TV (Sorta): The MST3K Amazing Colossal Episode Guide

One of my favorite shows is "Mystery Science Theater 3000," but this post isn't about the show. You can find a lot of fawning tributes all over the Web, including YouTube. This post is about MST3K's episode guide, a book published in 1996.

Episode guides for TV shows are pretty commonplace. Most of the time, they're just relentless cash-ins on a popular show, as the MST3K episode guide itself acknowledges:

"No, [this book is] not like those other episode guides, chunked and formed out of vague rumors and scant observation by some no-talent stringer from In Style magazine looking to make a fast buck. No, my friends, this is no after-market quickie, with six words per page and stupid photos of Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey braying like jackasses."

- From the MST3K episode guide prologue

Instead, we get fairly tongue-in-cheek synopses of all the wretched movies that were featured, as well as behind-the-scenes info and humorous editorials that are sometimes sidesplitting. Ironically, I think the episode guide may actually be funnier than the show itself, which is either an incredible compliment or a huge putdown - or both.