When Fox announced its fall schedule in the spring of 1990, one of the biggest surprises was that "Alien Nation" wasn't on it.
The year-old series wasn't pulling huge ratings, but its numbers were pretty good for the fourth network. And the cancellation came as a particular surprise to both the producers, writers and cast of the series, which had ended the season with a number of cliffhangers.Not to mention the show's fans, who were left hanging.
Some 41/2 years later, viewers will finally find out what happened next. Fox will present the TV movie "Alien Nation: Dark Horizon" on Tuesday (7 p.m., Ch. 13).
"We're delighted to be here. You have no idea how delighted we are to be here!" said executive producer Kenneth Johnson. "This was a show that all of us felt we had no closure on."
"Alien Nation" was based on the 1989 theatrical movie of the same name. The premise was that an enormous spaceship carrying a cargo of 250,000 slaves from the planet Tencton crashes in the California desert, and the alien "Newcomers" try to assimilate into human society in Los Angeles.
The show revolved around Newcomer George Francisco (Eric Pierpont), a police detective, and his human partner, Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham).
And much of the inter-species action was a thinly veiled satire on race relations among humans.
About a year after the show was dropped, then-Fox Entertainment President Peter Chernin admitted the cancellation was a mistake. But despite prodding from Johnson, nothing came of it at the time.
Fans, however, never gave up.
"There was a massive letter-writing campaign," Johnson said.
"I have continued to receive fan mail from all over the world since we were canceled," said Terri Treas, who starred as Newcomer scientist Cathy Frankel. "And I always amazes me that there's such love for these characters."
Members of the cast and production team are almost weepy in their expressions of love for the show. And while it might seem like Hollywood hyperbole, the fact is that all the members of the original cast and most of the crew did come back for "Dark Horizon."
"It sounds really almost corny, but everybody on this show really cares about everyone else. And everybody managed to carve time out of their schedule . . . to be reunited," Johnson said.
Graham, who, as a human character, wasn't disguised by the big-head makeup the Newcomers wore, is perhaps the most recognizable member of the cast. And, as a result, he gets approached by fans much more often than Pierpont, who was hidden under all that makeup.
"I have to tell him, `Eric, you don't know what's been going on the last four years. Everywhere I go, people are grabbing me and saying, "What happened to the show?" and "When will it come back?' " Graham said.
And fans of the show should be pleased when they see "Dark Horizon" on Tuesday - it wraps up the loose ends and heads off on a new adventure at the same time.
"The show does in fact pick up the time-line right were we left off," Johnson said.
Actually, the plot picks up slightly before where it left off - a wise move on the part of the writers.
"It was tough, because we wanted to do two things," Johnson said. "We wanted to be able to satisfy the die-hard fans who would remember all of the threads of the cliffhangers that we left at the end of the last episode. And at the same time, we wanted to address the fact that, hopefully, we would be gaining new viewers who wouldn't have the faintest idea what the setup of the show was all about."
The biggest cliffhanger involved a plot by an anti-Newcomer group called the Purists. They developed a virus to kill off the aliens.
And in "Dark Horizon," that virus is aimed at George - but hits his wife and daughter instead.
Intertwined with that and other leftover plot lines is a new angle. "Dark Horizon" opens with a look at the aliens who had enslaved the Newcomers - and who have just discovered where they are.
A ninjalike Overseer, Apossno (Scott Patterson) is dispatched to Earth to prepare for the arrival of slave ships to reclaim the Newcomers. And Apossno decides to add humans to the roster of slaves.
"Dark Horizon" does stand alone - even if you've never watched an episode of "Alien Nation," you won't feel like you're missing out.
All of those involved with "Alien Nation" are hoping that this movie won't be the end.
Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov, who have since gone on to executive producer "Northern Exposure," wrote "Dark Horizon" four years ago. Actually, they wrote not only that script but a second two-hour movie in which Graham and Treas' characters "finally reach a comsummation, shall we say, of their relationship," Johnson said.
But what Johnson and others really want is not more movies but to return as a series.
"We'd like to come back as a series," Johnson said. "I think a show like this can grow even better as a weekly series than as a series of two-hour movies.
"But we all are just so invested and care so much about these characters and the world that we've created that we'd be delighted to continue in any way."