Thursday, August 13, 2015

Rare TV 'Flix': Logan's Run (The TV Pilot)

Before it becomes a TV Show again (it is inevitable, right?), let's see how it all began.  In 1976, Logan's Run was a popular Film.  In 1977, Logan's Run was a TV Show that ran for 14 Episodes.  You may have rushed things, guys?  Do I really need to explain the Plot of Logan's Run to you?  A City where they 'renew' you at 30 leads Logan to flee for his life and discover a new world outside.  Simple, but popular stuff.  The TV Show makes some major changes to the Story, however, and that has to be addressed.  Rather than getting into ANOTHER TV Show retrospective, I'll just cover the Pilot (for now, at least)- it is Feature-Length, after all.  It gets pretty strange, folks!  To find out what you either missed, never saw in the first place or just plain forgot, read on...
In The City of Domes (not called that in the Film), Logan questions the Renewal Process...in his very first Scene.  By his 2nd Scene, he has knocked out his life-long (a short one, mind you) friend and ran off with a lady he just met, leaving his life behind.

Why the rush guys?  You have more time if you are a Show!
They go outside and start to seek Sanctuary.

Possible SPOILER: They are just Cannibal who want to eat you!  Maybe not...
In a big change from the Film, the people running the City are actually just old people.  Oh.

They also send Logan's friend out with some other Sandmen, rather than him going alone.
The duo run into the old man in D.C. (giving me Fallout 3 Flashbacks...or Flashforwards?), but he is living in a Bunker (come on!) with a bunch of other folks.  Can this get more unlike the Film?
Yes.

The group is hiding from pseudo-knights who ride Horses and shoot laser rifles to keep slaves.  Our lady Lead is captured...for about 2 minutes and broken free again.  Hurray!
Still pursued by the Sandmen, Logan and Jessica find a new place run by some strange folks.

As it turns out, the people are Robots that still serve their Masters...even though they are skeletons at this point.  Weird.
There is one living inhabitant, however- Rem.  He's a Cyborg...but you mostly know him as That Guy With the Big Eyebrows from The Thing (the good one).

To wrap things up, the Robots fend off the Sandmen as Rem joins our Heroes in search of Sanctuary.  The End.
...so that was different.  Should I be happy or sad?  I was expecting a bit of a retread of the Film here.  That would have been a bit redundant...but it would still be Logan's Run.  On the flip-side, this one uses the basic Story and then goes off to do some random stuff.  It is fair to connect it to the overall Story...but this is still kind of weird.  Every Show tried to be The Incredible Hulk, didn't it?  In all seriousness, this one seems like it could have worked well.  It was good enough that I may go back and ch more of the Show.  Until then, here is a little girl who may literally be too cute...
I suppose I should watch more of this Show, but I'm already kind of booked with Twin Peaks.  We'll see...

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