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The Starlost (TV Series 1973)
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:23 pm    Post subject: The Starlost (TV Series 1973) Reply with quote



This 1973 TV series was filmed in Canada by CTV.

Starring Kier Dulliea from 2001:ASO and with special effects by Doug Trumbell also from 2001 and SILENT RUNNING with writing by Harlen Ellison this should have been a winner.

Unfortunately this was a big bust! The sets, writing and acting was abysmal! Exactly why is difficult to say because it failed in so many ways. Fiddling by the network is my guess.

But I have one recollection from this show.
In '73 an associate of mine was personal friends with Trek alumni Walter Koenig. Walter was going to tape a guest appearance on the show being done in Toronto so he invited me to go up there to have lunch with Walter and visit the studio.

The sets were very colorful, but looked very cramped. I also got to meet Kier and found him a very friendly, open guy.

The series reminds me of the late Troughton early Tom Baker DOCTOR WHO in it's style and production.

In any regard....Here is what Wikopedia has to say :

The Starlost

The Starlost is a Canadian-produced science fiction television series created by writer Harlan Ellison and broadcast in 1973 on CTV in Canada and syndicated to local stations in the United States. The show's setting is a huge generational colony spacecraft called Earthship Ark, which has gone off course.

Many of the descendants of the original crew and colonists are unaware, however, that they are aboard a ship. The series experienced a number of production difficulties, and Ellison broke with the project before the airing of its first episode.

Premise

Foreseeing the destruction of the Earth, humanity builds a multi-generational starship called Earthship Ark, 50 miles (80 km) wide and 200 miles (320 km) long. The ship contains dozens of biospheres, each kilometres across and housing people of different cultures; their goal is to find and seed a new world of a distant star.

In 2385, more than one hundred years into the voyage, an unexplained accident occurs, and the ship goes into emergency mode, whereby each biosphere is sealed off from the others.

In 2790, four hundred and five years after the accident, Devon (Keir Dullea) a resident of Cypress Corners, a conservative agrarian community with a culture resembling that of the Amish, discovers that his world is far larger and more mysterious than he had realized.

Considered an outcast because of his questioning of the way things are, especially his refusal to accept the arranged marriage of his love Rachel (Gay Rowan) to his friend Garth (Robin Ward), Devon finds the Cypress Corners elders have been deliberately manipulating the local computer terminal, which they call "The Voice of The Creator".

The congregation pursues Devon for attacking the elders and stealing a computer cassette on which they have recorded their orders, and its leaders plot to execute him, but the elderly Abraham, who also questions the elders, gives Devon a key to a dark, mysterious doorway, which Abraham himself is afraid to enter. The frightened Devon escapes into the service areas of the ship and accesses a computer data station that explains the nature and purpose of the Ark and hints at its problems.

When Devon returns to Cypress Corners to tell his community what he has learned, he is put on trial for heresy and condemned to death by stoning. Escaping on the night before his execution with the aid of Garth, Devon convinces Rachel to come with him, and Garth pursues them. When Rachel refuses to return with Garth, he joins her and Devon. Eventually they make their way to the ship's bridge, containing the skeletal remains of its crew. It is badly damaged and its control systems are inoperative. The three discover that the Ark is on a collision course with a Class G star similar to the Sun, and realize that the only way to save The Ark and its passengers is to find the backup bridge and reactivate the navigation and propulsion systems. Occasionally, they are aided by the ship's partially functioning computer system.

20th Century Fox was involved in the project with Douglas Trumbull as executive producer. Science fiction writer and editor Ben Bova was brought in as science advisor.

Development and production

Harlan Ellison was approached by Robert Kline, a 20th Century Fox television producer, to come up with an idea for a science fiction TV series consisting of eight episodes, to pitch to the BBC as a co-production in February 1973. The BBC rejected the idea. Unable to sell The Starlost for prime time, Kline decided to pursue a low budget approach and produce it for syndication.

