4 Years Later, A Reboot of Spielberg's 80s Classic is Apple TV's Most Underrated Sci-Fi Series

Summary

• The original series ran for two seasons starting in 1985.
• The reboot lasted only one season.
• The stories are great, and there's no explanation for its failure to captivate viewers.

Apple TV has produced some top-quality TV shows. Silo, Severance, Ted Lasso, and Hijack are the titles that come to mind when you think of the relatively new streaming service.

But one show that somehow failed to grab viewers' attention was a reimagining of a mid-eighties Steven Spielberg anthology series.

A multi-award-winning original

The original series, which debuted in 1985, was nominated for 12 Emmys and won 5. It also spawned the spin-off animated series Family Dog and the 1987 movie Batteries Not Included, which was originally planned as an episode of the series before it was decided that it would work better as a feature-length film.

There was no complete story arc for the series, instead each episode was a short story in its own right. Think of it as a science fiction version of Tales of the Unexpected and you won't be far off.

Each week offered a new glimpse into the mind and imagination of Steven Spielberg, with episodes ranging from a psychic magician realizing he has a serial killer in his audience, to a school project inadvertently making contact with aliens, to a cabbage threatening the Earth.

Without the constraints of a specific plot, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time was free to let his imagination run wild. And it produced some wonderful television.

Is the reboot as good?

In many ways, trying to judge the two is like comparing apples to oranges. While the '80s series has over 40 episodes, the 2019 version of the show has only 5. This has severely limited the ability of the writers to really expand their thinking and come up with fresh ideas.

What we can say is that, in keeping with the original, each episode is distinct from the others and based on traditional sci-fi tropes. The stories are strong and concise, and the writing and acting do a good job of bringing them to life.

There's certainly evidence that, given time and creative freedom, this could have been (or still could be, if Apple gets its act together) on par with the series that ran from 1985 to 1987.

The show's synopsis on Apple's website describes it as "[transporting] everyday characters into worlds of wonder, possibility, and imagination." It's pure escapism into realms where anything is possible and nothing imaginable is off limits. What's not to love about a show like that?

On Rotten Tomatoes, the reboot has a critics' score of 41% and an audience score of 51% (versus the original's 82%). These seem unfairly low given the quality of the show.

It probably didn't help that it ran from March 6 to April 3, 2020, when the whole world was more focused on what was coming out of Wuhan than new releases from a fledgling streaming service.

So if you like sci-fi, Steven Spielberg, or both, give it a try. It's easily the most underrated sci-fi series on Apple TV, and it deserves another chance.

Where can I watch it?

The reboot of Amazing Stories is still available to watch on Apple TV.

You can also catch all episodes of the original on Apple and Prime.

Source: Apple TV.