Starstuff
Encyclopedia
Starstuff was an hour-long television show 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. 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.
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.
WCAU
WCAU, channel 10, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WCAU has its studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in the...
-TV Studios on City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It was shown in the Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
television market only. There was only one season of Starstuff with a total of 18 episodes. 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
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
's The Planets Suite, movements four and six, Jupiter and Uranus.
The Show
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
Mark Ritts
Mark Ritts was an American actor, puppeteer, television producer and director, and author. Ritts also produced and directed many independent videos and television spots as President of Mark Ritts Productions, Inc., to clients around the world.-Biography:Ritts was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania...
: 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