By May, Kline had sold the idea to 48 NBC stations and the Canadian CTV network.

To get Canadian government subsidies the production was shot in Canada and Canadian writers produced the scripts from story outlines by Ellison

Before Ellison could begin work on the show's production bible, a writers' strike began, running from March 6 to June 24 Kline negotiated an exception with the Writer's Guild, on the grounds that the production was wholly Canadian — and Ellison went to work on a bible for the series

Originally, the show was to be filmed with a special effects camera system developed by Doug Trumbull called Magicam.

The system comprised two cameras whose motion was servo controlled. One camera would film actors against a blue screen, while the other would shoot a model background. The motion of both cameras was synchronized and scaled appropriately, allowing both the camera and the actors to move through model sets. The technology did not work reliably. In the end, simple blue screen effects were used, forcing static camera shots

The failure of the Magicam system was a major blow — as the Canadian studio space that had been rented was too small to build the required sets. In the end, partial sets were built, but the lack of space hampered production

As the filming went on, Ellison grew disenchanted with the budget cuts, details that were changed, and what he characterized as a progressive dumbing down of the story. Ellison's dissatisfaction extended to the new title of the pilot episode; he had titled it "Phoenix Without Ashes" but it was changed to "Voyage of Discovery".

Before the production of the pilot episode was completed, Ellison invoked a clause in his contract to force the producers to use his alternative registered writer's name of "Cordwainer Bird" on the end credits.
Sixteen episodes were made. Fox decided not to pick up the options for the remainder of the series.

Reception and impact

On March 31, 1974, Ellison received a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay for the original script (the pilot script as originally written, not the version that was filmed). A novelization of this script by Edward Bryant, Phoenix Without Ashes, was published in 1975; this contained a lengthy foreword by Ellison describing what had gone on in production. In 2010 the novel was adapted in comic book form by IDW Publishing.

Bova, in an editorial in Analog Science Fiction (June 1974) and in interviews in fanzines, made it clear how disgruntled he had been as science adviser. In 1975, he published a novel entitled The Starcrossed, depicting a scientist taken on as a science adviser for a terrible science fiction series.

The Starlost has generally received a negative reception from historians of science fiction television: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction described The Starlost as "dire",[4] while The Best of Science Fiction TV included The Starlost in its list of the "Worst Science Fiction Shows of All Time" (along with Lost in Space, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Manimal).
Episodes

Episode Title Synopsis

1 "The Beginning" a.k.a. "Voyage of Discovery" Devon discovers his people live on a huge spacecraft, and is sentenced to death for heresy when he states this. He escapes, and his betrothed Rachel and friend Garth follow him on his journey

2 "Lazarus from the Mist" While Garth is held by "cavemen" descendants of the service crew, Devon and Rachel awaken one of the ship's engineers from suspended animation to help repair the Ark

3 "The Goddess Calabra" The trio visit a biosphere populated only by men, whose governor desires to marry Rachel, who resembles a goddess worshipped in the community

4 "The Pisces" (also titled "The Return") An exploratory vessel returns after a ten-year journey, but due to time dilation, four hundred years have passed since its departure.

5 "Children of Methuselah" Thinking they've found the backup bridge of the Ark, they discover a module occupied by children who believe they've been piloting the Ark since it left Earth

6 "And Only Man Is Vile" A scientist intent on breeding a hardier race of humans tries to prove man is too selfish

7 "Circuit of Death" A disillusioned man triggers the self-destruction of the Ark but intends to escape; he and Devon must undergo miniaturization to stop the detonation

8 "Gallery of Fear" A computer desires to become autonomous and tricks the trio into completing its programming

9 "Mr. Smith of Manchester" The trio find their way past a mysterious high-security biosphere entrance and discover a distrusting, power-mad ruler who tries to assure them of his peaceful intents while he pollutes his city to produce armaments

10 "The Alien Oro" An alien sent on a reconnaissance mission has crashed into the Ark and is now harvesting parts to repair his ship to return home; Garth falls for a woman who must leave with Oro in order to survive

11 "Astro-Medics" After Devon is injured by radiation, a medical ship that orbits the Ark comes to his aid, but the doctor who can help him is too intrigued by the possibility of helping aliens who've signaled for help

12 "The Implant People" The trio visit a biosphere where a despotic servant to the leader terrorizes the population with pain produced from mandatory implants.

