Way before people were making fun of TV shows via Twitter, the guys from “Mystery Science Theater 3000” were on TV making fun of movies.

Really bad movies.

Now the cult comedy favorite is returning to the small screen thanks to Twin Cities Public Television. That’s right, the irreverent show is public TV fare. TPT will be airing four classic episodes of the beloved low-budget show starting on March 21 (10 p.m.) and for the three following Saturdays.

Fans of the “MST3K,” which started in the Twin Cities at KTMA in the late ’80s before moving to Comedy Central (originally known as the Comedy Channel) and then to Syfy (then known as the Sci Fi Channel) until its cancelation in 1999, are sure to welcome its return.

Folks not familiar with the humorous show are in for a treat. To refresh your memory, “MST3K” was about a human and his robot buddies who were sent to space and forced to watch terrible B-movies. Their method of coping with the horrible films was to make countless wisecracks about whatever ridiculousness they were made to watch.

The TPT episodes — all from the show’s early years — feature “MST3K’s” creator Joel Hodgson playing human Joel Robinson. They include: “Gunslinger,” “Manos: The Hands of Fate,” “The Unearthly” and “Hercules and the Captive Woman.”

During its more than decade on TV, “MST3K” earned Emmy nominations and won a prestigious Peabody award. Tom Holter, TPT’s executive director of programming, said the station acquired the four episodes from American Public Television, a nonprofit broadcast television distributor. Holter thought it was a good fit for the station since “MST3K” had a strong Twin Cities fanbase.

“For the network that has once in a while been known as the network for the humor impaired, this helps spice up the schedule a little bit,” Holter said about bringing “MST3K” to TPT. “We thought we’d have some fun with it.”

As far as more “MST3K” airing on TPT after this run, the station’s website says the four episodes “serve as the prototype for what could become ‘The Best of MST3K’ on public television.” Fingers crossed.

Amy Carlson Gustafson can be reached at 651-228-5561. Follow her at twitter.com/amygustafson.