The Starlost (1973– )

A group of humans must explore a vast starship in order to find the controls to save it from destruction.

Creator:

Harlan Ellison

Stars:

Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, Robin Ward

1 win.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Keir Dullea	...	Devon (16 episodes, 1973-1974)
Gay Rowan	...	Rachel (16 episodes, 1973-1974)
Robin Ward	...	Garth (16 episodes, 1973-1974)
William Osler	...	Host (16 episodes, 1973-1974)

Storyline

This very low budget TV show (which was shot on video, as opposed to film, as most regular TV shows are) involved a giant spaceship called THE ARK which was composed of hundreds of domes, each of which (supposedly) contained a sample culture from the planet Earth, which had long since died out due to some thing or other (If memory serves, it was pollution). Any way, this giant space ship had an accident somewhere along the way in an asteroid storm which killed the crew that was piloting it, so now it's careening toward -get this- an UNCHARTED SOLAR STAR ! The character played by Keir Dullea (who was DAVE in 2001) gets forced out of his dome and goes roaming around the ship with his 2 friends, trying to set the course correct so that they don't hit this star.

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Plot Keywords:

spaceship | chroma key | canadian science fiction | virtual set | spacecraft

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

VCI Entertainment

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1973 (Canada)

Also Known As:

The Ark

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, CTV Television Network, Glen Warren Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (16 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Harlan Ellison, unhappy with changes made to his concept for the show, had his credit changed to the pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird."

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Connections

Edited into The Starlost: The Alien Oro (1980)

User Reviews

the pros & cons of the starlost

The Starlost had the potential to be a classic science fiction series as it was created by the superb writer Harlan Ellison. The premise was intriguing: earth is abandoned by the humans that have poisoned it in various ways. A great spaceship arc is constructed and a series of domes house various cultures. At some point in their journey an accident occurs killing the crew, the domes are sealed off, and in time the different societies within them come to believe only in their own world and are unaware they are part of a massive starship.3 individuals from a dome with an agrarian community discover the truth, along with the fact that the ark is on a collision course with a g-class star.The series revolved around their attempts to save the ark. unfortunately Ellison came into conflict with the producers & writes extensively about this in an intro into the book based on the series, Phoenix Without Ashes.The fact that the show had a shoestring budget did not help either.This would be a wonderful premise to revive with Ellison on board, and the state-of-the-art special effects now available.