VR.5
Encyclopedia
VR.5 was an American
television
program. It was broadcast on the Fox
network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Of the 13 episodes that were produced, only 10 aired during its original run.
as Sydney Bloom, a telephone engineer and daughter of Dr. Joseph Bloom, played by David McCallum
, inventor of an advanced form of virtual reality
. Also involved in the project was his wife, Dr. Nora Bloom, a neurochemist. The show used what appeared to be mistakes in continuity and chroma scheme as clues to what was actually happening.
. The opening theme music came to Frizzell in a dream. Dee Carstensen
and Eileen Frizzell provided the vocals in the opening theme. The music supervisor of the series was Abby Treloggen.
on 2008) and there are currently no commercial reproductions of the series available. The full series are available on torrent trackers. An online community called Virtual Storm successfully lobbied Fox
to develop a movie featuring the cast and crew of VR.5, but the project was dropped after the scripting stage.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program. It was broadcast on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Of the 13 episodes that were produced, only 10 aired during its original run.
Premise
The show starred Lori SingerLori Singer
Lori Singer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Ariel Moore, the female lead in the 1984 feature film Footloose, and as Julie Miller in the television series Fame.-Film and television career:...
as Sydney Bloom, a telephone engineer and daughter of Dr. Joseph Bloom, played by David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
, inventor of an advanced form of virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
. Also involved in the project was his wife, Dr. Nora Bloom, a neurochemist. The show used what appeared to be mistakes in continuity and chroma scheme as clues to what was actually happening.
Cast
- Lori SingerLori SingerLori Singer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Ariel Moore, the female lead in the 1984 feature film Footloose, and as Julie Miller in the television series Fame.-Film and television career:...
as Sydney Bloom - Michael EastonMichael EastonMichael Easton is an American television actor, poet, author and photographer.-Career:Easton has made appearances on television shows such as Ally McBeal and The Practice. He had a recurring role on the science fiction television series Mutant X...
as Duncan - David McCallumDavid McCallumDavid Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
as Dr. Joseph Bloom - Louise FletcherLouise FletcherLouise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
as Dr. Nora Bloom - Tracey NeedhamTracey NeedhamTracey Needham is a Texas-born American actress best known as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On during the series' second to fourth seasons , and then on the first season of JAG as Lt. Meg Austin .-Biography:...
as Samantha Bloom - Will PattonWill PattonWilliam Rankin "Will" Patton is an American actor.-Life and career:Patton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest of three children. His father is Bill Patton, a playwright and acting/directing instructor who was a Lutheran minister and served as a chaplain at Duke University...
as Dr. Frank Morgan (episodes 1-4) - Anthony HeadAnthony HeadAnthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
as Oliver Sampson (episodes 5-13)
Production
When inside virtual reality the visual look of the show was changed by filming on black and white film, then manually adding color to each image; this effect took four weeks for each episode and contributed to the cost of the show which was up to $1.5 million per episode. While Rysher Entertainment has never released a definitive statement, it is generally believed that this well-above-average cost coupled with a poorly chosen time slot formed the reasons for the show's commercial failure.Music
The music for VR.5 was created by composer John FrizzellJohn Frizzell
John B. Frizzell is a Canadian screenwriter and film producer.After several years writing, directing and co-producing the documentary series A Different Understanding for TVOntario, Frizzell joined partners Niv Fichman, Barbara Willis Sweete and Larry Weinstein to found the Canadian production...
. The opening theme music came to Frizzell in a dream. Dee Carstensen
Dee Carstensen
Dee Carstensen is a New York City-based Pop/alternative harpist, singer and songwriter.-Early years:As the daughter of Professor Dr. Edwin L. Carstensen, a biomedical engineer in University of Rochester, NY, Dee was influenced by her father and his musical talent on piano and clarinet...
and Eileen Frizzell provided the vocals in the opening theme. The music supervisor of the series was Abby Treloggen.
