The following "preview" of Strange World initially appeared on Coaxial Wednesday November 25, 1998. Some adjustments have been made herein to reflect more recent information about the series.
"It took a lifetime to realize these things - that faith is a refuge for cowards, and prayer the language of fools. That you can’t petition Heaven for forgiveness, because Heaven is an empty place." - dying man Nathan Burke, STRANGE WORLD.
Glen here...
…with some news about ABC’s forthcoming series STRANGE WORLD.
Whenever I post information about STRANGE WORLD, many people submit "talkbacks" indicating a fear that the series…at face value…appeared too similar to THE X-FILES. However, this initial assessment was based on extremely sketchy assumptions, as little or no information has been released to date regarding this new series from Howard Gordon (whose past genre-related credits include various producing capacities on series such as THE X-FILES, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER).
I didn’t think it was fair for a series to be so quickly denounced when so little was actually known about it, so I quickly set off on an effort to enlighten Coaxial readers on the true nature of STRANGE WORLD. What’s it really gonna be like? What’s the *nature* of this show? Is it really like THE X-FILES? Or will it have a personality all its own? After a considerable amount of time and research (with the help of some very kind contacts and informants), I think this article may go a long way towards answering these questions.
The following information is not a review, per-se. More like a *preview* of the show, forwarding some impressions of all the details I have managed to obtain about this series so far. With luck, a review of STRANGE WORLD’s pilot episode should be coming to Coaxial in rather short order.
STRANGE WORLD follows the investigations of a man named Paul Turner ( played by Tim Guinee, recently seen as the beaten and bedraggled priest-turned-vampire slayer in John Carpenter’s VAMPIRES). Turner is a dead man, literally. During a wartime mission in the Persian Gulf, Turner caught the unidentified Syndrome - a mysterious ailment which seems to be plaguing many of America’s Gulf War veterans. In his dying moments, Turner is resurrected by a mysterious Japanese Woman, who administers a substance which counter-acts the syndrome, and restores Turner to fully functional health. There’s just one catch: Turner requires regular inoculations of this substance to stay alive, otherwise he regresses - and quickly deteriorates back to his sickened and dying condition.
Turner is being kept alive for a reason. What reason, and whose reason, is unknown to him and the audience. All we know is his vials of antidote are delivered to him systematically and methodically - and we see him "crash" without it. Ultimately, Turner…an expert in natural sciences, biology, etc….becomes an operative for the Japanese Woman mentioned above. As such, Turner is…essentially…her puppet. He owes his life to her. He can not continue to exist without the antidote she provides for him (the antidote can not be replicated by Turner). He must follow in whatever direction she points. She is using him, but at the same time, giving to him. She is giving him the chance to love (Turner’s got a girlfriend), to make a difference in the lives of people caught in the madness of a very strange world.
How strange?
STRANGE WORLD is predicated on a simple, yet disturbing notion: mankind’s science is out of control, and being abused on a level most people do not fully realize. Through stories of intrigue and suspense which are grounded in our "real world", SW is an intriguing and sometimes disturbing eye-opener to the ramifications and pitfalls of humanity’s medical and scientific accomplishments - the likes of which have been getting coverage recently on CNN, Time magazine, etc.
SW goes out of its way not to damn the sciences which are carrying us into the next millennium, but it is (without a doubt) a precautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked and improperly utilized sciences, and a sometimes startling dramatization of what could happen when mere men decide to play god.
Turner moves through his investigations as part of an elite scientific community called U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). This governmental organization is a medical / scientific research institute evaluating matters scientific here and abroad. Part research center, part strategic outpost, USAMRIID is capable of mobilizing everything from police forces, Special Forces, the FBI, etc. in situations presenting catastrophic danger to our populous.
Within the first few episodes, we will see everything from Turner more-or-less solving a case on his own…to an FBI deployment including sharpshooters and helicopters…to invasive containment teams storming and securing "hot" environments with the intent of "nuking" the facility (with formaldehyde gas).
Here’s a since of some of the stories STRANGE WORLD will tell:
"Pilot"
The series pilot finds Turner at odds with an old wartime associate named Nathan Burke. Unlike Turner, Burke was not "chosen" to survive via the Japanese Woman’s miracle cure, and is rapidly falling to afflictions brought back from The Gulf.
Turner’s investigation begins as something of a missing persons report, and a search to find a missing child. It appears to be a standard kidnapping - but motives are illogical and difficult to discern. What Turner uncovers will lead him down a bizarre and twisted path, including cloning - and a conspiracy of silence about how far the technology has really come. The mystery of the episode: how can there be more than one of the kid who was kidnapped?
By episode’s end, many of the classic tenets regarding cloning will be alluded to, if not addressed pointedly: is cloning right at *all*? If so, to what extent? Does someone have the right to clone themselves…and insure self-continuity…as long as no one else hurt by it? Who *could* be hurt by it - how and why?
This opening episode is directed by Mick Jackson (director of HBO’s magnificent INDICTMENT: THE McMARTIN TRIAL, THE PRACTICE for ABC, the feature film L.A. STORY, among other credits).
