14 year old Scott Hayden (C.B. Barnes) miraculously survived a car crash that killed his guardians. He was abandoned by his mother Jenny at the age of 3 leaving behind only an energy sphere. The sphere was activated and Starman returns to answer the distress call. He copies the body of womanizing photographer Paul Forrester (Robert Hays) who died in a helicopter crash. Evil government agent George Fox (Michael Cavanaugh) from the Federal Security Agency has been hunting for him since his first visit. The alien father and son go in search for his mother Jenny.
It's questionable to place the TV show 15 years after the movie. It's not only the logic of the movie taking place only two years earlier. It's that there is a need to watch the movie to better appreciate the TV show. I'm not saying that it's incomprehensible without the movie. It's just harder. The pilot is a bit too expository and more complicated than a simple origin story. The rest becomes a procedural until the last three episodes. It's essentially Kung Fu, the 70's TV show, about a man from another world traveling across America and doing good as he goes.
It's a bit annoying that Forrester remains the same fish out of water throughout the show. The great thing about the movie is that he is able to learn and understand humanity by the end. In the show, he's kinda the same for all the traveling with the duo. The other characters are not that great either. Fox is absolutely a cartoon villain. There is way too much over-acting. Scott is sometimes an annoying brat in the earlier episodes. All that accentuates the final issue. There is a constant disconnect between the duo's need to hide from Fox and their continued re-entering into Forrester's old life. It shouldn't be that hard to track him since he rarely uses an alias. At the very least, Fox could be suspended and therefore has no access to government computers. That would make it more realistic. It doesn't make logical sense for Forrester to constantly return to his human life since that could easily out him. It's a writer's excuse for drama but it doesn't make sense.
That doesn't automatically make it a bad show. It is a little boring but it's not all bad. I really like episode 13 with the blind girl. It's religious over-protective parents and the girl who thinks that Forrester is a faith healer. It's a great little stand alone episode. It is the model for some of the best episodes. I really love the movie and more than anything, this show is disappointing in comparison.
It's questionable to place the TV show 15 years after the movie. It's not only the logic of the movie taking place only two years earlier. It's that there is a need to watch the movie to better appreciate the TV show. I'm not saying that it's incomprehensible without the movie. It's just harder. The pilot is a bit too expository and more complicated than a simple origin story. The rest becomes a procedural until the last three episodes. It's essentially Kung Fu, the 70's TV show, about a man from another world traveling across America and doing good as he goes.
It's a bit annoying that Forrester remains the same fish out of water throughout the show. The great thing about the movie is that he is able to learn and understand humanity by the end. In the show, he's kinda the same for all the traveling with the duo. The other characters are not that great either. Fox is absolutely a cartoon villain. There is way too much over-acting. Scott is sometimes an annoying brat in the earlier episodes. All that accentuates the final issue. There is a constant disconnect between the duo's need to hide from Fox and their continued re-entering into Forrester's old life. It shouldn't be that hard to track him since he rarely uses an alias. At the very least, Fox could be suspended and therefore has no access to government computers. That would make it more realistic. It doesn't make logical sense for Forrester to constantly return to his human life since that could easily out him. It's a writer's excuse for drama but it doesn't make sense.
That doesn't automatically make it a bad show. It is a little boring but it's not all bad. I really like episode 13 with the blind girl. It's religious over-protective parents and the girl who thinks that Forrester is a faith healer. It's a great little stand alone episode. It is the model for some of the best episodes. I really love the movie and more than anything, this show is disappointing in comparison.