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?
In this television movie, a large government research facility is working on creating an android that closely resembles a human being. The project was initiated by Dr. Emil Vaslovik, who programmed a set of tapes (storage media was still in its infancy in the ’70s) that would be loaded into the android Questor when he was completed. Vaslovik, however, disappeared before the project came to fruition, and much of the data on the tapes was erased. The scientists on hand created their own databank in its place and tried to load that into Questor’s brain. This failed, and scientist Jerry Robinson, who had worked very closely with Vaslovik throughout the project, insisted that they load the original tapes, even though there was missing data. That does not appear to work either, however, after everybody has left the laboratory thinking their work was a failure, Questor activates himself and proceeds to complete his design to take on a human likeness. He knows that he must find Vaslovik to complete his programming, so he seeks out Robinson to assist him in this task. This leads the two to London, where they find a monitoring station that Vaslovik set up to observe events throughout the world and see how diverse situations might cause synergies that can turn negative outcomes into positive ones. Questor also finds that from here, he would have access to a private jet that could quickly transport him to areas experiencing turmoil. It is also here that Questor and Robinson find additional clues on the whereabouts of Vaslovik, which ultimately leads to Questor discovering that he was created to serve and protect mankind.
Cast: Robert Foxworth, Mike Farrell, John Vernan, Lew Ayres, Dana Wynter
Crew: Gene Roddenberry (Creator/Writer), Gene L. Coon (Writer), Jeffrey M. Hayes (Executive Producer)
Originally Aired: January 23, 1974
Where Did the Original Fail?
This Gene Roddenberry pilot did not fail at all; it actually succeeded at delivering a very good setup for what could have led to a promising sci-fi TV entry. The failure was on the part of NBC in not adding the show to their schedule. They had actually given it the greenlight to go to series, but it ran into some complications. The execs wanted him to drop the Jerry Robinson character (played by a pre-M*A*S*H Mike Farrell), but Roddenberry was unwilling to do that (NBC had previously been reluctant to keep Spock onboard for the original Star Trek). Roddenberry was also unhappy with the scheduling of the show (the same Friday night “death slot” that killed Trek), and ultimately the network decided not to go forward with The Questor Tapes (you can read more about the show at Cult-SciFi.com).
Why Reboot It?
The Questor Tapes delivers a solid sci-fi concept, and it would definitely hold up to a modern remake. They could just do a full reimagining of the series in the present day, and it would work particularly well in the current socio-political environment. It could deliver stand-alone episodes as Questor investigates threats to world peace, and perhaps also add an overarching story arc as well. They could even link it to the Star Trek universe and possibly also bring the Gary Seven character (from the TOS episode “Assignment: Earth”) into the fold as well. The Gene Roddenberry name definitely brings plenty of brand recognition, and I am guessing that there are any number of creatives who could be tempted to jump onboard a reboot.
There was a previous attempt by long-time Roddenberry associate Herbert J. Wright to revive the concept in the early ’00s, but that stalled when Wright passed away in 2005. Then in 2010, Roddenberry’s son Rod announced that he was working with Imagine Entertainment (owned by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard) to get a reboot of the concept off the ground, and word was that long-time Joss Whedon collaborator Tim Minear (Firefly, Angel, Dollhouse) would participate as well. Nothing ever came of that, but this one certainly deserves another look, as it has plenty of potential to deliver a decent sci-fi series.
Where Can You Watch It?
The pilot has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, but it is not available VOD nor is it streaming on any of the major services.
Should The Questor Tapes be rebooted or is it best to leave this one in the 1970s? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
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