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Michael J. Nelson

Michael J. Nelson

Known For Writing
Birthday Oct 11, 1964 (61)
Birthplace St. Charles, Illinois
Popularity 1 (history)
Updated Oct 23, 2025
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Michael J. Nelson is the former host and writer of the Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since that time, he has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, penned a regular column for TV Guide, and authored best-selling books for both HarperCollins and Abrams. His fi ... rst book, Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese, thrilled critics, including Richard Schickel of Time Magazine, who said of Mike, "He's more fun than a barrel of Val Kilmers... Smarter than a roomful of Patrick Swayzes... and almost as hilarious as Keanu Reeves." Mike's laugh-out-loud follow-up, Mind Over Matters, prompted Kirkus Reviews to enthuse, "From someplace called Minnesota comes a Nelson funnier than Ozzie, Ricky, Lord or Half," and even dared to compare him to another legendary writer, saying of his Serious Speech to Business People, "[It] could easily precede [Robert] Benchley's immortal Treasurer's Report." And Kirkus Reviews loved his novel, Death Rat!, saying, "Fast-paced, outrageous and funny, first-novelist Nelson's mockery of media mendacity is as biting as La Dolce Vita or Network--only funnier!" Nelson speaks all over the country, is a frequent guest on radio and television, and along with fellow former MST3K writers/performers Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy operate a podcast called RiffTrax, which, in a similar vein to MST3K, targets more mainstream films.

Known For

Television Credits

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Mike Nelson

Episodes: 102

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Gamera

Episodes: 21

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

The Adventures of Edward the Less

as The Noble One (voice)

Episodes: 13

First Aired: Jan 01, 2001

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Clown

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Torgo

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Morrissey

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Tony Travis (voice)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Officer Mike

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Mystery Science Theater 3000

as Imperialistic Alien 1

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 25, 1989

Total Riff Off

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Apr 01, 2014

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 4 7 2
2024 7 6 9 4
2024 8 3 6 1
2024 9 1 3 1
2024 10 3 9 1
2024 11 1 2 1
2024 12 2 4 1
2025 1 1 2 1
2025 2 1 1 1
2025 3 1 2 1
2025 5 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 1 5 0
2025 9 0 1 0
2025 10 1 1 0

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
2025 7 526 479
2025 10 563 491

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