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I love the movie Alien Nation. Starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin -- along with General Zod himself, Terence Stamp, in one of his patented smooth-criminal roles -- it is the story of two cops in LA: one human, one alien. The alien is a Newcomer, that race of former slaves whose ship crash-landed in California (in 1991!) and who have, in the three years since, assimilated into the population. Well, at least as much as bald, be-speckled aliens with no ears and superhuman abilities can assimilate.

Basically, it's a metaphor for racism, xenophobia and intolerance -- as all the best Science Fiction is.

Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon, who would go on to create the wondrous Sci-Fi (before it was Syfy) Channel series Farscape, this movie introduced me to a bold new concept: the truly superior alien being. Smarter, stronger, faster, better... but also with the human ability to feel and improvise and invent and grow. In other Science Fiction, there are aliens with remarkable talents and more advanced technologies -- Star Trek's Mr Spock is a classic example -- and yet there is always the implication that those alien races lack something we, as humans, intrinsically possess.

In Alien Nation, however, the aliens are all that we are, and more. O'Bannon doesn't go in for the classic Sci-Fi theme of "Yay, us!" to which Star Trek and others hold true, which is part of what makes Alien Nation -- along with its like-minded, Muppet-filled stablemate -- very unique, and utterly enjoyable. (But unlike the similarly non-“Yay, us!”-ish Stargate Universe, O’Bannon’s humans at least have some redeeming qualities.)

I recently bought the DVD of Alien Nation at Amazon, and when that all-knowing, all-seeing purveyor of goodness then recommended, in its infinite wisdom, that I purchase the DVD of Alien Nation: The Complete Series (clearly thinking me some kind of obsessive completist based on my previous purchases – and, okay, sure, good call, Amazon), I figured, hey, why not? I recall being vaguely aware that a TV show resulted from the movie -- I even think I saw a few snippets of it here and there in the very early nineties when up way past my bedtime -- but it never really entered into my personal Must-See-TV diary. I was probably too busy reading Spider-Man comics and tacking posters of Wil Wheaton to my wall 

Needless to say, I bought the series. Then, I watched the series. And I... hmm. I actually didn't mind the series. Lasting for only one season, and featuring the craggy-faced, be-mulletted Gary Graham in place of James Caan as Detective Matt Sykes, and the excellent Eric Pierpoint in place of Mandy Patinkin as alien Detective George Francisco, it explores the movie's original themes, delves into some new alien traditions, and establishes a few new touches that would have added nicely to the film.

But after I watched the final episode of TV's attempt at Alien Nation, I thought to myself: was it really worth it? Am I better off for having spent upwards of eighteen hours watching this reprised rigamarole? Has it added something to my life, to my understanding of the Universe? And, most tellingly, will I ever watch it again?

Well, no.

The next time I logged into Amazon, it was kind enough to inform me that there is also an Alien Nation Ultimate Movie Collection, which collates the five (!) TV movies that resulted after the cancellation of the series. In an almost Pavlovian response, I went to immediately click the "Add to Cart" button… but then, I stopped myself, and actually thought about it first. Did I really want to watch these movies? Was the original Alien Nation movie not enough for me?

The more I thought about it, the more I got to pondering the many hundreds of hours I have spent following the re-imagined or continuing small screen adventures of various characters from many and varied films. From Private Benjamin to Clueless to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, it's a panoply of beat-a-dead-horse doggedness, the kind of cynical, make-a-fast-buck marketing that I had no business supporting.

And yet, I can't seem to help myself. I always watch those things.

I think the first TV-ization I ever knowingly watched (being unaware at the time that there were original movies on which Flipper, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and, uh, Mr. Belvedere were based) was Weird Science. John Hughes’s 1985 film saw science nerd losers Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell Smith) attain popularity with the creation -- in a gross exaggeration of the capabilities inherent in 64 KB of RAM -- of heavenly body playmate Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), a woman who could somehow grant them their every desire with but a thought. Also notable for early appearances by Bill Paxton and Robert Downey Jr., Weird Science was not only a wish-fulfilment parable about being both careful what you wish for and, y’know, yourself, it was -- and is -- also a funny, slightly raunchy, pop culture-laden exploration of the geek condition. Certainly, it remains a formative geek experience for many; especially as, like War Games before it, it illustrates how very easy it is to hack into the Defense Department mainframe via a dial-up modem.

The Weird Science TV show came about in 1994, lasted an unbelievable five seasons and starred Vanessa Angel as Lisa. Its plots featured more homages to other TV shows and movies than even Supernatural’s, and yet despite its Wish of the Week Goes Horribly Wrong formula, it still managed to get me back again and again. There were certainly worse ways to kill a half hour in the late 90’s – Unhappily Ever After, anyone?

But there was many another movie-based tour de force (or, indeed, tour de farce) to be seen at that time. I would often find myself -- almost against my will, it seemed -- watching genre TV shows like RoboCop and Timecop and The Net and The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. I even watched a few episodes of Jumanji, and I’ve never even liked that movie!

Similarly, I have no clue why I would have ever watched Freddy's Nightmares, a latenight standby based on the Nightmare on Elm Street films; even the idea of watching those movies has me quivering in dread. I’m such a wimp about the horror stuff that had they called me in Scream, and asked me for my favourite scary movie, I would have had to offer up The Dark Crystal. Despite this, I have some very vivid memories of watching the resulting show, so it must have been somehow acceptable to me then.

Possibly it was just its ubiquity. When something is on that much, I guess you just feel you have to watch it. It would be like never in your life having watched The Simpsons, or Friends, or Oprah.