wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (01/30/85)
Question!!! Does anyone remember a short lived show on tv that featured a group of young people who were stranded on a HUGE, I mean HUGE!!! spaceship that was supposedly going someplace to colonize another galaxy? The ships control section had been wiped out by a meteor or somesuch. There were huge pods attached to the ship with each one containing a different ethnic or social group representing the different cultures of earth. The adventures of the main characters revolved around coming in contact with the different groups while they were trying to find the backup control section for the ship. Many of their stories were very well done. I just can't recall the name of the show. T. C. Wheeler
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (02/01/85)
> Question!!! Does anyone remember a short lived show on tv that > featured a group of young people who were stranded on a HUGE, I > mean HUGE!!! spaceship that was supposedly going someplace to > colonize another galaxy? The ships control section had been wiped > out by a meteor or somesuch. There were huge pods attached to the ship > with each one containing a different ethnic or social group representing > the different cultures of earth. The adventures of the main characters > revolved around coming in contact with the different groups while they > were trying to find the backup control section for the ship. Many > of their stories were very well done. I just can't recall the > name of the show. This is the STARLOST. A entirely botched show from an award winning screenplay by Harlan Ellison. Read "Pheonix Without Ashes" by Ed Bryant and Harlan Ellison, which is a novelization of the screenplay and "The Starcrossed" by Ben Bova, which is a spoof on the making of the TV show. I have a friend who has these on tape, I thought they were really good back when I was 12 and the show was first on, now they are really funny. -Ron May I be of assiatance. Space Senility, must be some sort of blithering vacuum.
benson@dcdwest.UUCP (Peter Benson) (02/02/85)
As I recall, the name of the program was Ark II. I recall the major
character being Keir Dullea, but I think that is wrong. One enduring
memory I have of that program was the computer interface. The computer
appeared to have stayed up even though the world tumbled down around
it. Terminals were distributed all over the 'Ark'. The interface was
a video of a beared man, saying over and over again, "May I help you?",
with strong emphasis on the "help". It was exactly the kind of
man-machine interface one might dream of.
--
_
Peter Benson | ITT Defense Communications Division
(619)578-3080 | 10060 Carroll Canyon Road
decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson | San Diego, CA 92131
ucbvax!sdcsvax!dcdwest!benson | muffy@lll-crg.ARPA (Muffy Barkocy) (02/02/85)
> Question!!! Does anyone remember a short lived show on tv that > featured a group of young people who were stranded on a HUGE, I > mean HUGE!!! spaceship that was supposedly going someplace to > colonize another galaxy? The ships control section had been wiped > out by a meteor or somesuch. There were huge pods attached to the ship > with each one containing a different ethnic or social group representing > the different cultures of earth. The adventures of the main characters > revolved around coming in contact with the different groups while they > were trying to find the backup control section for the ship. Many > of their stories were very well done. I just can't recall the > name of the show. > T. C. Wheeler **LAUGH** This sounds very much like "The Starlost," *except* for the part about the stories being very well done. (Remember, they were written by the inimitable Cordwainer Bird.) Actuallly, the *script* for the first episode, "Phoenix Without Ashes" was *quite* good, and won an award, in the *original* form, which was *not* the form it was broadcast in. Related to this, try the novelization of this, done by Edward Bryant from the original script by Harlan Ellison. At last year's Worldcon, someone asked Ed if the other two scripts were ever going to be novelized, but he didn't know. Another book on this subject is "The Starcrossed" by Ben Bova, a fictionalized account of what happened to this show. Muffy (Don't mind me, I'm just a voracious reader.)
jimc@haddock.UUCP (02/04/85)
If I remember correctly, the trio was composed of two men and a woman. I do not remember the name of the woman, but the males' names were Devin and Garth. Devin was the "intellectual" type, and Garth, who I believe was a carpenter, was the stronger, less cerebral type. Devin and the woman were in love, Garth was in love with the woman and betrothed to her by her parents. Devin and the woman left their "biosphere" (whose name was Cyprus Corners) to run away from her intended marriage, and Garth followed. One episode left a deep impact on me, and concerned their finding of a huge beehive and its keepers. I don't recall the premise of the episode, just that at one point, they opened the suit of one of the beekeepers and he was all bees inside. Yech! It wasn't very realistic looking, in terms of special effects, but the idea of it stayed with me for a long time. I also remember the first episode, when Devin strayed from Cyprus Corners for the first time after finding an old, forgotten doorway he uncovered while tending fields. He then found a computer terminal in the corridors beyond, one which simulated a human face and answered his questions. I, too, thought this show great when I was a kid, but thinking back on it suggests that it was a low-budget and often trite piece of work. JCCK
wb@hou4a.UUCP (W.Baumgartner) (02/04/85)
Several months ago I saw the movie that this series was based upon. It was on late night TV and portrayed how the main characters first discover that they are on a ship and not a planet (which is what they thought prior to their discovery). The movie starts with a group of people who resemble Quakers in appearance and beliefs. One of the characters falls in love with a woman who is to be married in a prearranged wedding. For his indiscretion he is marked for death. There is a power play between two of the "elders" who lead the group. One is in control and claims to hear the voice of the creator. The other is older and wiser and also knows the secret of how to open the door to the outside which is forbidden territory to everone. The charactor who is to be killed is helped by the wise elder and escapes through the door. Now he is outside his environment pod and and finds an information terminal which explains that this is a ship and he should go to the "control room". He returns to his pod with this information but no one believes his story, so he takes his loved one and goes back into the ship only to be followed by the man she has been promised to. After some fighting the three of them make up and go on to explore the rest of the ship. I believe the name of the movie was "The Beginning".
thoth@tellab2.UUCP (Marcus Hall) (02/07/85)
>Several months ago I saw the movie that this series was based upon. >It was on late night TV and portrayed how the main characters >first discover that they are on a ship and not a planet (which is >what they thought prior to their discovery). >... >I believe the name of the movie was "The Beginning". This was the first episode of The Starlost. In Atlanta last year I did see that some station was re-running this with the episodes spliced together into five 2-hour movies, perhaps this is what you saw. Incidently, the ship they were on was the Earth ship Ark, which was off course and would sometime crash into a star, but the command crew was dead so no one was aware of this. The show goes on as the three people (Deven, Rachael, and Garth) keep finding people who almost get around to getting the Ark back on course. This has been discussed here before? I know I remember it recently, perhaps it was in net.sf-lovers.? marcus hall ..!ihnp4!tellab1!tellab2!thoth