From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Captain Star
Captain Star
Captain Star known only as "The Nameless Planet" at the Ragged Edge
of the Universe. The ship’s crew consists of the egocen-
tric and often paranoid Captain Star, Dana Scully-esque
science officer Scarlette, nine-headed engineer Jones,
and fish-keeping Navigator Black. They are later joined
by a robot, Jim-Bob-Bob, who performs laundry duty and
various other servitudes.
Captain Star is introduced in the opening theme as
"the greatest hero any world has ever known". A leg-
endary explorer who has hundreds of planets named af-
ter him, Captain Star’s birthday is a holiday throughout
the universe. Throughout the series, the characters await
further orders from Mission Control which never come.
From left to right: Captain Jim Star, Atomic Engine Stoker It is unclear whether Mission Control has simply forgot-
"Limbs" Jones, First Officer Scarlette, Navigator Black
ten about Star and his crew, but the implication is that
Format Animation they have put the aging Star out to pasture, but spared
Television him the indignity of forcing him to retire, and kept him
Science fiction on active duty so that he can continue to be a hero to the
Created by Steven Appleby public. Events occurring on and off the planet, however,
Frank Cottrell-Boyce frequently require Star’s intervention.
Pete Bishop
Starring Richard E. Grant
Adrian Edmondson
Main characters
Denica Fairman Captain Jim Star (Richard E. Grant) — Groomed from
Kerry Shale birth to be a starship captain, Captain Star is regarded
Gary Martin
as the greatest captain in the fleet. He left the Captain’s
Country of origin Britain / Canada / Spain Academy at age 12 to spend a year as a trainee under
Captain Ned Nova of the Merry Cheeser, who had named
No. of episodes 13 (total)
115 planets after himself, which was the record until Star
Production surpassed him. Captain Star is roughly 127 "space years"
old, which appears to make him a man in his fifties in
Running time 30 minutes
his society. Not humble, though not excessively arrogant,
Broadcast Captain Star believes himself to be a hero and feels de-
Original channel ITV (UK) serving of his universal acclaim. He is often oblivious to
Teletoon (Canada) danger and to the advice and concerns of his crew. Un-
questioningly loyal, Star firmly believes that his orders
Original run 8 July 1997 – 27 August 1998
will eventually come.
First Officer Scarlette (Denica Fairman) — A strong
Captain Star was an animated television series starring
and fearless woman, and an accomplished scientist, Scar-
Richard E. Grant as Captain Jim Star, based on a comic
lette often saves the day through her scientific endeav-
by Steven Appleby: Rockets Passing Overhead. Only thir-
ours. Scarlette’s logic and investigative nature are a stark
teen episodes of thirty-minutes each were produced and
contrast to Captain Star’s tendency to improvise in an
aired. The series ran on the British ITV and Canadian
emergency. On The Nameless Planet, where Captain Star
TELETOON networks from 1997 to 1998. The show was al-
has no ship to command or adventures to lead, Scarlette
so later repeated on Nickelodeon UK.
handles most of his command duties.
Atomic Engine Stoker "Limbs" Jones (Adrian Ed-
Story mondson) — Mutated in an atomic accident, "Limbs"
Jones has nine heads and six arms. Each of Jones’ heads
The story of Captain Star take place on a rocket ship, The
houses a different part of his brain, causing each head
Boiling Hell, which has been ordered to a deserted planet
to have a slightly different personality. Jones is a great
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Captain Star
cat lover, having sequentially named pet cats Sputnik 1 paganda. Keeping him on active duty, while separated
through 374. Conversations between Jones’ many heads from the public by assigning him to the Ragged Edge of
and other members of the crew often lead them to be- the Universe, the public can continue to regard him as a
come impatient and annoyed with him. hero who is in his prime forever. His birthday is a public
Navigator Black (Kerry Shale/Gary Martin) — Once holiday throughout the universe, an occasion which al-
the navigator of the Boiling Hell, Navigator Black sets up lows him to be presented as a larger than life hero figure
a small fish-shaped restaurant on The Nameless Planet and promoted as a role model. While never presented as
and becomes the cook. Obsessed with fish, the restaurant dystopian, it is implied that the government is exploit-
is filled with aquariums. Black often swims with his fish, ing Captain Star’s celebrity, presumably as a recruitment
and even creates a brain-computer interface device that tool and to encourage patriotism, unity, and support for
depicts their thoughts. Black has a nervous temperament the government.
