191-456: 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
382-515: A Kickstarter campaign to fund the revival to move forward. Hodgson felt the Kickstarter approach was necessary so that the show's style and approach would be determined by fans rather than through a network if he had sought traditional broadcast funding, as well as to demonstrate the demand for the show through a successful campaign. The Kickstarter was launched in November 2015, seeking $ 2 million for
573-411: A "motivated camera" for taping, a concept related to motivated lighting ; in this mode, all the shots would appear to have been taken from an actual camera that was part of the scene to make the scene appear more realistic. This led to the creation of Cambot as a robot that the host would speak to during host segments or recording them while in the theater, and Rocket Number Nine to show footage outside of
764-530: A Christmas episode, to bring the total season to fourteen episodes. The Kickstarter became the largest one for Film & Video, surpassing the $ 5.70 million raised for the Veronica Mars film, but was ultimately surpassed in March 2019 for an animated series based on the web series Critical Role . Hodgson believed that the revival would need a whole new cast, pointing out that the cast had completely turned over in
955-842: A black TV-shaped bullet. Stations serving neighboring communities outside the immediate area, but which could also be viewed in the primary local area, were denoted with a black numeral inside a white TV-shaped bullet outlined in black (for example, in the San Francisco edition, stations based in San Francisco or Oakland had their channel numbers listed as white-on-black TV-shaped bullets, while stations serving neighboring Sacramento or Salinas / Monterey (but could still be viewed in parts of San Francisco or Oakland, including their suburbs, as fringe reception) had their channel numbers listed as black-on-white icons). A particular listing could begin with as many as three or more channel bullets depending upon
1146-415: A copy of The Golden Turkey Awards , and he had previously wondered why no one had made any program about these "adorable, weird movies" listed within it. Hodgson said that part of the idea for MST3K came from the illustration for the song "I've Seen That Movie Too" (drawn by Mike Ross) in the liner notes from Elton John 's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, showing silhouettes of a couple sitting in
1337-551: A foreword on the channel lineup page as well as those that were available mainly on digital cable and satellite; although most of these newly added channels were placed within the prime time grids, only a few (such as Animal Planet and MSNBC ) were also incorporated into the log listings. Features in the magazine were also revamped with the additions of "The Robins Report" (a review column by writer J. Max Robins), "Family Page" (featuring reviews of family-oriented programs) and picks of select classic films airing that week, as well as
1528-424: A grid (a rowed display of listings for programs scheduled to air during the evening hours each night, primarily organized by channel) into the listings between 1979 and 1981, which was slotted at a random page within each day's afternoon listings. The grid originated as a single-page feature that provided a summary of programs airing during prime time (from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. or 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. depending on
1719-412: A half-page segment, which provided expanded reviews of select programs airing each day (various editions of "Close-Up" were eventually used for different types of programs, from premieres of new series to shows airing on cable). Over time, other regular and recurring features (most of them television-related) were included alongside the listings including "Insider" (a television news and interview section in
1910-425: A handful of cable channels. It also listed a small selection of late-night movies airing on certain channels. The time period of the listings in the daytime grids also shifted from starting at 5:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. to running from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. By this point, the log listings were restricted to programs airing from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. In early 2005, more channels were added to
2101-457: A humorous reaction from the studio audience as the type of aesthetic he wanted for the show. Hodgson had made dozens of such robots from random parts before as art that he sold to friends and others, and knew he could incorporate that into the show. Both old movies and music inspired several of the show's character names as developed by Hodgson. The show's name came from the promotional phrase "Mystery Scientist" used by magician Harlan Tarbell and
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#17328588448352292-489: A longtime friend and self-professed MST3K fan, as a special guest writer for an episode of the revived series, but decided during the Kickstarter that he would also be a good fit on-camera. Rebecca Hanson, an alum of The Second City , took the role of Gypsy as well as Synthia, a clone of Pearl Forrester who assists Kinga. Har Mar Superstar leads the "Skeleton Crew", a house band in Kinga's lair. Pehl, Corbett, and Murphy cameo on
2483-538: A means of creating unobtrusive censor bars for scenes containing nudity. The show transitions into and out of the theater via a "door sequence", a series of six doors that open or close as the camera (presumably Cambot) passes through them. At regular intervals throughout the episode, the characters leave the theater and perform sketches, usually inspired by the events of the film or short being shown, frequently making use of original songs and prop comedy . Some sketches bring in new or recurring characters or other devices;
2674-429: A more detailed prop, with the letters being the tops of buildings on this moon, they had no time or budget for a project of that complexity and went with what they had. Musical numbers would also be used as part of the host segments, which Hodgson said came out naturally from the riffing process; they would find themselves at times singing along with the movie instead of just riffing at it, and took that to extend songs into
2865-514: A national publication resulted from Triangle Publications' purchase of numerous regional television listing publications such as TV Forecast (which was circulated in the Chicago area and, upon its first publication on May 9, 1948, was the first continuously published television listings magazine), TV Digest (which was distributed in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh , and was originally distributed under
3056-409: A page reviewing new home video (and later, DVD ) releases; dedicated pages that respectively listed select sporting events, children's programs and "four-star" movies being broadcast during that week; and crossword puzzles. Although its issues usually focus on different television-related stories week to week, TV Guide also incorporates recurring issues that appear a few times each year, most notably
3247-456: A peak of almost 20 million in 1970. With the $ 2.8 billion acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide by Macrovision on May 2, 2008, that company, which purchased the former mostly to take advantage of their lucrative and profitable VCR Plus and electronic program guide patents , stated it wanted to sell both the magazine and TV Guide Network, along with the company's horse racing channel TVG Network to other parties. On May 18, 2005, TV Guide Talk ,
3438-512: A play on the name of Sun Ra 's band, the Myth Science Arkestra. The "3000" was added to spoof the common practice of adding "2000" to show and product names in light of then-upcoming 21st century, and Hodgson thought it would set his show apart to make it "3000". Dr. Forrester was named after the main character of The War of the Worlds . The Satellite of Love was named after the song of
3629-476: A podcast about bad movies. Dan Harmon and Joel McHale also wrote for the show, along with the on-screen cast members. Hodgson also brought in guest writers for certain episodes that included Justin Roiland , Rob Schrab , Nell Scovell , Ernie Cline , Pat Rothfuss , Dana Gould , and Tammy Golden. Additionally, Paul & Storm and Robert Lopez composed original songs for the new episodes. The revival retains
3820-435: 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,
4011-468: A scale of one [for "poor"] to four [for "excellent"], based on a consensus of reviews from leading film critics, the quality of the film's cast and director, and the film's box office revenue and award wins). Movie icons also were appropriated to identify direct-to-video (marked as "M→V") or made-for-TV (marked as "M→T") releases, which were not assigned star ratings. Beginning with the January 25–31, 1997, issue,
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#17328588448354202-412: A separate guide channel or an electronic program guide that can be activated by remote and provide the same information in a more detailed manner – with additional competition coming in the late 1990s from websites that also specialize in providing detailed television program information (such as TVGuide.com, then jointly operated with TV Guide Magazine , and Zap2It ), a printed listing of programming in
4393-566: A separate magazine became less valuable. The sheer amount and diversity of cable television programming made it hard for TV Guide to provide listings of the extensive array of programming that came directly over the cable system. TV Guide also could not match the ability of the cable box to store personalized listings. Nevertheless, beginning with the September 12–18, 1998, issue, the magazine added several new channels to many of its editions, including those that had previously been mentioned only in
4584-448: A theater watching Gone with the Wind . Hodgson also likened the show's setting to the idea of a pirate radio station broadcasting from space. Hodgson credits Silent Running , a 1972 science-fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull , as being perhaps the biggest direct influence on the show's concept. The film is set in the future and centers on a human, Freeman Lowell ( Bruce Dern ), who
