Genesis II

Trailer—Genesis II

source: Genesis II

Genesis II

This TV movie was written and produced by Gene Roddenberry as a pilot for a proposed series. It focuses on a scientist who is put in suspended animation and awakes 150 years later into a post-apocalyptic earth populated by warring tribes, including mutants. The fact is was never picked up for a TV series is not too surprising as the concept is too ambitious for its limited budget to successfully pull off. An interesting failure though.

The first of several TV movie pilots by Gene Rodenberry about a post apocalyptic world divided into several civilizations where it seems there is no peace and no complete freedom for everybody, a class system in play that makes certain people treated like pets or personal slaves, and enjoying that position. Like "Planet Earth" afterwards, there's an Amazon society where men are either pets or slaves, but in this movie, that community is not shown. Alex Cord plays a scientist who has been in suspended animation from before the nuclear destruction, and he is taken away from where he wakes up by the emotionless Mariette Hartley who takes him where she calls the desired place to be, and indeed, it looks to be the most civilized but obviously is not. Ted Cassidy costars in this pilot that was difficult to stay awake through. I wouldn't recommend watching this with the other two pilots. As a triple bill, they could put the viewer into suspended animation.

The architecture referred to by another reviewer is actually the campus of the University of California at Riverside. It was filmed while I was a student there, during spring break so no students were around. While I loved the film, it was hard to suspend my disbelief looking at buildings I saw every day. We hoped it would take off as a series, since the campus got a paint job, some landscaping, and a few thousand dollars for our scholarship funds in exchange for letting them film. That "futuristic" architecture was mostly built in the early to mid 1960's. But it still has that "future" look. One of my fond memories of my undergraduate alma mater.

A scientist is placed in our distant future. Star Trek (1966) has been a lifelong interest of mine so it was great see the maker of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, do this in 1973. Genesis 11 held me from beginning to end, however I saw it in the form of a terrible print on YouTube, so it was a bit hard to make out some images/sets clearly. The middle sections of the film needed a bit more punch but it all comes together in the later sections. The star of the show, Alex Cord, does a fine job here. Another TV movie like this came the following year, Planet Earth, and it contains one of the best 1970s sci-fi theme tunes.

What the hell was this? Cheap story, acting, sets, cinematography, lighting, music, etc Interesting idea, but the story and dialogue was just plain poor. Some interesting parts. Rating is a D, for effort, or 3 stars. Not worth seeing! What the hell was this? Cheap story, acting, sets, cinematography, lighting, music, etc Interesting idea, but the story and dialogue was just plain poor. Some interesting parts. Rating is a D, for effort, or 3 stars. Not worth seeing!

Gene Roddenberry, a man way ahead of his time, so what else is new?! He will certainly be missed. A man frozen from the past is brought back to life in the future. From the underground subways to mans own destruction from the past, its as if the world has started over again, but with two different types of people, the ones who live above the ground, and the others, who live below the earth and are very barbaric. This movie makes one wonder if this can really happen. I say, quite possible. This movie is not yet available for purchase, but I was lucky and smart enough to tape it years ago from TV. "Planet Earth" follows this movie as John Saxon stars in it. This one is available for sale and would highly recommend it as well.

Dylan Hunt, played by a dull Alex Cord, takes part in a cryogenic experiment in the Carlsbad Caverns but an inconvenient earthquake isolates his chamber until he is woken up 154 years later into a different world. Am not surprised this pilot never want to a full series. It's somewhat pedestrian and it's ideas are not that original in the science fiction genre, going back to H.G. Well's 'The Sleeper Awakes' in 1896, or even Irving's 'Rip Van Winkle' in 1819. The caverns look cheap and most of the budget seems to have gone on the underground train. Percy Rodrigues adds intelligent dignity as usual and Lynne Marta (and her pancreas) is cute as Harper-Smythe but that's all the pleasures, apart of course from the Mariette Hartley character Lyra-a's two navels.