Typically, Mr. Lobo opens each episode by promising to screen a well-known horror or science fiction film (such as Creature from the Black Lagoon or Alien); however budgetary limitations, acts of God or other circumstances invariably force him to show a much lower quality movie (such as Starcrash or Santa Claus Conquers The Martians).

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.

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.

In 2008 Apprehensive Films, an indie distribution label, signed the show to release exclusive Cinema Insomnia DVDs.

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.

A retro version of the show called Insomniac Theater featured the film The Atomic Brain[14] and the Christmas special was the original The Little Shop of Horrors.

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.

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 September 2012, a new service to stream Cinema Insomnia videos called Lobovision was made available starting with the episodes House on Haunted Hill and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome.

[27][29] 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".

The Slime Line DVDs feature brand new audio mixes, new retro film-clips, coming attractions for classic B-movie and new indies.