Artivels Undescribable Perfection

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

StuOz A scientist is placed in our distant future.Star Trek (1966) has been a lifelong interest of mine so it was great see the maker of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, do this in 1973. Genesis 11 held me from beginning to end, however I saw it in the form of a terrible print on YouTube, so it was a bit hard to make out some images/sets clearly. The middle sections of the film needed a bit more punch but it all comes together in the later sections. The star of the show, Alex Cord, does a fine job here.Another TV movie like this came the following year, Planet Earth, and it contains one of the best 1970s sci-fi theme tunes.

psykldoc Call me a geek, but I was 13 years old when I first saw this pilot, at a pre-release screening at a Star Trek convention.It exhibits numerous elements characteristic of Roddenberry's finest, including a compelling premise, focus on recognizable human interactions, and some light, thoughtful humor: e.g. a reference to the teachings of "Saint Freud".Sadly, it didn't have quite the kick of some of his better work, but rather plays like one of the weaker episodes of one of them. That is to say the story is pretty good, some of the characters display a potential for significant depth, but it drags a bit. I see it as kind of a "Star Trek - The Motion Picture", without the million dollar light show, or the established relationship with the characters that would have brought us back for Star Trek II no matter how excruciating it was.It ain't easy maintaining the emotional pacing necessary for a "human adventure" while interspersing enough action (and scifi eye candy/gadgetry) to keep the plot moving. I thought it was not just watchable, but endearing in it's way... which is more than I could say for "Planet Earth"; which I thought came across as a rather superficial remake, dumbed down a bit for the masses.

MartinHafer This TV pilot had an excellent premise. A man (Alex Cord) is placed in suspended animation for research purposes and the intention is to revive him shortly afterwards. However, an earthquake occurs and the base is buried. During this time, the man continues to slumber only to be awakened LONG after everyone he knew had died. In fact, his world as it was is dead as well, as nuclear wars have decimated the planet and created a variety of mutant races and civilizations. When Cord is revived, he is told that he is staying with an organization called "PAX"--a group of scientists and do-gooders whose goals are to promote knowledge and peace. However, his evil nurse (Mariette Hartley) tells him this is all a lie and convinces him to escape with her. He does and soon learns she is from a race of 2-belly buttoned freaks who LOVE inflicting pain and dehumanizing others. Talk about your BAD choices! Well, what happens next is really up to you to find out IF you can find this film (that's a big IF). That's because it was a Gene Roddenberry pilot for a TV series that wasn't accepted by the networks. In addition, the original story was reworked with John Saxon and involved the character infiltrating a group of rabid amazons. While lighter in spirit and more "Star Trek-like", the second attempt failed to arouse sufficient interest from the networks to merit a series. Too bad, as the idea was novel and the results quite watchable.

beisers Although the "what if" social scenarios Roddenberry creates are as colorful and widely varied as anyone could imagine, the context for this 1973 would-be series pilot contained many of the future-world social commentaries for which Roddenberry later became famous. The movie was clearly ahead of its time.Sadly, the movie does not appear to be available in any type of format (i.e. DVD, videotape). I remember watching this movie as an impressionable 12-year-old boy in 1973. My captivation with the character Lyra-A still remains after over 30 years -- quite an impression I might say. Many of the social commentaries contained within the plot were revisited later, within Star Trek episodes and other Roddenberry movies.