Starstuff
Starstuff was an hour-long children's television program taped at WCAU-TV Studios on City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was shown in the Philadelphia television market only. There was only one season of Starstuff with a total of 18 episodes airing on Saturday mornings. While it was first shown in 1980, it was rerun repeatedly throughout the next several years. The opening and closing music consisted of a melange of music from Gustav Holst's The Planets suite, movements four and six, Jupiter and Uranus.[1][2]
| Starstuff | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Science fiction Children |
| Written by | Dorothy Louise Don Matticks |
| Directed by | Don Matticks |
| Starring | Todd Porter Johanna Hickey |
| Voices of | Mark Ritts |
| Theme music composer | Gustav Holst |
| Opening theme | The Planets |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Inez Gottlieb |
| Editor(s) | Frances Harty |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | CBS-TV |
| Release | |
| Original network | WCAU-TV |
| First shown in | 1980 |
Format
Starstuff centered around a boy named Chris (Todd Porter) and a girl named Ingrid (Johanna Hickey). Chris lived in the present while Ingrid lived in the future on a space colony. Chris's television set was able to pick up video transmission from Ingrid's spaceship and they were able to communicate, often showing each other clips from Laurel and Hardy's Laughtunes as well as snippets of the educational children's news show, Kidsworld.
There was a sub-show within Starstuff titled The Edge Of Space, and was generally the second-to-last segment in the show. Lasting approximately 10 minutes, it was a space-based puppet segment starring Krikles, Zornad, and their robot assistant, Giz, as they explored the universe in their spaceship searching for life.
From puppeteer Mark Ritts: I taped the puppet bits separately, perhaps a half dozen at a time, on a day when the main cast was off learning their lines. So I don't remember even meeting them ... Krikles's voice was a simple, light character voice that I have used years, variously adapted, for a string of characters, including Storytime's "Kino" (PBS). Zornad's voice was a bit of a steal from a favorite comic of mine who used to be a regular on the old Steve Allen Show—Dayton Allen, whose signature line was "Whyyyyy not??!"
In addition, within the hour-long show was a half-hour CBS network children's program inserted. Starstuff would run about 10 to 20 minutes followed by the 30 minute CBS show and then the conclusion of Starstuff. Captain Noah on competing WPVI did something similar with some ABC Saturday morning children's shows.
Starstuff Cast
- Chris: Todd Porter
- Ingrid: Johanna Hickey
- Aunt Val: Margaret Hunt
- Uncle Pete: Johnnie Hobbs
- Chris' Mom: Elowyn Castle
- Ingrid's Dad: Gary Silow
Starstuff Staff
- Writer: Dorothy Louise
- Director: Don Matticks
- Executive Producer: Inez Gottlieb
- Associate Producer: Suzanne Hansberry
- Production Assistant: Nan Gilbert
- Set Design: John Ferlaine
- Set Construction: Chuck Wells
- Lighting Director: Al Vanaman
- Videotape: Pat Lynch
- Field Camera: Phil Carroll
- Technical Director: Charles Cleveland
- Camera: Art Pitcairn, Pete Cain, Jim Manning, Irv Gubin, Joe Sidlo
- Audio: David Bowa
- Video: Bill Wagner, Ted Vawter, Al Strelau, Dan Falzani
- Floor Managers: Jess L. Schooley, Raymond Fiedler, William Cawley
- Field Audio: George Schumaker
- Editing: Frances Harty
The Edge Of Space Staff
- Writer: Don Matticks
- Puppeteer: Mark Ritts
- Puppet Design: Eli Bauer
- Puppets Built By: Kathy Rogers
References
- Emmett Plant (December 19, 2009). "Sci-Fi Rewind: Memories of 'Starstuff'". io9.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- WCAU-TV (July 9, 1980). "Starstuff Episode #11 – Tape No. 417-60P". CBS-TV. Retrieved January 16, 2013.