EPISODE 6

Above:  New Eden Leisure Village

A Screen Capture

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Aired October 27, 1973

0:49:55

The episode is available here.

STARRING

Keir Dullea as Devon

Gay Rowan as Rachel

Robin Ward as Garth

GUEST STARRING

Simon Oakland as Dr. Asgard

Irena Mayeska as Dr. Diana Tabor

Trudy Young as Lethe

John Bethune as Villager “A”

Tim Whelan as Village Elder

BEHIND THE CAMERAS

Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)

Episode written by Shimon Wincelberg

Story Consultant = Norman Klenman

Director = Ed Richardson (the Associate Producer)

Science Consultant = Ben Bova

Producer = William Davidson

Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman

Above:  Dr. Asgard

A Screen Capture

REFERENCES

At least one text by Reginald Heber (1783-1826), the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta (1823-1826), has survived into 2790.  That text is a hymn, “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” (1819), a missionary text.  The germane stanza is:

What though the spicy breezes

Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle;

Though every prospect pleases

And only man is vile?

In vain with lavish kindness

The gifts of God are strown;

The heathen in his blindness

Bows down to wood and stone.

“Lethe” is a reference to Greek mythology.  The word means “oblivion.”  Lethe was the daughter of Eris, the Goddess of Discord.  Also, the recently deceased who drank from the River Lethe lost all memory of their past existence.

Above:  Dr. Diana Tabor

A Screen Capture

SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE

In Biosphere XIV, home of New Eden Leisure Village (supposedly population 1000), Dr. Asgard and Dr. Diana Tabor, of the Institute for Reeducation, are conducting psychological-sociological research and carrying on a professional argument.  Dr. Asgard, instead of shouting at Carl Kolchak, is attempting to prove his negative opinion of human nature, that we are selfish beasts, and that recognizing this is the key to the human species surviving on its next planet.  He is a Social Darwinist.  The Institute for Reeducation, original to the Ark, has survived the accident, with Dr. Asgard being aware of any peril to the Ark.

Drs. Asgard and Tabor observe all the movements of Devon, Rachel, and Garth from the time they arrive outside Biosphere XIV.

When Devon hears the misquoted line, “Where every prospect pleases,” engraved on a pillar, he is the only one of the trio to know the next line:  “And only man is vile.”

Given the tedium of this episode, I choose to speed through this summary and skip certain details.

A young woman, Lethe, is the first person the trio meets.  She pretends to be the survivor of some unspecified disaster, from which the other villagers fled.  Actually, she works for the Institute for Reeducation.  She tries to break up the solidarity of the trio.  She attempts to convince Devon, Rachel, and Garth to turn against each other.  This strategy worked on the others who came through this biosphere.  It does not work on Devon, however.  It has a slight effect on Rachel.  And it has a greater and a temporary effect on Garth.

The villagers are present, though.  We see eight or nine of them in the episode.  They live in fear of “the invaders” and seek to kill Devon for reasons of …plot.  Garth and Rachel rescue Devon, and the villagers return to wherever they had been.

Dr. Asgard is upset that he has lost.

Devon, Rachel, and Garth celebrate their friendship.

Above:  Devon, Rachel, and Garth with Lethe

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 long have Drs. Asgard and Tabor worked for the Institute for Reeducation?

Who, if anyone, oversees the Institute for Reeducation?

Who awarded Drs. Asgard and Tabor their credentials?

What will Dr. Asgard, Dr. Tabor, and Lethe do next?

Above:  Devon with Villagers

A Screen Capture

OTHER COMMENTS

Shimon Wincelberg (1924-2004), also known as S. Bar-David, wrote for series in a wide variety of genres from 1953 to 1997.  Genre credits included seven episodes of Lost in Space (1965-1968), two episodes of Star Trek (1966-1969), two episodes of The Immortal (1970-1971), and one episode Man from Atlantis (1977-1978).  The episodes of Star Trek were two of the best:  Dagger of the Mind (1966) and The Galileo Seven (1967).  The episode of Man from Atlantis was absolute dreck:  The Imp (1978).

Yahrens ago, when I lived in Statesboro, Georgia, I purchased a manual on Marxism-Leninism from the Goodwill thrift store.  The Communist Party of the Soviet Union had published this volume in Moscow.  English was obviously the translators fourth or fifth language.  Politics aside, the reading was inelegant.  I kept the book around for (a) curiosity, and (b) aid in curing occasional insomnia.  Years later, I gave the book to a graduate student focusing on the Cold War.

And Only Man is Vile rivals that book as a cure for insomnia.

