Ark II

I used to watch this! I remember thinking that it coulda been better-as the premise was certainly interesting enough-but being a Filmation production, it hadda be Moralistic and edJooKational too! Seriously, it was fun-had a talking chimp, typical '70's Multicultural/U.N. style cast, Jim Backus and Helen Hunt as cool guest stars, the jet pack and blinding light weapons were neat too. It looked like they shot this in the Mojave too. Pity the poor cast and crew, eh? No big trailers THERE.

Before Mel Gibson took off for Australia and donned a black leather jacket for a post apocalyptic cult film, a dystopic future had a more "optimistic" future in the form of a Saturday morning kids show.

Having spent time in LA during the time this series was shot, I often wondered why a dystopic world resembled the San Juoquin valley. Somehow I had images the Ark II driving down Sunset Blvd to pull into the La Brea tar-pit's parking lot (which, if memory serves, was next to a Hispanic flea-market... but I digress).

It was a neat little show for kids, but, kid depending, it's another hit-or-miss vehicle for the young ones who like their science fiction with a little more zest. Still, Ark II has a kind of primitive whole-hearted charm to it. There will be many a face from 1960s and 1970s era television on the series, as well as many a location shot in and around Los Angeles.

The stories are pretty basic, and the violence never reaches anything above smoke and mirrors, with the occasional LASER blast striking the ground.

It was an interesting show that gave children of the 60s and 70s something to smile at. A bit of the future, good and bad, was shown to the young ones of the time. Today's kids probably will be a bit more demanding, but maybe your kids might like it. Let them have a chance to sample it. The worst they can do is say it's no good.

For me, I can't say I really liked it a whole lot. It was more or less a break from the awful Sid and Marty Kroft offerings that bracketed Ark II (or maybe they were on another channel... I can't really remember). Compared to the other live action kids fair of the time, Ark II was a cut or two above the rest.

I remember seeing this on repeat in the late 70's, early 80's. I though it was so cool. It is a TV take of the Damnation Ally concept, but I just really love the RV -the ark 2. looks like a Seeker (Space Academy TV Series) on wheels!!! It had everything, including jet packs!!!!!!!!

O.k., so the production values were not brilliant, not bad for the time, but the idea was great and I beleive would be worthy of remaking. Suprisingly, it hasn't seen the light of day for at least 15 years ( and Australia is the world capital on cheap repeats!!!) and it has been very difficult to find any details on it, or prove that the show even actually existed!!!! Definatly worth a look, especially for true sci-fi fans, especially fans of the time period (i.e. Logan's Run (TV) and Planet of the Apes (TV)) Keep an eye out for it!

ARt II was as silly as it was great entertainment for children. Yes, the show oozed with Biblical themes and moral issues but it was smarter than most programs today. That might be because today more children have access to technology that can deprive a developing imagination.

I don't think many children saw Ark II as adults saw it at all. Most kids watched the show because it had a cool looking van and it was set in the future. Not because they were dictating moral standards....It might seem that way today since we have become so desensitized.

Here is hoping that ARK II comes out on DVD one day soon. it wouldbe nice to see it live on and inspire some other young artist to graduate from Yale University....oops was I talking about me:(

I loved this show when I was a kid. Basically the premise was a group of scientists were driving around in the land rover vehicle from "Damnation Alley"(repainted white). They fended off bad guys and post apocalyptic disasters while helping people rebuild after a nuclear holocaust (at least I think it was nuclear).

This show had to have been the inspiration for the Role Playing Game "The Morrow Project", which basically used the same premise.

Filmation Trivia: This was one of many live action Saturday Morning TV shows put out by Filmation in the late 70s. Filmation made a name for itself by making both filmed and animated kid shows. Some of their more famous filmed shows included: Captain Marvel, Isis, Run Joe Run, Space Academy (whose spiffy Star Trek the Motion Picture like costumes were recycled from Ark II) and its spinoff, Jason of Star Command. Filmation is probably most famous for their He-Man & the Masters of the Universe cartoon from the 80s.