For reasons that likely have much to do with the current political and social climates, people are clamoring for 90’s and early 2000’s nostalgia. Where this is most evident is on television and streaming networks that have brought back classics like Roseanne, Full House, Mystery Science Theater 3000, X-Files, and Trading Spaces with new seasons. Though rebooting or renewing older television shows have become a popular means of satiating the growing love for nostalgia, sometimes it’s just a matter of giving old productions an outlet for easier viewing. February 2018, Amazon catered to lovers of 90’s TV by adding all 45 episodes of FOX's Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction to its streaming library.
Initially hosted by James Brolin and later by Star Trek: The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes, Beyond Belief’s episodes focused on five stories and charged the audience with determining which were fake and which were true. The concept garnered a cult following that, like shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000, showed plenty of support for the series' return. With Amazon picking up the original production, it raises the question of whether or not there’s a future for the anthology show. Unfortunately, however, FOX or even Amazon have made no mention of a possible reboot and Frakes has been hard at work directing several episodes of Seth MacFarlane's Orville and reliving his days aboard the USS Enterprise through sci-fi conventions.
There may be no plans to revisit the popular series, but that hasn’t stopped its following from showing their love of 1997 series in different ways. The dedicated fanbase has spawned media like the Beyond Beyond Belief podcast, hosted by Jesse Chapman, Chris Newth, Kyle Maddock, Tiffany Prasifka, and Mark Walberg. The podcast reviews episodes of the original show, faithfully recreating the speculative banter that each of the incredible stories aimed to spur.
Another fan creation aimed at keeping the spirit of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction alive is a YouTube series produced by the Top10Archive channel. The channel’s aptly titled "Fact or Fiction" series follows a similar format, with voice artist and actor Jim Denison filling in as host. Working on what appears to be a much tighter budget, Denison narrates the three stories and directly engages the audience in between segments.
Though there’s no word of a Beyond Belief reboot, the fan community is at least keeping the series alive in their own way. The original series is currently available via Amazon Prime.
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