FeedRidley Scott’s Andromeda Strain Premieres
Written by NetBear on May 25, 2008 – 12:44 pm -The original big screen film of The Andromeda Strain freaked-out a whole generation back in 1971. This weekend the A&E network will premiere a made for television remake of this sci-fi classic, executive produced by brothers Tony and Ridley Scott. Yes, THAT Ridley Scott of Alien, Gladiator and Blade Runner fame.
Written by Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain story is science-fiction techno-thriller at its best. A satellite crash-lands near a small town, unleashing a deadly plague that kills virtually everyone except two survivors. The film version became a cult classic. How will Ridley’s remake compare?
Since this new “strain” of the story also follows the original book, there will of course be many similarities between the two productions. But there are also bound to be striking differences between a vintage 1971 sci-fi film and one made with present day movie making technology.
Instead of landing nicely the way the SCOOP probe in the original Andromeda did, this satellite crash lands, looking like the meteor from The Blob.
What do you do when you find a satellite that dropped from the sky? Bring it on home and put it on the dining room table, of course. Perhaps this scene is supposed to be the local doc’s office. Let’s hope.
Eric McCormack shows a little fuzz in the role of Jack Nash, an investigative reporter who struggles to control his addictive personality.
It’s the man from ABC’s LOST, Daniel Dae Kim. In Andromeda he plays the role of Doctor Tsi Chou, a microbiologist who once served as the premiere biological weapons designer for the Chinese Government.
Wildfire is the team’s hi-tech headquarters. I wonder if in this version of the movie we’ll see the team going through those embarrassing bio-cleansing procedures?
As in the original movie, there are two survivors of Andromeda. Or in this case, what appears to be a plastic baby doll and a struggling actor trying to look like he’s an addict. Wait! Is that the fetal-looking baby from 2001? Oh, wrong director.
The fresh, young cast of the new Andromeda (from left to right) are Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Christa Miller, Daniel Dae Kim, Viola Davis, Ricky Schroder and Andre Braugher.
In the original film the cast had a huge age range between them, portraying scientific researchers at the top of their game. There were old men, thirty somethings and even a (gasp) masculine-acting female who keeps the whole team on their toes with one-liners. Back in 1971 she was probably quite a screen character. But in Ridley’s Andromeda it looks like we will be led to believe that this cast of young savants will be able to save the world from the horrible bio-hazard from space. We’ll have to see how well they can make us believe that.
Here’s a behind the scenes first look at the A&E’s The Andromeda Strain.
The original movie of The Andromeda Strain is an absolute sci-fi classic in my book. It is one of those movies that I can watch over and over. So this made for TV remake has some big boots to fill. But if there’s anybody who can make that happen it’s Ridley Scott.
The Andromeda Strain two-part mini-series premiers Memorial Day at 9PM/8C on the A&E network.