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story identification - Sci-fi/fantasy TV pilot from the 90s about a frontier doctor


I remember watching something on TV that seemed like it was the first episode of a TV series. It might have just been a pilot of something that got cancelled, or I guess it's also possible it was a miniseries or made-for-TV movie. I believe this was in the mid-90s, but definitely at some point in the 90s, when I saw it. I'm guessing that's also when it was made, because the production quality seemed decent to me at the time--nothing special, just didn't seem dated.


Anyway, there was a young doctor just arriving fresh for his first post, in some backwater or frontier planet or region--I remember some sort of contrast between his training and equipment and their (wooden?) housing. I think he was resentful about the post. It also turned out to be quite dangerous. The locals suffer periodic attacks from riders on horseback who emerge from some sort of rift--like a tear in space/time sort of portal. So there's some sort of sci-fi frontier medicine vibe going on. Finally, I also remember there was some surgery and/or combat scenes with a bit of blood. I was young and it was too much blood for me at the time, so I changed the channel and never managed to find this again...



Any ideas what this was?



Answer



I LOVED this show. It was White Dwarf. The dichotomy in technology (rustic setting with periodic pieces of high tech) is a common thing on frontier planets in science fiction.


The description from Wikipedia:



In the year 3040, New York medical student Driscoll Rampart (Neal McDonough) is completing his internship on Rusta, a rural planet which due to it being tidally locked to its primary, is divided into contrasting halves of day and night with the halves separated by a wall. The two sides are involved in a civil war: The day side containing a Victorian-styled colony is at odds with the night containing a medieval kingdom. The differences between the two cultures leaves Rampart in a state of wonder. Rampart arrives from Earth for a six-month stint at the Light Side clinic run by Dr. Akada (Paul Winfield). Rampart's ambition is to eventually set up a private practice in Manhattan on Park Avenue.



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