History Trivia / MysteryScienceTheater3000

** The second is the kind that are really, legitimately missing, as in nobody has access to them even through more underhanded means. There are only three of these; the third KTMA (local broadcast) episode--understandably so, as the series had yet to find a fanbase (and thus no one recorded the episodes) and aired only in one market (driving down the number of potential tape holders). Executive producer Jim Mallon recently revealed he had copies of said episodes, which he had converted to digital media and put up clips on [[http://mst3k.com the show's official site]]. However, the rights for those three episodes' targets remain uncleared, and ([[CreatorBacklash due to the crew's low opinion of their KTMA work]]) are unlikely to see release any time soon, and are therefore still not accessible and therefore still missing. The first two were eventually made available as part of a Kickstarter backer package, and soon after started circulating.

** The second is the kind that are really, legitimately missing, as in nobody has access to them even through more underhanded means. There are only three of these; the first three KTMA (local broadcast) episodes--understandably so, as the series had yet to find a fanbase (and thus no one recorded the episodes) and aired only in one market (driving down the number of potential tape holders). Executive producer Jim Mallon recently revealed he had copies of said episodes, which he had converted to digital media and put up clips on [[http://mst3k.com the show's official site]]. However, the rights for those three episodes' targets remain uncleared, and ([[CreatorBacklash due to the crew's low opinion of their KTMA work]]) are unlikely to see release any time soon, and are therefore still not accessible and therefore still missing.

* InMemoriam: Season 5's ''Village of the Giants'' was a tribute to then recently-deceased Music/FrankZappa, who was a vocal fan of the show.

** All four hosts share, at minimum, first names with their actors (Joel Hodgson plays Joel Robinson[[note]]Except in the pilot and KTMA episodes, in which his character was also named Joel Hodgson[[/note]], Michael J. Nelson plays Mike Nelson, Jonah Ray plays Jonah Heston, and Emily Marsh plays Emily Connor). The change in Joel's surname was due both to the creative team wanting a more recognizable last name for Joel and an intentional reference to ''Series/LostInSpace''; the same applies to Jonah's surname being changed to reference Creator/CharltonHeston.

* InspirationForTheWork: Hodgson said that part of the idea for the series came from the illustration for the song "I've Seen That Movie Too" (drawn by Mike Ross) in the liner notes from Music/EltonJohn's ''Music/GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad'' album, showing silhouettes of two people in a theater watching a movie. He also likened the show's setting to the idea of a pirate radio station broadcasting from space. He credits ''Film/SilentRunning'' as being perhaps the biggest direct influence on the show's concept. He wanted the feel of the show to appear homemade, and cited the example of a crude mountain prop used during the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch "Night on Freak Mountain" that received a humorous reaction from the studio audience as the type of aesthetic he wanted for the show.

** Baron Vaughn (Jonah's Servo) appeared in Season 13 as Dr. Kabahl, *the mysterious financier from the future*. The GPC/Synthia double-act continued, along with GPC 2.0/Mega-Synthia for Emily's episodes.

** A crowdfund fundraiser was set up in October 2023 for a possible Season 14 for 2024, in time for the series' 35th anniversary. The first six movies chosen would have been ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars'', ''Deathsport'', ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace '', ''Ballistica'', ''Film/AbraxasGuardianOfTheUniverse'' and ''Film/{{Battletruck}}''. However, the fundraiser fell short due to a number of problems, including starting it during the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strikes.

** The series originally aired on KTMA for the first season, then moved to the Comedy Channel for season 2. The latter channel then merged with Ha! to become CTV: The Comedy Network. Due to a naming conflict with the Canadian channel CTV, it was renamed to Creator/ComedyCentral, with ''[=MST3K=]'' airing the first episode of its third season on the same day the name change took effect. It stayed there until the end of season 7, after which the Creator/SciFiChannel picked it up for seasons 8-10, ending in fall 1999. A Kickstarter campaign eventually led to Netflix picking up the series for seasons 11 and 12, airing in 2017 and 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort then allowed the series to relaunch in 2022, with its thirteenth season (along with older episodes) being released through Joel Hodgeson's then-newly-launched site The Gizmoplex.

** The series originally aired on KTMA for the first season, then moved to the Comedy Channel for season 2. The latter channel then merged with Ha! to become CTV: The Comedy Network. Due to a naming conflict with the Canadian channel CTV, it was renamed to Comedy Central, with ''[=MST3K=]'' airing the first episode of its third season on the same day the name change took effect. It stayed there until the end of season 7, after which the Sci-Fi Channel picked it up for seasons 8-10, ending in fall 1999. A Kickstarter campaign eventually led to Netflix picking up the series for seasons 11 and 12, airing in 2017 and 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort then allowed the series to relaunch in 2022, with its thirteenth season (along with older episodes) being released through Joel Hodgeson's then-newly-launched site The Gizmoplex.

