Season K

Season K [1988-89]
KTMA (now WUCW) - Minneapolis, Minnesota

MST3K Index || Season 1 >
The first season of MST3K was presented as a local TV show broadcast out of KTMA in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Due to public interest, it was picked up by the Comedy Channel and broadcast nationally the next year. The first year of these nationally broadcast episodes is officially recognized as Season 1. The episodes presented on this page were the ones that were broadcast for local television in Minneapolis and collectively are known as Season K for KTMA. It is also quite often referred to as Season 0.

The quality of these episodes are pretty bad, in many cases. Keep in mind that most came from VHS tapes that viewers recorded and there weren't a lot of viewers recording them at the time. In fact, old copies of the first couple episodes were just discovered in late 2016. Fortunately, they were found on master tapes so their quality is excellent.
K01 - Invaders from the Deep [1981]

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When aquatic aliens plot to take over the planet, the World Aquanaut Security Patrol are called into battle. This movie is comprised of 4 episodes of "Stingray" compiled together.

This was a lost episode until 2016 when a master tape of this episode, and the next, were found.

K02 - Revenge of the Mysterons From Mars [1981]

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Captain Scarlet and friends battle the Mysterons from Mars.

Another lost episode found in 2016. This episode features Josh Weinstein's first appearance as Tom Servo and Trace Beaulieu takes over as Crow.

K03 - Star Force: Fugitive Alien II [1987]

In this second film compiled from two episodes of a Japanese TV serial, Captain Joe, reformed interstellar marauder Ken and the rest of the crew of the Backus-3 set off to destroy an alien race's super-weapon, face off with Ken's vengeful ex-lover Rita and confront the sinister leader of the marauding Star Wolves.

This is the lost episode of MST3K. As of this writing, no one has ever stepped forward with a VHS copy of this episode. It's speculated there's a master copy somewhere but no one knows where.

This episode was reprised for national TV as episode 0318.

K04 - Gamera vs. Barugon [1966]

A giant monster, accidently hatched from an ancient egg found in a cave on a remote island, that emits a destructive ray from its back, attacks Japan and takes on Gamera.

Until late 2016 (when episodes K01 & K02 were discovered), this was the earliest full KTMA episode that had been "found" by fans.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0304

K05 - Gamera [1965]
aka Daikaiju Gamera

From out of the arctic comes a gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle that sets its sights on destroying Tokyo.

The only episode in which Joel sits in the theater by himself throughout the film.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0302

K06 - Gamera vs. Gaos [1967]
aka Gamera vs. Gyaos

A gigantic bat emerges from a volcano to terrorize Japan and only one thing can stop it...Gamera!

Tom Servo loves the sound of his new voice and the running joke of, "This is Tom Servo announcing", lasts over the next couple episodes. Crow is absent ...again.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0308

K07 - Gamera vs. Zigra [1971]
aka Gamera tai Shinkai kaiju Jigura

Space aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark and intend to take over the planet but they must first destroy Gamera.

Features Trace Beaulieu's first speaking appearance as Dr. Clayton Forrester and Josh Weinstein's first speaking appearance as Dr. Laurence Erhardt.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0316

K08 - Gamera vs. Guiron [1969]

Alien babes kidnap two children, with a bait ship, and take them to another planet to suck knowledge from their brains, but Gamera follows and does battle with the knife headed monster Guiron.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0312

K09 - Phase IV [1974]

Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the desert inhabitants. It's up to two scientists and a stray girl they rescue from the ants to destroy them. But the ants have other ideas.

When this episode first aired, a local Pizza 'N' Pasta commercial featuring Trace Beaulieu and Josh Weinstein in character as the Mads, was shown.

K10 - Cosmic Princess [1982]

Space: 1999, Season 2 episodes, The Metamorph and Space Warp were edited together to create this movie about the adrift-in-space crew of Moonbase Alpha that meets shape-shifting alien Maya and her father who wants their brains and how a space warp turns Maya into a repulsive monster.

