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2020-09-13 20:07 Some Commodores, some Apples an IMSAI and a Tandy

Tumbledown has a Commodore 64, a season 5 episode of Grange Hill has a Commodore PET and Black Fire has an Apple IIe. Next are two episodes of "The Greatest American Hero" - Operation Spoilsport has an Apple III and Classical Gas has a Tandy TRS-80 Model III. And finally, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead has an IMSAI 8080.

2020-09-06 14:05 Missing Bits

All of the following are computers I missed on the first viewing. The Hunt for Red October as a Zenith Supersport right at the beginning. Airplane II: The Sequel has a number of Tandy TRS-80 Model IIIs. Revenge of the Nerds has a poster of a Franklin Ace 1000. I missed a number of Apple computers in Independence Day: the Macintosh II/IIx, the Macintosh IIvi/IIvx and the Macintosh LC. And finally Terminator Genisys has a Starring-the-Computer debutante - the Miltope RLC-3G.

2020-08-23 16:33 Laptops and Portables, Old and New

Swordfish has three debutantes, the Dell Inspiron 4000, Dell Latitude LS and Dell PowerEdge 2550, and also a Panasonic Toughbook. Knives Out has two machines new to the database, the Acer Chromebook 11 and Lenovo ThinkPad T61, and also has roles for a Apple iMac G5 and the Tandy TRS-80 Model I. Straight Outta Compton has a small role for a Compaq LTE 5000, and Speed 2: Cruise Control has shots of the NEC VERSA 6000. More of a luggable than a laptop, there is a Compaq Portable in Price of Vengeance, and there is the equally lap-crushing Kaypro II in Field of Dreams, along with a NEC PowerMate 1. No More Dirty Deals has the Outbound Notebook (and the Apple Macintosh SE), and finally City of Industry offers two Apple Powerbooks, the 180 and the 5300.

2020-08-09 16:58 Hanna Season 2

Several machines appear in the second season of Hanna. There's a Apple Macbook Air in Safe, and a Microsoft Surface in The List. The Alienware 17 R5 makes its debut in The Trial and the Dell OptiPlex 790 SFF also debuts in Tacitus.

2020-07-30 15:51 A European Quartet.

From France, L'ordinateur des pompes funèbres has a HP 9830. From Greece, Mania has a Sanyo BMC-555. From Poland, Krótki film o milosci has brief shot of the Amstrad CPC 6128. And finally, from the Netherlands, the "Flodder" episode Computerkoorts has a pair of Apple Macintosh LCs.

2020-07-19 20:50 Halt and Catch Fire, Season 1

As you might expect, Season 1 of "Halt and Catch Fire" has plenty of interest. Episode 1: IBM PC XT, Tandy TRS-80 Model III, Zenith Z-120. Episode 3: Compaq Portable, Osborne Executive, Tandy TRS-80 Model 100. Episode 4: IBM 5110 (making its debut appearance), IBM PC XT, Zenith Z-120. Episode 6: Atari 600/800 XL. Episode 9: Apple Macintosh.

2020-07-12 16:33 360 + 370

Two films with IBM mainframe computers: The Treasure of Jamaica Reef with the System/360 and Embryo with the System/370.

2020-06-28 00:18 Generation SGI

Generation P has a couple of Apple laptops (a Powerbook 540c and a Powerbook G4), but of more interest are two SGI machines making thei Starring-the-Computer debut: the Octane and the Origin 2000.

2020-06-14 16:16 More New Laptops

All of the following include a laptop making its first Starring-the-Computer appearance. The first episode of The IT Crowd's season four has a Lenovo Thinkpad SL500. The Sum of All Fears has a Casio Cassiopeia E-100 (that we've seen before) and then two debutantes, the Casio Cassiopeia EG-800 and the Dell Latitude C500. The HP nr3600 makes its first appearance in Transformers, along with a Apple Powerbook G4 and a HP Pavilion DV1000. And finally, Man About Town finds another Apple laptop we've not yet encountered - the Apple Powerbook 1400, along with the more familiar Apple iMac G5 and Apple Powerbook G4.

2020-05-25 16:32 Commodores and more

Blinded by the Light features the Commodore 64, as does the "Black Mirror" episode USS Callister. Ready Player One has a Commodore 64 too, as well as an Apple Macintosh LC and a Tandy 1000. The Weird Science of "The Goldbergs" share many things in common with the movie of the same name including great shots of the Memotech MTX 512 and also includes a Commodore 64. Finally, the "Person of Interest" episode Aletheia has a rather butchered Commodore CBM 8032.

