The Starlost - original TV opening

[humbug696969ify]

I wouldn't have trusted those 'beancounters' to run a hotdog stand let alone produce a t.v. series Wierd Archives. I use to watch this show as a kid. Memories... very nice clip.

[WeirdArchives]

The series was a great idea, but the whole thing was handled by fools and beancounters who had no business running a gas station let alone a television series. In some ways, THE STARLOST helped make BABYLON 5 what it is today. Perhaps the original show was a bit too ahead of the technology at hand and the attitudes of the time. If THE STARLOST was done around the 90's, it might've survived. Course, it's just speculation.

[DoctorJK3]

The individual stories may have been basically adequate however the overall quality of the shows and continuity especailly seemed to lack a LOT of common sense. The Ark was on a collision course to a star yet Farthing was able to adjust and control its trajectory anyway to study a comet; Ark Police exist and yet no one could figure out where any back up controls were or even take over ship operations; that sort of nonsense. Humanity deserved to be destroyed in that case.

[23Prospero37]

Can I be of assistance?

[cqtaylor]

My mustache powers will save the Star Lost!!!

[bukster1]

This has never screened in New Zealand. It might have been fun to watch when I was a kid.

[ShellTrek]

Unlike the other Sci-Fi's: This Series never really gave a Year-to-Date! ex.: 1999's Moon Base Alpha & Star Trek's Khan's 20th. Century War that never happened, etc.!

This leaves Movie Producers a window-of-oportunity to create a movie/series about just such of a scenerio! "Why aren't they jumping on it?

[draysonvideo]

gotta love the space mustaches!

[fatalfuss]

you can listen to the orchestral version of this theme ,just google

score production demos and click the #26 song starlost aka time race

[uur2]

I've been looking for this forever Thnx for posting it

[RaysRoost]

The series got so bad that Ellison wanted his name off the credits

[robinvan1983]

I just finished the series. The first 7 episodes i could manage but then it just went down hill. Apparently pilots/Medical/police/and science crew from the ark.. where too busy doing their own stuff to even care about the ark heading for total destruction. so they just gave no help while the 3 simpletons just never wanted to bother them about the impending doom with whomever they met

[gurlsingerfan]

It took me forever to find this show on Youtube! I agree with Scifimaster92 that the premise was very good. The possibilities were there, but the show had a low budget, poor acting and very inconsistant script writing. If it were to be redone, something more along the lines of "Lost" would be do-able, and it could be made into an interesting show with provactive ideas, each dome its own world, clash of cultures, diferent cultures sort of thing...it could be done. Elison's ideas are good.

[jericho4004]

Wow, I do not remember this. What year did this come out?

[FlametopFred]

I think each episode could have been edited down to a nice half-hour. They were just too long.  But the early use of video technology is interesting. Green screen (blue?)

[VinnyMonster1]

Saw one episode, that was much more than enough!

[Sparrowhawk1161]

Oh loved this as a kid...no one remebers it!

[dynagravitomagnetic]

nice model

[repairmanjackX]

Man... look all those mustaches...

[amandanuchols]

"The screenplay for his projected television series The Starlost was also given a Writers Guild Award, though the actual series, produced in 1973-74, was so altered by the producers that Ellison had his name removed from the credits and replaced with the pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird"" - Re: Harlan Ellison and The Starlost (Wikipedia)

[DevSodDribble]

I was born in January, 1974, and this was the show my parents chose my name from. Having finally seen it, all I can say is 'Thank God for CGI.'

[Manwithjeep]

@DevSodDribble Your name is Starlost? Bummer dude!

[DevSodDribble]

@Manwithjeep Er, no. My parents weren't hippies, nor did they smoke pot. 

[skiandgolfer]

'Suck?' Oh, how I loath that predicate. I rather enjoyed the script. For example, "Can you make a course correction? There is no one in command and the Arc is drifting."

[Scifimaster92]

I think that the premise of the series actually sounds quite interesting. I think it could've had a lot of potential, but there were just so many production problems right from the start.

Either way, I really think that someone should redo the series, and hopefully give it a chance to start again with a story closer to Harlan Ellison's original concept. Who knows? It just might work.

