PRISONERS OF GRAVITY was a half-hour TV program that covered the science fiction and fantasy genres, along with the medium of comics, hosted by "Commander Rick" (Rick Green). The show aired on the public broadcasting network TVO (TV Ontario) in Canada from 1989 to 1994.
The first season tended to be less polished than later seasons, sometimes turning over a lot of airtime to the trailer of a new movie. The show often used primitive visual effects in the early episodes to make the interviews with authors look more exciting, but which unfortunately got a bit annoying and distracting. When I first posted this blog, only one 1989 episode was available to view on YouTube. Since then, excerpts of several 1989 episodes have been uploaded. Hopefully at some point every episode of the series will be available to watch online.
The following list of Prisoners of Gravity TV episodes is taken from Wikipedia (which has more info about the episodes). You can read an old webpage here (archived at the Wayback Machine) where the show's creator Mark Askwith wrote about the series and highlighted notable episodes. You can watch a couple fan reviews/overviews of the series here and here.
In the list below, I have added episode numbers to make it easier to identify a particular episode (since sometimes episode titles were reused). There were 137 episodes according to Askwith, although the show's Wikipedia page says there were 139 episodes. The Wikipedia log identifies "Information" (1/21/93) as the 100th episode. However, when working backwards from that number, as seen below, there is an extra number not accounted for. (Which may explain how Wikipedia got the number 139 -- by counting the Jack Kirby episode twice, since it was rerun the following year, and also having that one additional unaccounted-for number leftover.)
So, for now -- until this numbering anomaly is fixed -- I have listed episode #14 twice, since they had the same title ("Time Travel") although they may in fact be two different episodes.
The video links below lead to YouTube uploads of those episodes. The YouTube channel Teddogg300 has uploaded the largest number of episodes, although each one was split into three parts. That channel's uploads were done over a dozen years ago and have since been copied and re-uploaded by others, but I have not included links to ones that appear to be simply copied from Teddogg300's uploads.
If you know of any episodes available to watch online that are not linked here, please comment below with that info. Thanks!
This post was last updated on October 4, 2023 at 8:00am EST.
SEASON 1:
1.) "Irony in Comics" (August 21, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (12:42 to 24:14 of "Season One highlights (Part 1)")
2.) "The Abyss" (September 11, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (00:00 to 12:39 of "Season One highlights (Part 1)")
3.) "Nuclear Weapons" (September 18, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (24:17 to 30:08 of "Season One highlights (Part 1)"), Part Two (00:00 to 12:57 of "Season One highlights (Part 2)")
4.) "Environment" (September 25, 1989)
- Teddogg300 upload [titled "Movies (?!)"]: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (12:58 to 25:53 of "Season One highlights (Part 2)")
5.) "Time Travel" (October 2, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (25:56 to 30:14 of "Season One highlights (Part 2)"), Part Two (00:00 to 07:13 of "Season One highlights (Part 3)")
6.) "Animation 1" (October 9, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (07:15 to 24:51 of "Season One highlights (Part 3)")
(Note: The "Yellow Submarine" and another animated scene in this episode have been removed from the YouTube clip to prevent it from being blocked.)
7.) "Animation 2" (October 16, 1989)
(Note: There were apparently two episodes about animation, so my guess is that the video linked above is of the first one, and not this one. Could be wrong, though!)
8.) "Horror" (October 23, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (24:56 to 26:38 of "Season One highlights (Part 3)"), Part Two (00:00 to 14:55 of "Season One highlights (Part 4)")
9.) "The American Nightmare" (October 30, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (14:57 to 30:15 of "Season One highlights (Part 4)"), Part Two (00:00 to 04:02 of "Season One highlights (Part 5)")
10.) "Comic Book Conventions" (November 6, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (04:06 to 27:41 of "Season One highlights (Part 5)")
11.) "Sex in SF and Comics" (November 13, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (27:47 to 30:08 of "Season One highlights (Part 5)"), Part Two (00:00 to 13:35 of "Season One highlights (Part 6)")
(Note: Interestingly, the video above has a few seconds on screen, on a different TV channel, showing the date Nov. 19, 1989, prior to the episode beginning. Which suggests that either the above episode actually aired on November 20, and not Nov. 13.)