** The series originally aired on KTMA for the first season, then moved to the Comedy Channel for season 2. The latter channel then merged with Ha! to become CTV: The Comedy Network. Due to a naming conflict with the Canadian channel CTV, it was renamed to Comedy Central, with ''[=MST3K=]'' airing the first episode of its third season on the same day the name change took effect. It stayed there until the end of season 7, after which the Sci-Fi Channel picked it up for seasons 8-10, ending in fall 1999. A Kickstarter campaign eventually led to Netflix picking up the series for seasons 11 and 12, airing in 2017 and 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort then allowed the series to relaunch in 2022, with its thirteenth season (along with older episodes) being released through Joel Hodgeson's newly-launched site The Gizmoplex.

* CrossDressingVoices: Gypsy was voiced by several men during the show's original run. It wasn't until the 2017 relaunch that she started being voiced full-time by a woman, though was still performed on set by a male (Tim Blaney).

** Nate Begle had been confirmed to join the show as Crow, joining his fellow roadshow castmates (Emily, Connor, and Yvonne), for the Emily-centric episodes of the first Gizmoplex season but was replaced at the last minute by Kelsey Ann Brady, without explanation. This came as a surprise to fans since Begle had been heavily involved in promotional events for the Gizmoplex episodes.

** [[https://archive.org/details/@seaver_protector_of_media One devoted fan]] uploaded the rights devoid episodes to the Website/InternetArchive.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: ''Three times''.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://mst3k.wikia.com/wiki/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000_Wiki One at Wikia]].

* TropeNamer: ''[=MST3K=]'' is the TropeNamer for following tropes:
** AndHisEyesOpen
** DullSurprise
** TheFreelanceShameSquad
** JustEatGilligan
** KeepCirculatingTheTapes
** KungFoley
** MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds
** TheMountainsOfIllinois
** {{MST}}
** MST3KMantra [[InvokedTrope ]] (...repeat to yourself "It's just a [[{{Trope}} trope"]] / I should really just relax...)
** NextSundayAD
** NightmareFuel [[InvokedTrope ]]
** NightmareFuelStationAttendant [[InvokedTrope ]]
** RailingKill
** RobotRollCall (Cambot! Gypsy! Tom Servo! CROOOOOOOW!)

** This is when [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] stepped in--fans ran a full-page ad in ''Variety'' begging someone to pick up the show, and so they did. Unfortunately, after two years of no ratings increase, the show was put on the chopping block once again. However, Sci-Fi's departing director of programming, Barry Schulman, was a huge fan and signed for a tenth and final season [[DyingMomentOfAwesome as one of his final acts]].

** When the Comedy Channel picked up [=MST3K=], it was a little-known, low-rating cable network which was losing viewers to the more popular HA! Network. HA! offered Comedy Channel a merger to boost profits for all involved, but saw the Channel's lineup as being of little value and wanted to scrap the lot of it. Comedy Channel, however, saw [=MST3K=] as their flagship series and ''refused to go through with the merger if it the show wasn't kept around.'' HA! relented, and not only picked the show up again but signed it for three, 26-episode seasons on the initial contract, and increased its per-episode budget so it wouldn't have to rely on public-domain films. A few years later, Comedy Central, the network formed out of the merger, suddenly had no love for the show that basically put it on the map and canceled it.

** Season 11 came mostly pre-funded via the Kickstarter campaign. With the renewal of the ‘’The Return’’, Netflix stepped in to pay for season 12 (and presumably any other future seasons).
*** That may no longer be the case as Netflix declined to renew for season 13 in November 2019. Hodgson is reportedly shopping to other networks.

** Also lampshaded in the first episode of the Sci-Fi era (and presumably when the voice-change happened) where Mike actually realizes that Crow's voice has changed and keeps on calling him up on that fact.

** The second is the kind that are really, legitimately missing, as in nobody has access to them even through more underhanded means. There are only three of these; the first three KTMA (local broadcast) episodes--understandably so, as the series had yet to find a fanbase (and thus no one recorded the episodes) and aired only in one market (driving down the number of potential tape holders). Executive producer Jim Mallon recently revealed he had copies of said episodes, which he had converted to digital media and put up clips on [[http://mst3k.com the show's official site]]. However, the rights for those three episodes' targets remain uncleared, and ([[OldShame due to the crew's low opinion of their KTMA work]]) are unlikely to see release any time soon, and are therefore still not accessible and therefore still missing.