and often panics under pressure. 115 space years prior to the events of the program,
Captain Star’s former captain, Ned Nova, was ordered in-
Story format and themes to retirement. Disobeying orders, Nova fled in his ship,
the Merry Cheeser. Captain Star was ordered to arrest his
Many episodes begin with a flashback to the Boiling Hell’s former captain and chased the Merry Cheeser to a black
glorious missions, which is then immediately contrasted hole. Refusing to retire, Nova piloted his ship into the
with their abandonment on The Nameless Planet as an black hole. He was discovered, alive and preserved from
obsolete and over-the-hill crew. These flashbacks set the aging in the stomach of a space slug, in the present day
tone for the episode and foreshadow the story’s theme. on The Nameless Planet. Star decided to let him leave
At the end of each episode, while sitting in his wheelbar- in his rocket ship and declared that he could not have
row, Captain Star recites an entry into his Captain’s Diary been Ned Nova because he was only half Ned Nova’s age
which begins, "Uneventful day", followed by a short wit- (thanks to his preservation inside the space slug). While
ticism which sums up the moral of the story. an act of loyalty to his former captain and role model, his
A small moon in very close orbit of The Nameless willingness to preserve an idealized image of Nova by re-
Planet, called The Low-Flying Moon, often flies overhead, fusing to arrest him and turn him over to Mission Control
lifting objects off of the ground for a few seconds. in disgrace ironically mirrors Mission Control’s decision
For a children’s program, Captain Star deals with un- to preserve an idealized image of Star himself by exiling
usually advanced themes. The primary theme through- him on The Nameless Planet.
out the series is of society’s treatment of the aged. While The program frequently presents commercialism in
Captain Star appears to be strong and healthy and con- an absurd light. The opening theme reveals that the voy-
tinues to save the universe, after several decades of dis- ages that made Captain Star the greatest hero any world
tinguished service, Mission Control sweeps him under has ever known were missions in which he travelled to
the rug by sending him to the edge of the universe to an inhabited planets and renamed them after himself (much
unnamed planet and has him remain there with no or- as explorers during the colonial era would rename and
ders to carry out. Despite continuing to prove his useful- claim inhabited lands for Europe), and sell them things
ness, there is an ageist undertone that Mission Control that they didn’t need, such as a group of aliens in the
assumes that he is no longer a valuable asset because of opening theme who purchase umbrellas before returning
his age and long service. to their underwater homes. In the second episode, a
Many episodes feature a popular television program "hard-sell droid" attempts to sell the crew a carpet and
called "Star of Space" in which actors portray the crew refuses to take no for an answer. The crew are ultimately
of the Boiling Hell in many of Captain Star’s most heroic forced to dismantle the droid, revealing that it had a
missions. Captain Star is presented as a James Bond-like brain the size of a pea. Many episodes feature unlikely
hero, handsome and virile, who saves the day almost Captain Star-themed products and memorabilia, such as
effortlessly. The episodes exaggerate his role in events a croquet set using a tee and hoops shaped like Captain
while minimizing the contributions of his crew — most Star’s head, demonstrating the rampant consumerism
conspicuously presenting strong and scientifically ac- surrounding Star’s image and likeness.
complished first officer Scarlette as a bimbo and damsel
in distress. Even when watching events that had just oc-
curred earlier in the episode, every member of the crew
except for Scarlette regard the reenactments as mostly
historically accurate, emphasizing the role of television
as a means to control public perception of people and
events.
While Captain Star is removed from the public eye,
he continues to be promoted as a hero in public pro-
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Captain Star
# Title Original air date
(Canada)
01 The Atomic Alarm Clock 8 July 1997
02 Day of the Zooties 15 July 1997
03 The Worm Turns 22 July 1997
04 No Future 29 July 1997
05 Nine Heads are Better than One 5 August 1997
06 Waiting for Sputnik 12 August 1997
# Title Original air date
(Canada)
07 Rocket to Nowhere 16 July 1998
08 It’s Written in the Stars 23 July 1998
09 Ned Nova 30 July 1998
10 The Gravity of the Situation 6 August 1998
11 The Collector 13 August 1998
12 The Edge of the Universe 20 August 1998
13 A Galaxy of Stars 27 August 1998
Episode list External links
• Co-production diary
First season 1997-1998 • Captain Star comic strip collection
• Captain Star on epguides.com
Second season 1998 • Captain Star at the Internet Movie Database
• Captain Star at TV.com
Home video releases
At least one VHS release of Captain Star is known to exist,
containing the first three episodes of the series.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Captain_Star&oldid=465653296"
Categories:
• 1997 television series debuts
• 1998 television series endings
• Canadian animated television series
• British comic strips
• British science fiction television programmes
• Children's ITV television programmes
• Canadian children's television series
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