''Cinema Insomnia'' is a nationally syndicated

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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. Generall ...

Mr. Lobo.

Format

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

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

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 Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

''); however budgetary limitations, acts of God or other circumstances invariably force him to show a much lower quality movie (such as ''

Starcrash ''Starcrash'' ( it, Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione, lit=Starfights beyond the third dimension) is a 1978 space opera film directed and co-written by Luigi Cozzi, and starring Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer, David ...

'' 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 feat ...

''). 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 WUCW, 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 (emotion), horror including horror films, horror cinema, Goth subculture, goth lifestyle, and occasionally science fiction and fantasy. Historically the focus ...

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 expre ...

, 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 Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ...

'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'') *Astra Naughty *Chewchilla the Wookie Monster ('' Hardware Wars'') *Dr. Bling Bling *Dr. Loco * Ernie Fosselius *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 Monster'' (or ''Monster from Mars'')

'') *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 ch ...

(''

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 science ...

'') *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 Erik Lobo (born November 27, 1970), better known by his stage name Mr. Lobo, is an American artist and comedic actor best known as the horror host of the nationally syndicated American television series ''Cinema Insomnia''. In 2022, he was indu ...

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 tra ...

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 ''Creature Features'' is a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local American television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The movies broadcast on these shows were generally classic and cult horror ...

'' 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 creat ...

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 broa ...

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 beca ...

, 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,

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

), KEJB 43 (Louisiana), KTEH 54 ( San Jose,

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

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

), 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 line w ...

), 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 Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

) 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 Access Media Group, legally Learning and Skills Television of Alberta Ltd., which also served as the corporate brand until 2005, was a privately held Canadian broadcasting and multimedia group based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada specializing in le ...

, 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, ...

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 ''Deep Red'' ( it, Profondo rosso), also known as ''The Hatchet Murders'', is a 1975 Italian thriller- giallo film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Bernardino Zapponi. It stars David Hemmings as a musician who investigates ...

'' 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 ''Monstrosity'' is a 1963 science fiction/horror film produced by Jack Pollexfen and Dean Dillman Jr. and directed by Joseph V. Mascelli. It is perhaps better known under its TV release title, ''The Atomic Brain''. The film stars Marjorie Eaton, ...

'' 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 adaptatio ...

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 ''The Day of the Triffids'' is a 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by the English science fiction author John Wyndham. After most people in the world are blinded by an apparent meteor shower, an aggressive species of plant starts killing people. ...

'' 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), ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (film), a 1959 science fiction film * Teenagers from Outer Space (role-playing game), ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (role-playing game), a ...

'' and the evening performance was ''

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

''. 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 no ...

. 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 platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...

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 wo ...

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

'' *''

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 Kie ...

'' *''

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 wri ...

'' *'' 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 peop ...

'' *''

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 feat ...

'' *'' 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 science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Mich ...

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 ne ...

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 kind ...

, 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 ne ...
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 *

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 ''Horrors of Spider Island'' (german: Ein Toter hing im Netz, "A Corpse Hung in the Web") is a 1960 West German horror film written and directed by Fritz Böttger, and produced by Gaston Hakim and Wolf C. Hartwig for Rapid-Film/Intercontinental Fi ...

*A Hard Day's Nightmare *

* Teenagers from Outer Space: Live! * Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet * Mark of the Damned *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 ne ... 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 ne ...
DVDs