In 1994, the ''Action Pack'' initially ran as a [[Wheelwheel series]] of television movies, which were all effectively pilots; if successful, they would become TV series the following season.<ref name=lat>{{cite news|last1=Cerone|first1=Daniel|title=Television : There's Action Off the Beaten Path : The ground is shifting in TV's prime time as a slew of new shows arrive--but don't go looking for them in the usual places|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-01-16/entertainment/ca-12369_1_prime-time-programming/2|accessdate=June 8, 2017|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|publisher=[[Times Mirror Company]]|date=January 16, 1994|pages=1–2}}</ref><ref name="ws">[http://www.whoosh.org/issue3/kym1.html Mysteries Surrounding the Creation of the Syndicated Television Show XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS] Whoosh Online Edition. Issue Three. November 1996.</ref> The initial plan was for four films created from six franchises for the block including ''[[TekWar]]'', ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'', ''[[Midnight Run]]'', ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'', ''[[Vanishing Son]]'' and the working title ''Fastlane'' when offered at programming executive conference in January 1994.<ref name=lat/><ref name="vty">{{cite news|last1=Benson|first1=Jim|title='Action' packs wallop, gives markets a boost|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/news/action-packs-wallop-gives-markets-a-boost-117597/|accessdate=June 9, 2017|periodical=Variety|publisher=Cahners Business Information|date=January 20, 1994}}</ref>
On January 17 and 18, 1994, a dozen stations showed ''[[TekWar]]'', the premiere TV movie of the programming block. The stations' ratings increased greatly with a 350% increase in [[KOFY-TV|KOFY]] in San Francisco. MCA cut Rob Cohen's ''Midnight Run'' to three films, so that star Christopher McDonald could star in a feature film. Cohen produced ''[[Knight Rider 2010]]'' as a replacement.<ref name="vty"/> The block aired its first season until January 1995 and lost $30 million.<ref name=vty0/> ''TekWar'' was picked up as a regular TV series for the [[USA Network]] instead of Action Pack, starting in January 1995.<ref name="sfts">{{cite book|last1=Garcia|first1=Frank|last2=Phillips|first2=Mark|title=Science Fiction Television Series, 1990–2004: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 Shows|date=March 28, 2012 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=9780786491834 |page=326 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQIDAQAAQBAJ&q=%22Captain+Zoom%22+%22Action+Pack%22&pg=PA326|access-date=June 9, 2017|language=en|via=Google Books}}</ref>