Next Episode:  The Alien Oro

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 5, 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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EPISODE 5

Above:  Old Children

A Screen Capture

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Aired October 20, 1973

0:49:53

The episode is available here.

STARRING

Keir Dullea as Devon

Gay Rowan as Rachel

Robin Ward as Garth

GUEST STARRING

David Tyrell as One (Captain)

Scott Fisher as Four (Prosecutor)

Susan Stacey as Five (Sarah)

Ricky O’Neill as Six

Mark Lynas as Seven (David)

Gina Dick as Ten (Elizabeth)

William Osler as Computer Voice and Host

BEHIND THE CAMERAS

Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)

Episode written by Jonah Royston and George Ghent

From a story by Jonah Royston

Story Consultant = Norman Klenman

Director = Joseph L. Scanlan

Science Consultant = Ben Bova

Producer = William Davidson

Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman

Above:  One (Captain)

A Screen Capture

SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE

On May 2, 2790, Rachel and Garth have just sat down for a meal when Devon rushes into the dining room.  He exclaims that he thinks he has found the backup Bridge.  The trio goes about a mile away, where Devon says the backup Bridge may be.  Along the way, Garth eats part of his sandwich.

Alpha Complex 3 is a restricted area populated only children.  Devon’s key does not unlock the door, but one of Garth’s crossbow arrows does.  The children, numbered 1-18, think they are the command crew of the Earth Ship Ark.  Number One thinks he is the captain of the Ark.  Devon spends much of the episode explaining the peril of the Ark to children who refuse to believe him.

These children left Earth in 2285.  An anti-aging serum has kept them physically young.  They also have the power to “think pain” upon another person, but never use that power against each other.  Maybe the children occasionally “thought pain” against their tutors, all of whom died long ago.  Otherwise, one may legitimately wonder how they remain in practice “thinking pain” to use that power against Devon, Rachel, and Garth.

These children do not know that they have been in a training simulation for 505 years.  They are aware of the passage of time, though.  They expect to land the Ark then to take a serum that will cause them to resume natural aging.

The children are machine-like.  When they “play,” they receive recline and receive stimulation via a cerebral probe.

To make a long story short, Number One sends Devon and Garth to a cell, but the duo breaks out.  Meanwhile, Rachel teaches children to play blind man’s bluff.  Also, children start requesting names.  Rachel names them.  Number Five becomes Sarah and Number Seven becomes David, for example.

Number One is livid to see members of his crew playing like children.  He is powerless to prevent them, however.  Then Devon pulls the Master Separation Switch.  The simulation ends.

Rachel names other happy children.  She, Devon, and Garth plan to return after they find the backup Bridge.

Above:  Tribunal

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 have the children had numbers, not names, for 505 years?

Why is the control panel for the force field in the brig cell inside the cell?

Given that the Earth Ship Ark left Earth orbit with a crew of adults, what was the plan behind having children training to take over?  And what was the rationale for not telling the children they were training?

Above:  Green Foam Mattress Padding in the Play Center

A Screen Capture

OTHER COMMENTS

The set designers of The Starlost favored green foam mattress padding.  In this episode, children recline and sit on it.

The Earth Ship Ark has dining areas and food replicators.

This episode lacks any reference to a “solar star.”

Number Four, the prosecutor at the tribunal, identifies Devon as “Devon,” Rachel as “Young Rachel,” and Garth as “Young Garth.”  This is consistent with two other episodes.  In Voyage of Discovery (episode #1), we meet “Old Abraham” and “Old Jeremiah.”  In Space Precinct (episode #16), we see a computer record listing Garth’s father as “Old Garth.”  Just as (Young) Garth is the son of Old Garth, (Young) Rachel is the daughter of Old Rachel.

Consider also, that the novelization of Ellison’s screenplay for Phoenix Without Ashes identifies Devon’s father as “Old Devon,” Garth’s father as “Old Garth,” and Rachel’s mother as “Old Rachel.”

Next Episode:  And Only Man is Vile

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 4, 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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EPISODE 4

Above:  The Pisces

A Screen Capture

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Aired October 13, 1973

0:49:55

The episode is available here.