4775-562: A weekly podcast that was available to download for free, was launched. The podcast was headlined by TV Guide reporter/personality Michael Ausiello , and was co-hosted by his colleagues at the magazine, Matt Webb Mitovich, Angel Cohn, Daniel Manu and Maitland McDonagh . Each episode featured commentary from TV Guide staff on the week's entertainment news stories, television programs, and film releases, as well as occasional interviews with actors, producers, and executives. On April 4, 2008 (following Ausiello's move to Entertainment Weekly ), it
4966-466: A well-known writer for The Simpsons ) and Trace Beaulieu to develop the pilot show. By September 1988, Hodgson, Mallon, Weinstein, and Beaulieu shot a 30-minute pilot episode, using segments from the 1968 science-fiction film The Green Slime . The robots and the set were built by Hodgson in an all-nighter. Joel watched the movie by himself, and was aided during the host segments by his robots, Crow (Beaulieu), Beeper, and Gypsy (Weinstein). Hodgson used
5157-509: A write-in campaign to keep the show alive. This effort led the Sci-Fi Channel, a subsidiary of USA Networks , to pick up the series. Rod Perth, then-president of programming for USA Networks, helped to bring the show to the Sci-Fi Channel, stating himself to be a huge fan of the show and believing that "the sci-fi genre took itself too seriously and that this show was a great way of lightening up our own presentation". Writing and production of
5348-460: Is a website promoted internally as an online "guide to...TV" published by TV Guide ' s parent holding company TVGM Holdings, LLC, which launched in January 2015. The website features reviews and interviews from critics and columnists (such as Matt Roush) who write for the print magazine. TV Insider launched an identically titled print magazine dedicated to streaming services in February 2023, but
5539-474: Is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC , in 2008. The prototype of what would become TV Guide Magazine was developed by Lee Wagner (1910–1993), who was the circulation director of MacFadden Publications in New York City in
5730-430: Is published by NTVB Media, and its issues contain themed features, puzzles, and trivia quizzes. TV Guide Interactive is the former name of an interactive electronic program guide software system incorporated into digital set-top boxes provided by cable providers. The program listings grid rendered by the software was similar to the late-2000s look of the listings of TV Guide Network/TVGN. Macrovision/Rovi later renamed
5921-542: Is the last crew member of a spaceship containing Earth's last surviving forests. His remaining companions consist only of three robot drones. MST3K and the Joel Robinson character occasionally reflected Lowell's hippie -like nature. Hodgson wanted the feel of the show to appear homemade, and cited the example of a crude mountain prop used during the Saturday Night Live sketch "Night on Freak Mountain" that received
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6112-566: The New York Post , free e-mail updates for registered users, and a chat room that was developed to accommodate 5,000 users simultaneously. Additional changes to the listings took place with the September 14–20, 1996 edition of the print publication. Starting with that issue, program titles switched from being displayed in all-uppercase to being shown in a mixed case, Franklin Gothic typeface, film titles – which had previously been displayed within
6303-845: The Philadelphia Daily News ; ten radio and six television stations ( WFIL AM - FM - TV in Philadelphia, WNHC AM - FM - TV in New Haven, Connecticut , KFRE AM - FM - TV in Fresno, California , WNBF AM - FM - TV in Binghamton, New York , WFBG AM - FM - TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania and WLYH-TV in Lancaster – Lebanon, Pennsylvania ), as well as The Daily Racing Form ; The Morning Telegraph ; Seventeen ; and various cable television interests. (It
6494-509: The Eastern and Central time zones, and one for the Pacific and Mountain time zones (which had existed separately from the local editions prior to the change, although their distribution was primarily limited to hotels ). The change in format was attributed to the increase in the internet , cable television channels (like TV Guide Network), electronic program guides and digital video recorders as
6685-725: 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. 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 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,
6876-473: The Satellite of Love out of orbit, with Mike and the 'bots escaping and taking up residence in an apartment near Milwaukee, where they continue to riff movies. A "lost" episode produced earlier in the season but delayed due to rights issues, Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders , was the final season 10 episode of MST3K (and the last of the original run), broadcast on September 12, 1999. Reruns continued to air on
7067-557: The "Fall Preview" (an issue featured since the magazine's inaugural year in 1953, which features reviews of new series premiering during the fall television season), "Returning Favorites" (first published in 1996, featuring previews of series renewed from the previous television season returning for the upcoming fall schedule), "Winter Preview" (first published in 1994 and later known as the "(year) TV Preview" from 2006 to 2009, featuring previews of midseason series) and "The Best Children's Shows on TV" (first published in 1989 and later renamed
7258-695: The "Kirk vs. Picard" discussions in the Star Trek fandom. Conniff left the show after Season Six, looking to get into writing TV sitcoms in Hollywood. TV's Frank was soon replaced on the show by Dr. Forrester's mother, Pearl (Pehl). By 1996, Comedy Central had started creating an identity for its network under the new leadership of Doug Herzog , which would lead to successful shows like The Daily Show , Win Ben Stein's Money , South Park and Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist . This left MST3K as an oddity on
7449-501: The "Parents' Guide to Children's Television" in 1990, and finally as the "Parent's Guide to Kids' TV" in 1993, featuring stories and reviews on family-oriented programs). Icons used for other means than identifying listed stations were first added to the magazine around 1956, using the words "SPECIAL" and "COLOR", each set in capital letters inside a rectangular bar, to denote television specials and programs broadcast in color , respectively. TV Guide modified all icons incorporated into
7640-445: The 1930s – and later, by the time of the predecessor publication's creation, for Cowles Media Company – distributing magazines focusing on movie celebrities. In 1948, Wagner printed New York City area listings magazine The TeleVision Guide , which was first released on local newsstands on June 14 of that year. Silent film star Gloria Swanson , who then starred in the short-lived variety series The Gloria Swanson Hour , appeared on
7831-684: The Gemstar purchase) was relegated from the log listings to the grids in most editions. From its inception until 2003, TV Guide had offered listings for the entire week, 24 hours a day. Numerous changes to the local listings took place beginning with the June 21, 2003 issue – in just a few select markets, when the 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday listings were condensed down to four grids: these ran from 5:00 to 8:00 a.m., 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. If programming differed from one weekday to
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8022-475: The July 2–8, 1954, issue, listings within each edition of TV Guide began on Friday and ended on Thursday; the July 9–16, 1954, issue began on a Friday and ended on the following Friday. Then, beginning with the July 17–23, 1954, issue, the listings in each week's issue changed to start on Saturday and end on Friday, which remained the listings format for all local editions until April 2004. The formation of TV Guide as
8213-562: The Netflix support was helpful for the prior two seasons, the streamer had required the production team to produce all their episodes at once, which did not work well and resulted in creative burn-out. By using the Gizmoplex approach, the production team would be able to produce new content at their own pace. Further, by establishing the continuation of the show in the Gizmoplex format, MST3K could continue even without Hodgson's involvement, so long as
8404-523: The Satellite of Love. The show's theme song, the "Love Theme from Mystery Science Theater 3000", was written by Hodgson and Weinstein, which helped to cement some of the broader narrative elements of the show, such as the Mads and Joel being part of an experiment. The song was composed by Charlie Erickson with help from Hodgson in the style of Devo , The Replacements , and The Rivieras (particularly their cover of
8595-533: The Sci Fi Channel for several years, ending with The Screaming Skull on January 31, 2004. The shows later moved to off-network syndication. Starting in 2010, Hodgson had been trying to bring back MST3K , spurred on by fan appreciation of the cast and crew 25 years since the show's premiere and the success of his Cinematic Titanic project. Hodgson also considered the timing to be ideal, with non-traditional outlets like Netflix picking up original series, and
8786-418: The September 13, 2003, "Fall Preview" issue. Other changes were made to the magazine beginning with the June 21 issue in select markets and the 2003 "Fall Preview" issue elsewhere. A half-page daily prime time highlights section featuring the evening's notable shows, movies and sports events – similar to the former "Guidelines" feature – was re-added to the listings section; a full-page "Weekday Highlights" page
8977-641: The TV Guide Network in January 2009. In March 2013, CBS Corporation acquired One Equity Partners' stake of their TV Guide assets. The CBS acquisition was finalized later that month for $ 100 million. On May 31, 2013, CBS bought Lionsgate's share of TV Guide Digital, which includes the website and mobile apps . On January 31, 2014, OpenGate Capital and CBS Interactive announced a deal to cross-promote TV Guide Magazine with TVGuide.com and CBS Interactive's other internet properties (including TV.com , Metacritic and CNET ). In 2020, Red Ventures acquired
9168-422: The abbreviation "BW") within the listings section. In September 1981, listings began to identify programs presented with closed or open captions or with on-screen sign language interpretation. Being an era when program episodes tended to be faithfully recurring from week to week, TV Guide listings would make note of alterations from the routine or a change in status: "[Gunsmoke is pre-empted]"; "(last episode of
