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Meet Spotlight STARMAN #3
[Excerpts from the Meet Spotlight Starman Second Edition updated 8/19/90.
For information on obtaining the complete Edition, send a Self Addressed
Stamped Envelope (SASE) to Linda Ratoff, 28 Marie Ave., Nashua, NH 03063-3508]
A good planet is hard to find.
It's hard to find a good TV show, too.
Meet Spotlight Starman
Second Edition
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BLUE LIGHTS - An amateur publication for people who appreciate STARMAN.
Christine Menefee, Editor, 600 Water Street SW, #8-14, Washington, DC 20024
Spotlight Starman (Campaign Office): P.O. Box 273440, Houston, TX 77277-3440
Subscriptions: Lil Sibley, 4945 "U" Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
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Special Edition: Meet Spotlight Starman, Fall, 1989.
MAKING HISTORY - THE SPOTLIGHT STARMAN WAY....
by Vicki Hessel Werkley
On Sept. 19, 1986, a remarkable TV show premiered, and for thousands of
people, nothing's been the same since. STARMAN (based on the 1984 movie)
follows the adventures of a wise alien returned to Earth to help his half-
human son. Viewers found many elements unusual in network programs:
strong-but-gentle male role models within an exemplary father-son
relationship; humor at no one's expense; social and environmental
consciousness; an emphasis on values and ethics, on learning and personal
growth. But this family drama about the joys and challenges of being human
was dismissed as "science fiction" and panned by many critics who saw only a
hastily produced promo tape. Then, poorly scheduled and promoted, STARMAN
was shuffled among six time slots facing some of the season's toughest
competition. Not surprisingly, it lagged in the ratings and was cancelled
May 18, 1987.
But STARMAN had touched people's hearts and spirits, and they weren't
willing to let it die. Sensing the outcome of low Nielsens, a number of
Americans and Canadians launched individual letter-writing campaigns even
before the official cancellation, but it was five women from four corners of
America who pulled the various elements together and put the "Spotlight on
Starman." Debbie Markley (Los Angeles) found Vicki Koenig (MN) and
Christine Menefee (DC) through Viewers for Quality Television (which
declined to take up the STARMAN cause). The show's production company
(inundated by concerned-viewer mail) introduced Debbie to Houston
enthusiasts Sharon Joy and Pam Mandeville. On May 22 these "Founding
Parents" shared a conference call and Spotlight STARMAN (S.S.) was born.
National Headquarters was established at Box 273440 Houston TX 77277-3440.
With no help from any organization, this totally self-funded grassroots
campaign faced an unyielding network, an apathetic public resigned to having
"the good shows" canceled, and press coverage that was patronizing at best.
Undaunted by those who saw the effort as "quixotic," "ill-advised," or "a
waste of energy," Spotlight STARMAN proved to be a very different kind of
"fan" movement. Its members - largely adult professionals, people deeply
touched by the show's potential and the changes they were seeing in their
own lives - combined creativity, humor, and integrity to invent attention-
grabbing strategies during the long months of campaigning ahead.
On Aug. 1, 1987 Spotlighters released 1000 balloons before TV critics
convening in S. California. Though there was no network response to the
event and though it was obvious STARMAN wouldn't return in the 87-88 season,
the participants found themselves imbued with new hope and even greater
determination. Directly after Balloon Day, the first issue of BLUE LIGHTS
was published. Edited by Chris Menefee, this "newsletterzine" quickly
became the heart of the movement, providing a central source of news,
encouragement, and the group energy which has created such a sense of
"family." In the fall, favorable stories about Spotlight Starman finally
appeared in magazines (EMMY and STARLOG), netting more new members, some
overseas. Numerous local gatherings and two major conventions (San Diego,
1987; Dayton OH 1988) drew Spotlighters together to celebrate the spirit of
STARMAN while raising over $5000 for the STARMAN causes of literacy and
endangered species.
October 1988, designated as International STARMAN Month, saw a variety
of events - everything from local get-togethers (throughout the U.S., "Down
Under," and in South Africa) to a humorous coordinated mass mailing to ABC.
October 1989 will celebrate the Second International STARMAN Month with a
North Carolina gathering to hike in the autumn woods and "scout out future
STARMAN locations." More conventions - large and small - are being
projected for 1990.
The red rock country of Sedona AZ - where two important STARMAN
episodes were filmed - provided a scenic locale for the March 1989
convergence of Spotlight Starman members from 19 states, Canada, and New
Zealand. Besides visiting shooting sites and Meteor Crater, the
participants met to map the future goals and structure of an ever-evolving
organization. As a result, in June 1989, the readership of BL selected
seven people to serve as the First Spotlight STARMAN Leadership Council.
