For fans of science-fiction television, 1994-95 is the supernova of TV seasons. At no time in TV history has the genre been bigger or better.

A dozen first-run sci-fi series have found spots on broadcast television this year. They span the galaxy of the imagination, dealing with such subjects as virtual reality (VR.5), UFOs (Encounters), futuristic sea adventures (SeaQuest DSV), comic book heroes (Lois & Clark) and, of course, outer space (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, Earth 2).

There seems to be no stopping the phenomenon, but explaining why it exists is a trifle complex.

It's part of a cycle that will diminish, theorizes one expert. It's eye candy that somehow catches the fancy of the youth crowd, says another. Special effects have become cheaper to produce, reports still another.

The winner here is not only the hard-core science-fiction fan but, more than likely, you.

"Just about everybody out there who doesn't think they're a science-fiction fan says, 'Oh yeah, I love The Outer Limits. Or 'I watch The Twilight Zone," says Barry Schulman, vice-president in charge of programming for the Sci-Fi Channel.

Schulman lays the credit for the success of the new Fox series VR.5, which has quickly become a cult favorite, at the feet of the series that follows it, The X-Files, and to some smart programmers.

"Fox has fully capitalized on the strength of X-Files, a signature show that's getting magazine covers and is being talked about," said Schulman. "If it weren't X-Files (that was succeeding), if it were another version of NYPD Blue, you wouldn't be seeing VR.5 and Sliders right now. It isn't like somebody said, Let's sit down and make a sci-fi show. It's 'What's going to be compatible?'"

But those associated with the show are not so quick to credit simple scheduling as the reason for its success.

Good drama

"We've tried to tailor this series to be about good drama and good storytelling," said Thania St. John, co-creator and co-executive producer of VR.5.

In VR.5, a hacker named Sydney Bloom (Lori Singer) is able to step "inside" her computer, communicate with friends and foes, and "escape" back into the real world. Her virtual reality capability is fifth-generation (hence the name VR.5).

Her ability to share words and emotions with others inside virtual reality is the show's great mystery. But it's not the only one. A secret organization called The Committee keeps track of her every move; it is unclear whether this organization means her harm or good.

St. John, who is the author or co-author of five of the nine episodes that will air this season, acknowledges that "part of the way we conceived this show was to realize that it's the MTV generation, that people are flipping, looking for the next cool thing to come up in their 90 channels. If you can give them something that their eye can catch immediately and then can suck them in with whatever story you can give them, that gives you a little edge over your basic drama show."

The special effects of VR.5 are eye-catching. One of the most effective is the use of a special colorization process in which all color is removed from the film and supplanted by computer-generated colors. If you want blue rats, you can have blue rats, as one recent episode proved.

The special effects come at a price. This series is one of the most expensive on television. Whereas a typical one-hour drama can cost $ 1.2 million per episode, a typical VR.5 can cost up to $ 1.6 million.

NBC's two Amblin Entertainment shows, Seaquest DSV and Earth 2, are even more expensive, running in the range of $ 1.7 million per episode.

Despite such outlay, it is unclear whether Earth 2 will be back next season. In the Nielsen ratings, it currently ranks in the mid- 90s out of 110 shows.

But Amblin has the money and the clout of Steven Spielberg behind it, and as actor Clancy Brown sees it, "I think the commitment is there for next year, if not officially." He believes the show, which airs opposite CBS powerhouse 60 Minutes on Sunday, has been hurt by pre-emptions and lack of promotion.

Brown is another who thinks the science-fiction audience is broad.

"I think the audience is anyone (for Earth 2) who doesn't watch 60 Minutes," he said. "You've got those sci-fi guys, but a lot of them won't even watch Earth 2, because it's not sci-fi enough, not hard- core enough for them."

Good news

The burgeoning of sci-fi on the networks is only good news for the Sci-Fi Channel, Schulman said.

"What this does is broaden everyone's attention; it wakes everybody up to science fiction," he said.

The channel currently runs a bunch of off-network fare, such as The Twilight Zone, Quantum Leap, Amazing Stories, Lost in Space and The Six Million Dollar Man.

But it also produces some of its own movies (it's made eight so far), makes original reality series and by late '96 hopes to have an anthology of dramatic series up and running, Schulman said.

Schulman's favorite series is The Twilight Zone.

"I vividly recall scenes and lines and story lines from that," Schulman said. "I think that's a significant telling point. That show was on 30 years ago. If you can remember episodes that vividly, that tells you something."

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