Now that I'm done with Season Two, I can easily say it was better than Season One. There are far more standout episodes of this season than the previous, and the overall quality of both riffing and host segments left only a couple of dull moments.
In between Seasons two and three, Comedy Channel merged with rival Ha! Network. In a move that would be foreign to the show later, Comedy Channel demanded that Mystery Science Theater be kept as a holdover, since it was the best (and highest rated) show on their network. Ha! agreed, and Mystery Science Theater would be made one of the premier shows on the new channel Comedy Central (CTV: Comedy Network was the first name, but was changed a few months in.. Coincidentally, the name change came on the same day the third season of the show began.)
The new Comedy Central and Best Brains (the owners of MST3K) signed a new deal, and three notable things came from this deal: 1. Comedy Central expanded the series from 13 episodes a season to 24. 2. CC Upped the show's budget.so it wouldn't have to rely on Public Domain movies, and could use the rights for films to riff. 3. They agreed to a three year, 24 episode deal that would take the series to five seasons. I'm not sure if the the Turkey Day specials were part of the contract, but Comedy Central did have Thanksgiving Specials where they would marathon the show, have new segments, and debut episodes.
Here's the rankings for Season Two:
1. Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster 9.5/10
2. Godzilla vs. Megalon 9/10
3. Jungle Goddess: 8.5/10
4. Rocketship X-M: 8/10
5. Side Hackers: 8/10
6. Wild Rebels: 8/10
7. King Dinosaur: 8/10
8. Lost Continent: 7.5/10
9. Catalina Caper: 7/10
10. Rocket Attack USA: 7/10
11. Ring of Terror: 6.5/10
12. First Spaceship to Venus: 6/10
13. The Hellcats: 5/10
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In the not too distant future
Next Sunday A.D. ....