Outer Space International (formerly Cinema Insomnia Productions and FAL Studios)
Original release
Release
July 28, 2001 (2001-07-28)
Cinema Insomnia is an American television program presented by horror hostMr. Lobo.[1] It began airing in 2001 on KXTV (ABC 10 News) in Sacramento, California, and from 2003 to 2008 was nationally syndicated, airing on broadcast stations across the United States. Since 2015, the program has aired on OSI74 (Outer Space International), a web television service on Roku.
Cinema Insomnia features B movies, namely horror and science fiction films, interspersed with vignettes starring Mr. Lobo, as well as fake commercials, old movie trailers, and other material.
Unlike the various hosts and robots of Mystery Science Theater 3000, 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"[2]), old movie trailers, classic commercials, and footage and interviews shot at horror conventions, science fiction conventions, 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.
Cinema Insomnia began in 2001 when showrunner Mr Lobo was working for KXTV (ABC 10 News) in 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.[4] 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 televisioncable TV 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, 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.[5]
It is delivered to independent stations via various outlets PMI, Access Media Group, and AMGTV.[9] Several episodes are also available for download on the Internet via BitTorrent as well as on CinemaInsomnia.com. The 2006 Cinema Insomnia Halloween Special was delivered to 45 million households.
A Kickstarter 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.[10][11][12] On December 18, 2010, $11,140 had been raised.
On October 30, 2015, Mister Lobo launched OSI74 (Outer Space International), a web television service available on Roku. Since then, Cinema Insomnia has aired 90 episodes over 5 seasons on OSI-74.
On August 14, 2010, Cinema Insomnia had their first broadcast taping at the Guild Theater in Sacramento in front of a live audience.[1][18][19] 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.[1][18]
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 and the evening performance was Bride of the Monster. 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.[20][21][22]
Online availability
Livestream
In 2010, Cinema Insomnia episodes began streaming on Livestream.[23]
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 channel was terminated due to multiple third-party claims of copyright infringement which came from "dubious sources."[24][25]
In June 2013, Lobovision was redesigned with a new layout and look.[28]
Roku
In October 2012, Cinema Insomnia debuted on the new Roku horror channel Zom-Bee TV.[27][29] Zom-Bee TV aired the first HDCinema Insomnia episode with the 2009 film Maxwell Stein.[27][29]
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.[30][31]
In September 2019, Alpha Video announced the first three of ten newly remastered Cinema Insomnia volumes to be released on DVD, September 17, 2019.[50]
Twenty additional volumes have been released as of mid 2021.[51]
