The only reason this pseudo-scientific effort has nothing but positive reviews and almost 7 points (so far...) is that no one seems to bother to (re)view this low-brow attempt at Science Fiction. It's typical Roddenberry - he rehashes a mishmash of seemingly scientific ideas by bringing it all down to the level of an illiterate audience or an audience of kids. Alright, there may be a huge market for brainfree entertainment but it just doesn't deserve the rating it is getting here. It would if this was a forum for Trekkies, people believing in Ufos etc. But this is a site where Monty Python movies get (only) around 8 stars but mentioning them would be like comparing apples (Python) and trash (this). The only question this mess leaves unanswered is: why even review it? I guess some things have to be done in defense of better movies. I'd just like to point out Foxworth's portrayal of a "robot": It's dreadful.

I'm wondering why this movie has never been released on DVD or VHS! This is one of the most fantastic concepts of the late, great Gene Roddenberry and would still play well today - more than 30 years later. I wish there was some kind of movement to get it released, as I would really love to add it to my collection of sci-fi movies. If you get a chance to ever see this movie and you like science fiction, don't miss it! Roddenberry is a master of the future-possible. He resisted the temptation that so many sci-fi writers fall prey to - the temptation to paint a dark and horrible future for mankind. Roddenberry believed in the future of humanity. You can see this in the uplifting spirit of his creations. Everyone immediately thinks of Star Trek when they think of Roddenberry, but he had a vast quantity of other great work - and The Questor Tapes was as good as any of them. So a word of advise - if you are looking for Science Fiction, but you want entertainment that is also positive in its approach to the future (as well as thought-provoking), then get your hands on anything Gene Roddenberry put his name on - you won't be disappointed. And as I said, The Questor Tapes is an example of one of his best works. I fear it is in danger of being completely forgotten. That would be a crime.

IMHO this is one of the best sci-fi TV movies ever. For once they gave Roddenberry some money and it shows up on the screen, particularly in the stirring climax which still works today. The plot is witty and features a few nice surprises. The performances are uniformly solid. In particular, Robert Foxworthy brings surprising warmth and depth to what was obviously the prototype to the DATA character from STTNG; it is probably the best acting job Foxworthy ever did, which is doubly impressive since he is supposed to be playing an emotionless android. In fact, he slips in plenty of emotion, but the insertions are subtle and well-handled. Mike Farrell (right before his own far more lengthy and lucrative insertion in MASH) is also at the top of his game as the humanistic scientist and guide for Questor. John Vernon, fresh off all those venomous villain roles from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, is reliably intimidating as the aggressive (but ultimately conscientious) antagonist.Why does QUESTOR still resonate thirty years later? Frankly, because all of the questions about what makes man unique are only more relevant today with the advent of cloning and super microchips which make today's computers even more intelligent and capable than the fiction Roddenberry envisioned back in '73. Most of the things forecast in QUESTOR have come to pass from the creation of the internet to the polarization of the class system and symbiosis of the world economy. Man will always question his place / role in the universe and QUESTOR gets to that issue of self-awareness and "what is my purpose" as productively and entertainingly as any other sci-fi offering I can think of. It's also thought-provoking and while it momentarily lurches toward preaching at the end, somehow it all comes out just right.So why didn't it make it to series? My hunch is that since ABC had already added THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN on their fall schedule the feeling was that QUESTOR was too similar (or "too cerebral," which was the reason the original Star Trek pilot didn't fly.) The truth is, it probably would have been difficult to maintain the quality of the pilot given the limited format. However, it would have been an interesting try and I think it would have probably been more insightful than THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. 9/10

This is one of my favorite films of all times.An android is assembled from the instructions left behind by its designer. The team assembling it is made up of his assistant and a group of other cybernetics experts. The technology is highly advanced and no one is greatly surprised when the android fails to "activate" - just disappointed.Later on in the film more comes out about the origins of the android and its "purpose" as defined by its creator. The conflict of the film is between man and machine, and man versus man. Perhaps the standard motivations apply. There is a very large-scale allegory as a backdrop to the main story that is eventually revealed. The android and its creator are not all that they seem. They are more than they appear to be.The assistant is loyal, dutiful, and moral. Almost all the other people are not.There is plenty of action as the assistant and his eventual partner struggle to do the right thing, and just survive.There is nothing camp about the film and it is in no way a spoof of anything. It does have a lot of futuristic technology, at least in the lab. Pretty much what we would expect of the 21st century. Except maybe for magnetic "computer tapes": too old-fashioned today! They are already becoming an anachronism.If you liked any of these films you will probably also like this one: Westworld, Futureworld, The Stepford Wives, or The Terminator - then you will probably like this one.