Thanks to @GlitchyParadox for the catch.
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Well, this came out of the blue:
Retro TV Adds Cult Classic Mystery Science Theater 3000
Chattanooga, Tenn. (March 25, 2014) – Luken Communications is proud to announce the long-awaited return of Mystery Science Theater 3000 to television on Retro TV.
A cult favorite since its inception in 1988 as a cable-access show, Mystery Science Theater 3000 follows a man (played first by series creator Joel Hodgson, then head writer Mike Nelson) forced by a mad scientist to watch the most terrible movies ever produced. To stay sane, he and his robot sidekicks (Tom Servo, voiced by Kevin Murphy and Crow T. Robot, voiced by Trace Beaulieu) provide a hilarious running commentary making fun of the film.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ran for 11 years, spawned a feature film, won a Peabody Award, was nominated for two Emmy Awards (for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program), was nominated for a CableACE Award, and was recently named the #4 Best Cult TV Show Ever by Entertainment Weekly.
Matthew Golden, Luken’s Vice President of Production, said “We are absolutely thrilled to return Mystery Science Theater 3000 to the airwaves. With its marriage of sharp humor and vintage films, MST3k is tailor-made for Retro TV, and our audience will fall in love with it all over again.”
Mystery Science Theater 3000 will make its Retro TV debut in the “not-too-distant future”: Saturday, July 5th, 2014.
Luken Communications is a Chattanooga, TN-based broadcast group with networks including Retro TV, The Heartland Network, The Family Channel, PBJ, Frost Great Outdoors and TUFF TV. Luken Communications offers diverse, family-friendly programming on its networks reaching approximately 80 percent of all U.S. households via a blend of over-the-air, cable and satellite television. For more information about Retro TV, please visit www.WatchRetroTV.com or www.facebook.com/WatchRetroTV.
I spoke with Mr. Golden and he says they have the rights to 26 episodes:
103- The Mad Monster
105- The Corpse Vanishes
211- First Spaceship On Venus
320- The Unearthly
323- The Castle of Fu Manchu
402- The Giant Gila Monster
409- The Indestructible Man
412- Hercules And The Captive Women
419- The Rebel Set
424- Manos: The Hands of Fate
507- I Accuse My Parents
511- Gunslinger
517- Beginning of the End
518- The Atomic Brain
610- The Violent Years
616- Racket Girls
619- Red Zone Cuba
701- Night Of The Blood Beast
812- The Incredibly Strange Creatures…
820- Space Mutiny
821- Time Chasers
822- Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
908- The Touch of Satan
1002- Girl in Gold Boots
1003- Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders
1009- Hamlet
What is RetroTV? It’s one of those networks that sprang up after local TV affiliates were all required to go digital. It runs over-the-air on local affiliates’ digital sub-channels and low-power stations.
A list of their affiliates is here.
What a week, huh?
