The Questor Tapes

In his heyday, no one made televised science fiction like Gene Roddenberry, and this is one of the finest examples. Created as a pilot for a proposed TV series (which, unsurprisingly, was never produced), this is one of the best instances of science fiction meeting philosophy that has ever occurred anywhere (big screen included). The performances are astonishingly good considering the cast of mostly TV actors (in particular, Robert Foxworth gives the performance of his career as the android). The movie does steer itself away from its own track once in awhile (some of the details in the subplot about Helena Trimble hardly seem relevant to the film and were probably created in case the series was approved), but overall, the pacing is excellent. Some dated technology and an ear-piercingly poor musical score knock this down a notch or two, but its premise and resolution are wonderfully humanistic. Not a special-effects movie, then, but sci-fi that cares more for its characters than its visual appeal. Now could we please just have this on video?

One thing that Gene Roddenberry was good at was making excellent TV pilots. His only problem was in getting the networks to actually listen to them.

This movie was a pilot for a TV series, and was to far ahead of it's time. Made in the time after Star Trek TV series and the Star Trek motion pictures, it is a classic example of his idea of social commentary hidden as a Sci-Fi movie.

Questor is an android, in search of himself and his past. I remember seeing this when it was first broadcast, and again about 10 years later. But sadly, it is not available on Tape or DVD (NBC - Universal, pay attention).

Two things that are noteable are the connections to Star Trek, both past and future versions. His wife Majel Barrett and Walter Koenig both appear in this movie. But this is not unusual, if you look at most of his projects. Pretty Maids All In A Row, Genesis II, Planet Earth, even all the way back to The Lieutenant. Roddenberry consistantly used a lot of the same actors and actresses over and over again.

One of the things that struck me when I first saw Star Trek: Next Generation was the similarity between Data and Questor. An Android, in search of his mysterious past, a "father" creator that is said to be dead, yet is not dead, the question of who and what he is, man, machine, or both.

So this TV Pilot was just like the "Gary Seven" episode, in that it never took off. But the obvious influence on his later projects is obvious. We can only hope that someday, this will be made available on DVD so more people can discover this movie.

Considering all the "new" Roddenberry TV shows out there, I am actually surprised that this one has not been remade yet.

IMHO this is one of the best sci-fi TV movies ever. For once they gave Roddenberry some money and it shows up on the screen, particularly in the stirring climax which still works today. The plot is witty and features a few nice surprises. The performances are uniformly solid. In particular, Robert Foxworthy brings surprising warmth and depth to what was obviously the prototype to the DATA character from STTNG; it is probably the best acting job Foxworthy ever did, which is doubly impressive since he is supposed to be playing an emotionless android. In fact, he slips in plenty of emotion, but the insertions are subtle and well-handled. Mike Farrell (right before his own far more lengthy and lucrative insertion in MASH) is also at the top of his game as the humanistic scientist and guide for Questor. John Vernon, fresh off all those venomous villain roles from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, is reliably intimidating as the aggressive (but ultimately conscientious) antagonist.

Why does QUESTOR still resonate thirty years later? Frankly, because all of the questions about what makes man unique are only more relevant today with the advent of cloning and super microchips which make today's computers even more intelligent and capable than the fiction Roddenberry envisioned back in '73. Most of the things forecast in QUESTOR have come to pass from the creation of the internet to the polarization of the class system and symbiosis of the world economy. Man will always question his place / role in the universe and QUESTOR gets to that issue of self-awareness and "what is my purpose" as productively and entertainingly as any other sci-fi offering I can think of. It's also thought-provoking and while it momentarily lurches toward preaching at the end, somehow it all comes out just right.

So why didn't it make it to series? My hunch is that since ABC had already added THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN on their fall schedule the feeling was that QUESTOR was too similar (or "too cerebral," which was the reason the original Star Trek pilot didn't fly.) The truth is, it probably would have been difficult to maintain the quality of the pilot given the limited format. However, it would have been an interesting try and I think it would have probably been more insightful than THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. 9/10

"The Questor Tapes" was a Jan. 23, 1974 NBC broadcast that reunited STAR TREK creator Gene Roddenberry with his most influential producer/writer, the late Gene L. Coon, who had passed away from lung cancer some six months earlier. In fact, the story looks like a feature version of the failed pilot episode "Assignment: Earth," with its introduction of android Gary Seven (Robert Lansing), appointed secret guardian of Earth's future; here, Robert Foxworth plays the newborn android Questor, in search of his long missing human creator, reclusive genius Emil Vaslovik (Lew Ayres), accompanied by Jerry Robinson (Mike Farrell), the one scientist on the team who had previously worked with Emil. The duo travel to England, make quick work of a gambling house, meet another associate of Emil's in Lady Helena Trimble (Dana Wynter), and learn that Questor is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless he finds Vaslovik in three days' time. It's actually more a triumph for Coon than for Roddenberry, and a particularly special one for the underrated Foxworth, an admittedly tricky and endearing portrayal in learning what it means to be human, the embryonic version of Brent Spiner's Data on the later STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1987-1994). There's even a touch of H. P. Lovecraft with its talk of alien 'Masters' planting androids to serve mankind (but not interfere) dating back to 'the dawn of this world,' but the way it plods along simply fails to create much in the way of tension (sharp eared viewers will instantly recognize the opening theme from the upcoming KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER series in two brief sequences). John Vernon adds a degree of menace, but as with all of Roddenberry's post-TREK work, it's another case of a great idea that doesn't quite come off, and Mike Farrell's comedy background makes him seem out of place when things take a darker turn. The network was willing to produce a Questor series without Farrell's character, but Roddenberry was the one with cold feet, a pity since Leonard Nimoy himself showed interest in playing the android. Another in a string of failed Roddenberry pilots yet more successful than "Genesis II" (Alex Cord), "Planet Earth" (John Saxon), "Strange New World," or "Spectre" (Robert Culp).

Even for the 70's this was a pretty ridiculous movie. Regardless of the love for Roddenberry's creations and his correct vision of the future, when we would have to face autoanihilation or grow up, I can't really recommend it.

That doesn't mean that is it not adorable, in the way little children are when you are looking at celluloid films of themselves from 40 years ago: "look dad, how cute you were when you were 5!" (and everybody laughs at his embarrassment)

From the beginning you know something is strange when the best minds humanity can provide can barely assemble the android parts provided by mysterious professor Vaslovik. Later, when it effortlessly escapes from his human creators, you get to wonder what is its purpose? Itself it doesn't know, since part of his programming was accidentally erased (since then we learned to back up everything in the cloud, so there is hope), the only thing it knows for sure is that it has to find his creator before it explodes in a nuclear explosion.

A nice story, and well played, in that '70s way. The fact that all technological, social and even bureaucratic development at the time look from the stone age is testament to the speed of our evolution, but also blocks any real enjoyment out of a clearly outdated film.

Worth watching just to see where Commander Data came from.