STARRING

Keir Dullea as Devon

Gay Rowan as Rachel

Robin Ward as Garth

GUEST STARRING

Lloyd “It’s a cookbook!” Bochner as Colonel M. P. Garroway

Carol Lavare as Navigator Teale

Diana Barrngton as Captain Janice

William Osler as Computer Voice and Host

Ted Beatie as Old Man

Lillian Graham as Old Woman

BEHIND THE CAMERAS

Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)

Episode written by Norman Klenman

Story Consultant = Norman Klenman

Director = Leo Orenstein

Science Consultant = Ben Bova

Producer = William Davidson

Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman

Above:  Left to Right:  Navigator Teale, Colonel M. P. Garroway, and Captain Janice

A Screen Capture

SCIENTIFIC ILLITERACY (DESPITE BEN BOVA’S NOTES TO THE PRODUCERS)

The infamous “Class-G solar star.”  Harlan Ellison’s take on “solar star” was:

(which is a terrific illiterate redundancy like saying, “I live in a big house home.”).

“Space senility.”  Harlan Ellison’s take on “space senility” was:

(which, I guess, means old, feeble, blathering vacuum).

These quotes come from Ellison’s introduction to Edward Bryant’s 1975 novelization of Phoenix Without Ashes, the original title of what became Voyage of Discovery.

Above:  Sleeping

A Screen Capture

SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE

Devon, Rachel, and Garth are sleeping in a room.  Devon awakens first.  Then a klaxon loud enough to wake the dead sounds.  Rachel and Garth remain asleep until Devon awakens them.  A voice summons the dock crew to Dock Port 8, nearby.  Our trio goes to an observation deck and sees a scout vessel, the Pisces, coming alongside the Earth Ship Ark.  An irate voice orders the dock crew to Dock Port 8.  Devon, Rachel, and Garth go to Dock Port 8 immediately.

They see the Pisces, docked, and meet its crew–the three survivors of the four-person crew.  Everybody is confused.  Colonel M. P. Garroway, Navigator Teale, and Captain Janice have a legitimate excuse.  Devon, Rachel, and Garth are usually confused.

From this point, I rearrange elements of the story and present them for maximum possible clarity, a relative statement.

On January 1, 2381, four years before the great accident that befell the Earth Ship Ark, the crew of the Pisces embarked on its mission to find planets suitable for settlement.  One crew member died during that mission.  For the surviving three crew members, about a decade has passed because of time dilation.  Aboard the Earth Ship Ark, 409 years have passed.  Navigator Teale suspected time dilation before the Pisces returned to the Ark.  Back on the Ark, Captain Janice accepted this fact before Colonel Garroway did.

The Earth Ship Ark is 18.33 degrees sidereal off-course.  The thermonuclear reactors are non-functional, and the vessel is drifting.  The Pisces barely found the Ark.

For some reason, Devon does not immediately mention that the Earth Ship Ark is on a collision course with a “Class-G solar star” immediately.  He does mention the accident, though.

The crew of the Pisces goes back aboard the scout ship and takes Devon, Rachel, and Garth with them.  The Pisces surveys the exterior of the Earth Ship Ark slowly.Our trio gazes in amazement then sees the damaged Reactor 11.  Immediately, though, they have another problem.

The crew of the Pisces suffers from “space senility,” a condition related to time dilation.  The psyche ages into senility while the body remains relatively young.  Garroway, for example, is 44 years old, physically.  Yet he is 453 years old, chronologically.  Falling asleep quickly and easily and reviving just as quickly and easily is one symptom of “space senility.”

Since the accident (2385), the quarters for crew members and their families have remained occupied.  By the time of this episode, though, only an old man, his wife, their daughter, and her daughter seem to remain.  More people leave each year, never to return.  Maybe some of them were unfortunate enough to meet the primitives from Lazarus from the Mist.

Even after Garroway and crew go to the Bridge, he is reluctant to accept the truth.

Garroway, who quickly gives up on trying to save the Earth Ship Ark, decides to drink wine and eat instead.  At dinner, aboard the Pisces, Captain Janice mentions the “Class-G solar star.”  Only then does Devon mention the collision course.  Then our six characters become determined to find out some information.  Then the crew of the Pisces stops caring, about as quickly as they became interested.

Navigator Teale and Captain Janice stage a mutiny on one side of a door.  Devon is on the same side of that door as they are.  Colonel Garroway, Rachel, and Garth are on the other side of the door.  Teale and Janice take the Pisces toward Earth, a dead planet.  Why they want to go there is anyone’s guess.  Maybe this is another side effect of “space senility.”  A hare-brained theory holds that, by running the reactors on board the Pisces at maximum power, the scout vessel will travel backward in time.  Garroway scoffs at this.  He clues Devon in on how to disable the Pisces temporarily.  Devon does this.  Garroway overpowers his mutinous crew and restores power.  Then he forgives Teale and Janice.

