Gypsy

Crow

Mike

Tom Servo

I discovered MST3K when I was attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.  One of my classmates, Anna, introduced me to this show in 1989 and I became instantly hooked.  There is an unspoken dorm rule about the community tv.  The person who is there the longest controls the remote.  Because of this, I would camp out in front of the tv with homework and food for three hours to guarantee I could watch MST3K .

History:
MST3K premiered November 24, 1988.  The premise is that a janitor at the Gizmonic Institute is subject to secret experiments by watching "cheesy movies" after being sent into space to the Satellite of Love.  He uses the parts of this space station to build his robot friends.  The show starred Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson.  Joel was later replaced by Mike.  Also starring are (above from left to right) Gypsy, Crow and Tom Servo.  Between Joel and the robots, they heckle bad movies.

What makes this unique from other frame shows that air bad movies is the concept of seeing the cast through silhouettes, in their seats, yelling comments.  These comments cross over all age barriers and all levels of knowledge.  Similar to Douglas Adams in that the more one knows, the more humorous it gets.  It is fun to watch and you may find yourself yelling with them.

Note:  Tom Servo can also be seen on the short film floating around the internet called TROOPS, a spoof on COPS and Star Wars.

-Tracy

Links:
Official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Site!
MST 3K Deus Ex Machina- Great resources here!
Matt's MST3K 'Bot Building Page
Satellite News