13 "The Return of Oro" Oro returns... as commander of Earthship Ark. He tells the trio and their temporary companion that his home world can support the people from Earth, but Devon discovers otherwise when a robot is asked the correct questions.

14 "Farthing's Comet" A scientist alters the Ark's course to pass through a comet's tail so he can study it; Devon must make an EVA to rewire a panel so the service reactors can be fired again; cometary debris damages the biospheres.

15 "The Beehive" The trio visit a science installation where a scientist has bred giant mutant bees.

16 "Space Precinct" Garth decides to return to Cypress Corners, but he is recruited into the inter-ark police force by an officer intending to take a flight to assist in resolving an interplanetary conflict.

According to "Starlog Photo Guidebook TV Episode Guides Volume 1" (1981), there are two other episodes: "God That Died" and "People In The Dark". It is not known if these are two unaired episodes, unfinished episodes, or scripts that never got filmed.

Episodes of the original series were rebroadcast in 1978 and further in 1982. A number of episodes were also edited together to create movie-length installments that were sold to cable television broadcasters in the late 1980s.

Movie Episodes

The Starlost: The Beginning "Voyage of Discovery" and "The Goddess Calabra"

The Starlost: The Return "The Pisces" and "Farthing's Comet"

The Starlost: Deception "Mr. Smith of Manchester" and "Gallery of Fear"

The Starlost: The Alien Oro "The Alien Oro" and "The Return of Oro"

The Starlost: The Invasion "Astro-Medics" and "The Implant People"

Commercial releases

All 16 episodes were at one time available in a VHS boxed set.

The first DVD release was limited to the five feature-length edited versions.

In September/October 2008, the full series was released on DVD by VCI Entertainment. Aside from the digitally remastered episodes, a "presentation reel" created for potential broadcasters is also included. Hosted by Dullea and Trumbull, and predating Ellison's departure as he is credited under his own name with creating the series, the short feature includes sample footage using the later-abandoned Magicam technology, some filmed special effects footage taken from other productions along with model footage from the film Silent Running to represent the Earthship Ark concept, and a different series logo.

Cast
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
Notable Guest Stars
Sterling Hayden as Jeremiah
Frank Converse as Dr. Gerald W. Aaron
John Colicos as Governor
Barry Morse as Shaliff
Lloyd Bochner as Colonel M. P. Garroway
Diana Barrington as Captain Janice
Simon Oakland as Dr. Asgard
Percy Rodriguez as I. A. Richards
Angel Tompkins as Daphne
Ed Ames as President Mr. Smith
Alexandra Bastedo as Egreck 419B2 Idona
Walter Koenig as Oro of planet Xar


Pandorum

Orphans of the Sky is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein which contains many of the same themes, notably the curious young man who gains the ire of the elders when he explores the ship.

"Non-Stop (novel)" Non-stop, a science fiction novel by Brian Aldiss (U.S. title, Starship) has a similar theme.

Is The Starlost The Worst Science Fiction Series Ever Made?

This week marks the release of the Canadian SF series The Starlost on DVD. Initially conceived by Harlan Ellison, the show ran for one miserable season. With laughable sets, terrible dialogue, acting that was simply beyond the pale, and a strange Amish theme, The Starlost doesn't rate a purchase, but you will derive considerable pleasure out of watching the following video along with Ellison's savaging of the show's producers.Since we will soon have to abandon this country and relocate to New New York, it's only appropriate that Harlan Ellison's disastrous foray into television in 1973, The Starlost, was released on DVD this week.

