MST3K Font References
Yes, I am the kind of nerd that likes fonts and the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The show is dense with all sorts of cultural references; here are some of the font and typography jokes illustrated and explained.
![]() |
The Crawling Hand (show 106)
Crow: Hey, Joel, did they do these titles on a typewriter? [The slab-serif font is more like typing than sans serif Helvetica. May be Rockwell.] |
||
![]() |
The Slime People (show 108)
Tom: Sorta looks like "I Dream of Jeannie" lettering. [It's Studio--sometimes with a wave effect--as also used on "Jeannie" and Girls Town. "Bionic Woman" used a different calligraphic font.] |
||
![]() |
Project Moon Base (show 109)
Crow: Jerome Pycha, Jr., cousin of Jerome Elite! Kind of a typist’s joke... [In typewriter days, you basically had Pica (10 characters per inch) and Elite (12 per inch) which were both fixed-width slab-serif fonts like Courier. Unrelated in style, the film's credit font has been recreated as my Project.] |
||
![]() |
Moon Zero Two (show 111)
Tom: Titles by Mrs Greevy's third grade. [Mod 60s cartoon lettering] |
||
![]() |
Rocket Attack U.S.A. (show 205)
Crow: Daniel Kern did the letters. [To kern is to adjust the spacing between certain pairs of letters, such as the AT and TA in the title.] |
||
![]() |
Gamera vs. Barugon (show 304)
Crow: Hey, it looks like a kid wrote this with a crayon. [Rough hand lettering; now available as a font] |
||
![]() |
Gamera vs. Gaos (show 308)
Joel: Did somebody write that with soap on a window or something? [Rough hand lettering; now available as a font] |
||
![]() |
The Castle of Fu Manchu (show 323)
Joel: Credits by Peter Max. [The curvy lettering may suggest the work of psychedelic Pop artist Peter Max, an odd choice for this film however.] |
||
![]() |
The Giant Gila Monster (show 402)
Tom: This kind of looks like "I Dream of Jeannie" Modified Intercept [?] font, doesn't it? [Crow is right. Besides the "Bewitched" TV credits, Dom Casual appears in The Killer Shrews, The Undead, and other MST3K movies, but "Jeannie" used Studio, see below] |
||
![]() |
Attack of the Giant Leeches (show 406)
Crow: Looks like an E. E. Cummings book cover. [All lowercase echoes Cummings' writing style, but the serif font is not typing. Looks more like Trooper Roman or even my Columbia Stamp.] |
||
![]() |
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (show 505)
Tom: This is the credits from "I Dream of Jeannie." [Jeannie's Studio again and the sky background makes it really look like Jeannie's crew |
||
![]() |
Beginning of the End (show 517)
Tom: This is like "Beginning of the End" Bold Condensed font here, huh? [Much of the credits appear to be Futura, but the names are something else, more square with rough "horror" edges] |
||
![]() |
The Violent Years (show 610) Mike: The thick chalk years! [The Palmer Method was a style of penmanship once taught in American schools, which that resembles.] |
||
![]() |
Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (show 703)
Mike: Relson? What kind of name is Relson? [The font in question is Richard Mueller's Primitive.] |
||
![]() |
Parts: The Clonus Horror (show 811)
Crow: Apparently E.E. Cummings wrote it. [The classic joke about lowercase titles. Although he favored lowercase for his poetry, Cummings capitalized his name.] |
||
![]() |
Agent for H.A.R.M. (show 815)
Tom: Credits by E.E. Cummings and k.d. lang. [Ditto.] |
||
![]() |
The Horror of Party Beach (show 817)
Mike: The typewriter was drunk when it did that, huh? [Jagged, irregular, seriffed hand-lettering, not typing. But Emigré's Journal would be a good substitute.] |
||
![]() |
Space Mutiny (show 820)
Santa Claus: I think they want to drive us into the neighboring constellation. [No font onscreen.] |
||
![]() |
The Phantom Planet (show 902)
Mike: Hey, this planet is quilted for softness. [Might make an interesting 3-D font, but looks more like extra crispy to me.] |
||
![]() |
The Deadly Bees (show 905)
Mike: Oh, that's the "Hee Haw" font; how can it be deadly? [Perhaps it's the serif cousin to the country comedy's logo.] |
||
![]() |
Quest of the Delta Knights (show 913)
[Looking at Astrology sign] [Echoes the biomorphic shape of the Beatles' classic album logo, but more pen-like calligraphy.] |
||
![]() |
Blood Waters of Dr. Z (show 1005)
Crow: It’s got playful-teen-beach-movie font. [Crow is right. The irregular lettering is reminiscent of "Gilligan's Island," the "Green Acres" logo, "The Patty Duke Show", Screwball, and the like. I suppose they thought the irregular letters suggested watery horror. One of a million wrong choices in one of the worst films to end up on MST3K.] |
||
![]() |
Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (show 1006)
Crow: This is "Rich Man, Poor Man" font. [Crow is wrong, but in the ballpark. Looks like another 70s swash font, perhaps Bookman Italic.] |
Brought to you by Harold's Fonts
![]()