Weird Science | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom Comic science fiction |
Based on | Weird Science by John Hughes "Made of the Future" by Al Feldstein |
Developed by | Tom Spezialy Alan Cross |
Starring | John Mallory Asher Michael Manasseri Vanessa Angel Lee Tergesen |
Theme music composer | Danny Elfman |
Opening theme | "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo |
Composer | Peter Bernstein |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 88 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Leslie Belzberg John Landis Robert K. Weiss |
Producers | Adam Barr Ed Ferrara Robert Lloyd Lewis Peter Ocko |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | St. Clare Entertainment Universal Television |
Original release | |
Network | USA Network (1994–1997) Sci-Fi Channel (1998) WAM! (2004 - 2006) |
Release | March 5, 1994 – July 25, 1998 |
Weird Science is an American television sitcom, based on John Hughes' 1985 film of the same title, that aired on the USA Network from March 5, 1994, to April 11, 1997. [1] Six previously unaired, "lost" episodes aired on the Sci-Fi Channel from July 11 to 25, 1998.
The series follows the adventures of Gary Wallace (John Mallory Asher) and Wyatt Donnelly (Michael Manasseri), two socially inept high-school students in a fictional suburb of Chicago. Together, using Wyatt's computer, they try to create a computer simulation of a perfect woman in order to practice communicating with girls. However, a freak lightning storm brings her to life, creating Lisa (Vanessa Angel), a gorgeous genius with the powers of a "magic genie". [2]
In the pilot episode, Gary claims that creating Lisa is possible because he "saw it in a John Hughes movie", referring to the original Weird Science film.
Weird Science was produced by St. Clare Entertainment in association with Universal Television. Premiering on March 1, 1994, the show ran for five seasons on the USA Network for a total of 88 episodes. However, new episodes ceased airing in 1997 with the final six still unaired. They would eventually air in the United States the following year on the Sci-Fi Channel; the show was also rerun briefly on what was then the Fox Family Channel in 2001 and Encore Family in 2004.
The theme song for the series was "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo, the same as that used in the movie (though they received no on-screen credit for the series).
John Hughes had no involvement with the television version of his film. The creators and showrunners of the series were Tom Spezialy and Alan Cross.
Kari Lizer, one of the staff writers, who later went on to create The New Adventures of Old Christine , said, "Weird Science turned out to be the best job because it made me realize I was more than an actress who could write monologues for herself. It turned me into a real writer because I had to write about things that weren’t close to home." [3]
Seth Green was one of the finalists for the part of Gary. [4] He later had a guest appearance in season 2 episode 1, "Lisa's Virus".
Six episodes that did not air during the series' original run on USA Network eventually aired on Syfy. The first two premiered July 11, 1998, with the remainder premiering as pairs of episodes July 18 and 25, 1998. [5]
In France, the series was aired as Code Lisa on France 2 in 1995, later it was rebroadcast on MCM, NRJ 12 and Game One.
On January 1, 2008, A&E Home Video released the complete first and second seasons of Weird Science on DVD in Region 1. [6]
The complete series was released on DVD in Australia on August 16, 2017.[ citation needed ]
DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
---|---|---|
The Complete Seasons 1 & 2 | 26 | January 1, 2008 |
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