Gene Roddenberry Movies

The fifth and final season of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda opens as Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) emerges from a three-year limbo to answer a call from his former second-in-command Beka (Lisa Ryder). He discovers that his once-proud starship, the Andromeda Ascendant, is now a derelict, and that Beka and the other crew members Rhade (Steve Bacic), Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), and Trance (Laura Bertram) couldn't care less. In fact, they are quite adjusted to being trapped on a woebegone planet in the Seefra solar system, far away from the Known Planets of the New Commonwealth. Thus it behooves Hunt to not only reassemble his crew in order to return to the Commonwealth universe, but also to win their trust and friendship all over again. Missing from the equation is Rommie, the sexy human manifestation of Andromeda's artificial intelligence, who had been destroyed in battle at the end of season four (actually, actress Lexa Doig was on maternity leave, and could only appear in close-ups as the "televised" version of Rommie). In her stead, Harper has assembled another attractive female android named Doyle (Brandy Ledford), who has been invested with the fragments of Rommie's personality -- and who is considerably put out when she realizes she is little more than a clone. Having experienced flashbacks to his troubled past in previous seasons, Hunt is now made privy to his lofty future as a powerful Paradine, making it all the more imperative to get the Andromeda up and running and back in the galaxy, the better to locate the slipstream that will bring it back to the Known Planets. It takes a lot of doing, but ultimately Dylan's old crew agrees to help him reactivate the Andromeda, whereupon they embark on numerous goodwill and rescue missions to the other eight Seefra planets. Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda reaches closure as the Avatars of the Nebula guide Andromeda back on the Route of Ages and toward the safety of the Commonwealth -- where the crew must gird itself for the final all-out battle against their traditional enemies, the Nietzcheans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Commonwealth is restored, and the crew of Andromeda Ascendant is freed up to embark upon random goodwill and rescue missions, as Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda launches its third season. For the most part eschewing the story arcs of the previous two seasons, the series now contains more self-contained episodes -- a move inaugurated by new executive producer Bob Engels to make the series more user friendly for viewers unfamiliar with its multitude of subplots. Having lost track of one another in the extraterrestrial battle that ended season two, the crew of the Andromeda are rapidly relocated and reassembled: Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo), his second in command Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder), engineer Seamus Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), pilot Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram), and mercurial Nietzchean crewman Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb) -- not to mention Rommie (Lexa Doig), curvaceous human manifestation of Andromeda's artificial intelligence. Among the episodes worth noting this season are "What Happens to a Rev Deffered?," which briefly reunites the crew with their former comrade Rev Bem (Brent Strait), a highly religious member of the otherwise bestial Magog race. In the traditional season-ending cliffhanger, the Andromeda crew is jeopardized when a group of Nietzcheans take over the ship -- whereupon Tyr Anasazi reveals his true colors, a fateful moment that may radically alter the course of everyone's future. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season two of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda picks up where season one left off, as Andromeda crew members Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb) and Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett) are captured during a battle with the fearsome Magog and injected with millions of Magog eggs. They are rescued by their comrade in arms Rev Bem (Brent Stait), himself a Magog who has pretended to betray the Andromeda on behalf of his own race. Once this matter is settled, Rev decides to leave the Andromeda to embark upon a long soul-searching mission in order to cleanse himself of his race's more bestial tendencies. This leaves Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) with one fewer crew member to help him rebuild the Commonwealth for its final confrontation with the Magog, but Hunt's loyal aides Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Beka (Lisa Ryder), Trance (Laura Bertram), and humanized artificial intelligence Rommie (Lexa Doig) seem more than capable of facing up to the challenge. As for Nietzchean crew member Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb), his true loyalties are still very much in question. In the course of preparing for the last battle with the Magog -- not to mention the inevitable head-to-head against a new enemy, the Abyss -- the enigmatic Trance exchanges places with her older, wiser future self, ostensibly to strengthen the Andromeda's battle force, though Dylan Hunt wonders if the new Trance can be trusted. Season two ends on the eve of the signing of a new Commonwealth charter, as the Andromeda gears up to safeguard its allies from thousands upon thousands of phase-shifting warships from another universe. It is at this point that the present Trance confronts her time-shifting former self -- but to what end? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by the same man responsible for Star Trek -- and, sadly, produced posthumously -- the syndicated sci-fi-fantasy adventure series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda premiered in most American markets in October 2000. Kevin Sorbo headed the cast as Captain Dylan Hunt of the Systems Commonwealth High Guard, a representative of an alliance consisting of four different galaxies. Betrayed by his first officer, Hunt and his starship, the Andromeda Ascendant, were swallowed up by a black hole. In suspended animation for 300 years, Hunt and his ship were recovered by Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder), mercenary captain of the Eureka Maru, and her ragtag crew: mercurial engineer Seamus Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), enigmatic pilot/medic Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram), and spiritually motivated Rev Bem (Brent Stait), a member of the bestial Magog race. Backed up by the Andromeda's artificial intelligence which had taken the form of a beautiful woman named Rommie (Lexa Doig), Hunt persuaded the Eureka Maru to join him in the fight to restore the Commonwealth, which had, during his long sleep, disintegrated as the result of a blood feud between the Magog and the Nietzcheans, the latter race now waging war on what was left of the Commonwealth fleet. Along the way, Nietzchean warrior Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb), the last of his "pride," joined the Hunt and his new Andromeda crew after first trying to grab the ship for himself. During the remainder of the series' first season, Hunt lead the Andromeda on a noble mission to rebuild the Commonwealth by aligning the peoples of other worlds -- and he also fended off the possible treachery of the sullen Tyr and the opportunistic Beka.
