How the 1980s syndicated sitcom Out of This World inspired WandaVision - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 01-30-2021, 05:30 AM

https://uproxx.com/tv/jac-schaeffer-wandavision/

"Out of this World premiered in 1987," says Mike Ryan of the Maureen Flannigan-led sitcom that lasted four seasons. "It was a weird show that aired during weird parts of the day, which differed depending where you lived. In 1987, NBC-owned stations tried starting prime time a half-hour early and Out of This World was part of this one-season experiment. After, it continued on in syndication for three more seasons. The plot was about a 13-year-old girl named Evie who learns that her father is an alien, so, being half-alien, she has alien powers that get he into a lot of wacky situations. In retrospect, it was a very weird show. And in retrospect, yes, it makes total sense how a show like that could have at least some influence on a show like WandaVision." Head writer Jac Schaeffer says she was particularly inspired by the pilot of Out of This World, when Evie obtains her powers. "It’s really a really weird moment," says Schaeffer. "You’re in this silly little sitcom and everything is very twee and unexpected. And then I think she’s holding something. I want to go back and look at it. She’s holding cards or something, and she suddenly drops them and then puts her hands together, and it’s really weird and creepy. And that was a big influence on me, with the rupture of the sitcom tone." So what from Out of this World did Schaeffer put in WandaVision? "Just that everything could be so canned," she says. "And then also, and this is me projecting, but when she got her powers, it was her birthday and I think it was her 12th or 13th birthday? So there was a kind of a subversive, reaching puberty thing that I sort of put on it. And so there was a psychological element to it. So, yeah, all of that is part of the fabric of the weirdness of WandaVision, from the role that I had in it."

01-30-2021, 05:30 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,090	How the 1980s syndicated sitcom Out of This World inspired WandaVision https://uproxx.com/tv/jac-schaeffer-wandavision/ "Out of this World premiered in 1987," says Mike Ryan of the Maureen Flannigan-led sitcom that lasted four seasons. "It was a weird show that aired during weird parts of the day, which differed depending where you lived. In 1987, NBC-owned stations tried starting prime time a half-hour early and Out of This World was part of this one-season experiment. After, it continued on in syndication for three more seasons. The plot was about a 13-year-old girl named Evie who learns that her father is an alien, so, being half-alien, she has alien powers that get he into a lot of wacky situations. In retrospect, it was a very weird show. And in retrospect, yes, it makes total sense how a show like that could have at least some influence on a show like WandaVision." Head writer Jac Schaeffer says she was particularly inspired by the pilot of Out of This World, when Evie obtains her powers. "It’s really a really weird moment," says Schaeffer. "You’re in this silly little sitcom and everything is very twee and unexpected. And then I think she’s holding something. I want to go back and look at it. She’s holding cards or something, and she suddenly drops them and then puts her hands together, and it’s really weird and creepy. And that was a big influence on me, with the rupture of the sitcom tone." So what from Out of this World did Schaeffer put in WandaVision? "Just that everything could be so canned," she says. "And then also, and this is me projecting, but when she got her powers, it was her birthday and I think it was her 12th or 13th birthday? So there was a kind of a subversive, reaching puberty thing that I sort of put on it. And so there was a psychological element to it. So, yeah, all of that is part of the fabric of the weirdness of WandaVision, from the role that I had in it."