Sci Fi TV Obscurities: A look at sci fi and fantasy TV shows that made it to the air only briefly before getting cast to the television wasteland.
What Is It? While taking a tour of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Sterling family find themselves caught up in a rare event that occurs every ten millennia with the conjunction of the planets. They are transported to another Earth-like planet known as Thel that is divided up into multiple “Zones”, each containing different societies and each is cut off from the other. The Sterlings tangle with one of the Zone Troopers–tasked with keeping each zone secure–and manage to acquire a crystal that allows them to travel to the various territories across the planet. They then go on the run while also trying to find their way back to Earth.
Aired: CBS, 1985, 1 Season Totaling 8 Episodes
Starring: Sam Groom, Gretchen Corbett, Tony O’Dell, Jonna Lee, Brandon Crane, Jonathan Banks
Created By: Roderick Taylor
Is It Must Watch Sci Fi? No. It may be of interest to fans of cheesy 70’s sci fi TV (it is more similar to shows from that decade than the 80’s), but beyond that this is mostly just a curio.
The Skinny: In the 1970’s there was a mini-trend among sci fi TV shows that would follow a group of people traveling to different societies each week, usually in a post-apocalyptic setting. I refer to these as “Land Trek” shows because they took the Star Trek formula (traveling to different planets each week and encountering new societies) and grounded it. Trek creator Gene Roddenberry actually started the trend with his failed pilots Genesis II and Planet Earth. Other shows that followed a very similar format included Fantastic Journey (1977), Logan’s Run (1978), Ark II (1976), and to some extent the 1974 Planet of the Apes TV series. Otherworld arrived on the scene in 1985, but hearkened back very much to these earlier shows. (You can read more about the “Land Trek” shows at this link.)
The premise for Otherworld had potential, as did its 70’s predecessors, but network tinkering resulted in the final product coming out as a copy-and-paste sci fi / adventure TV show with mostly generic plots and actors. Creator Roderick Taylor originally had a darker vision for the show and wanted to place a normal family in “extraordinary circumstances” having them “confront their worst fears and fight for their lives”. CBS, however, wanted a family-friendly series and rejected twelve of the story ideas presented by Taylor. The watered-down show that eventually hit the schedule failed to find much of an audience and disappeared after a two-month run.
The show is mostly notable now as a late addition to the “Land Trek” group of sci fi TV series and also for the appearance of Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) as the recurring villain. He delivered a mostly by-the-numbers TV bad guy performance, but still managed to liven the show up a bit. And utlimately the Sterlings never found their way back to Earth as apparently their final zone jump deposited them in the TV Wasteland. For more about Otherworld, read the excellent and in-depth article that tracks its short life over at Television Obscurities.
Cancelled Too Soon? Yes. The series debuted in the Saturday 8 PM EST timeslot at a time that Saturday viewing (once a must-watch TV night) was fading. CBS had also struggled with that particular hour, so Otherworld faced an uphill battle out of the gate. The premiere did not draw much of an audience, and pretty quickly the show was in the bottom ten of the Nielsen ratings. It left the schedule after its eight episodes aired and faded into television obscurity.
Should It Be Rebooted? Probably not. The premise did have potential and its creator did establish an extensive mythology for the world of Thel, but this series never attracted much of a fan following and has almost no name recognition. The “Land Trek” show that should be rebooted is Roddenberry’s Genesis II, and I discuss that one in more detail at this link.
Interesting Facts: It was long rumored that there were five missing episodes of the series. Allegedly CBS yanked the show from the schedule after its eighth episode and never aired the remaining five. But series creator Roderick Taylor has claimed this is not true and that only the eight episodes that aired were produced.
Where Can You Watch It? The series has never been released on DVD or Blu-ray and it is not currently available on any of the major streaming services. Episodes do show up on YouTube, though the quality (usually from VHS transfers) is not great.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
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