It’s pretty surprising any major or minor network would pursue another TV adaptation of a John Hughes’ movie after Uncle Buck and Ferris Bueller were cancelled within half a season. Why basic-cable channel USA tried was another mystery since Weird Science would require a larger budget due to its special effects. The other problem was the timely nature of Hughes’ work. His great run tapped into the common themes of adolescence, teen angst and awkwardness yet he became anchored to the mid-Eighties. By 1994, Hughes was remembered as the guy behind Dennis the Menace not the better teen comedies of an earlier decade.
Somehow John Landis put together a clever team of producers to make Weird Science’s initial premise into an amusing, funny and enjoyable series that lasted five or six seasons. For better or worse, some of these people went on to create bigger shows such as Desperate Housewives, Baby Blues, Dexter, Reaper and Sliders.
The pilot begins much like the movie, Gary and Wyatt are two unpopular high school freshmen dweebs. They live in sunny Southern California instead the Chicago ‘burbs though (saves money on settings). One Friday night they build Lisa with Wyatt’s computer except in this version, she doesn’t boost their confidence, turn their lives around and leaves. No, this Lisa sticks around. She is a genie/life coach who teaches them lessons by granting them temporary wishes. The big drawback is that her magic is unpredictable, namely in its duration, side effects and possible loopholes. It’s not a one-way relationship neither. Lisa is their friend first, not an antagonizing mentor and sometimes she learns from the wish too.
When I first heard the announcement of this show, I was obviously skeptical. I have always been a huge fan of the movie. It’s right up there with other cultural touchstones of my generation such as Better Off Dead, Revenge of the Nerds and The Breakfast Club. I really didn’t want it to receive the same treatment as The Odd Couple, MASH and Private Benjamin because I didn’t think there was much to fuel many weekly misadventures. Thankfully, those writers, producers and directors proved me wrong once I finally watched it on a Saturday evening. The plots weren’t very original yet it was the impressive executions which converted me into a fan. The guest stars in this DVD set are equally pleasing: an unknown Seth Green as a classmate, Dwight Schultz as a supercomputer and Ryan Stiles as the president of a record label. The downside was the supporting cast of parents never gelling because they had at least two different actors playing Wyatt’s father. When it comes to Chet, the main antagonist from the original, Lee Tergesen does a great job for what was allowed on basic cable. (Bill Paxton will remain a hard act to follow in everything he does.) The show introduced a second foe, Principal Scampi. Foe is a tad strong, he is really the authority figure who has a knack for getting caught up in the wishes in place of the parents; see the episode “Sex Ed.”
Much like the source movie, the show does appear dated: flannel shirts, those boot-like shoes girls used to wear with “Holly Hobbie” dresses and references to obsolete technologies (VCRs and floppies). Is it still funny? I think so. Several years ago, reruns of Weird Science made the rounds on WAM (an odd movie channel through Dish). They didn’t disappoint me and Somara found them amusing; she may have seen one or two during its initial run. Most people never knew the show existed anyway because USA isn’t a cable channel which easily stands out; it tends to be taken for granted with WGN or TBS and it was known as the resting place for reruns of Wings in the Nineties. Now with TV shows being recycled via DVDs, I was able to score this and share it making it another key piece in the Picayune’s Library of Obscurity. Next pieces to add, Bosom Buddies the sitcom Tom Hanks starred in before movies and Square Pegs.