On television, she was a robot; but in Jim Mallon’s hands, she’s a bundle from the home improvement section.

Her neck is Menards drainage tubing. Her head is a car seat. Her eye is a flashlight.

Mallon pulls a string and the robot’s mouth opens.

“Welcome to the show,” Mallon says, in his best falsetto.

Close up, the homemade quality of the show is apparent, and that was part of its charm.

Mallon co-created “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in 1988 as a new production manager on Twin Cities television channel 23. He also occasionally appeared as Gypsy the robot.

The show was science fiction at its outset — a man sent into space by two mad scientists — but the meat of each episode included a running dialogue of jokes and banter over low-budget B-movies.

The team, including Mallon and co-

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