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Television has never been a very good friend of
the science fiction fan, though marketwise the
sci-fi market has proven it has a fruitful base
with longevity even Methuselah would have to envy.
Abused and neglected by mainstream media, science
fiction fans have always had one constant to turn
to: comic books.
When Star Trek was cancelled, Gold Key Comics
attained the rights to the series and published
further adventures of Captain Kirk and the
Starship Enterprise. Though poorly rendered, the
comic series managed to feed the craving of
mainstream sci-fi fans, who craved science fiction
for "general" consumption.
Success on the big screen was no guarantee of
success on the small screen. Alien Nation enjoyed
a box office success and immediate and honest
acclaim. The movie starred the brilliant James
Caan and the ever versatile Mandy "hello, my name
is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to
die" Patinkin. But on the boob tube, it struggled
for life. Not willing to take a chance on science
fiction for more than a season and a few episodes
over into season two, producers cancelled it.
Yet again, comics saved the fans. DC comics
picked up the rights and published a handful of
miniseries that proved "A Breed Apart." The comics
were popular commodities and still sell for more
than their cover price in mint condition.
Even when obviously successful (and on a channel
dedicated to science fiction, no less) science
fiction series have trouble surviving. Farscape
had not only been lauded by mainstream media, it
was a nominee of several prominent awards
including the Saturn and Hugo. Wildstorm Comics
picked up rights to this series and continues it
today in print only.
Babylon 5 enjoyed 5 seasons of success before it
was put to bed. Rumors were that Warner Brothers
and the creator of the series could not agree on
how it should be handled now that it was
officially "popular" and unsettled disputes
between actors, writers and producers brought the
series to an end. The follow up series "Babylon
5: The Rangers" was as short lived as a fish out
of water. However, DC took up the rights to
publish a comic series. This comic series was a
success. Written and overseen by the
creator/writer/director of Babylon 5, J Michael
Strazynski himself, it continued in the same
spirit as the series on television with the same
single goal, storyline and storyteller.
It must be disheartening to fans that mainstream
science fiction still struggles on the small
screen. Recent success of shows like Smallville
and Buffy: the Vampire Slayer are still more
fantasy than science fiction. Science fiction
finds more success on cable and syndication.
Shows like Babylon 5, Stargate: SGI and Farscape
have a solid fan base. This has not kept these
shows from cancellation or the threat thereof, but
their success has paved inroads that will help
science fiction find its rightful place in the
halls of the television hall of fame.
Science fiction sells big on the silver screen.
After Star Wars found a home on the big screen
there was still very little in science fiction for
fans on television in the early 80's . Despite
the success of Star Wars, Hollywood still hadn't
managed to catch on to the fact that science
fiction sells. Admittedly, flops like Star Trek,
the first movie, didn't help matters. Perhaps in
spite of this, Marvel smelled money in the future
and picked up the rights to the comic book
adaptations of the Star Trek franchise. Publishing
the subsequent movie adaptations as well as the
Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager
series continues to pay off for the publisher.
This is the kind of success that comic book
publishers bank on, the resurrection of an old TV
series by die hard fans who seem unwilling to let
go of a good franchise.
By the time Trekkies were a cash cow so big
writers and producers couldn't help but take
notice, the foray into science fiction on
television was still tentative at best. But
publishers and marketers had learned science
fiction fans put their money where their mouths
are. If you print it, they will come. They
could sell a comic of dead television series to
science fiction fans and make a bundle. And so
they printed (for some reason I have a hard time
saying "and we came" in present company).
. . . . .
Some t.v. series that lived again in print:
Alien Nation
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica
Beauty and the Beast
The Crow
Crusade (Babylon 5)
Farscape
Highlander
Max Headroom
Sliders
Space 1999
Star Trek
V
And more comic book trivia: When "The Greatest
American Hero" came to life on the television, DC
comics sued, claiming that the beloved bumbling
hero in GAH was a direct rip of Superman. The
courts disagreed however and The Greatest American
Hero was free to fly on television for a whopping
3 seasons. Fans of the show can attest to the fact
that Ralph was no Clark Kent.
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