Original Drawings that Joel Hodgson Used to Pitch MST3K

Sketches from Joel Hodgson’s notebook used to pitch Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Mallon: Joel had three or four drawings on a yellow pad, and he said, “You know how they have these hosted movies? How about instead of having the host at the commercial breaks, we have the host be in the movie?”

Hodgson: It was an idea I’d had tucked away in the back of my mind since high school: On Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, there are illustrations in the liner notes. And for the song “I’ve Seen That Movie Too,” it’s got little silhouettes watching a movie. I remember going, “Someone should do a show like that. Run a movie and have these people in silhouettes say stuff.”

– Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece, Wired

“Detail of drawing, highlighted: the multiple doors behind the set, (Left) and also the split in the set: MOVIE SIGN!” – Joel