Rod Taylor plays Gen. Lars Sorenson in this TV movie, originally titled
"The Osiris Chronicles." The show was shot in 1996 as a pilot for
CBS.
"I'm playing the stalwart old war hero, the general,
Lars Sorenson," Taylor said. "He's a tough old bird who was one
of the leaders of the Old Republic that stood for goodness and niceness.
Since then, the galaxy has become a shithouse full of nasty rapists and
whatnot. He has hidden this magnificent flagship of his former fleet, and
wants young Justin (John Corbett) to take over from him. Justin's going
to bring back the Republic, and I'm going along for the ride."
Director Joe Dante had originally envisioned Christopher
Lee for Sorenson, but Lee was unable to commit himself to an American TV
series, so Dante turned to Taylor. ... "I'm happy to say that in this
case, Rod was always my choice after Christopher. Casting him changed the
role slightly, but Sorenson actually became a little warmer, and I think
he's great," Dante said.
Taylor returns the thought about Dante. "Not only
does he run a beautiful ship in terms of the crew and everything, but he
knows his camera; he knows what's going on; he's dedicated. He's also one
of the nicest men I've ever worked with. And he's a movie nut! He remembers
everything I ever did."
"Another delight," says the outgoing Rod Taylor,
"is [novelist] Caleb Carr. When I was offered this thing, I thought,
'Well, science fiction...' Then, I read the script and Caleb's bible, and
I thought, 'This is some deep, heavy, wonderfully intellectual stuff!'
I became even more fascinated when I met Caleb. We got along like a couple
of brothers. CBS would be nuts if they didn't take 'The Osiris Chronicles'
to series."
Alas, CBS never aired the pilot. UPN bought the pilot and aired
it in 1998 as "Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy."
