Starhyke (2009) User Reviews

Failed to achieve escape velocity

[danielemerson · 5/10 · 13 July 2015]

There are some very different opinions on this series. Having recently watched it, it deserves a lot of the criticism, but not all.

The pacing is a problem, for a start. It needed to pack more action/dialogue/gags in, but it often seemed that the cast were pausing for a laugh track that was never added.

The humour is not up in Red Dwarf territory, but the series does improve as it goes on. The scriptwriters certainly knew the genre they were sending up. But by the end, I could see why it didn't get a second series.

Enjoyable in parts, slow, sometimes clumsy, often showing the limits of the budget, could have been better in many other ways too... but quite likable, in its own confused way.

I figured it would be unfair to review this show after only one episode. Turns out it wouldn't have been.

[MrLister · 2/10 · 2 March 2010]

I figured it would be unfair to review this show after only one episode despite very strong urges to pan it straight away, so I held out and watched the lot. Unfortunately the first episode is an excellent indicator of what is to come.

The program is not totally rubbish as many claim and there are redeeming features to be found. Some of the characters are quite amusing, such as the doctor, Sally and Dotty the cyborg. Rachel Grant is Hot, the Reptid makeup is quite good and doesn't look cheap, the special effects are excellent (as they should be by 2009), and there were a couple of places that genuinely made me laugh but they were surrounded by so much nonsense that I cannot for the life of me remember what they were.

Almost everything else about the show is bad. Most of the jokes are painful, and there are too many characters to properly develop. Many scenes go absolutely nowhere and are abruptly ended and forgotten about. Bearing in mind the episodes are only 23 minutes, that is particularly disappointing.

Forget comparing this show to Red Dwarf. Forget comparing this show to Hyperdrive. Starhyke doesn't compare to anything that has actually been shown on telly, which is probably why it has never been shown on telly. It may however be possible to edit the series into a passable hour-long special or pilot.

All that said, I applaud the creators for at least giving it a go and they have done well to complete a whole series on what is clearly a tiny budget, especially going up against the BBC's finest. It does show some promise, but it needs some decent writers or the actors need to have a little think about their characters because I get the impression they are not necessarily being portrayed as the writers intended. Maybe that is the director's fault.

I would probably watch a second season... well, the first episode at least.

appalling

[pregno1970 · 7 March 2010]

There are a handful of people who seem to have taken it upon themselves to promote this show...we can only speculate as to why.

Here is my unbiased review...Starhyke did indeed have the potential to be good but it failed to live up to it.

It is never funny at all...just filled with terrible martial arts,pointless scenes that serve no purpose and boring boring dialogue delivered by bad actors.

There is a slight improvement in the final episode which is why I gave it a 2.

Starhyke is a mess...less than the sum of its weak parts. I bought series 1 on DVD and nothing would make me watch any more.

No wonder its never been broadcast

Simply Awful

[TonyTrollslayer · 1/10 · 28 February 2010]

This is, quite simply, one of the worst programs I have seen in a very long time. Others had compared it to Red Dwarf, and since I am a fan of that show I thought I'd give it a shot - however, I now wish I'd simply thrown my money down the nearest toilet and saved three hours of my life.

The humor seems to consist purely of the actors pulling musical hall faces in order to emphasize tired, lame gags. While shows such as Red Dwarf (or even the much-maligned Hyperdrive) use quirky characters to engage the viewer, it seems that characterization is as alien a concept as the subject matter to whoever wrote this. You'd be hard pressed to find a more one dimensional group anywhere. The actors themselves (some of whom must have been guilted into doing this mess over a bar bat at a convention) seem to realize there's not much that can done with the material provided, resulting in performances that would be surpassed at an infants' school nativity play.

