I have literally been looking for evidence of the existence of this 1979 failed sci-fi sitcom pilot ever since I started this blog. Couldn't find a reference to it anywhere online. Wasn't even listed on the IMDb.
Then, yesterday afternoon, Star Kid Traie Payne posted to the Space: 1970 Facebook page a link to an A.V. Club article that not only confirmed my 35 year-old memories, but even included video of the entire show - which aired only once, on CBS in June of 1979. Thankfully, Chuck Cirino, who worked on Starstruck as an effects technician, saved his tape of the show and uploaded it to YouTube for posterity. (And, coincidentally, to save my sanity.)
The half-hour show told the story of the Earth-born McAllisters and their family-run restaurant and hotel in space, catering to an intergalactic clientele of bizarre aliens, robots and other space travelers. I remember watching it when it aired, and it stuck in my head, even though I never found any reference to it after that original viewing. Watching it now, I can see that it's not particularly funny, so it's no surprise that it didn't go to series. But the effects, production design and make-up effects/monster masks, are all pretty good for the time.
Anyone else remember this one?
