Doorways
A fugitive and a doctor flee through parallel worlds.
Doorways is a proposed science fiction series by writer George R. R. Martin, centered on travelers fleeing hunters through parallel universes. A pilot was filmed in May 1992 but was not picked up, and the project was shelved. In 2010, IDW Publishing adapted the pilot into a comic book series.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Country
- United States
- Network
- ABC
- First aired
- 21 April 1993
- Director
- Peter Werner
- Creator
- George R. R. Martin
- Starring
- George Newbern
- Anne Le Guernec
- Robert Knepper
- Kurtwood Smith
- Carrie-Anne Moss
- Max Grodenchik
- Composer
- Phil Marshall
Facts from the source article.
Plot
A feral woman called Cat appears on a motorway, causing a crash and injuring herself with shrapnel from a truck explosion. She is taken to a hospital, where Dr. Thomas Mason cares for her. After work, Thomas visits his girlfriend Laura and discusses the patient. Meanwhile, three dark-clad beings and a floating podium with a Dark Lord arrive at the crash site. The next day, Thomas learns Cat has been removed from the hospital and is confronted by FBI Special Agent Trager, who takes him to a secret lab. There, Dr. Roth explains that Cat's weapon and bracelet have organic and technological properties not designed for human hands. Thomas gives Cat back her bracelet, allowing the being Thane to track her. Cat escapes with Thomas's help, and they drive toward a door to a safer parallel universe. Thane kills Trager and several FBI agents, but Thomas and Cat escape through the door just in time. They arrive in a world where a microbe created to clean an oil spill ate all petroleum. They hitch a ride with Jake and his granddaughter Cissy. At a truck stop, Cat senses her pursuers have arrived and tries to steal horses. They are arrested by that world's version of Trager and held overnight.
Cast and characters
George Newbern plays Dr. Thomas Mason, an ER doctor skilled in magic from his father's stage magician background, who is content until meeting Cat. Anne Le Guernec portrays Cat, a former servant of Thane and the Dark Lord, fleeing a parallel Earth ruled by aliens. Robert Knepper is Thane, a servant of the Dark Lord with bio-enhancements including claws from his hands. Kurtwood Smith plays Special Agent Trager, who investigates Cat's arrival. Carrie-Anne Moss appears as Laura, Thomas's lawyer girlfriend. Max Grodénchik plays Dr. Roth, an FBI researcher studying Cat's equipment. Hoyt Axton portrays Jake, a friendly wanderer in a parallel world, and Tisha Putman plays his granddaughter Cissy.
Production
George R. R. Martin pitched Doorways in 1991, and ABC agreed to pick it up, with Columbia Pictures producing. Martin spent much of 1991 redrafting the pilot script, and production was greenlit in January 1992. Anne Le Guernec was cast as Cat, but the desired actor for Thomas, George Newbern, was filming a movie. After hundreds of auditions, shooting was deferred until May 1992. The series was originally called Doors, but ABC changed it to avoid confusion with the band The Doors or the Oliver Stone biopic. In August 1992, a rough cut was shown to ABC executives, who ordered six additional scripts. Martin worked on these with Michael Cassutt, Ed Zuckerman, Steve De Jarnatt, and J. D. Feigelson. In May 1993, ABC announced it would not pick up Doorways. Speculation that Sliders was inspired by Doorways has been noted, with Martin clarifying that Tracy Tormé's agent inquired about a writing position, and Tormé denied any connection.
In other media
The first draft of the pilot script appeared in George R. R. Martin's 1200-page GRRM: A RRetrospective in 2003, republished in 2006 as Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective. On August 30, 2010, IDW Publishing announced a four-part comic adaptation. Editor Mariah Huehner described the parallel worlds, including a world with no oil, and called it a dark sci-fi/fantasy similar to The Twilight Zone. Martin noted that artist Stefano Martino had not seen the pilot, and the comic's visual representations were changed, allowing more creative freedom. Issue #1 was released in November 2010, and all four issues were collected as a hardcover in July 2011.
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