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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

2023-11-19 15:35 Another Pair of Acorns
A BBC Micro makes an unlikely but very welcome appearance in an episode of Secret Invasion, along with brief shots of a Sharp MZ-80K and an IBM PS/2 Model 56SX. There are two episodes of "Howard's Way" that feature the Acorn Archimedes: Publish & Be Damned and Screwdriver.
2023-10-29 15:35 Assorted laptops
Here's a collection of laptop appearances including a few debuts. We start with Deceptions where you need a sturdy lap to accommodate an IBM 5140, and there's an Apple Powerbook 180 in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. Kamenný most has two machines making their debut: the Canon NoteJet and Olivetti Quaderno 33. And finally, Dagon have a good, if brief appearance, for another debutante: the Toshiba Satellite 1620CDS.
2023-10-19 23:45 TRS-80 Trio
Here's a collection of Tandy appearances. There's a TRS-80 Model I in The New Adventures of Heidi, a TRS-80 Model III in A Million Miles Away and a few more Model IIIs in White Noise (along with a brief glimpse of an Apple II).
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.