Tek War - warriors of the future

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Television series
German title Tek War - warriors of the future
Original title TekWar
Country of production Canada ,
United States
original language English
Year (s) 1994-1996
Production
company		 Atlantis Films,
Universal Television
Episodes 22 in 2 seasons
genre Drama , sci-fi
idea Ron Goulart ,
William Shatner
music Warren Zevon
First broadcast January 17th, 1994 (USA) on Sci-Fi-Channel
German-language
first broadcast		 September 24, 1994 on RTL
occupation

Tek War - Warriors of the Future (original title: TekWar ) is a 22-part US-American - Canadian science fiction television series from 1994 to 1996, which is based on the Tek novels by Ron Goulart and William Shatner . The main character in the story, which takes place in the year 2045, is Jake Cardigan, an ex-police officer and private investigator in the service of the high-tech security agency Cosmos.

William Shatner was also the producer of the series and played the role of Walter Bascom (the head of the security agency Cosmos) with.

action

The computer drug Tek poses a major threat in 2045. It could be viewed as a virus that sends synthetic actions directly into the brain via a headset. Once immersed in this fantasy world, as with today's conventional drugs, it is almost impossible for addicts to escape its influence. Evil forces, the Teklords, control the manufacture and distribution of Tek. Even the governments of the world are threatened by Tek or are already corrupt.

TekWar begins with the police officer Jake Cardigan being released from the cold chamber, the prison of the future, after 4 years. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking Tek, a cyber drug. Since he was thrown out of the police force, his ex-partner Sid Gomez makes him an offer to work as a detective for the Cosmos company in order to be able to prove his innocence and continue his fight against Tek. The head of the Cosmos security agency is the mysterious Walter Bascom, who seems to have worldwide connections and great power.

Together with Nika, Cowgirl, Spaz and Sam Houston, who becomes Jake's new partner after Sid's death, Jake goes into the fight against crime. But there are also opponents: Shelley Grout from the government and the android police officer Lieutenant Winger are on Jake.

Origin and production

TekWar is based on the series of William Shatner's Tek books. Shatner had the original idea for the books in the 1980s. He said, “In the beginning I planned to write TekWar with myself as the lead actor. I came up with the idea of ​​transporting TJ Hooker into a futuristic setting. ”But it wasn't until the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike that paralyzed production of Star Trek V: On the Edge of the Universe that he found the time to write.

While the books and later the television series follow the same storyline, the transformation of the story 200 years into the future would have nearly failed any film or television adaptation. When Shatner approached broadcasters and studios to promote the idea of ​​his TekWar project, he was told that the production would be too expensive. Marvel Comics finally approached Shatner with the idea of bringing out a series of TekWar Comics . William Shatner sold the rights to Marvel on the condition that the story be moved only 50 years into the future.

After the first TekWar comic, studios approached Shatner with an interest in a movie. Shatner's own production company, Lemli Productions, signed a contract with Atlantis Films. Shortly thereafter, Stephen Roloff was hired to develop the series for television.

Shatner began to reconsider the project when both film studios urged that his name be added to the title for marketing reasons. He thought, “How is it received? If it turns out to be a flop, it's terrible because my name is in the middle. In fact, they were promoting the film using William Shatner's TekWar . My God, this responsibility! ”Universal and Atlantis gave the go-ahead for the production of four two-hour TV films for the series' first season. If successful, a one-hour series should be commissioned to broadcast in Canada and the United States. The film was shot at Cinevillage Studios in Toronto , Canada and locations in Toronto including Eaton Center and Ontario Place .

Episodes

A total of 22 episodes of the television series were shot. The first four episodes are long versions with a length of 90 minutes. In some directories, such as the IMDb or the LdIF film dictionary, these are not listed as part of the series, but as independent films. In other listings, the first four episodes are shown as the first season and the following 18 episodes are shown as the second season.

Season Number of episodes First broadcast in the USA First broadcast in Canada German-language first broadcast
Season premiere Season finale Season premiere Season finale Season premiere Season finale
1 4th 17th January 1994 May 9, 1994 January 25, 1994 May 19, 1994 September 24, 1994 3rd December 1994
2 18th February 7, 1995 February 10, 1996 December 22, 1994 February 9, 1996 April 1998 August 1998

reception

criticism

TekWar received very mixed reviews. While the optics and visual effect received positive comments, the criticism of the plot and ideas was largely negative.

“Nobody will associate William Shatner's TekWar with serious science fiction. When Greg Evigan, a disgraced ex-cop teams up with another black ex-cop and a female android , it's like The Mod Squad meets Wild Palms . "

- Chris Willman : Los Angeles Times

“This is basically your average post-20 cop story. Century environment: Dumpf Bladerunner (original: Dullbladerunner). In this vision of the future, your house may be crammed with enough artificial intelligence to let you know when your wife is leaving to run errands, but society has still not found a cure for the crime: there are a lot of lousy and bad things in this cauldron shaved gangster. "

- Ken Tucker : Entertainment Weekly

Awards (selection)

  • 1994: Nomination for the Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences
  • 1995: Nomination for the Saturn Award for the film TekWar: Battle for the Lost Past
  • 1996: Received the Gemini Award for the best special effects.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Benjamin Svetkey: I'm typing as fast as I can. Entertainment Weekly, January 15, 1993, accessed August 31, 2013 .
  2. ↑ a b c Ed Gross: Designing TekWorld, Part 2. ComicBookMovie.com, July 8, 2009, accessed on August 31, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c Ed Gross: Designing TekWorld, Part 3. ComicBookMovie.com, August 4, 2009, accessed on August 31, 2013 (English).
  4. ↑ Jim Bawden: Greg Evigan's cop character is like himself, only magnified. Toronto Star, January 1, 1995, accessed August 31, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Film Lexicon: TekWar - Fight for the lost past. Zweausendeins.de, accessed on August 30, 2013 .
  6. ^ Film lexicon: TekWar - The princes of death. Zweausendeins.de, accessed on August 30, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Film Lexicon: TekWar: Excalibur - Sword of Power. Zweausendeins.de, accessed on August 30, 2013 .
  8. ↑ Film Lexicon: TekWar: Law and Law in Cyberspace. Zweausendeins.de, accessed on August 30, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Episode guide: TekWar. Filmlexikon fernsehserien.de, accessed on August 30, 2013 .
  10. ↑ Chris Willman: TV REVIEWS `TekWar 'Surrenders to Sci-Fi Sillies. Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1994, accessed August 31, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Ken Tucker: Babylon 5, TekWar Review. Entertainment Weekly, January 28, 1994, accessed August 31, 2013 .