* OldShame: They requested that Comedy Central cease airing Season 1 episodes shortly before Season 4's premiere, although they still recycled some of the better material.
** To quote the [=MST3K=] Colossal Episode Guide: "Q: Why have you requested Comedy Central not air the season 1 episodes? A: Because they weren't very good."
** Also the KTMA episodes. As Hodgson explained in the "So Happy Together" retrospective (from Shout Factory's ''[=MST3K=]: Gamera'' DVD release):
--->'''Joel:''' We don't count any of the KTMA's as "real" shows. I mean, granted, if people really love ''Mystery Science Theater'' and they feel they must go back and watch them, I think it's fine just to kind of learn about like, what it was like when we were starting out. But none of us feel really great about them, because we just weren't writing them. It was just the beginning of it. But along the way, we figured it out.

** The tradition is alive and well in Season 11, though this time it's Gypsy and Synthia.

** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] by the ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' episodes. After years of being seemingly impossible to license for home video, they receieved a DVD set from Shout Factory due to Shout gaining the home video license to the films, only for the set to go out of print when Shout lost the license. However, Shout would later relicense the Gamera episodes for their streaming site and reprint the DVD set exclusively on their online store.
*** ''The Final Sacrifice'' has gone in and out of licensing depending on the moods of its director. At first, Shout suggested it was unable to be licensed as Tjardus Greidanus was not a fan of the mockery the movie received. Eventually this hurdle was cleared by just [[MoneyDearBoy offering him more money for the rights.]] The episode received a DVD release and due to its meme status was featured on basically every streaming service that had access to [=MST3K=]. Unfortunately Tjardus would change his mind again and refused to renew the license, letting the episode once more disappear from circulation and streaming. At the moment its also harder to find online as he aggressively tracks down unauthorized uploads of the episode to have them removed.

** A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t0FvZ56fSM country-style remix of the [=MST3K=] Love Theme]] was to accompany ''Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie''. However, this was dropped. Though, most fans think [[{{Narm}} the remix isn't even that good anyway]]. After being in limbo for years, it was used as the music for the menu screen on the film's Shout! Factory DVD release.

* Pearl was portrayed by writing staff member Mary Jo Pehl.

** None of the revival actors were told who Kinga's mother was.

*** ''The Final Sacrifice'' has gone in and out of licensing depending on the moods of its director. At first Shout suggested it was unable to be licensed as Tjardus Greidanus was not a fan of the mockery the movie received. Eventually this hurdle was cleared by just [[MoneyDearBoy offering him more money for the rights.]] The episode received a DVD release and due to its meme status was featured on basically every streaming service that had access to [=MST3K=]. Unfortunately Tjardus would change his mind again and refused to renew the license, letting the episode once more disappear from circulation and streaming. At the moment its also harder to find online as he aggressively tracks down unauthorized uploads of the episode to have them removed.

* ColbertBump: Honestly, would anyone have known '''''anything''''' about some of the riff targets? The biggest beneficiary is ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'' (a documentary, two sequels, some video game adaptations), but ''Film/TimeChasers'', ''Film/TheFinalSacrifice'', ''Film/{{Hobgoblins}}'' and ''Film/TheGiantSpiderInvasion'' all benefited from being on ''[=MST3K=]''. It also led to new awareness of the oeuvre of Creator/ColemanFrancis, turning him into a serious challenger for Creator/EdWood's "Worst Director Ever" crown. Even bigger grantees are the featured shorts. ''Film/MrBNatural'' and ''Film/{{Hired}}'' would have faded into obscurity if it weren't for [=MST=].

* CowboyBeBopAtHisComputer: The Sci-Fi Channel era ''loved'' to rag on anime, less leaning and more laying on top of the AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles trope. One instance was in ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen'', where Crow's suggestion that Japan stop being represented by "big-eyed, gun-toting, pre-pubescent blondes" is added on by Mike as "like Franchise/SailorMoon there". The Netflix era, having came out nearly twenty years after the Sci-Fi era and with anime more mainstream, is a lot kinder.

** Joel Hodgson famously left during Season 5 due to disagreements with Jim Mallon involving the direction the show should take in the future.

** Weinstein has said in [[http://asitecalledfred.com/2010/03/09/j-elvis-weinstein-ken-plume-chat/ more recent interviews]] that, even though [=MST3K=] is the show that brings him the highest recognition in show business, he really did not enjoy his time on the show, nor has any particularly fond memories from it. Also, discussing why he left is a bit of a sore spot for him as it requires him to talk about bad experiences with Joel, Trace and Jim; two of those three he's remained friends with. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20080724121702/http://www.d1041111.dotsterhost.com/mst3k/special-events_interview_josh-weinstein-part1.html He once said]] that the two shows he's actually most proud to have been a part of are ''My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star'' and ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks''. [[spoiler:Though he did agree to make a brief return in Season 12 and signed on as a writer and cast member for Season 13, as well as appearing more in [=MST3K=] live events and panels, so it seems he's now softened a bit regarding the show.]]

** Jonah Ray Rodrigues is married to Deanna Rooney, who plays Dr. Donna Saint Phibes and Bonehead #3.