Garroway drops off our trio at the Earth Ship Ark.  Then the crew of the Pisces departs.  After all, the cure for “space senility” is returning to time dilation.

The crew of the Pisces was useless–about as useless as Devon, Rachel, and Garth.

Above:  Damage to the Earth Ship Ark

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?

When exactly were the Dome Wars?  (See “Other Comments” for more about this.)

What were the causes of the Dome Wars?

What happened during the Dome Wars?

How did the Dome Wars end?

Who won the Dome Wars?

How many, if any, ships like the Pisces are still out there?

How many sleeping areas like the ones we see at the beginning of the episode are on the Earth Ship Ark?

Why did Devon not mention the collision course with the “Class-G solar star” immediately upon meeting Teale, Garroway, and Janice?

Above:  Garth, Rachel, and Devon

A Screen Capture

OTHER COMMENTS

This series was in trouble for a plethora of reasons.  Mainly, the fish rotted from the head first.  Producer William Davidson and Story Consultant Norman Klenman admitted to Harlan Ellison that they did not understand science fiction.  They had no business working on a science fiction series.

The model of the Pisces used for scenes in outer space has a larger and longer aft section than the model of the scout vessel used for scenes aboard the Earth Ship Ark.

I enjoy The Starlost as I do movies by Edward D. Wood, Jr.

Here is a partial chronology of the story so far.

1. 2285:  The construction and departure of the Earth Ship Ark
2. 2291:  The cryonic suspension of Dr. Gerald W. Aaron (Lazarus from the Mist)
3. Sometime between 2291 and 2381:  The Dome Wars
4. January 1, 2381:  The departure of the Pisces from the Earth Ship Ark
5. 2385:  The accident that killed the Bridge crew of the Earth Ship Ark, damaged Reactor 11, sealed the biospheres, shut down the thermonuclear reactors, and sent the vessel headed toward a “Class-G solar star”
6. 2790:  The present day setting of the series so far

I will update this chronology in upcoming posts in this series of posts.

This episode must have been running short, given the padding.  I have a relatively long attention span; I can focus considerably longer than a flea afflicted with ADHD.  Yet I know padding when I see it.

The two most senior officers of the Earth Ship Ark on January 1, 2381, were Admiral Baynes and Captain Rogers.

Next Episode:  Children of Methuseleh

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 3, 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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EPISODE 3

Above:  The Statue of Calabra

A Screen Capture

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Aired October 6, 1973

0:49:52

The episode is available here.

STARRING

Keir Dullea as Devon

Gay Rowan as Rachel

Robin Ward as Garth

GUEST STARRING

John Colicos as The Governor

Barry Morse as Shaliff

Dominic Hogan as Priest

Michael Kirby as Captain

Peter Langley as Soldier

George Naklowych as Deputy

Paul Geary as Guard

BEHIND THE CAMERAS

Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)

Episode written by Martin Lager

From a story by Ursula K. Le Guin

Story Consultant = Norman Klenman

Director = Harvey Hart

Science Consultant = Ben Bova

Producer = William Davidson

Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman

Above:  The “plain that goes on forever”

A Screen Capture

SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE

The Goddess Calabra flows from Lazarus from the Mist.  In the second episode of The Starlost, Dr. Gerald W. Aaron mentioned the Omicron biosphere.

Between episodes, Devon has acquired a map showing the locations of biospheres.  He holds it when he, Rachel, and Garth emerge onto a “field” in the Omicron biosphere.  The “field” does not resemble any field I have seen.  Garth, however, describes the setting as a “field that goes on forever.”  The trio is in search of books and technical manuals.

Between episodes, Garth has changed his attitude.  He now thinks that the journey through the Earth Ship Ark is a fool’s errand.

Above:  Guards

Image in the Public Domain

Badly-dressed guards shine a spotlight on the trio.  A voice demands :

Status data!

Devon, Rachel, and Garth have violated the curfew.  The captain of the guard changes his attitude when he sees Rachel.  This cannot be possible, he exclaims.

You’re …a…a woman!

The other guards kneel in reverence. Then the captain of the guard kneels, too.

Above:  Entertainment for the Governor

A Screen Capture

Meanwhile, the Governor is bored with his entertainment–men dancing awkwardly.  Then he tells them to perform calisthenics.  So, they perform calisthenics awkwardly.  The guards arrive with Devon, Garth, and Rachel in tow.  The Governor finds Rachel fascinating.

