''Cinema Insomnia'' is a nationally syndicated American television series presented by

horror host A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror films and low-budget B movies are shown on television or the Internet. Usually the host assumes a horror-themed persona, often a campy or humorous one. General ...

Mr. Lobo.

Format

Typically, Mr. Lobo opens each episode by promising to screen a well-known

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

classic (such as ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' 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 ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' is a 1964 American science fiction comedy film directed by Nicholas Webster, produced and written by Paul L. Jacobson, based on a story by Glenville Mareth, that stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also featu ...

''). Unlike the various hosts and robots of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1 ...

'', Mr. Lobo does not appear while the movie is playing; instead he appears in brief vignettes in between segments of the movie. Also included are fake commercials (one such was for "Rad Abrams – Skateboard Attorney"), old movie trailers, classic commercials, and footage and interviews shot at

horror conventions Horror conventions are gatherings of the community of fans of various forms of horror including horror cinema, goth lifestyle, and occasionally science fiction and fantasy. Historically the focus has been on the cinematic form rather than lit ...

science fiction conventions Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expr ...

, and film festivals across the country.

Characters

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 A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

Recurring characters

*Artie-Deco (''

Hardware Wars ''Hardware Wars'' is a 1978 American short science fiction parody film in the form of a teaser trailer for a fictitious science fiction film that parodies ''Star Wars''. The 13-minute film, which was released almost 18 months after ''Star Wars ...

'') *Astra Naughty *Chewchilla the Wookie Monster (''

'') *Dr. Bling Bling *Dr. Loco *

Ernie Fosselius Carl Ernst Fosselius (born October 23, 1945), better known as Ernie Fosselius, is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his satirical spoofs of popular films, including the ''Star Wars'' parody '' Hardware Wars''. Film career Fosselius' fi ...

*François Fly (''Fly By Night Theater'') *Lady Skank'nstein (''The Horror House of Lady Skank'nstein'') *Megafant *Movie Sniffing Tie *Naughty Nurse Batty *Prime-8 *Puddles the Super Turtle *Ro-man ('' Robot Monster'') *Robot Seven D 4 *Slob Zombie *Super Argo *The Incredibly Strange Creatures (Band) *The Robot Monsters (Band) *The Louisiana

Klingons The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

(''

Trekkies A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise. History Many early Trekkies were also fans of '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964–1968), another show with scienc ...

'') *The Phantom of Krankor ('' Prince of Space'') *The Queen of Trash *Will the Thrill (''Thrillville'') *Young Mr. Lobo

Episodes

Broadcast history

Cinema Insomnia began in 2001 when showrunner Mr Lobo was working for

KXTV KXTV (channel 10) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Broadway, just south of US 50 at the south edge of downtown Sacramento, and its tr ...

ABC News10 in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. Inspired by '' Creature Features'' horror host Bob Wilkins, Lobo suggested a filler segment for the station's late night 3am movie which ran twenty minutes short. KXTV immediately picked up the show upon submission of the pilot episode. Cinema Insmonia 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 Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was cre ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

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 Apprehensive Films was an independent American film production and distribution company in operation from 1997–2016. Its main focus was low-budget Grindhouse-inspired films shot in Super 8 mm film and 16 mm film. In 2006, Apprehensive Films b ...

, 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 AMGTV is an American family-oriented television network featuring television programming consisting of drama, sports, movies, entertainment, how-to, hunting and fishing, children's shows, and other features, much of it repackaged from off-netw ...

''Cinema Insomnia'' has aired weekly on over 34 broadcast stations including

ABC News10 (

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

, Modesto, California), KEJB 43 (Louisiana),

KTEH KTEH may refer to: * KTEH-LP, a low-power radio station (98.9 FM) licensed to serve Los Molinos, California, United States * KQEH KQEH, virtual channel 54 (UHF digital channel 30), branded on-air as KQED Plus, is a Public Broadcasting Service ( ...