During the second season, the Commonwealth's battle against the Nietzcheans took second place to the new war against the Magog, whereupon the conscience-stricken Rev left the Andromeda to embark upon a personal odyssey to purge himself of his bestial tendencies. And in the course of building up a strong enough alliance for the inevitable final battle against the Magog -- not to mention an even more fearsome adversary, the Abyss -- crew member Trance was replaced by the older, wiser future version of herself. Finally, in the third season, the villains were vanquished and the New Commonwealth was established, meaning the Andromeda could pursue new goodwill and rescue missions in other worlds. Throughout the season, A.I. Rommie began to exhibit fewer and fewer android traits and more and more human emotions -- sometimes to the detriment of the crew. Alas, the New Commonwealth began to collapse as a result of internal corruption, whereupon the Nietzcheans launched a new attack -- with Tyr going back to the other side. As the fourth season got under way, the tattered remnants of the Commonwealth were besieged not only by the Nietzcheans, but also the Magog and the Spirit of the Abyss. Although they could just as easily stay aground in comfort, the crew of the Andromeda opted to join Hunt as he attempted to rally support against the villians by hopping around through various "slipstreams" in the universe, charted by the Route of Ages. Now fully aligned with the Nietzcehans, Tyr continually tried to undermine Hunt by getting his mitts of the Route of Ages himself, and also endeavored to win Beka over to his side. Ultimately Tyr was vanquished by Telemcachus Rhade (Steve Bacic), leader of the isolationist movement on the "Old Commonwealth" planet Terazed -- and the lookalike descendant of Generis Rhade, the Nietzchean first officer who had betrayed Dylan Hunt some 300 years before. Though he understandably had trouble warming up to Telemachus, in the end Dylan invited him to join the crew of the Andromeda. In another development, Trance revealed herself to be an avatar of the sun, able to disintegrate her fellow crew members during moments of danger so as to re-assemble them when the danger had past. In the fourth-season finale, the human form of Rommie was destroyed in battle (though the A.I. version remained alive), and the crew, disillusioned that Hunt's promise of a lasting peace has not been kept, dispersed to follow other destinies. The fifth and final season found Hunt finally catching up with his crew members three years after all of them had converged on a planet in the Seefra solar system: as for the Andromeda, it was now a useless derelict. Despite Hunt's energetic efforts to galvanize his comrades back into battle, the crew chose to hang around a bar manned by Harper, who, in the absence of the human Rommie, had taken the surviving vestiges of her personality and implanted them in Doyle (Brandy Ledford), a sexy female android of his own creation. It took some doing, but Hunt finally managed to re-team his crew and restore the Andromeda in order to embark on another do-gooding mission -- and to search for the slipstream that would return them to the known planets in the New Commonwealth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This special celebrates the cultural phenomenon that is Star Trek with many of the original cast members, including William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Featured are interviews with the show's creator Gene Roddenberry and excerpts from the television series and feature films as well as a compilation of bloopers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Kirk (William Shatner), McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are enjoying a vacation in Yosemite National Park when duty calls. Vulcan cult leader Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) and his followers have invaded a "planet of peace," where delegates from hostile races co-exist in a sort of intergalactic United Nations. Ordered to quell the crisis, the Enterprise crew discovers that it's a ruse perpetrated by Sybok, who takes over the ship, piloting it toward the "Great Barrier," an energy field at the galaxy's rim. Sybok, who is revealed to be Spock's half-brother, possesses the ability to help people face their "inner pain." He also believes that God lies beyond the Great Barrier. Once arriving there, however, Sybok and the Enterprise crew discover only an imprisoned alien entity. Shatner wrote the story and made his directorial debut with the film, failing to ape the success that his colleague Nimoy enjoyed with his pair of "Trek" directing forays. