''E.A.R.T.H. Force'' is an American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

starring

Gil Gerard Gil Gerard (born January 23, 1943) is an American actor, whose roles include Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979–81 television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century''. Early life Gerard was born January 23, 1943, in Little Rock, Arkan ...

. The series aired 3 episodes on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from September 16 to September 29, 1990, before being canceled due to low ratings, as part of CBS' programming realignment that also involves the switch of ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'', the delay of '' Sons and Daughters'', and the hiatus of the sitcom '' Lenny''. However all episodes (including the ones skipped by CBS) were aired by some non-English TV stations (like TVP in Poland as an example).

Premise

The series is about an elite group, the Earth Alert Research Tactical Headquarters (E.A.R.T.H.), that was brought together by a dying millionaire to prevent

environmental disaster An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.Jared M. Diamond, '' Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'', 2005 This point disti ...

s around the world.

Cast

as Dr. John Harding M.D. *

Joanna Pacuła Joanna Pacuła (; born 30 December 1957) is a Polish-American actress and model. Born in Tomaszów Lubelski and emigrating to the United States in the early 1980s, she first gained prominence through her modeling work for Vogue. Her breakthrough ...

as mission coordinator Diana Randall *

Clayton Rohner Clayton Montague Rohner (born August 5, 1957) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the comedy ''Just One of the Guys'' (1985), and had subsequent roles in the horror films ''April Fool's Day (1986 film), April Fool's Day'' (1986), ''B ...

as nuclear physicist Dr. Carl Dana *

Tiffany Lamb Tiffany Lamb (born 22 September 1966) is an Australian model, actress, and TV presenter. She is best known for co-hosting '' Perfect Match'', and starring in '' Flipper - The New Adventures'' and ''Paradise Beach ''Paradise Beach'' is an Aus ...

as oceanographer Dr. Catherine Romano *

Robert Knepper Robert Lyle Knepper (born July 8, 1959) is an American actor best known for his role as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox drama series '' Prison Break'' (2005–2009, 2017), Samuel Sullivan in the final season of the NBC series ''Heroes'' (2 ...

as zoologist Dr. Peter Roland *

Stewart Finlay-McLennan Stewart Finlay-McLennan (born 7 September 1957) is an Australian actor. Finlay-McLennan was born and raised in Broken Hill. He earned a degree from Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, New South Wales, where he majored in Art and Drama. Fin ...

as mercenary soldier Charles Dillon *

Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland Thea ...

as business magnate Frederick Winter

Production

''E.A.R.T.H. Force'' was filmed in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

s for the series include ''The Elite'' (the title under which it aired internationally) and ''The Green Machine''. According to the show's producer Richard Chapman, he described the show as "an adventure show focusing on a group of environmental experts who unite to serve as local troubleshooters, combating environmental crime and dealing with natural disasters."

Episodes

Reception

Howard Rosenberg Howard Anthony Rosenberg (born June 10, 1942) is an American television critic. He worked at ''The Louisville Times'' from 1968 through 1978 and then worked at the ''Los Angeles Times'' for 25 years where he won a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' gave the "forgettable" series the "Big Greenback Award", "for foisting formulaic cretinous TV on viewers under the guise of environmentalist drama". Scott D. Pierce of the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' called the show an "absolute stinker". "Bad writing. Bad acting. Bad directing. ''E.A.R.T.H. Force'' has it all." Ray Richmond of the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' said the series is "painfully banal" and that it "resemble a kind of socially conscious knockoff of ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

''. The acting is stiff, the plot contrived". Richmond also speculated that

was never confident in the series to begin with since they only ordered six episodes, rather than the usual 13, and they scheduled the premiere against the

42nd Primetime Emmy Awards The 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 1990. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. Two networks, The Family Channel and The Disney Channel, received their first m ...

. CBS also scheduled the series on Saturday nights, a near certain death sentence. John Martin of ''

The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...

'' called the series "pretentious" while noting the obvious conflict between the message and its

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

. Martin said "saving the environment can only be accomplished by changing the habits of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

". "In television, encouraging consumption is Job One". "Don't look for a TV series to point the finger at its

advertisers Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

References

External links

* *{{AllMovie title, 125232 1990 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings Television series by CBS Studios CBS original programming Environmental television American action adventure television series Television shows set in Colorado