Otherworld | |
---|---|
Genre | Science fiction |
Written by |
|
Directed by | |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Sylvester Levay |
Opening theme | "Otherworld" |
Composers |
|
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Roderick Taylor |
Producer | Lew Hunter |
Cinematography | Bradford May |
Editors |
|
Running time | 48 minutes |
Production company | Universal Television |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | January 26 – March 16, 1985 |
Otherworld is an American science fiction television series that aired for eight episodes from January 26 to March 16, 1985 on CBS and was created by Roderick Taylor. [1] Taylor gave himself a cameo role in each episode. The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel.
In the first episode, the Sterling family (Hal, June, Trace, Gina, Smith) take a tour of the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza during a conjunction of the planets which takes place once in ten thousand years. They are mysteriously transported to a planet which may or may not also reside in a parallel universe.
The other planet, Thel, is inhabited by humans (and some androids) and divided into isolated provinces with different governments and ways of life. Travel between provinces is strictly regulated by "Zone Troopers" and the people of one province know nothing of the others. The province of Imar (ruled by a Praetor) appears to be the central seat of government for the whole of the planet. The pilot episode refers to "territories", android creators, and "wars of unification". The Church of Artificial Intelligence is the official state religion of Thel, and no conflicting ideologies are permitted.
Having acquired an access crystal by accident, after a scuffle with a high-ranking Zone Trooper named Commander Kroll (Jonathan Banks) the Sterlings can now access all of the Zones. Kroll then pursues the Sterlings in effort to take back the crystal.
A series of Egyptian-like stone markers (obelisks), each with one eye, are supposed to mark the way to Imar, a city with beautiful buildings and a suspension bridge (the city shown in the opening credits, apparently intended to be Imar, is a photographic negative of New York City).
Each episode has the family dealing with the unfamiliar ways of life in each zone, and at the end of the episode, fleeing one zone for another, pursued by Commander Kroll who seeks the crystal, and also revenge.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Rules of Attraction" | William A. Graham | Roderick Taylor | January 26, 1985 | |
In the Sarlex province, underground mines are used to produce a material needed for industrial purposes. As humans cannot tolerate the radiation for long, robots were built to do the mining. The robots improved themselves into human-like beings. They are still a subject people, and the Imar authority and the zone troopers can perform "memory audits" to discover information needed for investigations. The Sarlex android people protest it as a violation of their rights. When the Sterling family arrives in this province, problems and a struggle for freedom ensue. | |||||
2 | "The Zone Troopers Build Men" | Richard Compton | Story by : Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor Teleplay by : Coleman Luck | February 2, 1985 | |
Low marks in school can lead to being drafted for life into the Zone Troopers. Common Troopers cannot resign, do not get leave for any reason, and are the only ones who may operate between Zones. Kroll is guest speaker at the graduation, and administers the oath to the top three cadets who become officers, including Trace. The graduation ceremonies are demanding, and call for extreme measures, including murder. Guest stars Mark Lenard as Perel Sightings, the camp commandant; Brian Thompson and Robert O'Reilly as drill instructors. | |||||
3 | "Paradise Lost" | Tom Wright | Story by : Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor Teleplay by : Josef Anderson | February 9, 1985 | |
One region of the planet of Thel exhibits the odd phenomena of laser storms: laser bolts shooting from the clouds like falling rain. These laser storms guard an island that appears to be a luxurious resort, but actually is a scientific research facility that has been built upon the former site of an old military base where experiments take place. Currently, doctors are researching the attainment of immortality. Their research exacts an extreme price from the resort's guests. Adding to the Sterling family's trouble is a seductive, young resort official with an amorous interest in Hal. | |||||
4 | "Rock and Roll Suicide" | Roderick Taylor | Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor | February 16, 1985 | |
In the Centrex province, Trace and Gina introduce rock 'n' roll, and record songs written by the Beatles and other classic artists. The music has an emotional impact that creates passionate fans and foes. The intolerant Church of Artificial Intelligence angrily protests the idol worship of Trace and Gina, whom the church views as subversives undermining their control, and sends both their officials and the Zone Troopers. | |||||
5 | "Village of the Motorpigs" | Paul Michael Glaser | Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor | February 23, 1985 | |
