Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Encyclopedia
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 theatrical adaptation of the television
series Mystery Science Theater 3000
, produced and set between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. It was released by Gramercy Pictures
and Best Brains
with distribution held by Universal Pictures
. The Film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA.
MST3K: The Movie was filmed away from the Best Brains corporate headquarters and studio in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
, at Energy Park
Studios in St. Paul
. It stars Michael J. Nelson
, Trace Beaulieu
, Kevin Murphy
, and Jim Mallon
.
The movie opens with mad scientist
Dr. Clayton Forrester
(Trace Beaulieu), working from an underground laboratory, explaining the premise of the film (and associated TV series). Mike Nelson (Michael J. Nelson) and the robots Crow T. Robot
(Beaulieu), and Tom Servo
(Kevin Murphy), along with Gypsy
(Jim Mallon), are aboard the Satellite of Love
high in Earth's orbit, when Dr. Forrester forces them to watch the movie This Island Earth to break their wills; as per the television show, Mike, Crow, and Tom make fun of the movie as it airs.
The movie riffing scenes are bookended and interspersed with short sketches. Prior to the movie, Crow attempts to dig through the ship's hull to return to Earth. After the filmstrip breaks and Dr. Forrester reloads it, Crow and Tom dare Mike to drive the Satellite himself, but ends up crashing into the Hubble Space Telescope
; Mike then tries to repair the Hubble using the Satellite's manipulator arms, MANOS
, but instead further damages the unit before Gypsy takes over. Some time into the film, Tom reveals that he has an interocitor like that used in This Island Earth. The gang tries to use Tom's device to return to Earth, but instead contact a Metalunan (the alien race from the film) who is unable to help them to figure out how to use it correctly but does accidentally repeatedly zap Tom's head with a laser beam. The contact is broken by Dr. Forrester, who also has an interocitor, and he zaps the group to encourage them back to the movie theater.
After the movie, Mike, Crow, and Tom are far from broken, celebrating in various Metaluna ways. Dr. Forrester, furious at his failure, attempts to use his own interocitor to harm Mike and the others, but only succeeds in transporting himself into the shower of the Metalunan previously seen. Mike and the robots briefly celebrate Dr. Forrester's disappearance before they realize they no longer have a way back to Earth without him.
Crow says "Hey, wait a minute!" and the crew head back to the theater in time for the movie's ending credits.
by MCA/Universal Home Video to rental outlets on October 1, 1996. The film was released for retail sales on April 8, 1997 on both VHS and Laserdisc
formats.
MST3K: The Movie was released on DVD in 1998 by Image Entertainment
, as a discount title with an MSRP
of $14.99. The disc was sold until 2000, when Image Entertainment was named in a lawsuit by Universal Studios
, which accused Image of under-pricing Universal titles. MST3K: The Movie was one of about 10 titles affected by this lawsuit and was pulled from distribution. The price of a used disc had risen considerably, to an average of $80 to $100 common in 2007, until the 2008 re-release, when prices dropped sharply. This release of the film contained no special features, deleted scenes, trailers or other form of extra content.
In 2003, another version of MST3K: The Movie started appearing online and at science fiction conventions. This special edition
was created by an anonymous Internet fan (similar to The Phantom Edit
although the film itself was not edited) and was a two disc set. This edition has the same print of the film as the 1998 DVD, along with the theatrical trailer, several television ads, a review from E!
Television on the first disc; and has an hour long presentation on the second disc from the second official MST3K convention hosted by various members of Best Brains writers/performers. This presentation has a picture slideshow showing behind the scenes footage (along with BBI commentary), the "lost" theme song, a general discussion of the genesis and production of the film from Best Brains, and the cut host segment and the original, alternate ending to the film. This version of the film is recognizable for the tagline on the front cover that reads "Every year Hollywood makes hundreds of special editions. This isn't one of them", a play on the film's tagline.
In late 2005 there was a rumor that the creator of the Special Edition was working on another edition to be released for the film's 10th anniversary. The set did appear around April 2006 as the "10th Anniversary Hamdinger Edition". In addition to the above features, the 10th anniversary edition also had on set interviews with Mike, Kevin and Trace as well as a behind the scenes making of featurette.
Universal Pictures re-released the DVD on May 6, 2008. The movie is in anamorphic widescreen, and has an upgraded Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Though the original theatrical trailer was initially listed as a special feature, it was not included on the DVD.
It is also available on Netflix
instant streaming.
on the Sky Movies
channels.
