Hey NY1, local flavor tastes best

They are boldly going back into the deepest reaches of space — and horrible movies. It’s been almost 30 years since “Mystery Science Theater 3000” first aired, depicting a janitor trapped against his will by two demented scientists, shot into space and forced to watch a series of cheesy movies alongside a bunch of wisecracking robot companions.

And to the delight of its doggedly devoted fan base, the comedy series — slightly retitled as “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return” — is finally returning on Netflix with new episodes on April 14.

The janitor, played for 10 seasons on three different channels, is also the show’s creator: Joel Hodgson, 57. He said the rebirth is something he's been plotting for years.

“I’ve been thinking about this for at least seven years now, maybe more,” he told the Daily News. “If it wouldn’t have happened it would have been an incredible waste of time so I guess I’ve just been expecting it. I guess I desperately needed it to happen.”

Many of the genre’s top stars gather at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena for the event honoring those judged the best of the past year’s country music artists, producers and writers. Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley (above) co-host again. A Russian agent’s defection, in which Mills (Clive Standen) and his colleagues are assisting, becomes complicated by the man’s pregnant girlfriend in the new episode “Hail Mary.”

Alas, fans looking forward to Hodgson’s return to the movie theater will be disappointed. The new host will be Jonah Ray, best known for the Nerdist Podcast and as the co-host of Comedy Central’s “The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail.”

Hodgson, who left the original series in season five because of a dispute with his former-producing partner, doesn’t seem particularly upset about it. He sees the show as a concept like “Saturday Night Live” or a James Bond movie that is meant to be refreshed and have new people in it.

The seriocomic series’ third season begins with “Heaven Just Got a Little Bit Smoother.” Liv (Rose McIver) finds a surplus of zombies in Seattle. Many of them are being prepped to join an army of the undead.