''Welcome to Paradox'' was a Canadian

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television series aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the U.S. and subsequently on Showcase in Canada. It was first broadcast on August 17, 1998, ran for one season, with the final episode being released November 9, 1998. As this was part of a crop of new shows produced in 1998 by Sci Fi Channel and it was not successful beyond the first season, it was never placed in syndication. ''Betaville'' was the original title for the series. The series is an anthology hybrid. The stories all took place in the fictional future city of "Betaville", a nod to

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

's '' Alphaville''. However, the majority of the stories were adapted from short stories that were originally unconnected with that fictional city. The stories were adapted from older works by famous science fiction authors which explored the impact of certain technologies on the human body and psyche, and the theme of humanity being overwhelmed by hostile technologies. Each episode had a host—originally to be named "Paradox" until the concept was dropped—that served as a narrator, adding a prologue and epilogue to the show as with ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' and '' The Outer Limits''. The Volkswagen New Beetle was chosen to be the transportation of Betaville; one was used whenever a car was needed in a story. Guest stars in the series include

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1979). He played Manolo "Ma ...

, Roma Maffia,

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

, A Martinez, Nicholle Tom, Rodney Rowland, Justine Priestley,

Mayim Bialik Mayim Chaya Bialik ( ; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, author, and former game show host. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom ''Blossom (American TV series), Blossom''. From 2010 to 2019, she play ...

, Lochlyn Munro, Channon Roe,

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...

, Alice Krige, Justin Lazard,

William McNamara William West McNamara (born March 31, 1965) is an American film and television actor. Personal life Born in Dallas, Texas, McNamara is the son of a Ford Motor Company employee and an interior designer. He attended Salisbury School, Columbia Un ...

, and Dana Ashbrook.

Setting

Betaville, a fictional utopian city existing at an unspecified future point in time, is the setting for stories in ''Welcome to Paradox''. Societal problems such as crime, violence, and disease have been resolved, but there is a dark undercurrent in Betaville that impacts some citizens directly. Episode plots highlight issues such as technology has invaded daily life to the point that

simulated reality A simulated reality is an approximation of reality created in a simulation, usually in a set of circumstances in which something is engineered to appear real when it is not. Most concepts invoking a simulated reality relate to some form of compu ...

is preferred to actual reality, perfect machines wresting control from wealthy and pampered owners, and humanity being challenged by genetic and social engineering programs that push the limits of arrogance and sanity.

Episodes

Home media

Though an Australian PAL (Region 4) boxed set of the entire series exists, the series was never released in any format in North America or Europe. The series can be viewed in those areas through some web sites and streaming services. In Canada it is currently streaming on the Roku channel 471-sci-fi.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome To Paradox 1990s Canadian science fiction television series 1990s Canadian drama television series 1998 Canadian television series debuts 1998 Canadian television series endings 1990s Canadian anthology television series Television series by Alliance Atlantis Showcase (Canadian TV channel) original programming Science fiction anthology television series