Earth II could have given us a true successor to Star Trek in the early ’70s, but ABC decided to pass on the series.
What Is It?
This pilot starred Gary Lockwood (who had infamously appeared as Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey only a few years prior) as well as perennial genre guest star Mariette Hartley (Star Trek, Logan’s Run TV series, The Incredible Hulk, etc.), and it takes place in the near future focusing on a space station named Earth II that has received recognition as an independent nation and that is dedicated to the peaceful exploration of space (its pacifist manifesto does not even allow the presence of toy guns on the station). However, these ideals are quickly challenged when the station personnel discover that Red China has put a nuclear warhead in an orbital path above Moscow that can be employed for a first strike on the Russians.
Aired: ABC, November 28, 1971
Starring: Gary Lockwood, Anthony Franciosa, Lew Ayres, Mariette Hartley
Created By: William Read Woodfield, Allan Balter
Why Didn’t It Fly?
Not to be confused with the short-lived 1994 NBC series Earth 2, this TV movie is a rare gem from a simpler television era that has flown completely under the radar but is worth a look as a decent example of hard science fiction on TV. It definitely has that ’70s cheesiness about it and the special effects are less than overwhelming, but they’re still not too bad for television at that time, considering what they tried to accomplish. The story itself is quite interesting, though it can be ploddingly slow even for an intelligent science fiction piece. But it raises some interesting questions about when people have an obligation to take action, and it does not just provide the simple television wrap-up you might expect.
The movie aired in November 1971, just a couple of years after the first moon landing and at a time when interest in the space program was very high. But it apparently did not draw high enough viewership to justify getting the greenlight to an ongoing series. Sadly, Earth II has since been mostly forgotten, but it still stands out as a sci fi gem from its era.
Would It Have Worked as a Series?
When NBC execs viewed the first pilot for Star Trek, “The Cage”, they referred to it as “too cerebral” and “too slow”, and the brass at ABC almost certainly had the same thoughts about Earth II. They did let the movie air, though, and if they had picked it up as a series this one could have given Trek the true successor it never had until Star Trek: TNG bowed in 1987 (sorry Space: 1999, BSG, and Buck Rogers). That’s of course assuming that it followed the intelligent sci fi approach of the pilot and did not derail into clichés like the all too cute kid stowing away on the next Moon mission or something like that. But the show had a ton of potential and could have given us an excellent science fiction series, though it would have faced a challenge of competing against the typical Prime Time fare and dealing with network execs that are adverse to genre shows. In addition, the higher budget that would have been required would have worked against it if it did not draw significant viewership.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Earth II offers an excellent template for an ongoing series, and with today’s CGI it could be made on a more television-friendly budget. The Apple TV+ series For All Mankind has delivered an excellent series focused on near-space exploration, and a reboot of Earth II could follow a similar path (minus the alternate history twist) while still bringing in some interesting socio-political storylines. There is definitely an audience for this type of intelligent science fiction, but the property does not have much name recognition and we appear to be close to the bubble bursting on scripted programming, so it seems unlikely that one of the networks or streaming services would take a flyer on it. But if someone like Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers), or Noah Hawley (Legion) were to get behind a reboot, maybe it could happen.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film has been released on DVD and is available at a very reasonable price. It is not currently available for streaming, but you can buy it VOD from providers like Google Play and Apple (though interestingly not Amazon).
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Saw it on first run, then years later.
Very interesting idea and fine special effects for the day.
However, the story was dull, lacked action and an obvious direction.
Might have worked as a series of TV movies to shake out a compelling story and characters that might have eventually led to a weekly series.