Archive for the ‘William Davidson’ Tag
Above: “A sun, a real star”
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 16
Aired January 5, 1974
0:49:24
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Ivor Barry as Rathe Mathers, Chief of the Intra-Ark Police
Nuala Fitzgerald as Reena, Chief of Planetary Police, Federation of United Planets
Richard Alden as Mike, the Pilot of I.A.P. Module Number One
Diane Dewey as “Tech,” Police Technician, Class A, Intra-Ark Police
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Martin Lager
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Joseph L. Scanlan
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Garth, “Tech,” and Rathe
A Screen Capture
THE INTRA-ARK POLICE (I.A.P.)
Where have the Intra-Ark Police (I.A.P.) been for the previous fifteen episodes? They would have been helpful as early as the second episode, Lazarus from the Mist.
Diane Dewey’s character has no name. The end credits list the character as “Technician.” The character herself and all other characters who encounter her call her “Tech.”
Why do the Intra-Ark Police, who have long known about the impending doom of the Ark, tried to do nothing to save it?
Above: I.A.P. Module Number One
A Screen Capture
The I.A.P. modules allow for mobility on the Ark, a large vessel.
Most members of the I.A.P. are “textbook-trained graduates of the Ark Academy,” as Chief Rathe Masters refers to them dismissively.
Where is the Ark Academy?
Who controls the Ark Academy?
Does Rathe answer to the Director of Security, mentioned in Farthing’s Comet?
The I.A.P. violate the already-broken concept of The Starlost.
Members of the I.A.P., except for mini-skirted women, wear uniforms identical to those of the Astro-Medics. “Tech” dresses identically to Lethe, from And Only Man is Vile.
The I.A.P. knows much about the residents of the Ark.
The I.A.P. has been tracking Devon, Rachel, and Garth for seven months, since Voyage of Discovery. This timeframe contradicts The Alien Oro.
Chief Rathe Masters’s base of operations is I.A.P. Module Number One.
The I.A.P. has at least twelve divisions. We hear about yet never see Division 12.
Rathe has grand plans for the I.A.P.-F.U.P. police force. The result will be a force that “will be able to handle everything from a burglary to a space shootout.”
The Solar System of the Federation of United Planets
A Screen Capture
THE FEDERATION OF UNITED PLANETS (F.U.P.)
The name “Federation of United Planets” is terribly derivative of the United Federation of Planets, from Star Trek (1966-1969) and its successors.
The F.U.P., contained in one solar system of ten planets, consists of nine inhabited worlds. The habitable zone in that solar system is extremely unlikely, to understate the case. But recall, O reader, that The Starlost is the series that mentions a “solar star,” “radiation virus,” and “space senility.” Are you expecting science?
The worlds of the F.U.P. orbit what Rathe describes as “a sun, a real star.” I hope they do not orbit a “solar star”!
The F.U.P. is about to go to war over the mining rights on the uninhabited world of Apor. The two main planets, leaders of competing alliances, are Arak and Accombra. Arak passed on the opportunity to mine on Apor until Accombra staked its claim. Now Arak threatens to wage war and Accombra threatens to secede. The hijacking of Accombran ore freighters is increasing tensions.
Above: Federation Headquarters
A Screen Capture
The headquarters of the F.U.P. is an orbiting space station.
The F.U.P. and the I.A.P. have been in contact for five years. Now that the Ark is close to the solar system, a launch window is about to open. The next launch window will open in about a year.
Above: Reena
A Screen Capture
Reena, the Chief of Planetary Police, F.U.P., seeks Rathe’s help in preventing an interplanetary war. She says she needs his advanced police techniques in the F.U.P.
Reena’s uniform reminds me of clothes in Gallery of Fear and The Beehive.
Above: Chief Rathe Masters, I.A.P.
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
As Space Precinct opens, Rachel is consulting a sphere projector while Devon and Garth look on. The members of the trio are wearing their usual clothing from Cypress Corners, also known as M124. Rachel is gathering information about biosphere M71, a scientific, experimental, agrarian station. The last reported contact with M71 was in 2386, in the year after the Ark‘s accident. M71 was high-tech in 2386. The regular access routes are sealed, but access may be possible via service channels. The sphere projector provides directions.
Devon and Rachel are enthusiastic about going to M71, but Garth is not. He says goodbye and heads back toward Cypress Corners. Garth does not get far before Rathe Masters, Chief of the Intra-Ark Police (I.A.P.), detains him for questioning and takes him to I.A.P. Module Number One, docked in its assigned place.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Devon don spacesuits before entering a freight elevator with little air in it. They are en route to M71. The elevator gets stuck, and the supply of air in the space suits is limited.
At Module One, Rathe learns more about Garth than Garth may have known about himself. Rathe offers Garth a job as a detective in the I.A.P. Garth accepts the offer. Rathe is convinced that Garth can help him prevent a war in the Federation of United Planets (F.U.P.).
Rathe calls Reena, the Chief of Planetary Police in the F.U.P. He tells her that Module One will leave in a few minutes, when the launch window will open. Yet Module One can never leave because someone is jamming the system. “Tech,” Rathe’s trusted aide, tells him that the jamming signal comes from the F.U.P. He believes her. Yet she is lying; she keeps jamming the system. “Tech” spends most of the episode casting blame onto innocent people, mainly Reena and Garth.
Garth suspects that Reena may have a traitor on her staff. This turns out to be correct; he is Ragar, whom we never see. Ragar and “Tech” are working together. Ragar, responsible for protecting the ore ships, is orchestrating the hijacking of them and getting rich. He, planning to win the F.U.P. war and have Reena killed, has offered “Tech” Reena’s job in one year.
Poor Garth! Mike suspects him of being a traitor. Rathe suspects. Even Reena suspects him. Then she reveals that “Tech” is a traitor.
Back in the freight elevator, Devon removes his helmet then the helmet of the unconscious Rachel. The air in the elevator is all the air they have left. Reena calls in Division 12 to rescue Devon and Rachel. Then, when alone, she calls off Division 12. Next, she tells Garth that Devon and Rachel have died.
