Plymouth (film)

Plymouth is a 1991 science fiction television film that served as a pilot for a potential series on ABC Network. Lee David Zlotoff created it, with funding from the American Broadcasting Corporation, Walt Disney, and Rai Uno Radiotelevisione; Lockheed provided technical advice. The story begins when the Oregon town of Plymouth, a small community built around timber and mining, is contaminated by radiation from a nearby factory owned by the multinational corporation UNIDAC. Residents evacuate hastily in the middle of the night. UNIDAC offers financial compensation, but the townspeople want to rebuild their community. UNIDAC also runs a financially failing helium-3 mining operation on the Moon. The townspeople propose taking over that operation as a trial for a permanent settlement.

Five years later, a shuttle carrying the final group of emigres approaches the Moon. Town doctor Addy Mathewson, already on the Moon, discovers she is in early pregnancy after her birth control fails. She is a widowed single mother raising four children: eldest son Jed, who is starting his first day on a mining crew; daughter Hannah; adopted daughter April; and youngest son Eugene. UNIDAC technical advisor Gil Eaton is celebrating the end of his stay on the Moon before returning to Earth to join a mission building a space station between Earth and Mars. One of Addy’s assistants finds her sonogram, and word of her pregnancy spreads. Gil confronts Addy, who believes he wants to leave rather than be a father. The townspeople ostracize Gil.

The town gathers to welcome the final Plymouth residents who accepted UNIDAC’s relocation offer. Among them are Eugene’s best friend, Simon, and Addy’s uncle, Wendell, who is also the mayor. Young technician Nathan Litchfield shows Hannah a “hot rod” lunar vehicle he built, featuring a high-speed electric drive and a rocket assist salvaged from a lander. The town council meets to discuss the uncertainties of Addy’s pregnancy. The fetus might not survive microgravity or reentry to Earth, but if born on the Moon, the child’s body would never be strong enough to return to Earth, even if UNIDAC’s mining fails. The town would lose its option to return, as abandoning the child would be unethical.

Earth controllers warn Plymouth of a strong incoming solar flare. Residents move from the surface to shelters in deep lunar caverns.