Production notes
The animated series Partridge Family 2200 A.D., which debuted in 1974, features Keith and Laurie Partridge going to a futuristic space high school called "Galaxy High," and Laurie's friend Marion Moonglow (a Martian) bears a striking resemblance to the Wendy Garbo character from this series.
Galaxy High School was animated, distributed and owned by TMS Entertainment. TMS produced Galaxy High as an attempt to create a similar series to the hit Japanese anime show Urusei Yatsura (released 1981, based on a 1978 manga) for the American market. While Urusei Yatsura involves an alien girl attending a human high school, the school scenario in Galaxy High is reversed to be based around humans attending a high school for aliens.[6] Due to TMS' involvement, the series is often classified as an anime.
John Kricfalusi was a character designer for the show and went on to create Ren & Stimpy and The Ripping Friends.
Syd Iwanter, the creative director, came up with the concept and hired Kricfalusi to draw a one-sheet pitch featuring the main characters for a proposed HIGH SCHOOL 2525. When Michael Chase Walker became director of children's programs for the CBS Television Network, he bought the show, changed the name to Galaxy High School and convinced up-and-coming screenwriter turned future filmmaker Chris Columbus to develop the show under his name. Walker was trying to develop a Saturday morning schedule that resembled an old-fashioned Saturday movie matinée with a range of horror (Teen Wolf), science fiction (Galaxy High School), comedy (Pee-wee's Playhouse) and Western (Wildfire).
An alternate theme song exists showing clips from various episodes. The theme was changed to an instrumental one. At the end, Aimee speaks "Here we are Doyle! The only two kids from Earth at a high school in outer space! How do you feel?" Doyle responds "A little spaced out, Aimee!"
The show features transportation tubes, which people can enter and be whisked away around the school; these are reminiscent of old-style pneumatic tubes. In Galaxy High, they are known as "wooshers".
The show had been granted two time slots by CBS, for its 1986 and 1987 Saturday mornings, with the expectation of a two-season contract. When the show was not renewed for a second season, CBS elected to rerun the first season in its 1987 time slot, in order to make up for episodes that had been preempted by Saturday sporting events in 1986. Chris Columbus later remarked that CBS had been ambivalent about whether or not there would be a renewal, and had written one script in anticipation of a second season. The sole unproduced episode of Galaxy High concerned cliquish divisions in Galaxy High which start with pranks and food fights, but soon culminate into a school "civil war", causing Galaxy High's board of trustees to notice this and threaten to shut down the school.
Film
In 1996, Walker optioned the film rights with John H. Williams of Vanguard Films, and reteamed with Chris Columbus to develop the big screen version of Galaxy High School. After various development deals with both DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, the movie plans remain in limbo.
Series tie-in
An 85-page paperback book titled Galaxy High School was published in August 1987 by Bantam-Skylark Books and written by Ann Hodgman. It is an adaptation of six episodes, "Welcome to Galaxy High", "Those Eyes, Those Lips", "The Beef Who Would Be King", "Dollars and Sense", "Beach Blanket Blow-Up" and "Founder's Day". In the prologue, it says that Doyle and Aimee, while on Earth, attended Presley High School and its sports team was called the Hound Dogs. It also says that Aimee didn't know Doyle well before coming to Galaxy High, but did think he was cute, until they actually meet when first entering their new school. The paperback is out-of-print and is a highly sought collectible among fans of the show.
Airdates
Galaxy High School originally aired at 11:00am EST/10:00am CST after Teen Wolf and before CBS Storybreak in the 1986–1987 season on