US order of episodes
| No. | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | 10 March 1995 |
| 2 | "Dr. Strangechild" | 17 March 1995 |
| 3 | "Sisters" | N/A |
| 4 | "Love and Death" | 24 March 1995 |
| 5 | "5D" | 31 March 1995 |
| 6 | "Escape" | 7 April 1995 |
| 7 | "Facing the Fire" | 14 April 1995 |
| 8 | "Simon's Choice" | 21 April 1995 |
| 9 | "Send Me an Angel | N/A |
| 10 | "Control Freak" | 28 April 1995 |
| 11 | "The Many Faces of Alex" | 5 May 1995 |
| 12 | "Parallel Lives" | N/A |
| 13 | "Reunion" | 12 May 1995 |
- "Sisters," "Send Me An Angel," and "Parallel Lives" were not broadcast on Fox. They are called the "missing episodes" and were broadcast in countries like CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Norway, and the UK. The series was eventually shown in its entirety on the Sci Fi ChannelSci Fi Channel (United States)Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
.
UK order of episodes
Sky TV in the UK broadcast VR.5 out of order:| UK no. | Title | US no. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | 1 |
| 2 | "Dr. Strangechild" | 2 |
| 3 | "Love and Death" | 4 |
| 4 | "5D" | 5 |
| 5 | "Escape" | 6 |
| 6 | "Facing the Fire" | 7 |
| 7 | "Simon's Choice" | 8 |
| 8 | "Control Freak" | 10 |
| 9 | "The Many Faces of Alex" | 11 |
| 10 | "Send Me an Angel" | 9 |
| 11 | "Reunion" | 13 |
| 12 | "Parallel Lives" | 12 |
- The episode "Sisters" was unaired to make room for an "X-Files" documentary.
The Ten Levels of Virtual Reality
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| VR.1 | Computer screen. Flat two-dimensional projection. |
| VR.2 | Interactive (e.g., video games). User-controlled manipulation of items on a screen. |
| VR.3 | Flight simulator Flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external... . The user manipulates items and objects on a screen and the simulator responds physically to those actions. This level controls the space and place containing the individual, but not the individual's senses. |
| VR.4 | Cyberspace Cyberspace Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place.The term "cyberspace" was first used by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson, though the concept was described somewhat earlier, for example in the Vernor Vinge short story "True... . User is transplanted into an electronically created world. Does not involve user being in controlled environment. Equipment that can neutralize the user's sensory input necessary to alter reality (e.g., helmet, gloves, bodysuit). |
| VR.5 | Level at which Sydney initially operates and the title's eponymous VR.5. It provides a window to the subconscious mind. User is taken into the virtual world, accessed at the subconscious level. Experiences, for all intents and purposes, are real for the user. Results in little or no conscious recall of virtual experiences for participants unwillingly brought into virtual plane, yet subconscious behavior is altered, affecting real-world behavior. |
| VR.6 | This level, much like VR.5, brings the user and participant into the virtual plane. Access is at the conscious level, with both user and participant having full recall of virtual experiences. |
| VR.7 | Official materials list this as: Telepathy Telepathy Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference... . Communication/experience via the mind, rather than via hardware. A cyberlink formed between the minds of two people without the need for a computer, monitor or mouse/keyboard. When the show progressed to episodes using vr.7 it was portrayed as a yet deeper version of vr.6 that uses "different parts of the brain" but is definitely still tied to a physical computer. |
| VR.8 | The level Dr. Bloom reached. The ability to transplant or implant a single or multiple personality and life experience within the mind of the participant. Total mind manipulation. |
| VR.9 | The ability to manipulate the real world via the mind. Telekinetic abilities. The virtual becomes real, and reality becomes just one of the operating planes of the user. |
| VR.10 | All knowing, all seeing, the ability to transcend normal, natural, and physical laws governing experiences. |
Availability
VR.5 no longer airs on any broadcaster in the world (last broadcast took place on Radio Television of SerbiaRadio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
on 2008) and there are currently no commercial reproductions of the series available. The full series are available on torrent trackers. An online community called Virtual Storm successfully lobbied Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
to develop a movie featuring the cast and crew of VR.5, but the project was dropped after the scripting stage.