The indomitable spirit of STARMAN is perhaps best manifested in the
creativity of Spotlight STARMAN members, who have produced an impressive
array of merchandise and "fan art" (visual, literary, musical) to publicize
the movement and for their own personal enjoyment. BLUE LIGHTS offers an
annual catalog of these products. All are produced on a not-for-profit
basis, and many donate a portion of the proceeds to STARMAN charities. Two
of the most notable are "...ENDLESSLY CREATIVE," an illustrated cookbook
(benefiting Literacy Volunteers of America) and unique wall calendars for
1989 and 1990 (benefiting a peregrine falcon recovery program).
BLUE LIGHTS, the offical Spotlight STARMAN newsletter has been joined
by two more STARMAN publications: BEST BUDDIES (a letterzine) and FOCUS
(newsletter of a meditation/dream study network). Many fans of Robert Hays
(who played Starman) met through Spotlight STARMAN and have started two fan
groups - THE ROBERT HAYS INTERNATIONAL FAN CLUB and RH POSITIVE: THE ROBERT
HAYS GANG - each offering a newsletter. BLUE LIGHTS itself now has more
than 24 back issues in print as well as numerous special editions featuring
essays, letters, puzzles and trivia, a demographic study of the fandom, a
songbook, and a series of fanzines containing fiction, poetry, artwork,
scripts, and other "creative works set in the STARMAN universe."
The sincerity, intelligence, and persistence of the campaign have won
the respect of many journalists, the show's producers, and the beleaguered
network itself (which was, despite its avowals to the contrary, moved to
consider a limited number of new episodes and/or a TV movie, neither of
which was successfully negotiated). Hoping for the return of the first 22
episodes as a prelude to new production, the campaign contiues to find
people who still love and remember STARMAN (and to create new fans by
sharing videotapes). The mailing list includes thousands of names from all
50 states, Canada, and at least 10 foreign countries (with especially active
chapters in Austrailia and New Zealand). Some 30 regional coordinators
maintain an information network.
Three of the principal actors (Robert Hays, Michael Cavanaugh, Patrick
Culliton) have expressed the same sentiment at various times: "Those of us
who worked creating STARMAN felt as if we were a family. Now that family is
extended to include all these people who love the show so much." The 1988
writers' strike and other labor disputes, personnel changes in the parent
companies and new career opportunities for the cast and crew have all
complicated the STARMAN project, but most members of Spotlight STARMAN
profess a trust that the best thing will happen in the proper time.
Meanwhile, they're fond of quoting something the Starman himself says in
Episode #4 ("Blue Lights"): "WE'RE NOT HISTORY YET!"
(adapted from the Spotlight STARMAN Wall Calendar)
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"SPOTLIGHT STARMAN INTERNATIONAL" IMPORTANT ADDRESSES
Please send Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope (SASE) with all correspondence
National Headquarters: P.O. Box 273440 Houston TX 77277-3440
Regional Networking & BEST BUDDIES Newsletter: Jean Laidig 784 Holmdel Rd.,
Holmdel, NJ, 07733-1635
BLUE LIGHTS Newsletterzine and Special Editions:
Editorial Office: Christine Menefee, Editor, 600 Water St.,
SW #8-14, Washington, DC 20024
Subscriptions: Lil Sibley, 4945 "U" Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
Back Issues, Special Editions: Linda Ratoff, 28 Marie Ave., Nashua, NH
03063-3508
BLUE LIGHTS BUDDIES: need to receive BLUE LIGHTS issues at reduced
cost or for free? Vicki Werkley, Box 1029, Lower
Lake, CA 95457
Video Tape Exchange: Tracy Rhoads, 109 Newport Ave., Reading PA 19611
GOOD THINGS FROM THE STARMAN UNIVERSE (Catalog of fan-produced merchandise)
Linda Ratoff, 28 Marie Ave., Nashua NH 03063-3508
"...ENDLESSLY CREATIVE" Cookbook (174 pages, illustrated)
Annemarie Schomaker, 601 Main St. Bldg. 11, Ramona, CA 92065
Spotlight STARMAN Wall Calendars (including illustrations, campaign history,
episode guide, trivia challenge, and birthdays of cast, crew, friends of
STARMAN): Vicki Werkley, Box 1029, Lower Lake CA 95457
FOCUS Newsletter (meditation, dream study network):
Gayle High Pine, Box 83704, Portland, OR 97283-0704
FANZINES:
SONGS OF THE SPHERE (series of BL Special Editions edited by Chris
Menefee)
Volume 1 - Linda Ratoff (address above)
Volume 2 - Sylvia Wallace, 1931 Gainsborough Rd., Atlanta, GA 30341
Volume 3 - Chris Menefee (address above)
Volume 4 - (Songbook) - Gayle High Pine (address above)
ENDANGERED SPECIES: (Portals Press) Mary Ann Johanson, editor
inquiries c/o Vicki Werkley (address above)
SILVER SPHERES by Jean Stevenson: c/o Jill S. Wells, 8 South Dorado
Circle #2B, Hauppauge, NY 11788
OUT OF AN ENDLESS NIGHT: (Stranger Press), inquiries c/o Vicki Werkley
(address above)
CONVENTIONS:
Newsletters for San Diego & Midwestern STARMAN Celebrations: Audio and
Video tapes from Midwestern Celebration: Lynda Sappington, 1928 N.
