It was a two part Disney SciFi pilot that aired on "The Disney Movie of the Week" back in 1988. I was able to find a VHS to DVD-R copy of it for a small price and I just watched it. I was surprised that it held up well (for me anyway) after 21 years. I thought that the model making in it looked pretty good. There were three main ships that were featured in it - the ill fated Vanguard Explorer, the "bad guy" ship, the Triton Corsair and then the "hero" ship, the Earth Star Voyager. I've tried finding info regarding the miniatures, but came up empty so far. There was also a very nice looking space station in it as well.

The special effects were under the guidance of Richard Edlund, who is well known for his work over the years. The pilot episode is nearly 3-1/2 hours long and while the story wanders a bit at times, I thought that it had a certain amount of promise at the time. There was a young, attractive and in most cases, a talented cast of likable characters. One of the strong points for me was the soundtrack which was provided by composer/conductor Lalo Shifrin (I like film music). One of the weak bits were the very primitive computer graphics used as visual displays in various scenes. Considering that Star Trek The Next Generation had only premiered a few months prior, SciFi television was just starting a new upswing in the late 80's. I wonder how this would have done had Disney decided to actually make it as a series. It was obviously very family friendly and doesn't compare very well to the more complex, dark and gritty dramas that make up more modern SciFi TV these days, but this one I have a soft spot for.

I found a promo clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJz6WnXyUWE

The opening credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFgLL8EN71I

and a scene listed as "the climax" (it's not):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDVzm-pCR6g&feature=related

If anyone can dig up info on the models, who built them, or what happened to them, it would be appreciated. It would be nice if there were some details - I think it would be a blast to re-create them somehow.

Bryan

Hi

I remember the show but don't have any information on who made the models and where they ended up. Funny enough I can remember the plot and the acid rain on the earth.

Hope someone else can help.

Some pics of the models can be found here http://www.jetcafe.org/bruce/portfolio/TV_Shows2/FrameSet.htm

I remember this one - bit hokey but overall not too bad. First saw it on VHS and then a slightly expanded screening on TV. Don't know why they cut the VHS version down...

Enjoy the pics, hope they help.

Some pics of the models can be found here http://www.jetcafe.org/bruce/portfolio/TV_Shows2/FrameSet.htm

I remember this one - bit hokey but overall not too bad. First saw it on VHS and then a slightly expanded screening on TV. Don't know why they cut the VHS version down...

Enjoy the pics, hope they help.

That's brilliant! Thank you! At least those pics are close enough and show some sort of detail. The shots in the film pretty much showed the same views and weren't very brightly lit. These at least give me some idea of size, shape and even a bit more than I expected.

I never knew that ESV was released on VHS - it must've been outside the USA because I've never had much luck finding a retail release of it. Knowing that it was cut down on the VHS version makes me feel better about the transfer version I got. The film is intact (even the commercial cuts show up) and includes the introduction by Michael Eisner for both parts.

Thanks again for the pics - I had a feeling that someone here would be able to find something.

Bryan

I also got a copy on DVD. I found it kind of slow/boring.

I always wondered if "The Shell" character (I think that was his name) influenced the creation of The Borg over at Paramount. I seem to remember they were very alike visually.

What stands out in my memory of the mini/pilot was the constant use of "beauty" shots of the ESV. That got pretty old after a while.

What stands out in my memory of the mini/pilot was the constant use of "beauty" shots of the ESV. That got pretty old after a while.

Oh, I agree with you there. There were like 3-4 standard shots of the ESV and a couple for the Triton Corsair. Definitely overused, but from what I heard, the pilot was shot on a very restrictive budget.

Bryan

The bridge set was pretty ho-hum too, from what I can remember.

Personally I really liked the design of the Earthstar Voyager (prolly why I had that page bookmarked and was able to post the link so easily :) )

With a little reimagining it could almost be a ship from the Leif Ericson universe. IMHO.

Can anyone give a brief plot synopsis, por favor?

IMDB has a VERY brief plot, copied below:

"The Earth Star Voyager is a spaceship sent to another solar system to prepare it for colonization. Earth itself is horribly polluted, so the mission is vitally important. But as the departing starship gets under way, signs begin to emerge that their mission may unwittingly be part of a larger conspiracy."

Best correlation I can think of is that this plot sounds very much like the "Lost in Space" movie of a decade later; while the conspiracy mentioned above really wasn't terribly revealed (I think- but I haven't seen this movie for a LONG time now) of course, a direct correlation really isn't there. It just sounds like it. ;)

Can anyone give a brief plot synopsis, por favor?

Griff -

If you don't mind getting a very detailed plot synopsis, Wikipedia has an excellent web page entry for ESV:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Star_Voyager

It's probably the most comprehensive online reference, aside from what information that IMDB has.

Bryan

Here be spoilers...






Basically a ship full of youngsters, with some senior crew, is sent off to investigate a new planet that it's hoped will serve as a replacement for Earth. The young crew will command the ship for it's return to Earth some 20 or so years later.
The 'conspiracy' has to do with an Admiral who plans to colonize said planet, forgetting about those back on Earth, with the help of an outlaw group who've built a supership that the Earthstar Voyager conveniently slots into as the command section.
After said senior crew are killed off the Admiral's plan is discovered and the kids (plus the captain of a previous ship who they've rescued) ain't too happy about being used...
Oh, and there's a bit of adolescent infatuation thrown in too. Just for good measure.

Sounds a lot like "Earth II"

Sounds a lot like "Earth II"

It's not exactly a new concept is it? I mean, the Robinsons in Lost in Space left an overpopulated planet Earth for Alpha Centauri in seach of another planet for humanity to spread out on. They never reached their destination, but that was the first time the premise had been used.

Earth Star Voyager proposed pretty much the same concept of finding another planet to replace our overcrowded planet, but instead of it being only 4.3 light years away, they went for one that was about 4 times that distance.

When Earth 2 appeared on NBC in 1994, the premise seemed almost identical to that of Lost in Space, a mission to colonize a planet in the Alpha Centauri system to escape an overcrowded planet, it's not like it hadn't been tried before, but at least these folks reached their destination, but lost most of their technology in the process and found themselves stranded on their new home.

I'm sure that someone will resurrect this concept later on down the road as it's all happened before and it will all happen again....one way or another.

Bryan

Those synopsis' work. Thanks, fellas. I should've thought about IMDb, as that's one of my favorite places to visit!

No worries Jeff. My memory of it is a little rusty (got the tape buried around here somewhere) but I'm pretty sure we got it right ;)