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Mission Genesis (1997)

 
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:52 am    Post subject: Mission Genesis (1997) Reply with quote

Mission Genesis aka Deepwater Black debuted in 1997. The TV series was based upon New Zealand author Ken Catran's novels.

It was the Sci~Fi Channel's very first original scripted live action television show that had a 30-minute format & ran for 13-episodes.

Premise } The populations of Earth are being wiped out by the unstoppable Pandora virus. Origin: Unknown.

A spaceship is launched,Deepwater Black, that is stocked with human clones suspended in cryogenic freeze that will one day repopulate the Earth.

The DB is sent on a centuries long elliptical orbit that will return the vessel to Earth after the virus has burned itself out according to scientific calculations.

A mysterious spaceship attacks the DB causing crew to be awakened from their suspended animation. The crew must now defend their ship against this hostile craft, protect the DB and its mission, and begin to know one another since they are all strangers to each other.

Crew Members: Reb, Captain/Engineer.

_____________Yuna, Pilot/Navigator.

_____________Lise, Medical Doctor.

_____________Zak, Computer Expert/Cybernetics.

_____________Bren, Defense/Weapons Expert.

_____________Gret, Communications Expert/Geneticist

_____________Gen, Onboard Holographic Computer

This was an interesting series and a fine first effort by the Sci~Fi Channel in spite of its limited budget.

The scenario for the mission & the backstory was compelling.

It was a shame that the show only lasted for 13 episodes as it had potential for many more stories to unfold.

All 13-episodes are available on Youtube & the picture quality is good.

Love to see it rebooted.


Last edited by Pow on Sun Sep 01, 2019 12:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The show they cancelled the popular discussion show "Sci-Fi Vortex" for.

David.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Due to the characters full personalities not having been completely downloaded and their available portions not fully integrated, there is a problem.

They experience ''prex'' which is short for Prexing.

Prexing stands for pre~existence. This a side effect of being a clone.

The crew can slip into a state where they experience the memories of their original genetic source. This is almost like a seizure and the individuals never know when or where their prexing may occur.

Whenever a character prexes experiencing a flashback it is shot by the camera from a POV perspective.

Behind the Scenes. M:G had their own CGI operation to create the visual effects for the series, so nothing had to go to an outside operation.

The Command Deck for the DWB was constructed over a pit, so it was up on scaffolding. This allowed the entire CD to be physically rocked with the actors on it when a scene required the DWB to be knocked about.

It was like having a giant simulator and it gave the cast a realistic look to their movements when the DWB was rocking & rolling.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Opening narration: Through the vastness of space a single ship carrying a crew of six speeds towards Earth.
This is the story of their mission to restore human life to a home they have never known.

Crew: Reb is the clone of a donor who was alive in 1996 and as a result carries the sensibilities of a civilian from the late 20th century. Reb serves as the de facto captain & engineer of the Deepwater Black.
He's a common sense kind of guy and problem solver.
He sees solutions rather than obstacles.

Yuma is a strong-minded individual with leadership qualities who serves as a pilot on Deepwater Black.

Lise is a medical surgeon who is a clone of a doctor from the Moon Colony in 2156 during the Plague years. Lise is warm and caring and strives to be everyone's friend and takes on the role of peacemaker during spats among the crew.

Gert serves as the ship's communication expert and monitors the enormous gene bank on board.
She's a sophisticated, intelligent and creative individual who has high expectations for herself and everyone with whom she comes into contact.

Zak is the cyber-computer expert who can go from funny and fun to grouchy in a beat. Zak handles all of the computer functions of the ship and is in charge of maintaining Gen.
Zak can be temperamental and is someone who often prefers machines to people, because when they have a problem, they are much easier to fix.

Gen is the Genesis computer on Deepwater Black who appears to the crew as a holographic form and provides them with the instructions that will guide them throughout their mission.

