Attack of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
1 min
Attack of the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" Quiz
Image: Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images

About This Quiz

What do you get when you make an astronaut and his robot pals watch some of the worst movies ever made? Comedy gold, that's what. Our quiz is all about "Mystery Science Theater 3000," the TV show of choice for cinema cultists. Now brace yourselves, folks: We've got movie sign!
Before it went national, "Mystery Science Theater 3000"— or "MST3K" for short — originally premiered on which of these midwestern TV stations?
KVFD-TV (Now Defunct) in Fort Dodge, Iowa
WISC-TV in Madison, Wisconsin
KTMA-TV (Now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Later episodes were created for the Comedy Channel, Comedy Central, the Sci-Fi Channel and (beginning in 2017) Netflix.

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Fill In the Blank: Tom Servo evolved from a character named ____________.
Beeper
Little Beeper was a nonverbal machine from the pilot episode who communicated with beeping noises. Servo's a definite improvement.
Squeaker
Slammer

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What sort of animal is Gamera, a Japanese monster whose movies were regularly trashed on Mystery Science Theater?
a giant turtle
Who's up for turtle soup? MST3K riffed five Gamera flicks in its early seasons, drawing the ire of their American distributor, Sandy Frank.
a deadly mantis
a killer shrew

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Beloved by MST3K fans, the 1966 "horror" flick "Manos: The Hands of Fate" was directed by Harold P. Warren, a Texas salesman. What did he used to sell?
tractors
propane and propane accessories
fertilizer
Yup. Warren, who had no prior moviemaking experience, was a fertilizer salesman by trade.

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Name the movie that inspired Joel and the 'bots to break out singing, "He tried to kill me with a forklift!"
"Laserblast" (1978)
"Fugitive Alien" (1986)
One of the most popular running gags in series history, their "forklift" song was set to this film's bombastic theme music.
"Teenagers From Outer Space" (1959)

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True or False: "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" (1996) is shorter than the film it parodies.
true
"This Island Earth" (1955) is the featured film in "MST3k: The Movie." The former originally had an 87-minute runtime, but the latter is just 73 minutes long. The movie was trimmed to allow time for the "host segments."
false

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"Glee" fans are known as "Gleeks," but what do "Mystery Science Theater" diehards call themselves?
Crow-magnons
MSTies
One notable MSTie is former Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith, who made a guest appearance in the "Mole People" episode.
Riffheads

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Clint Eastwood, yes *that* Clint Eastwood, made his film debut in what pulp sci-fi movie (that "Mystery Science Theater" later spoofed)?
"It Conquered the World" (1956)
"The Black Scorpion" (1957)
"Revenge of the Creature" (1955)
On seeing Eastwood in "Revenge," Crow T. Robot said, "This guy's bad. This is his first and last movie."

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How is Pearl Forrester related to Dr. Clayton Forrester, the show's original villain?
She's his mother.
Played by Mary Jo Pehl, Pearl made her first appearance in the season six episode "Bloodlust!" She later became the main antagonist of the series.
She's his niece.
They're clones.

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Actor Miles O'Keefe personally contacted the "Mystery Science Theater" team after they made fun of him in which classic episode?
"Pod People" (1983)
"Space Mutiny" (1988)
"Cave Dwellers" (1982)
O'Keeffe plays "Ator" in this "Conan: The Barbarian" knockoff. Reportedly, he loved the MST3K version and called the writers to tell them so.

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You Got:
/10
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images