Loads of ‘MST3K’ Gear Available Now and Coming Soon

May 24, 2017

If you’re celebrating the return of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix, as I obviously am, you might want to proudly fly your “MiSTie” flag with some of the cool gear now available through a variety of companies. There’s a sweet, sweet selection of swag such as t-shirts, mugs, trading cards and more! Loads more goodies, licensed through Shout! Factory – who already release past seasons and episodes of MST3K, will be arriving over the upcoming months in retail outlets and online stores as well.

Here’s an announcement from the folks at Shout! Factory:

Following its record-breaking #BringBackMST3K Kickstarter campaign, a new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) launched on April 14, 2017, as a Netflix Original Series. The critically acclaimed show has earned a rating of 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with The New York Times hailing, “At last, a revival of something actually worth reviving… a different cast but the same outlook and style — and mercifully, the same reliable, giddy humor.”

Now, fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 can purchase official fan gear to showcase their allegiance to the Satellite of Love and crew, as an assortment of mugs, T-shirts, blankets, pins and trading cards from Changes, Zen Monkey, Just Funky, and RR Parks come to market.

More items will be rolling out this summer through the 4^th quarter, with new products coming from Dark Horse (serialized comics, graphic novels, coffee-table book and gift items), FUNKO (vinyl figures, and FUNKO-POP figures), Just Funky (collectible items), and Great Eastern (buttons, patches, stickers, pins, gifts and novelties).

The licensing program is helmed by Elie Dekel, of Dekel Brands. Brand Licensing Operations are being handled by Evolution Management.

MST3K and its licensees will be working with specialty retailers to deliver the new merchandise to retailers and e-commerce stores.

On the heels of mass adulation from fans and press, Joel Hodgson, creator of the show and its new host Jonah Heston (Jonah Ray) have announced that they are embarking on the first live touring production of “MST3K” with the just-announced “Watch Out for Snakes!” Tour. The North American tour launches July 6^th and runs through August. Tickets are on sale now. Appearing with Joel and Jonah live on stage will be robot companions Crow, Tom Servo and Gypsy, along with Synthia (Rebecca Hanson) and her Bonehead henchmen. Of course, it wouldn’t be “MST3K” without the ever-present surveillance of the Mads, Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day) and TV’s Son of TV’s Frank (Patton Oswalt), checking up on their unwilling test subjects via a video screen.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 follows the motley crew of a human host and his two robot sidekicks aboard the Satellite of Love. The hapless host, trapped by mad scientists on a satellite in space, is forced to watch some of the most outrageously unfortunate B-movies ever created. To keep sane, he’s built two robot sidekicks, and together they do a running commentary on the films, affectionately mocking their flaws with inspired wisecracks and acting as a demented movie theater peanut gallery.

Created by Joel Hodgson, Mystery Science Theater 3000’s first season aired on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis. Its national broadcast life began in 1989 on the Comedy Channel (later to become Comedy Central), where it ran for seven seasons. The show’s final three seasons aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. Series creator Hodgson originally played stranded host, Joel Robinson. When he left in 1993, series head writer Mike Nelson replaced him as the new B-movie victim, and continued in the role for the rest of the show’s run. The format proved to be popular, and during its eleven years and 198 episodes (including one feature film), Mystery Science Theater 3000 attained a loyal fan base and critical acclaim. The series won a Peabody Award in 1993, and was nominated for writing Emmys® in 1994 and 1995.

In 2008, Shout! Factory secured the exclusive worldwide home entertainment and digital distribution rights to Mystery Science Theater 3000 branded properties, which include a large library of original episodes that have never been available on home entertainment or for digital download.

In late 2015, Shout! Factory and creator Joel Hodgson, formed a new partnership, known as Satellite of Love, LLC, to acquire the global IP rights to MST3K with the aim of producing new episodes, and managing and developing the IP in other areas. The highly successful Mystery Science Theater 3000 Kickstarter campaign, spearheaded by Shout! Factory and Hodgson, surpassed the goal of fully funding the production of 14 new episodes and set the world record as the highest-funded Film and TV crowdfunding campaign of all time.

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...