Joel built the 'Bots Tom Servo, Crow, Gypsy, and Cambot to keep him company, but in doing so used parts that apparently caused him to lose the ability to control when the films would stop and start.

Though bombarded with many horrible films, he tends to take his captivity in benign stride, delivering most of his riffs in deadpan, holding no ill will against his captors and even affectionately calling them "the Mads" (among other amusing nicknames such as "the Overlords") while riffing on popular culture ("Auntie Em and Toto") or things found in Minnesota ("Milavetz and Associates", a prominent Twin Cities-area law firm).

After Joel's departure he returned just once, in the show's final season (episode 1001: Soultaker), having turned the escape pod into a makeshift spaceship.

He returned to the SOL to make repairs to parts that were programmed to self-destruct a decade after the ship's launch into orbit and give Mike a pep talk, after which he left the satellite through the corridor to the theater, where he had entered it earlier in that episode.

These sketches were a good match for Hodgson, who began his career as a prop comic; indeed, many of the inventions were items originally found in his standup act.

The in-show reasoning behind the disposal of invention exchanges was that they were part of Gizmonic corporate culture, about which Mike (having never worked at the Institute) knew nothing.

Off-camera, Hodgson wears eyeglasses, which were occasionally seen when he turns his head in profile during scenes in the theater, but was very frequently seen in the Kickstarter videos and other promotional appearances.