News

2008-09-25 14:00 The Machattan Project

These titles keep getting sillier! The Manhattan Project has minor roles for an Apple Mac and a, Starring-the-Computer newcomer, DEC PDP-11/40.

2008-09-24 14:00 Get Smart, Amiga!

Get Smart, Again! adds the first Commodore Amiga 1000 to the Starring-the-Computer database, along with an IBM AN/FSQ-7. We've had a recent glut of the IBMs, not through any design on my part, but simply because of the order the rental company has sent the DVDs to me. It maybe because I added them all to the rental list at once after discovering Mike Lowen's excellent web page The AN/FSQ-7 on TV and in the Movies. As you can see from that page, we still have a fair few AN/FSQ-7 appearances to go!

2008-09-20 11:58 Stand By XT

An IBM PC XT makes a brief appearance in the 1986 film Stand By Me.

2008-09-19 20:55 23 Nichts ist so wie es scheint

23 is Starring-the-Computer's first foreign language film, but it was certainly worth bearing with the subtitles. As well being a very good "computery" movie, it also adds loads of new computers to the database: Commodore's 64C and SX64 as well as an Atari ST and a very chunky Ericsson Portable PC. A veritable smorgasbord of 1980s computing!

2008-09-16 14:00 Tom Selleck reaches his Zenith

Well, he might well have reached his nadir, actually, but nonetheless Tom Selleck stars in Her Alibi along with a Zenith Supersport laptop. Oh, and another SAGE appearance, this time in Spaceballs.

2008-09-09 21:58 The Tandy Kid

The Heavenly Kid has very minor roles for two TRS-80 computers: a Model 4 and a Color Computer.

2008-09-09 13:59 Big Fat Update 3

Dodgeball, Tomb Raider, Accepted, Electric Dreams and an episode of Knight Rider have all been added to the database. Three computers make their first Starring-the-Computer appearance: the Apple Powerbook G4, the Tandy MC-10 and (almost unbelievable that it's taken this long to find one) a Commodore 64.

2008-09-07 16:23 Another SAGE pair

Another couple of appearances of the IBM AN/FSQ-7: Airplane! and The Swarm (which also features another Starring-the-Computer veteran the Burroughs B205 tape drive.)

2008-08-28 18:07 A SAGE pair

The IBM AN/FSQ-7 (SAGE) appears in both sci-fi prequel Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and sixties spy-comedy The President's Analyst.

2008-08-19 12:05 Debbie and Damon

Damon and Debbie, despite being an obscure soap spinoff, is to me an exciting addition to the site. It features new computers - a Toshiba HX-10 and a Sun 3/50 (I don't believe it's taken this long to get a Sun machine in the database), and well a few Beebs, but the main point of interest is that it takes place at my place of work - the Computer Science Department at the University of York. Also, it's just possible that I might own that particular Sun 3/50 (or its motherboard, at least). Thanks to an anonymous colleague for rescuing this from a mouldy betamax tape!

2008-07-25 22:18 Buckaroo Banzai

It was on my list for an Apple II, which wasn't visible at all, but Buckaroo Banzai does have a DEC Rainbow and another machine that looks like an S-100 system. I couldn't identify it. Can you?

2008-07-23 22:56 First success of the help page!

A big thanks to Velibor who spotted the TRS-80 from The Royal Tenenbaums on the help page.

2008-07-23 13:42 Dr. Goldfoot and the Burroughs Machine

The Burroughs B205 (or its tape drive, at least) appears in Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, making it joint equal with the Commodore PET as the mostly popular computer on Starring-the-Computer!

2008-07-21 22:31 Zoolander

An iMac plays a moderately important role in the film Zoolander. Not my kind of film at all, but I suppose it provides Starring-the-Computer with its first "Z" entry...

2008-07-18 23:38 Big Fat Update 2

xXx, Lost in Space, Sliders and Alien vs Predator have all been added to the database. New machines: a Motorola Accompli and a PDP-11/03. That's certainly helped clear the backlog that was building up!

2008-07-18 00:11 Applenapping

Ransom proves to be another coup for Apple's marketing department. At least this time as well as the inevitable dull PowerBook, there's a more interesting Messagepad.