| Andromeda | |
|---|---|
| Format | Science fiction |
| Created by | Gene Roddenberry |
| Developed by | Robert Hewitt Wolfe |
| Starring | Kevin Sorbo Lisa Ryder Keith Hamilton Cobb Lexa Doig Laura Bertram Gordon Michael Woolvett Brent Stait Steve Bacic Brandy Ledford |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 110 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Global Sci-Fi Channel |
| Original run | October 2, 2000 – May 13, 2005 |
Andromeda is a Canadian-American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett Roddenberry.[1] It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt. The series premiered on October 2, 2000 and ended on May 13, 2005.
Andromeda was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and produced by Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment. It was distributed by Global TV (Fireworks' parent company) in Canada and syndicated in the United States on WGN and other channels.[2][3] It was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. halfway through season four.[3] Andromeda is one of two TV series (to date) based upon concepts Roddenberry had created as early as the 1960s and 1970s. The name Dylan Hunt had also been used for the hero of two TV movie pilots Roddenberry had produced in the mid-1970s, Genesis II and Planet Earth, which had a similar premise. The other series posthumously created from Roddenberry's notes is Earth: Final Conflict.
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The series is set thousands of years in the future, and revolves around the Systems Commonwealth, a constitutional monarchy based in a distant star system called Tarn-Vedra. Humankind is a part of The Commonwealth, having been discovered by its members thousands of years prior. The Commonwealth is based in three galaxies; The Milky Way, Triangulum Galaxy, and the Andromeda Galaxy, located 2.7 million light-years from the Milky Way Galaxy. Ships travel from one end of the Commonwealth to the other through slipstreams, following pre-guided roller coaster-like pathways through the cosmos to and from their destination.
The Commonwealth claims to be a utopian society, but it is actually in a state of war with the Magog, a humanoid species with bat-like faces that is dedicated to war. A few years earlier, to show good faith as a result of peace talks, the Commonwealth ceded to the Magog a key home world. This home world is a key planet of one of the Commonwealth's member species, the genetically engineered Nietzscheans. The Nietzscheans, displeased with this peace agreement with the Magog, secretly attempt to usurp control of the Commonwealth. This is also the embodiment of their basic beliefs, as they see themselves as the race described as the "Übermensch" by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
The Commonwealth is defended by the High Guard, an armada of many ships. The protagonist of the series, Dylan Hunt, is the captain of a Commonwealth ship, the Andromeda Ascendant. The ship's computer, a powerful AI (Artificial Intelligence), is a key character in the series.
The entire High Guard, including Captain Hunt, is caught by surprise in the first engagement of the Nietzschean uprising. He is forced to evacuate his crew, but Andromeda gets caught on the edge of an event horizon of a black hole, freezing him in time.
303 years later, the crew of the salvage ship Eureka Maru locates Hunt's ship. The Systems Commonwealth and the High Guard have fallen in the centuries since he was frozen in time, beginning an era known as The Long Night. Hunt recruits the salvage crew to join him in an attempt to restore the Systems Commonwealth and "rekindle the light of civilization."
The salvage crew comprises its leader, Beka Valentine, a con-artist and expert pilot; a super-genius engineer named Seamus Harper (rescued from Nietzschean-enslaved Earth by Beka) who can plug his mind directly into computer systems; Trance Gemini, and Rev Bem. "Rev" is short for Reverend; although he is a Magog and thus violent by nature, he has discovered a non-violent, Taoist-like religious order called The Way and become a Wayist priest. As for Trance, little is known at first about this pixie-like purple female alien other than that she has a tail and seems somewhat distant. The salvage crew's beneficiary also brought along an insurance policy in the form of a Nietzschean mercenary named Tyr Anasazi ("out of Victoria by Barbarossa", of the nearly extinct Kodiak pride). Tyr is the leader of a group of mercenaries, of which he is the only one to be left on board after the opening episodes. Tyr's propensity for self-preservation leads him to also join Dylan's crew until better opportunities arise.
| “ | The long night has come. The Systems Commonwealth, the greatest civilization in history, has fallen. But now, one ship, one crew have vowed to drive back the night and rekindle the light of civilization. On the starship Andromeda, hope lives again. | ” |
Season one of the series shows Dylan Hunt assembling the crew and adjusting to the new universe, while pursuing the creation of the New Systems Commonwealth. The idea of the new Commonwealth proves unpopular; only 6 worlds actually sign the Commonwealth charter in this season. Major powers like the Than Hegemony or the Nietzschean Sabra and Jaguar prides are not really interested in the new Commonwealth; Dylan also manages to make quite a few enemies himself (including the most powerful of all Nietzschean Prides, Drago-Kazov).