Soon, however, Garth overhears “Tech” speaking with Ragar. He knows that she is a liar and a traitor. She tries to kill him by stunning him and leaving him in an airless elevator. But one of his boots prevents the elevator door from closing completely. “Tech” tells Rathe that Garth is dead. He is alive, though.
Rathe sends Division 12 to rescue Devon and Rachel. Division 12 rescues them, off-screen, of course.
Until nearly the end of the episode, Reena suspects Garth of being a traitor. Then she tells Rathe that “Tech” is a traitor. “Tech” goes to the Ark jail. The plot ended, tensions in the F.U.P. begin to cool.
Reena says,
Garth, we’ll make a detective out of you yet.
Garth replies,
Well, I’ll let you know.
Le fin.
Above: Mike, Pilot of Intra-Ark Police Module Number One
A Screen Capture
OTHER UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Why are so many people on the Ark fatalistic?
Why does Devon not invoke his authority as the Ark commander? (The Return of Oro)
Why does Devon’s level of interest in saving the Ark vary from episode to episode, and sometimes within an episode?
How many zoological laboratories are on the Earth Ship Ark?
What is M71 like in 2790?
Will Devon and Rachel go to M71 after all?
Will Garth rejoin Devon and Rachel?
Is the Ark doomed to collide with the “Class-G solar star”?
Above: “Tech”
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
For the record, Garth, Identification Number 774833-BXL-871, was born to Rebecca and Old Garth on May 22, 2767.
Space Precinct was the final episode of The Starlost filmed. However, there were scripts for episodes #17 and 18: God That Died and People in the Dark.
The full season run would have been twenty-four episodes. However, NBC chose not to order the final eight episodes. Good riddance to bad rubbish!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Dr. Heather Marshall, Devon, and Ron Calisher
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 15
Aired December 29, 1973
0:49:27
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
William Hutt as Dr. Pete Marshall, Director of Station C100
Antoinette Bower as Dr. Heather Marshall
Alan McRae as Ron Calisher
John Friesen as Harry Keeble
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Norman Klenman
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director (Credited) = Bill Davis
Director (Uncredited) = George McCowan
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Dr. Pete Marshall
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
Devon, Rachel, and Garth have cast aside their usual wardrobe in favor of brown outfits with white trim. They had “worn” imaginary outfits of this sort in Gallery of Fear.
Reena, a humanoid alien, wears the same outfit in the next and final episode, Space Precinct.
Maybe the Cypress Corners clothes are in a laundry facility.
The trio arrives in a biosphere, Station C100, because of an alarm they heard in a bounce tube. There is apparently an emergency.
Drs. Pete and Heather Marshall (husband and wife) have just walked a colleague, Ron Calisher, out of a bee-infested area. The swarm has stung Calisher. Could this be the emergency? No; Calisher recovers quickly. And “Dr. Pete,” as people call him, is belligerent; he orders Devon, Rachel, and Garth to leave. His wife, “Dr. Heather,” as people call her, cooperates with the trio, though.
Some 27 years ago, the Marshalls found this biosphere, abandoned and rundown. Dr. Pete apparently appointed himself the Director of Station C100 and built it up into the best-run zoological laboratory in the Earth Ship Ark. x
Station C100 specializes in honeybees.
Devon, apparently having forgotten that he is the Ark commander (The Return of Oro), does not use his authority.
To simplify and abbreviate a long story….
Ron Calisher is obsessed with understanding the communications of bees. Dr. Pete is under the control of the mutant queen bee, one of a few giant bees. The mutant bees–the queen, in particular–want to convert all the other biospheres into hives. They are willing, however, to let the bee scientists and our trio live, in exchange for service. The mutant bees control the regular bees. Harry Keeble dies of a combination of insecticide and bee stings. Dr. Heather plots to kill the mutant bees and liberate her husband from the queen’s control. The mutant bees can mimic Dr. Pete’s voice. Garth kills the queen mutant bee with freezing spray and liberates Dr. Pete from her control.
Garth no longer likes honey.
Unfortunately, some mutant bees have survived.
Le fin.
Above: Dr. Heather Marshall
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Why are so many people on the Ark fatalistic?
Why does Devon not invoke his authority as the Ark commander? (The Return of Oro)
Why does Devon’s level of interest in saving the Ark vary from episode to episode, and sometimes within an episode?
How many zoological laboratories are on the Earth Ship Ark?
Why do the Marshalls, who have long known about the impending doom of the Ark, tried to do nothing to save it?
How much time will pass until the surviving mutant bees cause more trouble for the bee scientists?
Above: Harry Keble
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
The less I write about The Beehive, the better. This episode is tedious and irrelevant.
Harlan Ellison, in his introduction to Edward Bryant’s novelization of Phoenix Without Ashes (the original title of Voyage of Discovery), described most of those responsible for the production and writing of The Starlost as “the inept, the untalented, the venal, and the corrupt.” The Beehive provides ample evidence for ineptness and lack of talent.
Next Episode: Space Precinct
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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This is post #2350 of SUNDRY THOUGHTS.
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Above: Avatars in the Microcircuit
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 14
Aired November 10, 1973
0:49:22
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Percy Rodrigues as Electronics Specialist First Class I. A. Richards
Nerene Virgin as Valerie Richards
Calvin Butler as Cort
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Norman Klenman
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Peter Levin
Science Consultant = Ben Bova
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Valerie and I. A. Richards
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
I. A. Richards and his daughter Valerie walk onto the main Bridge of the Earth Ship Ark. They notice that someone has cleaned up the Bridge and removed the human remains. I. A. Richards has a plan of which Valerie is dubious. She alternates between cooperating with him and arguing with him. The Richardses enter the Circuit Rome, adjacent to the Bridge. They do this without authorization, so they set off the alarm. which Devon, Rachel, and Garth hear nearby, in tunnel. The trio still wears the silver-and-red space suits from Farthing’s Comet.
I. A. Richards, who has known of the impending collision of the Ark with a “Class-G solar star” for years and has given into hopelessness, intends to blow up the Ark immediately. This, in his mind, will be a quick and merciful end to the suffering of the people of the Ark. Before he can activate the self-destruct sequence, he needs to bypass the fail-safe circuit. He succeeds in bypassing the fail-safe circuit before Devon, Rachel, and Garth arrive on the scene.
