The Starlost was an intriguing science fiction series from Canada. The series starred Keir Dullea (looking like a young Ted Turner) as Devon, a deep-thinking man who lives in Cypress Corners, a community where religious dogma discourages questions about the odd nature of their world. Eventually Devon, his lady Rachel and their friend Garth flee their oppressive homeland and discover the bizarre truth: Cypress Corners is just one of dozens of bio-spheres, each with their own culture and level of technical development.
The spheres all make up “Earthship Ark” which was built generations ago to preserve human life following a globe-destroying catastrophe. Devon and his cohorts learn that the year is really 2790 and that an unexplained accident long ago destroyed the original crew of Earthship Ark.
The indescribably massive vessel has been drifting aimlessly through space since then while generations have come and gone in the isolated bio-spheres with the inhabitants of each now thinking their individual worlds are the totality of existence. Worst of all, the Earthship is now on a collision course with a star and all life on the ship will be wiped out.
So much for episode one. The remaining episodes in this award-winning series deal with Devon, Rachel and Garth journeying from sphere to sphere, hoping to find either the backup bridge in order to change course or a society technologically advanced enough to repair the original bridge. Their journey to each sphere is like a visit to another planet, with each culture they encounter providing an opportunity for examining various questions about society, ethics and the nature of existence in the time- honored sci fi tradition.
Revered author Harlan Ellison created the series but had a falling out with the creative team behind the show (big surprise) and disowned it before the show went on the air. Typical of such programs the episodes of The Starlost vary from truly thought-provoking to fun but silly. Our heroes face mad scientists, dictators, monstrous creatures and yes, even an outright alien named Oro, played by Star Trek’s Walter Koenig in two episodes.
All the episodes of this show were at one time available on a Youtube channel called Cyprus (sic) Corners but have since been taken down. The series is on DVD and is definitely worth checking out.
FOR MORE FORGOTTEN TELEVISION TREASURES CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/category/forgotten-television/
Balladeer's Blog 
all right! I went to Netflix expecting as usual that they would not have the movie of which you spoke. But guess what thay did! This concept sounds very cool. I added them to the top of my watch list. Will I be able to get past the 70’s haircuts do you think?
Ha! I don’t know. You may have to close your eyes during the closeups. I hope you like it.
I’m a huge Harlan Ellison fan and I never knew about this show. I want to check it out now.
Glad to hear it! It makes my day when I let someone know about something they weren’t aware of before.
I saw Harlan Ellison on a panel at a sci fi convention once and all he did was complain relentlessly about William Shatner. He really didn’t care much for the guy. Ellison is an interesting character and he has written some great shows. I’ll have to check it out. Cool!
Wow, Ellison is certainly cantankerous but I agree that his work is often very interesting. The Starlost has some pretty interesting stories.
I just watched the first disk last night. I love it!! There are a lot of elements to the series that remind me of ‘Logans Run’ which is always a favorite with me.
I dont know how I could have never known about this series, but Im glad you did a write up a bout it.
Thank you very much, Sara! It always makes my day when I can share one of my obscure interests with somebody! I’m glad you like the show! By the way I’m having a technical problem where some of my comments on some blogs are not “taking” and yours is one of them, that’s why I’ve just been hitting “likes” for a day or two. The techs are looking into it.
This series deserves a reboot.
I agree.