K11 - Humanoid Woman [1981]
aka To the Stars by Hard Ways

A female creature created in space tries to live on earth and has special (and sometimes dangerous) powers.

This 1981 Russian film (that Joel and the bots keep refering to as Czechoslovakian) won the USSR State Prize and it is rather fascinating to watch ...even though this heavily edited U.S. version makes little sense.

K12 - Fugitive Alien [1987]

An alien is pursued as a traitor by his own race because he refuses to kill humans.

The film was compiled from episodes of a Japanese sci-fi series based on Star Wolf. Crow does not appear in the theater in this episode.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0310

K13 - SST: Death Flight [1977]

On its maiden flight, the crew of America's first supersonic transport learns that it may not be able to land due to an act of sabotage and a deadly flu on-board.

A jump cut between two scenes in the movie, it looks like they stopped tape and then restarted it, causes Servo to suddenly fall off his chair and Joel says "Whoa! Turbulence!" Riffing film defects became quite common after that.

K14 - Mighty Jack [1968]

Espionage team "Mighty Jack", headquartered on a flying submarine, opposes the plans of Q, which is trying to take over the world using... um... ice that doesn't melt.

There's a lot more footage in this version than the one used in Season 3 ...which helps to make sense of it all ...as if that were important.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0314

K15 - Superdome [1978]

It's Superbowl time. And, besides all the personal drama going on that day, there's a real drama involving a killer running around. It seems that the syndicate doesn't want the highly favored Cougars to win. So, the team's manager has to try and find out who the killer is, before he does some real damage.

Even though the film is centered around the Super Bowl, there is very little football coverage. The final host segment was lost until found by a Teresa Dietzinger on an old VHS tape in 2004.

K16 - City on Fire [1979]

A pyromaniac, ex-employee of a city oil refinery creates an explosion at the facility which starts a chain-reaction of fires that engulfs the entire city.

Couple moments to look forward to in the theater. Crow sneezes. Joel and Servo try talking over each other and Crow says, "Hey, we're beginning to annoy ourselves! Cool!"

K17 - Time of the Apes [1987]

Three bumbling morons accidentally stumble into a cryogenic freezer and end up in the future, where monkeys populate the Earth.

Joel was out-of-town when this episode was filmed so Crow and Servo watch the movie without him.

This is reprised for a national audience as episode 0306

K18 - The Million Eyes of Sumuru [1967]

Sumuru is a beautiful but evil woman who plans world domination by having her sexy all-female army eliminate male leaders and replace them with her female agents.

Servo only watches the first half of the movie, opting instead to "bake brownies for the Pinewood Derby."

This episode was reprised in Season 13 as episode 1309

K19 - Hangar 18 [1980]

Shortly after the launch of a satellite from a space shuttle the satellite collides with an UFO in front of the crew's eyes. Because of an election campaign some politicians try to hide the crashed UFO -- inside hangar 18.

This version of Hangar 18 has the happy alternate ending from the original, in which everyone dies.

K20 - The Last Chase [1981]

It is the future. Evil fascists have forced everyone to recycle and drive electric cars, and have oppressed all those poor people who want to drive Ferraris, smoke cigarettes or eat at McDonald's. Hero Franklyn Hart, an ex-racing car driver, decides to make a statement by pulling out his old race car and driving cross-country at one hundred fifty miles per hour ...with no windshield.

K21 - Legend of the Dinosaurs [1977]
aka Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds

A Japanese village is menaced by a plesiosaur from the depths of the sea. Meanwhile, deep in a cave of ice, a prehistoric egg begins to hatch. The plesiosaur and the mystery creature hatching from the egg seem destined to clash.

An editing error caused host segments 1 and 3 to get flipped in the sequence. They were really starting to figure out how they should riff films and this one is as good as episodes in Season 1. In fact, Joel makes a riff mistake that gets all 3 of them to laughing before he can correct himself.

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