9359-422: The affected character to the audience. After this, they carefully scrutinized entire films for other such offensive content, and once one was selected and assured the rights, committed to completing the episode with that film. Obtaining the rights was handled by the cable networks. Some licensing required buying film rights in packages, with the selected bad movies included in a catalog of otherwise good films, making
9550-631: The assets of CNET Media Group, including TV Guide, from ViacomCBS. On October 3, 2022, Red Ventures sold TV Guide and other entertainment websites to Fandom Inc. In June 1998, the TV Guide brand and magazine were acquired by United Video Satellite Group , the parent company of the Prevue Channel – a channel first launched in 1981 as the Electronic Program Guide network, that was carried by cable and some satellite television providers and
9741-467: The back of a movie". Production of an average episode of MST3K during the Comedy Central period took about five to nine days once the movie was selected and its rights secured. The first few days were generally used for watching the movie and scripting out the riffs and live action segments. The subsequent days were then generally used to start construction of any props or sets that would be needed for
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#17328588448359932-426: The basic premise of the show remains consistent: a human test subject—first Joel Robinson ( Joel Hodgson ), then Mike Nelson ( Michael J. Nelson ), and most recently Jonah Heston ( Jonah Ray ) and Emily Connor (Emily Marsh)—has been imprisoned aboard the spacecraft Satellite of Love by mad scientists (collectively called "The Mads") and is forced to watch a series of bad movies in order to find one that will drive
10123-436: The beginning and end of the magazine-defined prime time daypart (between 7:30 and 11:00 p.m. or between 6:30 and 10:00 p.m. local time on Monday through Saturdays, and between 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. or between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. local time on Sundays) delineated by a thicker border. Channels listed in the grid were organized by broadcast stations, basic cable channels, and premium channels. In 1983, depending on
10314-469: The biggest comedic effect on the audience. Recording and most of the production was completed over September and October 2016 in Los Angeles on a very condensed schedule. In the revival, Ray, Yount, and Vaughn recorded the riffs for all fourteen episodes in a sound studio over a period of a week, allowing them to better synchronize the riffs with the film. This also helped to simplify the process of recording
10505-465: The cable channel nationwide. After the second season, The Comedy Channel and rival comedy cable network HA! merged to become CTV: The Comedy Network (later changed to Comedy Central ). During this period, MST3K became the newly merged cable channel's signature series, expanding from 13 to 24 episodes a year. To take advantage of the show's status, Comedy Central ran "Turkey Day", a 30-hour marathon of MST3K episodes during Thanksgiving 1991. The name of
10696-509: The channel airing the program that a user wished to record were listed after each channel in the channel directory page; one- to eight-digit codes for individual programs were listed in the log listings section following the title of each program.) The PlusCodes expanded to all local editions beginning with the September 14–20, 1991, issue. The September 12–18, 1992, issue saw the addition of bullet icons identifying colorized versions of older feature films. On March 7, 1996, TV Guide launched
10887-485: 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
11078-519: The characters of Dr. Forrester (Beaulieu) and Dr. Erhardt (Weinstein) from the KTMA era and crafted the larger narrative of each episode being an "experiment" they test on Joel. The show began its national run shortly after the Comedy Channel went on the air in November 1989. MST3K was considered Comedy Channel's signature program, generating positive press about the show despite the limited availability of
11269-422: The characters to enter the theater. In the theater, the human host and 'bots Tom and Crow sit in a row of theater seats, shown in silhouette along the bottom of the screen, an approach Hodgson called "Shadowramma". The three then riff on the film (which is sometimes accompanied by one or more shorts ) as it plays for both them and the audience. Occasionally, the silhouette format is used as a source of humor, or as
11460-416: The circulation decreased over subsequent weeks, even as the magazine's distribution expanded to five additional cities (Pittsburgh, Rochester , Detroit , Cleveland and San Francisco ) throughout the summer of 1953. By mid-August of that year, sales of the magazine had dropped 200,000 copies below that of the first issue. TV Guide ' s fortunes began to turn around with the September 4–10, 1953, issue –
11651-462: The cover of the first issue. Wagner later began publishing regional editions of The TeleVision Guide for New England and the Baltimore – Washington area. Five years later, he sold the editions to Walter Annenberg , who folded it into his publishing and broadcasting company Triangle Publications , but remained as a consultant for the magazine until 1963. The national TV Guide ' s first issue
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#173285884483511842-482: The cover, was issued for the period from December 25 , 2006 to January 7, 2007. In early 2008, the Monday through Friday daytime and daily late night grids were eliminated from the listings section, and the television highlights section was compressed into a six-page review of the week, rather than the previous two pages for each night. By 2007, TV Guide ' s circulation had decreased to less than three million copies from
12033-406: The crew found that none of the potential actors really fit the role; instead, having reviewed a test run that Nelson had done with the 'bots, the crew agreed that having Nelson (who had already appeared in several guest roles on the show) replace Hodgson would be the least jarring approach. The replacement of Joel by Mike would lead to an oft-jokingly "Joel vs. Mike flame war " among fans, similar to
12224-406: The decades, the shape of the TV Guide logo has changed to reflect the modernization of the television screen , eventually adopting a widescreen appearance in September 2003, and then to its current flatscreen appearance in September 2016 (different versions of the logo – the only cosmetic difference being the utilization of different typefaces – are currently used respectively for the magazine and
12415-658: The demand from fans of the show remained. During the Kickstarter, Hodgson confirmed that due to the name being seen by some as an ethnic slur against Romani and other itinerant peoples , Gypsy was renamed to GPC around 2019. Science fiction comedy Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 761543361 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:40:45 GMT TV Guide TV Guide
12606-460: The description " Local Programming " being used to denote time periods in which syndicated , locally produced or paid programs would air instead of network shows. In September 2006, TV Guide launched a redesigned website , with expanded original editorial and user-generated content not included in the print magazine. On December 22, 2006, TV Guide introduced the magazine's first ever two-week edition. The edition, which featured Rachael Ray on
12797-458: The descriptive log listings for those time periods; this also allowed the grids to be contained to a single page in certain editions that provided listings for more than 20 cable channels. On October 5, 1999, Gemstar International Group Ltd. , the maker of the VCR Plus+ device and schedule system (whose channel and program codes for VCRs using the system for timed recordings were incorporated into
12988-493: The designated market of many editions were the only cable channels listed initially as well as, in certain markets, over-the-air subscription services transmitted over local independent stations (such as ONTV ); local subscription television services were often listed as "STV Programming" or "Subscription Television" for the channel carrying the service, with the service listed separately or, in some editions, not at all. Cable-originated channels – such as HBO , CNN (both of which
13179-490: The digest scale then applied by the parent TV Guide Magazine . The magazine ceased publication following the Spring 1996 issue, with some content covered by the spin-off magazine continuing to be featured in TV Guide ' s annual "Parents' Guide to Kids TV" issue. ReMIND Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to popular culture nostalgia, specifically in relation to the 1950s–1990s. ReMIND , like TV Guide Magazine ,
13370-402: The distinctive logos used by particular stations (for example, the "Circle 7" logo used for many years primarily by stations either owned by, or affiliated with, ABC). (Black-and-white ads for general products, services and special offers, similar to those seen in other national magazines, were also placed in the listings section.) A regular feature of the listings section was "Close-Up", usually
13561-587: The edition which were scheduled to air the advertised show) were included within the listings. Ads for major network programs were generally produced by the networks themselves (and often, the networks would run a full-page or even a double-truck ad for an entire night of programming, or for a major movie or special, or for the season premiere of a Saturday morning cartoon lineup); ads for locally produced programs, including local newscasts, were produced by individual stations (network affiliates as well as independent stations). Such locally provided ads almost always used
13752-458: The edition, a new feature was added, the "Pay-TV Movie Guide" (renamed the "Premium Channels Movie Guide" in 1997), initially preceded the listings before being moved to the pages immediately following the Friday listings in January 1989, resulting in the national section – which had been cordoned into two sections, both preceding and following the local section – being consolidated into the first half of
