The 90s are often remembered as a golden era of television, dominated by titles that entered the collective imagination and are still cited today as successful models, but nevertheless, behind these media giants, lies an undergrowth of ambitious, experimental and often too ahead of their time series, which ended up being ignored by the general public or canceled prematurely.
VR.5
VR.5 is perhaps one of the most emblematic examples, which aired in 1995, when the Internet was still a nebulous concept for most people, the series addressed the topic of virtual reality with a surprisingly introspective approach. The protagonist, Sydney Bloom, discovers that she can enter a digital dimension that allows her to access the subconscious of others, transforming technology into a tool for psychological exploration rather than a simple futuristic gadget. The melancholy aesthetic, the visual contrast between the real and virtual worlds, and the constant sense of threat posed by a secret organization made VR.5 an atmospheric series, more interested in psychological nature than pure action. At the time it was difficult and not very immediate, but today, in a world dominated by the metaverse, artificial intelligence and digital identities, its concept appears incredibly current.
Aeon Flux
A similar fate befell Aeon Fluxoften remembered more for its ill-fated film adaptation than for the original animated series that aired on MTV. Peter Chung’s work was a radical experiment, visually disturbing and narratively elliptical, set in a very dark dystopian future. Aeon was not a traditional heroine, but rather an ambiguous figure, often destined to fail or die, trapped in a game of power and desire with Trevor Goodchild. The series rejected easy explanations and linearity, asking the viewer to be involved in order to understand some subtexts. Precisely this anti-commercial nature limited its diffusion, but its impact on adult animation and visual science fiction is undeniable. A reboot, perhaps animated and free from compromises, could restore that subversive energy that today the public is more ready to welcome.
Brimstone
In the field of the supernatural, Brimstone it represented a fascinating anomaly. The series mixed the procedural with a dark mythology, following a detective condemned to Hell and forced to hunt down fugitive souls for a chance at redemption. The relationship between Ezekiel Stone and the Devil, played with poisonous irony by John Glover, was the true narrative heart of the series, a continuous confrontation between guilt, punishment and free will. The dark tone and the placement in a penalizing time slot decreed its premature end, but the underlying idea, as well as the dynamics between the characters, seems perfect for a modern television more inclined to explore moral ambiguity.
Now and Again
The more intimate and painful it was Now and Againa series that used science fiction as a framework to talk about loss and identity. Michael Wiseman dies and is brought back to life in a new, better, stronger body, but he loses everything that gave meaning to his existence. The conflict between his new function as a secret agent and his desire to return to his family was treated with a sensitivity rare for the time. Despite critical acclaim, the series did not find space in the schedule of a generalist network.
Profit
In the end, Profit is probably the most advanced of allwhere we find Jim Profit was an uncomfortable, cynical, ruthless protagonist, an antihero who anticipated characters like Tony Soprano or Walter White by years. The series didn’t ask the viewer to justify it, but forced them to follow it, exposing the power dynamics of the corporate world. At the time it was too disturbing, today it seems almost prophetic. In a television era that celebrates morally ambiguous characters, Profit would have all it takes to be reborn and, perhaps, finally obtain the recognition he has always been denied.
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