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6 reasons 'The Powers of Matthew Star' is one of the most interesting sci-fi shows of the '80s
Pyrotechnics disasters, Spock as director, and an Oscar winner make the backstory just as fascinating.
For science-fiction fans, 1982 was arguably the greatest year for going to the movies. Mindblowing new blockbusters like E.T., Blade Runner, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Tron, The Thing and The Dark Crystal glued us to theater seats.
Some of that otherworldly action made it to the small screen, too. The talking car K.I.T.T. began zipping about on Knight Rider. A pair of time-travelers hopped about through history on Voyagers. And a pair of aliens hid on earth in The Powers of Matthew Star.
Blending superheroes and space opera, Matthew Star centered around the titular prince of the planet Quandris (Peter Barton), who flees 12 light-years to pose as a teenager on earth with his protector, who assumes the role of a high school teacher (Lou Gossett, Jr.).
The behind-the-scenes tale was rather fascinating, too. Let's take a look.
1. Peter Barton nearly died filming it.
Donnie Osmand look-alike Peter Barton moved from Long Island to L.A. to pursue his acting career. A big break came quickly in 1979, as Barton landed a role as one of the lead characters on Shirley, a sitcom vehicle for Partridge Family mom Shirley Jones. Then, 18 months follow the show's cancelation, Barton got the call for Matthew Star. Tragedy struck early in the production, when Barton caught fire during a stunt. "I fell on this magnesium flare. I knew I was on fire," he told Chicago Tribune in 1994. "They cut my clothes off. I was stunned." Third-degree burns covered nearly 15% of his body. Four operations were required.
Image: The Everett Collection
2. Louis Gossett Jr. had just given an Oscar-winning performance.
The casting coup of the series, however, was the role of Walter Shepard, fellow alien-in-hiding. Louis Gossett Jr. won the job. The first episode aired a few months after An Officer and a Gentleman had hit theaters in the summer of '82. Gossett would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was the first black actor to win a supporting Oscar.
Image: The Everett Collection
3. The plot changed drastically midway through the season.
A few favorite sci-fi shows of that era underwent significant changes midstream. Battlestar Galactica came down to earth for Galactica 1980 in season two. Similarly, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century retooled to more of a Star Trek concept in season two. Matthew Star, however, shifted gears dramatically in the midst of its one and only season. The early episodes focus on Matthew coping with life as a human high-schooler with extraordinary powers. Think Starman (which came out in 1984). The later episodes see him working as a government agent, more along the lines of Wonder Woman.
Image: The Everett Collection
4. It gave Star Trek veterans an opportunity to branch out.
Hey, Trekkies! Some Enterprise legends were behind the camera on Matthew Star. Leonard Nimoy directed "The Triangle" — just his second time helming a TV episode, following his directorial debut on Night Gallery. Meanwhile, Walter Koenig wrote "Mother," just one of a handful of screenplay credits for the Chekov actor.
Image: AP Photo
5. The pilot episode was oddly the final episode.
The pilot episode, "Starr Knight," was drastically different, with a different sidekick. In that story, Gossett is nowhere to be seen, and Barton's character is living with a school janitor named Max (Gerald S. O'Loughlin). Oddly, this episode aired last, ending the series on a confusing about face in the spring of '83. Oh, to make things more confusing, Barton's character was named David Star…
Image: The Everett Collection
6. The show went through many changed in the early stages, too.
Which brings us to our final tidbit of info. The series went through several titles and character name changes early on, which even made it to air in the pilot. Alternate titles included The Powers of Daniel Star, The Powers of David Star, Star Prince and Knight Star (which was probably scratched when they learned about Knight Rider).
Image: The Everett Collection
45 Comments
It also wasn't too good.
Ray Fulk was 71 when he died last July. He lived alone on a 160-acre property in Lincoln, Ill. that he inherited from his father. He had no family or children.
"He was a loner, and a lot of neighbors didn't know who he was," Behle said.
What Fulk did have, though, was an admiration for actors Kevin Brophy and PETER BARTON, whom he had never met. He admired them so much that he left his estate to be split between them. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/dead-man-leaves-estate-actors-met/story?id=18443026
And I'll second (or is it third by now?) the idea of a One-Season-Wonder. Heck, make a MeTV Original Series out of the concept featuring pilot episodes of OSWs from over the years. Surely, we can find someone in Chicago worthy of hosting such a show a la Rich Koz... or maybe check with Joel Hodgson or Mike Nelson for a MST3K style riff on these shows? The studios sitting on hundreds of these duds will surely appreciate monetizing them somehow. Anyone for MeTV3K...?
The premise of Matthew Star should be looked at again, today. Add contemporary touches, and a quality team! They've certainly got the technology now to do that.
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