Genesis II!

The late 60's and early 70's were heady times for TV science fiction. We had just got to the Moon and I seem to remember a general notion that it was the first "giant leap for mankind" with the emphasis on "first". I was ten and now I am over six times that old now, and we haven't really taken any further steps. We've done work in the nearby neighborhood and sent probes to the distant planets, but man himself has been content to walk in his old footprints. The future, so bright and filled with helpful technology as seen in Star Trek and The Jetsons had another side, a darker side. Gene Roddenberry tried to explore possibilities in a few more series after Star Trek and one that lingers in the memory is Genesis II and its siblings.

Genesis II tells the story of a future in which sprawling underground subways link the world and man. Some people in a group called PAX seem to have finally shaken off the old warlike ways. But as one man found, nothing lasts forever. As part of a cryogenic experiment Dylan Hunt was locked into a chamber and put into a coma, and just then an earthquake buried the facility, and he was forgotten. A hundred and fifty years and a small nuclear war later he's discovered and revived and finds that man's old ways of war were not so forgotten. And he learns that mankind itself has given rise to new variations. 

That's story in Genesis II and it features a odd blend of tech and barbaric splendor. Alex Cord plays Dylan Hunt and a ravishing Mariette Hartley plays the woman who brings him back. With the likes of Ted Cassidy around this one is pretty entertaining. But as a pilot it failed to convince the networks. Likely that's because, despite a lot of high concept work done, the basic plot of the story is rather ramshackle. The characters do lots of illogical things and the ending is abrupt and denies the viewer the actual pleasure of seeing what seemed to be some of the best action in the show. A tactical nuclear blast seems a strange way to end a show promoting peace. I really liked the underground sets, presumably in Carlsbad Caverns, but the use of college campuses to represent the future city of the evil overlords doesn't work well at all. 

Alex Cord is acceptable as the hero, but just that and sadly no more. It's not his fault but his porn mustache really holds him back. Like lots of shows of this era, the wigs used by some of the minor characters are unintentionally hilarious and undermine the production. Marjette Hartley is stunning, and the show really comes alive when she's on screen. I can see why the networks balked at this effort from Roddenberry, but he wasn't done trying to sell it. More tomorrow. 

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