Masters of Science Fiction

The science fiction anthology format has been a mainstay since editor and publisher Hugo Gernsback’s first issue of the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in April, 1926. The format flourished on radio (X Minus One, Dimension X, Exploring Tomorrow) and on television (The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories).

One place it hasn’t settled into for decades is on US network television. Jordan Peele, whose 2017 film Get Out incorporated some of the Rod Serling aesthetic, is heading a revival of The Twilight Zone, but it’s for CBS’s streaming All Access station (as is CBS’s revival of Star Trek). British TV’s Black Mirror anthology is distributed in the US on Netflix, and Steven Spielberg’s new Amazing Stories reboot is being created for Apple. The Dust science fiction short story programming is web-only. Masters of Science Fiction is the only sci-fi anthology series that’s aired on network TV (ABC) for some time and it was first programmed for a known “dead” time: Saturday nights at 10:00 (aka Siberia), then booted off the air two thirds of the way through the series.

If the series wasn’t as successful as had been hoped for it wasn’t for lack for trying. Masters hired top tier actors, using promising source material and noteworthy scriptwriters and directors. The production values, though not of feature film level, were high, bringing serious science fiction premises to a station better known for American Idol and blocks of sitcoms.

A Clean Escape

Masters of Science Fiction consists of six 45-minute episodes. The first, “A Clean Escape”, is helmed by long-time director Mark Rydell (he directed The Fox, starring Sandy Dennis and Keir Dullea, in 1967). At an undisclosed time and place in the future, Dr. Deanna Evans (Judy Davis) analyzes and argues with Havelman (Sam Waterston), in a series of vignettes. Havelman, once the head of a tech company working with the Pentagon, seems to have lost the memory of several years of his life, and as the doctor and patient banter becomes more heated, who he really is, what he’s done and where they are becomes ever more intense (no spoilers here). The short is a strong beginning for the series, relying almost solely on Davis and Waterston’s acting skills.

The Awakening

“The Awakening” stars Terry O’Quinn, then in the middle of his iconic role as John Locke on Lost. “The Awakening”‘s a variation of The Day The Earth Stood Still, and based on a story by novelist Howard Fast (Spartacus, 1951). It starts with two soldiers of warring countries being able to understand each other’s foreign language after exposure to a sexless alien life form found in the desert. Afterwards, they become catatonic. Lt. Granger (Elisabeth Rohm) is tasked with bringing Maj. Albert Skynner (O’Quinn) out of retirement to study the life-form. Eventually, catatonic personnel under the alien’s power begin to write messages. At the same time, more alien life forms begin landing all around the world. In Fail Safe fashion, the threat becomes a world-wide, life-threatening game of political brinkmanship. “The Awakening” is both intimate and cosmic and ends on a note of hopefulness.

Jerry Was a Man

“Jerry Was a Man” is based on a 1947 Robert A. Heinlein short story which first appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories. With a teleplay by Michael Tolkin (author of the novel and Robert Altman’s adaptation of The Player), “Jerry” is an exercise in dark humor and hard-edged cynicism, as Heinlein’s work often excelled in. In a colorful future wherein androids (incorporating a bit of human DNA) are used as crash test dummy-like fodder, as well as for more mundane tasks, Martha Von Vogel (Anne Heche) adopts one, Jerry, in order to keep it from being recycled as cat food by inventor and manufacturer Tibor Cargrew (Malcolm McDowell). Jerry lives only for cigarettes and candy. Eventually, the conflict goes to court, where it’s to be determined once and for all whether Jerry (and all his fellow androids) are legally human. The ways in which this is determined paint a bleak but funny picture of all human sentience. Animals kill each other, but do only humans methodically plan murder?

The Discarded

The cynical humor continues with Harlan Ellison’s “The Discarded”, directed by Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation). Drifting in space in a craft no one seems to want to see landed, a collection of mutants cast off from Earth bicker about their dwindling resources. The plague which created their mutations is now getting out of control on Earth, resulting in a possible reprieve for these aggrieved souls. The short, perhaps the least of the six in the series, does boast of great casting, including John Hurt as a two-headed monstrosity, Brian Dennehy as the ship’s leader, and Harlan Ellison himself as one of the muties.

The Unaired Episodes

The last two episodes were not originally broadcast on ABC. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson (later forced out of the company on sexual harassment charges) said the series was “a low-cost initiative” with “very uneven” results and killed it after four episodes. Fortunately, the Anchor Bay DVD set of the series includes the initially unaired episodes. They are “Little Brother”, written by Walter Mosley (of the Easy Rawlins detective novelseries) and “Watchbird”, based on a story by the acerbic but largely forgotten writer Robert Sheckley. Both are strong entries in the series.

Little Brother

“Little Brother” features Clifton Collins Jr. as a refugee from an underground, mandatory corporate workplace. When brought to trial for a crime he may or may not have committed, he insists on a jury in a process that’s normally electronically automated. The jury is made up of the disembodied brains or souls of the dead.

Watchbird

“Watchbird” may be the most currently relevant of the series’ various premises. Charlie Kramer (Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings) is the inventor of Watchbird robots, designed as unmanned drones for the military – drones which can determine the murderous intent of humans. Eventually, Kramer is forced by his boss, Ludwin (James Cromwell) and the government to allow his creation to be used in US cities, as a deterrent on crime. As one might imagine, the moral and legal ambiguities of this system become complicated, with tragic consequences. Of the six different shorts, “Watchbird” would most have benefited from a longer time-length. There’s a feature film in here waiting to get out.

Masters of Science Fiction is available as a two-DVD set (although “Little Brother” and “Watchbird” were incorrectly marked on my set). There are no extras, but the total running length of 264 minutes will keep you busy enough.

—Michael R. Neno, 2019 Feb 18