There were some really bad sci-fi movies this year.  I chose to spotlight two that, well, I thought I liked when I was a kid.  But I realize now that they are terrible.  First, there was the movie The Wraith starring Charlie Sheen.  Is it horror?  Maybe, maybe not.  Is it sci-fi?  Maybe, maybe not.  Is it bad?  Definitely.  Unless you were just into Charlie Sheen, I doubt if you you’d make it 10 minutes into this movie before finding something more pressing to do like pulling out your toenails, or going to the dentist to get those cavities filled. 

Second. Superman IV:  The Quest for Peace.  A good idea that went bad.  Nuclear Man….No, seriously, Nuclear Man.  The death of a franchise. If you haven’t seen it, don’t.  If you have seen it, you have my sympathy.

Spaceballs is considered a comedy classic.  I say it’s more of a cult classic, but it is also a sci-fi movie.  It was funny when I saw it as a kid, and as an adult, I still think it has some funny parts.  The scene where the black guys are coming the desert with a pick is just classic.

To me, The Running Man is one of Arnold’s great movies.  Okay, the movie might seem hookie to you, but where else would you find Yaphet Kotto, Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura, Mick Fleetwood and Dweezil Zappa all in a science fiction movie based on a book written by Steven King?

Let get this started with the most popular cartoon to debut this year, TMNT to the uninformed that’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.   The cartoon was based on the popular comic book series.    The cartoon was the most popular animated shows of all-time.   It started a pop culture phenomenon that included toys, breakfast cereal, etc.   The  show ran for 10 years, 3 in syndication and 7 years on CBS and aired over 193 episodes.   The show chronicled the adventures of four turtles who fell into the sewers and are befriended by Hamato Yoshi, a Japanese man who fled from New York and had nowhere to live but in the sewers. He was framed by his enemy, Oroku Saki, in a plot to kill the sensei. One day he sees a strange green glow which transforms the four turtles into human-like creatures. Hamato (now Master Splinter) changes into a giant rat from the green glow and teaches the turtles the skills of the ninja as they team up with Channel 6 news reporter April O’Neil to battle against Yoshi’s archenemy Shredder and Krang, an alien warlord from Dimension X. 

TMNT

I forgot about the Bionic Six until I started doing research for the theme week. It was basically a bionic man rip-off, but their primary nemesis Dr Scrab managed to stick in my head more than the rest of the characters. It premiered on April 19th, 1987 and lasted two seasons.   Jack Bennet, a secret agent for the CIA , had taken his family on a trip to the Himalayas. During this trip, Jack is called to duty to investigate unusual magnetic readings. He encounters aliens who are trying to obtain Bertomium, a mineral that can increase bionic abilities and give eternal life to its possessor. In a battle, Jack’s family becomes trapped under radioactive snow and they slip into a coma. Not seeing another way to save their lives, Jack permits Professor Sharp to operate on his family. Professor Sharp implants bionics in human beings, and the Bionic Six are born. Doctor Scarab creates his own bionic group from misfits taken from penitentiaries and asylums.

In this series inspired by the Bionic Man/Woman, the six members of the Bennet family use their bionic abilities to defeat the evil Dr. Scarab and his cyfrons whose goal is to use science for selfish gain. The family members each have special powers: Meg/Rock-1, with sonic disruptors and super speed; Eric/Sport-1, with magnetic powers; JD/I.Q., intelligent and strong; Bunji/Karate 1, martial artist; Helen/Mother-1, with psionic powers; and Jack, a good cook.

I always love the idea of Western set in future like Serenity,   that why I was drawn to this show.   Like most animated shows during this time it was mainly seen as commercial for the BraveStarr toy line.   The toys bombed which meant they had no need for the show so it lasted only one season.   The toys did have a unique gimmick each figure came with a Kerium nugget (I wonder they used for a Kerium nugget).   It premiered on Sept, 14th 1987 on CBS’s slate of saturday morning shows.   Kerium, a rare and powerful magic crystal, brings an infinite number of colonists from all the corners of the galaxy to the distant planet New Texas. Some are good and honest, others very malicious but no one is more dangerous than Tex Hex the leader of the Carrion Bunch, a group of outlaws under the control of the mysterious group Stampede. Hex seeks to control this immense mineral richness at all costs than is Kerium. Only one person can put a stop on his plans: BraveStarr. When there was an obstacle in the way, BraveStarr called for the power of a particular animal and used that ability to move the obstacle, like using the strength of a bear to move a boulder, or the speed of a puma to catch the criminal, the eyes of a hawk, or the ears of a wolf. To help him in the fight for the cause of justice, he had Thirty-Thirty, his horse that can transform into a human-like creature being able to stand on it’s hind legs, talk and fight alongside him. BraveStarr lived in Fort Kerium. His advisor was the wise, elderly Shaman.