Dylan also encounters several dysfunctional remnants of the old High Guard and witnesses the consequences of some of his own actions 300 years before. He realizes that the old Commonwealth had made some mistakes, the repetition of which he has to avoid.
The unification of Andromeda's crew is a major theme of season one. Dylan's new crew does not really believe in the idea of the Commonwealth, and joins him only for personal gain. To their surprise they find that having something to fight for is not a bad thing. In the season finale, Beka, Dylan's First Officer, even promises to continue his mission if he dies.
Initially Trance seems to be a ditzy, naive girl, warm and compassionate but serving little actual purpose on the ship. She quickly demonstrates she is more than she seems. Trance has a strong ability to gauge probabilities in the fabric of space-time, which seems to others as if she could see the future. She describes it as seeing "all possible futures". She uses this ability several times to help her friends, but her true goals remain unknown. The show hints that she engineered the Battle of Witchhead, where the last remains of the old Commonwealth fleet were destroyed, taking most of the Nietzschean forces with them, by "accidentally" sending the Andromeda back in time and pulling various members of the crew by the right strings.
Dylan himself has a difficult time accepting the fact that the universe he lived in no longer exists and all his friends are long dead. In a bizarre accident he actually manages to contact his fiancée, Sara Riley, 300 years before and even to teleport onto her ship – but returns alone, deciding the new Commonwealth is more important than his own life.
In the season finale Andromeda encounters the Magog World ship, a huge structure of twenty connected planets and an artificial sun. The World ship contains trillions of Magog and is equipped with a powerful weapon – a point singularity projector, which creates miniature black holes. Andromeda is heavily damaged; Tyr and Harper are abducted to the World ship. Trying to rescue them, Rev Bem follows them to the World ship. The rest of the crew are badly injured.
| “ | He is the last guardian of a fallen civilization, a hero from another time. Faced with a universe in chaos, Dylan Hunt recruits an unlikely crew and sets out to reunite the galaxies. On the starship Andromeda hope lives again. | ” |
Season two begins with the crew of Andromeda in a seemingly hopeless situation. Dylan and Trance are revived by Beka, and Dylan goes to the Magog World ship with Rommie (the android avatar of Andromeda's AI) to recover Tyr, Harper and Rev. Harper is infested with Magog eggs, and Rev's loyalty is strained when he encounters the being the Magog call the Spirit of the Abyss. They believe it to be their creator and god. Although Dylan and Rommie rescue Tyr and Harper, Andromeda is badly damaged, Rev has a spiritual crisis, and there seems to be no possible way to extract the Magog larvae from Harper. A powerful drug will keep them dormant for a time, but it only delays the inevitable.
The season shows the crew reacting to the sudden necessity of the New Commonwealth after the discovery of the Worldship (which will arrive to the Known Worlds in a few years), as they continue to make sure the dream comes true. Many worlds became more willing to sign the charter after learning of the Worldship. Dylan becomes more ruthless in his actions as well.
The episode "Ouroboros" (2:12) in the middle of this season became a major turning point for the whole series. "Ouroboros" was the last episode by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, the show's original developer and head writer. The producers allegedly felt that the series was becoming too intellectual and complicated (see Controversy over Robert Hewitt Wolfe's departure). One immediately visible change was Trance's transformation. She exchanged places with her own future version; New Trance had a different (golden-skinned) appearance and much more serious personality.
"Behind the scenes", Brent Stait (Rev Bem) also left Andromeda in "Ouroboros" because of his developing allergy to Magog make-up. He reprises his role twice later, in seasons three and four.
