broehl@wateng.UUCP (Bernie Roehl) (02/12/85)
Yes, the series was indeed called "The Starlost". The premise, characters
and so forth were developed by Harlan Ellison, who also wrote the pilot.
However, he was unimpressed with the production values (shooting on videotape
was a good way to cut costs, but chromakey always looks a little "cheap" in
that context). The directing was also not the best, nor were the subsequent
scripts (those not written by Ellison).
As a result, Ellison demanded that his name not appear in the credits for the
show, and offered a pseudonym. The production company accepted, which is why
you won't find Ellison's name anywhere on the finished product.
(It's worth noting that Ellison chooses pseudonyms which reflect his feelings
about the project he's working on; for Starlost, he chose to use "Cordwainer
Bird").
Devon was being persecuted for believing there were worlds ouside the biosphere
(Cyprus Corners, a deeply religious (Amish?) community) in which he lived. He
escaped, and took Rachel with him. Rachel went willingly, even though she was
scheduled to marry Garth (the blacksmith). Garth went after them, and before
long the three of them were roaming through a different biosphere each week,
encountering different cultures and getting into all kinds of trouble. There
were "jump tubes" that bounced them from one such sphere to the next, and yes,
there were computer terminals with a videotape of a bearded gentleman answering
their questions. (Just for the record, what he said was, "May I be of...
assistance?").
The main threads running through the series were the need to repair the Ark and
get it back on course before it collided with a star, and the ongoing romantic
triangle of Devon, Rachel and Garth.
All in all, not a great series (despite the very good premise). If they'd
had more money to spend on it, they should have (1) hired better writers,
(2) hired better directors, and (3) invested some money in special effects.
(3) is not all that important; look at Dr. Who for an example of good sf done
on a budget.
--Bernie Roehl
--
-Bernie Roehl (University of Waterloo)
...decvax!watmath!wateng!broehl