I interrupt this episode summary to describe the society of Omicron.  This society is afflicted with testosterone poisoning.  It has been all-male for hundreds of years.  During “the holocaust”–perhaps at the time of the accident that killed the Bridge crew in 2385, all of the women and most of the men of biosphere died.  The residents of Omicron lost the XX chromosome.  They could recreate it yet have chosen not to do so.  For hundreds of years, new residents have gestated in artificial wombs.  According to societal norms, all love is “unnatural.”  The society is also right-wing.  Authorities burned almost all of the books hundreds of years ago.  The few remaining books–scrolls, actually–are in the custody of priests.  The society of Omicron long ago eliminated those the Governor called

the weak, the soft, the intellectuals.

One becomes the Governor by defeating the incumbent in ritual combat then beheading him.

The current Governor is ruthless and aging.  He knows more than he admits in public.  In fact, he lies in public and tells the truth in private.  He knows that Rachel is not the goddess Calabra having returned, but he attempts to use that mythology to retain power for as long as possible.  If the Governor marries Rachel, he will become a god, and younger men will cease to challenge him for leadership.

Above:   The Governor and Rachel

A Screen Capture

Devon tries to explain to the Governor that the trio comes from Cypress Corners and that the Earth Ship Ark and everyone aboard is in danger.  In public, the Governor says there is “no other place” outside Omicron.  Yet he speaks of publicly of supply tubes, supposedly contaminated with radiation.  Later, speaking in private with Rachel, the Governor indicates that he knows the tubes are not contaminated with radiation.

The priest Shaliff meets Rachel and believes she is the goddess Calabra.  Shaliff and the Governor are old frenemies.  Shaliff, originally a political appointee, has gone from being a non-believer to a true believer.  In so doing, Shaliff has acquired a power base the Governor cannot take away.  The Governor shouts threats at Shaliff, who calmly rebuffs him.  Shaliff is the opposite and equal of the Governor.

Rachel detests the Governor and does not want to marry him, but she does enjoy wearing the wedding dress he provides.

Devon and Garth easily overpower the guards assigned to them.  Shaliff provides shelter for Devon and Garth in the sanctuary, where the books–scrolls–are.  The “sacred writings” are technical manuals of the Earth Ship Ark.  Generations of priests have interpreted them theologically.  The Earth Ship Ark, according to the priestly class of Omicron, is a myth.

Devon, Garth, and some briefly rebellious guards prevent the Governor from marrying Rachel.  Devon challenges the Governor to ritual combat.  A poor man’s version of the Kirk-Spock combat from Amok Time ensues.  Devon wins.  He spares the Governor’s life and demands the right (a) to study the “sacred writings” and (b) to leave Omicron.

Between leaving the cancelled wedding and arriving in the sanctuary, Rachel changed out of the wedding dress and back into her clothes.

Rachel recognizes blueprints of the Earth Ship Ark.  The trio’s new mission becomes the quest for the backup Bridge.  Shallif escorts Devon, Rachel, and Garth to the “plain,” to see them off.  The Governor and some guards arrive, too.  The situation seems ripe for a confrontation, but the Governor permits the trio to depart.

Above:  Shaliff

A Screen Capture

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

How much does the Governor know about what lies outside Omicron?

Where does the Governor think the supply tubes go?

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?

Next Episode:  The Pisces

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 2, 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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EPISODE 2

Above:  The Sergeant of the Tunnel Dwellers

A Screen Capture

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Aired September 29, 1973

0:49:35

The episode is available here.

STARRING

Keir Dullea as Devon

Gay Rowan as Rachel

Robin Ward as Garth

GUEST STARRING

Frank Converse as Dr. Gerald W. Aaron

Vivian Reis as Dr. Jane Gregory Aaron

William Osler as Computer Voice and Host

Doug McGrath as The Sergeant

Clive Endersby as First Tunnel Dweller

Alan Blevins as Second Tunnel Dweller

BEHIND THE CAMERAS

Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)

Episode written by Douglas Hall and Don Wallace

Story Consultant = Norman Klenman

Director = Leo Orenstein

Science Consultant = Ben Bova

Producer = William Davidson

Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman

Above:  The Original Concept of the Earth Ship Ark

Scanned from the back cover of Edward Bryant and Harlan Ellison, Phoenix Without Ashes (1975)

ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH SHIP ARK

Harlan Ellison’s original concept for the Earth Ship Ark was that it would resemble a cluster of grapes.  The version that went to screen, as seen in the previous post in this series, did not resemble a cluster of grapes.

In Ellison’s plan, the Earth Ship Ark‘s original course was for the solar system of Alpha Centauri.  The accident, however, sent the vessel off-course.