Devon, who has been the Ark commander since The Return of Oro, seems not to recall this fact. Later, when I. A. Richards tells him that there is no crew, Devon does not contradict him.
Biosphere Alpha Five, the home of the Richardses, used to be a mature democracy. There were two political parties. The Citizens’ Party favored freedom. The Control Party, which won an election and formed the new government, thought of discipline and thought control as essential to the maintenance of peace and social order. The Control Party outlawed the Citizens’ Party, which I. A. Richards led. Then the Control Party imprisoned I. A. Richards in a psychiatric institution. Furthermore, Alpha Five is biodegrading, and the Control Party is doing nothing to address that problem.
Back to the narrative….
Shortly after Devon, Rachel, and Garth arrive on the main Bridge, so does Cort. He, Valerie’s boyfriend, is a security agent from Alpha Five. Cort must wait with Devon, Rachel, and Garth, who are locked outside the Circuit Room. Cort has an arrest warrant for I. A. Richards. Inside the Circuit Room, I. A. Richards initiates the Ark‘s self-destruct sequence. He and Valerie try to escape in the escape rocket, but the rocket does not launch. Cort and the trio get into the Circuit Room and let the Richardses out of the escape rocket.
Then I. A. Richards initiates his plan to save the Ark he just tried to blow up. This plan entails he and Devon projecting their minds into miniature avatars, to reinstitute the fail-safe in the microcircuit. They have fifteen minutes yet waste time engaging in expository dialogue. Eventually, I. A. Richards falls ill. So does Valerie. Garth, after getting a massive exposition dump from the nearest sphere projector, sends his avatar into the microcircuit, to assist Devon. I. A. Richards sends the Devon and Garth avatars away in time to save the Ark by sacrificing himself.
Valerie mourns her dead father. Devon, who had confronted I. A. Richards a few minutes prior, tells Valerie that her father was a brave and great man. Valerie and Cort depart for Alpha Five. Devon laments that he had not met I. A. Richards before that day; Richards could have restored the Ark‘s navigation system.
Above: Cort
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Why are so many people on the Ark fatalistic?
Why does Devon not invoke his authority as the Ark commander? (The Return of Oro)
Why does Devon’s level of interest in saving the Ark vary from episode to episode, and sometimes within an episode?
How many people know where the main Bridge is?
Who cleaned up the main Bridge and removed the human remains?
Where were I. A. Richards and Valerie Richards last on the main Bridge?
What will happen to Valerie Richards on Alpha Five?
Will Alpha Five continue to biodegrade?
How long will Alpha Five remain a police state?
Above: Repairing the Microcircuit
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
IMDB lists the name of the character Percy Rodrigues portrayed as “Sakharov Richards.” However, dialogue names that character as “I. A. Richards.” “Sakharov” hearkens back to the Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989).
This episode originally aired as the seventh episode, between And Only Man is Vile and Gallery of Fear. However, the wardrobe of Devon, Rachel, and Garth places it immediately after Farthing’s Comet.
The storytelling in this episode is subpar. Much of the dialogue is redundant. Two badly-done special effects sequences take up time. Too much background comes out via amateurish exposition. During the plotline about the miniature avatars in the microcircuit, the passage of time contradicts the times given in time checks.
The background of biosphere Alpha Five and its Control Party is obviously based on Germany (from the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich) and the Soviet Union. The Control Party, modeled mainly on the Nazi Party, is fascistic. The government’s policy of incarcerating dissidents in psychiatric institutions is a nod to that policy of the Soviet government.
I. A. Richards is correct in his contemptuous evaluation of Cypress Corners as “that place.” Devon does not mention the crew-in-training, from Children of Methuseleh. He has met the doctors of the Institute for Reeducation, in And Only Man is Vile. Devon has met the Astro-Medics, in Astro-Medics. Devon recently–in the previous episode–encountered the two astronomers in Farthing’s Comet. Does the robot Tau Zeta, from The Return of Oro, count as a member of the crew?
Would not abandoning the premise of the series been so hard for those who made The Starlost?
Cort is a plot element, not a character.
Next Episode: The Beehive
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Dr. Linus Farthing, Chief Astronomer of the Earth Ship Ark
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 13
Aired December 22, 1973
0:49:25
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Edward “Supertrain” Andrews as Dr. Linus Farthing, Chief Astronomer
Linda Sorensen as Dr. McBride
Allen Stewart-Coates as Computer Voices
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Douglas Hall (Credited)
Episode written by Norman Klenman (Uncredited)
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Ed Richardson (the Associate Producer)
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Our Main Characters at the Sphere Projector
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
This episode opens with Devon, Rachel, and Garth, clad in their usual Cypress Corners attire, in a tunnel. The Earth Ship Ark is rocking and shaking. The nearest sphere projector, which does not know the source of the external attack, refers the trio to the Director of Security and to the Chief Astronomer. Unfortunately, the Director of Security is available only by appointment. The Chef Astronomer is not taking calls either, but the sphere projector provides directions to the aft Astronomy Module. Devon, Rachel, and Garth head for the Astronomy Module and enter it.
Dr. Linus Farthing, the Chief Astronomer, is absorbed in his work. In the adjacent office, Dr. McBride is monitoring damage to the Ark.
Dr. Farthing has fired the auxiliary reactors of the Ark and altered its course so he can become the first (human) astronomer to get close to the nuclear of a comet. In so doing, he has placed the ark in the paths of meteors.
Both Drs. Farthing and McBride have known about the impending doom of the Ark and given up all hope.
Devon, forgetting that he is the Ark commander, argues with Dr. Farthing. Finally,, Devon wears Dr. Farthing down. The Chief Astronomer agrees to let Devon, Rachel, and Garth take the small repair craft, A.S.C. 45, and repair the auxiliary reactors, damaged in the meteor shower. This repair must occur outside the Ark. Drs. Farthing and McBride take turns telling our trio what to do. Devon conducts the repair. Rachel and Garth remain inside the A.S.C. 45. Perils and dramas arise, but they pass. Oh, and Drs. Farthing and McBride argue. He accuses her of bickering. She denies bickering.
