The issue is the rights to the other material (i.e. the host segments). That material may still be technically owned by WUCW, KTMA’s modern incarnation. I always assumed that was the reason they didn’t release more of them. That appears to be the reason the “KTMA Host Segments” bonus DVD was cancelled at the last minute.
Joel was able to source the first two and wanted to get them out there, as they are part of the three that didn’t have any versions available. But I think that was only for that reason: to get them out there, first to those who were most dedicated to the show (the backers). They’ve never been available for individual sale and, unless the WUCW rights question is resolved, I don’t think they ever will be.
The reason I heard for the “KTMA Host Segments” bonus DVD being cancelled was due to video quality issues. If they were unable to located the master tape for K03, that might have been enough to scuttle that whole DVD.
I’m also dubious that KTMA/WUCW is holding up the releases in any significant way. I’m not convinced that WUCW still holds any rights to the show. It seems like that would’ve been something figured out way back when the show transitioned to the Comedy Channel. Even if WUCW still have rights of some sort, Joel was able to get two episodes released, so it’s clearly possible.
I think a big issue is how to properly frame/present these titles on the site. The two episodes with official releases were to Kickstarter backers, which were almost entirely diehard fans, who understood what they were. Putting them up in the Gizmoplex store with no additional context where new fans may end up buying them without understanding that those first episodes aren’t representative of the show overall could be an issue. And how to price? Make them the same as other episodes? And licensing of the films may be an issue, since unless it’s a movie they later redid, they’d have to factor in how much money they expect to make selling these niche episodes vs the cost of licensing the film.
There’s possible workarounds to some of these issues. There was mention of a secret room for the Gizmoplex, so maybe a special store for just the KTMA episodes could be placed in that room, where new users aren’t going to casually come across them. Maybe include a text or even video disclaimer people have to agree to before they can browse/buy those episodes. Alternatively, I always felt Rhine/Shout Factory missed a trick when they released an episode that was a re-watch of a movie they did in the KTMA season, and not including the KTMA version as a bonus. Maybe the Gizmoplex could include the KTMA version if you own the “standard” version, so say you buy/own episode 308 “Gamera vs. Gaos” in your collection, Gizmoplex adds the KTMA version as a bonus. Finally, as an incentive to keep re-subscribing, each year Gizmoplex could include a new KTMA episode as a bonus for purchasing another 12-month pass.
If I remember correctly—and maybe not, because the first Kickstarter was a long time ago—Joel said that they got the rights to give away those first two KTMA episodes but not resell them (or something along those lines). That would explain why they were part of a rewards package for backers but have not been made available for purchase since then.
As I recall, they never issued those 2 episodes due to the quality of the tapes. I think it would be nice if they would put them up no matter what the quality of the video and audio. It would just be fun to see.
Look at all the conflicting answers in this thread alone. Some are saying it’s a quality issue, and some say it’s a right issue. I just want a clear answer on the status of the KTMA episodes.
Whatever the case, the MST3K folk have never been proud of those episodes in comparison to their later work, and don’t much want them seen. (They said so in the Episode Guide.) I think we were given those first two mostly out of academic interest, since they were where it began and those two had never been in circulation before. But I doubt there are any plans to release all of them.