[takingdaggers]

@Scifimaster92 I'd never heard of The star lost, even though I'm somewhat of a fan of Harlan Ellison (I guess he disowned the series) But I found this after watching "Ark" on hulu, which consists of 9 3 minute "webisodes" - very well done though. I hope someone picks it up, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

[Scifimaster92]

@takingdaggers Ellison did disown the series, in case you were wondering. Apparently he was so frustrated by the rewrites, budget cuts, dumbing-down of the scripts, and other problems that he invoked a clause in his contract to force the producers to use the pseudonym of "Cordwainer Bird", in order to express his dissatisfaction with the finished product.

[takingdaggers]

@Scifimaster92 I don't blame him. I've tried watching some clips of the show, but I just gotta say: horrible, just horrible

[Scifimaster92]

@takingdaggers Well, the state of the finished product was somewhat inevitable, given that every concievable kind of problem plagued production including a VFX camera system (called MagiCam) that didn't work, the intended network (namely Fox) rejecting the series, inexperienced writers, budget cuts, lack of studio space, and several members of the production team (in addition to Ellison) quitting the series.

[Scifimaster92]

@Scifimaster92 Don't take that the wrong way, though. I personally don't think that "The Starlost" was a bad series. Rather, I think it was just a victim of extremely bad luck. Furthermore, as unsuccessful as the result was, I think the series deserves at least some credit as one of the first truly ambitious attempts to create a scripted television series (moreover, a sci-fi series) within the financial constraints that have often plagued Canadian television production.

[50zcarsman]

Caught the first ep of this series on YT and could not get past about Minute 6. Horrible, plodding, verbose, expository script. My understanding is that the near-zero effects budget made the rest equally unwatchable. Ellison's genius was quashed by the Canadian network suits (which sounds like a punch-line all its own).

[avatar105]

Excuse me if this has already been posted. I too am sorry that Cypress Corners channel has died off. However I wanted to see the episodes again and searched for them. I am currently watching Episode 3 on Veoh. It looks like they are the ones compilled by Cypress Corners. I hope you all find them like I have. Enjoy

[jts001]

vividly remember watching this crazy show back in the '70s

like being on drugs without taking drugs

[alev666]

Ohh, mi vieja serie de TV, por fin la encontre, dure buscándola por muchos años, casi 30, no la encontraba porque estaba buscando como el Arca Espacial, pues asi se llamaba en español, gracias a Yahoo respuestas pude encontrar el título en ingles...

[Maximal32nd]

R.I.P. CyprusCorners's Channel

[dannyh7119]

The movie "Pandorum (2009)" has a very similar story.

[Novaboing]

I live in Canada, born in 1962. As a kid in the 70's, this was a HUGE part of our Friday nights! We watched "Truth or Consequences", "Beat Clock", "Starlost", then "The FBI", then it was bed time.

On Sunday, bedtime was when the logs rolled at then end of "The Beachcombers".

Good Night.

[raincoaster]

@Novaboing My god, are you INSIDE MY HEAD??? That was my entire childhood.

[Novaboing]

@raincoaster Hey! Life before cable! I see different people are saying do a modern series. That could be good, if the same Canadian group that did "The Outer Limits" was involved.

Another Canadian sci-fi movie, which reminds me in a small way of Starlost is "Cube". I won't ruin it for anyone, but I found it had a fantastic atmosphere. It's available.

[cyphrinfinity]

@Novaboing same here b same yr as you. I can't remember what night it was on in my area, but i always loved this show. Star Trek was on Friday at 7; then they changed it to Sat 11 am. Yes I remember Truth or Consequences also - great game show wish it was on now! And beat the clock, yes! The Beachcombers, the Waltons, The Carol Burnett Show, and others I also enjoyed! What memories, eh? lol.

[adric137]

great show, very unique even for sci fi!

[Pinballpete007]

This series should go down as a "Cult Classic" for the 70s.

I watched it in the mid 70s and I still think today it was a terrific series ! !

[Manwithjeep]

3 guesses who copied the title font?

I think I was about 8 when it aired. I'd curl up to watch it with a bag of hostess chips and a 'pop shop' pop. Great days!

[WhiteArmy1918]

I saw the entire series from Netfix recently,it was good,they should remake it today,I wish there really was a ship like the one showed in the series,they could take away all the homeless people and send them up into space where they could all have a home.

[stilleavy]

yeah, Canadian sci-fi, gotta love the cheese

[babystinky]

every once in a while i think of this show and want to throw myself out my window!! lol. i couldn't stand it.

