Mystery Science Theater 3000 Video Releases
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American TV show which aired between 1988 and 1999. This page summarizes video tape and DVD releases of episodes of the show. Episodes were initially released by Rhino Entertainment, with the rights later being purchased by Shout! Factory. Releases usually consist of boxsets of 4 episodes, although early releases consisted of just single episodes.
Episodes are not released in chronological order. This is because releasing the episodes on home video can be very difficult due to rights issues involved in licensing the movies featured within the episodes. As a result, long negotiations are involved, and some episodes are not able to be released on home video. According to Shout! Factory, releases are prevented because either the rightsholder or rightsholders will refuse to license the movie (one example is Susan Hart), will license the movie but will not allow the MST3K version to be released because of the mockery of the films (one example was Kadokawa Pictures), or will license the movie and allow them to release the MST3K version, but will charge more money than the distributor can afford to pay them. Some movies can be expensive to clear for release because the rights owner increased the cost of the movie rights due to the exposure that MST3K has given them. Because of these issues, it has been announced that the only way for those certain episodes to be released is if the rights transfer hands to someone who will definitely license the material and allow any version of the film to be released, and will only want a little cash in return. Any movies featured in the episodes that are public domain will not have to be cleared, and can instantly be released without any trouble.
Read more about Mystery Science Theater 3000 Video Releases: VHS Releases, Other Official Releases
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