12.) "Misc." (November 20, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (13:36 to 27:38 of "Season One highlights (Part 6)")
13.) "UFO Abduction" (November 27, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (27:39 to 30:22 of "Season One highlights (Part 6)"), Part Two (00:00 to 20:04 of "Season One highlights (Part 7)")
14.) "Time Travel" (December 4, 1989)
14.) "Time Travel" (December 11, 1989)
As noted earlier, I don't know which episode that this video is of, but the following is from one of them:
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (20:07 to 30:07 of "Season One highlights (Part 7)"), Part Two (00:00 to 09:56 of "Season One highlights (Part 8)")
15.) "Holidays" (December 18, 1989)
- My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (09:57 to 30:14 of "Season One highlights (Part 8)"), Part Two (00:00 to 03:01 of "Season One highlights (Part 9)")
16.) "Humour" (January 8, 1990)
17.) "Misc." (January 15, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
18.) "Misc." (January 22, 1990)
- Possibly shown in My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: view (03:02 to 26:38 of "Season One highlights (Part 9)")
(Note: Without a summary of what this episode actually contained, it's not known for certain that the above upload is in fact this episode. Right now, though, this appears to be the best estimate.)
19.) "My Life in Comics" (January 29, 1990)
- Possibly shown in My Vintage Video upload [incomplete]: Part One (26:39 to 30:08 of "Season One highlights (Part 9)"), Part Two ("Season One highlights (Part 10)")
(Note: Without a summary of what this episode actually contained, it's not known for certain that the above upload is in fact this episode. Right now, though, this appears to be the best estimate.)
20.) "Horror Revisited" (February 5, 1990)
21.) "SF's True North" (February 12, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
22.) "Dystopian Visions" (February 19, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
23.) "Star Trek: The Old Generation" (February 26, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
24.) "Star Trek, Too" (March 5, 1990)
25.) "Fantasy" (March 12, 1990)
26.) "Farewell" (March 19, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
SEASON 2:
27.) "Adaptations" (October 4, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
28.) "Heroes and Superheroes" (October 11, 1990)
29.) "Will Eisner and the Spirit" (October 18, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- Jared's VHS Treasures upload: view
30.) "Censorship" (October 25, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
31.) "Aliens" (November 1, 1990)
32.) "Collaborations" (November 8, 1990)
33.) "Stereotypes" (November 15, 1990)
- Nonstop Pop! upload: view
34.) "Evoking the Future: Language" (November 22, 1990)
35.) "Sex and AIDS" (November 29, 1990)
36.) "Science and Technology" (December 6, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
37.) "M-Space: Moebius and Merril" (December 13, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
38.) "Families" (December 20, 1990)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
39.) "Music" (January 3, 1991)
40.) "Evoking the Future: Setting" (January 10, 1991)
41.) "Animation 1" (January 17, 1991)
42.) "Robots and Artificial Intelligence" (January 24, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
43.) "Voice/American Artform" (January 31, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
44.) "Humour" (February 7, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
45.) "Projects" (February 14, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three [missing last few minutes]
46.) "Horror" (February 21, 1991)
47.) "Marketing and Merchandising" (February 28, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
48.) "Violence" (March 7, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
49.) "Chaos" (March 14, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
50.) "Form" (March 22, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
51.) "Profiles" (March 28, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
52.) "Myths and Archetypes" (April 4, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
53.) "Villians" (April 11, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
54.) "Ecology" (April 18, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One [clipped opening], Part Two, Part Three
55.) "Women" (April 25, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
56.) "Leisure" (May 2, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
SEASON 3:
57.) "Projects" (October 3, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
58.) "Alternate Histories" (October 10, 1991)
59.) "Religion" (October 17, 1991)
60.) "Addictions" (October 24, 1991)
61.) "Fear" (October 31, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
