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 1980's by the South African Broadcasting Company (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 April 26, 1986.

Premise

Set in the year 2500 (other sources have stated 2013), the series involved an undercover planetary defence 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 Company released two DVD Volumes of the series, consisting of Episodes 1-13. The series, however, consisted of 2 Seasons made of 37 episodes.

Given that it's been 5 years since the release of the DVDs, it's unlikely that the other 24 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, the titles don't seem to be.

Season	No.	Title	Airdate	Status
1	014	Unknown	Oct 19, 1982	Lost
1	015	Unknown	Nov 2, 1982	Lost
1	016	Unknown	Nov 9, 1982	Lost
1	017	Unknown	Nov 16, 1982	Lost
1	018	Unknown	Nov 16, 1982	Lost
1	019	Unknown	Nov 19, 1982	Lost
1	020	Unknown	Dec 7, 1982	Lost
1	021	Unknown	Dec 14, 1982	Lost
1	022	Unknown	Dec 21, 1982	Lost
1	023	Unknown	Dec 28, 1982	Lost
1	024	Unknown	Jan 4, 1983	Lost
1	025	Unknown	Jan 11, 1983	Lost
1	026	Unknown	Jan 18, 1983	Lost
2	027	Unknown	Feb 15, 1986	Lost
2	028	Unknown	Feb 22, 1986	Lost
2	029	Unknown	Mar 1, 1986	Lost
2	030	Unknown	Mar 8, 1986	Lost
2	031	Unknown	Mar 15, 1986	Lost
2	032	Unknown	Mar 22, 1986	Lost
2	033	Unknown	Mar 29, 1986	Lost
2	034	Unknown	April 5, 1986	Lost
2	035	Unknown	April 12, 1986	Lost
2	036	Unknown	April 19, 1986	Lost
2	037	Unknown	April 26, 1986	Lost