Michael J. "Mike" Nelson is the main character of MST3K's sixth season and beyond. Portrayed by actor/head writer Michael J. Nelson, Mike is a doofy, slightly dim temp worker from Wisconsin who comes to work for the Mads, Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's Frank, in Deep 13 while they prepare for an evil-scientist audit in ep. 512 Mitchell. Two different articles written by Michael J. Nelson peg Mike as originally being a farmboy in rural Western Wisconsin before seeking his fortune as a cheese factory worker, then ultimately as a temp.
When Joel Robinson escapes from the Satellite of Love at the end of this episode, the Mads knock Mike unconscious and shoot him up to the satellite to replace Joel as their experimental guinea pig instead of killing him for being an oaf. The hapless Mike finds himself forced to watch bad movies with robot companions Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot while interjecting humorous quips and cultural riffs based on the action and dialog of the films. Nelson's first full appearance was ep. 513 The Brain That Wouldn't Die.
Overview
Mike's relationship with the bots was very different from the one the bots had with Joel. Though the bots occasionally riffed on Joel, they generally respected him and his authority, often regarding him as a father figure (unsurprising, since he literally created them) who would expound on life-defining lessons that could neither be questioned nor refuted. The bots never felt that way about Mike. Though they came to accept him as their friend and companion, they were often more cynical and merciless with him (particularly during the Sci-Fi Channel era) when he screwed up or failed to pick up on something that was blatantly obvious to them; if Joel was a father figure, Mike was more like an older brother. Mike was also different from Joel in personality and temperament. Joel tended to take his captivity in benign stride, often delivering his riffs deadpan, holding no malice against his captors and affectionately calling them "the Mads". Mike tended to be more aggressive regarding his captivity and making fun of the films, and was forever scheming to escape the Satellite or at least make the Mads look like fools.
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Mike is also notoriously clumsy to a dangerous degree. According to The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Guide, Mike is "as intelligent as the average man" and often displays a comic unawareness of his limitations and foibles. In ep. 602 Invasion USA, he builds a robot whose only function appears to be to "destroy...destroy...destroy...". During the eighth season, he manages to contribute accidentally to the destruction of planets in three separate incidents. In ep. 911 Devil Fish, he believes his identity has been stolen by a secret government agency after merely misplacing his wallet.
Eventually, after many, many adventures through time and space, the Satellite eventually crashed to Earth and Mike and the robots escaped for good.
1980s
Mike, Patrick and Crow
In the 80s, Mike, along with his brother Eddie, would take temp jobs, meeting such enigmatic figures like Patrick and a robot from the future. The robot from the future would convince Mike to continue work with his band Sex Factory, instead of working a temp job that would land him in Dr. Forresters clutches. This would lead Mike to his death, so another robot had to convince himself not to convince Mike, and since the future was then not revealed to Mike, he still got marooned in space.
Mike had long bleached hair, and was a fan of Journey.
Behind the Scenes
Early in his tenure as the show's host, Nelson terminated the invention exchanges and letter readings that were a staple of the show's first five years, ending a popular tradition but giving the writers much more freedom in creating the opening and closing sketches.
Trivia
- Mike's father is mentioned to be running a mail order burlap store out of Mignon, Wisconsin. He also has an uncle, Les, who is retired and lives in McAllen, Texas, a cousin, Al, who rebuilds carburetors. ("Hamlet")