Gene Roddenberry’s Planet Earth: A Dumbed-Down Retread That Lost What Made Genesis II Work

Gene Roddenberry tried again in 1974 with Planet Earth, his second attempt to launch a post-apocalyptic science fiction series after Genesis II failed to get picked up the previous year. The 80-minute pilot recycles the same premise. Dylan Hunt, a 20th-century scientist awakened in the 22nd century, works with PAX to rebuild civilization. This iteration…