13943-439: The end of critic Matt Roush's presence on TVGuide.com. The editorial content of the magazine was launched on a new site, TVGuideMagazine.com, which did not feature TV Guide ' s listings in any form. TVGuideMagazine.com was later shut down on June 1, 2010; TV Guide Magazine and TVGuide.com then entered into a deal to restore content from the magazine to the latter website, which Lionsgate Entertainment had bought along with
14134-411: The entire writing staff watching the film together several times through, giving off-the-cuff quips and jokes as the film went along, or identifying where additional material would be helpful for the comedy. The best jokes were polished into the script for the show. Riffs were developed to keep in line with the characterization of Joel, Mike, and the 'bots. Further, the writers tried to maintain respect for
14325-425: The episodes in the days preceding this. During the 2017 "Turkey Day" Marathon, Hodgson announced that Netflix had greenlit a twelfth season of MST3K . Shooting of the twelfth season started on June 4, 2018, and would have six episodes, written to encourage bingewatching and make the series more amenable to non-fans. Further, they created a stronger narrative in the host segments, so that casual viewers would recognize
14516-415: The episodes were completed within a single day, which did not allow them for doing multiple takes unless necessary. Campaign backers at higher tiers were able to see the first episode at limited "Red Carpet Kickstarter Screening" events shown in a few theaters during February and March 2017. The fourteen episodes were released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, though Kickstarter backers had the opportunity to see
14707-429: The event was not only inspired by the traditional turkey meal served on Thanksgiving, but also by use of "Turkey" from The Golden Turkey Awards to represent bad movies. This tradition would be continued through the rest of the Comedy Central era. Though the show did not draw large audience numbers compared to other programming on Comedy Central, such as reruns of Saturday Night Live , the dedicated fans and attention kept
14898-480: The executive producer for the remake, though does appear briefly as Ardy, one of Kinga's henchmen who send Jonah the episode's movie. Hodgson was assisted by Kalan, Richard Foos, Bob Emmer, Garson Foos, Jonathan Stern , and Harold Buchholz. The revival was produced by the companies Satellite of Love, LLC, Alternaversal Productions, and Abominable Pictures . Production for the new season began on January 4, 2016, with movie selection and script writing. The film selection
15089-561: The film description – began appearing before a film's synopsis in an italicized format (replacing the generic "MOVIE" header that had been used to identify films since the magazine's inception), and children's programs that were compliant with the Children's Television Act of 1990 began to be designated by a circular " E/I " icon. In addition, infomercials (which had been designated under the boilerplate title "COMMERCIAL PROGRAM[S]" until 1994, and "INFORMERCIAL[S]" thereafter) ceased being listed in
15280-447: The films and avoided making negative riffs about them, taking into consideration that Joel, Mike, and the 'bots were companions to the audience while watching the movie, and they did not want to come off sounding like jerks even if the negative riff would be funny. Hodgson stated that their goal in writing riffs is not to ridicule films as some have often mistaken, but to rather instead consider what they are doing as "a variety show built on
15471-494: The host segments. Hodgson approached Jim Mallon , at the time the production manager of KTMA, a low-budget local Minneapolis-area independent television station , with his idea of a show based on riffing on movies, using robots that were created out of common objects. Mallon agreed to help produce a pilot episode, and Hodgson hired local area comedians J. Elvis Weinstein (initially going by Josh Weinstein but later changed to J. Elvis as to distinguish himself from Josh Weinstein ,
15662-408: The host would consult an external camera, "Rocket Number Nine", to show events happening outside the Satellite , and the "Hexfield Viewscreen" would be used to communicate with other characters from the ship's bridge. At the end of each sketch, "Movie Sign" (a reference to the concept of wormsign from Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel Dune ) is triggered again, and the characters must re-enter
15853-493: The host, and stages for the Crow and Tom puppets. The human host wore black clothing while the robot puppets were painted black; the screen they watched was a white luma key screen so as to create the appearance of silhouettes. The actors would follow the movie and the script through television monitors located in front of them, as to create the overall theater illusion. The "door sequence" was created to transition from host segments to
16044-452: The human test subject in watching the film in the satellite's theater. To keep from going mad, the trio frequently comment and wisecrack during the movie, a process known as "riffing". At regular intervals throughout the movie, the hosts leave the theater and return to the bridge of the satellite to perform sketches (commonly called "host segments") that often satirize the film being watched. The general format of an MST3K episode has remained
16235-557: The iGuide, originally developed by the News Corporation- MCI joint venture Delphi Internet Service Corp. as a web portal , which featured more comprehensive television listings data than those offered by the magazine (with information running two weeks in advance of the present date), as well as news content, TV Guide editorial content and a search feature called CineBooks, which allowed users to access detailed information on about 30,000 film titles. Later that year, content from
16426-493: The last station signed off following prime time programs of the calendar day before, possibly as late as 4:00 a.m. The next day's listings could begin as early as 5:00 a.m., or earlier. The advent of cable television would pose challenges to TV Guide . Cable channels began to be listed in the magazine in 1980 or 1981, depending on the edition; the channels listed also differed with the corresponding edition. Regional and national superstations available on cable systems in
16617-526: The late 1950s. The new facility had a large lighted TV Guide logo at the building's entrance. It housed management, editors, production personnel and subscription processors as well as a vast computer system holding data on every television show and movie available for listing in the popular weekly publication. Printing of the national color section of TV Guide – which incorporates television-related stories, and select feature columns such as program reviews – took place at Triangle's Gravure Division plant – which
16808-423: The lead pages of the color section); "Cheers and Jeers" (a critique page about various aspects of television programming); "Hits and Misses" (featuring brief reviews of select programs in the coming week, rated on a score from 0 to 10); "Guidelines" (a half-page daily section featuring highlights of five or six programs of interest); horoscopes; recaps of the previous week's storylines on network daytime soap operas ;
16999-453: The live action segments while the writers honed the script. A full dress rehearsal would then be held, making sure the segments and props worked and fine tuning the script. The host segments would then be taped on one day, and the theater segments on the next. A final day was used to review the completed work and correct any major flaws they caught before considering the episode complete. Live scenes used only practical special effects , and there
17190-553: The live, handcrafted look from the original, a decision that Hodgson had to set down against others involved in production. Set and prop designers included Wayne White , Aaron Somers , Pen Ward , Rebecca Sugar and her younger brother Steven, Justin Jacobs, and Guy Davis , while live and practical special effects were planned by Adam Savage . Justin was tasked with creating full sized versions of new robots M. Waverly and Growler. Other returning staff included: Charlie Erickson, who composed
17381-605: The local listings section in May 1969, changing the font for the TV-shaped bullets identifying local stations from Futura to the standard Helvetica and using similarly TV-shaped bullets marked with the abbreviation "C" to denote color programs (replacing the bar/text icons that had been previously used). As color programming became more ubiquitous, in August 1972, the magazine opted to identify programs originating in black and white (marked under
17572-730: The local listings section, detailed synopses were gradually restricted to series and specials – usually those airing in evening " prime time " timeslots – as well as movies airing on broadcast television, while shorter synopses were used for programs seen on broadcast stations outside of the edition's home market and select cable channels; and only the title along with basic supplementary information (such as genre and/or program length) for most other broadcast and cable programs. In addition, black-and-white ads for programs scheduled to air on broadcast stations – and later, cable channels – during prime time (with local airtimes, and for broadcast stations, information for network-affiliated stations featured in
17763-610: The log listings began incorporating content ratings for programs assigned through the newly implemented TV Parental Guidelines system (the system's content ratings were subsequently added upon their introduction in October 1998). News Corporation sold TV Guide to the United Video Satellite Group, parent company of Prevue Networks , on June 11, 1998, for $ 800 million and 60 million shares of stock worth an additional $ 1.2 billion (this followed an earlier merger attempt between
17954-439: The log's synopses. The "Premium Channels Movie Guide" was also restructured as "The Big Movie Guide", with film listings being expanded to include those airing on all broadcast networks and cable channels featured in each edition (as well as some that were not listed in a particular local edition), as well as movies that were available on pay-per-view (page references to the films included in this section were also incorporated into
18145-478: The logistics in time. The 12th season was broadcast on Netflix on Thanksgiving aka "Turkey Day", November 22, 2018, which coincided with the show's 30th anniversary. To avoid conflicting with the new season's release, the annual Turkey Day Marathon was pushed forward to November 18, 2018. In November 2019, Hodgson confirmed to Kickstarter backers that the show would not return for a third season on Netflix, but that he would be looking into alternative outlets to carry
