October 24 1993
Commander Rick's Pals Learn Life Through Fantasy
Greg Quill, Toronto Star
If you're already one of Commander Rick's many thousands of loyal fans, you'll know by now, after four full seasons of the weird and indescribable TVOntario series Prisoners Of Gravity, exactly what he's doing.
If you're an average channel grazer unacquainted with "graphic literature" (post-modern comic books), or the ideas of this decade's crop of young science fiction writers, fantasists, futurists, and speculative communicators, it's likely he's an enigma, an annoying blip in the ever-expanding TV menu.
Even the province-funded educational channel's publicity people have difficulty explaining what Commander Rick - a character invented by Toronto comic sketch writer/performer Rick Green, a former member of The Frantics comedy troupe, and a physics graduate from the University of Waterloo - actually does.
"He hosts a pirate TV show from deep space, a show about comics and science fiction," says one.
"He explores the worlds of fantasy, horror and computer games," writes another.
Well, yes . . . and no.
Green believes the fantasy element in Prisoners Of Gravity is necessary subtext, a source of endless fascination for him, and a way of gaining the interest of hard-core fanatics, devotees of an artistic genre who are almost entirely ignored in mainstream culture.
"Actually, it's about racism, sexuality, science, religion, technology, literature, education, pop culture, anthropology, fashion, the environment, psychology . . . and self-help," Green said this week, by way of explaining why America's national Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has been interested enough in Prisoners Of Gravity to begin test-marketing it in many of its major urban centres, including Buffalo (Channel 17), mid-September.
The show started its fifth season on TVOntario Oct. 6, with an exploration, involving Canadian astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondar, of the effects of space travel on the human mind and body, and of ethical questions raised by the prospect of human habitation of space.
Last week's episode looked at the compelling quest component in modern science fiction writing and feature movies. And P.O.G. continued Wednesday at 10 on Channel 19 with a fascinating examination of the work of young British "graphic novelist" Neil Gaiman, creator of the award-winning fantasy comic-book series "The Sandman".
P.O. Gravity, as the show is known on the vast Genie computer billboard network through which Green and his producer Mark Askwith and director Gregg Thurlbeck communicate directly with their audience, repeats Thursdays at 11.30 p.m., and Sundays at 11 p.m.
"It actually encourages young people to get started, to embrace their instincts, to invest in their imagination," continued Green, who spent three years hosting live programs and demonstrations at the Ontario Science Centre after university.
"We're constantly receiving requests from educators for permission to use our shows in high schools and colleges. And the work of the authors and illustrators we profile on the show are usually sold out in Toronto bookstores just days after we go to air.
"This is the ultimate in narrowcasting, and though our audience may be considered part of an underground culture, our appeal is much broader. We are summarizing huge science, absorbing the ideas of people who are really on the leading edge of modern thought, who have grand schemes for the future. And we're asking some very hard questions.
"I don't think conventional broadcasters get it. And I still think most people look down on science fiction and speculative writing as juvenile.
"Frankly, they're wrong."
For Green, Commander Rick's adventures provide the perfect balance in a career that is still dominated by comic pursuits (he co- writes the male- bonding satire The Red Green Show - now on YTV and Baton Broadcasting stations across Canada, and on 20 stations in the U.S. - with star Steve Smith, and plays the mute, Chaplinesque klutz, Bill, in the series).
"I'm not an expert in science-fiction, fantasy or comic books, but I've discovered the benefits of exploring those worlds, and in Mark - he created the show with myself and (TVO's former arts programming boss) Daniel Richler - I have the Elwy Yost of the genre. He and Gregg actually gather the interviews at sci-fi and comic-book conventions. They do most of the research.
"I've always seen myself as a skit comedy writer/performer. This show makes me feel like a journalist. I've learned to appreciate the precision of language, the value of compression, the real meaning of words.
"And I'm more optimistic now than I ever was. When I was a teenager, I really believed thermonuclear war in my lifetime was a probability. I didn't want kids. I was scared of the world.
"Now, I'm encouraged by the ideas of people who are thinking 50, 100 years ahead. I have a family. I have a body of work - 150 episodes of P.O.G., 72 episodes of The Red Green Show, two stage shows, 30 episodes of a radio series, articles for newspapers.
"I'm a communicator, a facilitator . . . whatever that means."