A raid by a camp of Thel-style hippies rescues the Sterlings from the Zone Troopers, but puts them at the mercy of the camp's leader, who intends to break up the family. Kroll is investigating the assault on a group of the troopers, and arrives too late. Guest star Marjoe Gortner as Chalktrauma. | |||||
6 | "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" | Tom Wright | Story by : Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor & Coleman Luck Teleplay by : Bruce A. Taylor & Coleman Luck | March 2, 1985 | |
A satirical episode in which the Sterlings find a province in which "Women's lib" is taken to extremes and men are second-class citizens. Men are forcibly relegated to norms and duties that in the Sterling's world are expected of women. When Commander Kroll arrives, his chauvinistic and authoritarian attitudes get him into trouble. Finally, Trace gets into trouble by exposing a chest on a hot day while preparing a barbecue grill in public. He is arrested and, like Kroll, placed on the province's male slave public auction block. A kindly married couple saves Trace from an obnoxious buyer by buying him and secretly releasing him back to his family. The couple remarks that they remember a time when relations between men and women used to be different. | |||||
7 | "Mansion of the Beast" | Corey Allen | Story by : Roderick Taylor & Coleman Luck & Bruce A. Taylor Teleplay by : Roderick Taylor & Coleman Luck | March 9, 1985 | |
The Sterlings pass through lands claimed by a mutated human, a "beast", who lets them go only as long as June stays to be his companion. Hal and the children meet a man who tells them about the "beast", once his brother, but now mutated. Virago now possesses superior knowledge, telepathy and other superhuman powers, and a leonine appearance. His human personality is diminishing as his powers and mutation increases. He is also lonely as he doesn't know the way back to his humanity and June's kindness towards an owl in his forest kindles feeling within him of the love that he lost after mutating. Guest stars Alan Feinstein as Virago and John Astin as Akin. | |||||
8 | "Princess Metra" | Peter Medak | Story by : Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor Teleplay by : Douglas Lloyd McIntosh | March 16, 1985 | |
Gina is believed to be the long-lost princess Metra in a province where one of the royal household's icons is a 200-year-old John F. Kennedy half-dollar. Gina accepts the post, and the Sterling family discovers a group of power-holders who don't want to give up their control, as well as "rebels" who are sick of being controlled. After stopping a potentially murderous coup, the Sterlings introduce the principles of democracy to the province. The Kennedy half-dollar's age makes the Sterlings wonder what year it will be if they ever get home. Time appears to pass at a different rate on Thel than on Earth. Guest-starring Carolyn Seymour as the Prime Manager. |
The series was rerun on the USA Network, and re-shown several times on the Sci-Fi Channel. Otherworld was aired in the United Kingdom on the ITV network, except in the Thames/LWT region.
Stargate SG-1 is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 science fiction film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. The television series was filmed in and around the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The series premiered on Showtime on July 27, 1997, and moved to the Sci Fi Channel on June 7, 2002; the final episode first aired on Sky1 on March 13, 2007.
Galaxy High School (ギャラクシー・ハイスクール) is a science fiction animated series that premiered on September 13, 1986, on CBS and ran for 13 episodes until December 6, 1986. The series was created by Chris Columbus and featured music and a theme song composed by Don Felder. The series was later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest. The series was distributed, co-produced, and animated in Japan by TMS Entertainment, and is thus considered as anime as it also aired in Japan on the NHK in 1991.
Rogue Trooper is a science fiction strip in the British comic 2000 AD, created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a "Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue and three uploaded minds mounted on his equipment who search for the Traitor General who betrayed their regiment to the enemy.
Mad Mad House is a 2004 reality television series about a group of ten contestants competing for $100,000. The contestants live together in a house inhabited by another group of people known as the alts. The alts voted the contestants off by judging them on their ability to perform "trials" which were based loosely on the practices of each alt's lifestyle, and their behavior and attitude with the other guests. The show aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States and on Space in Canada. Reruns have also been aired on Fox Reality Channel.
The Lost Saucer is an ABC television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, starring Ruth Buzzi and Jim Nabors as hapless aliens who take a boy and his babysitter with them on their flying saucer. It aired new episodes from September to December 1975, with reruns continuing until December 1976, first under its own banner, then as part of The Krofft Supershow. It ran in daily syndication from 1978 to 1985 as part of the "Krofft Superstars" package with six other Krofft series.
