Lost Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episode Uploaded After 37 Years

Mystery Science Theater 3000 has 230 episodes and has hopped between KTMA, Comedy Central, Sci‑Fi (now Syfy), and Netflix over nearly 40 years. The series’ focus on robots riffing on feature‑length B movies has made long‑term rights complicated, and some early episodes ended up without home release or backups.

On Friday, a YouTube channel belonging to "Arthur Putie" uploaded what is thought to be the long‑lost third‑ever episode. The 37‑year‑old recording shows a long‑haired Joel Hodgson and his robot friends mocking the 1987 Japanese space opera Star Force, apparently a surviving copy of a first‑season broadcast likely aired on local Minneapolis television before the show had a hardcore following.

MST3K has long encouraged fans to record and circulate tapes—the instructions often popped up during the credits—and while some of the best episodes reached VHS and DVD, licensing has been fickle.

mst3k, joel hodgson, star force, lost episode, youtube, arthur putie, minneapolis, ktma, fan recordings, licensing