A Canadian series with big ideas and little in the way of any idea on how to execute them, the show came from an idea by Harlan Ellison, who related the disastrous transport of his idea to television in his classic essay, "Somehow, I Don't Think We're In Kansas, Toto." As you can see, it didn't go that well:

"In the hands of the inept, the untalented, the venal, and the corrupt, The Starlost became a veritable Mt. Everest of cow flop, and, though I climbed that mountain, somehow I never lost sight of the dream, never lost the sense of smell, and when it got so rank I could stand it no longer, I descended hand-over-hand from the northern massif, leaving behind $93,000, the corrupters, and the eviscerated remains of my dream."

Producer Robert Kline wanted Ellison to do The Fugitive in space, but Ellison preferred to come up with his own idea.

The basic gist was that a bunch of people leave Earth on an ark as it is being destroyed. The population of the ship is sealed off in biospheres and develops new societies over the next 500 years and forgets all about Earth. That's where the "drama" of the show starts. Ellison was in the middle of a writer's strike when Kline demanded ideas for artwork, because they needed to advertise the series:

"It has always been one of the imponderables of the television industry to me, how the time is always now, when three days earlier no one had even heard of the idea. But I gave him some words and to my horror, saw the ad a week later: it showed a huge bullet-shaped thing I guess Kline thought was a spaceship, being smacked by a meteorite, a great hole being torn in the skin of the bullet, revealing many levels of living space within...all of them drawn the wrong direction. I covered my eyes."

The Writers' Guild was still on strike, and Ellison wouldn't craft the show's backstory, despite being threatened multiple times by the producers. Ellison even tracked down a scab writer they hired and convinced him to stop writing!

Since they needed Canadian writers for the show, and at the time there weren't many Canadian SF writers, Kline asked Ellison if he would simply train a group of young writers who'd never written episodic drama or science fiction.

By the time the show was in production, it featured a simple title card with Ellison's pen name: CREATED BY CORDWAINER BIRD Ellison's constructive iinvolvement over the rest of the production was minimal, as sets were constructed for storylines that hadn't been written. Starring Keir Dullea, the final product is truly a clusterfrick on a level rarely seen in the genre. This is part of the first episode, which is titled "Voyage of Discovery":

To be fair, it was Ellison who proposed shooting the series on tape instead of film, making the final product look something like a high school theater production. Still, he can't be held responsible for this disaster - the bulk of the blame has to go to the producers (left). And it's not all bad - we got a great Ellison essay out of it, one that appears in the show's author-approved novelization, Phoenix Without Ashes.

This isn't our favorite Ellison story.

That honor goes to what happened when he went to work at Disney:

A few hours after arriving for his first day of work at Disney Studios, Ellison and several fellow writers headed off to the studio commissary for lunch. Once there, Ellison jokingly suggested they "do a Disney porn flick" and proceeded to act out the parts while imitating the voices of several animated Disney characters. Unbeknownst to him, Roy Disney and the other studio heads were sitting adjacent to his table. Ellison claims that he returned to his office to find a pink slip on his desk and the name on his parking space whited out.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________

Great post, Gord. Thanks!

If anyone gets the urge to sample this series, here's episode one. YouTube has other episodes as well at this link.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+starlost+episode+1
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_______ The Starlost 101 - Voyage of Discovery


_________

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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You're probably asking for trouble trying to produce a TV series with Harlan involved.
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Brent Gair
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are no words to describe how spectacularly awful this show was. I suffered through it as a teenager in Canada. The show aired just as local TV stations were able to afford Chroma Key systems and they couldn't stop playing with it. The Starlost looked like a bad, local weather cast.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My friends & I were initially very excited to read about TSL coming to television. It had the legendary Harlan Ellison as its creator/story editor/writer. The equally legendary Doug Trumball would be in charge of the FX, Ben Bova as scientific consultant.

All winning ingredients for a fantastic classic sf show.

Whoops, didn't play out that way.

