Jump to content

Strange World (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Strange World
Intertitle
Created byHoward Gordon
Tim Kring
Starring
ComposerMichael Hoenig
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (10 unaired)
Production
Executive producerHoward Gordon
Running time43-44 minutes
Production companiesTeakwood Lane Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkABC (1999)
Sci-Fi (2002)
ReleaseMarch 8 (1997-03-08) –
March 16, 1997 (1997-03-16)

Strange World is an American crime drama television series created by Howard Gordon and Tim Kring for ABC. 13 episodes were commissioned, of which three aired on ABC in March 1999 before the network cancelled the program. The remaining ten episodes produced subsequently premiered on Sci-Fi in Spring 2002.

In a web-chat during the 2002 run on Sci-Fi, Gordon stated that, since the producers felt ABC was not going to support the show, they had the opportunity to write a conclusion to the story.[1]

Plot

[edit]
USAMRIID was created in 1970 to counter the threat of chemical and biological weapons.
Section 44 of the charter permits it to investigate criminal abuses of science.

—Text at the beginning of the pilot episode.

Captain Paul Turner (Tim Guinee) is a doctor for The United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), who suffers from a rare form of aplastic anemia as a result of exposure to chemical weapons during the Persian Gulf War. USAMRIID lures him out of his sickbed with the opportunity to bring justice to others suffering from unethical uses of science and technology. Unknown to his superiors, he is given a temporary cure for the symptoms of his disease by a mysterious woman who is an agent of a shadowy organization that may be trying to thwart the goals of USAMRIID. He requires periodic doses of the cure to remain functional, a weakness that the shadowy organization occasionally uses to control him. Both the machinations of the "shadowy organization" and Turner's dependency on the "cure" are ultimately resolved in the final episode of the series.

Cast

[edit]

Title sequence

[edit]

The opening-title sequence was added to the permanent collection of the American Institute of Graphic Arts[2] in 1999. It was created by Imaginary Forces.[citation needed]

Episodes

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Pilot"Mick JacksonHoward Gordon & Tim KringMarch 8, 1999 (1999-03-08)1ACG79
Turner is summoned to investigate the disappearance of a small child. Guest starring Arnold Vosloo.
2"Lullaby"Joseph ScanlanTim MinearMarch 9, 1999 (1999-03-09)1ACG03
Turner discovers that the Japanese Woman's superiors are using a pregnant girl (Monet Mazur), in Sydney's care, as a pawn in a bizarre case of surrogacy.
3"Azrael's Breed"Vern GillumManny CotoMarch 16, 1999 (1999-03-16)1ACG08
Turner assists the Baltimore PD in tracking down a couple (Robert Knepper, Missy Crider) who get their thrills from brain tissue stolen from corpses.
4"Spirit Falls"Peter MarkleStory by : Todd Ellis Kessler
Teleplay by : Todd Ellis Kessler & Tim Minear
March 1, 2002 (2002-03-01) (Sci-Fi)1ACG05
Turner uncovers a secret hidden behind the mass suicide of a reclusive community -- and tests the loyalty of the Japanese Woman at the same time.
5"The Devil Still Holds My Hand"Tucker GatesJohn ChambersMarch 8, 2002 (2002-03-08) (Sci-Fi)1ACG06
Turner's investigation of a possible viral outbreak leads him to a reunion with a former mentor whose antagonism of the Army matches Turner's own.
6"Skin"Brett DowlerJessica Scott & Mike WollaegerMarch 15, 2002 (2002-03-15) (Sci-Fi)1ACG07
When Sydney is blamed for the death of a patient, she takes it upon herself to discover the real cause of his death and winds up stumbling onto a secret experiment instead.
7"Man Plus"Peter MarkleHoward Gordon & Thania St. JohnMarch 22, 2002 (2002-03-22) (Sci-Fi)1ACG02
Reese assigns Turner his first case when a prominent pianist's death is linked to a mysterious implant in his brain.
8"Rage"James Whitmore Jr.Manny CotoMarch 29, 2002 (2002-03-29) (Sci-Fi)1ACG01
A series of unmotivated road rage incidents convinces Turner that some external force is causing the seemingly irrational violence.
9"Aerobe"Dan LernerStory by : Manny Coto
Teleplay by : Hans Tobeason & Manny Coto
April 12, 2002 (2002-04-12) (Sci-Fi)1ACG04
When a Gulf War vet asks Turner's help in clearing his name, Turner flexes USAMRIID's muscle to stop an insidious cover-up at a nuclear plant.
10"Eliza"Vern GillumTim MinearApril 19, 2002 (2002-04-19) (Sci-Fi)1ACG10
A series of apparent I-War attacks hit Washington, D.C., prompting Turner to join a Department of Defense team in tracking down the source of the attacks.
11"Down Came the Rain"Ian ToyntonManny Coto & Jose MolinaApril 26, 2002 (2002-04-26) (Sci-Fi)1ACG11
An ancient Native American ritual, a rare blood disease and an undiscovered species all come into play when Turner investigates a series of deaths in a Seattle high rise.
12"Food"Tucker GatesStory by : John Chambers & Thania St. John
Teleplay by : John Chambers
May 3, 2002 (2002-05-03) (Sci-Fi)1ACG09
Turner's vacation turns into work when a man's death is linked to his genetically engineered crop.
13"Age of Reason"Dwight LittleHoward Gordon & Tim MinearMay 10, 2002 (2002-05-10) (Sci-Fi)1ACG12
The mysterious Japanese Woman calls on Turner one more time to investigate the abduction, six years ago, of a "wunderkind" named Adam Wasserman.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Howard Gordon". (Chat transcript) SciFi.com. February 8, 2002. Archived from the original on June 14, 2002.
  2. ^ "AIGA's Strange World exhibit". Archived from the original on July 20, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
[edit]