2020-05-10 17:08 Mostly XT

All of the following feature an IBM PC XT: The "Twilight Zone" episode But Can She Type?, Velvet Goldmine, "The Equalizer" episode The Defector, the first Tales from the Loop episode and the "Young Sheldon" episode A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac (which also has a Tandy 1000).

2020-04-26 15:07 Loadsa Laptops

Most of these feature a laptop that hasn't appeared on the site yet. Limitless has the first Dell Vostro 1320 (and an Apple Macbook Pro). Two "Death in Paradise" episodes The Complex Murder and Murder from Above feature the previously seen Panasonic Toughbook and debutante Lenovo ThinkPad T420 respectively. Taken 3 has two newcomers: the Acer Aspire Z3-600 and the Logic Instrument TETRAnote EX15. Dead Ringers has a Toshiba T1200 and National Treasure has a HP Compaq Nx7010 both new too. And finally, RED has a machine we have seen before - the Getac B300.

2020-04-13 12:55 Abundant April Apples

Apple is the most abundant manufacturer on Starring the Computer and as a result I do somewhat lack enthusiasm for them, particularly later machines. For that reason there's a bit of a backlog in the to-do list, and I've made an attempt to clear that a bit. All of the following contain Apple computers: Can't Buy Me Love (Macintosh), Kamillions (Macintosh), the "Due South" episode We Are the Eggmen (Power Macintosh 5000), the "Friends" episode The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding (Powerbook 540c), Beverly Hills Ninja (Powerbook 5300), Wag the Dog (Powerbook Duo and a sneaky IBM Thinkpad 500), In Dreams (Power Macintosh 4400/7220), Gossip (debutante Power Macintosh 8600/9600 and a Powerbook G3), Femme Fatale (Clamshell iBook G3, Power Mac G4 Cube, Powerbook G4), Garfield (iMac G4, Power Mac G4), Constantine (Powerbook G4), King's Ransom (iMac G4), Clerks II (iMac G4), Drake and Josh Go Hollywood (Powerbook G4), Meet the Spartans (Macbook Pro), the "Modern Family" episode Bixby's Back (iMac G5, Macbook Pro), Sanctum (Macbook Pro, Unibody iMac), Trespass (Aluminum iMac), Man on a Ledge (Unibody iMac), Return to Nim's Island (Macbook, Unibody iMac), the "Revolution" episode The Longest Day (iMac G5, Macintosh SE, Power Mac G5, and a Raspberry Pi Foundation Raspberry Pi), Everest (Macintosh SE), Captain America: Civil War (Macintosh), and Hush (Macbook Pro).

2020-04-04 16:17 Land of the Giant computers

This update includes another batch of big iron appearances. The Deadly Pawn episode of "Land of the Giants" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" episode The Human Computer both feature the Burroughs B205 and B220. The "Wonderwoman" episode IRAC Is Missing has the IBM AN/FSQ-7 and IBM System/360. The Dark Outpost episode of "The Invaders" also features the IBM AN/FSQ-7. And finally, Who's Got the Action? has a crucial role for the Remington Rand UNIVAC I.

2020-03-15 14:17 Beyond English

Starring the Computer has comparatively few films that are not in English, which is a shame. This is mostly because I find it harder to get hold of them (along with the subtitles I need, being embarrassingly monolingual). English language is not a requirement to appear on this site though, so please report any sightings! Men Olsenbanden var ikke død! has a Sinclair Research ZX Spectrum, along with some nice peripherals. XX: Utsukushiki kinô has an Apple Macintosh Quadra 630 and No has an Apple IIc, an Apple Macintosh SE and an Atari 600/800 XL. Finally, a pair of machines make their Starring-the-Computer debut: the Iskra Delta Triglav in Poletje v školjki, and the Sony HB-201 in Mama is boos!

2020-03-02 17:26 Booker, Scarecrow and Mrs King in The Good Place

The "Booker" episode Hacker has a Zenith Supersport, the "Scarecrow and Mrs King" episode The ACM Kid has an NEC PC8801, and "The Good Place" episode Mondays, Am I Right? has a Commodore 64.