Cinema Insomnia | |
---|---|
Cinema Insomnia's Long Lost Gigantis Episode. |
|
Genre | Comedy, Cult |
Format | Late Night, Variety Show |
Created by | Mr. Lobo |
Starring | Mr. Lobo |
Theme music composer | Stan Fong |
Opening theme | "Stompin' at 3 AM" by Stan Fong |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 10 |
No. of episodes | 87 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Mr. Lobo, Scott Moon, Ernie Fosselius |
Location(s) | The Void (setting) Sacramento, California San Francisco Bay Area(filming location) |
Running time | 2 hours (per episode) |
Production company(s) | Cinema Insomnia Productions and FAL Studios |
Broadcast | |
Original airing | July 28, 2001 |
External links | |
Website |
Cinema Insomnia is a nationally syndicated American television series presented by horror host Mr. Lobo.[1]
Contents |
Typically, Mr. Lobo opens each episode by promising to screen a well-known horror or science fiction classic (such as The Creature from the Black Lagoon or Alien); however budgetary limitations, acts of God or other circumstances invariably force him to show a much lower quality movie (such as Starcrash or Santa Claus Conquers The Martians).
Unlike the various hosts and robots of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mr. Lobo does not appear while the movie is playing; instead he appears in brief vignettes in between segments of the movie. Also appearing are items such as fake commercials (such as one for "Rad Abrams – Skateboard Attorney"[2]), old movie trailers, classic commercials and footage and interviews shot at horror conventions, science fiction conventions, and film festivals in the Northern California area (the show is produced in Sacramento).
Mr. Lobo always appears on screen with a "70's professional" haircut, wearing "birth control" glasses and a black suit and tie. He acts as a spectral narrator broadcasting from a black void and his only connections to reality are the B-movies he presents. Mr. Lobo has often described himself by saying, "Imagine if you gave Rod Serling's job to someone who is totally incompetent."
Mr. Lobo often has one-sided conversations with Miss Mittens, a houseplant.
The show began as filler for the 3 AM movie on KXTV ABC News10 in Sacramento. It ran for 22 episodes (2001–2002) before the show was put on permanent hiatus. The second version of the show was made for local community television Access Sacramento, and ran for one year on Comcast Channel 17 and 18. This version of the show was also distributed to Public-access television cable TV stations across the country via the Horror Host Underground. From 2003 to 2008 Cinema Insomnia was nationally syndicated airing on broadcast stations across the country. In 2008 Apprehensive Films, an indie distribution label, signed the show to release exclusive Cinema Insomnia DVDs. In 2009, Apprehensive Films took over the television distribution of the show as well, which resulted in re-licensing the show to AMGTV.[4]
Cinema Insomnia has aired weekly on over 30 broadcast stations including KXTV ABC News10 (Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, California), KEJB 43 (Louisiana), KTEH 54 (San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco)(Stanley 2007, p. 198), WOTH (Cincinnati), and WAOH (Cleveland)(Duran 2005, p. 8-9). It also is shown on hundreds of cable systems(Stanley 2007, p. 198) via MavTV (national), MATA14 (Wisconsin), Cox 71 (Virginia) and Cox 99 (Indiana).
It is delivered to independent stations via various outlets PMI, Access Media Group, White Springs TV and AMGTV as well as the now defunct UATV network(Duran 2005). Several episodes are also available for download on the Internet via BitTorrent as well as on CinemaInsomnia.com. The 2006 Cinema Insomnia Halloween Special was delivered to 45 million households.
Cinema Insomnia will have 26 new episodes for its 2011-2012 season.[5][6][7] A Kickstarter project called "Cinema Insomnia 10 Year Anniversary" was started to help fund $10,000 for the new season to give each episode an additional $384 to help pay for cast and crew as well as other expenses.[5][6][7] As of December 18, 2010, $11,140 has been raised.[5]
On December 2, 2010, horror host Mr. Lobo announced that the next episode of Cinema Insomnia and Christmas special will be the original The Little Shop of Horrors.[8]
However, the newest episode will be Venus Flytrap which will premiere on October 31, 2011.[9]
On August 19, 2006, Cinema Insomnia presented Day of the Triffids Live on KTEH, San Jose, CA.[10][11]
On August 14, 2010, Cinema Insomnia had their first broadcast taping at the Guild Theater in Sacramento in front of a live audience.[1][12][13] The film that was presented was The Undertaker and His Pals, due to the graphic nature of the film, everyone was given a 'Barf-O-Vision' Audience Sickness Bag.[1][12]
In 2010, Apprehensive Films introduced a new line of Cinema Insomnia DVDs called the Slime Line. The Slime Line DVDs feature brand new audio mixes, new retro film-clips, coming attractions for classic B-movie and new indies. The Slime Line DVDs also contain Slime Points which can be collected and mailed into Apprehensive Films for select prizes. Apprehensive Films has also licensed episodes Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome,[14] Gappa: Monsters From a Prehistoric Planet,[14] In Search of Ancient Astronauts,[15] Super Wheels,[16] and Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet[14] to Amazon Video on Demand.