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.
[Updated]
What Is It? After a ten-year-old boy is found in the wild living with wolves, he is given the name Lucan and brought to a research institute to socialize him and prepare him to return to civilization. During his time with the wolves, the boy developed special powers which include enhanced strength and agility as well as a heightened sense of smell and hearing. He can also call other wolves if he needs their help. When he reaches the age of twenty, an accident at the institute causes Lucan to go on the run, fleeing from a bounty hunter while also trying to find his true parents.
Aired: ABC, 1977-78, 1 Season Totaling 12 Episodes (Including the Pilot)
Starring: Kevin Brophy, Don Gordon, John Randolph
Is It Must Watch Sci Fi? No. It’s a nice ’70’s throw-back series but not required viewing.
The Skinny: In the mid-to-late 1970’s, sci fi TV was mostly represented by superhero and quasi-superhero entries on the broadcast networks. Shows like The Six-Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and Wonder Woman all had notable runs and worked in some sci fi concepts to their stories. Lucan fell in with this group, though it barely counts as sci fi and offered mostly just action/drama stories during its short run. It followed The Incredible Hulk formula of a man on the run who encounters different people each week (which was borrowed in turn from The Fugitive), though Lucan actually beat the Hulk to the small screen by half a year. The series even had the requisite “wolf-out” scene each episode (much like Bruce Banner’s “Hulk-out” moments) where his eyes would glow as he calls upon his wolven powers and he then kicks butt on the bad guys.
The show delivered decent enough guest-star-of-the-week tales while Lucan continues to receive some help from the scientist he had befriended back at the institute and also makes slow progress to finding his parents. Kevin Brophy does a good job carrying the series and the other actors provide competent or better performances. Had the show continued for more seasons, this one might have turned into a genre favorite along the lines of The Incredible Hulk. It didn’t have much in the way of sci fi to offer (which Hulk really didn’t either), but it did the superhero formula well enough. Fans of ’70s television might really enjoy this, and it is worth giving it a look as a show that could have had a longer life if given a chance.
Cancelled Too Soon: Yes. The series aired sporadically during its short run which certainly made it difficult to develop a following. The pilot movie premiered in May of 1977 and then the first episodes of the series aired in September of that year on Mondays opposite top-rated Little House on the Prairie on NBC. It then disappeared for several months before returning at the end of December. It aired four episodes before disappearing again until March 1978 where it aired two more episodes. Then it was yanked from the schedule once more only to reappear in Fall 1978 on Fridays where it aired out its remaining eps. After that, it disappeared from the airwaves for good.
Should It Be Rebooted? Perhaps. The concept was a decent one and there are quite a number of directions you could take it. But a reboot of the ’70s show seems unlikely because it is barely remembered. The wolf-boy idea was not unique to that series and a whole new show could be created that could run with the premise.
Interesting Fact: ABC apparently had high hopes early on that Lucan would prove a hit as they licensed the property to Milton Bradly who created a board game based on the show. In the game, you followed Lucan as he helps people and animals while on the run. You can still track it down at resale sites like eBay and others if you are interested.
Where Can You Watch It? The entire series has been released on DVD by Warner Archives, although it looks like it has since gone out of print. You can still buy it on Amazon and other sites from resalers, though. It is not available for streaming on any of the major services, though you can find episodes on YouTube.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
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One good show in the 80’s a think was Werewolf starring John J. York it only lasted one season and was much like the Incredible Hulk, Yorks character sets out while on the run from a bounty hunter because York’s character is wanted for the murder of his room mate a friend, the friend who was a werewolf and bit him. While on the run and searching for he must find and kill the founder of his particular werewolf clan. Janos Skorzeny is that werewolf played by Chuck Conners. Every week we see York’s character get caught up with various people who he tries to help and you get the bad guys who end up beating him up and what not and as it turns out the full moon rises each time and their is the wolf(Hulk) out and the wolf saves the day.
That was one of the early shows on Fox when that network first kicked off. You can read more about its short tenure on the Fox schedule at this link: http://www.cancelledscifi.com/2020/07/02/schedule-rewind-1987-88-star-trek-the-next-generation-leads-the-way-for-sci-fi-tv/