Ellison fought with the producers & eventually abandoned the production. The budget was low. The Magicam was an intriguing new way to do a sf series but it simply could not pull off making it epic looking.

I do feel that in the right hands TSL would be ripe for a reboot & today's state of the art visual effects along with a healthy budget would finally do this series justice.

However, as in all such endeavors, the scripting must be top notch.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Doing further reading about TSL I discovered that the Magicam special effect was not used even though the production had big plans for it revolutionizing the field of FX.

Turns out it wasn't fully perfected and problems arose with it, so the process was discarded.

What we see for placing the actors on miniature sets is the chroma-key effect.

On the 1980 PBS science series "Cosmos" we can see just how well done the effect can be for having a performer placed on a set that is miniature but appears life size.

Cosmos host Carl Sagan takes us on a tour of the ancient Library of Alexandria by walking through the building as we imagine how it might have looked.

It is well done as Sagan strolls about the famous library.
I'm not certain but this may have been the Magicam process utilized in this sequence.

Perhaps in the years since TSL the Magicam technology evolved to do a good & reliable job. I would also imagine that "Cosmos" had a richer budget than TSL, as well as more production time to conceive, construct, and film the scenes in the library.

I would guess that with today's cgi capabilities in doing virtual sets so well that the Magicam tech has been retired.

The idea that they could build miniature sets and then place actors onto 'em remains a fascinating visual effect to me.


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not just the miniature sets were rather shoddy, so were the full size ones. Cardboard and plywood abounded!
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I loved the concept & potential of Harlan Ellison's "The Starlost" in spite of my issues with its premise.

1.) The unknown accident to the Earth ship Ark occurs in 2385,just over a hundred years from its launch. Devon, Rachel, and Garth begin their exploration of the Ark in 2709.

405 years have elapsed since the accident. The bio~domes have all been sealed off from one another over the centuries & purportedly now believe that their environment is a planet or its own, individual world with no other worlds in existence.

What happend to their computers? Computers that would have a historical database on 'em with all the info of their origin planet, Earth, why they were forced to leave it. Their computers would inform them that they are in bio~domes on board a vast ark.

Why would each of the domes...and there a lot of 'em...not know this via their computer system? The series indicates that not just the agrarian society of Cypress Corners is in the dark regarding the existence of Earth. They have no clue as to their being on a generational ship.

A number of the domes that Garth, Rachel, Devon encounter are ones with sophisticated, working technology. Those communities should be aware of everything & not plodding along with no knowledge of their history.

It should all be there on the computer. At least information about the Earth, why they had to escape it, and that they are on a gigantic space ship. Information regarding the accident might not be available because no one is sure as to what caused it.

Wouldn't that be in their computer library system?

2.) The Ark is gigantic. So I'm assuming it would require a large crew to operate it. Devon, Rachel, and Garth find some bodies on the bridge of the crew. They never find anymore as they journey each week through the Ark.

Wouldn't there be other bodies? Lots of 'em? They would not have all been on the bridge when the accident took place.

3.) While I liked the innocence of the characters of Devon, Rachel, and Garth I questioned just exactly how their search for help in finding help to divert the Ark from the G-class star could go on?

Each week they'd enter a dome seeking help, have an adventure in which no one in that specific dome could help them, then the 3 of them would move on.

I was intrigued, wondering just what cultures developed in those other domes? However, going from dome-to-dome each week was going to become tiresome if the series had run for numerous seasons. How fresh & interesting can the stories be on a weekly basis like that each year?

Perhaps Harlan had that all mapped out in his series writer's bible for the show. I assume he created such a bible & I would love to have read it.

In any event,if a reboot was made of The Starlost, and I'd love to see one, some of the questions I have for the show I would like addressed.


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 3:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Wikiepedia has an interesting article about The Starlost, and based on Pow's enthusiasm for the series (in spite of the faults he acknowledged it had), I download all sixteen episodes from YouTube.

Pow's detailed description of the concept peaked my interest. Knowing what to expect (and what NOT to expect) will help me appreciate the series to some degree. I agree that the premise is very imaginative, and the show could have been wonderful.

