33 Years Before Apple TV's 'Foundation,' Its Author Made a Hard Sci-Fi Series That Was Way Ahead of Its Time

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Jared Harris staring boldly ahead in Foundation

Published Feb 10, 2026, 8:59 AM EST

Lloyd 'Happy Trails' Farley: the man, the myth, the legend. What can be said about this amazing - and humble - man that hasn't been said before? Or, more accurately, what can be said in public? Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Lloyd is a master of puns and a humorist, who has authored one pun book to date - Pun and Grimeish Mint - and is working on a second. His time with Collider has allowed Lloyd's passion for writing to explode, with nearly 1,000 articles to his name that have been published on the site, with his favorite articles being the ones that allow for his sense of humor to shine. Lloyd also holds fast to the belief that all of life's problems can be answered by The Simpsons, Star Wars, and/or The Lion King. You can read more about Lloyd on his website, or follow his Facebook page and join the Llama Llegion. Happy trails!

Some TV shows are intrinsically linked to the decade they were released. Series like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, centered around an idyllic nuclear family, an idea synonymous with the 1950s. All in the Family, the classic sitcom whose lead character, Carroll O'Connor's iconic Archie Bunker, could never exist outside the '70s. Then there are those that transcend the era in which it aired, timeless series like The X-Files and The Twilight Zone.

The 1980s are no exception, with the pastel suits and an intense focus on the distinct style of the era in Miami Vice keeping it perpetually in the age of the Rubik's Cube, while Cheers' universal themes and focus on the relationships between the titular bar's patrons endure. There is, however, a third category, made up of series that were well ahead of their time, those that don't even belong in the era they were released. In the 1980s, Probe, a sci-fi procedural, is a perfect example, a series that a public raised on The A-Team couldn't relate to, prompting its cancellation after only 8 episodes.

What Is the Forgotten Sci-Fi Series 'Probe' About?

Probe, created by Michael Wagner and the legendary Isaac Asimov, is a series in the "eccentric genius solves crimes with normal sidekick" vein, à la High Potential or Sherlock, and the series pilot, "Computer Logic: Part 1" doesn't waste time diving in. Michelle "Mickey" Castle (Ashley Crow) has been hired by think tank Serendip as the latest secretary for Serendip founder and owner Austin James (Parker Stevenson). She's barely at her desk before she's approached by a very grumpy Howard Millhouse (Jon Cypher), who demands that she take the water bill, which is over $1,000, directly to Austin and have him pay for it himself. She jumps to it straight away, before realizing she hadn't asked where Austin even was.

Austin isn't in the building, but rather in a warehouse off-site, which Howard refers to as "the Batcave." He's not far off, with Mickey finding her way inside and circumventing Austin's security system, which refuses entry to anyone who can't finish the last line of a limerick that has no rhyme. There's tech everywhere, gadgets, and flashing lights as far as the eye can see. She finds Austin after opening a cupboard, dressed only in his underwear, in a space he calls a sensory deprivation chamber that helps him think.

And thinking is pretty much all he does. The billionaire genius-level scientist/inventor, with eidetic memory, is always inventing revolutionary technology and finding mysteries to solve (he's determined to find out how a WWII pilot was killed in a one-man plane, using the man's skull alone). Eccentric, socially awkward, and reclusive, he has zero interest in the day-to-day operations of the company he founded, preferring to spend his time on his intellectual pursuits.

'Probe' Would Have Been a Hit Sci-Fi Show if It Was Made Today

Ashley Crow and Parker Stevenson in a black and white promo picture for Probe.

What he doesn't like is having a secretary, seeing the role as a tie to the company he doesn't really care about. However, he's intrigued by Mickey, who confounded his unanswerable limerick security system, having found another way in. A phone call comes in from the police, who frequently request his keen mind to help investigate puzzling homicides, and he takes off, with Mickey in tow. Thus begins the Sherlock Holmes/Watson dynamic that drives Probe, with Mickey's instincts and ability to look at things differently complementing his logic-driven approach perfectly. Ashley Crow and Parker Stevenson have great chemistry, selling that dynamic from the start. And creator Asimov's fingerprints are all over the series, with some form of AI, peppered throughout the series, proving to be troublesome — a common theme in Asimov's works.

But in an era where crimes were solved by bullets, not brains, Probe faltered, and was cancelled after only eight episodes. Perhaps it was a show that was too smart for the average 1980s viewer, a ridiculous argument that famously scuttled cult-classic Police Squad!. Probe was definitely a show ahead of its time, and it's hard not to believe that it would have succeeded wildly today. Austin's scientific logic and reasoning foreshadow the coming of shows like CSI.

The dangers of rogue artificial intelligence, explored in the very first episode, no less, mirror today's ever-growing fears of such technology. The eccentric and/or genius model is evident in shows such as Elsbeth, House, High Potential, or Bones. In a way, Probe lives on in those series, a karmic correction where it finally found its place in time. Except for the keyboard-heavy theme song and background music.