Michael J. Nelson

Why do some people retain cute baby-talk names for their relatives (like "Num-Num" and "Pee-Paw") well into middle age? How should a reasonable person respond when Olivia Newton-John sings, "Have you never been mellow?" Who's responsible for the sorry state of men's fashion, and is it the same guy who invented the jerkin? Is there any future in being a Midwesterner? Can you really enjoy your lunch when the restaurant is decorated to look like an African...

Mike and the Bots try to make sense of Colossus and the Headhunters (1963) in which a man named Maciste tries to lead his people from a destroyed island to a land of other tribes. Meanwhile, Dr. Forester invents the world's cutest pet called Nummy Muffin Coocol Butter. Mike and the Bots are forced to take care of Nummy despite Frank wanting to keep him.

A weather tech's mind gets trapped in a computer and Pearl establishes her own public television pledge program.

A schmuck has to correct changes to the future by fixing them in the past while Tom and Crow try to fix Mike's past into something more pleasant.

A hero on a quest to gather magical stones battles an evil sorcerer and learns the benefits of a potato diet in Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988). Tom and Crow put on a Renaissance Fair for Mike and Crow reads a trashy romance novel to Pearl.

Pearl and Bobo plot their escape from the Observers' planet while the SOL crew is subjected to a dark, dreary tale of hypnotism, murder, and chesty amphibians.

The stars of Mystery Science Theater give their comedic riffing treatment to this Blaxploitation classic. The Guy from Harlem trades most of the sleaze, grime, and, well, exploitation that you expect from the genre for dopiness, sexual situations that fail to lead to actual sex, a clumsy confused sweetness, and more botched lines per minute than anything we've ever seen.

The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 bring their comedic riffing treatment to this horror classic about a dead little girl who has an evil clown doll that commands her to kill. That's all well and good. But it's the little things about Ghosthouse that really make you stand up and say "Wait, what?"

The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 bring their comedic riffing treatment to this action classic! David Carradine in Future Force is what you'd get if Arnold substituted creatine with frosting and Stallone started cutting his own hair. As John Tucker, he's the only member of the C.O.P.S. (Civilian Operated Police Incorporated) (That's not a joke) who's interested in standing up to corruption. Fortunately, he's got an incredible weapon at his...

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the series, see four never-before-released episodes and two long-out-of-print episodes that marked the seismic transition that occurred when Joel passed the torch on to Mike.