Christopher Lloyd Played A Video Game Villain In This Forgotten '90s Sci-Fi Series

If you only know Christopher Lloyd as the eccentric Doc Brown from "Back to the Future" or as the spacey Reverend Jim "Iggy" Ignatowski from "Taxi," you are missing out on one of the most mustache-twirling characters on his resume.

In 1995, Christopher Lloyd chewed the scenery in "Deadly Games," a short-lived TV series executive produced by the late Leonard Nimoy that blended zany sci-fi tropes with pixelated mayhem. The creator-versus-creation storyline followed Gus Lloyd (James Calvert), a physicist and video game designer whose life took a turn when a lab accident brought his virtual creations to life. Enter Sebastian Jackal, the game's whimsical final boss played by Christopher Lloyd.

Sporting a white suit, fedora, and a cane that could conjure and manipulate fire, Jackal was a ruthless overlord who led a motley crew of superhuman henchmen hell-bent on wreaking global havoc. All these bad guys had a design element in common: They were all based on people in Gus' real life, with Jackal modeled after Gus' father.

"Deadly Games" leaned heavily into its comic book aesthetic, blending campy dialogue with the primitive CGI of the era, which wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Reviews were less than stellar when the show first premiered. The Orlando Sentinel labeled it a dim-witted and one-dimensional video game show. A Los Angeles Times reviewer praised the inventive premise, but the paper ultimately deemed "Deadly Games" a creative misfire with crummy special effects.

However, there were some admirers out there. Variety gave the show a mixed-positive review, highlighting Jackal as a great villain thanks to an impeccable performance by Christopher Lloyd.  

Unfortunately, it was game over for the series after one season. "Deadly Games" eventually received a complete DVD release, which is now out of print. But you can still find select full episodes on YouTube.