From the “Two-week-old news we missed because it was being communicated via digital substation of a local affiliate” file: Reruns of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are coming to Retro TV this summer, ending the show’s decade-long absence from the airwaves. According to Satellite News, Retro TV has acquired the rights to 26 episodes of the movie-riffing cult classic, largely public domain titles like Manos: The Hands Of Fate, The Giant Gila Monster, and The Girl In Gold Boots. It’s a familiar scenario to fans who hung on through the program’s final days on Comedy Central and Syfy, when movie rights regularly lapsed and the lumpen mug of Coleman Francis became a familiar sight to night owls and early-rising weekenders. But hey: Both eras of the show’s cable run will finally air side by side, with a lineup that includes the one-two season-eight punch of Space Mutiny and Overdrawn At The Memory Bank.
In another charming throwback, this time to the day’s early days, finding MST3K on your TV won’t be easy. MSTies in the show’s native Minneapolis (or Chicago grumble grumble), for instance, don’t currently have access to the new broadcast home of Mike, Joel, and the bots. So the good news is you don’t have to make fun of the movies all by yourself anymore. (The cardboard Shadowrama cutouts in your basement will thank you.) The bad news is MST3K’s nearly 200 episodes remain most easily accessible on the Internet, not your TV.