What follows is an excerpt from the interview presented over at TV Guide.com. Just follow the link for the full conversation.
TV Guide Magazine: You keep returning to science fiction. Why is that genre so compelling to you?
Spielberg: I just had a crazy, wild imagination all my life and science fiction is the greatest outlet for me. I love history, so I do a lot of movies about history. But I also love to be able to let my mind wander, and science fiction gives you permission to wander to the extremes.
TV Guide Magazine: Why do you think audiences love it so much?
Spielberg: Science fiction was the first mystical experience that I had in the movies as a child. I think for a lot of young people, [sci-fi is something] you can't see in your own backyard; you can only see it through someone else's eyes or through a book you read or a comic book you look at. It's just a great brain teaser.
TV Guide Magazine: What movie gave you that first feeling?
Spielberg: The first bit of magic... The first piece of science fiction I ever saw was a movie that my dad took me to called Destination Moon. It was the first time I saw a rocket ship take off and land on the moon. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences I had as a child.
TV Guide Magazine: How much of a challenge is it to make a sci-fi TV show with enough visual effects to keep it exciting when the budget is minuscule compared to that of a film?
Spielberg: Because television doesn't offer the kind of budget that a movie offers, you've got to be a little more careful where you spend the money to put the fiction in science. At the same time, there's a distinct advantage of a television series over a motion picture in that the network gives you many hours to explore character, to get into these people and have them become a part of your weekly lives. And that, for me, is the most marvelous reason to be involved in television.
For more with Spielberg, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide Magazine, on newsstands Thursday, June 30!