Rent Earth 2: Series (1995)

Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman in Outer Space - Earth 2: Series review by RunDeckardRun

I'm a lifelong sci-fi fan and I decided to watch this as I don't remember having seen it on broadcast TV in the 90s or since. I had fairly low expectations and, 3 episodes in, I have to say that I'm really enjoying it. For a weekly tv show made in the mid 90s this features some seriously impressive SFX which still look good - namely the spaceship sequences. Overall, I would say that Earth 2 has only dated slightly in some respects and certainly looks far fresher when compared to some other tv sc-fi of the time. It also features a female lead character which was more unusual for the time.

There's some solid acting from the lead actress and others including Highlander's Clancy Brown; Tim Curry turns in a typically good performance that just about steals the show! Earth 2 also features an impressive android character that would not look out of place in a big budget movie. Aspects of the alien design is also impressive and tries to do something a bit different. The production design is far higher than you might expect for a programme of this nature and the pilot, in particular, is nicely shot. The first two episodes comprise the pilot which is effectively a tv movie and is far above the quality of most comparable pilots.

The story is definitely reminiscent of that seemingly popular American frontier-like tale of a group of disparate people that must band together to create a new community despite the odds. At times - and this is not necessarily a criticism - Earth 2 even reminds me of Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman..!

Give it a try: you might be pleasantly surprised too.