Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K for short) showed the world how often forgotten films could be hidden treasures with the ‘so bad, it’s good’ hypothesis.  While the show riffed on movies that ran the gamut between pure camp and the ridiculous, its own plot was equally absurd.  A pair of mad scientists devised a scheme for future world domination, whereupon they planned to unleash the world’s worst film on the masses, turning the public into mindless slaves.  In order to determine which film is indeed the worst of the worst, they capture and isolate one man inside the Satellite of Love, forcing him to endure dreadful B-movies until his spirit cracks.

The sole captive, Joel (later replaced by Mike in the fifth season), builds four sentient robots to keep himself company.  Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot aid in the wisecracking during screenings, while Gypsy and Cambot focus their attentions elsewhere on the orbiting satellite.  In an attempt to tolerate these B-movie debacles and maintain sanity, the members of the S.O.L. keep a running ad-lib-style commentary on the absurdity of the movies during their viewing.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was born on KTMA, a local public access station in Minneapolis, and after a year on KTMA had its national debut on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central on November 28, 1989.  After 7 seasons, the show was moved to the Sci-Fi Channel, where it ran for another 3.  The show’s final episode ran on August 8, 1999, leaving many devoted fans yearning for more.  MST3K cast members Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy have since gone on to create The Film Crew, a series committed to similar B-movie antics.