Otherworld

Otherworld is one of my favorite television series that no one remembers. I very distinctly remember seeing the promos and commercials over and over during the 1984 Winter break, building an anticipation in me. I was there for the premier and watched a few of the eight episodes that did air. I recall it resurfacing for a while on the Sci-Fi channel, but I missed that then. I am thrilled to discover that it has been residing on YouTube for a few years.

Link to the Otherworld series on Youtube.

The premier episode has a couple of weird little reunions.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High's Mr Hand was played by Ray Walston who is seen in this episode as simply Bureaucrat along with the alluring Amanda Wyss as Nova. She played a character named Lisa in Fast Times.

This episode also featured the wholesome James Hampton who would appear in Teen Wolf later that same year.

The finale of the episode features a master computer that the characters interact with vocally. I am almost 100% certain that the voice of the computer was performed by Steven Wright. But I have not been able to confirm this. Hilarious on more than one level.

I've found that I tend to be a big fan of the Trapped in Another World trope. This is one of the central themes to the show. In my own headcannon, Otherworld and Land of the Lost exist in the same universe and exist not far from each other. They are both about travel to other dimensions via mysterious means. They both feature advanced and mystical technology that is powered and controlled by crystals. Both shows thematically are about the strength of family.

Otherworld was ahead of its time. Too much that it didn't catch on. Rebooting it now might seem trite. Everything is about alternate realities and parallel dimensions. Otherworld was one of the first real good attempts.