Has anyone seen these TV series

[Miss Chicken]

I have been searching through Amazon looking for old sci-fi series that I might be interested in buying and I hae come across a couple from the 1970s that I don't think were shown on TV here. They are

The Starlost which is desribed as

After an Earth-destroying threat endangers the planet, Mankind builds a gigantic Earthship Ark spacecraft to save the last of humanity. After an accident takes place and kills the crew, the airlocks connecting the ship's domes are sealed. Cut off from the outside world, many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. As the centuries pass, each culture evolves in an enclosed society, each a world unto itself that is fifty miles in diameter. Unbeknownst to the ARK s inhabitants, they are drifting through deep space on a collision course with a sun. In 2790 A.D., a young man named Devon (Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey ), a resident of a biosphere called Cypress Corners, discovers that his world is much larger than he was taught to believe and uncovers the Ark s fate. Devon and friends Rachel (Gay Rowan) and Garth (Robin Ward) must learn all they can about the Ark if they are to save it and the colonists aboard. The Starlost was a Canadian-produced science fiction television series that broadcasted in 1973 on CTV in Canada and on NBC in the United States. Now for the first time all 16 episodes are available in this collection. Some of these episodes have not been seen since their original airdates.

and Land of the Lost

which is described as

Free-fall through an open time portal . . . to a world where menacing dinosaurs roam free! Get reacquainted with Cha-Ka even if it means having to come to blows over a gigantic vegetable or two. Then stumble once again onto the ruins of Lost City. No matter which path of adventure you choose to follow - above all else: Beware of Sleestak! For heeding that last little bit of advice alone should assure you survival in this anything-but-routine expedition with Marshall, Will, and Holly. Grab hold to the side of the raft! The falls lie just up ahead. Hang on, now! You'll soon be glad to have rediscovered the LAND OF THE LOST.

Should I buy either of these?

Also i wouldn't mind other recommendations for series from the 1970s-1980s. Back in those years we only had two TV stations in Hobart (and only one of those stations was a commercial station) so we missed out on a great deal of TV sci-fi.

EDITED TO ADD - A third series

Voyagers

its description

Phineas Bogg is a member of a group people called Voyagers. They help history along. Give it a push where it's needed. He is a regular human that was living as a pirate a few hundred years ago, when he was chosen to be a voyager. He travels by way of a gold pocket watch like device called an omni. When the light is flashing red, it means history is wrong. His job is to fix it. In the pilot episode, Bogg ends up in 1982 when his omni malfunctions. (He is only supposed to be able to go as far as 1970.) He ends up in the apartment where 12 year old Jeffrey Jones and his aunt and uncle live. (Jones parents were recently killed in an accident.) While there, Jeffrey's dog grabs hold of Bogg's guide book (basically a history book.) Bogg being a pretty inept history person has no clue what to do without his book. One thing leads to another and Jeffrey falls out of the building's window. The only way to save him is for Bogg to jump out after him and travel through time. Now Bogg is stuck in time with a 12 year old kid (Jeffrey), no guide book, and no way of getting Jeffrey back. But he does have an ace in the hole. Jeffrey's dad was a history professor and Jeffrey picked up much of his knowledge. So now the two of them, travel through time, giving history a push along where it is needed.

 

[Heeroyuy]

"Land" is pretty good. Granted, the production values are similar to classic Doctor Who (Plus it was shot on video, like WHO). It's 70's Saturday morning fun, but manages to be 'deep' on ocassion-several notable sci-fi writers-including Star Trek vets-contributed to the show. However like Trek TOS, things kind of go south in the third season.


LOTL was also remade in the 90s starring Timothy Bottoms, but the show was seriously toned down and lacked the eeriness of the original. There was no real continuity with the original show, either-the Sleestak, who are hissing, deadly villains in the original series with shark-like eyes, are reduced to the level of Power Rangers villains.


Land of the Lost is actually headed to the big screen as well, as a comedy starring Will Ferrel. It looks like it's being done in the style of THE BRADY BUNCH and STARSKY AND HUTCH, where it's a send-up of the series . The design work on the Sleestaks/Enik/Chaka actually is true to the original series, however...

