''Island City'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dis ...

movie that was aired by

Prime Time Entertainment Network The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) was an American television network that was operated by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Domestic Television subsidiary of Time Warner and Chris-Craft Industries. Fir ...

in 1994. The film was produced by Lee Rich Productions in association with

Lorimar Television Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Televisi ...

. It is the last TV film to be produced by Lorimar after the company shut down in 1993. In the future, humanity develops a "fountain of youth" drug, but as many people around the world begin to take it, most begin to mutate into a barbaric proto-humanoid state. The few people immune to this side-effect of the drug band together and live in a futuristic city while the mutants live in the vast wasteland outside its gates. In an effort to save the human race and understand what went wrong, the city sends out research missions in fortified vehicles to bring back mutated humans for research, and to rescue healthy humans. The film focuses on one such squad of soldiers and scientists. During one of their missions into the wasteland, the team comes under attack and one of their own is captured by the mutants. The rest of the movie, which was meant to serve as an introductory episode of a series, deals with the main characters coping with the loss of their friend and organizing a search-and-rescue mission, while secondary characters allow the viewer to explore various facets of life in the city. The movie touches on many themes including genetic experimentation, virtual reality, and state-controlled marriages. Citizens of the city wear a colored crystal on their sternum based on the individual's genetic makeup, and can mate only with other citizens of the same color. Progeny resulting from people of two different colors would have the genetic mutation that, when combined with the "fountain of youth" drug, created the race of proto-humanoids. Another plot line focuses on the morality of a "fountain of youth" drug. One of the lead female roles is married to a man who did not take the drug because he believed it immoral. Her husband has aged normally into his 60s or 70s while his wife remains physically and visually in her mid 30s. The film features virtual reality goggles. The son of the missing soldier uses the goggles to study and do his history homework, and also to spend time fishing with his father. He also attempts to fulfill his sexual fantasies, but a parental block prevents his fantasy girl from removing her top. Due to low ratings and the high costs associated with producing a sci-fi television show, no other episodes were filmed.

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* {{IMDb title, id=0110163, title=Island City Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Prime Time Entertainment Network Television pilots not picked up as a series American science fiction television films 1994 television films 1994 films Television films as pilots Dystopian television American dystopian films 1990s American films