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

As Jack runs from the helicopter, there is a brief shot of the bag before it explodes. This is clearly a shot from before the landing, as you can see the legs of the guard sitting in the seat, and the cabin is not full of smoke.

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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

Embarrassingly awful

Hard to believe such a great book and movie could be ruined by infantile, cheap, melodramatic, two-dimensional writing, directing and camera-work, but this is a great example of how it can be done. Unwatchable. Pointless love story. Robotic characters. TV-style, quick-take, short-attention-spanning, wannabe thriller movie-making. One hopes the director and writer never get another TV credit again. Crichton should sue. I could tell from the first 30 seconds of the film that it was going to disappoint and be as predictable and unimaginative as it was. Not even HBO for pre-schoolers. See the original ASAP! IT can be watched ten times and not be as boring as this remake.