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 12:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From Harlan Ellison's Writer's Bible for "The Starlost."}

Possible causes for humans having to abandon the Earth were: (1.) Flare up of the sun, (2.) Giant meteor passes so close to the Earth that it draws off the atmosphere, (3.) WW III, (4.) Invasion from outer space.

Whatever the cataclysm was that befell the Earth it was also going to destroy Mars & Venus.

Appears to me that Harlan was keeping his options open as to what the exact origin of the cause for humans fleeing Earth was to be. Perhaps he did not want to settle upon it and lock himself in to the cause because he wasn't sure which way he wanted to go at that time.

If the cause was WW III, I wonder how that would have followed that Mars & Venus were destroyed? Did the nations of Earth have human colonies on Mars and they turned on one another? Venus would be too inhospitable for any human habitat.

The Ark holds 500,000,000 humans.

I cannot find any stats as to precisely how many biospheres made up the Ark.

The end of the series was to be ''inextricably involved with whatever disaster took place on the Ark & a Black Hole.

The power for the Ark as well as its propulsion system came from a set of Hydrogen Fusion Reactors referred to as the C.T.R.(Controlled Thermonuclear Drive reactor).

The Ark was moving at 1/3rd the speed-of-light when Devon first discovers he is on board.

Since the Ark was not designed to land on planets, it had shuttles on board that would transport humans to settle upon a world they found habitable.
According to Harlan their design would have been along the same configuration as the Pan Am liner as seen in "2001: A Space Odyssey.

So in order to establish that a new planet was habitable did the Ark have scanning capabilities?
Would they send down drones for investigation?

I'm bringing this up since the Ark's shuttles design do not appear that they could lift back off a planet once they landed with humans and cargo.
Perhaps the humans have the ability to construct modular space ports in order to refuel the shuttles & allow the shuttles to lift off into the atmosphere or outer space.

The Ark also carried one-&-two man "tugs" that would be used to do EVA's in order to observe the hull of the Ark checking for maintenance,repairs & upgrades as needed.

The tugs made me instantly think of those nifty looking ''worker bees''from "Star Trek: TMP."
They worked on the Enterprise star ship as it was in dry dock in orbit above the Earth.

The space suits were not to be large or bulky. They were to be a sleek see-through garment with no typical helmet.
Instead of the helmet a portable gravity generator would create a bubble of air around a person.
Fascinating concept and a departure from the traditional looking space suits.

Weapons } Only for crew and not for colonists.
(1.) Sonic Disrupters would temporarily incapacitate humans with its high-frequency sound waves.

(2.) Dart Guns would sedate people.

(3.) Alpha Rhythm Flashguns would have a strobe light amplifies the natural alpha rhythm of the brain giving the person a mild epileptic seizure.
Hmm,couldn't such a weapon possibly leave an individual with future seizures even without being subjected to the flashgun?
Perhaps for the sake of the concept that problem has been rendered moot?

The Ark itself would also have a weapon. The Ark utilized a high powered laser that had the prime function of pre-ionizing hydrogen for the magnetic-field scoop. This involved the powering of the Ark.
Aside from this prime function the laser would also be used as a weapon.

The biospheres communities would have developed weaponry over the centuries since the accident that resulted in the biospheres sealing off from one another. The weapons would have been consistent with the technological abilities for each biosphere.

So no Phasers in Cypress Corners.

Sadly, due to the meager budget we would see none of these intriguing ideas that Ellison created for his series.

Still crossing my fingers,toes and eyes for a reboot of "The Starlost."
A robust budget and the fantastic special/visual FX currently available could produce a stunning sci~fi TV series.

As with all shows though top notch scripting would be a must.
If they don't do that then ole' Harlan will be shooting thunderbolts from Heaven down on the producers.