The CGI is adequate, but, considering these kinds of effects are now pretty common place, it's hardly a reason to buy this series. The actual sets do look as cheap as if they've been knocked up in half an hour out of plywood and cardboard in the producers garage, and so it doesn't seem as if the budget for this thing was that large at all - in fact, it looks (and in some cases, sounds, since the dialogue recording quality is very spotty) like a glorified fan film.

The fact that none one broadcaster seem to want to touch this monstrosity with a ten foot pole probably says it all.

Curiosity as its own rewards... this isn't one of them

[marc_to · 1/10 · 8 July 2011]

I'm not going to blame the actors; I mean everyone's got to eat right? It's plausible that they're capable of recreating something that could pass for human emotion, they've simple chosen not to.

This leaves only the writers and directors of this catastrophe, and I DO hold them accountable! Try to imagine every awkward moment from various sci-fi shows you've ever seen and mash them together in montage of mental cruelty. Sadly this doesn't even fall into the "so bad it's good" category; just sit there and fight the urge to skip to the next scene. I mean it must get better at some point? Nope.

I'm sorry for all the people involved with this production. Please, please, run your script by a target audience. Do they look bored out of their gourd? Yeah, that means you're just not quite there yet.

For reference point, Red Dwarf rules! So I'm not a genre hatter, I'm just disappointed. You can do better, we deserve better.

worst sitcom ever

[markthetranny · 1/10 · 2 April 2012]

This series is just not funny. I bought it from ebay after seeing Claudia Christanson was in it. Loved her in Babylon Five but I can only assume she is in need of a quick pay slip if she agreed to do this.

Starhyke is a comedy without any jokes. There is no real plot beyond the basic idea, each script just feels like nobody cared. That as long as there was a long enough running time nobody involved in making this cared what anyone said or did.

claudia does her best but seems slightly bemused, jeremy bullock and the actors who played reg and vilma make more effort than this deserves but the rest of the cast do literally nothing to make this better.

FX are decent but even fan films have good x these days.

So utterly cringeworthy

[syousef · 1/10 · 18 April 2021]

I love sci-fi, am a huge fan of Claudia Christian in the Babylon 5 universe and I love sci-fi comedy like Red Dwarf, The Orville etc. But they need to have a decent plot and the humour has to be well...funny. This is just bad slapstick with lots of sexual jokes with a weak ill thought out plot set in sci-fi spaceship setting. The acting is awful. Even Claudia - by far the best in the cast - isn't at her best. If you must torture yourself, watch it with friends and have something else going on,.

Wrong in so many ways

[jb07-660-944395 · 2/10 · 2 April 2019]

At first, I thought it was a cartoon. The special effects were just animations.

The script and acting was atrocious, but worst of all was the background music.

This music single handedly ensured I stopped watching after the first fifteen minutes. Why oh why have such annoying music playing all the time? There is no rhyme or reason to it, and doesn't change with what's happening on screen.

Terrible.

Monumentally Bad

[iggyc61 · 1/10 · 7 February 2020]

Caught this on Amazon after noticing Claudia Christian from Babylon 5 was a lead.

I do not like panning shows, but I got through three episodes of this before I gave up. I spent a good deal of that time shaking my head, uttering 'this is so bad!' I read that some have said it gets better. I can only hope it does, but somehow I know it won't get better enough for me. It is just not funny: the scenes are unbearably long; the face pulling and over-acting is relentless; the storylines forgotten; the sets bland and claustrophobic. I've also read reviews favouring it over Hyperdrive. Whilst Hyperdrive was not brilliant, it was a lot better than this and had experienced comic actors who could get the best out of a script.

Boldly going - further into Sci-fi Comedy

[Ynali · 8/10 · 20 November 2009]

Why would you watch Starhyke when there are series like Hyperdrive out there? Let me tell you why… For a start, it's more original than Hyperdrive, its fresher, has better effects and it's got a superb ensemble cast from the sci-fi world.

