Starcom

1 9 8 7 (USA/Canada)
13 x 25 minute episodes

This animated syndicated television series was based on a range of action figures, vehicles and playsets by Coleco.

Stories followed the adventures of Starcom – an American peacekeeping force comprising Starbase Command, Airwing, and the Astro Marines.

The three principal characters were all colonels: Slim (Philip Akin) was the best marksman and insisted on doing everything “by the book,” while tech expert Crowbar (Robert Cait) frequently went against regulations to fix the problem at hand, and Dash (voiced by Rob Cowan) – who the best pilot – often had to mediate disputes between the other two.

Together they protected a growing planetary community while defending against attacks by “Shadow Force” (mostly robots called “Mecha-Mooks”) led by the nefarious Emperor Dark.

The animation was superb, and the storylines surprisingly mature, but the show earned poor ratings and was cancelled after only 13 episodes.

Similarly, the toy range proved popular in Europe and Asia but largely failed in the North American market. Coleco subsequently declared bankruptcy and was purchased by Mattel, who continued to produce Starcom toys for the European market until 1990, albeit in very small numbers.

Colonel John ‘Slim’ Griffin
Philip Akin
Colonel Paul ‘Crowbar’ Corbin
Robert Cait
Colonel James ‘Dash’ Derringer
Rob Cowan
Admiral Franklin Brinkley
Don Francks
Lt. Kelsey Carver
Susan Roman
General Von Dar
Marvin Goldhar
Major Klag
Dan Hennessey
Major Romak
Louis Di Bianco
Shadow Emperor Dark
Neil Munro
Lianna
Marla Lukofsky
Prof. Malvanna Wilde
Elva Mai Hoover

Episodes

Nantucket Sleighride | Trojan Crowbar | The Long Fall | Caverns of Mars | Fire and Ice | Galactic Heartbeat | The Boys Who Cried Dark | Dark Harvest | A Few Bugs in the System | Turnabout | Hot Enough for You? | Flash Moskowitz, Space Cadet | The Last Star Ranger