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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>


News

2024-09-15 23:13 Some Apples and a Fujitsu
This update is mostly Apples with a Fujitsu debutante at the end. Basic Instinct 2 has an iMac G5 and a Powerbook G4, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh has a Macbook Pro and the first episode of season six of The Flash has an eMac. Finally, Women Talking Dirty has a iMac G3 and, making its debut appearance, a Fujitsu Lifebook 656Tx.
2024-09-01 14:35 Much Avenging
Here are three episodes of "The Avengers". The Wringer has panels from a ICT 1201. Second Sight has some shots on an NCR 315. Finally, Death at Bargain Prices, gives Starring the Computer its first and probably only appearance of the LEO 1 computer.
2024-08-18 14:46 The Day the Earth Stood in Motion
The 2008 remake of the classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still gives the Motion Computing LE1700 its debut Starring-the-Computer appearance.
2024-07-28 17:33 Computers, ordenadores and datamaskiner
Here's a collection of features in other languages. Scuola di ladri has a IBM System/370 panel, as does its sequel Parte seconda, along with a Commodore Amiga 1000. There's an Atari 65/130 XE in Quando Alice ruppe lo specchio. Patrik Pacard has a good collection of machines: an Apple IIe, a Commodore 64, a Olivetti M20 and a Tandy TRS-80 Model III. Irma Vep has an Apple Macintosh SE and Madres paralelas has more Apple machines: a Macbook Air, a Macbook Pro and a Unibody iMac.
2024-07-08 00:29 Some Tandys
Here's a small collection of Tandy TRS-80 appearances. The TRS-80 Model I appears in an episode of Fridays and a few episodes of I'm a Big Girl Now. Air has the TRS-80 Model III and TRS-80 Model 4 as well as an Apple II and a Macintosh.
2024-06-23 11:47 Fortresses
Here are some computer appearances in the film Fortress and its sequel Fortress: Sniper's Eye. The first film has an Apple Macbook Pro and some Unibody iMacs. Those iMacs also appear in the second film, along with a Panasonic Toughbook.
2024-06-16 15:14 80s Assortment
Here's a collection of features from the 1980s. Silent Madness has an important role for a Vector Graphic Vector 4. Switching Channels has a Compaq Portable II, Compaq Portable III/386 and a Toshiba T3200. There is a GE 635 panel in The Return of the Living Dead. The second episode of Damon and Debbie has a couple of Amstrads - a CPC 6128 and a PCW 8256. Finally, Big Trouble in Little China sees the Xerox Star 8010 make its Starring-the-Computer debut.
2024-05-26 14:15 Random bits
Here's a collection of appearances with no particular theme. An Apple MACINTOSH Plus appears in The Genie from Down Under. The first episode of Andor has a heavily modified Tandy TRS-80 Model III. Race the Sun has a very brief glimpse of an Apple Macintosh Quadra 630 and the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode I, Robot... You, Jane has a bunch of Compaq Deskpro XEs and a Toshiba T1000.
2024-04-29 00:07 Three times G3.
Here are three appearances of the Apple iMac G3. There are fleeting glimpses in Training Day and I Still Believe, but the ninth episode of The Midnight Club has the main character in Spencer's story using one.
2024-04-07 16:56 PCs and Laptops
Here's an assortment of PCs and laptops. Jamon Jamon has an Amstrad PC 1512 and an IBM PS/2 Model 30/55. There's a Dell Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme in Uncharted. Hider in the House has a Toshiba T1000 and a Starring-the-Computer debutante - the Zenith EaZy pc. There's also a Toshiba in Leviathan (a Toshiba T1200) along with a brief glimpse of a Commodore Amiga 500. Finally we have a couple of appearances in TV shows: a IBM PS/2 Model 50/70 in the "Due South" episode Diefenbaker's Day Off and an Alienware 13 R2 in the first episode of A Murder at the End of the World.