E.A.R.T.H. Force

Sometimes we have series that are so short that only a few episodes aired and were promptly forgotten.  E.A.R.T.H. Force is one such, having had only three episodes on CBS in September of 1990.  Made in a time when environmental awareness was on the rise, the show addressed serious issues while trying to leave viewers with a more positive message.

Gil Gerard, previously of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, starred as Dr. John Harding, a scientist and environmentalist that led an elite group of specialists who were brought together by dying industrialist Frederick Mayer.  With a base known as Earth Alert Research Tactical Headquarters, the team used brilliant and non-standard ideas to mitigate the crises they faced, such as animal poaching and landfill toxicity.  The series was filmed in Queensland, Australia, to emphasize the "green" objective with stunning landscapes. 

Despite the show being described by some viewers as "a merger of Captain Planet, Mission Impossible, and The A-Team with a plane instead of a truck", critical reception was not favourable.  To make matters worse, CBS chose to air the series on Saturday nights; a death sentence for almost any show.  One TV journal noted the conflict between the series' message and its medium: "Saving the environment can only be accomplished by changing the habits of consumption, but in television, encouraging consumption is Job One."

The show had a second life overseas, with all six episodes airing on several non-English TV stations in Europe, where it fared much better.  To date it hasn't been released on home video, but the pilot movie and parts of several episodes can be seen on YouTube.