Tripping the Rift is an adult CGI science fiction comedy television series. It is based on two short animations published on the internet by Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen. The series was produced by CinéGroupe in association with the Syfy network. Following its cancellation by that cable network, CinéGroupe continued producing the series for the other North American and international broadcasters. The series aired on the Canadian speciality channel Space in 2004. Canada's cartoon network Teletoon began airing the series in August 2006. Teletoon participated in the production of the third season, and aired it in 2007. A feature-length movie version was released on DVD in 2008.
Return to the Planet of the Apes is a 1975 American animated television series based on the 1968 film Planet of the Apes and its sequels, which were, in turn, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Pierre Boulle. Unlike the film, its sequels, and the 1974 live-action television series, which involved a primitive ape civilization, Return to the Planet of the Apes depicted a technologically advanced society, complete with automobiles, film, and television; as such it more closely resembled both Boulle's original novel and early concepts for the first Apes film which were changed due to budgetary limitations in the late 1960s.
"Homecoming" is the 2nd episode of the seventh season of adventure military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. The second part of a two-part episode, it was first broadcast on June 13, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel, directly after the part 1, "Fallen". Writing duo Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi wrote the episode, with Martin Wood directing. The episode is the 134th overall.
Here Comes the Grump is an animated cartoon series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970. It was later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest.
Sci-Fi West Saga Starzinger, known as Spaceketeers in the United States, is an anime series produced by Toei Animation. It is a sci-fi remake/adaptation of Wu Cheng'en's fantasy novel Journey to the West. It was directed by Yugo Serikawa and written by Leiji Matsumoto. It aired in Fuji TV in Japan from April 2, 1978, to August 24, 1979. In the United States, it was referred to as Spaceketeers and was part of Jim Terry's Force Five series. In the United Kingdom, it was referred to as Sci-Bots on VHS releases. In Latin America, it was known as El Galáctico.
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon, is a 1979–1982 animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions. Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly as a reaction to the mammoth success of Star Wars in 1977. The series was an homage to the original Flash Gordon comic strip and featured many of the original characters, including Flash's girlfriend Dale Arden, and the scientist Hans Zarkov. The series is still regarded as one of the most faithful adaptations, and one of Filmation's finest overall efforts.
Cartoon Quest was the name of a block of mostly animated television shows that aired on the Sci Fi Channel starting in 1992. Similar to USA's Cartoon Express, it featured reruns of various older cartoons interspersed with interstitial segments; in this case, focusing on a live-action family exploring a strange region. During its run, the block aired every Saturday from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM EST.
Friday is a comics character who appeared in the British anthology 2000 AD between 1989 and 1996. He was created by writer Dave Gibbons and artist Will Simpson. Subsequently Michael Fleisher and then Steve White took over as regular series writers. Friday was the lead character of the new Rogue Trooper series, which was a reboot of the original 1981 series, of which Gibbons had been the creator artist.
The Ray Bradbury Theatre is an anthology series that ran for three seasons on First Choice Superchannel in Canada and HBO in the United States from 1985 to 1986, and then on USA Network, running for four additional seasons from 1988 to 1992; episodes aired on the Global Television Network in Canada from 1991 to 1994. It was shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel and later on the Retro Television Network. It currently airs on Comet and can be streamed on IMDb TV, Peacock, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel.
Lazer Tag Academy is an animated television series inspired by Worlds of Wonder's Lazer Tag that was created by Ruby-Spears Productions. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 13 to December 6, 1986 with reruns lasting until August 22, 1987.
Flash Gordon is a short-lived science fiction television series that debuted on Sci-Fi in the United States on August 10, 2007 and continued airing new episodes through February 8, 2008. It has also appeared on the British/Ireland variant of Sci-Fi and Space in Canada. The series was developed by Peter Hume, who served as executive producer/showrunner and wrote the first and last episodes, among others.
Jonna Lee is an American television and film actress.
Super Friends is a 1973 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera and National Periodical Publications. It is based on the Justice League comic books, and is the first incarnation of the Super Friends series.
Goldie Gold and Action Jack is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises that aired for one season on ABC from September 12 to December 5, 1981.