Sci Fi TV Reboots That Should Happen: Genesis II (1973)

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?

Genesis II is a 1973 pilot for a television series from Gene Roddenberry that follows scientist Dylan Hunt, who gets trapped in suspended animation in 1979 when a project he is working on goes awry, and he wakes up 150 years in the future to find that society has collapsed. He is revived by an organization called PAX, which actually consists of the remnants of the group he worked with in the past. They have a goal to seek out the technology and knowledge from the world before the fall in order to build a new and better society. They have already gained control of a vast system of magnetic levitation transports (“subshuttles”), which they use to quickly travel to any point in the world. They utilize this network to monitor other pockets of civilization that have sprouted up across the globe, though they practice a policy of non-interference with the development of these societies. When a group of mutants known as the Tyrannians—who have established a totalitarian regime in parts of Arizona and New Mexico—learn of Dylan Hunt’s revival, they seek out his knowledge of nuclear power. And his more barbaric 20th-century ways find him at odds with the peace-loving PAX on how to deal with the threat of the Tyrannians.

Aired: CBS, March 23, 1973

Starring: Alex Cord, Mariette Hartley, Ted Cassidy, Janet Margolin, Majel Barrett

Created By: Gene Roddenberry

Where Did the Original Fail?

This was Gene Roddenberry’s first attempt to launch a new series after Star Trek was cancelled, and it delivered a top-notch sci-fi TV movie for its time that demonstrated plenty of potential. It did not fail itself; instead, it was failed by its network, which passed on picking it up to series. The telefilm does have its ’70s cheesiness, and it is hard to get past Alex Cord’s porn star mustache, but it did offer a promising start and could have turned into a decent sci-fi show. CBS instead went with the Planet of the Apes TV series, as that franchise was still a hot property in theaters. But that show failed to draw a large enough audience to justify its expense and was cancelled after only fourteen episodes.

There was a second attempt to turn the Genesis II concept into a series with the retooled ABC pilot Planet Earth in 1974 starring John Saxon. But that failed to launch a series as well, and after one more stab with 1975’s Strange New World—which veered notably from the previous two films, though brought back Saxon—the property was put to rest. You can read more about Genesis II at Cult-SciFi.com.

Why Reboot It?

For all practical purposes, Genesis II was a cost-conscious version of Star Trek. Instead of traveling from planet to planet each week, the main team uses the subshuttles to visit different groups of survivors across the planet, and less sfx are required. It still allows for an exploration of a new society each week and could have worked in similar morality plays to what we previously saw on Trek, just at a less cosmic level. In fact, this pilot spurred a sub-genre on television for a while that I have dubbed “Land Trek,” with similar shows in a post-apocalyptic or dystopian setting following a group encountering different societies each week (you can read more about that at Cult-SciFi.com).

Another reason to reboot the show is that it brings some notable name recognition. Not Genesis II, but Gene Roddenberry, who is well known for creating the long-lived Star Trek franchise. That alone will draw viewers to the show, and Hollywood loves anything that can be branded and turned into an IP.

But most importantly, this concept has plenty of promise. It can deliver standalone “society-of-the-week” episodes while also developing an ongoing arc and providing some world-building as we find out more about the people who have survived on the planet. They could even work in some Lost-style mysteries, as that has become expected for sci-fi properties, but that is not really necessary, and perhaps just a straightforward sci-fi approach would be the better way to go. It could also follow the darker direction of the pilot that pitted barbarism (from the Tyrannians and from Dylan Hunt) against pacifism, or the more action-oriented direction of the second pilot Planet Earth. But no matter how it comes about, this is definitely a property that deserves to be revisited. It was a strong concept when the pilot first aired, and it still has plenty of potential to move forward as a good sci-fi series.

Where Can You Watch It?

This movie–along with Planet Earth and Strange New Worlds–was released on DVD by Warner Archives, and it is still available. It was later compiled with Planet Earth on Blu-ray. It is not currently streaming on any of the major services though you can purchase it VOD.

Would you tune in for a reboot of Genesis II, or should it be left to the 1970s? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

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