Annihilator (TV 1986)

Humanoid killer robots stalk a newspaperman (Mark Lindsay Chapman), who has knowledge of their existence. One of the robots is made to look like his girl friend (Catherine Mary Stewart).

Director:

Michael Chapman

Writers:

Bruce A. Taylor, Roderick Taylor

Stars:

Mark Lindsay Chapman, Susan Blakely, Lisa Blount

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Lindsay Chapman	...	Richard Armour
Susan Blakely	...	Layla
Lisa Blount	...	Cindy
Brion James	...	Alien Leader
Earl Boen	...	Sid
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Prof. Alan Jeffries
Catherine Mary Stewart	...	Angela Taylor
Nicole Eggert	...	Elyse Jeffries
Paul Brinegar	...	Pops
Barry Pearl	...	Eddie
Barbara Townsend	...	Celia Evans
Channing Chase	...	Susan Weiss
Glen Vernon	...	Henry Evans
Richard Partlow	...	FBI Agent #2
Biff Yeager	...	FBI Agent #1

Storyline

Humanoid killer robots stalk a newspaperman (Mark Lindsay Chapman), who has knowledge of their existence. One of the robots is made to look like his girl friend (Catherine Mary Stewart).

---

Plot Keywords:

robot | unsold tv series pilot

---

Genres:

Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Executor

Filming Locations:

Crestline, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Svengoolie: Annihilator (1999)

User Reviews

Roderick Taylor Returns

This was a second series attempt from musician Roderick Taylor a year after Otherworld for CBS. Strangely, the very title, "Annihilator" is never explained. The unsold pilot tells the story of a newspaper publisher whose girlfriend has been apparently replaced by an android during the return flight from a vacation. A trip he missed due to business. After discovering the switch, he begins a quiet investigation of her fellow travelers, leading only to several attempts on his life and finally being framed by some unknown party for murder, sending him on the run with only a list of the passengers aboard the unfortunate flight as a starting point for his search for the masterminds behind the androids and their ultimate goal. The film maintains the Taylor trademark of an altered reality with the use of surrealistic imagery and music. Many story elements that would define the X-Files years later are on display here. It should also be noted that leading man Mark Lindsay Chapman, then going under the name Mark Lindsay, was given this role as compensation after being cast as John Lennon in a TV biopic, only to be removed when his real name was discovered to be the same as Lennon's killer.