''Starman'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series starring

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

and

Christopher Daniel Barnes Christopher Daniel Barnes (born November 7, 1972), also known professionally as C. D. Barnes, C. B. Barnes and Chris Barnes, is an American actor and writer. He is best known for his voice role as the title superhero of the 1990s animated series ...

which continues the story from

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's 1984 film of the same name. The series aired on ABC from September 19, 1986 to May 2, 1987.

Storyline

The series takes place fifteen years after the film's story and features the return of the alien as a clone of deceased photojournalist Paul Forrester (

) to meet and guide his now-teenage son Scott Hayden Jr. (

) as they try to avoid a U.S. government agent and find the missing Jenny Hayden, Scott's mother. Each episode of the series has the fugitive father and son moving from place to place meeting people that are in need of some assistance, while Scott tries to explain to his alien father what it means to be a human being as Starman is forced to deal with fallout from Forrester's rather

hedonistic Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...

past. Each has a small silvery sphere of alien material, about 3–4 cm in diameter, that allows a trained mind to project thoughts to carry out

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

or telepathy in some limited manner. Starman is adept, but Scott is learning how to focus; in one episode, "Blue Lights", Scott inadvertently creates a picturesque image of a rotating ring of blue lights that is mistaken for a UFO. Both are also able to empathically connect with animals. Starman and Scott are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of government

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

investigator George Fox ( Michael Cavanaugh), who regards both father and son as a threat to humanity and will not tolerate them running free in society. In one episode, when Starman tells Fox that children are the world's hope for the future, Fox reacts with hostility to imply that Scott is some sort of mutant and therefore not acceptable. Starman, however, holds no malice toward Fox, and even treats a life-threatening condition Fox has before he and Scott make their escape. In a two-part episode, "Starscape", Starman and Scott find Jenny Hayden (

Erin Gray Erin Gray (born January 7, 1950) is an American model, casting agent, and actress whose roles include Colonel Wilma Deering in the science fiction television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and Kate Summers-Stratton in the situat ...

) living as an artist, under the name Karen Iseley, in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. One more episode, "The Test", aired after the two-part episode, trying to pave the way for a second season, but the series was canceled.

Cast

as Paul Forrester / Star Man *

as Scott Hayden Jr. * Michael Cavanaugh as George Fox *

Patrick Culliton Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...

as FSA Agent Wylie

Critical reception

''Starman'' scored a critics' rating of 34 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, based on 5 "generally unfavorable" reviews. These ranged from ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' stating, "Brother, is this a drag".

Episodes

Awards and nominations

''Starman'' was nominated twice in 1987 for the

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

. The series received a nomination for Best Family Television Drama, and its co-star

received a nomination for Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Drama Series.

DVD release

The entire series was released on DVD in April 2012.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starman (Tv Series) 1980s American science fiction television series 1986 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Live action television shows based on films Television series about alien visitations Television series by Sony Pictures Television