The MST3K Turkey Day Marathon Returns

For many, a Thanksgiving tradition in the 1990s was the annual “Turkey Day” marathon of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes on Comedy Central. And while it has been fourteen years since the last episode of the series has been shot, the tradition will be returning online along with the show’s original host Joel Hogdson.

SHout Factory, the folks behind the DVD releases of the series, are the ones who are presenting this year’s Turkey Day Marathon, but it won’t be on any cable outlet. Instead, they will have it streaming online at MST3KTurkeyDay.com. The six hour event will begin at noon Eastern.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Hodgson will be featured in new host segments between the streaming of six films that he will pick based on suggestions sent to him by fans on twitter. As he told the magazine/website –

When I started doing Cinematic Titanic six years ago and we started doing live shows, that’s when I really met these people who love Mystery Science Theater. I’d hear all these stories about Turkey Day. People would say, ‘Yeah, we still watch Mystery Science Theater on Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition, like the Lions playing.’ I was kind of amazed that it was in people’s lives like that.

And Hodgson will not be just limiting himself to the episodes that he originally hosted on the show, but will be screening some of the episodes that feature his replacement, Mike Nelson.

It’s really been interesting, and I really loved getting to go back and look at these shows, especially the Mike/Kevin (Murphy)/Bill (Corbett) episodes, which I’m not as familiar with. They’ve been extra funny because I don’t know any of the jokes. That’s been a really cool thing.

Isn’t it nice to see some traditions that are worth keeping up?

And while we’re waiting for this year’s Turkey Day marathon, here’s a look back at a few past marathons.