The shipboard computers contain all the information required to save the Earth Ship Ark and its inhabitants.

Schematic plans of the vessel are in some tubes and corridors.

Some of the domes contain books, blueprints, and construction manuals that will prove useful in saving the vessel and its inhabitants.

Half of the chambers in the cryonic vault in Command Medical Center are vacant.

Command Medical Center is on Level G.

The Earth Ship Ark has thermonuclear reactors.

The ship’s medics (from episode #11, Astro-Medics) and police force (from episode #16, Space Precinct) are not in evidence.  The police could have dealt with the the tunnel dwellers.  The medics could have handled the medical emergency, whatever it was.

Above:  Rachel, Devon, and Dr. Gerald W. Aaron in the Cryonic Vault

A Screen Capture

SCIENTIFIC ILLITERACY (DESPITE BEN BOVA’S NOTES TO THE PRODUCERS)

The infamous “Class-G solar star”

“Radiation virus”

Above:  Primitives Dwelling in the Tunnels Outside the Cryonic Vault

A Screen Capture

SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE

Lazarus from the Mist opens at the end of Voyage of Discovery.  Devon, Rachel, and Garth stand on the Bridge of the Earth Ship Ark.  Garth wants to return to Cypress Corners, but Devon disagrees.  Garth finds a message from the annoying computer:  There is a medical emergency in the Command Medical Center, on Level G.

Outside the Command Medical Center, our trio encounters a small band of primitives dwelling in the tunnel–corridor–whatever.  They are the remaining descendants of the security personnel (and their families) who lived near and guarded the cryonic vault in the Command Medical Center.  The gnarly primitives accuse Devon, Rachel, and Garth (armed with his crossbow) of being thieves and robbers trying to enter the “forbidden place.”  Garth holds off the primitives, permitting Devon and Rachel to enter the Command Medical Center.  Unfortunately, the primitives capture Garth.  They look at him as if he will be their dinner.  The primitives do hunt and kill, after all.  (Wasn’t The Starlost supposed to be a family program?)

The Command Medical Center is vacant, except for a sphere projector and a some engineers in cryonic suspension.  The sphere projector has to explain to Devon and Rachel what cryonic suspension, but Rachel is slow to catch on.  Even after the explanation, she thinks that the people in cryonic suspension are dead.  The sphere projector explains that seventeen engineers responsible for the planning and construction of the Earth Ship Ark are in cryonic suspension.  The sphere projector gets two names into the list, in alphabetical order, when Devon, like an idiot, chooses the first name:  Dr. Gerald W. Aaron.  Devon asks no questions about Dr. Aaron’s specialty and medical condition, for example.

Devon and Rachel manage to stumble their way into reviving Dr. Gerald W. Aaron, a communications engineer, who has terminal “radiation virus.”  Dr. Aaron will die within two hours without medical attention–a cure, which does not exist.  He is initially angry, predictably.  But Dr. Aaron is a mensch, after all, so he does his best, as time and circumstances will allow.  Meanwhile, the primitives, with Garth in tow, are trying to break into the cryonic vault.  They keep doing this throughout the episode.

Dr. Gerald W. Aaron, aged 40 years, went into cryonic suspension on June 29, 2291, after the Earth Ship Ark had left Earth.  His wife, Dr. Jane Gregory Aaron, was a nuclear engineer.  She had begged the germane authorities to put her in cyronic suspension, too, but they had denied request.  Only one Dr. Aaron was going into cryonic suspension, despite the availability of space for two of them.  Jane recorded a farewell video for her husband.  He watched it after reviving.

Above:  Dr. Jane Gregory Aaron’s Farewell Video

A Screen Capture

Rachel, who had opposed reviving Dr. Aaron, makes a good suggestion:  Return him to cyronic suspension and revive other engineers.

The primitives, upon learning about Cypress Corners, plot to go there, probably to hunt, kill, and eat.  But they have to bang down the door to the Command Medical Center first.

Dr. Aaron helps Devon and Rachel rescue Garth and capture the Sergeant, as a hostage.  Devon ties up the Sergeant.  The barbarians, who have Garth’s crossbow, remain at the gates, so to speak.  The Sergeant eventually unties himself, in time for one of the primitives to shoot him accidentally with Garth’s crossbow.  Devon, Rachel, and Garth tend to the Sergeant’s injury.  They have a new ally.

Dr. Aaron, weakening, must return to cryonic suspension.  Before the gets there, he tells Devon, Rachel, and Garth some useful information.  One immediately useful tidbit is that a vacant agricultural dome, once used for retired crew members, is nearby.  The trio leads the primitives there and locks them in.

