John Carpenter’s Starman resonated with a lot of people, and it seems that in the 80s spin-off series were happening fairly regular, there was Fame, Fast Times, 9 to 5, and Private Benjamin. There are a number of issues with the series but I was eager to dig into it and see how it stands up.

I think my biggest issue with the show, especially the initial episode, The Return, is that Robert Hays, who is cast as the new starman, taking the role of a dead photographer, Paul Forrester, plays it a little too camp. Jeff Bridges was able to walk the line between earnestness, curiosity and know how to mine the comedy without going too far. Hays isn’t a bad actor, he just didn’t find the balance for the character that Bridges did, and plays a lot of moments a little too broadly.

But he’s got twenty-two episodes to figure it out, so lets see how that issues plays out.

Then there’s the whole problem that Jenny Hayden, played by Karen Allen in the film, has had a child nine months after the events of the film, and now their son, Scott, is a teenager of fourteen, played by Christopher Daniel Barnes. Scott is attending a private school, he was adopted, but his adoptive parents were killed in a car crash, leaving the poor kid alone.

So Scott is fourteen, and it still looks like the 80s? The math doesn’t work, and it’s a bit jarring. That means the series should be set in 1998, and things were a lot different by then, but the production design doesn’t take that into account.

Government agent George Fox (Michael Cavanaugh) is trying to track down Forrester and Scott setting up the basic premise of the series as alien father and hybrid (?) son pal around the country on adventures getting to know one another and searching for Jenny Hayden who has disappeared all while they are constantly pursued by a government that wants to get their hands on the alien.

The episode was written by James G. Henerson and James G. Hirsch who also served as the series showrunners, and it debuted on 19 September, 1986. To save on production costs, the episode lifts a couple of effects shots from the film, but the episode mainly focuses on setting up Hays as Forrester, and building an initial relationship with Scott as they go seek out Jenny Hayden.

While I don’t like the lapse in time, the concept is good, and it’ll be interesting to see if Hays settles into the role, and finds his own way to balance the alien and growing humanity inside him.

Like Father, Like Son was written by Geoffrey Fischer and first debuted on 26 September, 1986.

Paul and Scott’s journey is underway, they are seeking out Jenny Hayden, but hitch-hiking may not be the best use of their time. So they go about getting a car from a used car salesman,which allows for some comedic moments as Hays still works to make the character his own. It’s still a little camp and a little too goofy in its laughs, but everyone seems to be leaning into that angle, including Cavanaugh’s Fox.

After picking up a car, the pair come across a mother-daughter team, Shannon (Candy Clark) and Beth McGovern (Robyn Lively). Paul and Scott lend a hand, but they soon learn that the two women are being pursued by the police, just as they are. But why?

So the road trip continues with the foursome getting into odd moments and situations that just wouldn’t work as well today. It seems that Beth is being sought by her father, Dana (Paul Tuerpe), has Shannon kidnapped her, or is her dad a baddie?

Nope, she’s just on the run, because she doesn’t want her life anymore and dragged Beth with her. Of course, Paul and Scott are able to help them sort out this problem and help Shannon figure out what to do, but they aren’t any closer to finding the location of Jenny Hayden after their trip to Spirit Lake doesn’t pan out.

Will they ever find her?

Only the series will tell as Paul and Scott work to connect as friends and family, and Robert Hays tries to find the balance for his role. For all that, there are some really fine moments when there are glimmers of real potential in the show, the arc, and the characters.

The first act of the episode is all about establishing the concept of the show, their quest, and the character’s relationship because you never know what viewers know from one week to another, and you never know who may be tuning in for the first time, though the concept of Scott having some of Paul’s abilities, as shown in a confrontation with a mountain lion seems a little too V: The Final Battle starchild.

The journey continues next week as I delve deeper into Starman: The Complete Series on 4K available as an extra on the fantastic Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 available now from Sony Entertainment.