[Holdfast]

Was it ever broadcast outside of Canada?

[TheRetiredtrucker]

@Holdfast Ya was on some american stations,,,,not the networks tho

[Tiberiusduck]

"The Starlost" is now available on DVD.

[TVwriter23]

I think CGI is cool and all, but models are still the best.

[pedrocaldeirasantos]

did they ever reach the controls???????

[skinhead5]

It's been so long ago I don't remember.

[Laceykat66]

No,

the show was canceled before any real progress was made in that direction.

With today's technology they could make a good version of this show with a reasonable budget.

I wish they would think about it.

[azdalin2000]

ark 2

[carleu]

I really liked to watch this series when I as young! Great

[markvs1]

Thanks for posting this. Every once in a while I'll think about this show and wonder what happened to it. I remember seeing it when it was originally aired and I thought it was a fascinating premise. Douglas Trumbull was the producer too...cool.

[witchman67]

In one of Harlan Ellison's books, I think it is "Strange Wine," he details the misadventures he had trying to write for this show.

[Timmybear]

I remember this show. Keir Dullea was a fox (I suppose I'll have to toss this in to my 'early 70s crushes' file...).

[CaptainRamart]

Years ago, Universal Studios California had an outside theatre where stars would speak to tour visitors. I happened to be visiting the day that Walter Koenig was there. It was the summer of 1979 and he had just finished making the Star Trek movie. After his talk, he signed autographs & took pictures with fans. I took this opportunity to ask him about The Starlost. He said that it wasn't very good show. I could tell that he was not comfortable talking about it, so I left it at that.

[cyphrinfinity]

@CaptainRamart guess you're glad to be rid of "Charlie" eh? (couldn't resist lol!)

[evilmike12]

The idea behind the show was sound....but oh god did the scripts suck.

[orijantan]

Wow....this was so cool when I was 7. I sure hope someone will come in and redo the whole story just like Battlestar Galactica or having new generations like Star Trek...man..

[brilliant61]

Umm, Harlan Ellison *hated* this show. The name "Cordwainer Bird" was a pen name, and he used that in protest over what was done to his idea. The novelization is called "Phoenix Without Ashes", and Ellison has a long rant at the beginning about the show. I enjoyed it, though...

[CaptGage]

Oh yeah. Pheonix is a very good book, but I recall a few eps of this show.

[airjamin8tor]

No F-n Way!! I remember this show! (showin age) it was awesome back in the day.

Thanks for the flashback

[jsiloman]

Please post more episodes!!

[david10006]

jeez..i guess bitchin' sideburns really are gonna come back in style in the future!

[bobgee1999]

Cordwainer Bird was a very talented writer who just never got his shot at the big time. I think he also wrote that movie, "The Oscar."

[simontam777]

Yeah, I believed he worked with harlan ellison several times.

[bobgee1999]

;) Yes indeedy.

[Polaris912b]

This is the theme I have on audio tape from when it first aired. I never thought I'd see it again. Good stuff!

[grandlizard]

I loved this show as a kid of 10 or so. I got ten episodes from ebay for like 45 bucks and got the other six for 10 from a dude who had taped them. Some people will say what a waste but I'll tell you, after I watched them over, yes they were cheese but the coolness was still there. I still throw one in the odd time and watch it. If you were into it like some people have posted, you would gladly watch them again just to re-live your childhood fondness of them.

[iamnewfie1]

i remember this show...it was ok it was scifi for a kid ...

[the60sKid]

This was the later opening. The original one is on YouTube too.

[geotman563]

I thought I was the only person in existance to rememer this show--awsome!!!

[Cindylover1969]

Harlan Ellison just put you all on his hate list. :)

[CrazyIvanova]

I had the chance to see this episode a few months ago. First time in decades and was not quite as "slick" as I remember. But then I was only eight or nine at the time. I was probably a lot more easily impressed back then :)

[VirtualVikki]

I sure wish this was out on commercial DVD!

[DevSodDribble]

My name is Devon. I was born in '74. My parents liked this show. Just thought I'd throw that out there. ;)

[straker2]

I loved this show as a kid and would dearly love to see more of it now. Thanks for this rare taste of a largely forgotten SF show.

[CrazyIvanova]

I remember this show