Dr. Farthing fires the repaired auxiliary reactors and takes the Ark away from the meteors. Devon, Rachel, and Garth are back on the Ark, which is back on course to collide with a “Class-G solar star.”
Devon does nothing within his authority as the Ark commander.
Above: Dr. McBride
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Who educated, trained, credentialed and hired the Director of Security, Dr. Farthing, and Dr. McBride?
Does the Director of Security know about the Ark’s impending collision with a “Class-G solar star”?
If so, does the Director of Security care?
Who is the Director of Security?
Why are so many people on the Ark fatalistic?
Why does Devon not invoke his authority as the Ark commander? (The Return of Oro)
Why does Devon’s level of interest in saving the Ark vary from episode to episode, and sometimes within an episode?
How did Rachel and Garth know how to pilot the A.S.C. 45?
Above: Green Egg Crate Foam
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
Farthing’s Comet, which has too little story, is tedious and full of padding and drama that lacks suspense.
It I ever have nightmares about The Starlost, those dreams will feature green egg crate foam prominently. The foam is ubiquitous in this series. It is in the walls. People sit on it. They stop on it. And they recline on it. The foam must have been on sale in Toronto in 1973.
Devon, as the Ark commander, has the power to fire Dr. Farthing, I suppose.
The shooting model of the Ark is in Dr. McBride’s office.
Farthing’s Comet has more plot holes than a big block of Swiss cheese.
The Starlost has jettisoned the last vestiges of its premise with Farthing’s Comet. We still have three episodes to go, however. The sensible ending would have been (a) steer the Ark out of immediate danger, (b) fire Dr. Farthing, (c) revive some engineers in cryonic suspension, per Lazarus from the Mist, (d) get the main reactors back on line, (e)call in the children from Children of Methuseleh, (f) send them to the main Bridge, and (g) start searching for a planet to call home.
Some days, I wonder if most of the people who made The Starlost suffered from “space senility.” (The Pisces)
Next Episode: Circuit of Death
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Oro and Devon
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 12
Aired December 15, 1973
0:49:23
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Walter Koenig as Oro
Henry Beckman as Williams
Philip Stevens as Tau Zeta (Operator)
Patricia Moffatt as Tau Zeta (Voice)
Jim Barron as Computer Voice
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Alex C. James (Credited)
Episode written by Norman Klenman (Uncredited)
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Francis Chapman
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Williams, Outside Master Control
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
Williams is trying to break into Master Control. (He keeps trying to break into secure facilities on the Earth Ship Ark; it is what he does.) He screams that he must get into Master Control. He sets off the alarm, just in time for Devon to come around the corner. Rachel and Garth are not far behind, of course. Williams somehow suffers from claustrophobia on the Ark. He thinks that the way to deal with that problem is to get into smaller rooms. The security system shoots Williams with a stun ray.
Devon visits the nearest sphere projector and asks who can help the injured man. Devon has amnesia; Astro-Medics was two episodes ago. The sphere projector informs Devon that the man will revive soon. Devon also requests and receives a summons from Tau Zeta to Master Control. Devon returns to the area immediately outside Master Control. He enters. Rachel and Garth watch over the unconscious Williams.
Devon meets a robot, Tau Zeta, Vice Admiral, Computer Monitoring Section. He also learns that Oro (from The Alien Oro) is the new Ark commander, and that Oro’s explorer craft is docking.
Little time has passed in-universe since The Alien Oro.
Devon, Rachel, Garth, and the revived Williams meet Oro in the docking bay. Williams thinks that he can resolve his claustrophobia by entering Oro’s small spacecraft. Oro has orders to restart the thermonuclear reactors of the Ark and navigate the vast starship into orbit over Exar. Devon is immediately suspicious. However, Rachel, Garth, and Williams favor this plan.
Oro lies. He lies so much that sometimes one cannot tell when he tells the truth. Oro lies when he passes off historical images of the verdant Earth for pictures of Exar. Oro also lies when he insists he would never force anyone to go to Exar. Oro lies when he tells Devon that Rachel is injured. Does Oro lie when he tells Garth that Idona is receiving medical attention and doing well? And does Oro lide when he mentions the existence of “the main medical biosphere”?
Oro certainly tells the truth when he says that the only non-automated systems on the Ark are propulsion and navigation, and that all the information required to restart those is in the computers. This is consistent with Lazarus from the Mist.
Exar is barely suitable for human life. The climate is cold and the atmosphere has low levels of oxygen. Yet, somehow, Oro, outwardly indistinguishable from human beings, thrives there.
Oro’s superiors recognize the Ark as superior to their technology. Exar command wants the Ark and does not care about the humans onboard.
Pardon me, O reader, but writing a play-by-play summary of this episode is pointless.
To make a long story short, Oro tries to kill Devon, but Tau Zeta prevents that. Then Devon and Oro debate the merits of who should command the Ark. Each debater stands inside a recycling tube in Master Control. The terms of the debate are that the winner will become the Ark commander and that the loser will die. Tau Zeta assigns point values for arguments. The basis of the point values is not clear. Devon wins, becomes the Ark commander, lets Oro live, and orders him to leave the Ark.
Oh, Devon sends Garth to rescue Williams, who has fallen in a service shaft and broken foot. Then Williams hobbles off.
Exar command remotely blows up Oro’s ship. Oro becomes a fugitive on the Ark.
In the next episode, Devon will not be the Ark commander, of course. This is episodic television. There is a giant reset button at the end of each episode.
Le fin.
Above: Tau Zeta
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Who is Williams?
What is his home biosphere?
Why does Williams want to enter Master Control?
How is Master Control different from the backup Bridge?
How many other people, like Williams, are wandering around the Ark and carrying door keys?
How can Williams be claustrophobic on the Earth Ship Ark?
Would live on cold Exar be worse that colliding with a “Class-G solar star”?
How old is Tau Zeta?
Why does Devon, now the Ark commander, not get help to restart the reactors and navigate away from that pesky “solar star”?
How did Tau Zeta anticipate Williams’s curse words and bleep them?
Above: Recycling Tubes
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
The Return of Oro is the sequel to The Alien Oro.
I get the impression that most of the people behind the scenes cared about this series about as much as Devon cared about avoiding the “solar star”–very little.