In the second half of season two, restoration of the Systems Commonwealth becomes a much less significant theme. The show mostly concentrated on Star Trek-style standalone adventures. However, by the end of the season, the new Commonwealth had gained a new powerful war fleet and a total of fifty worlds. This period also saw Kevin Sorbo reunited with his Hercules co-star Michael Hurst for one episode.
Andromeda's Nietzschean crewman, Tyr Anasazi, is revealed to have a son, Tamerlane Anasazi, who is a genetic reincarnation of Drago Museveni, Founder and Progenitor of the entire Nietzschean Race. Since all the Nietzschean Prides believe that Drago Museveni's genetic reincarnation will necessarily be a great leader, the Nietzschean Messiah, Tyr Anasazi gets a unique opportunity to unite all the Nietzschean Prides. He does not use it yet, biding his time.
In the season finale the Systems Commonwealth is finally reinstated. A ceremony is held on board of the Andromeda, but interrupted by the attack of unknown extra-dimensional aliens.
| “ | The Universe is a dangerous place. But in our future my crew and I fight to make it safe. I am Dylan Hunt, Captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, and these are our adventures. | ” |
Season three had the most episodic format of all. The Systems Commonwealth is already reunited, but there is not much progress in the fight with the Magog and the Abyss.
Several episodes of season three explore Trance and her actual role. One episode (The Dark Backward) is filmed completely from Trance's viewpoint, showing that she indeed "lives" through all possible alternate futures before choosing the right one.
This season shows several confusing additions, refits, and changes to the Andromeda, its crew and the Commonwealth.
The Andromeda gains a highly trained High Guard crew in some episodes only to have them disappear in the next, leaving the core command crew to deal with problems on the ship without help. An example is the appearance of multiple squadrons of slip fighters who fight under Beka's staunch leadership in Point of the Spear, when in the previous episode, where a squadron of slipfighters would have been handy, they are not used.
The capabilities of the ship increase and decrease as well. Throughout Season 3 a recurring undertone suggest the Andromeda is "the most powerful ship in the Galaxy", which is contradictory to the first two seasons. Despite this new angle of writing the Andromeda as the ultimate warship, she is outmatched more than once (if only temporarily) by unlikely foes; examples are the lone Nietzschean vessel firing gamma rays in Vault of the Heavens and the garbage-spewing ships shown in Illusion of Majesty.
Also in Season 3 the characters often react in ways which are contrary to their established personalities. Many of the plots and story structures appear strained and inconsistent.
Nietzschean crewman Tyr Anasazi makes his move at the end of the season. He implants his son Tamerlane Anasazi 's DNA into his own cells, and goes on to reunite the various Nietzschean Prides and separate them from the Systems Commonwealth again. The season ends with Nietzscheans withdrawing from the Commonwealth and Tyr Anasazi formally leaving the Andromeda.
In season four, Dylan is nearly outlawed by the Systems Commonwealth he himself had restored. The Collectors (originally keepers of historical information unknown to anyone else), allied with the Spirit of the Abyss, manipulate the fragile government of the New Commonwealth to show him in a bad light. The Abyss infiltrates the Commonwealth using many other agents as well.
Eventually the Collectors unite with Tyr Anasazi and his newly united Nietzschean Prides. Tyr mistrusts the Spirit of the Abyss, but hopes to defeat it. He tries to find a map to the Route of Ages — a portal connecting all galaxies together. It is possible to weaken the Abyss by passing through it. Dylan gets the map instead, but he allows Tyr to follow Andromeda through the Route of Ages, as Tyr knows more about the Abyss. Andromeda is transported into a weird universe where thoughts manifest as reality. With Trance's help, Dylan defeats and kills Tyr Anasazi who tried to make a deal with the Abyss.
Since the Route of Ages closes before the Andromeda can get back, Dylan has to use Trance's help. She reveals that she is the Avatar of the Sun, with "the power to create and destroy". Trance destroys Andromeda and re-creates it in the right universe.
In this season, Dylan also finds a new crew member — Nietzschean Telemachus Rhade, who does not accept his race's betrayal of the Commonwealth and agrees to join Dylan. Rhade proves to be more manageable than Tyr Anasazi, whom he helped Dylan defeat.
