Strange New World (TV program)
| Strange New World | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert Butler |
| Produced by | Robert E. Larson |
| Written by | Ronald F. Graham and Walon Green |
| Music by | Richard Clements and Elliot Kaplan |
| Cinematography | Michael Margulies |
| Edited by | David Newhouse, A.C.E. |
Strange New World was a TV pilot based on concepts envisioned by Gene Roddenberry which first aired on March 23, 1975. It starred John Saxon as Captain Anthony Vico (PAX team leader), Kathleen Miller as Dr. Allison Crowley (team navigator and communications expert), and Keene Curtis as Dr. William Scott, M.D. (team physician/medical doctor).
Strange New World was the third attempt to bring Roddenberry's post-apocalyptic future vision to the small screen. Prior efforts, called Genesis II and Planet Earth, explored an Earth after a nuclear war and focused on an organization called PAX that was working to bring peace and order to the world.
Although he was closely involved in the previous two incarnations, this time Gene Roddenberry was much less involved. As a result, the character names, as well as some of the main plot points, were changed in order to avoid any potential litigation.
John Saxon had starred in Planet Earth as Dylan Hunt, but the character's name was changed for its successor. The movie did, however, share the post-apocalyptic premise of Genesis II and Planet Earth. The title of the film was borrowed from the famous opening monologue of Roddenberry's Star Trek.
Strange New World is considered by many observers to have been the weakest of the three productions which envisaged the world of PAX. Like the previous attempts, it was not developed into a weekly series.
Unlike the previous versions, which focused on a single cryogenically frozen survivor working for an established organisation called PAX, Strange New World had three astronauts return to Earth after being cryogenically frozen and looking to re-establish the organisation (PAX) that had sent them into space. The opening of the movie introduced the PAX team members and described the disaster which befell the Earth (a swarm of giant asteroids). PAX headquarters changed the orbit of their space station so that it would orbit the sun and return to Earth in 180 years, during which time its crew and hundreds of volunteer personnel located below PAX headquarters, would remain in suspended animation. Upon returning to Earth, the astronauts' primary mission was to make their way back to PAX headquarters and revive their colleagues.