18336-611: The magazine began hosting the TV Guide Awards , an awards show (which was telecast on Fox) honoring television programs and actors, with the winners being chosen by TV Guide subscribers through a nominee ballot inserted in the magazine. The telecast was discontinued after the 2001 event. The July 17–23, 1999, edition saw the evening grids scaled down to the designated prime time hours, 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. (or 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.) Monday through Saturdays and 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. (or 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.) on Sundays, to complement
18527-484: The magazine ceased publication in April 2024, with some of the content incorporated into an expanded section of the regular TV Guide magazine. TV Weekly is a weekly magazine that offers television listings for viewers in the local markets, featuring the local channels and regional cable networks alongside the major network and cable outlets. The settings are similar to TV Guide's national listings. TV Guide Crosswords
18718-428: The magazine during time periods in which stations aired them. (Time-brokered programs continued to be listed in the magazine, but were primarily restricted to religious programming.) Replacing the text identifiers that had been included within the film synopses, theatrically released films also began to be identified by a black-and-white boxed "M" symbol, accompanied depending on the film by its star rating (a formula, on
18909-551: The magazine originally promoted mainly in full-page advertisements), the CBN Cable Network (now Freeform ), the Alpha Repertory Television Service (ARTS, later succeeded by A&E through its 1984 merger with The Entertainment Channel) and Nickelodeon – were added gradually between the winter of late 1981 and the first half of 1982, depending on the edition. To save page space, TV Guide incorporated
19100-525: The magazine's first "Fall Preview" issue – when circulation hit 1,746,327 copies; circulation levels increased steadily over time, to the point where TV Guide eventually became the most read and circulated magazine in the United States by the 1960s. The initial cost of each issue was 15¢ per copy (equivalent to $ 1.71 in 2023. The price per issue has gradually risen over the years, selling for $ 4.99 per copy as of 2024). In addition to subscriptions , TV Guide
19291-406: The magazine's first 52 years of publication, listings information was displayed in a "log" format, a mainly text-based list of programs organized by both start time and channel, which was the sole method – eventually, primary once prime time grids were incorporated, and later secondary for the final two years of its inclusion of local listings – of displaying program information in TV Guide until
19482-655: The magazine's listings in 1988), and which incidentally was partially owned by News Corporation, purchased United Video Satellite Group. The two companies were previously involved in a legal battle over the intellectual property rights for their respective interactive program guide systems, VCR Plus+ and TV Guide On Screen , that began in 1994. That month, TV Guide debuted a 16-page insert into editions in 22 markets with large Hispanic populations titled TV Guide en Español , which provided programming information from national Spanish language networks (such as Univision and Telemundo ) as well as special sections with reviews of
19673-406: The magazine, including TV Guide Close-Up , TV Guide Sportsview (which was formatted more similarly to the listings section's sports guide than the color column of that name) and TV Guide Insider . After Gemstar's acquisition of TV Guide , the channel began to shift toward airing full-length programs featuring celebrity gossip and movie-focused talk shows alongside the program listings. The channel
19864-511: The magazine. That year, United Video acquired TVSM Inc. (publishers of competing listings guides Total TV and The Cable Guide ) in a $ 75 million all-cash acquisition; as a result, TV Guide merged with Total TV , and began printing a version of the magazine in the latter magazine's full-size format (while retaining the original digest size version) effective with the July 11, 1998, issue. Because most cable systems published their own listing magazine reflecting their channel lineup, and now had
20055-410: The material was not funny and declined (the proposed sitcom went unrealized). He further became dissatisfied with the Hollywood attitudes when they tried to double their offer, acquiring what he called a "healthy disrespect" for the industry. He moved back to Minneapolis-St. Paul , taking a job in a T-shirt printing factory that allowed him to conceive of new comedy ideas while he was bored. One such idea
20246-532: The middle of Season Eight. With this replacement, the series' entire original cast had been turned over. MST3K ran for three more seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel. During the Sci-Fi era, Best Brains found themselves more limited by the network: the pool of available films was smaller and they were required to use science fiction films (as per the network's name and programming focus), and the USA Network executives managing
20437-522: The narrative that his character named "Joel Hodgson" (not yet using his character name of Robinson) had built the Satellite of Love and launched himself into space. Camera work was by Kevin Murphy , who was employed by KTMA. Murphy also created the first doorway sequence and theater seat design. These initial episodes were recorded at the long since-defunct Paragon Cable studios and customer service center in Hopkins, Minnesota . On review, Hodgson found that of
20628-516: The negotiations odd since the network was only interested in the bad film. Other times, the rights to the film were poorly documented, and the network would follow the chain of custody to locate the copyright owner so as to secure broadcast rights. In contrast to the ad-libbing of riffs from KTMA, the riffs were scripted ahead of time by the writers. An average episode (approximately 90 minutes running time) would contain more than 600 such riffs, and some with upwards of 800 riffs. Riffs were developed with
20819-445: The network taking up limited program space. Herzog, though stating that MST3K "helped put the network on the map" and that its fans were "passionate", believed it was necessary to change things around due to the show's declining and lackluster ratings. The network cancelled MST3K after a six-episode seventh season. The show staff continued to operate for as long as they still had finances to work with. MST3K ' s fan base staged
21010-869: The network to fill space that they had originally planned to use short clips of films and television shows that they could not license in time for launch. Comedy Channel offered Best Brains $ 35,000 per episode but allowed Best Brains to retain the show's rights. Best Brains was also able to keep production local to Minnesota instead of the network's desire to film in New York City or Los Angeles, as it would have cost four times more per episode, according to Hodgson. Best Brains established an office and warehouse space in Eden Prairie for filming. With an expanded but still limited budget, they were able to hire more writers, including Mike Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, and Frank Conniff, and build more expansive sets and robot puppets. They retained
21201-470: The new episodes include bumpers that would have wrapped around commercial breaks if shown on network television; Hodgson considered these breaks necessary as a "palate cleanser" as well as to support the narrative for Kinga attempting to commercialize on the MST3K brand. Behind the scenes, the lead writer was Elliott Kalan , former head writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and host of The Flop House ,
21392-428: 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,
21583-410: The next, the generic descriptor "Various Programs" was listed. The weekday grid maintained day-to-day listings for certain cable channels (primarily movie channels as well as a limited number of basic cable channels such as Lifetime , The History Channel and USA Network ), which were organized separately from the other channels. These changes became permanent in all TV Guide editions beginning with
21774-481: The number of cable channels that were only listed in the grids expanded, with the addition of channels such as BBC America, Soapnet and the National Geographic Channel (some editions also featured a limited number of broadcast stations – either in-market, out-of-market or both – exclusively in the grids). Conversely, sister cable network TV Guide Channel (whose listings were added to the magazine after
21965-634: The number of stations in the immediate and surrounding areas broadcasting the same program at that particular time (usually different affiliates of the same network, based in the primary city as well as in neighboring areas). See the subsection " Listings section ", in the "Editions" section below, for a detailed explanation. Originally, the majority of programs listed in the log each issue featured brief synopses, except for local and national newscasts, and programs airing on certain stations in various timeslots. As other broadcast television stations and cable channels were added, due to set space requirements for
22156-663: The original episode was split into two parts, each about 45 minutes long, excluding commercials. New skits opening and ending each episode included Mike Nelson portraying television host Jack Perkins , in a parody of Perkins' Biography series, in mock flattery of the MST3K episode being shown. Hodgson is credited for devising the show's concept. Prior to the show, Hodgson was an up-and-coming comedian from Minneapolis having moved to Los Angeles and made appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live . He had been invited by Brandon Tartikoff to be on an NBC sitcom co-starring Michael J. Fox , but Hodgson felt
22347-579: The original series, borrowing equally from the Joel and Mike eras; he noted there were about 30 episodes that he and fans universally agreed were the show's best, and expected to use these as templates as the basis of the new show. The new episodes include the Invention Exchange that had been part of the Joel era (and some of the Mike era) of the show. Additionally, while not required by the streaming format of Netflix,