Sulphur Springs Rd, W. Alexandria, OH 45381
Sedona Newsletter: forthcoming from Chris Menefee
SPOTLIGHT STARMAN OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC; INTERNATIONAL TAPE EXCHANGE (outside
U.S. and Canada); and BLUE LIGHTS PUBLICATIONS DISTRIBUTOR FOR NEW ZEALAND
AND AUSTRALIA: Valerie Bushell, 67 Smythe Rd., Henderson, Auckland 8, New
Zealand. (US correspondents may enclose an IRC -- International Reply
Coupon -- available at post offices.)
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"Peregrines" by Sandra L. Smith
Starman: I want to know about program schedulers.
Eddie: Oh, yeah? You got one?
Starman: I HAD one.
Eddie: Did you understand him?
Starman: No.
Eddie: There you go. NOBODY understands 'em.... They're from another
PLANET!
(from BLUE LIGHTS #7)
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STARMAN - STORY AND CREDITS
STARMAN (the Movie) 1984. A Michael Douglas - Larry J. Franco Production.
Directed by John Carpenter. Written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon.
Co-producer: Barry Bernardi. Music by Jack Nitszche. STARRING: Jeff
Bridges (Starman), Karen Allen (Jenny Hayden), Charles Martin Smith (Mark
Shermin), Richard Jaeckel (George Fox). A wise and peaceful alien accepts
Voyager II's invitation to "come visit" Planet Earth, but the military
shoots down his spacecraft over Wisconsin. He kidnaps a young widow after
cloning the body of her dead husband (in his own form, Starman is a mass of
energy, a ball of blue light, which has yet to experience the sensations and
emotions of a physical body). Together they travel toward Meteor Crater in
Arizona, where he plans to meet his mothership. Along the way, as they
elude police and government agents (sometimes with the aid of Starman's
energy spheres) and as they encounter various aspects of human nature (and
American culture), the two fall in love. When the Starman learns Jenny is
unable to conceive a much-longed-for child, he gives her the opportunity to
bear a son - which would be both his and that of the genetic father Scott
Hayden. As they near their destination, the Starman's cloned body is
already beginning to die; there is no way he can remain on Earth with the
woman he's come to love. When he does manage to escape, neither he nor
Jenny believes he will ever return. The Starman leaves behind him the first
person he's ever loved, a frustrated and enraged Government Agent Fox, and a
silver energy sphere for the son growing within Jenny Hayden. Movie viewers
are left with the poignant image of Jenny's face as she watches the
spacecraft depart. What will her life be like, this woman who has chosen to
bear and raise a half-alien child?
The TV series STARMAN takes up the story nearly 15 years later. Fox's
harassment has forced Jenny to give up her son (Scott Hayden Jr.) at an
early age, and she has gone into hiding in a fragile state of mind. When
the boy is orphaned at the age of 14, his father (Starman) becomes aware
(through the sphere in Scott's possession) that he is needed and returns to
Earth. After taking on the identity and cloned physical form of dead
photojournalist Paul Forrester, Starman finds Scott and together they search
for Jenny Hayden while pursued relentlessly by Govt. Agent Fox and his well-
meaning assistant Wylie.
(The switch from movie format to episodic TV necessitated some changes
in "fact." The real voyager II was launched in 1977 while in the series
Scott was conceived in March of 1972. In the movie Starman's spheres are
used up when the energy is expended. His body could only live a few days.
In the series Starman's new body allows him to stay as long as he wants;
both he and Scott have spheres which may be used interchangeably and
repeatedly. Viewers will find small discrepancies in "fact" - e.g. Scott is
referred to as 14 throughout the first season, though he would've had a
birthday in early December - but as with much of TV, one must simply
"suspend disbelief" and forgive these flaws.)
