Welcome back to our bi-weekly series on Gene Roddenberry’s work between Star Trek incarnations. Last time we looked at a boy and his robot in The Questor Tapes. This time we return to the land of the PAX in Planet Earth.

A large chunk of Star Trek’s mythology revolves around NBC’s “unprecedented” willingness to order a second pilot after Gene Roddenberry’s first attempt didn’t quite work for them. In reality, it was pretty common at the time for networks to order a reworked second pilot, usually because they liked the concept but not the casting. The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gilligan’s Island and The Munsters (which was originally in color) are just a few examples. But no one can doubt that Roddenberry was the king of second (and third, and forth, and fifth) chances. After Genesis II was passed on by CBS, ABC was willing to give the idea another shot on their dime. The outcome was Planet Earth (not to be confused with the BBC documentary series), a completely retooled and recast version of the adventures of 20th Century scientist, Dylan Hunt, in a post-apocalyptic future.

Aired a little over a year after Genesis II, Planet Earth hit TV screens in April of 1974. Most critics felt it was the better of the two efforts, comparing John Saxon’s interpretation of Hunt favorably to Captain Kirk and praising its improved pacing. While Genesis II was not as well paced as its sequel and more than a bit corny, there’s a lot I prefer about it. I like Alex Cord’s Dylan Hunt better, for one. Saxon’s Hunt is more Kirk like, upstanding, in command, and willing to throw a punch, but that’s only good if you’re interested in more of the same. I never looked at Genesis II as a stealthy method for bringing back Star Trek. I liked it as its own property.

The PAX, a pacifistic group of NASA descendants, now live above ground in what’s allegedly Albuquerque, New Mexico, but is really UC Irvine’s Langson Library and Murray Krieger Hall. Funny enough, the Planet of the Apes series, which CBS picked up instead of Genesis II, would shoot on this same location this very same year.

The PAX are more like the Federation than ever before, actively sending out teams of explorers in slick, streamlined uniforms. Their technology is more advanced, with intricate medical procedures, tricorder-like devices, and planet-spanning communicators worn on the breast like they would later be on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Hunt even delivers a kind of “captain’s log” at the beginning of the film right after the opening narration. A narrator and a captain’s log? Did I say this film was better paced than Genesis II? I may have to rethink that.

It’s no surprise that the new PAX jumpsuits look and perform like the first and second season Next Generation ones as they were both designed by William Ware Theiss, who created the original Star Trek uniforms as well as the revealing speedo-togas in Genesis II. According to Theiss, the same lime green material that appeared to be mustard yellow on the Original Series command tops was used for the PAX outfits. Depending on the film stock and lighting the PAX uniforms do indeed turn yellow in certain shots as well as in some promotional materials.