The new theme song, cut scene, and alternate ending were shown at the "Mystery Science Theater 3000 ConventioCon ExpoFest-O-Rama 2: Electric Boogaloo" in 1996, but were not included on the VHS, laserdisc, or the original or current DVD version of the movie. However, both cut scenes and the lost "love theme" were included in both the fan produced editions that began appearing in 2003 and 2006.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, produced and set between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. It was released by Gramercy Pictures
Gramercy Pictures
Gramercy Pictures was a film distributor launched in 1992, a joint venture of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Gramercy, a so-called "mini-major," was the distributor of PolyGram movies in the United States and Canada...
and Best Brains
Best Brains
Best Brains, Inc. is an entertainment company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. It is best known for its creation and production of the comedy/sci-fi television program Mystery Science Theater 3000, aka MST3K . The company ceased producing the program in 1999 and closed its studio...
with distribution held by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
. The Film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA.
MST3K: The Movie was filmed away from the Best Brains corporate headquarters and studio in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile...
, at Energy Park
Energy park
An energy park is a separate area used and planned for the purpose of clean energy development, like wind and solar generation facilities.Energy parks create many other economic development benefits too. In Ohio, energy parks are creating thousands of green jobs. In Minnesota, community wind parks...
Studios in St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. It stars Michael J. Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
, Trace Beaulieu
Trace Beaulieu
Trace Beaulieu is an American puppeteer, writer, and actor. He is best known for his roles on Mystery Science Theater 3000 .-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...
, Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (actor)
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
, and Jim Mallon
Jim Mallon
Jim Mallon is an American television and film producer and writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning series Mystery Science Theater 3000 ...
.
Plot
- For the plot of the movie-in-the-movie, see This Island EarthThis Island Earth (film)This Island Earth is a 1955 American science fiction film directed by Joseph M. Newman. It is based on the novel of the same name by Raymond F. Jones. The film stars Jeff Morrow as the alien Exeter, Faith Domergue as Dr. Ruth Adams, and Rex Reason as Dr. Cal Meacham. The film was one of the first...
The movie opens with mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
Dr. Clayton Forrester
Doctor Clayton Forrester (MST3K)
Dr. Clayton Deborah Susan Forrester is a fictional character on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Named for the hero of the 1953 film The War of the Worlds, Dr. Forrester was the chief mad scientist on the show from its inception in 1988 through the seventh season in 1996, and...
(Trace Beaulieu), working from an underground laboratory, explaining the premise of the film (and associated TV series). Mike Nelson (Michael J. Nelson) and the robots Crow T. Robot
Crow T. Robot
Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Crow is a robot, who, along with others, quips and riffs upon poor-quality B movies.- Overview :...
(Beaulieu), and Tom Servo
Tom Servo
Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a companion and help stave off space madness as Joel was forced to watch...
(Kevin Murphy), along with Gypsy
Gypsy (MST3K)
Gypsy is one of the robot characters on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. She is larger and less talkative than the other robots. Gypsy normally only appeared during the show's host segments and introduction, but briefly took a seat in the theater to watch the movie in episode #412...
(Jim Mallon), are aboard the Satellite of Love
Satellite of Love (MST3K)
The Satellite of Love is the fictional main setting of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. It is a giant bone-shaped spacecraft that Joel Robinson and his friends — robots Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy, Cambot, and the noncorporeal Magic Voice — live in...
high in Earth's orbit, when Dr. Forrester forces them to watch the movie This Island Earth to break their wills; as per the television show, Mike, Crow, and Tom make fun of the movie as it airs.
The movie riffing scenes are bookended and interspersed with short sketches. Prior to the movie, Crow attempts to dig through the ship's hull to return to Earth. After the filmstrip breaks and Dr. Forrester reloads it, Crow and Tom dare Mike to drive the Satellite himself, but ends up crashing into the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
; Mike then tries to repair the Hubble using the Satellite's manipulator arms, MANOS
Manos: The Hands of Fate
Manos: The Hands of Fate is an American horror film written, directed, produced by, and starring Harold P. Warren. It is widely recognized to be one of the worst films ever made...
, but instead further damages the unit before Gypsy takes over. Some time into the film, Tom reveals that he has an interocitor like that used in This Island Earth. The gang tries to use Tom's device to return to Earth, but instead contact a Metalunan (the alien race from the film) who is unable to help them to figure out how to use it correctly but does accidentally repeatedly zap Tom's head with a laser beam. The contact is broken by Dr. Forrester, who also has an interocitor, and he zaps the group to encourage them back to the movie theater.
After the movie, Mike, Crow, and Tom are far from broken, celebrating in various Metaluna ways. Dr. Forrester, furious at his failure, attempts to use his own interocitor to harm Mike and the others, but only succeeds in transporting himself into the shower of the Metalunan previously seen. Mike and the robots briefly celebrate Dr. Forrester's disappearance before they realize they no longer have a way back to Earth without him.
Crow says "Hey, wait a minute!" and the crew head back to the theater in time for the movie's ending credits.
