Ice Planet (film)

Lore & Background

The film is set some thirty years after a devastating war between the Union and the Consortium that killed 10% of Earth's population. The Newton 5 space colony is attacked by a vast extraterrestrial spacecraft, killing 200,000 people, and the alien ship then annihilates a military base on Jupiter's moon Io. Base commander Noah Trager, aided by recently graduated space cadets, escapes to the Magellan research vessel commanded by Professor Karteez Rumla. Rumla, encouraged by Senator Jeremy Uvan, insists the Magellan continue its original classified mission rather than return to Earth. Pursued by the alien ship, the refugees head toward section 9 in space, but the vessel is ejected into hyperspace by an unknown phenomenon and lands on an unidentified ice planet with a breathable atmosphere and earth-like gravity, trapped by a force field. The planet's orbit resembles that of a spacecraft, and it is so far from Earth that even the Andromeda Galaxy is not visible. Rumla reveals that six years earlier, a meteor containing an extremely old and heat-resistant crystal named 'ICE-13' crashed in Sumatra. The crystal contained encrypted specifications for an advanced space vessel and coordinates to sector 9, along with warnings about a threat. The Magellan was built secretly. The crew discovers a subterranean energy network, and two reconnaissance craft are destroyed by the same alien spacecraft. A rescue team finds an artificial cavern where the power source is located, inhabited by a Native American-like tribe called the 'Inaku.' A glowing tree-like crystalline organism contains encoded information about Earth civilization, including extinct languages like Aramaic and Sumerian. A hostile life form invades the Magellan, kidnapping a dozen people. The ice planet is a safe haven for an alien intelligence that transported the Magellan across space and time; the aliens show a vision of Earth burnt to a cinder. The military launches a counterattack, and the ice planet is transported through a space rift into a different solar system with four moons, as previously seen in a vision by Rumla.

Reader's Guide

The film serves as a pilot for an intended TV series that was announced in 2005 by CHUM Limited, starring Michael Ironside, but production never commenced. The proposed series was to revolve around Rear Admiral Noah Trager, accompanied by his daughter and obsessed by the mysterious murder of his wife, leading a military and science expedition to recover an ancient alien artifact on the ice planet. The concept was created by German television producer and show host Hendrik Hey. German broadcaster RTL II acquired the rights to the series before shooting began. The film itself is a self-contained story that ends with the ice planet transported to a new solar system, leaving the crew stranded. Its legacy is primarily as a failed pilot that never led to a series, despite the involvement of established actors and production companies. The film's plot elements—such as the ICE-13 crystal, the Inaku tribe, and the alien intelligence—were likely intended to be developed further in the series.

Did You Know?

• The film was directed by Winrich Kolbe and starred Wes Studi as Commander Trager.
• A crystal named 'ICE-13' from a meteor in Sumatra contained encrypted specifications for the Magellan spaceship.
• A TV series starring Michael Ironside was announced in 2005 but never produced.