Cover to South African "Interster" Volume 1 DVD
Interster (English translation: Interstellar) was a South African science-fiction puppet television series shown in the early 1980s by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The series only ever existed in the Afrikaans language and has never been dubbed for any other country.
Interster was created mostly as South Africa's answer to Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, due to their inability to complete its dub at the time due to the restrictions brought from Apartheid.[1] The series was created by Dirk de Villiers and written by Dr. Johann Beukes. The show premiered on July 20, 1982, with the last episode shown on April 26, 1986.
Set in the year 2500 (other sources have stated 2013), the series involved an undercover planetary defense agency operating out of Cape Town under the guise of an interstellar shipping company. Earth is engrossed in a bitter intergalactic struggle against the inhabitants of the hostile planet Krokon whose evil ruler, Crown Prince Karnati, aided and financed by the treacherous Dr. Gorman, is intent on taking over the Earth.
Head of "Interster" is Professor Zed, a gruff elderly man who hides his affection for his personnel. His top spacecraft crew consists of Captain Buks de la Rey and Lieutenant Adam Buys, two brave young men assisted by a robot named Pikkie. Pikkie is extremely proud of his status as the most advanced robot yet developed. Lieutenant Lida de Villiers, runs the control-room from her desk at "Interster" headquarters.[2]
The TV series slid into obscurity once SABC stopped airing the series, becoming fairly forgotten. In 2009 the South African Broadcasting Corporation released two DVD Volumes of the Series, consisting of Episodes 1-13. The series however consisted 2 Seasons and 37 episodes. Given that it's been 5 years since the release of the DVDs, it's unlikely that the other 24 episodes will be given a release, and TV recordings do not seem to exist, apparently VHS Tapes were released as well in the 80s, but if any further episodes were present on them is unknown. In 2009, an English comedy redub of the series was planned though as of 2010 scrapped, "Interstar Airlines", with a preview being shown utilizing an episode not present on either DVD, meaning that masters probably still do exist. [3][4]
Missing Episodes[]
Though the airdates are known, the titles don't seem to be. [5]
| Season | No. | Title | Airdate | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 014 | Unknown | 10/19/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 015 | Unknown | 11/2/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 016 | Unknown | 11/9/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 017 | Unknown | 11/16/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 018 | Unknown | 11/16/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 019 | Unknown | 11/19/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 020 | Unknown | 12/7/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 021 | Unknown | 12/14/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 022 | Unknown | 12/21/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 023 | Unknown | 12/28/1982 | Missing |
| 1 | 024 | Unknown | 1/4/1983 | Missing |
| 1 | 025 | Unknown | 1/11/1983 | Missing |
| 1 | 026 | Unknown | 1/18/1983 | Missing |
| 2 | 027 | Unknown | 2/15/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 028 | Unknown | 2/22/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 029 | Unknown | 3/1/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 030 | Unknown | 3/8/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 031 | Unknown | 3/15/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 032 | Unknown | 3/22/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 033 | Unknown | 3/29/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 034 | Unknown | 4/5/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 035 | Unknown | 4/12/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 036 | Unknown | 4/19/1986 | Missing |
| 2 | 037 | Unknown | 4/26/1986 | Missing |
References[]
- ↑ Interster on Wikipedia Retrieved 27 Mar '14.
- ↑ Interster: Corewijn Restoration Retrieved 27 Mar '14.
- ↑ INTERSTAR AIRLINES - TEASER 1 Retrieved 27 Mar '14.
- ↑ Interster Airlines Facebook Page (inactive since March 2010) Retrieved 27 Mar '14.
- ↑ Interster on VintageMedia.co.za Retrieved 27 Mar '14.