 

[RAMA]

I have been searching through Amazon looking for old sci-fi series that I might be interested in buying and I hae come across a couple from the 1970s that I don't think were shown on TV here. They are

The Starlost which is desribed as

After an Earth-destroying threat endangers the planet, Mankind builds a gigantic Earthship Ark spacecraft to save the last of humanity. After an accident takes place and kills the crew, the airlocks connecting the ship's domes are sealed. Cut off from the outside world, many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. As the centuries pass, each culture evolves in an enclosed society, each a world unto itself that is fifty miles in diameter. Unbeknownst to the ARK s inhabitants, they are drifting through deep space on a collision course with a sun. In 2790 A.D., a young man named Devon (Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey ), a resident of a biosphere called Cypress Corners, discovers that his world is much larger than he was taught to believe and uncovers the Ark s fate. Devon and friends Rachel (Gay Rowan) and Garth (Robin Ward) must learn all they can about the Ark if they are to save it and the colonists aboard. The Starlost was a Canadian-produced science fiction television series that broadcasted in 1973 on CTV in Canada and on NBC in the United States. Now for the first time all 16 episodes are available in this collection. Some of these episodes have not been seen since their original airdates.

and Land of the Lost

which is described as

Free-fall through an open time portal . . . to a world where menacing dinosaurs roam free! Get reacquainted with Cha-Ka even if it means having to come to blows over a gigantic vegetable or two. Then stumble once again onto the ruins of Lost City. No matter which path of adventure you choose to follow - above all else: Beware of Sleestak! For heeding that last little bit of advice alone should assure you survival in this anything-but-routine expedition with Marshall, Will, and Holly. Grab hold to the side of the raft! The falls lie just up ahead. Hang on, now! You'll soon be glad to have rediscovered the LAND OF THE LOST.

Should I buy either of these?

Also i wouldn't mind other recommendations for series from the 1970s-1980s. Back in those years we only had two TV stations in Hobart (and only one of those stations was a commercial station) so we missed out on a great deal of TV sci-fi.

EDITED TO ADD - A third series

Voyagers

its description

Phineas Bogg is a member of a group people called Voyagers. They help history along. Give it a push where it's needed. He is a regular human that was living as a pirate a few hundred years ago, when he was chosen to be a voyager. He travels by way of a gold pocket watch like device called an omni. When the light is flashing red, it means history is wrong. His job is to fix it. In the pilot episode, Bogg ends up in 1982 when his omni malfunctions. (He is only supposed to be able to go as far as 1970.) He ends up in the apartment where 12 year old Jeffrey Jones and his aunt and uncle live. (Jones parents were recently killed in an accident.) While there, Jeffrey's dog grabs hold of Bogg's guide book (basically a history book.) Bogg being a pretty inept history person has no clue what to do without his book. One thing leads to another and Jeffrey falls out of the building's window. The only way to save him is for Bogg to jump out after him and travel through time. Now Bogg is stuck in time with a 12 year old kid (Jeffrey), no guide book, and no way of getting Jeffrey back. But he does have an ace in the hole. Jeffrey's dad was a history professor and Jeffrey picked up much of his knowledge. So now the two of them, travel through time, giving history a push along where it is needed.

Starlost is Harlan Ellison's attempt at a show. Its a pretty boring show with bad FX.

RAMA

 

[Steve Roby]

Starlost is Harlan Ellison's attempt at a show.

That's a considerable misrepresentation of the situation. Ellison was hired to write the pilot. He did. But he had no control over the show and no further involvement and was in fact so appalled at what was done to his script that he removed his name from the project. One of his friends, Ed Bryant, novelized the original Ellison script, allowing viewers to see what the show was supposed to be like. Another friend of Ellison's, Ben Bova, wrote a satirical SF novel based on Ellison's experiences working on the show. There's really not much Ellison at all in The Starlost. It's not his attempt at anything.

Its a pretty boring show with bad FX.

That, on the other hand, is reasonably accurate, aside from the missing apostrophe. If anything it's guilty of understating the case.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Starlost was local Canadian production from the 70's when there was bugger all sci fi on tv. It got some hype in local newspapers, and I was teenage Trek fan so I tuned in. I still have "Can I be of assistance" in my head. If you watch the show you'll know what I mean...

The effects were a brand new method of green-screening that was supposed to innovative, and I guess it was a bit, but it looked cheesy even then. But it let them do a lot different scenes and backgrounds that they couldn't have afforded otherwise. If you take like a "play", and let the sets poke you in the imagination, well it is a bit more fun having all different possibilites in each episode.

The show was supposed to be more thoughtful, less action. I don't remember a weapon being fired ever. It was a bunch of innocents gradually discovering they were on a giant spaceship.

