Mystery Science Theater 3000/Season Zero

Season Zero
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Season Premiere	November 24, 1988
Season Finale	May 28, 1989
Episode Count	21 + unaired pilot
Previous N/A	Next Season One

Season Zero of Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on November 24, 1988 on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jim Mallon was the production manager at the station and needed to fill a two hour time slot on Sunday evenings. Mallon was friends with stand-up comedian Joel Hodgson and asked him to come up with a concept for a show. Two weeks later Joel returned with the concept of Mystery Science Theater 3000. A cast was assembled and included many people who had worked at KTMA previously. The show debuted on Thanksgiving at 6 and 8 p.m. and Hodgson received an initial order of 13 episodes with a budget of $250 for each one.

One major difference in the KTMA episodes is that the jokes in the theater segments were completely ad-libbed, which lead to many periods of silence and unfunny jokes. The movies that were used in Season Zero were also aired without obtaining the rights to do so. Several of the films used in Season Zero were reused in later seasons.

In the KTMA pilot, Joel told viewers that he had built the Satellite of Love himself and launched himself into space. He was joined by two robots, Crow and Beeper. Beeper was a robot that communicated only through beeping and his speech had to be translated to the viewers by the other characters. Once the show was picked up, Beeper was replaced by Tom Servo. The story was also changed. In the new story, Joel was shot up into space by his evil bosses at the Gizmonic Institute - Dr. Forrester and Dr. Laurence Erhardt.

Episodes

#	#	Title			Airdate
0	0	The Green Slime			unaired
1	1	Invaders from the Deep			November 24, 1988
2	2	Revenge of the Mysterians			November 24, 1988
3	3	Star Force: Fugitive Alien II			November 27, 1988
4	4	Gamera vs. Barugon			December 4, 1988
5	5	Gamera			December 11, 1988
6	6	Gamera vs. Gaos			December 18, 1988
7	7	Gamera vs. Zigra			December 31, 1988
8	8	Gamera vs. Guiron			January 8, 1989
9	9	Phase IV			January 15, 1989
10	10	Cosmic Princess			January 22, 1989
11	11	Humanoid Woman			January 29, 1989
12	12	Fugitive Alien			February 5, 1989
13	13	SST Death Flight			February 19, 1989
14	14	Mighty Jack			March 5, 1989
15	15	Superdome			March 12, 1989
16	16	City on Fire			March 19, 1989
17	17	Time of the Apes			April 2, 1989
18	18	The Million Eyes of Su-Muru			May 7, 1989
19	19	Hangar 18			May 14, 1989
20	20	The Last Chase			May 21, 1989
21	21	Legend of the Dinosaur			May 28, 1989