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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 7:33 pm Post subject: Genesis II (1973 TV movie) |
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GENESIS II - (1973 TV) Five years after "Star Trek", Gene Roddenberry took another shot at bringing sci-fi to prime time TV with this interesting and sincere pilot for an unsold series.
Alex Cord stars as a scientist revived from suspended animation in the year 2133 after civilization has been destroyed by atomic war. He is revived by a society of reconstructionist who are dedicated to non-violence, but their efforts are hampered by a dictatorial group of slavemasters located in a nearby region.
One of the slavemasters' spies among the peaceful group (Mariette Hartley) tricks Alex into joining the bad guys; they want him for the pre-holocaust science he could teach them. Ted Cassidy (Lurch from "The Addams Family") is a counter-spy among the slave-holding society.
Roddenberry's admirably idealistic philosophies concerning brotherhood and cooperation underline the story. At the story's conclusion Alex agrees to abide by the creed of the good guys; he will sacrifice his own life rather than take another's, even in self defense.
Although none of the networks picked up the series, Roddenberry tried twice more with the same concept and characters, although he replaced Alex Cord with John Saxon (see: "Planet Earth" and "Strange New World"). Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Apr 01, 2018 1:35 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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I've felt that some of the Star Trek (TOS) episodes were originally intended for this series. Episodes wherein cultures on other planets have followed a "parallel development" to Earth cultures, such as in "A Piece of the Action", "Patterns of Force", "Bread and Circuses", "The Omega Glory", "The Paradise Syndrome", even to the point of identical clothing, seemed more suited to having taken place on Earth itself, where they at least would have an excuse for their resemblance. _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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Yes indeed, TOS got plume silly when they claimed the Enterprise had found cultures so much like Earth that it was pretty obvious they were just writing stories to use existing sets and costumes.
"The Omega Glory" threw credibility right out the window when it presented a planet whose flag and the pledge to it came right out of the Smithsonian Institute.
Was this also the episode with the planet that looked identical to Earth from space? Continents and oceans, all right off the globes we studied in school. Not too plausible under any circumstances, I'm afraid. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Nov 13, 2024 5:05 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3739 Location: New York
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 9:40 am Post subject: |
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I really felt that GII had enormous potential & was terribly disappointed that it was not picked up for a series.
Planet Earth was strong in the first half-hour of that pilot & then degenerated into a dull story regarding a woman dominant society.
The uniforms were sharp looking for the PAX Team;& they retained the nifty dart guns from GII.
I would love to see this GR idea revived. With today's state of the art visual & special FX this show could do even more than when they first created it decades ago.
Last edited by Pow on Wed Sep 04, 2024 1:15 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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Pow wrote: | I really felt that GII had enormous potential & was terribly disappointed that it was not picked up for a series. |
I must confess, Pow, I'd have a much harder time concocting stories for the Genesis II post-apocalyptic world than I would for an exciting undersea series like we've discussed on the City Beneath the Sea thread.
I'm surprised you feel the series had potential, in view of your stated opinions about how a series set in domed cities under the ocean could never compete with one set in space!
Genesis II was mostly about survivors riding around on horses while they lamented the lost technology of the past. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 14, 2017 9:28 am; edited 2 times in total |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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My take on GII was that it served as an earthbound version of Star Trek. But instead of "seek[ing] out new life and new civilizations", they zipped around through their subway network to see how isolated pockets of humanity had developed since the fall of civilization. Each population center would have had its own model to rebuild on, not to mention the possibility of occasional mutations. So you have almost limitless possibilities to ask, "What would it have been like if the South had won?" _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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scotpens Space Sector Commander

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 919 Location: The Left Coast
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | Yes indeed, TOS got plumb silly when they claimed the Enterprise had found cultures so much like Earth that it was pretty obvious they were just writing stories to use existing sets and costumes. |
The "Similar Worlds Concept" was part of Gene Roddenberry's pitch for Star Trek right from the beginning -- both for the variety of story possibilities and for keeping costs down by using existing sets, props and costumes.
But yeah, it did get a bit silly and overused. The second season alone gave us the Nazi Planet, the Gangster Planet, the Roman Empire Planet and the American Flag and Constitution Planet!
Bud Brewster wrote: | Was this also the episode with the planet that looked identical to Earth from space? Continents and oceans, all right off the globes we studied in school. Not too plausible under any circumstances, I'm afraid. |
No, that was the first-season episode "Miri." The "duplicate Earth" was just a cheap hook to get viewers to stay tuned and was totally irrelevant to the story. After the pre-credit teaser, the planet being an exact copy of Earth is never mentioned again.
orzel-w wrote: | My take on GII was that it served as an earthbound version of Star Trek. But instead of "seek[ing] out new life and new civilizations", they zipped around through their subway network to see how isolated pockets of humanity had developed since the fall of civilization. Each population center would have had its own model to rebuild on, not to mention the possibility of occasional mutations. |
Did somebody mention mutations?

