The television version of 'Logan's Run' begins in much the same fashion as the 1976 movie of the same name; we open with an aerial shot of a fantastic city of domes, decades after nuclear wars have ravaged our planet. The year is 2319. It is a perfect world of pleasure - but only if you're under 30. Then, on 'Lastday', citizens must subject themselves to the ghoulish ritual of 'Carousel', believing it to be renewal.
Logan and Francis are Sandmen - security officers whose task it is to hunt and kill 'runners' - people who have realised 'Carousel' is in fact population control. Logan is under surveillance as he has been overheard questioning authority. We are therefore unsurprised when he throws in his lot with runner Jessica. After a chase through the city, Logan and Jessica venture outside, finding the air to be clean and the water and soil uncontaminated, the exact opposite of what they'd believed to be true.
Now the plot ventures in a different direction from the movie; Francis goes before the Council Of Elders, a group of wizened men who hold the real power in the city. He is offered a place on the Council if he brings Logan back for reprogramming.
Finding a solar-powered craft, Logan and Jessica begin searching for 'Sanctuary' - a mythical refuge for runners - only to find a community living in a fallout shelter, which is constantly under threat from 'riders' - warriors on horseback, kidnapping people to use as slave labour. Logan and Jessica may be free of the city, but haven't escaped from danger yet...
I prefer the 'Logan's Run' television series to the movie. Gregory Harrison and Heather Menzies make an attractive couple as 'Logan' and 'Jessica' respectively, and British actor Donald Moffat adds a welcome touch of humour as the lovable cyborg 'Rem'. Hiring the co-author of the original novel as one of the pilot's writers was a smart move. Quite a bit of recycled movie footage, most notably the 'Carousel' sequence, but not as much as there would have been if this were an Irwin Allen series. The pilot barely sketches in the characters before they start running. Logan seems to have quite a lot of ammo about his person; perhaps he knew in advance he was going to run? How come Francis is always one step behind Logan and Jessica even though he's on foot and they're not? How come Jessica's hair always looks great? Don't question - just enjoy. A decent series opener.
Logan and Francis are Sandmen - security officers whose task it is to hunt and kill 'runners' - people who have realised 'Carousel' is in fact population control. Logan is under surveillance as he has been overheard questioning authority. We are therefore unsurprised when he throws in his lot with runner Jessica. After a chase through the city, Logan and Jessica venture outside, finding the air to be clean and the water and soil uncontaminated, the exact opposite of what they'd believed to be true.
Now the plot ventures in a different direction from the movie; Francis goes before the Council Of Elders, a group of wizened men who hold the real power in the city. He is offered a place on the Council if he brings Logan back for reprogramming.
Finding a solar-powered craft, Logan and Jessica begin searching for 'Sanctuary' - a mythical refuge for runners - only to find a community living in a fallout shelter, which is constantly under threat from 'riders' - warriors on horseback, kidnapping people to use as slave labour. Logan and Jessica may be free of the city, but haven't escaped from danger yet...
I prefer the 'Logan's Run' television series to the movie. Gregory Harrison and Heather Menzies make an attractive couple as 'Logan' and 'Jessica' respectively, and British actor Donald Moffat adds a welcome touch of humour as the lovable cyborg 'Rem'. Hiring the co-author of the original novel as one of the pilot's writers was a smart move. Quite a bit of recycled movie footage, most notably the 'Carousel' sequence, but not as much as there would have been if this were an Irwin Allen series. The pilot barely sketches in the characters before they start running. Logan seems to have quite a lot of ammo about his person; perhaps he knew in advance he was going to run? How come Francis is always one step behind Logan and Jessica even though he's on foot and they're not? How come Jessica's hair always looks great? Don't question - just enjoy. A decent series opener.