Editing Mystery Science Theater 3000 (section)

===KTMA era (1988–1989)===
[[File:Cinematic-Titanic-2011-09-24-Cast.jpg|thumb|right|''MST3K'' cast and crew Pehl (left), Beaulieu, Hodgson, Weinstein, and Conniff, as part of the post-show project, ''[[Cinematic Titanic]]'' in 2011]]
Hodgson approached [[Jim Mallon]], at the time the production manager of KTMA, a low-budget local Minneapolis-area [[Independent station|independent television station]], with his idea of a show based on riffing on movies, using robots that were created out of common objects.<ref name="wired history"/> Mallon agreed to help produce a pilot episode, and Hodgson hired local area comedians [[J. Elvis Weinstein]] (initially going by Josh Weinstein but later changed to J. Elvis as to distinguish himself from [[Josh Weinstein]], a well-known writer for ''[[The Simpsons]]'')<ref name="time madness"/> and [[Trace Beaulieu]] to develop the pilot show.<ref name="wired history"/> By September 1988, Hodgson, Mallon, Weinstein, and Beaulieu shot a 30-minute pilot episode, using segments from the 1968 science-fiction film ''[[The Green Slime]]''.<ref name="wired history"/> The robots and the set were built by Hodgson in an all-nighter.<ref name="ign migizi"/> Joel watched the movie by himself, and was aided during the host segments by his robots, Crow (Beaulieu), Beeper, and Gypsy (Weinstein). Hodgson used the narrative that his character named "Joel Hodgson" (not yet using his character name of Robinson) had built the ''Satellite of Love'' and launched himself into space.<ref name="sn-faqbasics">{{cite web|url=https://www.starwars.com/community/news/rocks/f20071109/indexp3.html|title=A Guy Named AJ : Launching Cinematic Titanic|website=StarWars.com|access-date=2007-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202163038/http://starwars.com/community/news/rocks/f20071109/indexp3.html<!--Bot retrieved archive-->|archive-date=2007-12-02}}</ref> Camera work was by [[Kevin Murphy (actor)|Kevin Murphy]], who was employed by KTMA. Murphy also created the first doorway sequence and theater seat design. These initial episodes were recorded at the long since-defunct [[Paragon Cable]] studios and customer service center in [[Hopkins, Minnesota]]. On review, Hodgson found that of the robots, Beeper's design was not working well, and tried a quick modification by replacing its head with a toy gumball machine top, creating the basis of Tom Servo.<ref name="ign migizi"/>

Mallon met with KTMA station manager Donald O'Conner the next month and managed to get signed up for thirteen episodes. Show production was generally done on a 24-hour cycle, starting with Mallon offering a few films from KTMA's library for the writers to select from.<ref name="wired history"/> Riffing in these episodes was [[ad-lib]]bed during taping using notes made during preliminary viewings of the selected film. Episodes from this era are noted for their low number of riffs - in some instances 15 minutes of the movie could be shown before the cast made any comments.<ref name="time madness"/> The show had some slight alterations from the pilot — the set was lit differently, the robots (now Crow, Servo and Gypsy) joined Joel in the theater, and a new doorway countdown sequence between the host and theater segments was shot. The puppeteers worked personalities into their robots: Crow (Beaulieu) was considered a robotic [[Groucho Marx]], Tom Servo (Weinstein) as a "smarmy AM radio DJ", and Gypsy (Mallon) modeled after Mallon's mother who had a "heart of gold" but would become disoriented when confronted with a difficult task.<ref name="wired history"/> The development of the show's theme song would lead to establishing elements for the show's ongoing premise, with Hodgson now portraying himself as the character Joel Robinson.<ref name="art of the title"/>

''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' premiered on KTMA at 6:00&nbsp;p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1988, with its first episode, ''Invaders from the Deep'', followed by a second episode, ''Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars'' at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. The choice of running the premiere on Thanksgiving was by happenstance, as the station felt the show was ready to go at that point, according to Hodgson.<ref name="avclub turkey day"/> Initially, the show's response was unknown, until Mallon set up a phone line for viewers to call in.<ref name="wired history"/> Response was so great that the initial run of 13 episodes was extended to 21, with the show running to May 1989. Hodgson and Mallon negotiated to secure the rights for the show for themselves, creating [[Best Brains]], Inc., agreeing to split ownership of the idea equally.<ref name="wired history"/> During this time a fan club was set up and the show held its first live show at Scott Hansen's Comedy Gallery in Minneapolis, to a crowd of over 600.

Despite the show's success, the station's overall declining fortunes forced it to file for bankruptcy reorganization in July 1989.<ref name="paste 25eps"/> At the same time, [[HBO]] was looking to build a stable of shows for their upcoming [[The Comedy Channel (American TV channel)|Comedy Channel]] cable network. HBO approached Best Brains and requested a sample of their material.<ref name="wired history"/> Hodgson and Mallon provided a seven-minute demo reel, which led to the network greenlighting ''MST3K'' as one of the first two shows picked up by the new network. According to Art Bell, one of the creators of the Comedy Channel, ''MST3K''{{'}}s arrival helped the network to fill space that they had originally planned to use short clips of films and television shows that they could not license in time for launch.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://wtop.com/entertainment/2020/12/creator-of-comedy-central-pens-new-memoir-as-great-stocking-stuffer/ | title = Comedy Central creator pens memoir about launching 24/7 cable network | first = Jason | last = Fraley | date = December 9, 2020 | accessdate = April 30, 2023 | work = [[WTOP-FM|WTOP]] | archive-date = April 30, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230430160807/https://wtop.com/entertainment/2020/12/creator-of-comedy-central-pens-new-memoir-as-great-stocking-stuffer/ | url-status = live }}</ref>