The Classic John Hughes Movie That Was Reinvented As A Long-Running Sitcom

The relationship between television and film, when it comes to a property crossing over to another medium, is a surprisingly busy one. While it may seem that the majority of examples of this involve a TV show being turned into a movie, there are nearly as many instances of the reverse occurring, albeit with generally less successful results. For every "M*A*S*H" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," there's a "Delta House" or "A League of Their Own," spin-offs and sequel series that barely make it to a full season, let alone several. One of these small screen failures was the 1990 sitcom "Ferris Bueller," based on the 1986 John Hughes comedy hit "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." The series had an odd take on its source material, disregarding the film in favor of claiming that it was depicting the real-life drama that the events of the movie were based on. Although it featured future "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston in a key supporting role, it was cancelled after just 13 episodes.

Given that experience, one might expect another sitcom based on a wacky Hughes feature to not do so well on television. However, it turned out that 1985's "Weird Science" had a lot more magic going for it on TV than "Bueller" ever did. Developed by Tom Spezialy (of future "The Leftovers" fame, amongst many other credits) and Alan Cross, the sitcom version of "Weird Science" debuted on the USA Network in 1994. It ended up running for a whopping 5 seasons, finally bowing out in July of 1998. While the film version still claims the most fame and notoriety of the two, the sitcom is worth remembering as a precursor to (and almost antidote for) the rise of geek culture media like "The Big Bang Theory."

"Weird Science" the movie gets a lot of its comic juice out of subverting a premise ready-made for a typical sex comedy of the time: two hopeless nerds, Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) get the bright idea to make a hot girlfriend for themselves via Wyatt's supercomputer, resulting in the vivacious Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). The joke, ultimately, is that Lisa isn't there to serve as a slave to the boys, but instead becomes their teacher in how to be proper young men. The series adaptation jumps off from that theme, presenting Gary (John Mallory Asher) and Wyatt (Michael Manasseri) as well-meaning geeks who need the help of Lisa (Vanessa Angel) 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 genie abilities. Each episode features a high-concept idea, and the characters deal with everything from time loops to finding themselves trapped in a slasher movie to time travel and more. In addition to the show featuring a core ensemble of reliable character actors, some geek favorite guest stars like Ryan Stiles and Bruce Campbell show up here and there. 

The complete series has yet to be released on physical media, and only the first season is available to stream anywhere. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon, because while "Weird Science" is very likely dated, it'd be a delight to revisit a series produced during a time when "geek-friendly" humor was more about big ideas and funny concepts rather than lowest common denominator gags and cameos. Like Lisa herself (to paraphrase the immortal Oingo Boingo theme song), "Weird Science" was a series made from the creators' hearts and hands whose intentions were good.