54 ( San Jose,

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

), WOTH (

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

), and WAOH-LP (Cleveland). It also is shown on hundreds of cable systems via MavTV (national), MATA14 (Wisconsin), Cox 71 (

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

) and Cox 99 (

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

). It is delivered to independent stations via various outlets PMI, Access Media Group, and

. Several episodes are also available for download on the Internet via BitTorrent as well as o
CinemaInsomnia.com
The 2006 ''Cinema Insomnia'' Halloween Special was delivered to 45 million households. A

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

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. On December 18, 2010, $11,140 had been raised. The first film of the 2011–2012 season was ''

Venus Flytrap The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. It catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a trapping ...

'', it premiered on October 31, 2011. This was followed by '' Deep Red'' and ''War of the Planets'' which was co-hosted by Northern California

legend, John Stanley. A retro version of the show called ''Insomniac Theater'' featured the film '' The Atomic Brain'' and the

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptat ...

was the original ''

The Little Shop of Horrors ''The Little Shop of Horrors'' is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The fi ...

''. On October 30, 2015, Mister Lobo launched OSI74 (Outer Space International), a

web television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

service available on

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...

. Since then, Cinema Insomnia has aired 90 episodes over 5 seasons on OSI-74.

Live shows

On August 19, 2006, ''Cinema Insomnia'' presented '' Day of the Triffids'' Live on KTEH, San Jose, CA. On August 14, 2010, ''Cinema Insomnia'' had their first broadcast taping at the Guild Theater in Sacramento in front of a live audience. 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. On June 8, 2019, ''Cinema Insomnia'' hosted 2 live shows at the Bal Theater in San Leandro, California. The matinee performance was the film ''

Teenagers From Outer Space Teenagers from Outer Space may refer to: * ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (film), a 1959 science fiction film * ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (role-playing game), a 1987 tabletop game {{Disambiguation ...

'' and the evening performance was ''

Bride of the Monster ''Bride of the Monster'' is a 1955 American Science fiction film, science fiction horror film, co-written, produced and directed by Ed Wood, Edward D. Wood Jr., and starring Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson with a supporting cast featuring Tony McCoy ...

''. These live shows marked the first new appearances in many years of Cinema Insomnia mainstays Rad Abrams: Skateboard Attorney & "The Queen of Trash" Sara Dunn. The Live Shows were later broadcast on Mister Lobo's streaming channel OSI-74.

Online availability

Livestream

In 2010, ''Cinema Insomnia'' episodes began streaming on

Livestream Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but n ...

. On July 28, 2021, Mister Lobo ran a 10-day long live marathon of every episode of Cinema Insomnia on the official Cinema Insomnia Twitch channel.

YouTube

In August 2012, ''Cinema Insomnia'''s official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

channel was terminated due to multiple third-party claims of copyright infringement which came from "dubious sources."

Lobovision

In September 2012, a new service to stream ''Cinema Insomnia'' videos called ''Lobovision'' was made available starting with the episodes ''

House on Haunted Hill ''House on Haunted Hill'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig and Elisha Cook Jr. Price plays an ...

'' and ''

Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome ''Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome'' (also known as ''Dick Tracy Meets Karloff'' and ''Dick Tracy's Amazing Adventure'' (UK) ) is a 1947 thriller film starring Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, and Anne Gwynne. The film is the fourth and final installment of ...

''. In June 2013, ''Lobovision'' was redesigned with a new layout and look.

Roku

In October 2012, ''Cinema Insomnia'' debuted on the new

horror channel Zom-Bee TV. Zom-Bee TV aired the first HD ''Cinema Insomnia'' episode with the 2009 film ''Maxwell Stein''.

OSI 74

Episodes of ''Cinema Insomnia'' now air on OSI 74, an online TV channel run by Outer Space International, Mr. Lobo's distribution network featuring "unusual, experimental, and entertaining programs from many different creative worlds". OSI 74 launched on October 30, 2015 on Roku. ''Cinema Insomnia'' episodes are also available on OSI74.com.

Slime Line

In 2010,

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 ''

'', '' Gappa: Monsters From a Prehistoric Planet'', '' In Search of Ancient Astronauts'', '' Super Wheels'', and '' Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet'' to

Amazon Video on Demand Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...

List of ''Slime Line'' edition DVDs

*'' Bigfoot: Mysterious Monster'' *''

Carnival of Souls ''Carnival of Souls'' is a 1962 American independent horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young woma ...

