STRANGE NEW WORLD (1975)

The third in Warner Brothers' "PAX Trilogy" of unsold 70s sci-fi television pilots, Strange New World was quite different from its predecessors, Genesis II (1973) and Planet Earth (1974). For one thing, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who had developed and created those previous pilots for Warners was not involved in Strange New World, having moved back to his old offices on the Paramount lot, where he was working on a Trek revival.

With Roddenberry gone from the project, Warner Brothers drastically revamped the premise for their third go, retaining from the first two telefilms only the post-Apocalyptic setting, the idea of a cryogenically-preseved hero (in this case, heroes), the name "PAX," and star John Saxon, who had tested well in Planet Earth. His character was renamed, however.

Whereas the previous efforts had portrayed the PAX organization as a post-Apocalyptic bastion of science and civilization that dispatched "agents" to help guide the scattered human survivors and their isolated societies toward peaceful, productive futures, Strange New World had its 20th Century protagonists returning to Earth after a cataclysmic asteroid shower forces them to spend nearly 200 years in suspended animation aboard an orbiting space station. While Captain Anthony Vico (Saxon), Dr. Allison Crowley (Kathleen Miller) and Dr. William Scott (Keene Curtis) are all members of the PAX organization, they're not on any noble mission to help the various cultures they encounter, they're simply trying to survive and find the "lost" PAX headquarters, where they hope to find both safety and other surviving PAX scientists preserved in stasis.

Also unlike the two previous PAX pilots, World is broken into two distinct adventures (or episodes). In the first half of the film, our heroes come across one of those decadent sci-fi societies where everyone dresses like they're in a roadshow production of Caligula, with Roman-styled togas and leaves in their hair. They preach pacifism and their leader, Surgeon (James Olsen of Moon Zero Two), claims to have discovered the secret to eternal youth and immortality.

Needless to say, it doesn't take long for a suspicious Captain Vico to uncover the dark secret behind their longevity - they breed clones of themselves, which they then harvest for organs (and, just to make it even more immoral, they also use their clones as slaves)! This segment also guest-stars Hammer Films hottie Martine Beswick and Captain America, himself, Reb Brown (also of Yor fame/infamy).

The second half of the film takes place a few months later, based on our protagonists' now bedraggled appearance and lack of provisions. Searching for water and food, they discover a jungle-like area populated by exotic animals, and ponds with concrete bottoms. They soon deduce that the area was once a zoo, which is now inhabited not only by feral animal predators but also by two warring tribes of barbaric humans. One tribe hunts the animals for food, while the other group, called "The Wardens" and descended from the original zookeepers, worships the beasts and fights to protect them. Allison is captured by the animal-worshipers, while Vico and Scott have a run-in with the hunters. Eventually, with their help, the two tribes warily come to a cease fire, with hopes of a permanent peace.

What is most interesting to me is not how different World is from its two PAX predecessors, so much as its striking similarities to MGM Television's Logan's Run series, which debuted two years later. Both shows are set in a post-Apocalyptic future with a group of three characters - man of action (Logan/Vico), compassionate female (Jessica/Allison) and wise elder (Rem/Scott) - traveling in a clunky land vehicle through desolate landscapes in search of a (perhaps non-existent) promised land (Sanctuary/PAX Headquarters). In both cases, the trio encounters and becomes involved with varied, isolated enclaves of people with their own, twisted societies. While the basic premise is, of course, nothing particularly new for sci-fi, the specifics are rather close, aren't they?

Like its two brethren, Strange New World didn't spawn a series, instead airing - as many unsold pilots did in those days - as a TV movie in the Summer on ABC. In fact, it's the only one of these that I distinctly remember watching on its original airing. (I caught the other two on cable - probably on TBS or WGN - in the early 80s.) It was later released on VHS tape by Unicorn Video.

In the 1990s, since Paramount's Star Trek sequels/spin-offs were doing well in syndication and on cable, Majel Barret-Roddenberry dusted off some of Gene's old notes and sold them to television producers eager to exploit the Roddenberry reputation. Tribune Entertainment bought up the Genesis II/Planet Earth material and handed it to latter-day Trek veteran Robert Hewitt Wolfe to re-imagine as a spacebound adventure series. Pretty much the only Genesis II/Planet Earth elements that survived into the resulting syndicated series, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, were the name "Dylan Hunt," and the suspended animation gimmick that would bring the character forward in time to a unrecognizable future.