22538-415: The original series. Comedian Jonah Ray plays Jonah Heston , the new host aboard the Satellite of Love, watching and riffing on the films. Hodgson had met Ray while recording an episode of The Nerdist Podcast , and felt he would be a good fit. The voices of Crow and Tom Servo are provided by comedians Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn , respectively, both of whom Ray recommended to Hodgson. Hodgson felt it
22729-556: The original series. The campaign reached its base funding within a week of its launch. On the final day of the campaign, Hodgson and Shout! ran a streaming telethon which included appearances from the newly selected cast and crew, and various celebrities that supported the revival to help exceed the target funding levels for twelve episodes. The campaign ended on December 11, 2015, with total funding of $ 5,764,229 from 48,270 backers, with an additional $ 600,000 in backer add-ons, which allowed Hodgson to plan two more additional episodes, including
22920-434: The original show's theme song and composed the new show's theme and other musical arrangements; Beth "Beez" McKeever, who worked on the original show's props and designed costumes and props for the new show; Crist Ballas created hair and makeup design; and Paul Chaplin , one of the show's original writers to help write the new shows, along with contributions from Pehl and Corbett. Hodgson himself remained primarily off-camera as
23111-439: The others. Hodgson had met Day at the 2015 Salt Lake Comic Con , where she stated her love of MST3K to him. Hodgson had seen Day's performance in shows like The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog , and felt she matched his idea for the character he had envisioned. Patton Oswalt plays Kinga's henchman, Max, or as his character prefers to be known, "TV's Son of TV's Frank"; Hodgson had already planned to invite Oswalt,
23302-459: The pages comprising each issue. Preceding this addition, some editions carried The "Movie Guide", which also preceded the listings, provided summaries of films scheduled to air over the next one to two weeks on the cable channels included in both the log and grid listings (excluding those featured exclusively in the grids) as well as a first-page summary of the films scheduled to premiere that week (arranged by channel and sub-categorized by title). As
23493-400: The premiere on Thanksgiving was by happenstance, as the station felt the show was ready to go at that point, according to Hodgson. Initially, the show's response was unknown, until Mallon set up a phone line for viewers to call in. Response was so great that the initial run of 13 episodes was extended to 21, with the show running to May 1989. Hodgson and Mallon negotiated to secure the rights for
23684-405: The prime time and late-night grids. On July 26, 2005, Gemstar-TV Guide announced that TV Guide would abandon its longtime digest size format and begin printing as a larger full-size national magazine that would offer more stories and fewer program listings. All 140 local editions were eliminated, being replaced by two editions covering the time zones within the contiguous United States : one for
23875-484: The prime time grids and log listings). Beginning in January 2004, the midnight to 5:00 a.m. listings (as well as the Saturday and Sunday 5:00 to 8:00 a.m. listings) ceased to include any broadcast stations outside of the edition's home market, leaving only program information for stations within the home market and for cable channels. The magazine's format was changed beginning with the April 11, 2004, issue to start
24066-561: The print publication was added to iGuide as well as content from News Corporation's other media properties. On January 13, 1997, shortly before MCI bowed out of the venture, iGuide was relaunched as the TV Guide Entertainment Network (TVGEN), which was renamed TV Guide Online in 2002. The refocused site covered television, music, movies and sports (with content concerning the latter sourced from Fox Sports ), along with wire news and features from Reuters , Daily Variety and
24257-501: The product as i-Guide after the spin-off of the TV Guide publications. A separate IPG system, TV Guide On Screen , was a brand name for Guide Plus+ , a build of software featured in products such as televisions, DVD and digital video recorders , and other digital television devices providing on-screen program listings. First marketed in the mid-1990s, it was originally owned by Gemstar-TV Guide International before being acquired by
24448-411: The production of three episodes, with stretch goals with additional funding for 12 total episodes. The Kickstarter effort was led by Ivan Askwith, a consultant who also had worked on the Veronica Mars and Reading Rainbow Kickstarter campaigns. Hodgson estimated each episode would take $ 250,000 to make, in addition to five-figure movie licensing rights, in contrast to $ 100,000 per episode needed for
24639-424: The profits from the series. In addition, other cameos on the new episodes include Neil Patrick Harris , Jerry Seinfeld , and Mark Hamill as P. T. Mindslap. Weinstein initially stated that he had no interest in returning to the show, but eventually reprised his role as Dr. Laurence Erhardt in the second season of the Netflix revival. Hodgson aimed to follow in the pattern of what made for fan-favorite episodes from
24830-435: The program. Hodgson also stated that Mallon's insistence on producing a feature film version of the show led to his departure, giving up his rights on the MST3K property to Mallon. Hodgson later told an interviewer: "If I had the presence of mind to try and work it out, I would rather have stayed. 'Cause I didn't want to go, it just seemed like I needed to." Though they held casting calls for a replacement for Hodgson on camera,
25021-427: The programs' Nielsen rating. Examples include American Idol , Heroes , Lost , Survivor , Gilmore Girls , Veronica Mars , and Project Runway (the latter three being examples a low-rated shows which nevertheless have sizable online followings). Each podcast also ended with a weekly review of that weekend's new theatrical releases. On October 13, 2008, Macrovision sold the money-losing magazine (which
25212-462: The removal of the "Guidelines" feature in the listings section in favor of the new highlight page "Don't Miss" (listing choice programs selected by the magazine's staff for the coming week) in the national color section. Listings for movies within the log also began identifying made-for-TV and direct-to-video films, as well as quality ratings on a scale of one to four stars (signifying movies that have received "poor" to "excellent" reviews). In 1999,
25403-654: The revival, reprising their roles as Pearl, Brain Guy, and Professor Bobo, respectively. Hodgson opened up to the show any of the other cast members to make cameo appearances or aid in the creative process. However, Nelson and Beaulieu stated that they would not be involved with the MST3K revival; Nelson said, "The brand does not belong to me, and I make and have made (almost) zero dollars off it since it stopped production in 1999." Conniff noted on his Twitter that Shout! Factory would be "cutting [the former cast members] in, financially at least" on
25594-430: 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 . While the cast of MST3K changed throughout its history,
25785-410: The robots, Beeper's design was not working well, and tried a quick modification by replacing its head with a toy gumball machine top, creating the basis of Tom Servo. Mallon met with KTMA station manager Donald O'Conner the next month and managed to get signed up for thirteen episodes. Show production was generally done on a 24-hour cycle, starting with Mallon offering a few films from KTMA's library for
25976-407: The same name by Lou Reed . Crow T. Robot was inspired by the song "Crow" from Jim Carroll 's Catholic Boy , while Rocket Number 9's name was inspired by the original name of Sun Ra 's album Interstellar Low Ways . The theater shots, the primary component of an episode, are taped in "Shadowrama". The "seats" were a black-painted foam core board sitting behind the seat (towards the camera) for
26167-587: The same throughout the series' run. Episodes are approximately 90 minutes in running time (excluding commercial breaks) and begin with a short introductory segment in which the human host and the 'bots interact with the Mads before being sent the movie. During Joel Hodgson and Jonah Ray's tenures as hosts (and for a brief period at the start of the Mike Nelson era), the hosts and the Mads engage in an "invention exchange" in which they each show off their latest inventions. Sirens and flashing lights ("Movie Sign") then signal
26358-486: The separately owned, CBS-managed digital properties). At first, the logo had various colored backgrounds (usually black, white, blue or green) until the familiar red background became the standard in the 1960s with occasional customizations being utilized for special editions. The magazine was first based in a small office in downtown Philadelphia, before moving to more spacious national headquarters in Radnor , Pennsylvania , in
26549-429: The series having a definitive start, middle, and end. Other changes included Rob Schrab coming on as co-director, and actress Deanna Rooney, Ray's wife, playing Dr. Donna St. Phibes, a "B-movie monster conservationist" who works with the Mads. Former cast member Weinstein returned to reprise his role as Dr. Erhardt. Hodgson had been trying to also bring back both Beaulieu and Conniff for this season, but could not work out
26740-409: The series)", "Debut: ", "Special". Until the 1970s, double-feature or triple-feature movie presentations by a station would be listed at the starting time of the first feature: "MOVIE--Double Feature", then list the movies with numeric bullets in front of each title and synopsis; subsequent to 1970, the magazine listed each movie in its own time entry. A day's listings continued well past midnight until
26931-424: The show back through other means, though he did criticize Netflix for forcing an embargo that kept him from providing updates to his fans on the progress on the show until they were ready to announce details. On April 7, 2021, Hodgson launched a second Kickstarter campaign to continue production of more MST3K episodes. Given the difficulties with Netflix, Hodgson envisioned a sustainable production approach based on
