The relationship between television and film, when it comes to the transfer of a property to another medium, is surprisingly fraught. While it may seem like the majority of examples involve turning a TV show into a movie, there are almost as many cases where the opposite happens, although with generally less positive results. For every “M*A*S*H” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, There is a “Delta House” or “A League of Their Own,” spin-offs and sequel series that barely reach a full season, let alone several. One such failure on the small screen was the 1990 sitcom “Ferris Bueller,” based on John Hughes’ hit 1986 comedy, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” The series took an odd view of its source material, ignoring the film in favor of claiming that it depicted the real-life drama on which the events of the film were based. Even if it included future ‘Friends’ star Jennifer Aniston in key supporting roleit was canceled after only 13 episodes.
Given that experience, one might expect that another sitcom based on a wacky Hughes feature film wouldn’t do as well on television. However, it turned out that 1985’s “Weird Science” had a lot more television magic than “Bueller” ever had. Developed by Tom Spezialy (future “The Leftovers” fame, among other credits) and Alan Cross, the sitcom version of “Weird Science” debuted on USA Network in 1994. It ended up lasting 5 seasons, finally bowing in July 1998. Although the film version still claims the most fame and notoriety of the two, the sitcom deserves to be remembered as a precursor to (and almost an antidote for) the rise of geek cultural media like “The Big Bang Theory.”
The sitcom “Weird Science” was a charming show, for geeks by geeks
“Weird Science” the film gets much of its comedic juice from subverting a ready-made premise for a typical sex comedy of the era: two desperate nerds, Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) have the brilliant idea of getting a sexy girlfriend via Wyatt’s supercomputer, resulting in the vivacious Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). The joke, ultimately, is that Lisa is not there to serve as a slave to the boys, but rather becomes their teacher on how to be real young men. The series adaptation strays from this theme, presenting Gary (John Mallory Asher) and Wyatt (Michael Manasseri) as well-meaning geeks who need Lisa’s (Vanessa Angel) help to learn life lessons.
These lessons often arrive in the form of various sci-fi, fantasy, and horror tropes and premises thanks to Lisa’s genius abilities. Each episode presents a high-level idea, and the characters deal with everything from time loops to getting trapped in a slasher movie to time travel and much more. In addition to the series featuring a reliable ensemble of actors, some geek-favorite guest stars like Ryan Stiles and Bruce Campbell appear here and there.
The full series has yet to be released on physical media, and only the first season is available to stream anywhere. Hopefully this will be corrected soon, because while “Weird Science” is most likely dated, it would be a treat to revisit a series produced at a time when “geek-friendly” humor was more about big ideas and fun concepts rather than lowest-common-denominator gags and cameos. Like Lisa herself (to paraphrase Oingo Boingo’s immortal theme song), “Weird Science” was a series made with the hearts and hands of creators whose intentions were good.
