The Andromeda Strain (2008– )

A crack team of top scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what has killed the citizens of a small town and learn how this deadly contagion can be stopped.

Stars:

Benjamin Bratt, Christa Miller, Louis Ferreira

Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys. Another 7 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Benjamin Bratt	...	Dr. Jeremy Stone (4 episodes, 2008)
Christa Miller	...	Dr. Angela Noyce (4 episodes, 2008)
Louis Ferreira	...	Colonel James C. Ferrus (4 episodes, 2008)
Ricky Schroder	...	Major Bill Keane MD (4 episodes, 2008)
Michal Suchánek	...	Lance Stone (4 episodes, 2008)
Eric McCormack	...	Jack Nash (4 episodes, 2008)
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Dr. Tsi Chou (4 episodes, 2008)
Barry Flatman	...	Charles 'Chuck' Beeter (4 episodes, 2008)
Ted Whittall	...	President William J. Scott (4 episodes, 2008)
Ted Atherton	...	Edward 'Ed' Dewitt (4 episodes, 2008)
Andre Braugher	...	General George W. Mancheck (4 episodes, 2008)
Roman Podhora	...	General Blair (4 episodes, 2008)
Viola Davis	...	Dr. Charlene Barton (3 episodes, 2008)
Anna Galvin	...	Lisa Stone (3 episodes, 2008)
Jonathan Potts	...	Pat Terrence (3 episodes, 2008)
Ava Salomon	...	Sarah Scott (3 episodes, 2008)
Emily Holmes	...	Joanne Scott (3 episodes, 2008)
Fred Keating	...	Charles Henderson (3 episodes, 2008)
Denise Galik	...	Annie Dillon (3 episodes, 2008)
Kurt Max Runte	...	Sherriff Martin Willis (3 episodes, 2008)
Cory Dagg	...	General Michaelson (3 episodes, 2008)
Juan Carlos Velis	...	Roach Coach Driver (2 episodes, 2008)
Adrian Holmes	...	Sam Barton (2 episodes, 2008)
Nicola Anderson	...	Lt. Amy Deacon (2 episodes, 2008)
Paul Perri	...	Dr. Smithson (2 episodes, 2008)
Eve Harlow	...	Leila (2 episodes, 2008)
Douglas O'Keeffe	...	Blonde Man (2 episodes, 2008)

Storyline

In "The Andromeda Strain," a U.S. military satellite crashes in a small town and unleashes a deadly plague killing all but two survivors. As the military quarantines the area, a team of highly specialized scientists is assembled to find a cure to the pathogen code-named "Andromeda," and a reporter investigates a government conspiracy only to discover what he is chasing wants him silenced.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | satellite | military | soldier | virus | 

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Taglines:

It's A Bad Day To Be Human.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Universal Pictures Japan [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

La amenaza de Andrómeda

Filming Locations:

Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A.S. Films, Scott Free Productions, Traveler's Rest Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

174 min 170 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the source novel by Michael Crichton, the main scientists were mainly white (presumably) heterosexual men, but Robert Schenkkan, who wrote the teleplay for this remake made the decision to change the characters' ethnicities, sexualities, and genders because, he said in a May 2008 interview with Brent Hartinger on afterelton.com, "If you're going to update the story, which is our mandate, you have an obligation to reflect the world as it is." Schenkkan further said that he decided to include the brief reference to Keene (Ricky Schroder) being gay because of a principle invented by Crichton in the original novel, the "Odd Man Hypothesis," which states that in a time of crisis, an unmarried, unattached person [Crichton specified a man] with no family to distract him would have the best chance of making rational, unbiased, unemotional decisions.

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Goofs

When the doctors first come into the town of Piedmont, they see at an old man who is dead. But the old man's chest sinks, as if he has just exhaled.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jeff Megan: [to Suzie] That's a lion out there. And a triangle.

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Connections

References Star Trek (1966)

User Reviews

Awful

Simply horrible: overblown made-for-TV-movie melodrama, poor acting, silly makeup effects and production design, bad direction. And a script that foolishly adds multiple, painfully obvious plot lines to the original story so that the taut and gripping plot of the novel is almost completely obscured. Despite having more running time than the 1971 movie, this soggy mini-series seems rushed to cram in all the stupidity it can.

Watch it at your peril, if you want a satisfying, chilling, and intelligent movie, rent the well-crafted Robert Wise version; it is one of the great SF movies of the 1970s. It is one of the rare movies that really shows science at work, and the scenes of death at Piedmont will always stick with you.