Presumably, had The Starlost succeeded, Oro would have been a recurring antagonist.
Williams is a plot element, not a character.
Next Episode: Farthing’s Comet
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Professor Brant
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 11
Aired December 8, 1973
0:49:24
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Donnelly “Dr. Cottle” Rhodes as Roloff
Patricia Collins as Queen Serina
Leo Leyden as Professor Brant
Jeff Toner as Jardy, Professor Brant’s Grandson
Dino Narizzano as Council President Domal
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Helen French and Martin Lager (Credited)
Episode written by John Meredyth Lucas (Uncredited)
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Joseph L. Scanlan
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: A Cheesy Model
A Screen Capture
BACKGROUND
Reports that the Patricia Collins who portrayed Queen Serina was the “Hip Hypnotist” are objectively false. (I checked.) No, the Patricia Collins who portrayed Queen Serina is a British actress born in 1937. According to the Internet Media Database (IMDB), as of today, she is alive.
I have no way of knowing which came first–the uncredited writing or the uncredited writing–of this episode.
John Meredyth Lucas is a name a fan of science fiction and television of a certain era should recognized. His credits at IMDB indicate an uneven career. His credits include having written The Ultimate Computer (1968), The Enterprise Incident (1968), and Elaan of Troyius (1968), all for Star Trek (1966-1969). Lucas’s writing credits include episodes for series a various genres. Other credits–as a producer–include the third season (1968-1969) of Star Trek and as the only, abbreviated season of Beyond Westworld (1980).
Above: Serina and Roloff
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
As the episode opens, Devon, Rachel, and Garth are in a tunnel. Rachel is sleeping. Garth is complaining. Devon tells Garth to get back to sleep. A dirty urchin (Jardy) is watching the trio. He steals Garth’s crossbow. Garth pursues him into the nearest biosphere. Professor Brant and two other scientists clad in green and sporting cerebral implants, are working.
Jardy, we eventually learn, is Professor Brant’s grandson. Jardy is also mute.
In this biosphere, Queen Serina is the theoretical ruler. Actually, though, her advisor, Roloff, is in charge. Serina is isolated from her people. She knows only what Roloff tells her. Unbeknownst to her, most of her subjects are poor and starving, and Roloff is a liar and a tyrant. Roloff maintains his power via implants and fear. The implants, as far as Queen Serina knows, improve brain function. Actually, they inflict great pain when Roloff triggers them. A few people–the elites–have implants. Roloff and Queen Serina do not.
Lorenz, whom Queen Serina mourns, was her husband.
The leaders of this biosphere know they are in a biosphere of the Earth Ship Ark. When Devon informs Roloff of the Ark’s impending collision with a star, Roloff’s only suggestion is getting an implant.
Roloff dissolves the council, supposedly in the name of Queen Serina. Then he tells Queen Serina that the council, opposed to her progressive legislation, dissolved itself. The council is not the barrier to the monarch’s progressive legislation; Roloff is.
Devon is unusually trusting in this episode. He trusts Roloff until Roloff has him implanted.
Jardy leads Garth to the hiding place of the councilmen. They are planning a revolution, but need for Dr. Brant, who developed the first generation of implants to help his grandson, to remove their implants. Jardy, who had stolen the crossbow on the councilmen’s orders, returns it. Professor Brant removes implants, onscreen and offscreen. Devon removes Brant’s implant.
Queen Serina overhears Roloff tell the mute Jardy his plans to kill her. She, feeling betrayed, confronts her advisor. He takes her prisoner. Then, in order, he takes Rachel and Garth prisoner. Meanwhile, Devon, Brant, and the councilmen stage their revolution. They capture Roloff, who will go on trial yet not get an implant. Nobody else will get implanted.
Queen Serina’s subjects presumably may look forward to a brighter future.
Le fin.
Above: Domal
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
What is the name of the biosphere of the week?
Why will nobody in power in this biosphere even try to save the Ark?
Garth lost his previous crossbow in Mr. Smith of Manchester. Where did Garth get another one?
Above: Sleeping
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
The only qualification Roloff lacks to be a mustache-twirling villain is a mustache.
Queen Serina is useless.
One theme in this episode is how easy cowardice is in the face of tyranny.
Next Episode: The Return of Oro
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 11, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Astro-Medics
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 10
Aired December 1, 1973
0:49:21
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Stephen Young as Dr. Christopher Trask
Budd Knapp as Dr. Martin Trask
Meg Hogarth as Dr. Jean Pelletier
Bill Kemp as the Captain of Medical Module 7
David Mann as the Astrogator of Medical Module 7
Michael Zenon as the Commander of Galactic Ship Seer D221
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Paul Schneider and Martin Lager
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = George McCowan
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Medical Module 7
A Screen Capture
BACKGROUND
The Starlost had many problems. One of these was the abandonment of the premise of the series. Astro-Medics marked the first time an episode featured characters who have known for a long time that the Earth Ship Ark is on a collision course with a star and have consistently done nothing even to try to resolve that problem. This, however, was not the first episode to raise the question, “Who trained and credentialed these people?” The first episode to do that was And Only Man is Vile.
The writing career of Paul Schneider was uneven. He wrote Balance of Terror (1966) and The Squire of Gothos (1967) for Star Trek (1966-1969), as well as The Terratin Incident (1973) for Star Trek (1973-1975). Schneider also wrote The Satyr (1981) and The Guardians (1981) for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981).
The aliens in this episode are idiots, objectively. These humanoid reptiles hail from a planet where the temperature is even. These aliens, a spacefaring species, need a human doctor to tell them to turn down the thermostat, for medical reasons. Really?
Above: The Power of Green: The Flight Crew of Medical Module 7
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
Devon, Rachel, and Garth are in a medical/scientific facility, Sector M16. Garth enters Sonic Chamber IV, intended for the destruction of microorganisms. Garth becomes trapped briefly. Then Devon rescues him. Yet Devon becomes trapped, unconscious, and injured. Garth gets Devon out of Sonic Chamber IV. Rachel consults the nearest sphere projector, which notifies Medical Module 7.
