Help me out please! Which episodes should I watch first? Which episodes are absolutely skippable? What do I need to know before plunging into the Andromeda-verse?

We couldn't be more excited for the release of Genesis II, which was one of a few attempts by Roddenberry to create another science-fiction TV show to rival the popularity of Star Trek. Just from the clip above, you can get the flavor of it — like much of Trek, it's preachy and yet cerebral. The Tyranians (their name sums them up, conveniently) are mutants. They have two navels, and they enslave and dominate all the regular humans. That device that Lyra-A (Mariette Hartley) is showing Alex Cord, her stim, is actually like Star Trek's "agonizer," which the Tyranians use to keep the humans in line. So it's sort of giggle-worthy when she says it "confers dignity."

Here's the official description for the DVD, which is exclusively available through the Warner Archive:

"My name is Dylan Hunt. My story begins the day on which I died." Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, brings fans another enthralling tale of the future. Set in a time between now and the era of the starship Enterprise, Genesis II follows Hunt (Alex Cord), who awakes after 154 years of suspended animation into a post-apocalyptic world that's torn between the peace-loving citizens of Pax and the militaristic, mutant Tyranians. Both want Hunt to join their cause. But the Tyranians have two cruel weapons to persuade Hunt: a device of torture called a stim. And an alluring mutant (Mariette Hartley) with two navels…and one ice-cold heart.

"GENESIS II" Starring ALEX CORD Guest Stars MARIETTE HARTLEY TED CASSIDY

And PERCY RODRIGUES As Primus Kimbridge Written and Produced by GENE RODDENBERRY

Directed by JOHN LLEWELLYN MOXEY A NORWAY Production in Association with WBTelevision

This version of Dylan Hunt is a scientist, and not quite as badass as the version played by Kevin Sorbo in Andromeda. But he still manages to see through the Tyranians' pretense of being enlightened rulers. Maybe the pain sticks and the evil name clue him in somewhat. And yet — Mariette Hartley! With two navels!

Genesis II actually aired on CBS, but it didn't get picked up as a series, alas. And it's never been available on home video — until now.

Also being released on Tuesday: Planet Earth, which was Roddenberry's second attempt at making a pilot about Dylan Hunt in the future. In the second version, the role of post-apocalyptic dominatrix is played by Diana Muldaur, who also appeared in the Trek episodes "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" and "Return To Tomorrow," and played Dr. Pulaski in TNG. It also features the monstrous Kreeg soldiers, who have the head-bumps that Star Trek: The Motion Picture's Klingons made famous.

Both Genesis II and Planet Earth will be out on DVD on Tuesday, as part of the new Warner Archive DVD series. So now where's our Questor Tapes DVD?

Roddenberry's computer isn't the first Mac-Plus off the production line, as some had mistakenly stated. Rather, it's one of the very first Macintosh 128 computers built, which Apple presented to Roddenberry. According to the auction house, Apple then upgraded the computer to a Mac-Plus and gave it the Mac-Plus model number of M-0001. (Apparently, according to our sister site Gizmodo, the computer really is still a Mac-128, and the "Mac-Plus" thing is meaningless.)

Either way, the computer shows how Roddenberry was an early adopter of technology, and gives some context for the famous "Scotty tries to talk to a Mac" scene in TVH:

So how can you own Gene Roddenberry's Mac? It might even cost that much. According to auction house Profiles In History:

This amazing artifact, which is accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Gene Roddenberry's son, Rod, will be a special addition to Profiles in History's October 8-9, 2009 auction of Hollywood memorabilia. It has an estimated sale price of $800-$1200. Worldwide bidding begins at 12:00 PM (noon) both days and can be placed either in person, via mail, phone, fax or live on the Internet at: http://www.icollector.com/Hollywood-Auction-37_a5736.

And then all you need to do is launch the Mac-Plus into space, where it'll be found by alien intelligences and upgraded to become super-intelligent, so it can come back to Earth and kill us all.

Oh, and there are obviously spoilers in this post.

The L.A. Times caught up with director Abrams plus co-writer Roberto Orci, on the set of their TV show Fringe, and both Abrams and Orci hinted that the biggest difference between their first movie and the upcoming sequel would be the socially conscious message. Says Abrams:

The first movie was so concerned with just setting up the characters — their meeting each and galvanizing that family — that in many ways a sequel will have a very different mission. it needs to do what [the late 'Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story. There needs to be relevance, yes, and that doesn't mean it should be pretentious. If there are simple truths — truths connected to what we live — that elevates any story — that's true with any story.

So okay, that just means that they're going to make sure it has some kind of a messagethat reflects "simple truths." Doesn't necessarily mean we're going to get a full-on allegory for today's challenges. But then here's Orci:

We got a lot of fan response from the first one and a considerable amount of critical response and one of the things we heard was, ‘Make sure the next one deals with modern-day issues.' We're trying to keep it as up-to-date and as reflective of what's going on today as possible. So that's one thing, to make it reflect the things that we are all dealing with today.

