Some shows miss their moment and spend decades being recommended without being watched, which is roughly the situation facing the series often described as the true heir to a famous space franchise. Its reputation rests on ideas rather than spectacle: moral arguments, an ensemble that behaves like colleagues rather than heroes, and stories that treat politics as part of the adventure. That approach did not fit the broadcast landscape when the show was made, and it fits streaming better than almost anything produced since. The obstacle is discovery. A quiet catalogue title with no current marketing depends entirely on word of mouth, and word of mouth needs a starting point. Anyone curious should begin with a handful of episodes rather than a whole season, because the tone is distinctive and the format rewards patience. A quarter century later, the show's central question about how a society decides what it owes its members remains uncomfortably current, which is why the recommendations keep appearing.
'Andromeda's Systems Commonwealth Mirrors 'Star Trek's Federation
Roddenberry's widow,Majel Barrett, came across the two series in Roddenberry's archives, andgave the green lightfor both to be developed into series.Earth: Final Conflicthit the airwaves first in 1997, and its success paved the way forAndromeda's release three years later, in 2000.Kevin Sorbo, best known as the titular hero ofHercules: The Legendary Journeys, was brought on as the lead character, Captain Dylan Hunt of an intergalactic government known as the Systems Commonwealth. If the idea of a collective governing body whose membership consists of representatives across the known universe sounds familiar, it should. It mirrorsStar Trek's Federation, and is a concept Roddenberry would visit time and again throughout hisproposed projects.
InAndromeda's case,the Systems Commonwealth is a constitutional monarchyestablished thousands of years in the future. The Commonwealth, with its capital in Tarn-Vedra, consists of representatives from three galaxies: our own Milky Way, Triangulum, and Andromeda. The backstory, as we learn in the pilot episode "Under the Night," is that the Commonwealth was at war with a parasitic species, humanoid in appearance, known as the Magog. To prevent the Magog from spreading into the galaxies under its umbrella,the Commonwealth begrudgingly relents during peace talksand allows the Magog access to a key planet. That planet just so happened to belong to the Nietzscheans (and yes, that's purposeful — they religiously follow the works of oneFriedrich Nietzsche), who are none too pleased and secretly attempt to sabotage the Commonwealth and seize control in retaliation.
Dylan Hunt Wakes Up in the Long Night in 'Andromeda'
With the series now in context,"Under the Night"sees Dylan in command of the starshipAndromeda Ascendant, which harbors a powerful artificial intelligence he calls "Andromeda" that controls the computer systems aboard. It isn't long before the ship is left severely damaged after a surprise attack from the Nietzscheans. Dylan orders his crew to evacuate, choosing to go down with his ship as any good captain would; only he's attacked by his first officer, a Nietzschean known as Gaheris Rhade (Steve Bacic), who tries to kill him. Dylan thwarts the attempt on his life and kills Gaheris,just as theAndromeda Ascendantbecomes stranded on the edge of the event horizon of a black hole.
62 Years Ago, 'Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry Created This Controversial Short-Lived War Drama
Before outer space, Roddenberry tackled the Cold War.
They become frozen in time until 303 years later, when theAndromeda Ascendantis pulled from the event horizon by the crew of a salvage ship, theEureka Maru(Roddenberry isn't terribly imaginative when it comes to names, with this echoing theKobayashi Maru, while the name "Dylan Hunt" was usednot once but twicebefore by Roddenberry, inGenesis IIandPlanet Earth). The crew consists of pilot and con-artist Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder); engineer Seamus Zelazny Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett); Dr. Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram); and Rev Bern (Brent Stait), science officer, among others. They rescue Dylan and the ship's AI android avatar Andromeda (Lexa Doig) and bring him up to speed on what's happened over the last 300+ years. The Systems Commonwealth is no more, and they now live in the era known as "The Long Night," a period marked by lawlessness, conflict, and great instability. Aghast, Dylan calls on the crew to join him and bring justice back to the galaxies, looking to "rekindle the light of civilization."
The first season garnered less-than-spectacular reviews, with areview fromSciFiNowsumming up the consensus as "It's a cliché but decent enough... but the problem is thatAndromedafalls intoStar Trek: Voyagerterritory by playing it safe and not doing enough to develop its characters."Andromedawould stay in production for five full seasons before airing its last episode, "The Heart of the Journey (Part Two)," on May 13, 2005, the victim of a change in viewer interest away from its syndicated kin to more serious fare (per Collider). Nevertheless,Andromedais worth checking out, a chance to see the last of Roddenberry's original creative output at work, now made easier than ever thanks to streaming.