Devon, Rachel, and Garth do not revive any other engineers.

The trio embarks for another dome.

Above:  A New Home for the Primitives

A Screen Capture

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

What was the medical emergency in the Command Medical Center?

How many “strangers” have previously tried to enter the Command Medical Center?  From which domes have they come?

Why did Devon, Rachel, and Garth not heed Rachel’s suggestion and revive more engineers?  Who knows how soon the ship will hurdle into that “Class-G solar star”?

Next Episode:  The Goddess Calabra

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 COMMON ERA

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All images in this post (except for the scan) are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.

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EPISODE 1

Above:  Earth Ship Ark, in A.D. 2790

A Screen Capture

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Aired September 22, 1973

0:49:36

The episode is available here.

STARRING

Keir Dullea as Devon

Gay Rowan as Rachel

Robin Ward as Garth

GUEST STARRING

Sterling Hayden as Old Jeremiah

George Sperdakos as Jubal

Gillie Fenwick as Old Abraham

William Osler as Computer Voice and Host

Sean Sullivan as Rachel’s Father

Aileen Seaton as Rachel’s Mother

Jim Barron as Garth’s Father

Kay Hawtrey as Garth’s Mother

Scott Fisher as Small Boy

BEHIND THE CAMERAS

Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)

Episode written by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison, rewritten by Norman Klenman)

Story Consultant = Norman Klenman

Director = Harvey Hart

Science Consultant = Ben Bova

Producer = William Davidson

Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman

Above:  The Title Card for The Starlost

A Screen Capture

BACKGROUND

Harlan Ellison (d. 2018) was one of the greatest writers.  He, like many great artists, was also temperamental.  In the late 1970s, Ellison, displeased with his publisher having violated his contract and ignored peaceful attempts to redress the matter, got revenge.  The first step was mailing 213 individually-wrapped bricks to the comptroller of the company.  The second step involved an incompetent yet menacing Lithuanian hit man making veiled threats.  The third step was a description of how one dies of a heart condition.  (Ellison’s mother had died of a heart condition the previous year, and the comptroller of the publishing company had a heart condition.)  The fourth step–the successful one–was mailing a dead gopher via Fourth-Class mail in the summer.  The story of the company fumigating the mail room and perhaps the comptroller’s office, at great expense, have passed into legend.  The comptroller finally honored Ellison’s contract after getting out of heart surgery.

I wonder what Ellison would have done had the dead gopher not proven so persuasive.

The people who made The Starlost got off lightly.  Ellison invoked his contractual right to remove his name and substitute “Cordwainer Bird,” as “for the birds” and “flipping the bird.”  Ellison also went on profane rants about these people.  He went on profane rants about many people.

I could paraphrase the full story, but I why would I?  Ellison told it well (minus profanity) in the introduction to Edward Bryant‘s 1975 novelization of Ellison’s screenplay for Phoenix Without Ashes, the original, intended version of what became Voyage of Discovery after Norman Klenman rewrote it.

Ben Bova, unlike Ellison, failed in having his name removed from the credits.  Bova, the science consultant, consulted, but nobody heeded his advice.  Bova got literary revenge in a novel, The Starcrossed (1975).  The novel, a fictionalized version of the behind-the-scenes reality of The Starlost, is hilarious.  It explains that scripts came from high school students in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  (That part may be fiction.)  The depiction of Ron Gabriel, the Ellison-figure, is vivid.  Gabriel’s reputation led to “an old Hollywood motto”:

Never let that sonofabitch back into the studio…unless we need him.

(That part may not be fiction.)

In real life, Norman Klenman was in charge of scripts, and William Davidson was the producer.  Both men told Ellison that they did not understand science fiction.

Series production occurred in Canada, for economic reasons.  Ellison, writing in his introduction to the novelization of Phoenix Without Ashes, recalled that the writers with whom he met were not bad writers, but that they failed to understand science fiction and dramatic writing.

The Starlost aired on the CTV Network in Canada and on NBC in the United States.

In Ellison’s original plan, The Starlost would run for four or five years, with our heroes finding the Bridge of the Earth Ship Ark in the final episode.  In the series, our heroes found the Bridge in the first episode.

There were eighteen completed scripts and sixteen produced episodes.  NBC euthanized The Starlost when it chose not to order the final eight episodes that would have brought the total to twenty-four.

