Conference noted::sf

    	STARMAN is a prime (and unfortunate) example of poor television
    SF - of which there has been far too much of.
    
    	The show is an incredibly pale copy of the 1984 movie STARMAN,
    which, although the SF was rather light, had good acting, a
    well-written script, interesting characters, a good soundtrack,
    and a real depth and warmth - all of which are lacking in the TV
    version.  Very few TV adaptations of popular movies ever seem to
    be as good, or survive (note that I said very few, NOT all).  
    
    	As one critic said, it seems like an SF version of THE FUGITIVE;
    to me, it is like the poor 1980 movie OUTLAND - both are average
    stories with a thin SF backdrop.
    
    	Only the idiocy of TV allows show SF fluff as ALF and STARMAN
    to survive, while THE TWILIGHT ZONE and yes, even AMAZING STORIES
    nowadays, dwindle by the wayside, all because they dare to be original
    and make people think.
                          
        (BTW - Bill Lynch told me that UCOUNT is being used extensively
    for some job which requires all of its time until sometime next week, 
    so accessing all UCOUNT Conferences are not possible for now.)
                                                                       
    	Larry
    

    RE .1
    
    I'll second that!
    
    Steve

    RE.1 I disagree about the original - the plot was lousy
    though the charactorization was excellent
    

    	I never said that the movie STARMAN had a great SF script -
    far from it; it was one of those "light" SF movies - but that is
    all it meant to be (like E.T., THE LAST STARFIGHTER, etc.), so
    in that regard it was well-done - and it sure as heck is far above
    the TV ripoff!
                                                                 
    	Larry
    

    Hey, don't insult ALF.  It is my 4 year old's favorite show.
    My 9 year old loves STARMAN.
    
    For kids, they're about the only network stuff that's ok.

    	That's what's so sad - where are the SF shows for ADULTS?!
    
    	Larry
    

    On PBS.

    Quite so.  In th SF Bay area, the San Jose PBS station has the
    reputation for carrying the largest selection of SF and British
    series.  So far they have:
    
    	Dr. WHO (all the Doctors-from Hartnel to Colin Baker)
    	The Outer Limits
    	Blake's Seven (a British SF/Adventure series,
		       that's were ORAC came from)
        The Invaders
    
    and they're constantly adding new shows.
    
    /MeV/
    

    Re: .6
    
    Did you catch the recent TV movie with Klaus Kinski, William Devane(?)
    and Lauren Hutton?  Not as good as I expected, given the reviews in
    TV Guide and People (yeah, I know, hardly high-brow).  I guess the
    novelty led them to overestimate it.  Still, not total kiddie fluff.

    re .9:
    
    see note 446, replies .36 - .last
          
                                                   
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	Coming from England, the BBC and our independent station have
	over the years produced a variety of SF programs - some good
	some bad.

	However what we've received from the U.S. in that genre have
	been Star-Trek ( a fan ) and the worst SF/garbage program
	I've ever seen ...

	Namely - The Last America Hero

	or something like that.

	Since we are supposed to receive the BEST of American TV, I was
	wondering if the 'Last America Hero' does fall into that categorie
	in the American's view ???

	Paul.

    Re .11:
    
    > Namely - The Last America Hero
    > 
    >	or something like that.
    
    Was that the guy with the suit and the lost instructions?
    
    If so, you should understand it is certainly not serious science
    fiction.  American and British humor is different, so the show may not
    have the same appeal over there (not that it was that great over here).
    It is kind of like "Well, the network executives will not let us see
    real science fiction, so we'll take anything we can get.". 
    
    
    				-- edp

    THE LAST AMERICAN HERO was reasonably popular here, but it
    never appealed to me.
    
    --- jerry

Wasn't the title "Greatest American Hero?"

        Uh huh... it was "Greatest", starring William Katt and Robert
        Culp.  Mildly cute, slightly amusing, for the first few
        episodes, then deadly dull.  More fantasy than sf, really.
        
        Their major mistake is one oft-repeated in U.S. TV, and
        sometimes in movies as well; attempting to make comedy from
        a "likable character" who makes "understandable blunders"
        through simple ignorance.  The "super hero" with an
        extraterrestrial supersuit & no instructions, the funny-talking
        foreigner in America, etc.  The problem is that if the "likable
        character" has any intelligence, the ignorance (& comedy)
        fades quickly.  If they don't start catching on really quick,
        they become objectionable buffoons who are no longer amusing
        to watch.
        
        The first time I saw "Greatest American Hero" I knew it had
        a life expectancy of about 3 episodes, if they did everything
        "right".  They didn't...
        
        	/dave

    I'm pretty sure you're all talking about "Greatest American Hero."
    It was a spoof of superhero adventures.  ETs gave our hero, a high
    school teacher of liberal convictions and no particular atheltic
    ability, a super-suit that endowed him with powers very like those
    of Superman, and then some.  I thought it was pretty funny, as sit-coms
    go.  The humor arose from watching the discomfiture of the hero
    and his sidekicks, all sensible people stuck with a tool that is
    ludicrous in appearance but too useful not to use.  They also
    occasionally brought up real moral dilemmas about the possession
    of power, albeit simple ones.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    	Trivia time -
    
    	First of all, it was THE Greatest American Hero.
    
    	Secondly, does anyone remember that for a while the hero, Ralph
    Hinkley, had his name dubbed over to Ralph HARPLEY around the time
    when President Reagan was shot by John Hinkley in March of 1981.
    I thought the dubbing just made it more obvious.  They went back
    to Hinkley a few years later.  
    
    	No, it was not the best SF series ever put on TV, but as others
    have said, I've seen far worse.
    
    	Larry
    

    Kids love it!

    It started off pretty well, but after a while, they started playing
    with it.  I knew we were in trouble when Ralph started dragging
    the kids (the ones he taught) along.  I knew we were *really* in
    trouble when the kids formed a band and performed a song on the
    show (they were in a band contest).  Standard "let's give this show
    more appeal" games that made it so much more run-of-the-mill.

    	The original film of STARMAN (1984) will be shown on CBS-TV
    on Tuesday, January 10, at 9 p.m. EST.  It is a well-done, if somewhat
    light, SF film, and certainly outclassed the television series later
    based on it.
    
    	Larry