Starring the Computer is a website dedicated to the use of computers in film and television. Each appearance is catalogued and rated on its importance (ie. how important it is to the plot), realism (how close its appearance and capabilities are to the real thing) and visibility (how good a look does one get of it). Fictional computers don't count (unless they are built out of bits of real computer), so no HAL9000 - sorry.

Please let me know if you spot any mistakes, or have any tips about films not mentioned here that feature computers.

James Carter <james@starringthecomputer.com>

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News

2010-08-30 22:09 Daemon Mac

Made in 1985, the obscure British children's film Daemon offers Starring-the-Computer its earliest Apple Macintosh appearance.

2010-08-22 13:20 A Flotilla of Commodores

A Commodore 128 appears in Stealth Hunters, a Commodore Pet and Amiga 2000 appear in Wayne's World, and another Amiga 2000 plays a role in an episode of Inspector Morse.

2010-08-14 15:35 Apple Lisa

In a rather inglorious Starring-the-Computer debut, there is an Apple Lisa in the film Meatballs III: Summer Job.

2010-08-14 00:32 Enemy of the Ultra 10

Enemy of the State features Starring-the-Computer's first Sun Ultra 10. I've also fixed the computer in Blown Away — it was a Sun 30/80, not an Ultrasparc. Thanks to everyone who pointed out the error.

2010-08-06 23:49 Terminating Vaios

A Sony Vaio UX appears a few times in the latest Terminator sequel Terminator Salvation. There are other Sony laptops in this film, but I've not been able to work out which models.

2010-08-01 16:24 KISS Dawn's Early Light

By Dawn's Early Light and KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park add two more brief appearances for Starring-the-Computer's most prolific computer the IBM AN/FSQ-7.

2010-07-24 19:57 Apple Outbreak

Outbreak features a number of Apple computers including Macintosh IIs and Starring-the-Computer newcomers Macintosh IIxcs, as well and a Compaq LTE laptop. The Wedding Planner also offers an Apple, with another appearance for an iMac.

2010-07-19 22:51 Flatliners NeXT?

This is a pretty dodgy one. I have been told that there is a NeXTcube in Flatliners. I see a monitor and a printer that are definitely NeXT, and if the machine were a NeXTstation then you'd expect to see it under the monitor, but I'm not convinced that I can actually see the Cube at all. Normally this would disqualify this appearance from Starring-the-Computer but, mostly because I'd love to have a NeXT machine in the database, I'm going to allow it. Feel free to moan about my inconsistency!

2010-07-17 01:06 Apple Camp

A couple of Apple computers make brief appearances in Camp Nowhere, a Powerbook 1XX and a IIGS.

2010-07-15 22:41 Exported Beebs

There is a very rare (unique?) appearance of Acorn BBC Micros in an American feature — they appear fleetingly in Supergirl.