The Questor Tapes

Questor was played by Robert Foxworthy (rather starchedly and robotically and well). His abilities are superhuman. But, with his programming incomplete, he doesn't know his mission and needs the help of Mike Farrell to find his creator and his ultimate purpose.

This was definitely presented as a pilot to a proposed series. The incomplete android needing a human to guide him and further his mission, makes the perfect team to explore humanity. A creation of Gene Roddenberry, the exploration of the universe, contrasted through the eyes of humans and non-humans, has been a familiar (and successful) theme for him. The movie was very enjoyable and it ended well. I don't think I could handle their exploits on a weekly basis. It would grow old quickly. Where-as, our days have a great deal of violence, these were days of pacifist excess. It takes too much away from the all too human option of necessary violence. A middle ground would have served it well.

And, not to accuse Roddenberry of nepotism or favoritism, but look for Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry) and Walter Koenig, both of Star Trek fame, in this TV movie.........

One thing that Gene Roddenberry was good at was making excellent TV pilots. His only problem was in getting the networks to actually listen to them.

This movie was a pilot for a TV series, and was to far ahead of it's time. Made in the time after Star Trek TV series and the Star Trek motion pictures, it is a classic example of his idea of social commentary hidden as a Sci-Fi movie.

Questor is an android, in search of himself and his past. I remember seeing this when it was first broadcast, and again about 10 years later. But sadly, it is not available on Tape or DVD (NBC - Universal, pay attention).

Two things that are noteable are the connections to Star Trek, both past and future versions. His wife Majel Barrett and Walter Koenig both appear in this movie. But this is not unusual, if you look at most of his projects. Pretty Maids All In A Row, Genesis II, Planet Earth, even all the way back to The Lieutenant. Roddenberry consistantly used a lot of the same actors and actresses over and over again.

One of the things that struck me when I first saw Star Trek: Next Generation was the similarity between Data and Questor. An Android, in search of his mysterious past, a "father" creator that is said to be dead, yet is not dead, the question of who and what he is, man, machine, or both.

So this TV Pilot was just like the "Gary Seven" episode, in that it never took off. But the obvious influence on his later projects is obvious. We can only hope that someday, this will be made available on DVD so more people can discover this movie.

Considering all the "new" Roddenberry TV shows out there, I am actually surprised that this one has not been remade yet.

IMHO this is one of the best sci-fi TV movies ever. For once they gave Roddenberry some money and it shows up on the screen, particularly in the stirring climax which still works today. The plot is witty and features a few nice surprises. The performances are uniformly solid. In particular, Robert Foxworthy brings surprising warmth and depth to what was obviously the prototype to the DATA character from STTNG; it is probably the best acting job Foxworthy ever did, which is doubly impressive since he is supposed to be playing an emotionless android. In fact, he slips in plenty of emotion, but the insertions are subtle and well-handled. Mike Farrell (right before his own far more lengthy and lucrative insertion in MASH) is also at the top of his game as the humanistic scientist and guide for Questor. John Vernon, fresh off all those venomous villain roles from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, is reliably intimidating as the aggressive (but ultimately conscientious) antagonist.

Why does QUESTOR still resonate thirty years later? Frankly, because all of the questions about what makes man unique are only more relevant today with the advent of cloning and super microchips which make today's computers even more intelligent and capable than the fiction Roddenberry envisioned back in '73. Most of the things forecast in QUESTOR have come to pass from the creation of the internet to the polarization of the class system and symbiosis of the world economy. Man will always question his place / role in the universe and QUESTOR gets to that issue of self-awareness and "what is my purpose" as productively and entertainingly as any other sci-fi offering I can think of. It's also thought-provoking and while it momentarily lurches toward preaching at the end, somehow it all comes out just right.

So why didn't it make it to series? My hunch is that since ABC had already added THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN on their fall schedule the feeling was that QUESTOR was too similar (or "too cerebral," which was the reason the original Star Trek pilot didn't fly.) The truth is, it probably would have been difficult to maintain the quality of the pilot given the limited format. However, it would have been an interesting try and I think it would have probably been more insightful than THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. 9/10

This is a great pilot for a TV series that never got made.

Five countries pool resources to build beyond the state-of-the-art android (Project Questor.) The main inventor Dr. Vaslovik (Lew Ayres) is missing. In Dr. Vaslovik's absence, they attempt to decipher the programming tapes to be sure there is nothing insidious and destroyed part of them in the process. Now the android, Questor (Robert Foxworth) has to seek Vaslovik and find out why he was made.

Unable to do this on his own due to partially destroyed memory and his initial problems with understanding humans he forcibly recruits one of his assemblers, Jerry Robinson (Mike Farrell). Soon Questor gets so good at manipulating people that even we get suspicious of his true purpose.

It is not hard to recognize the teleplay writer as Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame. Many of the actors are recognizable from other programs of the time. Lady Helena Trimble is played by Dana Wynter of "Lady Godiva Rides Again (Bikini Baby)" fame.

Be sure to read the book by D. C. Fontana. The book works well as a stand-alone story; However, if you saw the pilot the images will still be there as you read.

The last time I saw Questor was probably twenty + years ago, but at that time I think it still held up well. It's amazing how many robots and androids came out in the years following the "Questor Tapes" with little Questor mannerisms, not the least of which was Data.

I have no doubt that if the series had been picked up we would have seen an "evil" Questor (Lore or KARR), lots of android type searching for meaning, maybe even a tie in to the Gary Seven "pilot" episode on Trek. Questor would have fit into the Trek universe really well, don't know why Gene never did a tie in on Next Gen. Heck, they could have done a tie in on Enterprise.

Oh well... I received a letter from Majel a few years ago indicating she was still interested in doing a Questor series, but that was the last I ever heard. Sadness.

-Dana Curtis Kincaid