27122-463: The show for themselves, creating Best Brains , Inc., agreeing to split ownership of the idea equally. During this time a fan club was set up and the show held its first live show at Scott Hansen's Comedy Gallery in Minneapolis, to a crowd of over 600. Despite the show's success, the station's overall declining fortunes forced it to file for bankruptcy reorganization in July 1989. At the same time, HBO
27313-462: The show on the network. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was produced during the later half of the Comedy Central era and had a very limited theatrical release in 1996 through Universal Pictures and Gramercy Pictures . It featured Mike and the bots subjected to the film This Island Earth by Dr. Forrester. Though well received by critics and fans, the film was a financial disappointment due to its limited distribution. The cable network
27504-601: The show remained relatively unchanged from the Comedy Central period. Before Season Eight commenced filming, Beaulieu opted to leave the show, feeling that anything creative that would be produced by Best Brains would belong to Mallon, and wanted to have more creative ownership himself. To replace Dr. Forrester, two new sidekicks to Pearl were introduced: Professor Bobo (Murphy) and the Observer , a.k.a. "Brain Guy" (Corbett). In addition, Corbett took over Crow's voice and puppetry and Best Brains staffer Patrick Brantseg took over Gypsy in
27695-419: The show to lose its original appeal. Another campaign to save the show was mounted, including several MST3K fans taking contributions for a full-page ad in the trade publication Daily Variety magazine, but unlike the first effort, this campaign was unsuccessful. The season 10 finale, Danger: Diabolik , premiered on August 8, 1999, during which, in the show's narrative, Pearl Forrester accidentally sent
27886-409: The show wanted to see a story arc and had more demands on how the show should be produced. Conflict between Best Brains and the network executives would eventually lead to the show's second cancellation. Peter Keepnews, writing for The New York Times , noted that the frequent cast changes, as well as the poorer selection of films that he felt were more boring than bizarre in their execution, had caused
28077-409: 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
28268-522: The show's theme song would lead to establishing elements for the show's ongoing premise, with Hodgson now portraying himself as the character Joel Robinson. Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on KTMA at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1988, with its first episode, Invaders from the Deep , followed by a second episode, Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars at 8:00 p.m. The choice of running
28459-415: The show. In one specific case, the second-season episode with the 1969 film The Sidehackers , they had only skimmed the first part of the movie before making the decision to use it, and only later discovered that it contained a scene where a female character is brutally raped and murdered . They decided to stay committed to the film, but cut out the offending scene and had to explain the sudden absence of
28650-415: The show. The two seasons made for Netflix will remain on the service. Ray stated in an April 2020 interview that "Joel's got some ideas in the pipeline, and it's pretty exciting, what he's working on", and expected further news later in the year. Hodgson had praised Netflix for helping to bring new fans to MST3K and said that his production company Alternaversal Productions was still looking for ways to bring
28841-401: The song " California Sun ") and sung by Hodgson. Initial shows used foam letters to make the show's title, but they later created the spinning-moon logo out of a 2-foot (0.6m) diameter fiberglass ball, covered with foam insulation and the lettering cut from additional foam pieces. Hodgson felt they needed a logo with the rotating effect as opposed to a flat 2D image, and though they had envisioned
29032-463: The sources of choice for viewers' program listings. The new version of TV Guide went on sale on October 17, 2005, and featured Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host Ty Pennington on the cover. The listings format, now consisting entirely of grids, also changed to start the listings in each week's issue on Monday rather than Sunday. As a result of the elimination of the local editions, broadcast stations were replaced by broadcast network schedules with
29223-419: The start of prime time within a given time zone ) on the stations mentioned in the corresponding edition; by 1983, it was expanded to a two-page section – which began to take up roughly three-quarters of the two adjoining pages on which it was placed – that included programs airing during the early access and late fringe periods (from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. local time), with
29414-419: The success of crowdfunding for entertainment projects. However, Hodgson needed to reacquire the rights to the series, at that point still held by Mallon and Best Brains. By 2013, Hodgson was working closely with Shout! Factory , the distribution company handling the home media releases of MST3K , and completed negotiations with Mallon to buy the rights for MST3K for a seven-figure sum by August 2015, enabling
29605-420: The support of fans and backers who wanted more episodes but without having to worry about the financial support of a broadcast or cable network. In this project, Hodgson set out to produce more episodes and the creation of "The Gizmoplex", an online platform designed to showcase these new episodes as well as reruns of past episodes and live events, presented as another experiment by the Mads. Hodgson said that while
29796-418: The switch to national listings in 2005. This allowed for the display of full titles for each program as well as the inclusion of synopses for movies and most programs. Most listing entries in the log included program genres (and for national news programs, anchors ) after the program's title, while its running time (which was mentioned only if a program lasted a minimum of one hour – later 35 minutes – in length)
29987-410: The test subject insane. In an attempt to keep his sanity, Joel built sentient robots ("the bots") from parts aboard the Satellite of Love , and they subsequently remained aboard with Joel's successors as test subjects. The Bots include Tom Servo , Crow T. Robot , GPC (formerly Gypsy) who is in charge of satellite operations, and Cambot , the silent recorder of the experiments. Crow and Servo join
30178-455: The theater segments, since they then only needed to act out their parts. The 'bots were controlled by multiple puppeteers both in the theater and in skits; Yount and Vaughn used radio-controlled equipment to move the 'bots' mouths, while members from The Jim Henson Company helped with manipulating the bodies, allowing them to achieve effects they could not do in the series' original run such as having Crow appear to walk on his own. All skits for
30369-471: The theater segments, which Hodgson took inspiration from the Mickey Mouse Club , noting that the commonality to the title credits of Get Smart were coincidental. In devising this sequence, this also led to Beaulieu creating the dogbone-like shape of the Satellite of Love with additional inspiration taken from the bone-to-ship transition in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey . Hodgson had wanted to use
30560-420: The theater, and a new doorway countdown sequence between the host and theater segments was shot. The puppeteers worked personalities into their robots: Crow (Beaulieu) was considered a robotic Groucho Marx , Tom Servo (Weinstein) as a "smarmy AM radio DJ", and Gypsy (Mallon) modeled after Mallon's mother who had a "heart of gold" but would become disoriented when confronted with a difficult task. The development of
30751-416: The theater. During Hodgson's period on the show, the final sketch aboard the Satellite often included reading of fan mail from the "MST3K Info Club". Fan mail readings decreased during Mike Nelson's tenure as host and were dropped entirely once the show moved onto the Sci-Fi Channel. The final sketch of an episode typically ends with the Mads, with the lead Mad asking their lackey to "push the button" to end
30942-606: The title, the Local Televiser , when it was first released on November 7, 1948), and the New York-based Television Guide (which had its title abbreviated to TV Guide on March 18, 1950). Each of the cities that had their own local TV listings magazine folded into TV Guide were among the initial cities where the magazine conducted its national launch. The launch as a national magazine with local listings in April 1953 became an almost instant success. However,
31133-406: The transmission and transitioning to the credit sequence. After the credits, a humorous short clip from the featured film (or the accompanying short on occasion) is replayed as a "stinger" to end the episode. In November 1993, a limited selection of episodes were repackaged into an hour-long show titled Mystery Science Theater Hour , meant to be better suited for off-network syndication . In these,
31324-406: The two companies in 1996 that eventually fell apart). Following the sale, reports suggested that TV Guide would remove program listings from the magazine, shifting them entirely to its new sister cable network Prevue Channel, which would be rebranded as a result of United Video's purchase of TV Guide Magazine ; News Corporation executives later stated that listings information would remain part of
31515-511: The week's biggest new story in the entertainment industry, whether it be a television program or something outside the scope of television show or movie (such as the Academy Awards or the Emmys ). The middle part was devoted to discussion and commentary on individual shows. The podcast emphasized programs that tend to have a large online following even if that following is not necessarily reflected in
31706-400: The week's listings in each issue on Sunday (the day in which television listings magazines supplemented in newspapers traditionally began each week's listings information), rather than Saturday. In July 2004, the overnight listings were removed entirely, replaced by a grid that ran from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. that included only the broadcast stations in each edition's home market and