The Magog evolve and become more intelligent and cunning. In the season finale their Worldship is rediscovered. It is heading towards the Arkology, an old space station with very pacifist population. Dylan frantically tries to convince them that they have to defend themselves, but the people of the Arkology hope to make peace with the Magog.
They pay dearly for that mistake, as the Magog never make peace with anyone. Andromeda tries to defend the Arkology against the Worldship, but is horribly outnumbered. The Arkology is destroyed with all its inhabitants. Rhade, Beka and Harper are left in absolutely hopeless situations. Rommie explodes after being shot through her stomach while saving Harper from the Magog.
Trance asks Dylan to escape on a slip fighter through the Route of Ages, claiming that now there is nothing more important than saving his life; Marlowe, Arkology's leader (who had disappeared several hours before the battle) tells Dylan that they both are Paradine, two of the few ancient beings with incredible powers. Dylan reluctantly leaves through the Route (in a strange sequence where he finds himself in a large dark room and seemingly meets another version of himself). Trance turns into a sun and crashes into the Worldship on the Andromeda.
Season five starts with an unusual premise. Dylan finds himself transported into the Seefra system — nine identical barren worlds with a superstitious population and two dim suns. Technology (especially spaceflight) is shunned, and water is treasured because of constant drought. Flavin, a Paradine, meets Dylan here, giving him cryptic hints about Dylan's destiny and what Seefra is before disappearing. Dylan eventually finds Nietzschean warrior Telemachus Rhade, pilot Beka Valentine and super-genius engineer Seamus Harper on Seefra, and to his amazement, they all arrived in Seefra at different times and locations. Harper, in particular, arrived three years earlier with the remains of the android Rommie. He tried to repair her but failed, eventually building another android, Doyle, with some of Rommie's memories. Initially he convinces her that she is human, but later her true identity is revealed by a rebel android. (The "behind the scenes" reason for replacing Rommie with Doyle is Lexa Doig's pregnancy. Rommie was rebuilt by Doyle late in this season.)
Trance is also found, but she is weakened by her attempt to transport Andromeda and its crew to Seefra. She does not quite remember who she is and what she is supposed to do. Trance underwent a metamorphosis yet again; she is still golden-skinned but appears younger, and her personality resembles her first purple incarnation.
Andromeda itself is transported to Seefra as well, but it has no power and no way to restore it. Trance partially recharges the ships generators, but Andromeda still cannot move, and its AI behavior is erratic.
The first half of the season deals with three main themes: Dylan's conflict with his crew, his attempts to restore Andromeda's power and eventual discovery of the true role of Trance and the Seefra system.
Rhade, Beka and Harper are all angry at Dylan for leaving them behind in the Battle of Arkology and for throwing them to Seefra without any way to return back to the Known Worlds. Their loyalty is strained several times, but seems finally reaffirmed after the intervention by Stranger, a Paradine sent by Dylan from an alternate future.
Andromeda's power is eventually restored with ancient Vedran artifacts, but it is still unable to leave Seefra. Seefra seems to be located in a "pocket universe," and the only way out is the Route of Ages. Although some characters come and leave through it, Dylan cannot use it.
Seefra turns out to be Tarn-Vedra, long lost capital of the Commonwealth, but the Vedrans themselves left it long ago, disillusioned with humans. Seefra-1 is the original Tarn-Vedra and Seefra-2 to 9 are copies of it. Tarn-Vedra's original sun was somehow replaced by two artificial constructs, Methus-1 and Methus-2. Methus-2 is now damaged and emits deadly flares, which are the reason for Seefra's drought.
Methus Diagram — a blueprint for Seefra system, recovered with the help of the mysterious DJ Virgil Vox — also reveals the purpose of the eight extra planets. The Vedran sun will return someday, and destroy Seefra-2 through 9 to slow down and take its position. But because of the damage to Methus-2 this mechanism is not working, and the sun threatens to devastate the system completely.