The opening credits included this narration:

Earth Ship Ark:  Man’s greatest and final achievement, out of control, drifting through deep space over eight hundred years in the far future.  Its passengers:  descendants of the last survivors of the dead planet Earth, locked into separate worlds, their destination long forgotten, heading for destruction unless four young people can save…the Starlost.

Where did Garth (Robin Ward’s character) get his hair done throughout the series?  In 2790, Cypress Corners was stuck in the early 1970s.

SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE

The episode opens with Devon, Rachel, and Garth–three young people with bad clothes and worse hair–standing on the Bridge of the Earth Ship Ark and looking out across the top of the vast vessel.  The three stare silently.  Finally, Garth advises going back.  Devon replies, “Never.”

The story flashes back.  Cypress Corners is home to a strict, quasi-Amish society.  It is agricultural and patriarchal.  The leader, Old Jeremiah, rules with an iron fist.  He labels any inconvenient question blasphemous.  He consults a computer called “the Creator.”  Oddly, almost nobody notices that the voice of “the Creator” is that of Old Jeremiah.  “The Creator” specifies who may marry whom and who must never reproduce.  Devon may never reproduce, for he asks too many questions.  He and Rachel love each other, but “the Creator” orders that she marry Garth, a blacksmith.  Garth is a conformist; he does as the elders dictate.  Garth also does not love Rachel.  Rachel is resigned that she will marry Garth.

Above:  Old Jeremiah

There is an old coot nobody–not even Old Jeremiah–dare harm.  That old coot is Old Abraham, who camps out near a door with a lock beside it.  Old Abraham is allegedly a fool.  Paint on the door proclaims,

BEYOND IS DEATH!

Most residents of Cypress Corners remain content never to test that statement.  Even Old Abraham lacks the courage to find out for himself.  But he holds onto a door key he had found lying around decades prior.  He opens the door for Devon, who escapes after witnessing Old Jeremiah dictating a recording into “the Creator” then confronting Old Jeremiah.

Devon finds himself in a corridor.  He steps on some round green foam and flies through the air, down the corridor, into another corridor.  Devon walks around until he finds a sphere projector–a computer interface–in a small room someone must have dusted recently.

Above:  Devon and the Sphere Projector

The sphere projector is annoying and condescending.  It also has interesting facial expressions.  It opens with a question:

Can I be of …assistance?

This sphere projector–Mu Lambda 165–lays down much exposition.  Cypress Corners is not a planet.  No, it is Biosphere AG3 of the Earth Ship Ark.  Humans are originally from the planet Earth, a dead world.  All of this is news to Devon.

But wait, there’s more!

In 2285, a “catastrophe of galactic proportions threatened all Earth life with extinction.”  Therefore, a committee of scientists and philosophers guided a project that entailed the construction of the Earth Ship Ark between the Earth and the Moon.  Three million people, representing distinct cultures, moved into biospheres, and the Earth Ship Ark departed for deep space.  The vessel’s mission was to find a habitable planet in the solar system of a “Class-G star.”  However, a century later, in 2385, an unexplained accident occurred.  The ship has been adrift, locked into a collision course with a “Class-G solar star” since then.

The current year is 2790.  The sphere projector refers Devon to the Bridge for more information, for some reason.

Devon returns to Cypress Corners and crashes his funeral.  Old Jeremiah, citing the authority of “the Creator,” orders Devon arrested and sentences him to death by stoning.  Garth breaks Devon out of jail with a shovel and asks him to leave Cypress Corners.  Devon does leave–with Rachel.  In then presence of Old Jeremiah and others, Old Abraham opens the iris so Garth can depart, too.  Old Jeremiah forbids Garth’s departure, but Garth, armed with a crossbow, vows to return with Rachel.  Old Jeremiah leaves Old Abraham alone.

Devon and Rachel find the Bridge.  So does Garth, for he is pursuing them.  The three of them walk onto the extremely messy Bridge, populated only by a skeleton in a uniform.  They see outer space, the top of the vessel, and something Devon correctly surmises is a star.

Above:  The View from the Bridge

Yet Another Screen Capture

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Why does Old Jeremiah never punish Old Abraham?

Why does the sphere projector refer to a “solar star”?  Harlan Ellison mentioned this is an example of the scientific illiteracy of the series.

Does Cypress Corners have a hair salon?  Garth seems to have been there.

Who designed that annoying computer interface program?

Why are most of the residents of Cypress Corners conformist, non-questioning lemmings?

What was the nature of the accident in 2385?  Ellison specified that the answer would come in the final episode, in the fourth year of the series.

Next episode:  Lazarus from the Mist

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 31, 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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