News

2025-07-27 15:43 Further Disclosure

There are a couple of computers that appear in Disclosure that I missed on the first pass. They are the Toshiba T4600C and the SGI Onyx.

2025-07-20 10:43 Four PC Debutantes

Here are four PCs making their first appearance on Starring the Computer. An HP Vectra XM plays a small but important role in Mercury Rising and there's a similar role for an Acer Aspire 500LB in Eraser. Intersection offers very minor roles for two new computers: the AT&T 6286 WGS and the IBM PS/ValuePoint 325T.

2025-07-13 10:35 More Apple IIs

Here's a variety of Apple II appearances. An Apple II is the star of the show in the "Silver Spoons" episode Rick the Greek. Big Trouble has an Apple IIe, and finally, Mind Benders has an Apple II and a Macintosh Plus.

2025-07-06 22:49 Three more PCs

Here are three more appearances of the IBM PC in To Sir, with Love II, Blood Simple, and the "Miami Vice" episode Out Where the Buses Don't Run.

2025-06-29 11:07 A Sunny Fugitive

It's always nice to add another Unix workstation to the database and The Fugitive obliges with some shots of a Sun Microsystems SPARCstation 1, along with a more mundane IBM PS/2 Model 50/70.

2025-06-21 20:19 Some Compaqs and an SGI

The "Seinfeld" episode The Jimmy has a brief glimpse of a Compaq Deskpro XE. There are Compaq Prolineas in Good Will Hunting, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Up Close & Personal, which also features a Compaq Contura 4/25cx and an SGI Indy.

2025-06-19 23:21 An ST and an Amiga

Here are a pair of rival computers. There is an Atari ST in Kako je propao rokenrol and in Die Distel we find its old foe, the Commodore Amiga 2000.

2025-06-13 23:19 Elliott, ICT and GE, O My!

Here's a small collection of big iron. First a couple of "Doctor Who" stories: there is an Elliott 405 in Day of the Daleks and an ICT 1301 in The Monster of Peladon. Then there are a couple of appearances of the GE 635 that I missed the first time round in Spaceballs and Get Smart, Again!.

2025-06-08 22:41 Adage Star

Here's the first appearance of an interesting machine from the 1960s: the Adage AGT/30. Its control panel makes a brief appearance as the ship's computer in Dark Star.

2025-06-04 22:41 More Powerbooks

Here are few more Apple Powerbook appearances. There's a Powerbook 180 in Speechless and a Powerbook 1400 in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode Lie to Me. Then there are two appearances of the Powerbook Duo in the "Seinfeld" episode The Stall and the "Beverly Hills, 90210" episode Courting.

2025-05-31 14:54 New PCs

More machines making their first appearance on the site, this time all PC compatibles. Another 48 Hrs. has a Toshiba T8500, Suspect has a Zenith Z-148 (as well as a brief glimpse of an Apple Macintosh), Loser has some Sony VAIO PCV-Ls, and Weekend at Bernie's has a couple of Everex machines: an EX-1800 and a Step.

2025-05-27 22:04 An Eight-Bit Collection

Here's a selection appearances by 8-bit computers. Codename Icarus has what appears to be a slightly modified Commodore PET 8000 series machine. There are brief appearances of a Televideo TS-803 in Thrillkill and a Kaypro 4 in Brand New Cherry Flavor. Finally an episode of Full House (the British one, not the American) has a pivotal role for an Acorn BBC Micro.

2025-05-23 22:00 Three New Laptops

None of these laptops is really all that new but they are all making their first appearance on Starring the Computer. The Dell Inspiron 8500 appears now and again in The Departed, Alienware Area 51m 766 laptops play a fairly important part in Stay Alive and a pair of Asus ROG Zephyrus Duos also have an important role in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.

2025-05-16 23:17 RISCy business

This update sees a couple of rare appearances of some Silicon Graphics RISC machines, and a RISC-based Starring-the-Computer newcomer. The "Black Mirror" episode Plaything has an SGI Indy, a couple of Commodore machines (a 64 and SX64) and, making its Starring-the-Computer debut, the Acorn Risc PC. The episode High Score of "The Bill" has some shots of an SGI Indigo2, as well as an Apple Macintosh LC and a Dell 4XX/P NetPlex (also making its debut).

2025-05-11 00:22 Robotron, Robotron, Robotron, Videoton!

Here are four features with Eastern Bloc computers. The "Deutschland 83" episode Brave Guy has a Robotron A 5120, and a Robotron EC 1040 makes a brief appearance in an episode of Polizeiruf 110. Zwei schräge Vögel offers two Robotron machines that have not appeared on the site so far: the A 7100 and the K 1600. And finally the Hungarian Videoton 52539 makes its Starring-the-Computer debut in the second episode of Chernobyl.

2025-05-05 23:54 The Net, Revisited

A few people have pointed out over the years that I missed some machine in The Net. I've fixed the existing entry for the Apple Powerbook Duo and added the missing Apple Powerbook 540c, Power Macintosh 7100 and Compaq Prolinea.