Trance remembers her identity when she meets Ione, avatar of the Tarn-Vedra moon. She is the Tarn-Vedra sun. When she realizes this, her sun enters the Seefra system, and Dylan has to find a way to fix Methus-2 and evacuate eight doomed planets to Seefra-1.
Trance's "sisters" (who call themselves "the Nebula"), however, try to persuade her to join them. In their opinion the fate of Dylan, Seefra, or the Known Worlds is irrelevant. Trance stubbornly refuses, and the Nebula attempts to replace her (all Avatars of the Suns look alike). Real Trance is imprisoned inside Methus-2, and it takes some time for Dylan to realize the deception and rescue her.
Dylan proceeds with the evacuation of the Seefra planets, although his plans are hindered by General Burma, a religious leader from Seefra-5. Burma is later revealed to be under the control of the Abyss.
In the series finale, the Vedran sun is back in place and people are safe on Seefra-1. Trance then contacts the Nebula — the Lambent Kith Nebula, supreme council of the galaxies which includes fifty Avatars. Trance was once the oldest member of the Nebula, but disagreed with their views of organic life as something insignificant and left long ago. Together with Dylan she appeals to the Nebula and its leader Maura, who plans to destroy the Abyss by expanding the All Forces Nullification Point until it consumes all galaxies. This incidentally will destroy everything alive in existence; only Seefra will survive.
Maura refuses to reconsider their plans, but allows Dylan and the Andromeda to return to the Known Worlds. When the Andromeda slipstreams to Tarazed, Dylan finds out that only four days have passed since the Battle of Arkology, and the Magog Worldship is crippled but still operational. Rhade reunites with his wife (only to return to the Andromeda shortly).
Andromeda visits Earth (where Harper secretly plans to stay), but as soon as the ship arrives in the system, the planet is promptly destroyed by the Abyss. A huge Nietzschean fleet emerges from behind the debris, and Andromeda barely escapes.
Dylan begins to suspect Maura's motives and soon realizes she is the avatar of the Abyss and that all of the Nebula were under its control. Maura had destroyed all Paradines (except Dylan). Trance annihilates Maura in a fight.
After a massive battle with the Nietzscheans of the Drago-Kazov Pride, Dylan checks the Methus Diagram once again and discovers that Trance's sun is capable of destroying the Abyss. Andromeda returns to Seefra through the Route of Ages, followed by the Abyss. Trance manages to pull her sun closer and plunge it into the Abyss, burning it.
The Abyss is finally destroyed, and Dylan's battle is over. The Route of Ages transforms into a slipstream portal, allowing the Commonwealth fleet to return to Tarn-Vedra.
Controversy erupted during the midst of the second season when series developer and executive producer Robert Hewitt Wolfe announced he had been released from the show's production, although his influence was felt until the completion of the second season; at that point, Bob Engels was brought on to be an executive producer of the series. The reason for the change was purportedly to make the show more episodic and open to casual viewing[4][5][6] since Wolfe's version — although episodic — had many continuing plotlines and story arcs.[7] After the show's final episode aired, Wolfe wrote and published a one-act play entitled "Coda" that explained his intended plans for the show without contradicting the already aired episodes.[7]
In discussion on his web site's forums and various interviews, Wolfe has elaborated that he was released from the production staff after he refused to shift the show's focus more heavily onto Kevin Sorbo's character, Dylan Hunt, by essentially making all of the show's episodes Hunt-centric.[8][9] The events of the episode "Ouroboros", the final episode written by Wolfe, introduced the last major changes that Wolfe was willing to make to the series.
