Andromeda (TV series)


Andromeda is a space opera television series, based on unused material by Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett. The series follows Kevin Sorbo as Captain Dylan Hunt of the Systems Commonwealth, an intergalactic government that presided over an extended period of peace and prosperity until its destruction from a rebellion led by the warmongering Nietzcheans and parasitic Magog. The series premiered on October 2, 2000, and ended on May 13, 2005.
Andromeda was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and produced by Andromeda Productions, Tribune Entertainment, Fireworks Entertainment and MBR Productions. In Canada, the show aired on Global Television Network and ran in first-run broadcast syndication in the United States.
Andromeda is one of two television series produced after Roddenberry's death based on concepts he had created as early as the 1960s and 1970s; Roddenberry died in 1991, nine years prior to the series premiere. The name Dylan Hunt had previously been used for the hero of two television pilots Roddenberry had produced in the mid-1970s – Genesis II and Planet Earth – all of which shared a similar dystopian post-apocalyptic premise.

Premise

Thousands of years in the future, the Systems Commonwealth is a constitutional monarchy spanning the Milky Way, Triangulum, and Andromeda galaxies, with the capital of Tarn-Vedra near Andromeda's core. The Commonwealth is at war with the Magog, a parasitic humanoid species spreading across the galaxies. Peace talks led the Commonwealth to cede a key world to the Magog, that of the Nietzscheans; in response, the Nietzscheans secretly attempted to usurp control of the Commonwealth.
Dylan Hunt is the captain of the Commonwealth starship Andromeda Ascendant. Its computer is a powerful artificial intelligence which Dylan has nicknamed "Andromeda" or "Rommie". Caught in a surprise attack in the first engagement of the Nietzschean uprising, the Andromeda is crippled, prompting Dylan to order the crew to evacuate. During the attack, Dylan's Nietzschean first officer, Gaheris Rhade, betrays Dylan and attempts to kill him. Dylan kills Gaheris as Andromeda is caught at the edge of the event horizon of a black hole, freezing both in time.
303 years later, in CY 10087, the Andromeda is pulled from the event horizon by the crew of the salvage ship Eureka Maru, captained by con-artist and expert pilot Beka Valentine, super-genius engineer Seamus Zelazny Harper, doctor and alien of unknown origin Trance Gemini, and pacifist Magog Rev Bem. The Systems Commonwealth has fallen, and the era known as The Long Night has begun. Hunt recruits the crew to join him in restoring the Systems Commonwealth and to "rekindle the light of civilization".

Characters

  • Dylan Hunt – played by Kevin Sorbo, captain of the Andromeda Ascendant.
  • Rebecca "Beka" Valentine – played by Lisa Ryder, captain of the Eureka Maru and first officer on Andromeda.
  • Tyr Anasazi – played by Keith Hamilton Cobb, weapons officer.
  • Seamus Zelazny Harper – played by Gordon Michael Woolvett, chief engineer.
  • Trance Gemini – played by Laura Bertram, doctor and life support officer.
  • Rev Bem – played by Brent Stait, science officer.
  • Andromeda – played by Lexa Doig, ship's artificial intelligence and android avatar.
  • Telemachus Rhade – played by Steve Bacic, weapons officer.
  • Doyle – played by Brandy Ledford, Andromeda Ascendant's second android avatar.

    ''Andromeda'' universe

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.
Slipstream cannot be navigated by AIs. Only organic pilots can "sense" a way to their destination, and although AIs are fitted on all large ships, they always require an organic pilot for interstellar travel. It is implied that the process of choosing a path is what makes it the correct one.
A function of slipstream is that apparent objective velocities are extremely variable, as it enables travel across millions of light years seemingly as swiftly as traveling between neighboring stars only tens of light years apart. Further, slipstream is a non-linear method of travel; the fastest or safest way to slipstream between two points, though they might be in the same galaxy, may involve slipstreaming to another galaxy entirely. The more frequently used routes are often easier, faster and more predictable. Locations relatively nearby in ordinary space may be difficult or impossible to access via slipstream.

Systems Commonwealth

The Systems Commonwealth was a huge utopian civilization, spanning three major galaxies of the Local Group. It was founded by the Vedrans, the first race to discover slipstream, who initially used it to conquer the Andromeda Galaxy. After a long and bitter war of attrition with the major powers of the Triangulum Galaxy, the Vedran Empire was reorganized as the democratic Systems Commonwealth. The Commonwealth served as a peaceful intergalactic government for almost 10,000 years until the Nietzschean revolt.