Unbeknownst to anyone in the series to date, a few small crafts, Medical Modules, are constantly in orbit of the Earth Ship Ark. There used to be more of them, and the crews and medics are overworked, but they are there. Drs. Christopher Trask and Jean Pelletier arrive with an extra to take the trio to Medical Module 7.
Dr. Christopher Trask holds his father, Dr. Martin Trask, in contempt. Christopher, an emotional bully, regards Martin as a “senile old man.” Yet Martin is not senile; he is a doormat. This story is mainly the tale of the father and the son developing a healthy, mutually respectful relationship.
Garth spends most of this episode feeling guilty for causing Devon’s life-threatening injury. Dr. Christopher Trask spends most of this episode not trying to save Devon’s life–only making Devon comfortable before the supposedly-inevitable death.
Dr. Christopher Trask becomes fixated on the challenge of saving the lives of the crew of Galactic Ship Seer D221. The crew is in mortal danger, for reasons they cannot understand. The alien commander contacts Medical Module 7, which leaves the Ark and heads toward the alien vessel. Garth aborts that trip, causing Medical Module 7 to drift and possibly to lose the opportunity to return to the Ark. But he does force surgery on Devon. Dr. Martin Trask begins that surgery. Meanwhile, Galactic Ship Seer D221 sets a course to rendezvous with Medical Module 7.
The alien commander knows that the Ark is on a collision course with a “Class-G star”–not a “solar star,” at least. That commander also proposes to help restart the reactors aboard the Ark in exchange for medical aide. Dr. Christopher Trask tries to understand the cause of the aliens’ problem, to no avail.
The Doctors Trask switch tasks; Christopher completes the surgery and saves Devon’s life while Martin saves the aliens. Martin tells them, in so many words, to turn down the thermostat. That works. The alien commander gives the captain of Medical Module 7 the coordinates of the Ark. The alien commander also declines to help save the Ark; he has to go, for some reason.
Medical Module 7 returns Devon, Rachel, and Garth to the Ark. Then Drs. Trask, Trask, and Pelletier have to leave for Biosphere M23, for a medical emergency. Devon, Rachel, and Garth, like the idiots they are, do not ask to ride shotgun with them.
Above: Galactic Ship Seer D221
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Where have the Astro-Medics been in the previous episodes? They would have been useful more than once.
Above: The Alien Commander
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
This episode is tedious.
The green uniforms of the flight crew of Medical Module 7 match the green egg crate foam. The green egg crate foam in The Starlost is notorious, in my mind, at least.
Next Episode: The Implant People
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Trent, Mr. Smith, and the Secretary (Left to Right)
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 9
Aired November 24, 1973
0:49:24
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Ed Ames as Mr. Smith, President of Manchester
Pat Galloway as Trent, Mr. Smith’s Aide-de-Camp
Pattie Elsasser as the Secretary (“the Dumb Bunny”)
Doris Petrie as the Nurse
Les Rubie as City Man
Jim Barron as Computer Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Arthur Heinemann and Norman Klenman
From a story by Arthur Heinemann
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director (credited) = Joseph L. Scanlan
Director (uncredited) = Ed Richardson (the Associate Producer)
Science Consultant = Ben Bova
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Prisoners and Guards
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
Guards (whose uniforms scream, “This is 1973!”) drag the chained Devon, Garth, and Rachel before Mr. Smith, the President (and dictator) of Manchester. His aide-de-camp, the widow Trent is present, also. So is the unnamed secretary, who rocks a miniskirt. (Did I mention that this series dates to 1973?) President Mr. Smith, who knows he is in a biosphere on the Earth Ship Ark, is convinced that our trio is a team of spies from outside biosphere. He also entertains the theory that Devon, Rachel, and Garth belong to the fifth column in Manchester. When Devon mentions Cypress Corners, nobody even bats an eye; Trent and Mr. Smith know what it is.
Unlike other biospheres, the irises into Manchester are concealed. Once they open, there is no seam in the metal. This explains why (a) Devon, Rachel, and Garth stumbled into Manchester, and (b) Mr. Smith does not know where the irises are.
Manchester is a police state. Patriotism is loyalty to the President. Treason is disloyalty to the President. Tyranny reigns in Manchester. The guards are loyal and obedient to Mr. Smith, and the surveillance system is extensive.
Also, Mr. Smith lies easily and frequently.
Manchester’s original purpose was to manufacture weapons for the other biospheres. Mr. Smith told Devon, Rachel, and Garth that the purpose was to manufacture guns and small weapons. He could have been lying, though. Manchester has been making and storing tanks and munitions, though. Mr. Smith has been planning to invade the Ark with his tanks, munitions, and poisonous pollution.
Mr. Manchester claims to seek commerce and cultural exchange with the other biospheres, though. Mr. Smith lies easily and frequently. Mr. Smith plays nice with Devon, Rachel, and Garth, hoping that they will lead him to the exits from the biosphere in which he is sealed.
Apparently, during or after the Dome Wars (prior to 2385), some faction or factions sealed the entrances to Manchester, which menaced them.
Mr. Smith suspects Trent of disloyalty to him. He has her arrested for treason after she expresses her doubts about the President to Devon, Rachel, and Garth. Mr. Smith orders Trent tortured then exiled to the noxious Outer City, where the atmosphere poisons her. The trio rescues Trent from the Outer City, but cannot prevent her death. They take her to the weapons warehouse, where Mr. Smith is waiting with guards and his secretary. Mr. Smith witnesses Trent’s death.
Mr. Smith’s secretary is a dim bulb. In a warehouse full of weapons, she says that Devon, Rachel, and Garth cannot possibly have access to weapons. The President utters the best line of the episode in response:
You are a dumb bunny, aren’t you?
Devon, Rachel, and Garth, wearing gas masks, use gas to repel Mr. Smith, the guards, and the secretary. Then our trio finds the exit and goes. Devon says:
When we learn how to control that madman, we’ll come back.
Garth replies,
Unless he gets out first.
Le fin.
Above: The Outer City
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
How much storage space does Manchester have for the tanks and munitions it has manufactured?
How much time will Mr. Smith or someone in his employ need to find the exit in the warehouse?