62.) "War" (November 7, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
63.) "Dreams" (November 14, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- BetaGems Lost Media upload: view
64.) "Children" (November 21, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
65.) "Watchmen" (November 28, 1991)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
66.) "New Worlds" (December 5, 1991)
67.) "Justice" (December 12, 1991)
68.) "Cosmic Cavalcade" (December 19, 1991)
69.) "Covers" (January 2, 1992)
70.) "Cyberpunk" (January 9, 1992)
71.) "World-Building" (January 16, 1992)
- BetaGems Lost Media upload: view
72.) "Death" (January 23, 1992)
73.) "Vampires" (January 30, 1992)
74.) "Animation" (February 6, 1992)
75.) "Politics" (February 13, 1992)
76.) "Profiles" (February 20, 1992)
77.) "Violence" (February 27, 1992)
78.) "Dinosaurs" (March 5, 1992)
- BetaGems Lost Media upload: view
79.) "Metamorphosis" (March 12, 1992)
80.) "Mars" (March 19, 1992)
81.) "New Faces" (March 26, 1992)
82.) "Censorship" (April 2, 1992)
- REPEATR upload: view
83.) "Genetic Engineering" (April 9, 1992)
84.) "Advice" (April 16, 1992)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
85.) "Ecology" (April 23, 1992)
86.) "Awards/Rickies" (April 30, 1992)
SEASON 4:
87.) "First Contact" (October 1, 1992)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
88.) "Fans" (October 8, 1992)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
89.) "Outlaws" (October 15, 1992)
90.) "Ray Bradbury" (October 22, 1992)
91.) "Madness" (October 29, 1992)
92.) "Space Travel" (November 5, 1992)
93.) "The City" (November 12, 1992)
94.) "Sex" (November 26, 1992)
95.) "Time Travel" (December 3, 1992)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- BetaGems Lost Media upload: view
96.) "Shared Worlds" (December 10, 1992)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
97.) "Medea/Murasaki" (December 17, 1992)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
98.) "Jack Kirby" (January 7, 1993) [repeated in Feb. 1994; see below]
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
99.) "Weapons" (January 14, 1993)
100.) "Information" (January 21, 1993) [100th episode]
101.) "Awards" (January 28, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
102.) "Mystery/SF" (February 4, 1993)
103.) "Racism" (February 18, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
- BetaGems Lost Media upload: view
104.) "Profiles" (February 25, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
105.) "Cyberbook" (March 4, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
106.) "Immortality" (March 11, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
107.) "Utopia" (March 18, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
108.) "Computer Games" (March 25, 1993)
109.) "Crime and Punishment" (April 1, 1993)
110.) "God" (April 8, 1993)
111.) "Autobiography" (April 15, 1993)
112.) "Ecology" (April 22, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
113.) "Creators' Rights" (May 6, 1993)
SEASON 5:
114.) "Life in Space" (October 6, 1993)
115.) "Quest" (October 13, 1993)
116.) "The Sandman" (October 20, 1993)
117.) "The Devil" (October 27, 1993)
118.) "Games" (November 3, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
119.) "Writers' Workshops/Clarion" (November 10, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
120.) "Tolkien" (November 24, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
121.) "Medicine and Nanotechnology" (December 1, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
122.) "Memory" (December 8, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
123.) "Amnesia/Total Recall" (December 15, 1993)
- Teddogg300 upload: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
124.) "Alter Ego" (December 22, 1993)
125.) "Post-Apocalypse" (January 12, 1994)
126.) "Telepathy" (January 19, 1994)
127.) "Homosexuality" (January 26, 1994)
[Note: There was a repeat broadcast in early February 1994 of the January 7, 1993 "Jack Kirby" episode; see above.]
128.) "Monsters" (February 23, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
129.) "Virtual Reality" (March 2, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
130.) "Fairy Tales" (March 9, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
131.) "Vampires" (March 16, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
132.) "Vietnam" (March 23, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
133.) "Aliens" (March 30, 1994)
134.) "Sexism and Feminism" (April 6, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
135.) "Comic Book Layout" (April 13, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
136.) "The Brain and Artificial Intelligence" (April 20, 1994)
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
137.) "Evolution" (April 27, 1994) [final episode of series]
- Bryan Rumble upload: view
