Best known for his epic fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” which inspired HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” George R.R. Martin has since expanded his fictional universe with prequels like “House of the Dragon” and “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” However, fans of Westeros might be intrigued to learn about Martin’s lesser-known venture into science fiction during the early 1990s. He penned a series for ABC titled “Doorways,” which, despite a feature-length pilot, never made it to full production.

The storyline of “Doorways” kicks off with an enigmatic woman named Cat, portrayed by Anne le Guernec, who mysteriously appears on a highway, leading to a collision. Her arrival lands her in the hospital under the care of Dr. Thomas Mason, played by George Newbern. As the FBI grows curious about Cat, she and Mason embark on a journey across parallel worlds, all while being pursued by a menacing figure named Thane, played by Robert Knepper. Their only means of survival is to escape through portals, or “doors,” into alternate realities before Thane can catch them. Notably, the cast also included Carrie-Anne Moss, who played Mason’s girlfriend Laura, before her rise to fame with “The Matrix.”

Martin’s early television endeavors were deeply rooted in science fiction, having worked on the ’80s revival of “The Twilight Zone” and the cyberpunk series “Max Headroom.” “Doorways” was poised to continue this trend. The series was in development while Martin was also crafting the beginnings of “A Song of Ice and Fire.” As Martin recounted on his blog, he had just started the first book in the series when his agent informed him of ABC’s interest in “Doorways.” By the time Martin arrived in Los Angeles, the concept for “Doorways” had taken shape in his mind.

Much of George R.R. Martin’s early TV work has a distinct sci-fi flavor (he cut his teeth working on the ’80s revival of “The Twilight Zone” and the satirical cyberpunk show “Max Headroom”), and “Doorways” would have continued that trend. It’s a shame that ABC decided not to continue with the series, though if it had, there’s a chance we may have never gotten “A Song of Ice and Fire” — Martin was working on the first book in the series when the network ordered a “Doorways” pilot. “I was about a hundred pages into that come fall when my Hollywood agent called,” Martin revealed on his blog. “By the time I landed at LAX I had the idea that became ‘Doorways.’”

According to Martin, there was a lot of excitement around “Doorways,” with ABC moving quickly to strike a deal with him. The network was so keen that they even ordered six back-up scripts, so Martin was almost certain that the show was going to happen in one form or another. So, what happened? As Martin tells it, an executive shake-up killed the project. “One of the iron laws of TV and film came into play: the new guy never likes what the old guy loved,” Martin wrote. “The new guys passed on ‘Doorways.’ We tried to sell it to the other networks, of course, but there were only four back then, and it was a rare thing when any of them bought a show developed by a competitor. They all preferred home cooking.”

The pilot episode has since been made available to stream, and if you’re interested in knowing where Cat’s story goes beyond that, you can — “Doorways” was adapted into a comic book series by IDW Publishing.