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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On Youtube there are 2 SL fan made CGI videos. Nicely done work, gives you an idea of how well CGI would work for a reboot of the series.
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Please provide the links or the exact YouTube names of the the videos. Without one or the other, we have trouble finding them. Very Happy

I sent you a PM about several other posts which omitted that much-needed info.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't read the novelization in a few decades, so my memories are hazy, and I too lazy to go back and read the book. Laughing

The Ark is described as looking like a string, or bunch of grapes, consisting of thousands of spheres. I think that the Ark is suppose to be a thousand miles long. I don't remember if they mentioned the power or propulsion systems. The spheres are suppose to house an example of every culture on Earth. The characters are from an Amish society. The Elders have access to and control the sphere's computer for their own purposes. The spacesuit is described as a transparent jumpsuit with a transparent hood for a helmet. The Heroes have to find a way to control the Ark because it is heading for a star.

I guess I'm going to have to read the novel again.

David.
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 06, 2022 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the website: Hub Pages.

The Ark model was 10'-long and its main body was made of solid wood and had 37 bio~domes.

Sidebar: Always wondered how many bio~domes were supposed to make up the Ark? The TV show never had any episodes that established just how many domes there were. Harlan Ellison's Writer's Guide (Bible) for the series also did not list the number of domes either.
Odd that such a fine and intelligent a writer as Ellison would leave that fact out.

The Pisces scoutship from the Ark featured in the episode "The Pisces" from October 5, 1973, was a 4'-model made of wood. It was repainted as a cost saving measure so that it could appear again as a medical ship ("The Astro Medics," November 30, 1973), a police ship, and deep space explorer.

Interior Ark biospheres utilized tabletop miniature landscapes with the dome matted in photographically.

The bridge for the Ark as well as the passageways were done via miniatures.

The bridge miniature was 1&1/2-feet high & 6'- long.
The passageway was 1&1/2-feet high and 12'-long.

The article says how the show utilized the Magicam system which electronically combines miniature sets with live action and how this could achieve fantastically realistic effects produced at very low cost.

Sidebar: This is incorrect from what I've read. Yes, the production intended to use the Magicam system as described but they ran into technical problems and had to resort to using Chroma-Key instead. I'm unsure if any Magicam shots made it into the show at all. If they did they were few.

Paramount Studios had the Magicam system since 1973. The largest set-up in the world at that time for Magicam was at Station TO-9 in Toronto, Canada where The Starlost was produced.

Sidebar: Wow! The Starlost was produced right at the biggest location for Magicam and it still was a bust!

Magicam did work and work nicely. It is used on the 1980 PBS production of Cosmos. In the segment where noted scientist Carl Sagan takes an imaginary stroll through the lost Great Library of Alexandria you can see just how well this effect could work under the proper conditions.

I dunno if the Magicam system just wasn't fully perfected at the time The Starlost was shooting in 1973, or if the very modest budget and grinding filming schedule for the weekly series prevented Magicam from being used? Perhaps all those obstacles came into play back then.

Famed producer/director George Pal was doing pre-production around 1976 or so on a weekly television series of War of the Worlds. In test footage for the show he used the Magicam process and was planning to utilize it for his show to depict exotic locations.

A pity George's production never got picked up for a series. I would have been very curious just how Magicam would have panned out for a weekly TV show?
But at least we do have the marvelous Cosmos miniseries that allows us to see Magicam featured as an effective tool.

Nowadays we have sophisticated Virtual Sets via CGI. The Mandolorian TV show has created the next enormous leap forward with its Unreal Engine/Epic Games LED Wall process that are astonishing in creating imaginary sets be it interiors or the vast outdoors. This brand new system is reputed as possibly one day replacing the historic visual effects of the blue screen and green screen.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Re-watching the pilot episode for the series "Voyage of Discovery" from September 14, 1973, I see that it does mention how many humans went on board the Earth ship Ark to inhabit the bio-domes: 3,000,000.

That answers a question I had about how many humans were on the Ark. I still wonder if that number includes the crew running the Ark?
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