Sci Fi TV Reboots That Should Happen: Ark II (1976)

Sci Fi TV Reboots that Should Happen: Reboots are all the rage mostly because the entertainment industry prefers name recognition over original ideas. But there are some properties that truly deserve a do-over because they didn’t quite achieve their goal the first time around or because they were cut short.  This column takes a look at those shows.

What Is It?

This ’70s Saturday morning show followed a group of scientists (and their talking chimpanzee) who travel around post-apocalyptic America in the high-tech vehicle of the title, attempting to bring civilization back to the world as explained in the opening voice-over:

For millions of years, Earth was fertile and rich. Then pollution and waste began to take their toll. Civilization fell into ruin. This is the world of the 25th Century. Only a handful of scientists remain, men who have vowed to rebuild what has been destroyed. This is their achievement: Ark II, a mobile storehouse of scientific knowledge manned by a highly trained crew of young people. Their mission: to bring the hope of a new future to mankind.

Aired: CBS, 1976, 1 Season Totaling 15 Episodes

Starring: Terry Lester, Jean Marie Hon, Jose Flores

Created By: Ted Post, Martin Roth

Where Did the Original Fail?

This show delivered the post-apocalypse on a Saturday morning budget that was cleaned up for its young viewers, with stories that wrapped up neatly after each thirty-minute episode. It definitely had a younger skew to it, which included a talking monkey to amp up the cute factor. And it ended up not lasting long, with only one season of fifteen episodes. It was a rather cheesy affair that has not aged particularly well, but the show did have some potential that a reboot could unlock.  (You can read more about it at Cult-SciFi.com.)

Why Reboot It?

Ark II arrived at a time when there were not many sci fi entries in Prime Time, and even though it took a kid-friendly angle, it still offered a decent genre show that attracted a broad audience. It tidied up the post-apocalypse to a degree so that it was not delivering any shocks or horrors to its younger viewers, but it still had some solid stories and an interesting premise of scientists rebuilding the world. And then it had all the cool vehicles and gadgets: the Ark, the roamer, the ATV, the jet jumper, and more. The basis for a good sci fi TV series can definitely be found in this one, and it is certainly worth revisiting.

A complete reboot might be the best way to go, bringing in an all-new cast and starting the series over from the beginning. But it doesn’t need to go the dark route, as genre shows tend to do all too often these days. They could keep the hopeful message and focus on how this group of scientists is trying to rebuild the world and create a brighter future based on the best principles of humanity. In that sense, it could turn into a grounded version of Star Trek, traveling from one post-apocalyptic society to the next each week (something that I’ve already discussed in more detail at this link). It could follow an episodic path while also developing an overall story arc of eventually bringing all these societies together. There is certainly plenty that could be mined from that concept, turning this into a potentially great sci fi series.

Another possibility would be to pick up the story many years after the events of the original series. Terry Lester and Jose Flores have since passed away, and Jean Marie Hon has not been active in acting since the ’80s, so the revival would have to cast new actors. But they could pick up sometime after the original series and show how things have progressed. This could potentially go the darker route, with the peaceful approach having failed and the scientists having to rethink their plans for Earth. Or perhaps, after an initial failure, they decide to try again with an even deeper conviction to a peaceful rebuilding of the planet. The advantage of this approach is that it keeps the original series as canon, though since that hasn’t aged well, perhaps it’s best to just start over with this one.

In either case, I believe a reboot of Ark II would be justified and could deliver a solid genre entry if done right.

Where Can You Watch It?

The complete series was released on DVD, but that has gone out of print and is currently fetching pretty high prices from third-party sellers. The show is not currently streaming on any of the major services, but you can find episodes on YouTube.

Would you tune in for a reboot of Ark II, or is that a show best left in the 1970s? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

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