It wasn't a great show but it was maybe more "real" sci fi than something like Stargate, I think looking back I might like it better on dvd than on tv, just because you could skip commercials and watch a couple of eps in a row when you felt like it.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I remember Voyagers. Sadly, the main thing that it is now remembered for is that Jon Erik Hexum, who played Phineas, accidentally killed himself on the set of the adventure show Cover-Up, in which he played a spy pretending to be a male model. He was messing around with a prop gun and when he put it to his head and pullled the trigger, the blank killed him.

The show itself was ok as I remember - kind of an earnest but fun attempt to teach history to kids.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I'd recommend renting/borrowing the discs if you can. These shows aren't likely to be to everyone's tastes.

 

[Lonemagpie]

The Starlost is probably the worst SF show I've ever seen. And I've seen every episode of Star Maidens.

 

[Mistral]

Land of the Lost had its moments. I've never seen the other 2.

 

[Dar70]

Voyagers is a fun show. Only 1 season but it was pretty good.

Land Of the Lost is more for kids. Very cheap production values. Ok show but I have no desire to revisit it.

Honestly Miss Chicken I wouldnt waste your money on either of these shows. The dont have any rewatchability factor at all. Once you are through I dont you would want to see either again.

 

[Admiral2]

Land of The Lost may be for kids, but see it anyway before Will Farrell and co. gang rape the concept.

Voyagers was a must-see for me when it was on. It was great.

 

[OmahaStar]

Land of The Lost may be for kids, but see it anyway before Will Farrell and co. gang rape the concept.

Voyagers was a must-see for me when it was on. It was great.

1 - It's a Will Farrell movie. As such, you should remove your brain before attempting to watch it. It is true, Will Farrell movies are horrible, and not worth anyone's time.

2 - "Rape the concept"? What the fuck? Land of the Lost was garbage, pure and simple. To compare a remake of this to someone being brutally attacked in the most private way imaginable, as you just did, suggests to me you really don't understand what you're talking about, and you're throwing words like that out because you think you're being funny. Shame on you! I am appalled that anyone would make a joke like that.

 

[RAMA]

Starlost is Harlan Ellison's attempt at a show.

That's a considerable misrepresentation of the situation. Ellison was hired to write the pilot. He did. But he had no control over the show and no further involvement and was in fact so appalled at what was done to his script that he removed his name from the project. One of his friends, Ed Bryant, novelized the original Ellison script, allowing viewers to see what the show was supposed to be like. Another friend of Ellison's, Ben Bova, wrote a satirical SF novel based on Ellison's experiences working on the show. There's really not much Ellison at all in The Starlost. It's not his attempt at anything.

Its a pretty boring show with bad FX.

That, on the other hand, is reasonably accurate, aside from the missing apostrophe. If anything it's guilty of understating the case.

I was generalizing...however, Ellison was more than a pilot writer, he was heavily involved with the creation of the show (he got an on-screen credit), including the actual idea, and he was supposed to be a story editor on the show. He also actively campaigned to hire well-known SF writers on "his" show. He did take his name off the project because of budget cuts, etc. Doug Trumball, Ben Bova and Ellison all left the show or wanted their credits taken off before the show even aired.

The show's one main claim to fame: Ellison's original script won a Writer's Guild Award.

RAMA

 

[Davros]

I remember all of those series.

 

[Kelso]

I used to love Land of the Lost and Voyagers!


Of course, I was ten years old at the time.

 

[Davros]

The Starlost is probably the worst SF show I've ever seen. And I've seen every episode of Star Maidens.

Then you must have missed Far Out Space Nuts. It makes Starlost look like Shakespear.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Starlost: Any positive elements of this show are buried by just how overwhelmingly boring it is. I picked up the DVD's because I'm fascinated by "unknown" shows and elements of it sounded interesting but I never got past the opening episodes.

Land of the Lost: I think this would be a tough sell today if you don't have nostalgia from seeing it in your youth. I got the first season and it has moments but one or two go a long way. This is cheap 70's live action kids stuff with some pretty bad acting and clay dinosaurs. Someone will probably correct me that it wasn't clay or whatever but it might well have been if not.

Voyagers: I have not seen this since it first aired but I remember it being OK for light-hearted fare. However, that is a big qualified statement because I don't remember a whole lot about it except my mom and I watching it (God, was it really 1982!! oy, I'm old).

I would see if youtube has some clips because that'd probably give you an inkling of whether it's anything you want to try.