M.A.N.T.I.S.
| M.A.N.T.I.S. | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Science fiction |
| Created by |
Sam Raimi Sam Hamm |
| Developed by | Bryce Zabel |
| Directed by | David Nutter |
| Starring |
Carl Lumbly Roger Rees Christopher Gartin Galyn Görg |
| Composer(s) | Randy Miller Christopher Franke Edgar Rothermich Joseph Conlan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Sam Hamm Sam Raimi Robert G. Tapert Coleman Luck |
| Producer(s) | David Roesell Paris Qualles |
| Cinematography | Rodney Charters |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Wilbur Force Productions Renaissance Pictures Universal Television |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | August 26, 1994 – March 3, 1995 |
M.A.N.T.I.S. is an American science fiction television series that aired for one season on the Fox Network between August 26, 1994 and March 3, 1995.
The original two-hour pilot was produced by Sam Raimi and developed by Sam Hamm.
The wealthy, mild-mannered doctor Hawkins is shot in the spine during a riot, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
After losing a lawsuit against a police officer he holds responsible, he uses his company's resources to invent a powered exoskeleton that not only enables him to walk but gives him superhuman abilities.
Using a vast array of technology, including a large underwater lab and a hovercraft called the Crysalid to fly around the city, he assumes the persona of the vigilante "M.A.N.T.I.S." (Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interception System).
There were a number of differences between the pilot and the series. For example, in the pilot, Hawkins wore a suit over the exo-skeleton, it lacked a skullcap, and the headpiece was larger. The setting was changed from Oceania City to Port Columbia, and all of the characters, with Hawkins being an exception, were changed.
The pilot featured Gina Torres as pathologist Dr. Amy Ellis, Bobby Hosea as reporter Yuri Barnes, and Wendy Raquel Robinson and Christopher M. Brown as a pair of African students studying under Hawkins.
In the series, the supporting cast was changed to John Stonebrake, Taylor Savage and Lt. Maxwell, with the plot being completely rebooted.
The bulk of the series' run depicted the M.A.N.T.I.S. operating in a vigilante role, frequently pursued by police, and battling industrialist Solomon Box (Brion James / Andrew J. Robinson).
Poor ratings led to an extensive retooling of the concept. Midway through the show's run, minor characters were jettisoned, and more fantasy adventure elements were incorporated into the premise, including parallel universes, time travel, super-villains, and monsters. In one particular episode, the M.A.N.T.I.S. is accidentally thrown 32 years into the future, where he finds that his own technology has been exploited to create a supercomputer that is being used to enslave the Port Columbia population. He destroys it and sets the human population free before returning to his own time.
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