Prey (American TV series)
Prey | |
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Created by | William Schmidt |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
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Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | January 15 July 9, 1998 | –
Prey is an American
Premise
The series follows Dr. Sloan Parker (Debra Messing), an
Sloan shares Dr. Coulter's discovery with fellow scientists, law-enforcement personnel, and a few others, and soon comes to realize that the new species is on the verge of supplanting humankind in the same way that
Meanwhile, as the escaped killer cuts a murderous swath through California, Sloan makes the acquaintance of Tom Daniels (Adam Storke), a federal agent determined to capture him. Tom is eventually revealed to be a member of the new species himself, and describes them as "hunting" human beings the same way humans hunt deer and other animals, hence the show's title. Daniels leads Sloan and others to a well-hidden cave, in which is found a rather large pile of the personal effects—such as wallets, eyeglasses, shoes, belts—of a great many people. Daniels advises that these trophy hoards are used as status displays among his kind, and further advises that he wanted the investigators to know "exactly what you're dealing with". Serial killers often collect trophies of their kills, and the new species does the same.
Upon learning that the new species can breed with humanity, but due to their dominant genetic traits, the children of such a pairing are always the new species, they are given the name Homo dominant.
Traits of Homo dominant
This section possibly contains original research. (September 2017) |
Dominants (Homo dominant) are 1.6% different from normal humans (H. sapiens).
Dominants are stronger, more intelligent, and more aggressive than H. sapiens, and are convinced that as a superior form of life, they are entitled to subjugate their human relatives by whatever means necessary. They often express an antipathy toward human beings that borders on racism. Their aggression towards H. sapiens is portrayed as an instinctive genetic characteristic, present even in young children, for the purpose of their own survival as a species, though this could have been a skewed conclusion, as most of the early genetic information was drawn from the criminal population (those genetic samples being readily available).
Dominants also possess various psychic traits, including the ability to cloud the minds of others, sense other members of their own species telepathically, see 10 seconds into the future, and sense emotions empathically. The show does not make clear that these are actually extrasensory perception, but Sloan and other investigators are advised that Dominants are definitely aware of others who are quite nearby, and use this ability to co-ordinate group actions such as paramilitary operations or simple hunting of humans as sport.
The Dominants are able to exist comfortably in much warmer climates than humans, barely perspiring even in
Sloan speculates at one point, as many as 200,000 members of the new species may exist. Their point of origin is revealed to be a deserted village in
Some groups of humans are aware of the Dominants and collaborate with them. Similarly, some groups of Dominants wish to co-exist peacefully with humans. Technologically, the Dominants use genetic engineering in an attempt to "convert" humans into members of their own species. They also make use of cloning and nanotechnology.
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
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0 | "Hungry for Survival" | Tobe Hooper | William Schmidt | Unaired pilot |
1 | "Existence" | Peter O'Fallon | William Schmidt | January 15, 1998 |
2 | "Discovery" | Dan Lerner | Story by : Charlie Craig & Jeremy R. Littman Teleplay by : Chris Levinson | January 22, 1998 |
3 | "Pursuit" | Stephen Cragg | Laurence Andries | January 29, 1998 |
4 | "Origins" | Bill Corcoran | Donald Marcus | February 5, 1998 |
5 | "Revelations" | Jim Charleston | Laurence Andries & Chris Levinson | February 19, 1998 |
6 | "Infiltration" | Winrich Kolbe | Charlie Craig & Jeremy R. Littman | March 5, 1998 |
7 | "Transformations" | James A. Contner | Donald Marcus | March 12, 1998 |
8 | "Veil" | Martha Mitchell | Charlie Craig & Jeremy R. Littman | March 19, 1998 |
9 | "Collaboration" | Ian Toynton | Laurence Andries & Chris Levinson | June 11, 1998 |
10 | "Sleeper" | Vern Gillum | Donald Marcus | June 18, 1998 |
11 | "Vengeance" | Bill Corcoran | Laurence Andries | June 25, 1998 |
12 | "Progeny" | Terrence O'Hara | Story by : James Halpern Teleplay by : Donald Marcus | July 2, 1998 |
13 | "Deliverance: Part 1" | Bill Corcoran | Charlie Craig & Jeremy R. Littman | July 9, 1998 |