31897-422: The week's notable programs. The magazine discontinued the insert in March 2000 due to difficulties resulting from confusion by advertisers over its marketing as "the first weekly Spanish-language magazine", despite its structure as an insert within the main TV Guide publication. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of TV Guide as a national magazine, in 2002, the magazine published six special issues: By 2003,
32088-444: The writers to select from. Riffing in these episodes was ad-libbed during taping using notes made during preliminary viewings of the selected film. Episodes from this era are noted for their low number of riffs - in some instances 15 minutes of the movie could be shown before the cast made any comments. The show had some slight alterations from the pilot — the set was lit differently, the robots (now Crow, Servo and Gypsy) joined Joel in
32279-604: The years went on, more cable channels were added into the listings of each edition. To help offset this, the May 11–17, 1985, issue introduced a smaller Helvetica font for the log, along with some other cosmetic changes; in particular, a show's length began to be listed after the show's title instead of at the end of its synopsis. That issue also saw advertising for local stations featured in the corresponding edition be restricted to certain special events, with most program promotions being restricted to those for national broadcast and cable networks. On August 7, 1988, Triangle Publications
32470-466: Was a quarterly spin-off publication which was first released on newsstands on May 27, 1993. The magazine featured reviews on television shows, home videos, music, books and toys marketed to children ages 2 to 12, as well as behind-the-scenes features centering on children's television shows and films. To limit confusion among readers, the Parents' Guide issues were printed as a standard-size magazine instead of
32661-496: Was a spin-off publication, first published in the late 1980s, based on the crossword puzzle feature in the penultimate page of each issue. The puzzles featured in TV Guide and the standalone magazine featured answers related to television programs, films, actors, entertainment history and other entertainment-related trivia. In addition to the regular magazine, TV Guide Crosswords also published special editions as well as books. TV Guide's Parents' Guide to Children's Entertainment
32852-403: Was able to provide a wider library of films for Best Brains to riff from. To ensure that they would be able to produce a funny episode, at least one member of the staff would watch the suggested films completely, generally assuring that the movie would be prime for jokes throughout. Conniff stated that he often would have to watch around twenty films in their entirety before selecting one to use for
33043-406: Was also added featuring guest and topical information for the week's daytime talk and morning shows as well as picks for movies airing during the day on broadcast and cable channels. In addition, while log listings continued in use for prime time listings, program synopses were added to the grids and log, as well as a " NEW " indicator for first-run episodes, replacing the "(Repeat)" indicator in
33234-416: Was announced that the podcast would be ending, and the final episode (Episode No. 139) was released on April 10, 2008. TV Guide Talk podcasts were released every Friday afternoon and averaged an hour in length. They featured the participants discussing and commenting on the past week in television and the entertainment industry in general. The beginning of each podcast was devoted to in-depth discussion on
33425-421: Was important for Ray to have his say on who would play these parts, since it would help Ray be comfortable in the role. Felicia Day plays Kinga Forrester, Clayton Forrester's daughter and one of the new Mads in charge of the experiments, now operating out of a moon base known as "Moon 13". Day had been one of the last to be cast, as Hodgson had scripted out the concept for Forrester's daughter while casting Ray and
33616-445: Was known for performing some of the highest quality printing in the industry, with almost always perfect registration – located adjacent to the company's landmark Inquirer Building on North Broad Street in Philadelphia. The color section was then sent to regional printers to be wrapped around the local listing sections. In addition to TV Guide and its flagship newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer , Triangle Publications also owned
33807-416: Was listed (in hours and minutes) in the synopses. Channel numbers were set in a tiny round icon (known as a "bullet") at the beginning of the listing. This bullet was soon modified to be the shape of a TV screen, similar to the shape of the TV Guide logo. In most editions, stations serving a particular edition's immediate local coverage area were denoted with a white numeral for its channel number set inside
33998-523: 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, 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
34189-416: Was looking to build a stable of shows for their upcoming Comedy Channel cable network. HBO approached Best Brains and requested a sample of their material. Hodgson and Mallon provided a seven-minute demo reel, which led to the network greenlighting MST3K as one of the first two shows picked up by the new network. According to Art Bell, one of the creators of the Comedy Channel, MST3K ' s arrival helped
34380-543: Was minimal post-editing once taping was completed. Weinstein left the show after the first Comedy Channel season, reportedly in disagreement with Hodgson about moving toward using scripted rather than ad-libbed jokes. Murphy replaced him as the voice of Tom Servo, portraying the 'bot as a cultured individual, while Dr. Erhardt was replaced with TV's Frank (Conniff). Hodgson decided to leave the series halfway through Season Five due to his dislike of being on camera and his disagreements with producer Mallon over creative control of
34571-418: Was narrowed down to about twenty movies as of February 2016, with the rights obtained for about half of them, while Shout! Factory was working to secure worldwide distribution rights for the others. Hodgson noted that the films were more recent than those used on the original series, with "maybe one" from the 1950s/1960s, but did not want to reveal what these films were until the episodes were broadcast as to have
34762-469: Was originally formatted to feature a scrolling program guide , short segments featuring previews of upcoming programs, and promos and short-form film trailers for programs airing on various channels. Its new owners promptly rebranded Prevue as the TV Guide Channel on February 1, 1999. With the rebranding, some of the hourly segments featured on the channel at that point were renamed after features in
34953-582: 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
35144-466: Was rebranded as the TV Guide Network in 2007. Following the respective sales of TV Guide's magazine and cable channel by Macrovision to OpenGate Capital and Lionsgate, the magazine and TV Guide Network became operationally separate, although the two properties still collaborated on content for TVGuide.com. After CBS Corporation bought stakes in TV Guide's properties in March 2013, TV Guide Network
35335-398: Was rebranded under the abbreviated name TVGN that April to de-emphasize its ties to TV Guide Magazine , as part of a transition into a general entertainment format while the channel gradually decommissioned its scrolling listings grid. The network was relaunched as Pop on January 14, 2015, with its programming focus shifting towards shows about pop culture and its fandom . TV Insider
35526-478: Was released on April 3, 1953, accumulating a total circulation of 1,560,000 copies that were sold in the ten U.S. cities where it was distributed. The inaugural cover featured a photograph of Lucille Ball 's newborn son Desi Arnaz Jr. , with a downscaled inset photo of Ball placed in the top corner under the issue's headline: "Lucy's $ 50,000,000 baby". The magazine was published in digest size , which remained its printed format for 52 years. From its first issue until
35717-432: Was reportedly posting revenue losses of $ 20 million per year by that point) to Beverly Hills -based equity fund OpenGate Capital for $ 1, and a $ 9.5 million loan at 3% interest. As part of the sale, however, Macrovision retained ownership of the companion website – which was then sold to equity firm One Equity Partners for $ 300 million – which severed all editorial connections between the magazine and website, including
35908-432: Was sold at the checkout counters of grocery stores nationwide. Until the 1980s, the feature pieces included in each issue were promoted in a television commercial . Under Triangle, TV Guide continued to grow not only in circulation, but also in recognition as the authority on television programming with articles – the majority of which typically appear in the color section – from both staff and contributing writers. Over
36099-621: Was sold to the News America Corporation arm of News Corporation for $ 3 billion, one of the largest media acquisitions of the time and the most expensive publication transaction at the time. The November 3–9, 1990, issue saw the addition of VCR Plus+ codes in some of the magazine's regional editions, for users with devices incorporating the technology – which was developed by eventual TV Guide parent Gemstar International Group Ltd. – to input into their VCRs to automatically record television programs. (Two-digit PlusCodes corresponding to
36290-414: Was the basis of MST3K , a show to comment humorously on movies and that would also allow him to showcase his own prop comedy -style humor. Hodgson referred to these jokes as "riffs", based both on the idea of musical riffs as well as the idea of comedy riffs, a term he attributes to The Simpsons ' s writer Dana Gould . In terms of movie selection, Hodgson had recalled that his college roommate had
36481-613: Was under Triangle's ownership of WFIL-TV that American Bandstand came to popularity, which, in turn, led to host Dick Clark ascending to become a major television personality.) Triangle Publications sold its Philadelphia newspapers to Knight Newspapers in 1969, its radio and television stations during the early 1970s to Capital Cities Communications (the television stations that are now known as KFSN-TV and WPVI-TV were subsequently acquired by ABC through its 1986 merger with Capital Cities) and various other interests, retaining only TV Guide , Seventeen and The Daily Racing Form . For
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