Castmembers Jim Mellon, Trace Beaulieu and Kevin Murphy pose on the set of "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie." (Michael Kienitz/AP Images)

Get it while it’s hot, kids: The future of free TV at Hulu is up in the air at the moment thanks to the proposed Comcast/NBC deal, but as of this morning, you can sample five episodes of the cult classic “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” The long-running cable series had a rather simple premise — evil scientists trap a normal guy aboard a spaceship and force him to watch B movies with the snarkiest robots known to man — but the show’s razor-sharp wit and rabid fans carried it over 10 seasons, three networks and numerous cancellations.

The show went off the air for good in 1999, but MST3K (as the show is lovingly known) lives on via a feature film, a Web series and several surprise cast appearances on cable shows like “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast” and “Cheap Seats.”The show’s writers and cast have also spun off their own riffing projects — RiffTrax and Cinematic Titanic.

You can find packages of the show’s best episodes on DVD, but many were never released due to copyright and licensing issues.  In fact, the MST3K crew recently had to replace one of their more well-known outings, “Godzilla vs. Megalon” on one DVD collection for just that reason.

So Hulu’s morning surprise — presented without pretense or preamble — must seem like an early Christmas present if you’re an MST3K fan. For the time being, you can watch Joel and the crew mercilessly skewer such timeless classics as “Monster a Go-Go,” “The Giant Gila Monster” and the 1966 masterpiece “Secret Agent Super Dragon,” in which “a secret agent tries to stop a drug lord from taking over the world with hallucinogenic chewing gum.” Which one are you queuing up first?

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