Virtuality | |
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The cast of Virtuality
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Genre |
Science fiction Drama |
Created by |
Ronald D. Moore Michael Taylor |
Written by | Michael Taylor (teleplay/story) Ronald D. Moore (story) |
Directed by | Peter Berg |
Starring |
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Kerry Bishé Joy Bryant Jose Pablo Cantillo Ritchie Coster James D'Arcy Clea DuVall Kari Wahlgren Gene Farber Sienna Guillory Erik Jensen Nelson Lee Omar Metwally Jimmi Simpson |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Ronald D. Moore Gail Berman Lloyd Braun Peter Berg Sarah Aubrey Michael Taylor |
Location(s) | Vancouver, British Columbia |
Running time | 88 minutes |
Production company(s) | Universal Media Studios |
Release | |
Original network | Fox |
Original release | June 26, 2009 |
Virtuality is a television pilot co-written by Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor and directed by Peter Berg that aired on the Fox network. Although a full series was never commissioned, the two-hour pilot episode aired on Fox as a television movie on June 26, 2009. The pilot featured the crew of Phaeton, a spaceship designed to search for a hospitable planet in a nearby star system after an ecological catastrophe in near-future Earth. While approaching the point of no return, crew experiences problems with their virtual reality entertainment system, which quickly escalate and threaten their mission.
The story is set aboard the Phaeton, Earth's first starship, on a ten-year journey to explore the nearby Epsilon Eridani star system. In order to help the 12-person crew endure the long mission, a system of virtual reality modules are installed aboard the ship. These modules, which are worn like glasses and suppress real-world body movement, allow the crew to assume various identities and enjoy a variety of adventures. The crew's experiences aboard the ship are broadcast back to Earth as Fox's reality television program Edge of Never: Life on the Phaeton.
The pilot picks up approximately six months after the launch of Phaeton. The crew now faces a "go or no-go" situation, in that they are fast approaching their last chance to change course back towards Earth. However, their home planet is quickly becoming uninhabitable, with dry land becoming increasingly rare. Scientists estimate that the planet will become completely inhospitable within the next hundred years. The Phaeton's priority mission has been changed to that of searching out and discovering a new planet for humans to inhabit.
Unfortunately, as the crew fast approaches their point of no return beyond the planet Neptune, several problems arise. Dr. Adin Meyer (Metwally), the crew's only physician, becomes aware that he is in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. Via use of the Phaeton's virtual reality programs, Commander Frank Pike (Coster-Waldau) has begun a secret sexual relationship with botanist Rika Goddard (Guillory), whose husband, psychologist Dr. Roger Fallon (D'Arcy), is also a part of the crew, the mission psychologist and producer of Edge of Never.