Last edited by scotpens on Sun Aug 04, 2024 8:13 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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Ah, yes. Mariette Hartley's cute little double belly button -- and I'd like to hear somebody say that phrase tens times fast!
Two belly buttons means two umbilical cords. I wonder what the difference was between the two. Did mommy have two placentas? Did a second umbilical cord increase the risk of baby Mariette getting tangled up the way babies do sometimes?
Good lord, that poor child must have looked like a tadpole in a bowl of chicken noodle soup while she was floating around in the womb!  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 14, 2017 9:34 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Krel Guest
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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Gene Roddenberry said he did the two bellybuttons, because of "Star Trek". The network would nix any costume that showed a bellybutton, so he put two in the GII pilot.
David. |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3739 Location: New York
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 12:53 pm Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | Pow wrote: | I really felt that GII had enormous potential & was terribly disappointed that it was not picked up for a series. |
I must confess, Pow, I'd have a much harder time concocting stories for the Genesis II post-apocalyptic world than I would for an exciting undersea series like we've discussed on the City Beneath the Sea thread.
I'm surprised you feel the series had potential, in view of your stated opinions about how a series set in domed cities under the ocean could never compete with one set in space!
Genesis II was mostly about survivors riding around on horses while they lamented the lost technology of the past. |
GII established in both pilots that the subterranean train would be their "Enterprise" as it would take our PAX team all over the planet. This would take us to different civilizations each week. These other societies would offer new stories each week. I imagine them as developing differently from PAX; like the domes on Starlost.
You also had the evil Terranians, mutants, & so forth that would offer stories, Bud.
CBTS was apparently gonna be just that, focused upon the city. If they were going to have aquatic vehicles leaving the city for adventures, that would work.
But let's be frank, this was an Irwin Allen production & we all know what kind of scripts he would have authorized by the writers.
It was not going to be pretty.
Last edited by Pow on Wed Sep 04, 2024 1:16 pm; edited 6 times in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 1:25 pm Post subject: |
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Pow wrote: | CBTS was apparently gonna be just that, focused upon the city. If they were going to have aquatic vehicles leaving the city for adventures, that would work.
But let's be frank, this was an Irwin Allen production & we all know what kind of scripts he would have authorized by the writers.
It was not going to be pretty. |
Well, first of all, I'm being hypocritical by dismissing Geneis II based solely on what it actually did in the pilots -- while I've praised City Beneath the Sea for what it could have done if my ideas were used.
So, I apologize for my comment.
Second, I'm glad to hear that you think the CBTS concept would work if plenty of undersea travel was involved, and the stories frequently took us away from the big, beautiful, permanently located aquatic city with it's giant dome-covered greenhouses and enclosed lagoons that submarines would surface in after a short trip through a tunnel below the ocean floor, and . . .
Sorry, I'm promoting the advantages of my stationary city concept again.
And just to clarify, in my fantasy mind game of re-inventing City Beneath the Sea I've assumed from the start that no close-minded bean-counting studio suit would limit the scope of the undersea series I described — and the special effects would be fifty years ahead of their time!
Realistic? Hell no!
Enjoyable to create in our imaginations here on All Sci-Fi? Hell yes!
I see now that Genesis II could have been be a wonderful series if it followed the same format we've establish for The City Beneath the Sea , As It Could Be. PAX is the Federation, and the pockets of surviving humans are the "new worlds" the PAX people would boldly go to.
Today's higher budgets and the production standards they make possible, combined with the advanced FX techniques that have evolved, could make this idea work like Gene envisioned it. Perhaps somebody with talent and influence will yet bring the dream to reality. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:21 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3739 Location: New York
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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The FOX Channel TV-Pilot for The Time Tunnel clearly showed that any of the Irwin Allen shows could be rebooted.
The writing for the FOX version of TTT was vastly superior to the 60s show. So excellent writing could be applied to all of the shows.
And with today's state of the art visual effects the shows would be magnificent looking.
Last edited by Pow on Tue Aug 06, 2024 2:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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The unsold pilot for the new version of The Time Tunnel was indeed far better than the old show, and you can download a high-quality version from Dailymotion here.
Damn, I wish this had succeeded!
 _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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________________________________
As mentioned above, this is the one that has Mariette Harley with two navels, something which Roddenberry supposedly did because the network wouldn't let him show navels in Star Trek.
____________
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But that claim is bogus in view of this young lady's costume from The Cloud Minders which shows some lovely scenery, well south of Navel Land!
YouTube has the full movie, and the picture is pretty good.
______________ Genesis II (1973) - full movie
__________  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Nov 13, 2024 5:11 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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scotpens Space Sector Commander

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 919 Location: The Left Coast
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Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | As mentioned above, is the one that has Mariette Harley with two navels, something which Roddenberry supposedly did because the network wouldn't let him show navels in Star Trek.
. . . But that claim is bogus in view of this young lady's costume from The Cloud Minders which shows some lovely scenery, well south of Navel Land!  |
It was only during Star Trek's first season (1966-67) that navels couldn't be shown. There were bellybuttons aplenty in seasons two and three. Remember the classic second-season episode 'Mirror, Mirror"?
And Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In debuted on the same network in 1968. That show had girls in bikinis galore.
Last edited by scotpens on Thu Jun 18, 2020 1:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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