For this month’s installment of “TV Terrors” we revisit the small screen adaptation of 1980s movie “Weird Science,” which aired from 1994 – 1998 on the USA Network.
I probably sound like an old fogy when I say this, but the USA Network of the cable television heyday was drastically different than the USA Network we have today. Back in the early nineties, USA Network was a free for all of weird, fun entertainment. There were adult cartoons, erotic thrillers, “Up All Night,” sports events, a large Saturday morning cartoon line up, classic horror movies, Troma double bills, and there were even kung fu movies every weekday morning.
USA Network also aired the primetime TV series adaptation of “Weird Science.”
The classic John Hughes sci-fi comedy from 1985 was adapted in 1994 into a mostly faithful TV version that took everything scandalous about the original film and amped up the ridiculousness by about fifty percent. While you wouldn’t think “Weird Science” would be considered much of a horror series at all, the writers surprisingly managed to take the opportunity to deliver various horror-tinted themes. Even when the show adhered mainly to the science fiction comedy elements of the movie, the series’ writers always injected this air of menace and sinister intentions behind genie Lisa, whose own naivete made her dangerous to her new friends.
The fact that the premise was so absurd allowed the writers to do pretty much whatever they wanted, injecting elements like aliens, time travel, and even monsters into the mix.
In place of Ilan Mitchell-Smith and Anthony Michael Hall were Michael Manasseri and John Asher, respectively. All the while fashion model turned actress Vanessa Angel did a bang up job replacing Kelly LeBrock as walking deus ex machina Lisa. In place of Bill Paxton as Chett was the equally obnoxious and fun Lee Tergesen. He appears throughout the series playing the constant foil to the pair of friends, almost always intruding on their schemes.
The pilot, “She’s Alive!” was basically a truncated twenty two minute, sanitized remake of the 1985 film. It’s meant to really lay out the entire premise for the new audience. And it gets the job done. All the while it also sets the bar for what the show is conceptually trying to achieve. It’s about as goofy and silly as all get out, but it’s also about more than the two characters trying to lose their virginity. The teen sex comedy angle is downplayed in favor of more misadventures involving sci-fi, the supernatural, magic, and beyond.
This allowed the writers a chance to do pretty much whatever they wanted, with Lisa acting as a tech based genie and excuse to inject the extraordinary plot elements. The series dabbled in a lot of horror themed standalone episodes, as well; among some of the best was “Bikini Camp Slasher,” where slasher geek Wyatt is convinced that he could kick the butt of any movie slasher.
Lisa takes it literally and warps the pair into the reality of their newest slasher film, and the catch is that they can’t leave until the movie officially ends. In “The Sci Fi Zoned,” the guys take in a twenty four hour marathon of their favorite black and white horror anthology show. After hearing their enthusiasm for the series, wouldn’t you know it? Lisa zaps them into the show when a big fight threatens their friendship. There are a ton of fun callbacks to classic “Twilight Zone” episodes including “The Living Doll,” who is voiced by none other than original Talky Tina actress June Foray. But probably my favorite episode is “You’ll Never Eat Brains in This Town Again.”
When Lisa attempts to make her own zombie movie, she zaps a horde of actual brain eating zombies into their reality. Despite her insistence they’re docile during the day, the zombies set off a potential apocalypse as they begin craving human brains, prompting Wyatt, Gary, and Chett to figure out how to stop them. Even worse, Lisa being bitten has turned her into a potential flesh eater.
Unlike previous attempts to serialize John Hughes classics like “Ferris Bueller” and “Uncle Buck,” USA’s “Weird Science” was a surprising success. It lasted five whole seasons, and ended right on the cusp of the network’s reformatting to fit in endless hours of crime procedurals. Once ending in 1998, the show re-ran in syndication for a few years on other cable channels before disappearing for a long time.
It certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but “Weird Science” still holds up well as this weird mid-nineties fever dream that embraced its silly and took risks with various sub-genres.
Where Can I Watch It? Sadly only the first season of the series is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video. Various episodes, however, can still be found on YouTube.
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