition to writing books, Nelson is currently part of the online movie riffing site RiffTrax, and was previously part of the straight-to-DVD Film Crew with fellow MST3K alumni, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy.
Joshua Stuart "Josh" Weinstein, known professionally as J. Elvis Weinstein, is an American writer and performer, best known for his roles as Dr. Laurence Erhardt and the original puppeteer and voice for Tom Servo and Gypsy on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film and a film adaptation of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, produced and set between the series' sixth and seventh seasons. It was distributed by Universal Pictures and Gramercy Pictures and produced by Best Brains.
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000. Murphy also records audio commentary tracks with Michael J. Nelson and Bill Corbett for Nelson's RiffTrax website.
Extra Terrestrial Visitors is a 1983 science fiction film directed by Juan Piquer Simón. The film's original draft was meant to be a straightforward horror film about an evil alien on a murderous rampage, but the producers demanded script alterations in order to cash in on the success of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by featuring a child and a cute, lovable alien.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank is a 1984 science fiction television film, starring Raul Julia and Linda Griffiths. Based on the 1976 John Varley short story by the same name, the film takes place in a dystopian future where an employee for a conglomerate gets trapped inside the company's computer and ends up affecting the real world. It was co-produced by Canada's RSL Productions in Toronto and New York television station WNET. Because of its limited budget, the film was shot on videotape instead of film and was pre-sold to small American cable companies.
Trace Beaulieu is an American comedian, puppeteer, writer, and actor. He played roles on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) as well as his work with MST3K's successor Cinematic Titanic with the original creators and cast of MST3K.
Mary Jo Pehl is an American writer, actress, and comedian. She is best known for her various roles on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Bridget Jones Nelson, also credited as simply Bridget Jones or Bridget Nelson, is an American screenwriter and actor for Mystery Science Theater 3000. She worked as a contributing writer for the show before becoming a full-time writer in season 4.
The Film Crew was a comedy team which succeeded Mystery Science Theater 3000 that launched in 2004. The Film Crew comprised former MST3K cast members Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. The team produced segments for television, radio, and home video. They hosted Legend Films' colorized Three Stooges DVD release, which packaged the four Stooge shorts that have fallen into the public domain: Disorder in the Court (1936), Malice in the Palace (1949), Sing a Song of Six Pants, and Brideless Groom.
Mr. B Natural is a short sponsored film produced in 1956 by Kling Film Productions for the C.G. Conn Company, directed by Phil Patton. It is also the name of the film's main character, played by Betty Luster.
RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) cast members and writers, RiffTrax also produces several live shows each year which are broadcast to movie theaters. The style of commentating originated from MST3K, their earlier television series, in which they would similarly mock films aloud while watching them. As of September 2023, RiffTrax has riffed 522 feature films, 462 short films, and 16 TV episodes.
Meet Dave is a 2008 American science fiction comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Bill Corbett and Rob Greenberg. It stars Eddie Murphy in the title role, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Ed Helms, Scott Caan and Kevin Hart. The film was released on July 11, 2008 and grossed $50 million against a $60 million budget.
Stamp Day for Superman is a 1954 black-and-white short film starring George Reeves as Superman and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It was produced by Superman Inc. for the United States Department of the Treasury to promote the purchase of U.S. Savings Bonds. Never shown theatrically, it was distributed to schools as a means of educating children about the program.
The Adventures of Edward the Less is a 2001 animated fantasy comedy web series created by the former cast of the popular show Mystery Science Theater 3000 for SciFi.com, the Sci Fi Channel website. It tells the story of Edward, a Pudge who reluctantly embarks on a quest to destroy a magic token before it falls into the hands of the evil Dark Person.
Joseph Scrimshaw is an American comedian and writer for radio, television and theater, whom City Pages, a Twin Cities newspaper, describes as having an "irreverent and insightful wit." He is the author of a book of comic essays called Comedy of Doom and hosts a monthly podcast called Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw, where he and his guests discuss their obsessions. He performs across the country in a variety of venues, including comedy festivals like San Francisco's SketchFest and science fiction conventions such as Dragon Con and CONvergence, and his plays have been performed internationally. He has collaborated with performer Bill Corbett on a number of plays and written for RiffTrax, Corbett's joint comedy venture with Kevin Murphy and Michael J. Nelson. Scrimshaw has toured with musicians Molly Lewis and the Doubleclicks, and performed live for musician Jonathan Coulton's JoCo Cruise and the geek vaudeville w00tstock. Scrimshaw has been involved with writing and performing for American Public Media's radio variety show Wits, writing sketches and appearing as the character Theater Ghost. He has also written for the national sketch comedy television show M@dAbout.