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The troublesome "Q" (John de Lancie) returns, this time with an unexpectedly generous offer. Approaching Cmdr. Riker, Q invites him to join the Q Continuum, promising to bestow upon Riker all the special powers that this lofty position provides. The catch: Q bets Riker that he will abuse his new powers, and to make certain that he wins the bet, the enigmatic alien arranges for Riker to participate in a deadly game, pitting him against fanged monstrosities. Gene Roddenberry himself collaborated with C.J. Holland on the script of "Hide and Q," which first aired November 28, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The works of "Puppetoon" creator and special effects wizard George Pal are perhaps best seen separately and in toto rather than lumped together in fragmentary form. The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal contains an abundance of enjoyable film clips, but most are far too short for the audience to fully appreciate Pal's cinematic contributions. The narration suffers from banality, while the overall pacing of the documentary is lumpy. Still, for those who've never seen Pal's Puppetoon shorts, or his early features The Great Rupert (1950) and Destination Moon, this compilation serves as a tantalizing teaser. Paul Frees narrates The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, while several Pal associates and admirers, including Ray Bradbury, Roy Disney, Ray Harryhausen and Walter Lantz, are interviewed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When plans to launch a second Star Trek television series in the late 1970s were scrapped by Paramount Pictures, the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, instead transformed the aborted program's 2-hour pilot into this big budget theatrical feature. Five years after the legendary voyages of the starship Enterprise, James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is an unhappy, desk-bound admiral at Starfleet headquarters. Kirk goes aboard his old vessel to observe its re-launch under new captain Will Decker (Stephen Collins). Soon, however, an escalating crisis causes Kirk to take command of his old ship. A mysterious, planet-sized energy force of enormous power is headed for Earth. Reunited with Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and the rest of his former colleagues, Kirk takes the Enterprise inside the massive energy cloud and discovers that it is the long-lost NASA space probe Voyager. Now a sentient being after accumulating centuries of knowledge in its deep space travels, the alien, which calls itself V'ger, has come home seeking its creator. Although not a critical home run, box office receipts for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) were strong enough to inspire a revamped television series and a long-running line of theatrical sequels. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Planet Earth was the second of three look-alike attempts by Star Trek maven Gene Roddenberry to launch a futuristic TV series for the 1970s (the first was 1973's Genesis II, and the third was 1975's Strange New World). John Saxon stars as Dylan Hunt, who awakens from suspended animation in the year 2133. The "big war" has come and gone; one of the few surviving pockets of 20th-century civilization is the city of PAX. This 2-hour pilot film details Hunt's adventures in this Brave New World when he is captured and enslaved by a society run by women. He is rescued by the scientists of PAX, presumably as a means of getting Roddenberry's series off the ground. But except for this film, first aired April 23, 1974, Planet Earth never got into orbit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sci-fi film chronicles the exploits of an incredibly strong android that is totally devoid of emotion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The third and final season of Star Trek is frequently written off as the series' nadir, if only because creator Gene Roddenberryhad relinquished a great deal of his creative control to the NBC executives and to new producer Fred Freiberger). Another reason given for the series' decline was the decision to cut the budgets to the bone, and to depend more on "house" writers than established science- fiction specialists. Also, there was a heavier reliance upon gimmickry and gadgetry than in previous years, upsetting those purists who preferred strong characterizations and story values to the standard sci-fi/fantasy cliches. But while Season Three was overall the weakest, especially in terms of ratings, several of the individual episodes are among the finest that Star Trek has to offer. We get off to a good start with the opener, "Spock's Brain", in which the titular organ is "kidnapped" from its owner Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Attorney Melvin Belli makes his acting debut as a sinister, corruptive life force (not a lawyer, but close!) in "And the Children Shall Lead". The crew of the Starship Enterprise is forced to sacrifice themselves during the Gunfight at the OK Corral in "Spectre of the Gun". "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is an allegorical drama in which the fate of a civilization is determined by a duel to the death between its two last survivors (Frank Gorshin, Lou Antonio), whose faces are half-black and half-white. And in the series finale "Turnabout Intruder", the mind of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is exchanged with that of his embittered ex-lover (Sandra Smith)--and vice versa. The season's most controversial episode was "Plato's Stepchildren", originally telecast November 22, 1968, in which Kirk and officer Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) share the first interracial kiss ever seen on network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide