I like to think I have seen pretty much every science fiction ever made, so I’m shocked when I find one I haven’t.
While searching for something else entirely (I love that Series Of Tubes) I found this:
Has anyone ever seen this? Is it any good? I may have to find a copy.
If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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July 31st, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Yes, I watched this when it was on TV the first time. If I remember right, it was advertised for several weeks before it ran. At the end of it, I was all ready for a series to continue the story, but nothing ever came of it. It was pretty nifty.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:59 pm
What? No comment about this line on the IMDB page?
… Rusta, a rural planet that doesn’t revolve around its axis and therefore is divided into contrasting halves of eternal day vs. eternal night …
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114926/plotsummary
July 31st, 2007 at 1:11 pm
I remember watching this when it was first broadcast. It was the pilot for (I think) Francis Ford Coppola’s first attempt at a TV series. Very cinematic, with wonderful imagery. The plot was a bit wonky and the dialog seemed slightly stilted at times, but on the whole it was a very nice piece of science fiction/fantasy.
Good luck finding a copy though. It was released on VHS but has been out of print for quite a while, and there is (so far) no DVD version. I’ve been looking on and off for years.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I found it a bit slow at times, but then it isn’t meant to be an action film. I wanted the plot to get a move on sometimes but the several plot strands may have prevented that. I’d say watch it as there aren’t that many intelligent sci-fi films around. If I could compare it to something, I’d say the Dune mini-series style is somewhat similar.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:25 pm
An additional note: The Hallmark Channel will apparently be broadcasting this program in the UK on August 8th at 10:00 p.m.
http://za.hallmarkchannel.tv/programme.aspx?ID=41139&EpisodeID=1&from=WhatsOn
July 31st, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Oh my, yes. Wonderful film. I really would have liked to seen the series come to fruition, but it was just a little bit too “out there” for anybody to pick up. I can’t wait to see it again.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:22 pm
A White Dwarf? Surely you want the Red variety?
Lister: “I’ll tell you one thing, I’ve been to a parallel universe, I’ve seen time running backwards, I’ve played pool with planets and I’ve given birth to twins, but I never thought in my entire life I’d taste an edible Pot Noodle.”
July 31st, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I saw it before I ever saw Firefly, a long time ago. It had some interesting weirdness to it, but I think it’s best if you just see it for yourself. I think some of the Western elements they used were too overt, and I found myself wondering if you could ever blend Western elements properly in a science fiction series (Firefly put that worry to rest real quick).
July 31st, 2007 at 3:02 pm
White Dwarf?? Ugh–I thought I’d seen the last of this when it finished airing. I thought it was pretty dreadful. They tried to mix preindustrial (including medieval-like), roughly modern, and futuristic technology, fashions, etc. into a series of events on one planet. I didn’t think it was very believable, and I didn’t care too much for the plot. There were bits that had a lot of promise, but they were overwhelmed by plot devices you can see in any movie.
(Bear in mind that’s my memory from having watched it once a decade or so ago, so I might think a little differently if I saw it again now–but I doubt I’d see things very differently.)
Also, you’ve probably picked this up already Phil, but it’s got some Bad Astronomy right there in the plot summary: if the planet didn’t revolve on its axis, it would have a day exactly as long as its year, and there would be no stationary light and dark sides.
And, if I remember right, the border between light and dark was like a wall, which is nothing like what you’d actually see on such a planet–the light would fade gradually over thousands of miles.
July 31st, 2007 at 3:15 pm
It’s Captain Terrell! Or was that Captain Dathon?
CJSF
July 31st, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Never heard of White Dwarf, but Paul Winfield would always be good even if the show was falling apart around him.
ART, a Browncoat said: “I found myself wondering if you could ever blend Western elements properly in a science fiction series (Firefly put that worry to rest real quick).”
Like “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.” did the other way around ten years before Firefly>
July 31st, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Phil, you are my hero! I have been trying to remember the name of this movie for years!
July 31st, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I forgot to mention: I agree with Matt A–Red Dwarf was much better!
“Gloup him!”
“What…in the back?”
“Of course in the back. It’s only a pity he’s awake!”
July 31st, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Leon,
wouldnt that be half a year = one day? Or, rather, one day = half a year?
July 31st, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I believe they were implying a tidally-locked planet, with one side always facing the sun. I found it to be a rather surreal film with some some potential.
I enjoyed it.
MrQhuest
July 31st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
“And, if I remember right, the border between light and dark was like a wall, which is nothing like what you’d actually see on such a planet–the light would fade gradually over thousands of miles.”
That depends on how close to the equator you are I’d think, and what the axial tilt of the planet would be. On Earth when you get near the equator when the sun goes down *the sun goes down* if you know what I mean;). Where I live it is light for many hours after the sun goes down, and before it comes up. But not so everywhere.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I saw it during one of many, many freshman-year midnight-in-the-lecture-hall movie showings in college. It has some pretty bad science (as several of your commenters have mentioned) but it was overall enjoyable. It reminds me most of Ladyhawke, with better plot.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Lots more comments at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114926/usercomments?start=0
Some are very enthusiastic, but overall I would only judge the consensus as lukewarm.
July 31st, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Yeah, I love this movie….to the extent that I bought a bootleg dvd from Thailand and currently have it ripped to divx avi and sitting on the networked media computer so that any of my roommates can watch it at any moment with little to no effort.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:39 pm
All I remember is the ocean being red. Some sort of red algae or something.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Its a pretty decent SF movie, straight to TV or something. Found it like 15 years back or something while scavenging the video store. The story is ok, the concepts are good. Hard core SF fans will like it. BTW u can catch on Hallmark these days, they always show some soft SF there. Remember the HG wells miniseries? Hawkings, etc.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:30 am
From the Internet Movie Data Base : the plot of “White Dwarf” is a remake of Kurosawa’s “Red Beard”…
August 1st, 2007 at 3:47 am
I never looked at Brisco County as science fiction for some reason, but I loved that show too. It did use revisionist stuff to have all kinds of inventions that were before their time, and the orb… Yeah, thanks for pointing it out. I still didn’t like their blending as much, but it was more a Western with science fiction overtones intead of the other way around, like I was talking about.
What I liked most about that show was its weird humor. It was the only show I remember watching that had joke grenades, where it took me a while to process the joke, which finally exploded in my head a few seconds after the the joke was told.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:47 am
Halidai, That’s the South African Hallmark channel you’ve provided a link for. Sadly it’s not on in the UK, not in the near future anyway
August 1st, 2007 at 11:50 am
I recorded it on VHS!
In fact, I have a couple of episodes of “Red Dwarf” on the same tape.
I’ve only watched it once since then. Some of the minor characters went on to do bigger and better things.
The story is OK. Interesting to hear that it’s a re-make of Kurosawa’s “Red Beard”, since that’s about his only movie that I haven’t seen. I thought it was basically a Sci-Fi version of “Northern Exposure”.
As for the unrealistic scenario, there is an explanation: the planet has a series of weather control machines called “regulators” along the equator. These machines were leftovers from an ancient unseen alien civilization.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Some more recollections:
The wall dividing the night and day sides of the planet was really there to separate two rival kingdoms. Members of the dark kingdom would occasionally ride over and raid bordering farms. In the first scene, they attacked the farm of James Morrison (later of “Space: Above and Beyond” & “24″).
The light=good and dark=bad theme seemed a bit superficial, but the story was rounded out by more complicated characters.
Paul Winfield’s character was a doctor who served the light kingdom. He had mastered the ability to use these mystical/hi-technology gloves that allowed him to reach inside a person’s body without making any incisions. He was preparing to retire in a few weeks (and we all know what happens in that case….)
If memory serves, the main thrust of the plot was that the king of the light kingdom had been poisoned, and the new doctor, fresh from a more civilized planet, had to find a cure.
He questions a strange woman in a prison. The prison keeper was some large, lumbering creature sort of like those in “The Dark Crystal”. I can’t remember why she was in the prison, but I do remember that the prison keeper was in love with her.
