In 1973, Gene Roddenberry created a TV pilot movie that the networks rejected. "Genesis II" was a neat sci-fi film which starred Alex Cord. He played a man who was the subject of a suspended animation experiment but the experiment went awry when there was an earthquake. Two centuries later, he is unearthed and finds the planet very strange in this post-apocalyptic world....and he's taken prisoner by some sadistic jerks. He also learns of a team called 'PAX' whose goal it is to preserve the best of the planet and insure the peace.
A year later, Roddenbury brought out another pilot movie, PLANET EARTH....with the same plot and same character, though he was played now by John Saxon. Saxon's character, to me, seemed more like Captain Kirk in style than Cord....and it involved him and a team infiltrating a society of amazons in order to rescue a doctor.
Now, in 1975 the idea was once again retooled as a potential series...and was rejected once again. However, in this version (still starring Saxon), Roddenbury had nothing to do with it...and the style was a bit different as well as the backstory....which now includes three folks from the past.
The story begins on a space station where several people are in suspended animation. But instead of being suspended for a short time, a cataclysm occurs on Earth and the station's computers keep them asleep for 180 years! Taking a shuttle back to the planet, they find life as they knew it is gone and the planet is fragmented into various factions. Some are quite primitive and warlike, some very gentle and some amazingly weird...and sterile!
In many ways, this plays like two television episodes strung together. The first involves meeting some nasty poachers and some animal loving peacenicks. The second a very advanced society where there is no real death...but there are also no children as everyone is sterile.
Compared to the two previous pilot movies, "Strange New World" seems more cerebral and less like popular sci-fi, such as "Buck Rogers". Which of the three you prefer will probably depend on our taste. I prefer the earlier campier movies...mostly because they were more action-oriented and more fun. "Strange New World", in contrast, is a bit dull. I really think the first film is probably the best of the three (being slightly better than the second) and the third is a bit of a step back because they forgot the energy and fun of the previous films.
Regardless of which of the three you prefer, it's all immaterial as the TV series never resulted. It does make you wonder what might have been...or what could be if someone were to resurrect the basic storyline.
