The Worst Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Ongoing series looking at sci fi and fantasy entries that can be considered among of the biggest misfires and losers of the genre.
What Is It?
This television reboot of the 1976 feature film follows two people fleeing from a society where the population is put to death at the age of thirty. Logan 5 and Jessica 6 escape from the domed city where they have lived most of their lives and search for a mythical place called “Sanctuary.” They are joined by an android named Rem, and they find a hovercraft that allows them to travel around the post-apocalyptic landscape. Meanwhile, the city elders, who rule the domes without the knowledge of the younger people, send Francis 7 to bring back Logan and Jessica, promising him a place on their council and the chance to live past thirty if he succeeds.
Aired: CBS, 1977-78, 1 Season Totaling 14 Episodes
Starring: Gregory Harrison, Heather Menzies, Donald Moffat, Randy Powell
Developed By: William F. Nolan, D.C. Fontana
Where Did It Go Wrong?
The 1976 Logan’s Run movie diverged notably from the book it was based on, but at least it retained some of the concepts from the source material, particularly the dystopian themes. When the property moved to television, though, it ventured even further from the original story and essentially turned into a grounded Star Trek, with the main characters encountering a different society each week in a post-apocalyptic world. (You can read more about what I refer to as the “Land Trek” trend at Cult-SciFi.com.) The main characters acted like Starfleet officers simply because that is what was expected from a sci fi show at that time. And they went around with perfectly groomed hair and clothes that showed no wear and tear, despite having only limited resources available to them. And worst of all, the scripts delivered watered-down genre stories that relied heavily on tropes and copy-and-paste dialogue.
A Closer Look:
A year before Star Wars turned into a phenomenon at the box office, the Logan’s Run movie hit theaters and generated a brief period of Logan-mania. The film performed well in ticket sales and generated a lot of buzz among sci fi fans. A sequel novel, Logan’s World, and a Marvel comic book adaptation followed, along with the TV series. But genre shows were pretty much anathema on the broadcast networks at that time, and this one was forced to appeal to an audience that was more accustomed to a steady flow of procedurals and sitcoms.
The Logan’s World novel actually offered a good template for how the series could have proceeded because it took place after the dystopian order had collapsed. They could have picked up the show right from the end of the movie, following the collapse of the domed cities (spoiler alert?), and perhaps used some of the storylines from the book while also incorporating the society-of-the-week format. But instead, they did a full reboot, with Logan and Jessica fleeing the domed city right away and then traveling around a very well-groomed post-apocalyptic landscape.
To the show’s credit, Logan’s Run co-author William F. Nolan was on board at the beginning, and Star Trek’s D.C. Fontana was closely involved as well. They also brought on other Trek veterans like John Meredyth Lucas, David Gerrold, and Harlan Ellison to pen scripts. But the networks were averse to full-on sci fi in prime time back then, and it certainly seemed like execs pushed the show toward bland stories featuring a lot of pretty people, resulting mostly in television fluff.
With the talent the show had available, perhaps it could have developed into a decent genre entry if given a second season, but it did not last long on the schedule. The pilot movie performed well in the ratings, but when the series was placed in a timeslot against the Top 10 hit Little House on the Prairie, its numbers dropped quickly, and the show was cancelled after only fourteen episodes had been produced. That left it as an odd entry in the Logan’s Run franchise that had very little connection to the source material beyond the title and fell well short of its potential.
Would a Reboot Help?
A theatrical reboot has been in development for some time and will reportedly draw more closely from the book, though progress has been slow. This property is probably best suited to the big screen, though perhaps it could be adapted as a miniseries by one of the streaming services. And if they went that route and it proved popular, perhaps they could follow it up with a Logan’s World adaptation, and that could eventually extend beyond the book. But for now, if this one returns, it seems more likely to hit theaters than the small screen.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, though it has not received the Blu-ray treatment. You can also purchase it VOD, and it is not currently streaming on any of the major services.
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