Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Alternaversal Productions, LLC. The show premiered on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It later aired 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 seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A 60-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1993 and syndicated to 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. As of 2021, 217 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 an eleven-year-old Pia Zadora as Girmar, one of the Martian children.
Manos: The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American independent horror film written, directed, and produced by Harold P. Warren, who also starred in the film. The film's plot revolves primarily around a vacationing family who lose their way on a road trip. After a long drive in the Texas desert, the family finds themselves trapped at a lodge maintained by a polygynous pagan cult led by a man known only as The Master, and they attempt to escape as the cult's members decide what to do with them.
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on "Green Thoughts," a 1932 story by John Collier about a man-eating plant. Dennis McDougal suggests that Griffith may have been influenced by Arthur C. Clarke's 1956 sci-fi short story "The Reluctant Orchid".
Michael John Nelson is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the cult 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.
House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American campy supernatural horror film directed by William Castle. The film was written by Robb White and stars Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart. Price plays an eccentric millionaire, Frederick Loren, who, along with his wife Annabelle, has invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, the guests are trapped within the house with an assortment of terrors.
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia, or other monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, to "modernize" black-and-white films, or to restore color films. The first examples date from the early 20th century, but colorization has become common with the advent of digital image processing.
Final Justice is a 1985 Italian-American action film directed, produced, and written by Greydon Clark. It stars Joe Don Baker as a Texas sheriff who overturns a Maltese city to find the mobster who killed his partner.
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.
Carnival of Souls is a 1962 American independent horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young woman whose life is disturbed after a car accident. She relocates to a new city, where she finds herself unable to assimilate with the locals, and becomes drawn to the pavilion of an abandoned carnival. Director Harvey also appears in the film as a ghoulish stranger who stalks her throughout.
William DanielCorbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel. During that time, he also played the character Observer, along with other minor roles.
The Film Crew was a comedic team similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000 and was released in 2007. It comprised former MST3K cast members Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. They hosted Legend Films' colorized Three Stooges DVD release, packing in 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.
RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous audio commentary tracks intended to be played in unison with particular television programs and films, featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett and others. The three comedians' commentating style originated from their earlier television series, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), in which they would similarly mock films aloud while watching them. RiffTrax products are sold online and delivered by app, streaming video, and DRM-free download. It is also featured on Pluto TV, Twitch, and a channel on Samsung TV.
Santa Claus is a 1959 Mexican fantasy film directed by Rene Cardona and co-written with Adolfo Torres Portillo. In the film, Santa works in outer space and does battle with a demon named Pitch, sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and "making all the children of the Earth do evil".
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.
Cinematic Titanic was a project by Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) creator and original host, Joel Hodgson. The project involved "riffing" B-movies, in a manner similar to that of MST3K. Joining Hodgson were some of the original MST3K cast, as well as some cast members who joined later in the show's run. These included Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl. It was first performed live on December 7, 2007 and first aired on December 22, 2007.
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 independently made American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. It stars Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson, and "Vampira" and is narrated by Criswell. It also posthumously bills Bela Lugosi as a guest-star. Other guest-stars are Hollywood veterans Lyle Talbot, who claimed that he never refused any acting job, and former cowboy star Tom Keene. Plan 9 from Outer Space was theatrically released in 1959 by Distributors Corporation of America, which, at the time, was known as Valiant Pictures.
New Adventures of Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, also known as simply Batman and Robin, is a 15-chapter serial released in 1949 by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1943 serial Batman, although with different actors. Robert Lowery played Batman, while Johnny Duncan played Robin. Supporting players included Jane Adams as Vicki Vale and veteran character actor Lyle Talbot as Commissioner Gordon.
Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny is a 1972 American musical fantasy film written, composed, shot, edited and directed by R. Winer to frame Barry Mahon's Childhood Productions films for a Christmas release. The threadbare plot concerns Santa Claus' attempts to free his sleigh from the sands of a Florida beach, assisted by local children.
