Os Mistérios do Planeta Rustia

I still have this movie on tape somewhere, and every now and then I pull it out and watch it. As has so often been stated, it seemed like a pilot to a TV series, which obviously never panned out. Too bad. I love the mixture of SF and Fantasy: a world of dark and light, with bizarre creatures, ancient super-technology, people (and creatures) with fantastic abilities, and just enough science to make it all believable. It's probably not award winning, but it has a surreal feel to it that makes it so very attractive. It would be nice to think that a thousand years in the future a world like this might exist.

If you can find it, it's definitely worth your time.

As indicated by others, excellent, original ideas... it could have been worth watching as a movie or a series, if one didn't mind overlooking the absurd blend of technologies - and I don't.

Characters have the usual fascination with recent (to us) history & literature for their allusions, but that's the curse of mediocre sci-fi. Well, that was too harsh, a few contemporary references are fun, but please...every quote by the hero shouldn't be from the period 1000 to 1150 years before the story's setting.

Alas, though...characters, at least the human ones, were absolute caricatures. Diverse, though...from the scale of travel & events we see, Rustia's not exactly huge, yet over here we have a dissipated Roman emperor-type complete with crown of laurels, over here a medieval king with the inevitable princess for our smarmy hero. Ah yes, and the sort-of orphan boy in too-short pants.

There were some good acting performances, notably Paul Winfield's Akada of course, and also surprisingly (given their minor roles) the two settlers, parents of the twins. Ah, forgotten their names, but their bath scene was the best in the film. I do mean because of the believability and sympathy, not for the more prurient reason. :)

Some shone less brightly - sadly this includes the aforementioned hero, whose apparent charm & magnetism for every inhabitant of Rustia could be used as the definition of "revealed attribute". There must have been something about him, as everyone loved him... yet... what could it have been? His early arrogance? His smirk? Oh, his smooth tongue... which brings us to...

The writing - and I apologize to those who rave about how Bruce Wagner is underrated, but the dialogue was about what I'd expect from someone in grade seven. Perhaps it was written for kids of about nine to twelve, and the writers figured the kids wouldn't be picky? Original ideas, yes, wonderful...but they were let down by the uncreative lines the actors were saddled with. I don't mean that the script needed more big words. In fact, a bit of medical technobabble in the clinic was quite good for that sort of thing, and delivered well. No, that sort of thing isn't necessary for good sci-fi...it's just that it's as if the dialogue was written in an afternoon. No spark at all.

I was optimistic, then annoyed, then sad...interesting, bizarre, slightly off-kilter feel to the whole movie (good!), but shoddy, often cliche design of characters & dialogue poisoned it.

This "movie" (actually a pilot for a never-produced series, I believe) is one of the more original science fiction concepts to see production in years. The story is of a young medical student in the distant future, fulfilling his internship on a planet that is so far removed from everything that its inhabitants live a largely technology-free lifestyle. The planet is divided into two halves that are often at war, and as we join the story it is just entering into a tenuous peace.

White Dwarf is part futuristic science fiction, part Victorian/medieval fantasy, and part television drama (having many of the best qualities of each). With many such stories, we get no sense of history or depth to the characters, but with this one we are not let down. We are given fleeting glimpses of deeper things (only glimpses at times because, one might presume, it was written to continue as a series, to establish relationships to be developed further as time went on). There are hints of vast histories for the characters, the places, and the ideas the underlie so much of the story. A fine example of this would be the apparently long-standing and deep relationship between Osh, alien warden of "the Keep" (the planet's prison), and the prisoner listed only as "Lady X" in the credits (played by Katy Boyer).

My only complaints about White Dwarf would be with the sometimes stiff acting and the occasional stilted dialogue (when combined, as they normally are, the two can be difficult to take). Still, special accolades should go to Paul Winfield for his portrayal of Akada, the doctor under whom Driscoll Rampart serves his internship, and CCH Pounder, who plays a nurse in Akada's clinic. Both portray their characters with generous portions of substance and apparent ease. The rest of the cast do reasonably well, only occasionally stumbling over the stilted dialogue. This is most noticeable with Ele Keats' performance as Princess Ariel, whose dialogue is always very formal, resulting in a performance that comes across very wooden. For the few of her lines that are more relaxed, her performance improves, serving mostly to emphasize the stiffness that we see the rest of the time. Perhaps this just isn't her genre.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that this unique piece of work is no longer available on video (unless you're willing to pay $50 or more for a used VHS copy). This is rare and inspired fiction, a must for anyone who's growing tired of the recycled ideas we see so often, and who wishes to see something distinctly different, if somewhat imperfect. As a life-long sci-fi and fantasy afficionado, I consider myself very lucky to have acquired a copy, and enjoy every viewing as much as the last. We can only hope that it will be released on DVD someday, and that it will not be doomed to disappear forever into obscurity. Something this unique deserves far better than that.

Bruce Wagner seems to be crunching out some great stuff. Wild Palms showed that the man had ideas, but White Dwarf really shines. It's a pitty all those ideas didn't go anywhere, much!

As others before me have mentioned, it feels like a pilot for some TV series that never got made. It's hard to find any real plot, that you can follow so the White Dwarf feels a bit...all over the place. The mix of fantasy and SF could have made some interesting viewing if it had been made into a series.

Quite a few interesting issues were raised in this "pilot" and I would have loved to have seen some of them more thoroughly explored. I truly think a White Dwarf series could have brought something new to TV.

The plot aside, the ideas however are quite original to TV and the sometimes surreal victorian and 50s feel with a dash of future thrown in will not let you forget White Dwarf.

If it had been a series it would definitely have formed a cult following and a strong one, but it was never to be!

I felt that this movie was an awesome, mind twisting idea of a new human/alien inhabiting world. This movie in so many ways is comparative in world creation and plot to that of Frank Herbert's Dune!! It appealled to me in the same way it did the doctor. It definitely wasn't Kansas anymore! I feel Bruce did a fabulous job of keeping his viewers hungry for more and curious for answers.

I have become a fan of character development in the past few years and I believe all of these characters carried a great deal of merit. I loved Paul Winfield, CCH Pounder and Neal McDonough's work in this movie. Oh, yes! I must agree the story lines for this and Akira runs exactly alike as well.

The one thing more viewers should understand is that a new world doesn't have to have the same logics or natural inter workings of Earth. If it did what would be the fun in that!

This script may not have been a fantastical array of ideas or dialogue but it definitely held it's own. The bits and pieces that were open or mishmashed could definitely have been given closure had the series been made. Also to note with the great participation of viewers in the past w/ Fox and other networks who's to say this movie won't graduate to series level. New things happen every year with tv/cable/big screen that defy the standards of the year prior. Hey, if it could happen to Baywatch, Party of Five or West Wing who's say it couldn't happen here! It only takes one person determined to sell the dream to carry an idea to great heights!