| Character | Actor | Position on the Andromeda | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dylan Hunt | Kevin Sorbo | Captain of the Andromeda Ascendant | A High Guard officer accidentally "frozen" in time for over 300 years during which time the Systems Commonwealth was all but destroyed. Upon his resurgence from the event horizon of the black hole, he became devoted to the restoration of the Systems Commonwealth at all costs. |
| Beka Valentine | Lisa Ryder | Captain of the Eureka Maru and First Officer on Andromeda | A headstrong, no-nonsense cargo ship captain (and smuggler), very protective of her crew and with little respect for rules and formal regulations. |
| Tyr Anasazi (Seasons 1-4) | Keith Hamilton Cobb | Weapons Officer (Seasons 1-3) | A Nietzschean of the exterminated Kodiak Pride; a former mercenary. Selfish and smart, he always plots his actions carefully, and the only person he is completely loyal to is himself. |
| Seamus Zelazny Harper | Gordon Michael Woolvett | Engineer | A genius engineer, good-natured but often egocentric and childish. Grew up on Earth, and hates most Nietzscheans and Magog with passion. |
| Trance Gemini | Laura Bertram | Doctor, Life Support Officer | An avatar of the sun. She is apparently immortal, has the power to create and destroy and can foresee all possible futures at once. She looks young and naive in season 1, but changed significantly in mid-season two and season five. She tends to change the subject when asked about her origin or her native tongue/name. |
| Rev Bem (Reverend "Red Plague" Behemial Far Traveler) (Seasons 1-2) | Brent Stait | Science Officer | An unusually intelligent Magog who has accepted Wayism. A pacifist, rejecting any violence and hating himself because of his race. Often serves as a counselor for other crew members. His birth name translates from Magog as "Red Plague". |
| Andromeda Ascendant | Lexa Doig | Ship AI | An artificial intelligence which controls the ship (and numerous robots and androids) and can replace most of the functions of crew. Can appear as a human-like woman on any display or as a hologram. The display and the hologram possess quite different aspects of the AI personality. |
| Rommie | Lexa Doig | AI's android avatar | An autonomous android physically indistinguishable from a human. Her personality is separate from the Andromeda and Rommie is more emotional and even capable of love as a result. |
| Telemachus Rhade (Seasons 4-5) | Steve Bacic | Weapons Officer | Another Nietzschean, a genetic reincarnation of Gaheris Rhade (Dylan's old First Officer, who had betrayed him at the Battle of Hephaistos). |
| Doyle (Season 5) | Brandy Ledford | AI's second avatar | An android built by Harper when Rommie was destroyed. Even more "human" than Rommie; was initially programmed to think she is human. Harper used some of Rommie's remains to create Doyle. |
Slipstream is the primary mode of travel for ships in the Andromeda universe, and the only known method of traveling faster than the speed of light. The Vedran discovery of the Slipstream was instrumental in the formation of their interstellar empire, which became the precursor of the Systems Commonwealth.
Curiously, slipstream cannot be navigated by AIs (they have a 50% chance of choosing the correct path). Only organic pilots can "sense" a way to their destination (they have a 99% chance to choose the correct path), and although AIs are fitted on all large ships, they always require an organic pilot for interstellar travel. It is thought to be the process of choosing a path that makes the chosen path the correct one. Also, the more frequently used routes are often easier, faster and more predictable.
The Systems Commonwealth was a huge Utopian civilization, spanning three major galaxies of the Local Group. It was founded by Vedrans, the first race to discover slipstream. Initially the Vedran Empire, it lasted for over 10,000 years until the Nietzschean revolt.
Dylan eventually managed to restore the Commonwealth (though not to its former glory; initially it had only 50 members while the Old Commonwealth had included more than a million worlds). However, the New Commonwealth soon fell victim to internal corruption masterminded by the group known as the Collectors, allied with the Abyss.
ADV Films released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 between 2003-2006. On October 3, 2006, they released a complete series DVD box set known as Andromeda: The Slipstream Collection.
Alliance Home Entertainment has released all five seasons on DVD in Canada only.[10][11][12][13][14]
In Region 4, Beyond Home Entertainment has released all 5 seasons on DVD in Australia. In 2007/2008 they re-released all 5 seasons in new collector's editions that featured new packaging and all episodes were digitally re-mastered in wide screen format.[15]
During the filming of the final season of Andromeda, several cast members were intensely involved in attempting to pitch a spin-off of the series that would feature the surviving core cast members, with the exception of Dylan Hunt. In 2005, Kevin Sorbo signed a development deal with ABC/Touchstone Television, resulting in the creation of the pilot for Bobby Cannon, a half hour sitcom that was never picked up by the network. Details as to the nature and premise and even the title of the Andromeda spin-off are unknown.
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