Starhyke is a great series that just goes from strength to strength as each episode rockets through the universe of sci-fi comedy. I was lucky enough to attend a screening of all six episodes, one after the other and I dare anyone not to stop smiling at the hilarity and just plain awkwardness at some of the situations the crew find themselves in. Since Red Dwarf, no one has attempted to meld the world of sci-fi with the awkwardness of some of the Monty Python sketches with such skill, but Starhyke hits all the spots.

Starhyke does take from all the clichés of the current and past sci-fi's for instance, you will see a homage to Suanne Braun's character - Hathor from Stargate among other hilarious nods to the sci-fi genre. The cast as I mentioned earlier, are stellar, and even the new faces in the cast do a fantastic job.

As with all series, you'll find that it's a slightly slow start, but once you get into the story and you get past the first couple of episodes, you'll be laughing out loud.

If you're a sci-fi fan and loved Red Dwarf, this is for you.

Cheap, badly written and a waste of time for cast and audience alike

[rbaylis · 1/10 · 3 March 2020]

I'd normally rate a show like this as a three as very few shows are as truly bad that they only rate a one, but it is the only way to adjust the average to where it needs to be because some people have given it ten. Really? They consider it perfection and a masterpiece? Claudia Christian tries her best but the premise is lame and unappealing and she is surrounded by cheap sets, and sub par acting from pretty much everyone else. The jokes, such as they are, either fall totally flat or are telegraphed so badly they would disgrace a junior school play. Avoid at all costs.

I Was At The Premier.

[Boy_Blue88 · 1/10 · 30 December 2021]

I used to work as an usher in Bristol and Our cinema was chosen to screen the premier of starhyke. The day itself was fun, we had hired star wars impersonators(storm trooper, imperial guards, etc..) once the screening started the fun ended! It was so bad just cheesy, crass and also quite offensive to a number of people. I honestly can't remember much about the CGI but what sticks with me is how badly the jokes failed to land! The show is obviously meant to be a parody of the sci-fi genre but misses all the marks completely and has no redemption from what I could tell. Also fun fact all the principle actors turned up late, inebriated, were incredibly entitled and rude to the staff. Please Avoid this series like the plague!

Sci Fi Comedy, with hints to Classic Comedy routines

[s-e-jordan · 9/10 · 7 January 2010]

Leaves that 'other' recent attempt at SF Humour, (Hyperdrive) flapping in the wind (More 'Hyped-UP-Drive' than Hyperdrive) Takes a couple of episodes to get going... and get used to..But well worth the time and effort

There is so much potential in this series..... It could easily match, and possibly exceed the pedestal that Red Dwarf currently inhabits.

Claudia Christian as 'Captain Belinda Blowhard' manages to carry off a very good comedy roll, so different to her other well known SF Roll as 'Cmdr. Susan Ivanova' in Babylon 5

Jeremy Bulloch (Ex Star Wars, Bounty Hunter, Boba Fett), provides some very interesting Diversions as the very drunk and fairly oversexed Doctor, 'Yul Striker'.

The stories are actually interesting and well executed with effects that are Top Notch (from Britain's answer to 'Industrial Light and Magic', the one and only 'Lightworx'.)

Do yourself a favour and watch all 6 episodes of the first series....

..and pray for a second..!!!

Loony

This series grows on you

[spiggle-306-939806 · 10/10 · 1 March 2012]

OK, lets get serious, this is not Star Trek, Star Wars or even Red Dwarf.

Its Starhyke.

Its about a crew of mainly women with a strong female character played by the excellent Claudia Christian as lead.

As pilots went, the pilot wasn't great, the second episode was a wee bit better. The third episode wasn't much better but had Patrick Moore.

Then the writers upped the game and produced IMO the best comedy SCI-FI episode that i have seen.

Episode 4 - Reboot This episode is an alternate reality episode where the Dreadnought crash lands on a remote part of Earth and the crew are forced to live the rest of their life there. The acting, the characters and the lives they lead really draw you into the characters. Christian is excellent as Blowhard and the decision that she has to make near the end of the episode is a real tear-jerker.

