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| Dylan Hunt | |
| Aliases: | Captain Dylan Hunt Mister April [1] |
| Continuity: | Andromeda |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Type: | Military personnel |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Enhanced human |
| Location: | Andromeda Ascendant New Systems Commonwealth |
| Relatives: | Sara Riley [2] |
| Status: | Alive |
| First: | "Under the Night" [3] |
| Actor: | Kevin Sorbo Alex Cord John Saxon |
Dylan Hunt is one of the central characters featured in the science fiction television series Andromeda. Played by actor Kevin Sorbo, he first appeared in the series pilot episode, "Under the Night" and appeared in 110 episodes of the series in total.
Biography[]
Early life & career[]
Dylan Hunt was a human born on the Systems Commonwealth world of Tarn-Vedra. His mother was a Heavy worlder, whose physiology made Dylan stronger and heartier than most other humans. Dylan started his military career as an enlisted man and served a year in the local Home Guard unit on Tarn-Vedra and another year serving as a spacer in the High Guard Argosy. He was then selected to attend the Tarn-Vedra branch of High Guard Academy. While serving his various tours of duty, he completed post-graduate work at the Antares Command Lyceum, the Imperial Strategy College on Tarn-Vedra and the Advanced Studies program on Patterson's World where he graduated with honors. [4]
He eventually rose through the ranks and became Captain of a High Guard ship of the line starship, the Andromeda Ascendant. He met his commanding officer, a Nietzschean named Gaheris Rhade and the two became close friends. He also met and fell in love with a woman named Sara Riley. In CY 9784, Dylan and Sara were engaged to be married. He asked Rhade to be his best man. Rhade was pleased at their union and felt that they were both of sufficient genetic stock for breeding. [5]
The Battle of Hephaistos[]
The Andromeda Ascendant received a distress signal from the courier ship the Alacritous Missive, warning them about a rogue black hole originating near the Commonwealth world of Hephaistos IV. Dylan took the Andromeda through slipstream under the belief that he was going to provide relief aid to the system's dominant life forms, the Nietzscheans. When he arrived however, he found himself flying into a trap. 10,000 Nietzschean ships were lying in ambush and opened fire on the Andromeda. Dylan tried to fight back, but a single ship, even the flagship of the Commonwealth, could not possibly defend itself against an entire fleet. He ordered his crew to evacuate though pilot Refractions of Dawn and First Officer Rhade. Rhade seemingly betrayed Dylan, citing that he supported his people's revolt against the Commonwealth. The two fought with one another, but the ship began drifting dangerously close to the black hole's gravitational singularity. Both warriors struggled through the time dilation effects, but ultimately, Captain Hunt proved the victor. At the moment he executed a fatal shot against his opponent, the Andromeda was frozen at the perimeter of the black hole's event horizon. Dylan lapsed into a state of suspended animation and remained there for more than three-hundred years.
Resurrection[]
In CY 10087, a Nightsider named Gerentex hired a team of mercenaries and the crew of the salvage ship Eureka Maru to locate the legendary lost High Guard ship, The Andromeda Ascendant. The Maru 's captain, Beka Valentine and her crew, Seamus Harper, Trance Gemini and Rev Bem located the Andromeda and pulled it away from the black hole. Once the ship was safely away from the singularity, the time dilation effect disappeared and Dylan returned to normal. Andromeda 's artificial intelligence (which Dylan nicknamed "Rommie") had the misfortune of telling him that more than three-hundred years had passed. Dylan was devastated. [6]
He had little time to consider his loss however as he now had to deal with the mercenaries and Beka's crew boarding his ship. Using guerilla tactics, Dylan managed to incapacitate most of them. Beka, Seamus, Trance and Rev were surprised to find someone alive on board the ancient ship. Along with the Nietzschean mercenary Tyr Anasazi, the crew of the Maru decided to betray Gerentex and side with Dylan. Gerentex was defeated and Dylan set him adrift in an escape pod.
