I watched this because there were only meager pickings available in the sci-fi genre, but even at the time I thought it was lame. The family, meant to represent the average American family, was just plain boring. Putting boring people into interesting situations doesn't magically make those people interesting.The premise had promise, but would have worked better if it was either (1) aimed squarely at pre-adolescent children, or (2) involved a group of friends stuck in Otherworld instead of a family. Who wants to have a fantastic adventure in a strange land, but have to drag their parents along for the ride? The only episode that sticks in my mind is the rock n' roll one where the kids sing "I wanna hold your hand" on stage - one of the corniest moment in 80s TV.

If Otherworld had gone into production 5-7 years later, it might have enjoyed a long run and been regarded as a classic of the genre.The series revolved around the Sterling family, Hal, his wife June and their children, Trace, Gina and Smith, who while touring the pyramids of Egypt, found themselves whisked to the "otherworld," a parallel world with pockets of civilization or provinces, separated by a forbidden zone where only the "Zone Troopers" are allowed to travel. All this is ruled from the capitol province of Ymar (e-mar) where a portal back to Earth was said to exist.What follows in the 8 filmed episodes are the adventures of the family as they travel from province to province, on a journey to Ymar, always hounded by Kommander Nuveen Kroll, the sadistic Zone Trooper leader the Sterlings ran afoul of upon their arrival.Created by Roderick Taylor, a musician, Otherworld always maintained a surreal quality with music and effects, where everything is just off kilter, maintaining the feeling of another reality. Each province had it's own character, from a colony of androids to a repressed 50s style city, ripe for the introduction of Rock n' Roll.There was no resolution to the series which disappeared after the last (and best) episode, "Princess Metra" faded out with the Sterlings continuing their journey home. This was a surprise, since Taylor had said in interviews, the network had commissioned 13 episodes, even describing a couple of upcoming episodes but apparently canceled before the full production run.Still, there are rumors of several lost episodes that were never broadcast. So, who knows?Too bad CBS never gave the series a fighting chance, choosing to bury it on Saturday nights. Stories were always, well written, entertaining and pro-family. Repeated often was the refrain that family was always the Sterlings main strength. Otherworld might have found a bigger audience with more promotion and a better time slot, but, in my opinion would have found great success in the kinder, gentler television of the 90s.

I very much remember watching this show when it was on TV. The most striking thing that I remember from the show were the upside-down guns. The laser pistols on the show had the barrel underneath the stock. My friends and I used to emulate this when play gunfighting.The most memorable episode for me was the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" Rock and Roll episode. As a kid in the 80s, this was one of the first exposures (that I remember) I had to the Beatles. If my memory serves me, after this episode I went through a period of listing to my step-mom's Beatles records.I am absolutely certain that this show, if it were watched today, would invoke spontaneous retching and gagging. While I haven't actually seen it in 20 years I can be certain that this show is better left as a fond memory of quirky 80s television. Like it's quirky 80s siblings "Square Pegs" or "Silver Spoons" it most likely would NOT hold up against shows today.

When this show was on the air, I was in high school. I thought the show had lots of imagination. Some episodes worked, others didn't. But when they worked, they were great! I just wish there had been more episodes produced. I think there were only like 8 episodes made.