Genesis II Collection
by  David Miklosko


Recently I've had the good fortune to acquire several props and a costume from Genesis II, a movie which I've been a fan of since I first saw it back in the mid 1970's.  These items are a Genesis II script (named to Bill Theiss, the costume designer), two stims, one stim "handle", a PAX Primus medallion, and a Lyra-a hero costume.



 

The hero Lyra-a costume is made from heavy weight rough muslin which has been dyed a purple brown color. It is held closed at each shoulder by 3 wooden buttons which pass through loops. The cuffs and ankles both have draw strings. It has "Mariette #1" written on the inside of the collar, which indicates it's status as her primary PAX costumes seen on-screen. Unfortunately, the belt was not included.






The Primus medallion is a piece of hand-cut aluminum, 1/16" in thickness and approximately 2 3/4" in diameter (although the diameter varies). The aluminum 24" chain has a faux "rope" design on each link. The chain is held closed by a shepards hook. The PAX emblem appears to have been screened onto a piece aluminum tape which was then glued onto the aluminum disc. The PAX emblem has black boarders with a blue background. There are green leaves at the top and the Dove is colored red, white, and pink.




  

The stims appear to be background pieces used in the scene where Dylan Hunt finds the hiding place for the stims and there are about 30 of them laid out on a couple of tables. They are also the stims handed out to the slaves during the revolt. Both of my stims are of similar construction, each being approximately 12" in overall length with differences in the pain/pleasure dials. On one stim the dails are two metal rings, one gold the other silver. On the other stim, the ring is a single piece of plastic painted gold and silver. The rings on both stims are static. The handles are a plastic tube wrapped in aluminum tape which is open at the end. The interior "components" are a mixture of real electronic do-dads and some pieces of wood painted silver and red all of which is encased in a plexiglass tube.






The stim "handle" is the type that was used when the Tyranian leaders walked around holding them upright. It is made out of a hard foam, similar to dense styrofoam. It is partially covered in faux wood-grained contact paper. The balance of the stim handle is painted to resemble carved wood. There are decorations consisting of copper wire and colored cord which are wrapped around it. On one end is a horsehair plume.

On an related side note, a source in the prop collecting community recently passed along to me the following interesting information about the stim prop, ..."they made a total of about 40 of these, most of which the costume designer for the show (Bill Theiss) kept. When he passed away, two friends of mine helped his family sell off his belongings in auction and to private collectors like me. In the deal I got a number of costumes and props, including one of only two "working" stims. What I mean by "working" is they had the same kind of clear tip, but instead of a foil covered handle they where spring loaded into a aluminum tube, and when you released a little hook button it would pop out...and those wheels were made to turn. As for the working stim I sold it about 5 years ago along with the costumes for $6000.00".




The script, marked The Property of Warner Brothers Television, is dated October 1, 1972, and appears to be the first draft. It is a complete 89 page document that belonged to William Ware Theiss. His name, "Bill Theiss", is hand written in the upper right corner of the cover. The script contains several scenes and dialog that never made it to the screen.


Article and photos copyright  David Miklosko.  Used with permission.
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