Otherworld (TV series)
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- For Irish Mythology, see Other World.
| Otherworld | |
|---|---|
| Format | Science Fiction |
| Starring | Sam Groom Gretchen Corbett Tony O'Dell Jonna Lee Brandon Crane Chris Hebert Jonathan Banks |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 8 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | 26 January 1985 – 16 March 1985 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Otherworld was a short-lived science fiction TV series that aired for only eight episodes in 1985 on CBS. It was created by Roderick Taylor as a sort of Lost in Space on Earth. Taylor gave himself a cameo role in each episode.
Contents |
[edit] Series overview
In the first episode, the Sterling family (Hal, June, Trace, Gina, Smithy) take a tour of the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza at the same time as a once-in-ten-thousand-years conjunction of the planets. Inside, they are abandoned by their guide, and as they try to get out, they are mysteriously transported to a parallel universe Earth.
On this Earth (called 'Thel'), there are no familiar countries or states. The area they are in is divided up into self-contained "Zones," each with a wildly different style of government and way of life, although the province of "Imar" (ruled by a Praetor) appears to be the central seat of government for this entire Earth. Most of Thel's history is unknown, although the pilot episode contains references to 'territories' and 'wars of unification'.
Travel between Zones is not permitted, and all maps have been banned by the state. Thus, the inhabitants of each zone know absolutely nothing about life in other zones. The family could not know about the travel ban, and approached a soldier (the first Thel native they met) in all innocence, seeking help, while the soldier - Commander Nuveen Kroll, reputed to be worst, and most ill-tempered of all Zone Troopers - viewed them as lawbreakers and treated them as such. When Hal insists they need help, Kroll attempts to arrest them and gets rough with Smith, the youngest of the Sterling sons. The Sterlings resist and, in the struggle, Kroll's sidearm weapon goes off, the blast rendering him unconscious. The Sterlings take his access crystal, (which is possessed only by Zone Trooper officers, and which gives them security access to state-controlled equipment and information) his vehicle, and his sidearm and drive away. For the rest of the series, Kroll is resolute in his attempts to recover his crystal, capture the Sterlings (whom, in a report to his superior, he would later regard as a band of "armed terrorists") and subject them to severe punishment.
The Church of Artificial Intelligence is the official state religion of Thel, and no conflicting ideologies are permitted. Very few actual details about this religion are known, except that it appears to be centered on the worship of robots, computers and technology (adherents are, in one episode, said to use "Worship Modules" which are electronic in nature).
A series of Egyptian-like stone markers (Obelisks), each with one eye, are supposed to mark the way to Imar, a city with beautiful buildings and a suspension bridge (the city shown in the opening credits, apparently intended to be Imar, is a photographic negative of New York City).
Each episode had the family dealing with the bizarre ways of life in each "Zone," and at the end of the episode, fleeing one Zone for another, pursued by Commander Kroll (Jonathan Banks) and his Zone Troopers. Kroll is intent on revenge, given that the Sterlings stole his high security access crystal, acquired during their disastrous encounter in the first episode.
While most science fiction dealing with alternate universes has a recognizable point of divergence (POD) from Earth history as we know it, Otherworld did not. Aside from everyone conveniently speaking English, there were no familiar Earth historical events taking place on Thel. However, several references to Earth history did occur:
- References to Egyptian mythology abound, particularly in the signposts which the Sterlings use to attempt to find Imar; it was implied that the ancient Egyptians either had the ability to travel between universes, or had contact with a people that did.
- The episode "Village of the Motorpigs" featured a retired Zone Trooper who shows the Sterlings a United States dollar and says that his grandfather came from Earth.
- Another episode ("Princess Metra") takes place in a zone called Metraplex. The Zone's former leader, Kelly Bradford (since deceased), came from Earth; Gina, who resembles Bradford, is appointed the new leader and is quizzed on Earth historical events by Metraplex officials. In this episode, we learn that time passes at a different rate on Thel and Earth; Kelly is from Earth of the 1960s, yet her time on Thel was over 200 years ago.
- As mentioned, Imar appears to be the alternate universe's version of New York City, an image of which is used in the opening credits of the show to depict Imar.
Although only 8 episodes ever aired before the network cancelled the series, rumor has it that 13 episodes were taped. Whether these 5 lost episodes still exist remains a mystery, although the website scriptcity.com has an Otherworld script entitled "Seeing Double" (reportedly involving evil duplicates of the Sterling family) for sale.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Cast
- Father Hal Sterling - Sam Groom
- Mother June Sterling - Gretchen Corbett
- Teen son Trace Sterling - Tony O'Dell
- Teen daughter Gina Sterling - Jonna Lee
- Youngest child Smith Sterling was played by two different actors, Brandon Crane and Chris Hebert. Crane played Smith in the pilot, which was aired as the first and fifth episodes.
- Nuveen Kroll - Jonathan Banks
The series was re-shown several times on the Sci Fi channel.