The L.A. Times reporter asked if this meant the next Trek could deal with terrorism, the ethics of torture, or a long-running, painful war with the Klingons. And Orci acted as though the reporter had just read his mind.

A painful war with the Klingons sounds like a great backdrop for the next movie — allegories about terrorism and torture, though? Sound a bit too 2005. What do you think?

[L.A. Times]

Some of Mrs. Roddenberry's ashes, along with those of her husband, will be sent into space by Celestis Inc. at some undecided point this year, according to the company, who announced yesterday that they're proud to help fulfill her dream of " journeying through space with her husband." Celestis — who seem to have cornered the market on Star Trek-related celebrity deaths, having tried to send James "Scotty" Doohan's ashes into orbit last year — is allowing fans to send messages to accompany the couple into orbit, allowing you the chance to finally get that Trek spec script in front of Gene Roddenberry.

Ashes of "Star Trek" creator and wife rocketing to deep space [AFP]

Seven, who first appeared in the 1968 Trek episode "Assignment: Earth", was originally intended for his own series of the same name, centering around a secret alien invasion premise similar to ABC's 1967 series The Invaders, but viewer and network apathy sent him spiraling towards limbo, or worse, occasional appearances in Trek novels and comic books.

This year, however, all that will change with the first issue of Assignment: Earth, a series based on Roddenberry's concept for the unmade TV show. Written and drawn by long-time Trek fan Byrne, who says that the "Assignment: Earth" episode is amongst his top 5 episodes of the show, the series is part of IDW's Star Trek: Second Stage publishing push, which will also include a new comic series based on Peter David's previously novel-only series New Frontier.

The five part series, which advances the story one year with each new issue, launches in May. Images from IDW Chief Chris Ryall's blog. Star Trek: Assignment Earth [IDW Publishing.com]

This post from a fan at coolscifi.com explains:

We have sentient computers, sentient holograms, FTL, teleportation technology, fusion technology, replicator technology and yet they still have human(oid)s push and pulling and carrying stuff about ships with nary a robot in sight. Forget Data-esque androids, how about basic droids? ...Sure, there was that whole M5 ... "incident" ... but is there some story or episode that explains why the robophobia? Is there some Butlerian war, some kind of Joshua incident, some kind of Skynet takeover attempt that explains why, not just Earthers, but the Klingons (altho they have a culture that kinda explains direct action), the Romulans, the Ferengi (less fellow Ferengi to share profits if you have robots), Betazoids, Andorians, Cardassians, Bajorians, Vulcans, pert near every alien encountered rarely if ever used robots, even the Borg are hybrid organic / technoid, why?

The other fans at the message board aren't afraid to tackle the subject full-on... Well, almost:

"Perhaps in the Star Trek universe all the civilizations that create intelligent robots get wiped out by them before they invent warp drive."

"What incentive could intelligent robots possibly have to wipe out organic sentients? I could see it as an anomalous event, sure, but every culture that produces them? Get out!"

"Skynet."

"I suspect Twiggy has something to do with it. Beedee-beedee-beedee...destroy all humans!"

Twiggy? Admittedly, I've often thought that she seemed somewhat mechanical on America's Next Top Model, but still, that's a bit of a stretch. Thankfully, others on the board have slightly more sensible suggestions, both thematically ("Because the whole guiding principle behind Roddenberry's 'vision' was exploring and glorifying the wonderness of the human spirit") and practically ("back in 1966, a robotic-intensive futuristic show would have been far more expensive to produce—special mechanical effects and other FX").

Of course, there's also the fact that one of the unwritten rules of Star Trek always seemed to be that powerful machines are bad (Even in non-canon stories). I'm telling you, it's really all because Gene Rodenberry was a secret luddite; this whole "sci-fi" thing? Just his excuse to have Uhura and Janice Rand wear those short skirt things.

Why is Star Trek so robophobic? [Cool Sci-Fi Forums]

Famous names: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Ronald Moore, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn

Crunchy goodness: 4

Design breakthrough: The boxy furniture and swivel chairs of the original series give way to sleek curvy consoles and luxury car seats. Plus, the Borg borrowed zombie imagery to make cyborgs creepier than ever before.

Stunt casting: Patrick Stewart brings a whole fancy Shakespearean veneer to the role of Jean-Luc Picard, elevating lines like "Engage," or "Let's see what's out there," to an almost mythic timbre.

Sights you'll never unsee: Klingon cowboy vs. android cowboy.

Tim Lynch reviews a number of Next Generation episodes.

Famous names: Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Harlan Ellison, Theodore Sturgeon.

Crunchy goodness: 3

Spinoffs/Sequels/Copycats: Eleven films, plus Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise.

Sights you'll never unsee: The half-black, half-white space racists running through fake yule log flames. A big blob ordering Abraham Lincoln to wrestle Vulcans. Captain Kirk flying a starship into a space dildo. Spock flamenco-dancing. It goes on and on.

Life lesson: "You'll have to get your entertainment somewhere else." — Captain Kirk.

Most painfully dated moment: The planet where the Vietnam war never ended.

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