This Short-Lived '70s Sci-Fi Show Was Created By One Of America's Best Writers

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Short-lived it might've been, the 1970s sci-fi series "The Starlost" notably came from Harlan Ellison, one of the most prolific and brilliant writers of the last century. He excelled at science fiction in various media and, given his restless intellect, made us question everything from our purpose in the universe to our humanity and inhumanity alike. Ellison was a battler. He abhorred bigotry and war (and "Star Wars") and just about everything that brought us low and harmed the most vulnerable in society. He could also be abrasive when he felt he'd been wronged, occasionally resulting in some words he probably would've liked to take back (if his gargantuan ego could bear it).

Ellison churned out so much work that you can't possibly read it all, but his "A Boy and His Dog" tales are a good place to start. Of his short stories, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktock Man" are considered the best of the bunch. As for his television work, his "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" was the show's finest hour, while James Cameron's "The Terminator" owes a huge debt to Ellison's "The Outer Limits" episode "Soldier" (to the extent that a plagiarism lawsuit was brought and settled).

Studios and networks knew Ellison's penchant for combativeness, but he was well worth the trouble. So, in 1973, 20th Century Fox offered him the opportunity to create a sci-fi miniseries for television. Ellison's idea, "The Starlost," involved a 200-mile-long spaceship carrying the survivors of an Earth catastrophe to a new planet. Alas, the ship is inexplicably damaged, throwing the mission into jeopardy. This wasn't a new concept, but Ellison's spin on it was quite clever. Unfortunately, his ambitions were undermined at every turn.

"The Starlost" had an impressive creative pedigree. "2001: A Space Odyssey" visual effects wizard Douglas Trumbull was brought onboard as an executive producer, primarily because he'd designed a new process called Magicam that combined two cameras, allowing for freer movement for the actors (and more effective implementation of the blue screen effects) throughout the modest studio space. Unfortunately, Magicam proved unreliable, forcing the show's crew to build cramped partial sets.

Budget cuts further compromised the modest Canadian production, which coincided with producers forcing Ellison to make the series more accessible (i.e. less thought-provoking). Suddenly, what was intended as a miniseries à la the 1960s sci-fi classic "The Prisoner" was now envisioned as an expanded show about three heroes (Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, and Robin Ward) exploring the expanse of Earthship Ark in an attempt to repair the ship and get the mission back on course.

A furious Ellison left the show and began bad-mouthing the series before the first episode could air. The premise of the last of humankind floating through space in a mammoth spaceship, divided by cultures, still had appeal, but the cheap-looking sets made it something of a cult curiosity like "Doctor Who." Only 16 episodes were made before Fox pulled the plug in 1974.

52 years after its cancellation, "The Starlost" has a nostalgic appeal. A DVD set of the entire series was released in 2008, and YouTube seems to have the entire run as well. Ellison died in 2018, and the world is much more boring without him. Stephen King said it best about the hellraiser: "There was no one quite like him in American letters, and never will be. Angry, funny, eloquent, hugely talented. If there's an afterlife, Harlan is already kicking a** and taking down names."