Dylan Hunt
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Dylan Hunt is the common name of at least two fictional characters created by television producer Gene Roddenberry. The common denominator of these characters is that each is a human who, through some plot device involving phenomena or technology such as black holes or suspended animation, unwittingly moves forward in time by hundreds of years. Upon his awakening/arrival in the future, he learns that the civilization that produced him has fallen and been replaced by a new dark age (described by one of his incarnations as "the long night"). He then either begins or joins a crusade by a small force of explorer/adventurers to restore civilization.
Hunt's most recent, most famous, and most developed incarnation is in the television series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, in which he is the captain of the starship Andromeda Ascendant. In this series he is played by Kevin Sorbo.
The Andromeda incarnation of Dylan Hunt was born on the planet Tarn-Vedra. He is human, half genetically enhanced because his mother was a heavy-gravity worlder.
Dylan served two years as an enlisted man. He then attended the High Guard Academy and graduated with honors. He served in Argosy Special Ops and commanded the Crimson Eclipse.
Immediately prior to his command on the Andromeda, he was given a secret mission to extradite the dictator Ferrin from the planet Mobius so he could stand trial on Tarn-Vedra for war crimes. When he confronted Ferrin he was shot in the side and Ferrin was killed. The mission was still seen as a success by the High Guard and Dylan was given command of the Andromeda and his partner on the mission, Gaheris Rhade, was made his first officer.
He dated Sarah for several years and they were going to get married until Dylan was presumed dead or lost at the Battle of Hephaistos.
At the Battle of Hephaistos, Dylan was betrayed by his first officer and best man, Gaheris Rhade. His crew abandoned ship and he killed Rhade in self defense. The Andromeda was pulled near a black hole and experienced very extreme time dilation. While seconds passed for Dylan and the Andromeda, 303 years passed for the rest of the universe.
Dylan was rescued when the Eureka Maru attempted to salvage the Andromeda. He convinced the crew of the Maru to join him and help him restore the now fallen Systems Commonwealth.
Presently he has helped form a small Commonwealth, with about 50 member worlds.
Other Dylan Hunts
Two previous Gene Roddenberry projects also featured lead characters named Dylan Hunt. In the 1973 made-for-TV film Genesis II, Hunt is played by Alex Cord. In the 1974 TV movie Planet Earth (TV movie), which was largely (though not entirely) a remake of Genesis II, the role was played by John Saxon. The following year, in an intersting development, Saxon starred in a third project entitled Strange New World. Although this TV movie did not involve Roddenberry, and Saxon's character was not named Dylan Hunt, the movie shared the Hunt "time travel to dark age" premise of Genesis II and Planet Earth.