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Starstormers

Seemingly never-ending ‘improving’ sci-fi saga of dubious scientific veracity from the pen of Nicholas Fisk, concerning futuristic boarding-school children who go off exploring space on a whim. Phenomenally popular, especially with present-buying relatives who’d heard that you liked ‘space’, but in truth little more than a traditional children’s adventure yarn with a couple of ‘meteorites’ bolted on for good measure and of scant use to anyone who’d been suckered by the imaginative flair of The Tomorrow People.

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. johnnyboy

    June 16, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    I don’t remember this at all! Which channel was it on? 1980 would’ve been my zenith for kidz tv, but obviously this has passed me by.

  2. I_Got_Ham_But_Im_Not_A_Hamster

    June 17, 2010 at 7:42 pm

    It’s a book. Nicholas Fisk wrote loads of sci-fi books in the 80s, including A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair and Grinny. Our primary school Book Club had to read both of them. Quite passable sci-fi.

  3. Richard Davies

    June 22, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    I rememer reading The Space Hostages (it was also adapted as a play script) & Trillions.

    Both fairly interesting & sometimes creepy I seem to remember.

  4. Jill Phythian

    July 6, 2010 at 9:56 am

    I read a few of these and enjoyed them at the time. The first volume has a rather grim ending that makes it look like they’re all doomed, and it took me ages to find a library copy of the next book to find out that they escaped. “Glory, glory, glory,” as the followers of the Octopus Emperor chillingly intone…

  5. Rob Free

    August 28, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    It did actually end up on TV but not as a conventional series. It was read out weekly by Tom Baker on Book Tower.

  6. Fiona conor

    November 16, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    Yes it was on and I was 13 and played the girl VAWN the irish girl in space…what a fab time i had with yorkshire television and with the other space kids… x wish i could find the series as we did not have a video recorder. x

  7. Paul Robinson

    February 2, 2011 at 10:09 am

    I LOVED these books. I’ve still got all 5.

    Fiona – I remember watching it and wishing Id played Ispex!

  8. Drew Wagar

    June 17, 2011 at 12:23 pm

    I’ve got all the books and remember catching one episode of this ‘accidently’ on TV back in the 80s. Would love to see it again, but can’t find it anywhere – it was hard enough getting the books from ebay. Loved it when I was a kid. It’s a bit silly to read now, but put on the rose-tinted glasses and you’re back in the 80s! 🙂 I’ll stick a note on my blog…

  9. Scott

    April 19, 2013 at 7:35 am

    I remember reading these and loved them as a kid and yes there definitely was at least a few TV episodes, I remember watching them. Impressive that Fiona Conor (previous poster above) was the actress who played Vawn – well that proves I’m not having false memories 🙂 Wish I could find them too but the Yorkshire TV archives would be the only place that might have them now.

  10. sirita

    May 23, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    I very vividly remember this being on in late 1984, they used the bucket seats from the last season of blakes sevens scorpio spaceship set, also used in captain zep too, that always stuck in my head cause they were instantly recognisable, and looked dead modern and futuristic at the time.
    This was a great we scifi series and books and I’d like to see this too, as it fired my imagination a lot at that time.
    Maybe one day with all the resurgence of the books on amazon uk etal etc, it might get a network dvd release? Who knows?
    Great characters I liked vawn she reminded me of soolin to lol a cheeky irish one.
    Great stuff Starstormers.

  11. sirita

    May 24, 2014 at 11:38 am

    I’ve actually just found the last starstormers episode!!
    Its at youtube
    Its part of “The Book Tower” series, remember that? Tom baker presented it for the first 4 yrd then various people after, the ep is from february 1985, its very colour full indeed.
    Look up
    The Book Tower: One Whole Episode,
    (that’s how its written at youtube to find it there) and its just before the end of ep of tbt, and after it, there’s a Q&A with the writer nicholads fisk, Niell Innes presents it too (in outrageous funny fashion)
    Enjoy, especially Fiona.

  12. Drew Wagar

    April 5, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    Sirita,

    Thank you so much for that! 🙂 It was like being back in the 80s!

    Cheers,

    Drew.

  13. Suzanne

    May 26, 2023 at 9:55 pm

    Actually this was first televised on the 11th october 1982 to 15th october 1982 on bbc1, it was adapted as part of the Jackanory strand that teievised authors works.
    The bbc Jackanory version, Although just over 15 minutes long was vastly superior to the book towers later version.
    The bbc1 version used pretty decent effects, for a childrens tv strand. they also used part of Roger canns scorpio bridge set from series 4 of blake’s 7 (or what was left over from it) for the bridge of the asteroid space ship interior set of Starstormers, the recaro seating used in scorpio can be seen in front of a large hexagonal screen.

    Its interesting to see people remember this, i was a make lady on the bbc1 1982 series, it was quite fun, the octopus emporer effect was the hardest to do ahd was a let down compared to everything else.
    Cheers.
    Suzanne.

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