At first the father-son relationship is uncomfortable at best with a
frightened, resentful teenager finding he must guide and protect the in-
many-ways unexpected father trying to parent HIM. He wants only to find his
mother and have this other parent "zap back to Krypton or wherever you're
from." But that begins to change. Like his mother before him, Scott is won
over by the essential nature of the Starman. The development of their
relationship - the growth of love and trust, respect and understanding - is
the very heart of the series (and the most-cited reason campaigners give for
their efforts to revive the show). While helping his father cope with the
quirks of American customs and colloquialisms, Scott learns to admire his
unusual parent's wisdom, compassion, and integrity - tools to forge his own
values as he grows to manhood.
Unable to take on a different form or identity, Starman must often deal
with unfinished business abandoned by the real Paul Forrester (who won the
Pulitzer Prize for his socially conscious photos, but led the life of a
high-rolling, irreverent rogue with a knack for skipping out on
relationships and debts). True to the episodic TV formula, Paul and Scott
continually find themselves encountering people at turning points in their
lives. Or the very presence of Paul and Scott provides a catalyst for
change. But Starman never rescues these people inappropriately. He
facilitates, mediates, guides. His gentle but powerful presence - his
otherworly insights, hopeful outlook, and ability to view "the important
things" with simplicity - help the people he meets better face the
challenges in their lives. He does this without judging others. He may
feel their BEHAVIOR is rude, counter-productive, inappropriate, or "blind"
but he never sees THEM as "bad" or "immoral" people. He provides some
truths and suggestions but leaves people to make - and be responsible for -
their own decisions. While avoiding TV's standard "put-down humor," the
episodes are warmed by wit and amusement - especially as Starman's own sense
of humor develops and he explores the richness of the English language's
multiple-meaning words, leading us to view our own culture and human nature
through the eyes of a true outsider.
OVERALL CREDITS for the STARMAN TV series
Columbia Pictures TV
First season: Sept. 19, 1986 - Sept. 4, 1987
Based on characters created by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon
STARRING:
ROBERT HAYS (Starman/Paul Forrester)
C.B. Barnes (Scott Hayden Jr.)
Michael Cavanaugh (FSA Agent George Fox)
Patrick Culliton (Agent Wylie aka Wiley)
Executive producers:
James Henerson, James Hirsch, Michael Douglas
Producers:
Mike Gray, John Mason
Supervising Producer:
Leon Tokatyan
Consulting Producers:
Deborah Ellis Leoni, Joel Chernoff
Associate Producers:
Stephanie Austin, Jeanne Marie Byrd
Executive Script Consultant:
Geoffrey Fischer
Executive Story Editor:
Tom Lazarus
Script Supervisor:
Maria Lease Cady
Directory of Photography:
Eric D. Andersen
Camera Operator:
Jud Kehl
First Assistant Cameraman:
John Goode
Unit Production Manager:
James A. Dennett
Film Editors:
Tod Feuerman, Art Stafford, Jack Harnish
Art Directors:
Ross Bellah, Robert Purcell, Mary Weaver Dodson, Joseph M. Altadonna
Music by:
Dana Kaproff
Special Effects:
Steven Purcell
Gaffer (Chief Lighting Technician):
Scott Spencer
Assistant Directors:
Nick Marck, James S. Griffin, James Lansbury, Bob Dahlin, Joe Adamson,
Maggie Parker, Gerry Keener, John Slosser, Jerry Sobul
Set Decorators:
Audrey Blasdel-Goddard, Deborah Siegel
Greensman:
Larry Shapiro
Key Grip:
Barry Wexler
Property Masters:
John Sexton, David DeCamp, Gaston Gray
Make-up Supervisor:
Fred I. Williams
Make-up:
Jim Scribner, Don Marando
Hairstylists:
Linda Sharp, Lee Crawford
Costume Supervisor:
David McGough
Costume Designer:
Grady Hunt
Supervising Construction Coordinator:
Hank Stonecipher
Stunt Coordinators:
Harry Baumert, Gene McLaughlin
Executive in charge of casting:
Tim Flack
Casting by:
Dick Dinman, Pam Polifroni
Location Managers:
Eric Klosterman, Mike Beche
Main Title Design by:
Michael Hamilton
Sound Mixers:
Richard Birnbaum, Tommy Overton
adapted from The STARMAN MINI-GUIDE by Vicki Hessel Werkley
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