Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By John J. Joex

Yeah, I know that the “made-for-TV” designation has some bad connotations as cheesy, throw away movies just made to fill up a few hours of air time.  But actually there have been several made-for-TV movies in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre definitely worth checking out.  Here are five that I recommend:

Lathe of Heaven – Way back in the 70’s and early 80’s, PBS toyed withed the idea of doing a series of movies based on speculative/science fiction works. The plan never took off, but it at least left us with this excellent adaptation of Ursula Le Guin’s classic novel (the idea also spawned the movies Between Time and Timbuktu and Overdrawn at the Memory Bank). Not to be confused with the ersatz A&E take on Le Guin’s story, this version remained very faithful to her book. The under-appreciated and under-utilized Bruce Davison gives a dead-on performance as George Orr and Kevin Conway brings Dr. William Haber to life as if he stepped straight out of the pages of Le Guin’s book. The movie, done on a very tight PBS budget, definitely seems dated in the internet age, with computers occupying entire rooms and Dr. Who quality special effects. But still, the producers do a great job bringing the aliens to life with their limited funds, and most importantly, capture the spirit, essence, and sometimes line-for-line dialogue of the novel. If you have never seen this, you should definitely move it to the top of your must-watch queue as it is an absolute high point for Science Fiction television.

Hawk the Slayer – If you played Dungeons and Dragons during the late seventies/early eighties, then you almost assuredly saw this move. Over and over again, in fact. True, it may not be a great movie, but it sure is great fun. A British production made on an almost non-existent budget (they couldn’t even afford a decent village) with mostly unknown actors, this one bundled up a host of Sword and Sorcery clichés and gave us what amounted to a D & D campaign come to life. Jack Palance provided a bit of name recognition, hamming it up throughout as the evil Voltan. But it was character actors Bernard Bresslaw (Gort), Ray Charleson (Crow), Peter O’Farrell (Baldin) along with John Terry’s overly-serious, deadpan portrayal as Hawk that really made this movie come to life and made it great fun. The ending promised more chapters, but sadly they never came. This one is definitely due a bigger budget remake, but only if they stick closely to the spirit of the original.

Gargoyles – If you were a Science Fiction and Fantasy fan growing up in the 70’s (you know, prehistoric times, before you had hundreds of channels to chose from, video streaming from the internet, or even video rental stores) you always looked forward to reruns of this creepy made for TV creature flick (which is not to be confused with the later animated series of the same name). It told the story of humans stumbling upon a race of Gargoyles looking to repopulate their species. It definitely has some cheese-factor to it as it was produced on a television budget, but the Gargoyles themselves were quite impressive, even by today’s standards, coming from a young Stan Winston (who would later progress to The Thing, Terminator, Aliens, Predator, and Edward Scissorhands just to name a few). What’s more, the movie was actually scary, and still holds up pretty well. True, it’s a bit of a relic, but it is still worth picking up as one of the finer made for TV Horror movies of its time.

Trilogy of Terror – Like Gargoyles above, Trilogy of Terror was another movie that you always looked forward to making its way through the rerun cycle of 70’s television. A failed pilot for a TV series along the lines of Night Gallery, this movie presented three tales in the Horror vein, all of which starred Karen Black. The first two installments were fairly standard, though well done, examples of the genre, but it was the third chapter, “Amelia”, with the Zuni hunter doll that really made this movie stand out. Black’s solo battle with the cursed figurine gave us one of the scariest, most nail-biting television sequences of that time (Gargoyles gave it a run for its money, though). Chucky’s got nothing on this demonic effigy, though a face-off between the two could provide some fun viewing (the Zuni doll would take Chucky in a second, though). They tried to capture lightning in a bottle twice twenty years later with Trilogy of Terror II, complete with a return of the Zuni doll, but it just didn’t hit the mark. The original is definitely worth seeking out, though.

Lifepod – Way back in its nascent days, FOX could actually be inventive at times. In 1993, they brought us The X-Files, Brisco County Jr. and two rather well made Science Fiction movies. 12:01 with Martin Landau was one of the movies and Lifepod was the other. It gave us an outer space take on Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie Lifeboat, with a group of people trying to survive aboard a damaged escape pod after their interplanetary cruiser is destroyed. Stranded in space, people aboard the lifepod start dying off and they have to determine who is responsible. This was a well made, suspenseful movie that focused on the characters and story over the special effects. And what special effects the movie did have were really quite well done for a television movie during the pre-CGI boom. This one has fallen off the radar in recent years, but fortunately has made its way to DVD for those who haven’t seen it or who want to revisit it.

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By John J. Joex

Okay, they probably cost more than a dime (well, not Primer), but they are a far cry from the more typical Hollywood blockbusters.  These movies rely on interesting, well-written stories as their driving force, not overpaid actors, and eye-popping special effects.

Primer – Can Time Travel receive an intelligent handling in the movies?  Yes it can, and this movie proves it.  It gives us a plausible look at time travel and its potential consequences without having characters popping around through time changing events willy-nilly with no consideration for logic or continuity. Lacking a big budget (and with almost no special effects to speak of), Primer is a chilling film that demands the audience’s attention and requires multiple viewings in order to fully grasp its narrative. It’s definitely worth the commitment, though.

Beowulf and Grendel – Not to be confused with the Hollywood dud with the bloated budget, this rendition re-imagines the Beowulf legend to act as a parable for modern times as it explores the motivations and consequences of violence.  Filmed in Iceland, it is visually stunning with its stark and authentic settings.  It was almost assuredly a reactionary response to the Bush Administration’s less than magnanimous, interventionist policies, but you don’t have to be a Liberal (or Canadian) to enjoy the subtleties of this well-crafted and thought-provoking film. 

The Brother from Another Planet – These days John Sayles is an A-List Indy Film writer/director/producer, but back when he first got started in the business he worked on Roger Corman B-Movies Alligator and Piranha.  This was another of his early films and it’s definitely worth checking out.  Made on a miniscule budget, it follows an alien who looks a lot like an African-American (starring Joe Morton in one of his earliest roles) who comes to earth, specifically Harlem, to escape the slavery of his own planet.  Sayles gives us a quirky look at ourselves through the eyes of an outsider in this stand-out, though often overlooked, indy sci fi film.

The Quiet Earth – Back in the 80’s in the nascent days of VHS rentals (I have included the link to the Wikipedia entry for those unfamiliar with the term) pretty much every science fiction fan rented this New Zealand-made movie because it was one of the few genre offerings on the shelf.  A far cry from the mega-budget Hollywood blockbusters of today, this introspective movie offers a bleak and terrifying post-apocalypse tale about a scientific experimentation gone wrong.  Kind of like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone.  It has only recently made it to DVD, so for those of you who never caught it back in the 80’s, check it out now.

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