This weekend on the podcast I cover a classic film from 1984 called “The Last Starfighter.” First up on the show, I chat a little about what I have been up to lately and also about some recent Trek and other SF news. I’m enjoying the summer SF TV shows like “Warehouse 13”, “Eureka”, and “Alphas.” I’m also very pleased that “Doctor Who” has returned with a new episode last night. I also talk a little bit about streaming Trek on both Amazon and on Netflix too. It’s great to just be able to cue up an episode and watch Trek when you want. Then it’s on to the movies discussion.
“The Last Starfighter” is a very charming and fun movie from the mid ’80’s that still holds up well today. It’s the story of a teenager who gets recruited into becoming a Starfighter pilot by his skills at a video game. One noteworthy thing for this film is it was basically the first movie to use all CGI (computer generated imagery) for the effects work out in space and during the battles. It might look a tiny bit dated right now, but since the story revolves around a video game, I think it still works very well – even today. The cast is excellent, the music by Craig Safan is one of my favorite soundtracks around, and it was great fun to watch this movie again and gather clips for the podcast. I want to especially thank Will, Mark, Dan, Kenny, Darmok, and Rick Moyer for sending in some great audio comments for this week. It really helps to round out the show and I appreciate it very much. If you want to try your hand at a game version like you see in this movie, go over to Rogue Synapse and download “The Last Starfighter” game for free! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this look back at a very sweet and cool movie.
Next weekend I will be doing a live anniversary show to celebrate 6 years of doing “Treks in Sci-Fi.” The live stream will start at 1pm eastern daylight time on Sunday, September 4th. I’ll have links up on the site and forum to let you know how to join in on the fun. Hope to see lots of you there and until then, take care and stay safe out there.
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Rico, Thanks so much for covering this great movie! Brings back the old days, in a good way. I doubt many would REALLLY like us to revert to those pre-internet and cellphone days!!