Joel Gordon Hodgson is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating Mystery Science Theater 3000 and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007 MST3K was listed as "one of the top 100 television shows of all time" by Time.com. ...
I'm like everybody else - when I'm in a movie theater, I'm relaxing and hoping for what everybody hopes for when they watch a movie: that it'll take you into it. I compare it to a magic show. A really good magic show is amazing, but a bad magic show is even better.
2
If you take a deal in Hollywood now, you pretty much have to take notes. If we went to someone for the money to make six or eight or 12 shows, they would go "Okay, but we really have some strong opinions on how you need to do it." And "Mystery Science Theater" was really rare in that the Comedy Channel [which was later redubbed Comedy Central] was so busy getting a network going that they really didn't give us notes. After being in Hollywood for ten years, I said to myself, "This is really screwing me up. Right or wrong, I'm kind of used to doing these autonomous shows. 'Mystery Science Theater' was an autonomous show, so maybe we should just do that again." The only way to do that was to just pay for it ourselves.
3
Mystery Science Theater still sells. I still get a royalty from it.
Sometimes I go into my own little world...but that's okay, they know me there.
6
Being an oddity doesn't bother me, as long as I'm a thought provoking one.
7
By day, I'm a clever comic magician, by night...Agent J.
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Fact
1
Working on The Jimmy Kimmel Show [January 2003]
2
Supervising Producer of "Everything You Need to Know" [March 2006]
3
Friend of Jerry Seinfeld & co-writer of Seinfeld's "Stand Up Confidential" video.
4
Wears glasses, but did not wear them during the host segments of Mystery Scinece Theater 3000 (1988). However, he did wear his glasses during the commentary segments, as can be seen when his silhouette is caught at a profile angle, the outline of his glasses becomes visible.
5
During the first season of MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)), he went by his real name as the show's host. In the second season, he started using the surname 'Robinson'.
6
Many of the inventions featured in the MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)) Invention Exchange were props that he had personally built and used in his stand up comedy routines. When he left, the exchange was quickly discontinued since the inventions were usually of his devising.
7
Some fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)thought his character was a stoner because of his sleepy eyed demeanor. In truth, it was a holdover from the pilot, which he was exhausted while filming because he hadn't slept for four days.
8
When the Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988) theatrical film was being made, the studio wanted him to come back and do the film as a kind of origin story for the show, but he declined. Similarly, when he did a guest appearance on MST3K in the episode "Soultaker" he declined to do the running gag commentary because he hadn't taken part in writing it, much to the disappointment of fans who wanted to have him and second host Michael J. Nelson do a gag commentary together.
9
When he decided to leave Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), he chose the show's head writer, Michael J. Nelson, to replace him as the show's host based on his natural leadership skills, his skills in music and the fact that he looked good with the puppets.
10
Inventor of "Gizmonics Institute."
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Cinematic Titanic: Rattlers
2012
Cinematic Titanic: The Doll Squad
2012
Cinematic Titanic: The Astral Factor
2011
Cinematic Titanic: Danger on Tiki Island
2010
Cinematic Titanic: The Alien Factor
2010
Cinematic Titanic: East Meets Watts
2009
Video creator - writer
Cinematic Titanic: Blood of the Vampires
2009
Video creator
Cinematic Titanic: Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World
2009
Cinematic Titanic: Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks
2008
Video creator
Cinematic Titanic: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
2008
Video creator
Cinematic Titanic: Legacy of Blood
2008
Video
Cinematic Titanic: The Wasp Woman
2008
Video creator / written by
Cinematic Titanic: Doomsday Machine
2008
Video creator / written by
Cinematic Titanic: The Oozing Skull
2007
Video creator / written by
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
TV Series writer - 116 episodes
Mr. B's Lost Shorts
2001
Video
You Don't Know Jack
2001
TV Series
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Shorts Volume 2
1999
Video
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Shorts Volume 3
1999
Video
Mystery Science Theater 3000
TV Series creator - 189 episodes, 1988 - 1999 written by - 86 episodes, 1989 - 1993 writer - 21 episodes, 1988 - 1989 created by - 8 episodes, 1997 - 1998