Mystery Science Theater 3000 is 20 years old, and Shout Factory is celebrating the birth of television’s favorite cow-town puppet show with a four-DVD set.
The new collection, released Tuesday, includes four fan-favorite episodes, plus essential extras that track the show’s rise from local Minnesota TV show to international cult classic.
Through several incarnations, MST3K took what many folks do while watching bad movies at home and made it into an entertainment phenomenon.
The show unfurled the worst movies available while a man marooned in space cracked wise about the cinematic missteps with his two homemade robot companions, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo. It was a beautifully simple premise that built up a global fan base during its 10 years on The Comedy Channel, Comedy Central and the Sci Fi Channel.
The new Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary DVD collection selects four episodes from the series: “First Spaceship on Venus,” featuring show creator Joel Hodgson as host; “Werewolf” (see clip, embedded below); “Laserblast”; and “Future War,” with later host and head writer Michael J. Nelson. The limited-edition, $70 set comes in a metal gift box with four custom lobby cards and a Crow T. Robot figurine.
“I’m delighted that people still seek out the show,” Nelson (pictured) told Wired.com. “It’s something I don’t think any of us could have predicted — that 20 years later there would still be a following for our Midwest-produced, extremely low-budget, sci-fi comedy/puppet show.”