Though the immediate danger was past, Dylan now faced a new challenge. He was alone in a strange new world in which the Systems Commonwealth no longer existed. Determined to rebuild the glory of the Commonwealth, he offered Beka, Seamus, Rev and Tyr the chance to become a part of his crew. Though they initially scoffed at Dylan's seemingly mad crusade at rebuilding an entire civilization single-handedly, the prospect of doing something important with their lives appealed to them. They all agreed to join with him and embarked upon what would prove to be the greatest adventure of their lives. [7]
Genesis II[]
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| Dylan Hunt | |
| Continuity: | Genesis II |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| First: | Genesis II |
| Actor: | Alex Cord |
The iteration of Dylan Hunt seen on Andromeda is actually based upon a previous version of the character created by Gene Roddenberry for his 1973 television film Genesis II. The film aired as a television movie on March 23rd, 1973 on CBS. It was intended to be a pilot for a potential ongoing series, but CBS decided against picking it up, opting instead to broadcast a live-action Planet of the Apes television series. Genesis II was the first of three attempts made by Roddenberry to produce a series that he hoped would match the popularity of his previous television project Star Trek. When Genesis failed to make an impression, Roddenberry retooled the concept for another television movie Planet Earth, this time replacing Genesis II 's lead actor Alex Cord with John Saxon. The third film to revisit the Genesis II concept was called Strange New World, which brought back John Saxon though this time playing the lead character Captain Anthony Vico. As with the two previous films, Strange New World was not picked up. It would be another twenty-five years before Roddenberry's dream of a Genesis II television series would come to fruition. Though Gene had passed away in 1991, his widow, actress Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, collaborated with producer Robert Hewitt Wolfe on the creation of an ambitious science fiction television series keeping in line with Roddenberry's original vision. The show was called Andromeda.
In Genesis II, Dylan Hunt, played by Alex Cord, was a NASA scientist working on an experiment in suspended animation in the future year of 1979. A mishap with the experiment placed Hunt into cryogenic suspension and he awakened 154 years later in 2133. In the years he spent incapacitated, the Earth had suffered through a series of global wars, collectively referred to as "The Conflict". The descendants of the original NASA scientists had formed a union called the PAX and labored to restore civilization while preserving the planet's pre-war culture. While struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic future, Dylan Hunt found himself fighting up against a race of underground mutants called the Tyranians.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Dylan Hunt was created by Robert Hewitt Wolfe and Allan Kroeker based on concepts originally developed by Gene Roddenberry.
- Mister April redirects to this page. This was Dylan Hunt's code-name while working on a top-secret mission for Constanza Stark. [1]
- Dylan Hunt's High Guard serial number is H.E. 5095C219. [1]
- Actor Kevin Sorbo is also known for playing the eponymous Greek hero Hercules on the Sam Raimi fantasy/adventure series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
- Is well-versed in the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. [8][9]
- When Seamus Harper detailed his first encounter with Dylan, he described him as a "Greek god". [10] This was a wink towards Kevin Sorbo's previous work as the title character Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Ironically, the classical Hercules was not a true god, but rather a demigod. His father was Zeus and his mother was a mortal.
See also[]
Media
The World of Andromeda
Andromeda miscellaneous
External Links[]
- Dylan Hunt at IMDB
- Dylan Hunt at the TV IV
- Dylan Hunt at Wikipedia
- Dylan Hunt at ShareTV.com
- Dylan Hunt at the Andromeda Wiki
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Forced Perspective"
- ↑ Former fiancée; deceased.
- ↑ First television appearance; First appearance with Kevin Sorbo as the character.
- ↑ Andromeda: Season 1 Collection DVD; Special Features; Character Profile: Dylan Hunt
- ↑ "Under the Night"
- ↑ "Under the Night"
- ↑ "An Affirming Flame"
- ↑ "Under the Night"
- ↑ "An Affirming Flame"
- ↑ "Under the Night"