Otherworld (TV series)

Otherworld is an American science fiction television series that aired for eight episodes from January 26 to March 16, 1985 on CBS and was created by Roderick Taylor. Taylor gave himself a cameo role in each episode. The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel.

Overview
In the first episode, the Sterling family (Hal, June, Trace, Gina, Smith) take a tour of the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza during a conjunction of the planets which takes place once in ten thousand years. They are mysteriously transported to a planet which may or may not also reside in a parallel universe.

The other planet, Thel, is inhabited by humans (and some androids) and divided into isolated provinces with different governments and ways of life. Travel between provinces is strictly regulated by "Zone Troopers" and the people of one province know nothing of the others. The province of Imar (ruled by a Praetor) appears to be the central seat of government for the whole of the planet. The pilot episode refers to "territories", android creators, and "wars of unification". The Church of Artificial Intelligence is the official state religion of Thel, and no conflicting ideologies are permitted.

Having acquired an access crystal by accident, after a scuffle with a high-ranking Zone Trooper named Commander Kroll (Jonathan Banks) the Sterlings can now access all of the Zones. Kroll then pursues the Sterlings in effort to take back the crystal.

A series of Egyptian-like stone markers (obelisks), each with one eye, are supposed to mark the way to Imar, a city with beautiful buildings and a suspension bridge (the city shown in the opening credits, apparently intended to be Imar, is a photographic negative of New York City).

Each episode has the family dealing with the unfamiliar ways of life in each zone, and at the end of the episode, fleeing one zone for another, pursued by Commander Kroll who seeks the crystal, and also revenge.

Cast

 * Sam Groom as Hal Sterling (father)
 * Gretchen Corbett as June Sterling (mother)
 * Tony O'Dell as Trace Sterling (teenaged son)
 * Jonna Lee as Gina Sterling (teenaged daughter)
 * Brandon Crane and Chris Hebert as Smith Sterling (youngest son); Crane played Smith in the pilot, which was aired as the first and fifth episodes
 * Jonathan Banks as Kommander Nuveen Kroll
 * Wayne Alexander as Lieutenant Zero (Kommander Kroll's aide)

Syndication
The series was rerun on the USA Network, and re-shown several times on the Sci-Fi Channel. Otherworld was aired in the United Kingdom on the ITV network, except in the Thames/LWT region.