"Man Plus"
The second episode, "Man Plus", has one of the most gut wrenching episode teasers I’ve come across in a long time. At leastm it's that way on paper. A patient is inserted into an MRI machine in an effort to ascertain the cause of violent seizures which have hit from out of nowhere. His head is secured to the MRI platform, which slides him into the claustrophobic MRI chamber. As the noisy and laborious scans progress, the patient begins convulsing violently against the restraints - his head *splitting open* as if it is being torn apart by the MRI’s magnetic fields. Blood flows out of the MRI device onto the white sterile floor. Yyyyyyeeeeeessssshhhhhhhhhh!!!
Later in the same episode, Turner must square off against a genetically altered Special Forces operative named Jamison, who has been "enhanced" to see in darkness (this actually relates to the opening sequence described above).
Turner and a detective are in a darkened apartment…trying to find their way around… when Jamison uses his organic night-vision and a laser targeter to snipe away at selected pieces of the detective accompanying Turner. As Turner frantically tries to drag the detective to cover, Jamison continues to pick away at the detective - piece by piece. One knee cap, then another, then his shoulders - keeping the detective alive but in tremendous pain as Jamison attempts to persuade Turner to hand over a piece of evidence critical to solving the mystery of the episode (which include a variety of folks who have been implanted with a device enhancing their natural talents and tendencies).
If photographed properly, this could be a tremendously effective sequence - a bit harder-edged than many genre shows.
"Man Plus" is directed by Peter Markle (who has directed for THE X-FILES, MILLENNIUM, and HOMICIDE).
"Lullaby"
It’s hard to say a lot about "Lullaby", because the premise itself is so simple and profound that to be specific would negate the whole. A brief hint, there’s been a lot of talk in the media lately about the possibility / potentiality of scientists being able to grow organs capable of replacing our own organs (hearts, livers, kidneys, etc.) should they go bad.
"Lullaby" is peripherally related to these notions, and has a tragic but touching conclusion that potently accentuates the dangers and morality of screwing around with bio-science and genetics - as a woman realizes her capacity to carry a child has been abhorrently effected by earlier fertilization procedures which were deliberately and heinously mismanaged.
"Lullaby" is directed by Joseph Scanlan (episodic director of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT, LA FEMME NIKITA).
"The Devil Still Holds My Hand"
This episode traces the horrifying after effects of a Nixon-era biological warfare experiment, and deals with the capacity to specifically engineer an "attack virus" capable of affecting only people with a specific genetic make-up. For example, if your genetic material differs from the virus’ encoding - you’re safe. If your material is a match, you’re dead in a matter of hours. So, if you’re standing in the room with a friend - and your friend’s blood-type or genetic specifics have been engineered into the virus, your friend could drop dead from it (in an effect resembling rapid mummification), while you would emerge totally unscathed and un-affected.
And what potential use would a virus like this have? A weapon. And due to clumsy testing procedures a few decades back, this weapon is now "out of the bag"…
This episode should be quite interesting. It dramatizes various containment procedures which would be implemented in the event of a presumed "outbreak" - and goes into some detail about how containment teams operate on both a research level, and in a real world scenario.
"The Devil Still Holds My Hand" is directed by Tucker Gates (THE X-FILES, SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND).
SO - is this thing gonna be any good?
From everything I’ve encountered to date, I’d have to say the show has serious potential.
Are there occasional similarities to THE X-FILES? Well, it’s not fair to characterize every series containing socio-scientific overtones as being "similar" to THE X-FILES, although STRANGE WORLD’s predilection with pharmaceutical and scientific conspiracies will undoubtedly call the series into comparison with XF.
But STRANGE WORLD has something that…for my money…THE X-FILES does not have. It is immediately and quantifiably relevant to the world in which we live. Where as THE X-FILES tends to dwell in a landscape of a pseudo-sensational, Oliver Stone-like cover-ups (in a very spooky and entertaining way), there’s frequently an obvious touch of science fiction involved - which often seems to diminish one’s capacity to carry away from the series anything more than fundamental paranoia and a perpetual wheel of questions.
There is certainly science fiction and paranoia in STRANGE WORLD, but it’s a kind of "fiction" and "paranoia" our real-life headlines and news broadcasts indicate is rapidly becoming stark reality. As such, STRANGE WORLD seems more directly related to the every-day world in which we live than THE X-FILES - the op word here is resonance.
SW addresses the human condition (literally) in the here and now, and as Turner moves from case to case - each predicated on an element of scientific discovery potentially or profoundly impacting humans as a species - there is a since that we must carefully control and monitor our creations and tinkerings. Lest the proverbial Frankenstein’s monster be born, and slip beyond our control.
STRANGE WORLD seems to be telling us there are many magnificent things coming our way in the future - stronger, healthier, more productive lives may be gained from all of the research and development currently being done in hidden laboratories, on microscopic levels. But even the best of gifts can be a Pandora’s Box. And…potentially…the extent of humanity’s arrogance, selfishness, or simple lack of experience may be the determining factor in whether we evolve or perish.
With luck, in a few weeks I should view the pilot to SW - a more pointed and direct of assessment of the show will follow. I’m looking forward to it, there’s a haunting quality to the concept that makes me very eager to see whether or not its ideas will be fully realized or dramatized - or if STRANGE WORLD will only skirt around the very deep and profound issues stories of this nature have to offer.
But for the moment, I really want to see more…
STRANGE WORLD premiers tonight on ABC, another episode will air tomorrow evening in NYPD BLUE's timeslot - where the series will stay for the next several weeks before relocating to a different (currently undetermined) timeslot.