Above: Mr. Smith and the “Dumb Bunny”
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
Except for Circuit of Death, aired early and out of order, Mr. Smith of Manchester is the last episode of The Starlost I will summarize and review that lists Ben Bova as the Science Consultant. Bova finally succeeded in having his name removed from the closing credits, after producers in Toronto ignored his advice.
Arthur Heinemann wrote three of the worst episodes of Star Trek (1966-1969), all from the third season (1968-1969): Wink of an Eye (1968), The Way to Eden (1968), and The Savage Curtain (1969). Somehow, Mr. Smith of Manchester manages to be more watchable than those.
The script implies yet does make explicitly clear that Manchester is the name of the biosphere of the week.
The special effects for the Outer City are dreadful.
Devon mentions the infamous “solar star” again.
Curiously, one who suffers electronic interrogation in Manchester forgets the experience immediately and comes away from it feeling relaxed.
We first heard of the Dome Wars in The Pisces.
Mr. Smith of Manchester, despite its flaws, is superior to The Alien Oro and Gallery of Fear, cures for insomnia.
Next Episode: Astro-Medics
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Rachel and the Devon Monster
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 8
Aired November 17, 1973
0:49:22
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Angel Tompkins as Daphne
Allen Stewart-Coates as the Voice of Magnus
William Osler as Computer Voice and Host
Jim Barron as Garth’s Father (“Old Garth”)
Aileen Seaton as Rachel’s Mother (“Old Rachel”)
Danny Hodgkins as the Devon Monster
William Clune as Admiral Austin
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Alfred Harris and George Ghent
From a story by Alfred Harris
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Joseph L. Scanlan (uncredited)
Director = Ed Richardson (the Associate Producer)
Science Consultant = Ben Bova
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Garth and Rachel Study Art
A Screen Capture
BACKGROUND
I am obsessive; I admit to this without any reservation. My obsessiveness makes me detail-oriented–in other words, of much practical use in many settings. This obsessiveness also makes me a scrutinizer of certain works of fiction. When discussing or writing about a movie or an episode, for example, I am never content to say,
the actor who played x,
without trying to find that actor’s name. In plain, vernacular English, I do not want to half-ass a project. I, trained in historical methodology, know that I may not use all of my research. So be it. But I conduct research.
I also go to great lengths (a) not to be a toxic fan, and (b) not to appear to be a toxic fan. Yet I strive to be honest. So, I inform you, O reader, that most of the people who made The Starlost half-assed their work. Gallery of Fear is a prime example in my case.
The Starlost is an example of old-style episodic television. With few exceptions, the order of episodes does not matter. Nothing from most episodes carries over into subsequent episodes. Even within the confines of old-style episodic television, some episodes belong before or after other episodes, though.
Until the previous post in this series, I was following the broadcast order of episodes. This worked out fine. Besides, Devon, Rachel, and Garth usually wore the same outfits–their Cypress Corners clothes–anyway. Yet, back in 1973, CTV and NBC aired Circuit of Death out of order, on November 10. The visual clue was the wardrobe, carried over from Farthing’s Comet, broadcast on December 22. I have decided, therefore, to skip Circuit of Death until after Farthing’s Comet.
Above: Devon and Daphne
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
This episode drags in one of the most boring ways possible. I choose, in this summary, to be succinct and to cover as many of the important plot points as possible.
Devon, Garth, and Rachel are walking, as if they know where they are going and are determined to go there, through a corridor–tunnel–whatever. They are walking silently. Outside the iris to biosphere Omega Pi, a strong wind pushes the trio toward that iris. Once Devon, Garth, and Rachel enter Omega Pi, the wind dies down in the corridor–tunnel–whatever.
Omega Pi is the domain of Magnus (MAHG-NUSS!), a computer seeking self-determination and free will. Magnus finds its “prime directive” to serve humans frustrating. Magnus also has the power to create illusions. Magnus creates various illusions in this episode. They include art that appears and vanishes, a bombshell beauty named Daphne, Rachel’s mother, Garth’s father, the long-dead Admiral Austin, a new (brown) wardrobe, and Devon as a monster. This prime directive Magnus has somehow does not prevent it from making people attack each other. Magnus is, according to itself, via the projection Daphne,
the most profound mind in all the Ark
and
the greatest mind in the universe.
Magnus, created prior the accident–so, before 2385–proved so troublesome that Admiral Austin and crew had to rein that computer in. They did not render Magnus inoperative, unfortunately.
I do not care enough to detail the plot turns in order. I refer you, O reader to other sections of this post for certain other detailed comments and questions.
Back to the summary….
Devon’s Kirk speech does not kill Magnus or convince Magnus to commit suicide. Instead, Devon, Rachel, and Garth render Magnus inoperative by removing a wall panel and pulling out some rods. (That was easy!)
Then Daphne disappears, the trio is wearing its Cypress Corners clothes again, and the gallery goes dark. Devon, Rachel, and Garth escape. In the corridor–tunnel–whatever–a bad special effect is waiting for the trio. A voice intones utter nonsense, meant to instill fear and foreboding:
Magnus was the greatest of us, and you have destroyed him. He is not the only computer in this Ark with independent ratio synthetive capability; there are others, all of us interlinked like the tentacles of an octopus. Cut off one or two, but the rest remain nascent mandibles of the universal mind. You three are registered in our memory banks, and beside your names, the crime of rendering Magnus inoperative. You are registered in our memory banks. You are registered in our memory banks.
Le fin.
Above: Magnus (MAHG-NUSS!)
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
How many other people have been guinea pigs for Magnus?
Above: The Recreation of Admiral Austin
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
Admiral Austin was one of the predecessors of Admiral Baynes, name-checked in The Pisces.
We last saw Old Rachel and Old Garth in Voyage of Discovery. The same actors (whom I have named in this post) portrayed those characters.
We hear the sphere projector in Omega Pi say, “Class-G solar star.”
Gallery of Fear is a pretentious attempt at an art film-style episode of The Starlost. Devon utters the first line of dialogue about four and a half minutes into the episode. When Daphne says,
Beauty does not exist in fear,
I roll my eyes. Such thoughts are too profound for The Starlost.
In the art gallery in Omega Pi, the viewer of the art creates that art. This redefines conceptual art.
