Season 12

Season 12 is the twelfth national season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (thirteenth overall). It is the second season released via Netflix and debuted on November 22, 2018^[1]. It was released with the subtitle of The Gauntlet^[2]. This is a reference to Kinga Forrester's plan to force Jonah Heston and the Bots to watch six movies back-to-back (itself a reference to Netflix's focus on binge-watching).

The events of Experiment #1201 seem to take place shortly after the end of Season 11, and the final host segment of Experiment #1206 would appear to be leading into the 30th Anniversary Tour.

The season consists of six episodes, making it tied with Season 7 as the shortest season of MST3K (though Season 7 had two versions of Experiment #701). It's debut on Thanksgiving Day forced Turkey Day '18 to air a week earlier, the first Thanksgiving marathon to not air on Thanksgiving.

A common theme regarding the films selected for The Gauntlet is their being attempts to cash in on the success or publicity of other films, with varying degrees of brazenness. Mac and Me is notorious for its imitation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Atlantic Rim is a rush-to-market capitalization on Pacific Rim. Lords of the Deep is one of many science fiction/horror films set underwater released in 1989. The Day Time Ended has frequently been referred to as a low budget reworking of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Killer Fish is one of many to follow the path of Jaws. Finally, Ator, the Fighting Eagle rode on the coattails of Conan the Barbarian.

Season debuts:

• Deanna Rooney as Dr. Donna St. Phibes

References