2.55 : Assignment: Earth.

[Dave]

The Gary Seven one. The final second season episode.

As a child this was always one of my favourites. I liked the idea of these future guys coming back and visiting our time, and Trek went on to use the idea many times again -- ST:IV The Voyage Home, 'Past Tense' TNG, and 'Future's End' VOY among them.

'Tomorrow is Yesterday' established that the USS Enterprise could go forward and back in time, but because they had already bought a variety of other story ideas which were not dependent on Time Travel, it was never used until now.

'Assignment: Earth' was written as a half-hour series pilot while 'Star Trek's' first season was still in production. One of a select group of humans, trained by aliens to help Earth survive a difficult time period in history, Gary Seven operates out of Apartment 12B, 811 East 68th Street. I think Gary Seven's exploits, with his assistant Roberta Hornblower, against the shape changing Omegan agents, would have been a great series, but it did not sell. The script was rewritten into the Trek format and became a ST episode instead.

 

[Extollager]

Does anyone think that, if the Gary Seven series had been made, it would have lasted more than, at most, one season? It doesn't seem to me that it had much potential for an interesting continuation.

I like cats, but the cat thing in this doesn't work, and the cat's other shape as a sexy woman seems silly.

I'd have watched it back then, of course, as a kid of 12 or so.

 

[Dave]

Does anyone think that, if the Gary Seven series had been made, it would have lasted more than, at most, one season? It doesn't seem to me that it had much potential for an interesting continuation.

I think it would have worked in the late 1960's. It wouldn't have a chance today. Back then, the ultra-cool alien spy guy, with a supercomputer, and the sexy lady sidekick, and shape-shifting cat - there are elements there that were certainly used in other TV series that I watched as repeats in the early 1970's.

 

[hej]

As a child this was always one of my favourites. I liked the idea of these future guys coming back and visiting our time.

Same here.

As an adult, I find the premise preposterous, but I still find the episode entertaining.

 

[hej]

Does anyone think that, if the Gary Seven series had been made, it would have lasted more than, at most, one season? It doesn't seem to me that it had much potential for an interesting continuation.

I think lasting a whole season is charitable. (Though I believe that 'the Prisoner' did, and aside from its first episode, the series stank.)

The idea did not have legs.

 

[BAYLOR]

This series could have been lots campy fun.