what was the first thing mike wanted to do when he gets back to earth in mst3k

In Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)—the only canonical on- screen depiction of Mike Nelson (and the bots) actually returning to Earth—Mike’s very first stated goal upon landing is to get a cheeseburger.

Context: The Movie’s Ending

At the climax of the film, after the Satellite of Love crashes into the Moon and the crew escapes in an escape pod, they finally make it back to Earth. In the final host segment, Mike, Crow, and Tom are shown in a desert landscape (filmed at the Gila Bend, Arizona bombing range). When a roadside diner sign appears in the distance, Mike immediately declares his intention:

“First thing I’m gonna do is get a cheeseburger.”

This line is both a punchline and a thematic button: after years of being stranded in space watching bad movies, Mike’s first earthly desire is something simple, mundane, and deeply human—comfort food.

Why a Cheeseburger?

• Symbolic normalcy : It underscores the contrast between their bizarre, isolated existence aboard the Satellite of Love and the ordinary world they’ve been cut off from.

• Character consistency : Mike’s humor often leaned into the absurdly mundane, and this fits his deadpan, understated delivery.

• Fan resonance : The line has become one of the most quoted and beloved moments in MST3K lore, precisely because it’s so relatable after all the sci-fi hijinks.

Notable Clarifications

• This moment occurs only in the MST3K movie, not in the TV series’ regular run. The TV show never depicted an actual return-to-Earth storyline for Mike’s era.

• Later revival seasons (2017–) feature different hosts and storylines, so this cheeseburger moment remains unique to Mike Nelson’s arc.

So, to directly answer your question: the first thing Mike wanted to do when he got back to Earth was to get a cheeseburger —a perfect, grounding capstone to his interstellar ordeal.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.