Mystery Science Theater 3000 premieres on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1988. The influential comedy series combines a kid’s show with late-night horror hosting to riff non-stop on horror, sci-fi, fantasy and action B-movies. It develops a large and devoted cult following and later has national runs on Comedy Central, the Sci Fi Channel, and Netflix, as well as syndication. It has currently produced more than 200 episodes and a feature film, live performances, a limited comic book series and animated web series, as well as spin-offs RiffTrax and Cinematic Titanic. MST3K has won a Peabody Award and been nominated for multiple Emmy, Saturn, and CableACE awards. The show is on several ‘best’ lists, including Time Magazine’s “100 Best TV Shows of All-Time,” TV Guide’s “25 Top Cult Shows Ever!” and Entertainment Weekly’s “25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Last 25 Years.”
This Day in Halloween: Influential classic TV series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" premieres on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1988. / Illustration by Whitney McGaw