The sea that was completely red was called “wailing sea” or some such because it made a sound like crying.
Overall, I liked it and wished the series had been picked up (it was obviously a pilot). The idea was that we would learn the mysteries of this planet along with this new doctor. The combination of high-tech rockets and low-tech frontier/medieval reminded me of Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”.
Phil, do you have a mailing address listed on the site? I could make a copy and send it to you.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Sheesh, I guess my Western impressions of the show were unfounded. It has been a while. I guess what I remembered was that it had anachronistic stuff next to science fiction stuff, although it struck me more as future fantasy than anything.
Thanks for those recollections, xrey! I just wish I could find some sort of hobby site on the web discussing it. There has to be somebody still interested in this show.
Sheesh, and I didn’t even realize Paul Winfield had died…
August 1st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Monkey,
No, by “day” I mean from sunrise to sunrise, not sunrise to sundown.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:11 pm
My recollection that it was a film/series pilot related to the fictional universe associated with the Games Workshop line of game products. (Talisman, Warhammer, SpaceHulk, etc.) It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it though.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Also, you’ve probably picked this up already Phil, but it’s got some Bad Astronomy right there in the plot summary: if the planet didn’t revolve on its axis, it would have a day exactly as long as its year, and there would be no stationary light and dark sides.
Argh! Did I say “revolve” on its axis? I’ve read enough on this site that I should know to say “rotate” instead. But in fairness, I was distracted by the wording used in the plot summary, which did say “revolve”–possibly another instance of Bad Astronomy on their part.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
I’ve been looking everywhere for a DVD/digital copy of White Dwarf… I don’t suppose someone here could help me out? :\
December 30th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I very much enjoyed this series when it first aired. Regardless of some of the negative reviews, this show was way ahead of it’s time. When you think of the Sci Fi shows that are out now (Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, etc) this show, much like Earth 2, was ahead of its time. Especially for 1995. Now we have great Sci Fi shows like Dr. Who, Torchwood, Firefly, all of which have the same production value as White Dwarf and the same flavor. Another note, Neal McDonough is fantastic in this series. When I saw him recently in Tin Man, another great “Sci Fi” style series, I was ecstatic. He really does thrive artistically in shows like this. White Dwarf (and Earth 2) would be appreciated much more now than they were when they first aired.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
why isn’t this on DVD yet, damnit? its like hallmark’s own little neglected stepchild.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
White Dwarf is available on DVD in Tiland (PAL format). You can usually purchase it from any of the reputable international DVD sellers. Thats how I obtained my copy.
April 12th, 2008 at 4:03 am
I have the Thailand PAL version DVD and am going to watch it this weekend. I’ll let you know what I think later.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:24 am
Hi
I’m a Thai seller on eBay and have this in my shop; do a search in it at:
http://stores.ebay.com/VALID-GROOVES_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZkm
It’s now deleted here in Thailand and i still have a few left and stumble on some here and there.
Watched the movie myself and think they did a great job introducing likable characters in a short space of time.
The picture quality is fine and makes for great viewing.
Most reviews refer to it as a minor gem and i would go with that, very enjoyable.
chris
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:20 pm
if you are interested in getting the DVD other than in pal format check out
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?S=R&bid=9724826382&cm_mmc=shopcompare-_-base-_-movies-_-na
February 10th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Contrary to popular belief this movie was damn good despite its shortcomings in both science and plot. I really rather felt let down that this movie didn’t develop legs. It was both a bit of country and rock and roll squished into a technological drama. I’d like to throw in my own idea of what this reminds me of, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Series though the anime/movie hasn’t made it out the gate yet does also show a promise of what this pilot could have created. And also thanks Xrey, Tim and Valid Grooves for your tips on purchasing DVD’s of this movie. I do believe I will be making a purchase soon. I too have been searching on and off for years for any info on where I could find this movie.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Xrey… was it not also lore that said a dying soul could be called back from death if one screamed the name of the person into it. Or some variant there of? It’s so much I didn’t remember until you said it (wrote it)!