As with the first two PAX pilots, Warner Archive offers Strange New World on DVD as a manufactured-on-demand item. The "full frame," 4x3 transfer is pretty decent for its age, but no restoration or remastering appears to have been done. Audio is a perfectly satisfactory Dolby Digital Stereo. There are no extras included.

It can be purchased directly from Warner Archive or through Amazon:  Strange New World

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #26: GENESIS II

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry poses on the impressive "PAX subshuttle station" set of his 1973 post-Apocalyptic sci-fi pilot film for Warner Brothers and CBS, Genesis II, starring Alex Cord (Airwolf) and Mariette Hartley.

Genesis II  is available as a manufactured-on-demand DVD from Warner Archive, and I reviewed both the movie and the disc HERE.

PLANET EARTH (1974)

Not too long ago, I wrote about Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's attempt to launch a new science fiction television series in the early 1970s. Produced by Warner Brothers for CBS, Genesis II chronicled the adventures of 20th Century scientist Dylan Hunt, who awakens from a cryogenics accident to find a post-Holocaust Earth. Adopted by the peace-loving, scientific-minded people of PAX, he ultimately joins them in their mission to bring "civilization" to Earth's surviving populace.

Unfortunately, Genesis II didn't sell. In a repeat of the reaction to the first Star Trek pilot, the network brass found the show too cerebral, and felt that its hero (played by Alex Cord) looked and acted too much like a liberal arts college professor - one who probably slept with his students. (Okay, that's pure speculation. But I found him creepy.) CBS went with Planet Of The Apes instead.

But Warner Brothers wasn't ready to give up on the concept, and persuaded ABC to fund a new pilot. Roddenberry tried again. This time, he hired Star Trek veteran Marc Daniels to direct, collaborated with writer Juanita Bartlett on a more action-oriented script, and recast the character of Dylan Hunt. This time around, the character was played by John Saxon, who brought much more of a "Captain Kirk" vibe to the role.

There were other changes, as well. In Genesis II, the people of PAX lived in an underground complex deep within Carlsbad Caverns, and wore clothing reminiscent of the hand-made togs of Medieval peasants (or hippies). In Planet Earth, PAX is an above-ground futuristic city, and its operatives wear form-fitting uniforms that greatly resemble the ones that appeared on Star Trek - The Next Generation a few years later. Their non-lethal stun guns are sleeker and more futuristic looking, and Hunt is shown using a Tricorder-like recording device in one scene. The underground subshuttle is carried over from the previous telefilm, but both its interior and the station from which it is dispatched have been given facelifts to make it look more, well, futuristic.

Instead of re-telling how Hunt ended up in the year 2133, Planet Earth jumps right into its story, with Hunt already established as the leader of a team of PAX operatives: the Dr. McCoy-like Baylok (Christopher Cary), noble savage Isiah (hulking Ted Cassidy, the only actor held over from Genesis II), and plucky Harper-Smythe (the incredibly cute Janet Margolin). They are being attacked by a band of mutant marauders known as the Kreeg - dark-skinned warriors with bony ridges on their foreheads (Hmmm....).  Hunt and his team flee the Kreeg, making for a hidden subshuttle station, but during the escape, an important PAX leader - Pater Kimbridge (Rai Tasco) - is severely wounded. Upon return to PAX, it is determined that only one surgeon can save the man, but he himself went missing on a mission some time before.

The search leads them to the Confederacy of Ruth, a matriarchal society where women rule and men are mere chattel, belittlingly referred to as "Dinks," and drugged into subservience by their mistresses. Hunt and Harper-Smythe attempt to infiltrate the Confederacy, with Hunt posing as Harper-Smythe's slave, but the leader of the group, a woman called Marg (Roddenberry favorite Diana Muldaur) claims Dylan as her own property. Hunt is then given "training" and prepared for auction.

