The show gained popularity after fans taped episodes and gave them to their friends. In seasons 3-5, a line at the end of the end credits says "Keep circulating the tapes." That ended after Best Brain's lawyers questioned the show's support of piracy.
While in high school, Joel Hodgson bought Elton John's 1973 album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." The album had accompanying artwork for each song in the liner notes. The artwork for the song "I've Seen That Movie Too" showed a silhouetted couple watching a film in a dark theater. Hodgson thought a series about silhouetted people talking back to the film would make a great idea for a series.
Kevin Murphy has said that for every film used, 10 to 20 were screened and rejected. For just over 200 episodes, the writing staff watched over 2,000 films.
Kevin Murphy was the longest-lasting crew member. He started as a writer during the KTMA days, and stayed until the final episode, Diabolik (1999).