Episode 5 returns to the light hearted side of Starhyke as the crew are on the hunt for the aliens and discover the alien base cunningly disguised as a strip club. So the crew take jobs as lap dancers. Stefanie Jory is excellent as Sally in this episode. The rest of the crew are left on the ship and the cleaner Reg is left to fend off an attack on the ship.

Episode 6 is the shows finale and what an ending.

As the crew explore their emotions more and wake up with a hangover, an evil plan is hatched which results in the entire crew evacuating the ship and the evil Hologram S.E.R.C.H taking over the ship with only Reg left on board. The Hologram in this episode comes across more evil than Emperor Palpatine, the Borg and the Smurfs put together. An excellent performance by Gene Foad as the hologram.

Overall a 10/10 for the last 3 episodes which are some of the best episode writing I have seen. If you can survive through the 1st 3 episodes, the rest of the series is superb

A funny, fun, underrated show.

[rustiswordz · 8/10 · 18 March 2011]

I've recently encountered a little known British Science Fiction comedy called Starhyke. It was made back in 2008/9 and stars Babylon 5's own superb Claudia Christian in the lead role. I'd heard various comments about this show and when i saw it for sale I decided to buy a DVD copy.

I was pleasantly surprised, its a funny, witty clever little show with great special effects, stories, acting. It shamelessly sends up science fiction like a mad thing! For a sci-fi comedy it works. True it wont beat Red Dwarf which always will be king of the sci-fi laughs however Starhyke knocks the frankly terrible Hyperdrive rightly into third place. It reminds me a little of the old Captain Kremmen cartoon in the 70's made by the late great Kenny Everett with a contemporary slant. If you are looking for alternative comedy, you wont find it here and all the better for it.

The show also has a solid ensemble cast with experience in science fiction and comedy. Jeremy Bulloch who played Boba Fett in Star Wars, Suanne Braun, Hathor in Stargate SG1 and featuring special guests in the form of Red Dwarf's own Danny John Jules and the ever awesome Sir Patrick Moore.

The characters and actors all work well together my favourites are the aforementioned Jeremy as a pill popping drink swilling looney Ships Doctor and Suanne as a very lovely utterly bonkers Android.

I'm surprised the show hasn't been picked up by one of the many digital channels here in the UK. Starhyke is better than a lot of the comedy rubbish thats out there today.

The show is made with love and care and it shows. The DVD release has all six episodes and a bonus disk packed with bloopers, auditions, makings of etc.

A great first season attempt and deserves a lot more attention and a second season!

It's a good little show, it's not battlestar, red dwarf, hyperdrive... but it shows promise

[hannah3070 · 10/10 · 7 March 2010]

I don't write reviews, but seeing some of the reviews I question the actual true intentions. One review here is fake... it's funny really how great these people feel by writing something so hateful, when really they should get a life.

Anyway, here's my honest review... and yes the show is far from perfect, but it is certainly not crap. I want to applaud the show's creators for giving it a go, when other reviewer's here are so far up themselves or so false they actually missed what a little gem this show has to offer.

(I posted this at FP so here you go) I've been wanting to see this series for years, now I have watched it, was it worth the wait? I went to FP after work grabbed my copy and invited a few friends around that evening.

Nice opening and excellent visual effects, then as we reached episode 3 it started to gather ground. Episode 4 was for me one of the best, ***SPOILER ALERT*** it brought me and my friends almost to tears watching the death of Claudia's son.

I grant you this won't be for everyone, Hyperdrive was not good - worst than Starhyke, but it got a second series, so now I want Starhyke to get given the same chance to see if they can improve it) Episode 5 & 6 are the best, the characters start to shine and the stories seem much tighter. The cliff hanger in Episode 6 made us all laugh, what a way to end a series. The music is good, acting is not bad, visual effects outstanding. all in all not a bad little UK series.