Of course, eventually Hunt and his team find the missing PAX doctor, persuade the women to change their ways, and fend off an attack of Kreeg raiders -- all while making rather obvious and heavy handed commentary about chauvinism. But it is to Roddenberry and Bartlett's credit that the teleplay avoids the obvious exploitation possibilities of the premise, and manages to make the women of the Confederation reasonably sympathetic.

Planet Earth is my favorite of the "PAX Trilogy;" not so much for the plot, but for the look and tone of it, and the cast/characters. I much prefer Saxon's Dylan Hunt over Alex Cord's and I find Janet Margolin's Harper-Smythe remarkably attractive. Saxon is more traditionally heroic (which I like, frankly) and not only gets the opportunity to put the moves on Muldaur, but has a chance to show off some of his Enter The Dragon fighting skills during the climactic battle.

Marc Daniels brings professional polish and brisk pacing to the telefilm and the action sequences are very nicely-staged. Aside from the encounters with the Kreeg, there's a very well-done catfight between Muldaur and Margolin where it's clear that the two actresses are doing much of the stuntwork themselves (not all - doubles are used for a few long shots).

Unfortunately, as with Genesis II, the network passed on Planet Earth, and decided to develop The Six Million Dollar Man as a weekly series instead. Warner Brothers would give the concept one more shot the following pilot season, this time for NBC, but Roddenberry would not be involved. Roddenberry instead turned his attention to other series ideas, and would produce two more genre TV pilots (The Questor Tapes and Spectre) before returning to Paramount to develop the Star Trek II (also known as Star Trek: Phase II) television series.... which also would never get on the air, instead metamorphosing into The Motion Picture.

Like Genesis II, Planet Earth is available as a manufactured-on-demand, high-quality DVD-R from Warner Archive. The 1.33:1 transfer is remarkably sharp for an almost 40-year old TV movie, and almost completely devoid of dirt or other print damage. There are no extras. It can be ordered through the Warners Archive site or through Amazon: Planet Earth (1974 TVM)


I really like Planet Earth. As I said above, it's my favorite of the three tries at the concept, and it had a lot of potential. Ultimately, I think it's a really good 70's sci-fi pilot, and had it gone to series, I can guarantee you that 10-year-old me would have been perched in front of the tube every week, loving every minute of it.

John Saxon will return (though, not as Dylan Hunt)... in Strange New World, the final installment of the  "PAX Trilogy!"

Vintage VHS Art: The Future Belongs To John Saxon!

I recently ordered and received the Warners Archive DVDs of Planet Earth and Strange New World, the TV movie/pilot follow-ups to Gene Roddenberry's Genesis II (which I collectively refer to as the "PAX Trilogy"). I'll be reviewing both of these John Saxon-starring flicks over the next couple of weeks, but in the meantime here's the art that covered the VHS home video releases of the titles in the 1980s.

I love old VHS box art....

ADDENDUM: Courtesy of Space: 1970 reader Jerome Wybon, here's a French variation on the Planet Earth video art:

GENESIS II (1973)

"My name is Dylan Hunt. My story begins on the day on which I died." 

In the early 1970s, Star Trek became an unprecedented success in television syndication. Though not considered a success during its initial network run (despite surviving for three seasons), the unexpected - and unexpectedly profitable - popularity of Trek in the after-market and as a merchandising bonanza, surprised more than a few TV executives, and changed their perception of the show's creator somewhat. After several years as something of a TV industry pariah, Gene Roddenberry now found himself to be a desirable commodity... if he could deliver another cash machine like Star Trek.

Well, he gave it a shot - several times.

Warner Brothers Television and CBS decided to give him his first chance, and financed a science fiction pilot film called Genesis II. The premise borrowed liberally from the old Buck Rogers movie serial as well as from Trek - but eschewed the exotic outer space locales prominent in those sources,  and the expensive special effects that they would have required.

The story begins in 1979, where, deep in a government facility built in Carlsbad Caverns, NASA Scientist Dylan Hunt (Alex Cord) is the subject of a suspended animation experiment. Unfortunately, the experiment has just begun when a tremor triggers a cave-in that  buries his hibernation chamber under tons of rock.

In 2133, the chamber is uncovered and Hunt is revived by members of a community called PAX - descendants of survivors of a nuclear war who have made the Caverns their home. The leaders of PAX (as their name would suggest) claim that they are a pacifistic society that works to preserve human civilization.

