Starring the Computer

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

2023-09-17 13:57 British Eight-bitters

Here are some appearances of eight-bit British machines. Gabrielle and the Doodleman has a prominent role for a BBC Micro and It's Nice Up North has a minor but fun part for an Amstrad CPC 6128. The "All in Good Faith" episode No Stone Unturned has a glimpse of of a Sinclair ZX Spectrum and The Cortez Connection is the second "Dempsey and Makepeace" episode to feature a Torch C series machine.

2023-08-06 23:48 More August Apples

Here's a small collection of Apple appearances. There's an Aluminum iMac in The 7th Dimension, a Powerbook G4 in Made in Romania, an iMac G3 in One More Time and a Macbook Pro in The Big Year.

2023-07-16 00:12 Toughbook Plus

Here's a collection of Panasonic Toughbook appearances. Security, Adieu les cons and an episode of The Wire all feature the machine, as does The Last Enemy which also has a couple of machines making their Starring-the-Computer debut: the Nokia N800 and the Toshiba Portégé M400.

2023-06-25 23:34 Halt and Catch Fire Again

Here are some computers that appear in the second season of Halt and Catch Fire. Throughout the season there is an Atari ST, many Commodore 64s and IBM PC XTs, and a Zenith Z-120. The IBM 3090 makes its debut appearance on Starring the Computer. And then there are some other machines that more fleeting appearances: the Atari 600/800 XL in episode 1, the AT&T PC 7300 playing a crucial role in episode 6, and an Apple Macintosh in the final episode.

2023-06-12 00:42 A Range of Commodores

Here's a range of Commodore computers. There's a PET in the eighth episode of The Sandman and a VIC-20 in the fourth episode of Taggart. The second episode of Der Greif (The Gryphon) has a 64C and finally, Blindside has shots of an Amiga 1000.

2023-05-28 17:36 Big Beasts and a Pet

We start with a couple of episodes of "Doomwatch" with The Iron Doctor which gives us our first ICT 1900, and The Logicians which has a ICT 1301. W.E.I.R.D. World has some shots on the ubiquitous IBM AN/FSQ-7 and Wrong Is Right has several appearances of the GE 635 and a small part of a Commodore PET 2001.

2023-05-01 15:42 Laptops New and Old

We have three laptops making their debut appearance on the site. Bringing Down the House is already here but I missed a brief appearance of a Compaq Presario 1400. The Sony VAIO YB makes its debut in Carrie and the Dell XPS M1710 appears in season one of The Big Bang Theory. Finally, and old favourite the Apple Macbook Pro appears in On the Rocks.

2023-04-16 15:52 Pink Floyd Films

Here are a couple of appearances of computers that also feature Pink Floyd on the soundtrack. Zabriskie Point has a brief shot of some IBM AN/FSQ-7 panels and The Committee gives Starring the Computer its first IBM 1440.

2023-04-10 22:59 April Apples

Here's a collection of Apple appearances. A Powerbook Duo appears in Species, Tadpole has an Clamshell iBook G3 and Life as a House a Powerbook G3. French-Canadian film La moitié gauche du frigo has some shots of a Power Macintosh. The "Hustle" episode A Touch of Class has an iMac G4 and a Powerbook G4, and the first episode of Magpie Murders has an Aluminum iMac.

2023-03-26 23:05 All 80s TV

Here's a collection on machines appearing in 1980s television. In "The Twilight Zone" episode Quarantine there in a hacked-up Epson QX-10 and an IBM PC XT and the "Miami Vice" episode Better Living Through Chemistry has a Commodore Amiga 1000 and a Kaypro Robie. Next are two parts of an "Alf" story with Someone to Watch Over Me: Part 1 having an IBM PS/2 Model 50/70 and Someone to Watch Over Me: Part 2 a brief shot of a Commodore Amiga 500. The "Dallas" episode Fringe Benefits sees J.R. using an NEC PC8001. And finally, two episode of "The Beachcombers" with Silicon Smith and the Wall of Death featuring a Zenith Z-181 and Computer Error also having that machine plus the Starring-the-Computer debutante GRiDcase 1520.