Major star systems

  • Hephaestus, a system with a significant Nietzschean population, devastated by a rogue black hole in the pilot episode and the place of Dylan's frozen imprisonment in time for 300 years.
  • Mobius, a barren world with underground cities. Mobius was ruled by ruthless dictators for many centuries but joined the New Commonwealth when its leader, the "Great Compass" Venetri, resigned.
  • San-Ska-Re, a Than homeworld and a major power in post-Fall Known Worlds. Did not actually appear on screen.
  • Seefra, a mysterious artificial system of nine planets and two suns where Dylan and his crew were transported after the Battle of Arkology.
  • Tarazed, a world with significant human and loyalist Nietzschean populations; it survived the Long Night largely unscathed. It became the first capital of the New Commonwealth. Birthplace of Telemachus Rhade. Tarazed was described in the series as being located in another galaxy and therefore is not intended to be equivalent to a non-fictional star of the same name.
  • Tarn-Vedra, the capital of the Old Systems Commonwealth and Vedran homeworld. All slipstream routes to Tarn-Vedra vanished soon after the Nietzschean rebellion, contributing to the ensuing chaos. Dylan was born on Tarn-Vedra. One of his motivations for restoring the Commonwealth is the search for his own lost home.
  • Earth was ravaged by the Nietzschean occupation and Magog assaults during the Long Night. Harper was born and acquired his notable survival skills there.
  • Arkology, a huge space station with a pacifist population.

    Major races

  • Avatars of the Suns, humanoid forms of stars with great powers. They are immortal and can travel through time and space, affecting events and people as they wish.
  • Humans make up about 70% of the Known Worlds population. Subspecies with minor genetic enhancements are common.
  • Kalderans, a xenophobic reptilian race that once rivaled the Vedrans.
  • Magog, a race of savage semi-intelligent alien killers, feared throughout the Known Worlds. The Magog have to kill and eat fresh meat to sustain themselves and to lay eggs in sentient beings to procreate.
  • Nietzscheans, a group of superior humans who believed in self-improvement via genetic engineering and intense competition. They left Earth thousands of years ago and evolved into a separate subspecies that colonized many worlds throughout the galaxies. Nietzscheans are responsible for the Fall of the Systems Commonwealth; however, they failed to replace it with the Nietzschean Empire due to constant betrayals and conflicts between different Nietzschean Prides.
  • Nightsiders, rat-like humanoids with poor vision, but highly developed hearing. Their reproductive cycle is very damaging to the environment, as their early larval stage is an aquatic creature that eats anything it comes across.
  • Paradine, a highly evolved form of the Vedrans, who look like ordinary humans. The Paradine apparently had a special role in dealing with the Avatars of the Suns and the Route of Ages, but they are all but extinct now.
  • Perseids, a highly intelligent race of alien scientists and bureaucrats.
  • Pyrian, a grotesque, tentacled orb like species who are one of the most powerful enemies of the Commonwealth.
  • Than-Thre-Kull, a tough and highly intelligent and civilized insectoid race divided into various function-specific castes.
  • Vedrans, the first intelligent race to discover the slipstream that connects the entire universe. The Vedrans went on to conquer the Known Worlds, building the Vedran Empire. The Empire was plagued by internal conflicts and eventually was peacefully transformed into the Systems Commonwealth.

    Other races

  • Bokor, dangerous parasites that possess other species in order to survive, spreading through physical contact. Inside their shells, the Bokor are practically invulnerable to any type of weapon, ranging to energy, melee or bullets. However, they are vulnerable to electricity. Their existence in the Known Worlds is abhorred by the Than, who attack any vessel carrying them. For normal humanoids, it takes a while for the Bokor to destroy their neural functions and take over.
  • Ogami, a race of brutish pirates and mercenaries.

    Organizations

  • Collectors, The Commonwealth's keepers of secret history.
  • Genites, a high-tech, numerous and well-organized intergalactic group whose aim is to rid the universe of genetically engineered beings, especially the Nietzschean Prides, who brought about the downfall of humanity.
  • High Guard, the main military force of the Systems Commonwealth.
  • Tech Police, the brutish anti-tech enforcement on Seefra-1.
  • Templar, a group of men and women who sought to restore order after the Fall. They were founded by High Guard Admiral Constanza Stark.