For those of you who don’t know, Gene Roddenberry made a dazzling amount of failed TV pilots in the 1970’s. Two of them, Genesis II and Planet Earth, were part of the same story. They involved Dylan Hunt, a hibernated NASA scientist, having very Star Trek like adventures in the post-nuclear holocaust 22nd Century. Because of a system of hyperloop style subways Hunt and his team, which included Ted Cassidy as a “White Comanche”, were able to visit the odd societies that had sprung up across the planet after civilization’s fall.
Genesis II and Planet Earth are corny, poorly written, and sexually juvenile, but also insanely fun in that first season TNG kind of Roddenberry-run-amok way. They also perfectly fit, narratively and chronologically, into the Star Trek universe filling in the gaps between the Post-Atomic Horror and TOS. The PAX, Hunt’s exploratory organization, are a perfect proto-UESPA/Federation. They even have their own non-interference directives. That’s why I’ve gleefully decided to make these shows part of the comic’s canon. In fact, the 31st Century Federation outfits in Time’s Refuge are modeled on the PAX uniforms designed by William Ware Theiss.
Dylan Hunt was played by a different actor in Genesis II and Planet Earth – Alex Cord and John Saxon respectively. The name “Dylan Hunt” was also applied to Kevin Sorbo’s lead character in the TV show Andromeda, which I’ve never seen nor have any real intention of seeing, and has nothing to do the two 70’s pilots.
So, who’s you’re favorite Dylan Hunt?
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It’s like Rock / Paper / Scissors — Mustache beats Comb Over beats Pretty Boy beats Mustache. Simple.
So will “Spectre” also be part of the cannon?
I have yet to get my hands on a copy of that. Questor, however…
I can vouch for Spectre. Saw it during its 1976 premiere, which was aired opposite some other show I wanted to see as well. I praise it for a particular detail that I’ll wait to describe to you until you see it. But I did enjoy whatever it was that Robert Culp and Gig Young worked out that made me curious enough to learn more about Holmes and Watson.
Alex Cord got the job done, and did it without looking like a conventional adventure hero. Saxon went on to play lots more bad guys than good guys, because that comb-over didn’t scale. Despite his terrific articulation, he was cheesier than the decade he sprang from. The poor man’s Michael Ironside. And if this ever somehow gets back to him, I’ll deny having said it. And as for Kevin Sorbo… it’s a good thing he was so pretty.
Neither “Andromeda” nor “Earth: Final Disappointment” were worth any Trek fan’s attention, despite the occasional presence of familiar faces. They were both the equivalent of homeopathic remedies: watered-down and peddled to lazy fools.
Most important, the fact that you fit Genesis II into Trek canon without having to retcon or excuse a single damn thing? I admire you more than ever.
C’mon..John Saxon was in ‘Enter the Dragon’!!!
Mustache beats not-mustache every time.