Cast
- Michael J. NelsonMichael J. NelsonMichael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
as Mike Nelson - Trace BeaulieuTrace BeaulieuTrace Beaulieu is an American puppeteer, writer, and actor. He is best known for his roles on Mystery Science Theater 3000 .-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...
as Crow T. RobotCrow T. RobotCrow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Crow is a robot, who, along with others, quips and riffs upon poor-quality B movies.- Overview :...
and Dr. Clayton Forrester - Kevin MurphyKevin Murphy (actor)Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
as Tom ServoTom ServoTom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a companion and help stave off space madness as Joel was forced to watch... - Jim MallonJim MallonJim Mallon is an American television and film producer and writer, most notable for being executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning series Mystery Science Theater 3000 ...
as GypsyGypsy (MST3K)Gypsy is one of the robot characters on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. She is larger and less talkative than the other robots. Gypsy normally only appeared during the show's host segments and introduction, but briefly took a seat in the theater to watch the movie in episode #412... - John Brady as Benkitnorf
Release
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was released on April 19, 1996. At its widest point of North American Theatrical release Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was shown in 26 cinemas.Box office
In its opening weekend MST3K: The Movie grossed $206,328. and in its second weekend it grossed, $110,620. It went on to gross $1,007,306.Reviews
Reviews have been mostly positive. On Rottentomatoes.com 73% of the critics liked the film. It has a 7.3 rating on IMDb.Home Media
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by MCA/Universal Home Video to rental outlets on October 1, 1996. The film was released for retail sales on April 8, 1997 on both VHS and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
formats.
MST3K: The Movie was released on DVD in 1998 by Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
, as a discount title with an MSRP
Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...
of $14.99. The disc was sold until 2000, when Image Entertainment was named in a lawsuit by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, which accused Image of under-pricing Universal titles. MST3K: The Movie was one of about 10 titles affected by this lawsuit and was pulled from distribution. The price of a used disc had risen considerably, to an average of $80 to $100 common in 2007, until the 2008 re-release, when prices dropped sharply. This release of the film contained no special features, deleted scenes, trailers or other form of extra content.
In 2003, another version of MST3K: The Movie started appearing online and at science fiction conventions. This special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
was created by an anonymous Internet fan (similar to The Phantom Edit
The Phantom Edit
Star Wars Episode I.I: The Phantom Edit is a fan edit of the movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, removing many elements of the original film. The purpose of the edit, according to creator Mike J. Nichols, was to make a much stronger version of The Phantom Menace based on the previous...
although the film itself was not edited) and was a two disc set. This edition has the same print of the film as the 1998 DVD, along with the theatrical trailer, several television ads, a review from E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
Television on the first disc; and has an hour long presentation on the second disc from the second official MST3K convention hosted by various members of Best Brains writers/performers. This presentation has a picture slideshow showing behind the scenes footage (along with BBI commentary), the "lost" theme song, a general discussion of the genesis and production of the film from Best Brains, and the cut host segment and the original, alternate ending to the film. This version of the film is recognizable for the tagline on the front cover that reads "Every year Hollywood makes hundreds of special editions. This isn't one of them", a play on the film's tagline.
In late 2005 there was a rumor that the creator of the Special Edition was working on another edition to be released for the film's 10th anniversary. The set did appear around April 2006 as the "10th Anniversary Hamdinger Edition". In addition to the above features, the 10th anniversary edition also had on set interviews with Mike, Kevin and Trace as well as a behind the scenes making of featurette.
Universal Pictures re-released the DVD on May 6, 2008. The movie is in anamorphic widescreen, and has an upgraded Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Though the original theatrical trailer was initially listed as a special feature, it was not included on the DVD.
It is also available on Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
instant streaming.
TV
Besides being released on VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD, in recent years MST3K: TM has also been shown on the Starz and HBO television channels in the USA, and the film has been aired frequently in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on the Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland...
channels.
Deleted scenes
- At the beginning of the film, it was originally planned to have a new version of the "MST3K Love Theme" by Dave AlvinDave AlvinDave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....
, but the song was reduced to an instrumental version over the end credits.
- To trim the running time of the film, Gramercy ordered one of the host segments to be cut. In this scene, Mike and the bots hide out in the ship's storm shelter to avoid a meteor shower. The barrage of meteors threatens to damage the ship's oxygen supply, and Crow, Servo, and Gypsy rush to save Mike's life.
- The ending of the movie was also changed - originally, the movie's final moments depicted Mike and the bots exacting revenge on Dr. Forrester by hooking up Servo's interocitor to the video feed from the Hexfield Viewscreen and sending a Metalunan mutant (played by MST3K prop man and toolmaster Jef Maynard) to strangle the mad scientist. At the end, Crow goes back to the basement to plan another escape attempt, this time armed with the chainsaw that he found in Servo's room earlier in the film.
The new theme song, cut scene, and alternate ending were shown at the "Mystery Science Theater 3000 ConventioCon ExpoFest-O-Rama 2: Electric Boogaloo" in 1996, but were not included on the VHS, laserdisc, or the original or current DVD version of the movie. However, both cut scenes and the lost "love theme" were included in both the fan produced editions that began appearing in 2003 and 2006.