Bren is the weapons specialist for the vessel. Bren has a strong commitment to the military ideals of duty and honor. He is the clone of a career military officer. He feels that it is his duty to ensure the successful completion of the mission.

Interestingly the 13 episodes of the show all had one word titles: Awakening, Lullaby, Legacy, Reflections, Infestation, Plague, Fugue, Siege, Cycles, Hunt, Aurora, Refugee, and Prime.

In the first episode we see two important tools that will be used on various episodes. Gert finds a tray of wrist communication devices that she passes out to the crew.

Lise uses a medical scanner to examine herself and that she'll use on patients.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Boy, this is really obscure to me! But it does look interesting!



From IMDv:



A virus breaks out and leaves the humans residing on Earth doomed. However, in a desperate attempt before the end, all humanity's resources are dedicated to a crash program to produce a deep space ark, capable of seeding humanity on a new world. The ship is crewed by six clones; teenage versions of people who achieved great works during the ark project and equipped with the memories of their donors. Prior to its arrival, however, the crew is awoken prematurely to face a threat to the ship, before their memories are complete. They must come to terms with the workings of the ship, the dangers faced by their ship, the realization that they are clones, and their ultimate destiny to save their race.



In the future, Earth's entire population is being wiped out by an unstoppable virus. Mankind's only hope for survival is to launch a spaceship stocked with clones in cryogenic freeze, which will return to a devastated planet and re-populate it. Prior to its arrival, however, its crew of 6 is awoken to face a threat to the ship. They must come to terms with the workings of the ship, the dangers faced by their ship, the realization that they are clones, and their ultimate destiny: to save their race.

The trilogy was adapted as the Sci Fi Channel's first original scripted television series in 1997 under the name Mission Genesis. In the United Kingdom and in Canada, where the show was co-produced by the YTV Network, the series retained the original title, Deepwater Black. Only one season of 13 episodes was made, and involved a relatively small cast and heavy use of CGI. Soon after production ended, lead actress Nicole de Boer joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and lead actor Gordon Michael Woolvett joined the cast of Andromeda.

It was nicknamed "Space:90210" by critics and fans.

The show only had 13 episodes before it was canceled.

The series was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2022 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While the majority of the CGI F/X were done by the in-house special/visual effects house of the production company for Mission Genesis, Empire Entertainment, they did consult with different effects experts on the more difficult visuals.

The show was filmed at Toronto's Cinevillage and required 10,000 square feet of the studio for their production.

The budget for each half-hour episode was $300,000.

Episodes were completed every two-and-one-half days. By lunchtime of the third day, one director would leave having finished that episode, and a brand new one would arrive to start shooting the newest episode.

Sidebar: I realize that the demands of shooting a half-hour series (22-minutes of actual content) versus the shooting of an hour-long show (44-minutes of content) is significantly less. Still and all, it astounds me that this series could manage to finish off an episode every two-and-a-half days!

I wonder what kind of schedule their post-production team had with adding in the visual effects, sound, and editing? The whole shebang sounds like a rough & tough filming schedule to me.

The command deck for the Deepwater starship was constructed upon steel girders resting on piles of tires. This was so that any scenes that required the spacecraft to be rocking could be realistically simulated on that set.

At the time Mission Genesis was broadcast, Canada did not receive the Sci-Fi Channel. Instead the series aired on Canada's YTV Channel (Youth TV) and was titled "Deepwater Black" just like the novels the series was based upon.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2022 12:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

Hey, this looks great! Very Happy


_____ Mission Genesis : 1997 TV Series Episode 1


__________

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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2022 4:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I really enjoyed the series, Bruce. It had a marvelous and intriguing premise that was very ambitious. Unfortunately being the Sci-Fi Channel's very first original production, the budget was a modest one.

Still and all, the show did manage to create a nifty looking production with compelling stories.

I read that the clothes the actors wore for their characters was procured from a sporting goods store. Clever idea when faced with a limited budget.
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