Hunt is placed in the care of Lyra-a (the lovely Mariette Hartley), a member of PAX who joined them from a mutant race known as Tyranians. The Tyranians are genetically superior to humans, with double circulatory systems (like Time Lords!) and thus, two navels.

Although suspicious of her, the PAXians are unaware that she is a spy for her people, and whenever they're not around, she works to discredit PAX to Hunt. She actually manages to convince him that they're bad guys - and he's rather easily convinced, because, like most Roddenberry heroes, Hunt's a horndog, and Lyra-a is the hottest chick in the cave - and they "escape" from the PAX complex via the high-speed underground subshuttle, which was part of the 1979 Carlsbad facility, and is somehow still working.

Anyway, to make a long synopsis short, Hunt discovers that the mutant Tyranians are (imagine!) a decadent, evil race that keep humans as slaves and their only interest in Hunt is in his value as a scientist. Their city is powered by a 20th Century nuclear generator, and they need Hunt to repair and maintain it. Hunt is rescued by an undercover team from PAX - one of many teams that the PAX group sends out to secretly "help" other post-Apocalyptic societies - and with their assistance, starts a slave revolt before escaping the Tyranian city....

The show possesses a lot of Roddenberry hallmarks, like a sometimes creepy preoccupation with sex (it isn't spelled out, but it's clear that sexual stimulation is required to bring Hunt out of his hibernation state, which is why Lyra-a got the job as his nurse), and the idea that the war-ravaged Earth is now divided into a multitude of isolated, diverse cultures - each of which can be used to comment on some modern-day issue. But it also exhibits an interesting reversal of Star Trek's "Prime Directive;" whereas Kirk & company were expressly forbidden to interfere in the development of other cultures, PAX instead sees themselves as 22nd Century Mary Worths, with  a  responsibility to "guide" (even through covert infiltration and acts of subversion) other societies toward their idealistic, pacifistic view of "civilization."

It's an interesting - if morally questionable - premise, with a lot potential to be explored in an ongoing series.

 The look/production design of the show isn't bad. The citizens of PAX are shown wearing very "Earthy," almost Medieval peasant-looking clothes, while the Tyranians favor pseudo-Roman togas. The Carlsbad Cavern setting for PAX is rather nicely designed, with colorful stalactites and stalagmites, and the subshuttle is a cool-looking transport.

Upon my most recent viewing of Genesis II, however, I was struck by how much Roddenberry's pilot borrowed from the 1939 Buck Rogers serial produced by Universal Studios. Not only do both storylines deal with revived 20th Century men in a post-Apocalyptic Earth setting, but both feature good guys living in a hidden underground mountain complex, bad guys (who keep slaves) living in a futuristic city... and the Buck Rogers serial even features the characters using an underground subshuttle similar to the one seen in Genesis II (the Buck shuttle was located on Saturn, but, still)! Hmmm...

Unfortunately, in a repeat of his experiences in trying to sell Star Trek a decade before, the network found the Genesis II pilot "too cerebral," and, as directed by veteran John Llewellyn Moxey, too talky and lacking in action (although, to fair, the climactic slave revolt is pretty well staged and shot). They also found lead Alex Cord to be too intellectual, and lacking the charisma desired in a TV series hero. CBS passed on the show, choosing instead to go with Fox's small-screen version of Planet of the Apes. 

But Warner Brothers seemed to still have some faith in Roddenberry and his concept, and persuaded ABC to finance a second pilot, this time called Planet Earth, the following year. (I'll be covering that one when my disc arrives next week).

The DVD-R of Genesis II from Warner Archives is extraordinarily good-looking, even on my HD-TV. The 1.33:1 "full-frame" transfer is remarkably strong, considering its age, with virtually no distracting print damage or dirt. Colors are bright, and details are sharp. No extra features are provided.

The Warners archive site still doesn't accept my debit card, so I ordered it through a third party dealer at Amazon. Even with shipping, I got a brand-new, unopened disc for about the same price as buying it directly from the Warners Archive site.  You can buy it direct from Amazon, too, of course: Genesis II

Dylan Hunt will return... in Planet Earth, the second installment of the "PAX Trilogy!"