Best Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episodes
The brainchild of comedian Joel Hodgson, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K for short) is based around a simple premise; three friends, watching cheesy movies, and making fun of them. However, the show has a science-fiction metaplot built around this idea, with various mad scientists trying to take over the world utilizing said cheesy movies.
Dr. Clayton Forrester plots to weaponize them, while selling the videos of his test subjects to basic cable to finance his work. Years later, his daughter, Kinga Forrester, seeks fame on social media with a nostalgia-fueled streaming revival of her father’s work. Despite this setup, the show never sweats its own continuity or concept. Indeed, the theme song advises viewers to repeat to themselves “It’s just a show; I should really just relax.” The end result is a demented show filled with satiric sarcasm, plentiful puppetry, and shlock cinema.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 has a long association with Thanksgiving. It first premiered as a local creature-feature show in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thanksgiving Day 1988. Later, after being picked up by Comedy Central, it was the subject of annual Thanksgiving “Turkey Day Marathons” throughout the 1990s. The tradition migrated on-line in 2013, with Shout Factory streaming a Turkey Day Marathon every Thanksgiving Day since. The 2025 Marathon will be a special event, as it will be the first to feature those Season 11 and Season 12 episodes first aired on Netflix.
Best Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episodes as of November 2025
With 13 seasons so far, a cinematic adaptation, and over 200 episodes, there’s a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the newbie to examine. Thankfully, with the exception of Season 8, it’s possible to start watching with any MST3K episode. However, there are certain episodes which MSTies agree are the best for introducing new fans to the show. The following list offers a sampling of such episodes from across the cult classic series’ long run.
I Accused My Parents (Episode 507)
Most episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 feature fantasy, sci-fi, or horror movies. However, the 1944 exploitation film I Accuse My Parents is a notable exception. It is also a favorite episode of many members of the MST3K creative team, including Joel Hodgson.
The movie opens with teenage shoe salesman Jimmy Wilson on trial for murder. When asked to defend himself, all he can say is “I accuse my parents.” What follows is a sob story that paints Jimmy as the most charmed idiot this side of Forrest Gump. He allegedly falls into a life of crime because his mother humiliated him by showing up drunk to a school assembly. His father was little better, offering Jimmy money in place of time and attention.
I Accuse My Parents is a ridiculous movie on many levels and Mystery Science Theater 3000 mocks it on every one of those levels. The fact that Jimmy looks closer to 30 than 20. The endless moralizing that takes itself way too seriously. And the fact that, as Crow bluntly puts it while trying to make sense of the plot, “Jimmy may be kinda stupid.” The episode also includes a short about the importance of truck farming to American life. This ends with the crew ironically encouraging viewers to “worship the Truck Farmer at the church of your choice!”
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (Episode 822)
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 8 was something of an odd duck. The first season after the show moved from Comedy Central to The Sci-Fi Channel, it was also the only classic season to require watching the episodes in a certain order. This proved to be a problem years later, when some of the films featured on the show couldn’t be relicensed. Thankfully, the season finale, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, stands on its own.
Produced for PBS in 1984, Overdrawn at the Memory Bank stars Raul Julia as computer programmer Aram Fingal. He is sentenced to a mandatory therapy vacation after watching old movies on company time. Said therapy involves his mind being projected (or “doppelled”) into a baboon, during which time is body is misplaced. The good news is the technicians are able to temporarily place his mind inside their corporation’s mainframe. The bad news is the easily bored Fingal starts accidentally threatening the real world from cyberspace.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank doesn’t have a bad concept, but it fights both a low budget and a script full of technobabble, The skits of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode lean into this, with the mad scientists hosting a PBS-style pledge drive as the episode unfolds. The closing credits also feature one of the show’s best skits, as exasperated host Mike Nelson calls an Overdrawn at the Memory Bank support line to complain about the movie’s poor quality.
Cry Wilderness (Episode 1102)
When Mystery Science Theater 3000 was revived through crowd-funding in 2015, the show’s crew knew they would have to open with their A-game. The Season 11 premiere, Reptilicus, was a solid hit right out of the gate. However, it was the second episode, Cry Wilderness, which many feel proved that MST3K had truly returned in fine form.
The plot of Cry Wilderness is ridiculous, even by the standards of 1980’s kids movies. It centers around a boy named Paul, who runs away from his boarding school after Bigfoot warns him that Paul’s forest ranger father is in trouble. From there, the story goes on to involve a big game hunter, an escaped circus tiger, and the ghost of a Native American elder.
Apart from the nonsensical story, Cry Wilderness has a number of technical issues. The most notorious of these is the actors clearly not being given any firearm safety instruction. This sets up one of the best running gags in Mystery Science Theater 3000 history, as host Jonah Ray and the rest of the crew yell “BANG!” anytime a rifle is mishandled.
Beyond Atlantis (Episode 1303)
The character of Emily Connor was first introduced as a robot wrangler during the 2019 Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live tour. However, she was brought into the show during Season 13, after the mad scientists (Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt) decided a second host might prove profitable. Beyond Atlantis was Emily’s trial by fire, but it was the movie got burned by her and her robot friends.
In terms of plot, Beyond Atlantis is a science-fiction rehash of The Treasure of Sierra Madre. In this case, the gold mine is replaced with an island full of pearls populated by amphibious bug-eyed mutants. The plot finds the greedy “heroes” trying to grab what they can, as the mutant chief tries to find a mate for his daughter, Syrene.
Beyond Atlantis was a box-office bomb, largely because it strived to be family friendly despite its roots in exploitation cinema. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode based around it, however, was a hit with fans of the show. It immediately earned new host Emily Marsh a place in the hearts of MSTies everywhere alongside the show’s other hosts.
Pod People (Episode 303)
The movie known to Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans as Pod People was originally intended to be a straight-forward horror movie about a killer alien. However, the success of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial prompted its producers to push for a subplot involving a cute child actor. Dr. Forrester sums up the convoluted result best in his introduction. “It has nothing to do with pods; it has nothing to do with people. It has everything to do with hurting!”
The story of Pod People bounces around between three groups in what are functionally three different short films. In Movie A, a team of poachers run afoul of an alien monster in the woods. Movie B centers around a rock band going on a camping trip in the same woods. The third subplot centers around an aspiring boy scientist, who finds one of the alien’s eggs. Eventually, the stories merge, with the survivors fighting against the enraged alien mother.
Pod People is widely viewed as one of the best introductory episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The story is nonsensical, but the movie is rarely dull, and the design of the baby alien “Trumpy” is memorable. It is also notable for the closing skit, the original song “Clown in the Sky,” and for starting the show’s running gag of saying “It stinks!” after making the OK sign.
How we picked the best Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes
Three criteria were considered in assembling this list of the best Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes. First, whether the episode serves as a good introduction to the series. Next, whether it is currently available for streaming through YouTube or the Gizmoplex app. Finally, an effort was made to pick one great episode for each of MST3K’s four hosts, with one overall “best” introductory episode.
Source: Comingsoon.net