Atomic Robot News: The Andromeda Strain (2008)(A&E Mini-Series)

The Andromeda Strain (2008)(A&E Mini-Series)

Source: Electric Artists

A U.S. satellite falls to Earth in Piedmont, a small town in Utah. When civilians decide to open up the satellite a mysterious plague is unleashed that kills virtually everyone who comes into contact with it, often driving them into acts of mad violence before they die. As the army quarantines the area, a team of medical specialists is assembled to stop the spread of the pathogen, code-named “Andromeda.”

Three of the scientists gear up in biohazard suits and inspect the town. They discover two survivors – an unhealthy old man and a colicky infant – and take them, the satellite and samples of Andromeda to “Wildfire,” a secret underground lab designed for a crisis of this nature.

As the scientists race to decode and find what kills Andromeda, it continues to spread and mutate. A reporter sees a government conspiracy is afoot and investigates, only to discover that murderous forces want him silenced.

The Wildfire team theorizes that Andromeda may have been intentionally sent as part of an alien invasion force. They discover that a specific, rare bacterium can destroy Andromeda and rush to manufacture enough to stop the outbreak. Meanwhile, the reporter flees both the spreading plague and government assassins, and rescues a young woman in the process.

Just before the outbreak can become uncontainable, the bacteria is dropped into the infected zone and kills Andromeda, but a military attempt to save a sample leads to an outbreak within the underground lab. The team must race to stop a nuclear countdown designed as a last defense against a lab breach – a blast that could feed Andromeda and reignite the outbreak.

THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN is produced by Scott Free Productions and Traveler’s Rest Films in association with Universal Pictures for A&E Network. Executive producers are Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and David W. Zucker for Scott Free and Tom Thayer for Traveler’s Rest Films. Mikael Salomon is director and co-executive producer and the screenplay is written by Robert Schenkkan.

Based on the best-selling novel from Michael Crichton, the miniseries stars Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Ricky Schroder, Andre Braugher, Christa Miller, Daniel Dae Kim and Viola Davis.

The four-hour original A&E television event will premiere in High Definition on Monday, May 26 from 9-11 PM ET/PT and Tuesday, May 27 from 9-11 PM ET/PT.