Dinosaucers lasted only one season but managed to air around 65 episodes.   Today it would take about 3 years to get that number.  The was about a fleet of anthropomorphic dinosaurs from a planet called Reptilon. The Dinosaucers fought for the good of their homeworld, while the Tyrannos fought for domination of it. When the planet suffered because of the wars, the battle came to Earth, where the Dinosaucers teamed up with four young humans, who became their Secret Scouts in the new world.    The premise sounds similar to the Transformers cartoon.

Friday the 13th: The series was a first run syndicated show that made its debut on Oct 3, 1987. The show lasted 3 seasons and aired 72 episodes. The show had no connection to the film franchise other than the name.

This series revolved initially around the adventures of two cousins, Ryan Dallion and Micki Foster, who inherited an antique shop, “Curious Goods,” from their Uncle Vendredi. We find out in the first episode that Vendredi made a pact with the Devil, to sell cursed antiques. He recanted at the last minute and tried to recover the antiques, but was claimed by Hell. The cousins, aided by Vendredi’s partner Jack Marshak, used the store’s manifest to track down the cursed antiques, each of which fell into the hands of someone who inevitably used them for evil.

Max Headroom premiered on ABC on March 31, 1987.   The show lasted only 14 episodes, but  a  Max Headroom is a look into the future. Society is run-down and dominated by televisin and large corporations. Edison Carter is a reported intend on exposing corruption and greed. In the pilot episode, Edison is hunted down by his own employer. He is injured and his mind is digitized into a computer program. The resulting program takes on a life of its own. This is the creation of the eccentric and unpredictable character of Max Headroom. Max can move through computer and television networks at will. The series is about Edison Carter and Max Headroom in their combined fight to expose and eliminate the corruption in society.

So lets get it started with a little show called Star Trek: The Next Generation that made its debut on  September 28, 1987  with a two hour pilot called “Encounter at Far-Point” (which drew 27 million viewers).    The show ran for 7 seasons and aired 178 episodes.  Set in the 24th century and decades after the adventures of the original crew of the starship Enterprise, this new series is the long-awaited successor to the original “Star Trek”(1966). Under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the all new Enterprise NCC 1701-D travels out to distant planets to seek out new life and to boldly go where no one has gone before. 

ST:TNG was significant for several reasons,  it made first-run syndication a viable option for genre shows and it gave new life to a 20 year old franchise.   Check out the promo trailer.  

On July, 11th 1987 the newly started Fox network aired “Werewolf”.   Werewolf was about young Eric who was  bitten by a werewolf. However, he’s not particularly thrilled by this turn of affairs and wishes to escape his curse. To do so, he must find and kill the founder of his particular werewolf clan. The series traces his efforts to (A) track down the founder; (B) keep from hurting innocent lives due to his lycanthropy; and (C) stay one step ahead of folks who wish to kill him due to his werewolf nature.

Beauty and the Beast premiered on Sept 25th, 1987 on CBS. It featured two genre star Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Linda Hamilton (Terminator).   Beauty and the Beast is a modern fairytale that tells just how powerful love is. The show takes place in New York. Catherine Chandler is a wealthy woman who thinks that her life has no meaning beyond anything superficial. She longs for something more.

Vincent is from a different world. He lives below the city in tunnels that have been forgotten. He must stay hidden because of his appearance. Though his appearance is different he has the heart of a man. He and Catherine share a bond that is stronger than friendship or love.

The show ran for 3 seasons and had 56 episodes. Linda Hamilton decided to leave the show before the third season which caused a ratings drop leading to its cancelation.

Beginning this week, Blackgeekdom will highlight one year for its scifi and comic releases.  This week we will highlight 1987.  The year sparked the beginning of one franchise, and the crash and burn of another.  There were some classic comic book releases, and some innovations in scifi on television.  Feel free to share your memories of this year, if you are old enough to have any, or maybe you just want to forget the year altogether. 

We will kick off today with a movie.  Now a cult classic, this Oscar winning movie ( no really, it had three nominations and one win) took law enforcement to the next level.  Robocop was marred by by not only two movies, but several failed attempts to be made into a successful video game franchise.  However, the movie stands alone as a vision of the future which isn’t that far fetched.  This is the original theatrical trailer.