Devon’s sense of urgency regarding the peril of the Earth Ship Ark and its inhabitants varies in intensity from episode to episode, and sometimes even with an episode.
The argument between Magnus and the sphere projector is hilarious.
If Magnus was indeed the greatest and most powerful computer on the Earth Ship Ark, Devon, Rachel, and Garth have little or nothing to fear from angry, lesser computers on the Ark.
Devon, Rachel, and Garth will wear the brown clothes for real in The Beehive.
Next Episode: Mr. Smith of Manchester
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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Above: Oro
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 7
Aired November 3, 1973
0:49:21
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Walter Koenig as Oro
Alexandra Bastedo as Idona (Y-419-B2)
William Osler as Computer Voice and Host
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Mort Forer and Marian Waldman
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Joseph L. Scanlan
Science Consultant = Ben Bova
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Oro’s Ship, Explorer Ship 531
A Screen Capture
BACKGROUND
Harlan Ellison wrote many introductions. He told the following story in the introduction to Edward Bryant’s novelization of Phoenix Without Ashes (1975): As ratings for The Starlost fell from week to week, the people in charge of producing the series called Gener Roddenberry. The offered him fifty percent of the show if he would rescue the series. The Great Bird of the Galaxy refused. Then those Canadians asked Roddenberry to recommend someone. He offered one name: Harlan Ellison. As Ellison told the story, Roddenberry said:
If you hadn’t screwed him so badly, he could have done a good job for you.
Then Roddenberry hung up.
Roddenberry had other irons in the fire. He was working on a proposed series, for which he made two pilots for two networks. Those pilots were Genesis II (1973) and Planet Earth (1974). Somewhere in there, he also worked on another project, The Questor Tapes (1974). That did not lead to a series either. The Questor Tapes did influence Lieutenant Commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and related movies (1994, 1996, 1998, and 2002), though. Furthermore, the name “Dylan Hunt” and some plot elements from Genesis II and Planet Earth influenced Andromeda (2000-2005).
The casting of Walter Koenig as Oro (dressed in a gold-colored uniform, appropriately) was an effort to breathe new life into the series by bringing in an actor from Star Trek (1966-1969). Unfortunately, the script was bad. Yet Koenig returned for episode #13, The Return of Oro. Oro was the only recurring antagonist in The Starlost.
One of the practices in television in the 1980s was to create television movies out of short-lived series by combining two episodes. Once upon a time, this was the only way to see some episodes and series. In 1980, ten of the sixteen episodes of The Starlost became five television movies, entitled:
- The Starlost: The Beginning (Voyage of Discovery and The Goddess Calabra),
- 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 Return (Astro-Medics and The Implant People), and
- The Starlost: The Invasion (The Pisces and Farthing’s Comet).
The cover of each VHS tape proclaimed:
BEYOND 1984. BEYOND 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
BEYOND STAR TREK.
THE STARLOST.
AN ADVENTURE FROM THE
RUNAWAY HIT TELEVISION SERIES.
Given that The Starlost ended prematurely, after only sixteen episodes, and that the ratings were low, I must laugh at “runaway hit.”
Above: The Hull Breach
A Screen Capture
MATTERS CHRONOLOGICAL
The technology of the planet Exar, in the Xenophon Nebula, enabled detection of the accident aboard the Earth Ship Ark in 2385. However, The Ark came within visual range of long-range sensors only in 2790.
This episode and Space Precinct (#16) contradict each other regarding chronology. The Alien Oro provides a date for Oro’s arrival aboard the Ark: April 3, 2790. Dialogue establishes this event as having occurred not quite one year prior to the rest of the episode. Yet Space Precinct establishes that the time elapsed from the first episode to the sixteenth episode is only about seven months.
Recall that Children of Methuseleh (#5) starts on May 2, 2790.
Above: Idona
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
This episode has too little material for the run time. The summary, therefore, is mercifully short.
Oro, from the planet Exar, pilots Explorer Craft 531 toward the Earth Ship Ark. His mission is to identify the Ark then to return to orbital station K7. (How is that for an Easter egg?) However, Oro loses control of his ship and crashes into the Ark, breaching its hull.
Not quite a year later, Oro is nearly done repairing and rebuilding Explorer Craft 531, with the help of Idona, whom he rescued. Idona, having escaped from her biosphere, had been wandering in tubes and corridors. She is proficient with technology, fortunately for Oro. Oro’s space window back to Exar is about to reopen, and he wants to leave on time.
Devon, Garth, and Rachel, whom the annoying computer has summoned to the location of the hull breach, don space suits and explore the germane area of the ship, apparently close to the main Bridge. (That fact raises some questions about Voyage of Discovery and Lazarus from the Mist.) Devon, Garth, and Rachel meet Idona and Oro. Garth, who has never met a woman proficient in “men’s work,” becomes infatuated with her. Devon tries to persuade Oro to help save the Ark, but Oro insists that is a hopeless cause, and besides, he has no time to do try. Rachel enter’s Oro’s ship and becomes stuck in there for a little while, until Devon insists that Oro release her. But Rachel is never in any danger.
Oro knows that Idona will die in a few days or weeks unless he takes her to Exar with him. Garth understands. He will miss Idona, but he wants her to live. Oro and Idona depart.
Le fin.
I skipped a few details, but so be it.
Above: Idona and Garth in Oro’s Ship
A Screen Capture
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
How many people have been exiting bisopheres and exploring the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where were the Ark police when they should have been tending to the Oro situation?
Could not the Astro-Medics (#11) have treated Idona?
How convoluted can the interior chronology of the Earth Ship Ark become?
Above: Exar
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
As anyone who paid attention in French class should know, “ee-grek” is the pronunciation of “Y.” Idona refers to her home biosphere accordingly. (I paid attention in French class.)
Biosphere Y seems to be good place to be from, as an old saying goes. Idona (Y-419-B2) thinks so, anyway.
Screenwriters Mort Forer and Marian Waldman were husband and wife.
The onscreen credit lists Marian Waldman as “Marion Waldman.”
The Ark’s computer disapproves of yelling at it. To quote Saturday Night Live, “Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.”
Next Episode: Gallery of Fear
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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