VR.5

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Name: VR.5
Abbreviation(s): VR.5 or VR5
Creator: Jeannine Renshaw
Date(s): March 10 to May 12, 1995
Medium: television series
Country of Origin: United States
External Links: Wikipedia article

IMDB entry

THE VR.5 FAQ
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VR.5 was a one-season science fiction show about virtual reality that ended on a cliffhanger. It was one of the many shows Fox put in the Friday Night Death Slot before the X-Files. (Others included: The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., M.A.N.T.I.S., and Strange Luck.)

Canon

It involved characters being able to dial into each other's brains via the phone. (Yes, the made-up VR technology involved seems hopelessly 1990s today.) It was known for the weird color filters and interesting visual design of the trippy VR sequences and often made reference to other trippy shows like Diana Rigg-era Avengers.

The title is a reference to different levels of virtual reality, from a projection on a screen (VR1) to full sensory input using all five senses (VR5) and beyond. The "VR" experiements in the show had more to do with telepathy, mind control, and lucid dreaming than with the prosaic video game environments the term often brings to mind.

Main Characters

  • Sydney Bloom
  • Duncan
  • Oliver Sampson
  • Frank Morgan
  • Joseph Bloom
  • Nora Bloom
  • Samantha Bloom

Fandom

Though not very successful at the time, the show does have a small cult following, partly because of the actors involved, particularly Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and David McCallum (Illya Kuryakin from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Ducky Mallard from NCIS).

Fanworks

Fics

  • The Art of Lying by LJC, Oliver firmly believes she comes to him because she hates him. And that hatred gives her permission she would never normally grant herself outside of extreme circumstances.

Fanvids

  • Come To My Window -a fanvid by Gayle F. that was shown at Escapade 2001:. One reviewer commented:
    "Gayle - Come to My Window (Melissa Etheridge) - VR5. I've never seen VR5 -- oh, wait, I did watch the first couple of episodes, but as you can tell they made no impression whatsoever. This vid meant nothing to me; it was just eye candy. Pretty pictures, oo! I couldn't follow a story or theme. Perhaps it was aimed at VR5 fans and relied greatly on context, or perhaps my brain was just not funtioning at speed -- I know I can sometimes understand recruiter vids for shows I don't know; I was totally hooked on Once a Thief on the basis of nothing more than Jill, Lynn, and Kay's "When I'm Up! I did not have any sense that this was a badly made vid -- it didn't feel sloppy or careless or anything. I just didn't get it."

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