'' *''Cinema Insomnia'' Halloween Special *''

Creature Creature often refers to: * An animal, monster, or alien Creature or creatures may also refer to: Film and television * ''Creature'' (1985 film), a 1985 science fiction film by William Malone * ''Creature'' (miniseries), a 1998 TV movie abou ...

'' *''

Eegah ''Eegah'' (sometimes stylized as ''Eegah!'' and also known as ''Eegah: The Name Written in Blood'') is a 1962 American horror film directed by Arch Hall Sr. (as Nicholas Merriwether) and starring Arch Hall Jr., Marilyn Manning and Richard Kiel. ...

'' *''

First Spaceship on Venus ''Milcząca Gwiazda'' (german: Der schweigende Stern), literal English translation ''The Silent Star'', is a 1960 East German/ Polish color science fiction film based on the 1951 science fiction novel '' The Astronauts'' by Polish science fiction w ...

'' *'' Gamera: Super Monster'' *'' Gappa: Monsters From a Prehistoric Planet'' *'' In Search of Ancient Astronauts'' *''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven p ...

'' *''

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' is a 1964 American science fiction comedy film directed by Nicholas Webster, produced and written by Paul L. Jacobson, based on a story by Glenville Mareth, that stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also featu ...

'' *'' Super Wheels'' *'' Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet'' *''

The Wasp Woman ''The Wasp Woman'' (also known as ''The Bee Girl'' and ''Insect Woman'') is a 1959 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it st ...

Alpha Video

In September 2019,

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ...

announced the first three of ten newly remastered ''Cinema Insomnia'' volumes to be released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, September 17, 2019. Twenty additional volumes have been released as of mid 2021.

List of
Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ...
DVDs

*Cinema Insomnia: 2014 Haunted House Special * Bob Wilkins: The Lost Tapes, a new extended release of the 2002 Bob Wilkins Halloween Special * Eegah! *

Monster from a Prehistoric Planet is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Haruyasu Noguchi. The film is about a group of Japanese reporters who discover an infant monster called a Gappa on Obelisk Island. The reporters cage the creature and take it to Japan where it becom ...

The Screaming Skull ''The Screaming Skull'' is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white horror film, produced by John Kneubuhl and directed by Alex Nicol, starring John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, Tony Johnson, and Nicol. ''The Screaming Skull' ...

The Brain That Wouldn't Die ''The Brain That Wouldn't Die'' (also known as ''The Head That Wouldn't Die'' or ''The Brain That Couldn't Die'') is a 1962 American science fiction horror film directed by Joseph Green and written by Green and Rex Carlton. The film was complete ...

* Horrors of Spider Island *

*A Hard Day's Nightmare *

* Teenagers from Outer Space: Live! * Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet *

Mark of the Damned ''Mark of the Damned'' is a 2006 American horror film directed by Eric Miller. Filmed in black-and-white, it is an homage to the classic El Santo movies. The film was shown on '' Cinema Insomnias 2009 Halloween special. Plot summary Reference ...

*Xenia: Priestess of Night *Midget Zombie Takeover *

* Bloodsuckers of the Atomic Swamp * American Werewolf in the Philippines * War of the Planets * War of the Robots

In popular culture

*In the first episode "Beware The Beast from Below" of the 2010 animated series ''

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'' (also known as ''Mystery Incorporated'' or ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery, Inc.'') is an American animated television series that serves as the eleventh incarnation of the ''Scooby-Doo'' media franchise created by Han ...

'', the unmasked villain Professor Emmanuel Raffalo is inspired by the

Mr. Lobo.

References

* * *

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0415406 American horror fiction television series 2010s American television series 2001 American television series debuts Horror hosts American horror television films Midnight movie television series American motion picture television series English-language television shows

Format

Characters

Recurring characters

Episodes

Broadcast history

Live shows

Online availability

Livestream

YouTube

Lobovision

Roku

OSI 74

Slime Line

List of ''Slime Line'' edition DVDs

Alpha Video

List of Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ... DVDs

In popular culture

References

External links

List of
Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ...
DVDs