It was a great evening in with my friends, it's nice to have something different than all the macho sci-fi. My friends agreed it's nice to see such a strong female cast, so I'd give them A+ for trying and hopefully a chance to shine in a second series.

Is it worth watching? Yes, if you like carry on films and a series which is a bit rough around the edges, then you'll love this... otherwise don't bother as you'll be wanting your high glossy Star Trek or Battlestar products, which this is certainly not.

Great series

[nattersuk · 10/10 · 15 April 2010]

Fantastic show Loved the special effects, cast & music, from the first showing at the Bristol premiere, to the Swindon viewing & now the DVD with extras.

Watch the last 3 episodes first, as the show really hits its stride.

If you only buy 1 DVD this year, buy this one - you won't regret it.

The characters names are just the start of the laughs you can have with this show.

The trailer does not do it justice.

Bloopers, commentaries, etc are good fun The menus are easy to navigate around. If there are any easter eggs though, I haven't found them.

I think Starhyke should not be pigeon holed by saying "It's like Red Dwarf"... but yes - it is a comedy Sci-fi show

Loved it!

[jedi_boyuk · 17 March 2010]

Look, I took the show at face value and thoroughly enjoyed it! Some of the jokes didn't work but it was fun and well made on a tight budget. I found the ensemble cast interesting and engaging although I would have liked more character development and a bit more straight acting - which really does scan when it comes in (liked the 'Reboot' episode exactly BECAUSE it knew it was doing a cliché (and very funny Gandalf scene!), but the humour is not awful as some have said - it's amusing, and the show is FUN. Some very clever nods to other shows, very engaging skirts and martinis. I want to see more! (and work on it).

People, we can all moan away about small areas where shows don't hit the mark, but when I watch a whole series in one sitting it's gotta be good.

The always engaging Claudia Christian does a great Kirk/Janeway, and Jeremy Bulloch was hilarious. The always lovely Rachel Grant is solid and puts in a surprisingly good performance reminding us that she did actually study acting and shouldn't be labelled as tits 'n ass Nina forever (lovely though she is!) and I'd like to see her given a chance to do more serious acting, and the biggest surprise? Another victim of 'presenter typecasting'; the very underexposed Suanne Braun is developing an interesting character here who you root for at the end. Also the Crocker/PopyertopOff (the names are too silly, yes) relationship is well played and I especially like the energy of talented newcomer Stephanie Jory and really freaked at her Superman experience in the finale. Genuinely jarring! The cast are all very easy on the eye and turn in good performances. The supports are all reliable and I found the show as good as if not better than tired Red Dwarf and unengaging Hyperdrive, but this series is constrained by limited episode running time.

Buy it simply for the genius ensemble from classic SF and its unassuming charm and very pretty cast! BEAUTIFUL CGI & make-up too! Many nods to the past. If you don't get some of the jokes... you haven't watched much Sci-Fi. Many are cleverly executed 'easter eggs'.

Shame there weren't 8 eps to develop characters and resolve one plot-point intentionally left open in the finale, so we have to buy the DVD to get season two!

Great series well worth a try.

[Gemma-892-703269 · 10/10 · 9 January 2014]

Great series made me laugh for hours on end. It has an amazing cast, and a great plot. Its very British humour, A well written series that made me laugh for hours, it's now one of my favourite shows for after long bad days at work! It is definitely worth a watch. Obviously made by a independent company, which is one of its charms. A great cast, if only they would do more starhyke series. its not like any other series out there so it is pointless comparing it and unfair on the series to do so. There are moments which are very slapstick, but it is a light hearted series. Definitely best watched with a bottle of wine as per instructions on the DVD case.

A must watch for Claudia Christian fans

[erykpendragon · 10/10 · 16 February 2020]

Charmingly delicious incoherent madness! British humor! Like watching Monty Python and Porn.