Interster (partially found puppet TV series; 1982-1986)

Cover to the South African "Interster" Volume 1 DVD.

Status: Partially Found

Interster (English translation: Interstellar) was a South African science-fiction puppet television series shown in the early 1980s by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The series only ever existed in the Afrikaans language and has never been dubbed for any other country.

Genesis

Interster was created mostly as South Africa's answer to Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, due to their inability to complete its dub at the time due to the restrictions brought from apartheid. The series was created by Dirk de Villiers and written by Dr. Johann Beukes. The show premiered on July 20, 1982, with the last episode shown on May 10, 1986.

Premise

Set in the year 2500 (other sources have stated 2013), the series involved an undercover planetary defense agency operating out of Cape Town under the guise of an interstellar shipping company. Earth is engrossed in a bitter intergalactic struggle against the inhabitants of the hostile planet Krokon whose evil ruler, Crown Prince Karnati, aided and financed by the treacherous Dr. Gorman, is intent on taking over the Earth.

Head of "Interster" is Professor Zed, a gruff old man who hides his affection for his personnel. His top spacecraft crew consists of Captain Buks de la Rey and Lieutenant Adam Buys, two brave young men assisted by a robot named Pikkie. Pikkie is extremely proud of his status as the most advanced robot yet developed. Lieutenant Lida de Villiers, runs the control-room from her desk at "Interster" headquarters.

Availability

The TV series slid into obscurity once SABC stopped airing the series, becoming fairly forgotten.

In 2009, the South African Broadcasting Corporation released two DVD volumes of the series, consisting of episodes 1-13. The series, however, consisted of 2 seasons made of 39 episodes.

Given that it's been 10 years since the release of the DVDs, it's unlikely that the other 26 episodes will be given a release, and TV recordings do not seem to exist. Apparently, VHS tapes were released as well in the 80s, but if any further episodes were present on them is unknown.

In 2009, an English comedy redub of the series was planned. However, as of 2010, it was scrapped. It would have been "Interstar Airlines", with a preview being shown utilizing an episode not present on either DVD, meaning that masters probably still do exist.

Missing Episodes

Though the airdates are known, 3 titles don't seem to be.

Season 1

#	Episode Title	Air Date	Status
14	Ontnugtering	Oct 19, 1982	Found
15	Gedwonge Bondgenoot	Nov 2, 1982	Found
16	Aardbewing	Nov 9, 1982	Found
17	Besetting	Nov 16, 1982	Found
18	Tyd	Nov 23, 1982	Found
19	Aggressie	Nov 30, 1982	Found
20	Unknown	Dec 7, 1982	Lost
21	Lig	Dec 14, 1982	Found
22	Unknown	Dec 21, 1982	Lost
23	Selfmoordsending	Dec 28, 1982	Found
24	Ommekeer	Jan 4, 1983	Found
25	Sonnekrag	Jan 11, 1983	Found
26	Unknown	Jan 18, 1983	Lost

Season 2

#	Episode Title	Air Date	Status
27	Voorsetting	Feb 15, 1986	Found
28	Goud	Feb 22, 1986	Found
29	Diamante	Mar 1, 1986	Found
30	See	Mar 8, 1986	Found
31	Wild	Mar 15, 1986	Found
32	Steenkool	Mar 22, 1986	Found
33	Blare	Mar 29, 1986	Found
34	Suur	April 5, 1986	Found
35	Blommegeur	April 12, 1986	Found
36	Strategie	April 19, 1986	Found
37	Rekenaar	April 26, 1986	Found
38	Propaganda	May 3, 1986	Found
39	Oorwinning	May 10, 1986	Found

Gallery

Teaser for one of the lost episodes.

External Links

• Wikipedia page on Interster. Retrieved 27 Mar '14.
• Interster Airlines Facebook page (inactive since March 2010) Retrieved 27 Mar '14.
• [1] Retrieved 4 Apr '24.
• [2] Retrieved 4 Apr '24.