Otherworld (TV series)
| Otherworld | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Written by | Josef Anderson Coleman Luck Douglas McIntosh Roderick Taylor Bruce A. Taylor |
| Directed by |
Corey Allen Richard Compton Paul Michael Glaser William Graham Peter Medak Thomas J. Wright |
| Starring |
Sam Groom Gretchen Corbett Tony O'Dell Jonna Lee Brandon Crane Chris Hebert Jonathan Banks |
| Theme music composer | Sylvester Levay |
| Opening theme | "Otherworld" |
| Composer(s) | Sylvester Levay Jim Roberts |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Roderick Taylor |
| Producer(s) | Lew Hunter |
| Cinematography | Bradford May |
| Editor(s) | David Blum Diane Rothberg |
| Running time | 48 mins. |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | January 26 – March 16, 1985 |
Otherworld is an American science fiction series that aired for eight episodes from January 26 to March 16, 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.
In the first episode, the Sterling family (Hal, June, Trace, Gina, Smith) 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 - Hal not willing to give in to the guide's money scam - they are abandoned by their guide, and as they try to get out, they are mysteriously transported to another planet which may or may not be in a parallel universe.
On this other planet (called "Thel"), which is inhabited by humans, 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 planet. Most of Thel's history is not revealed, although the pilot episode contains references to "territories", android creators, and "wars of unification". It is thus unknown whether Thel is an alternate universe version of Earth, or another planet entirely.
Travel between zones is strictly regulated to the point that no one can travel outside their home zone province (save for the Zone troopers), and all maps have been banned by the state. Thus, the inhabitants of each zone know absolutely nothing about life in other areas. The family could not know about the travel ban, and approached a soldier (the first Thel native they met) innocently, seeking help, while the soldier - Commander Nuveen Kroll, reputed to be the 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 data banks), 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.
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