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BACK TO POP CULTURE
May 18, 2020: By the time it aired, most of the buzz around The Powers of Matthew Star had to do with the fact that its lead, Peter Barton, had been seriously burned by a pyrotechnics flare on the set. The show's production was halted and its release was delayed by almost a year while Barton recovered. Once it hit the airwaves, astute viewers knew they were in trouble as the opening credits featured ponderous exposition about its premise (see video below). Such was our introduction this short-lived 1982 science fiction series geared toward a teen audience. |
Borrowing heavily from tried and true comic book tropes about superheroes living anonymously among us, Matthew (Barton) is the heir-apparent to an intergalactic kingdom. When his home world is overrun by invaders, he and an adult guardian called Shep (Louis Gossett Jr.) flee to Earth where Matthew masquerades as a high school student. Although both look like humans, they are imbued with super powers. Naturally, good-hearted Matthew can't help but use his powers (which are initially telekinesis and good hair) to save the innocent from harm. He is tracked down by a US government agent who, rather than turning him over for vivisection, recruits him for various covert missions. Think of The Powers of Matthew Star as being a more clumsy, less charming version of Smallville with a little Greatest American Hero stirred in for good measure.
Despite that comparison, it was not a winning combination.
Outside of its atrocious writing and predictable plot lines, Matthew Star's biggest problem was its casting. Unlike Whiz Kids, which I praised in my previous article for actually casting teens to play teens, Barton was 32 years old at the time Matthew Star aired. And without meaning this in any disparaging way, he looked it. The show already required its audience to suspend their disbelief as a poorly executed ripoff of the Superman story, but it was asking too much for us to accept a middle-aged man as a sixteen-year-old high school student. Matthew's love interest, played by Amy Steel, was marginally better as she was only a 22-year-old playing a sixteen-year-old. Louis Gossett, Jr., whose star was on the rise in 1982 thanks to his Oscar-winning performance in An Officer and a Gentleman, also seemed completely out of place as Matthew's mentor and guardian. Shep was little more than a nanny, pointing out Matthew's mistakes and patting the man-boy on his giant hair-helmet whenever he did something right. At the very least, Matthew Star seemed like a weird career choice and a waste of Gossett Jr.'s obvious talent.
Perhaps in response to these casting issues, poor reviews, and flagging ratings, the show was weirdly retooled mid-run. Overnight, Matthew spent little time at school and major characters were dropped without explanation, including Matthew's girlfriend and best friend. Instead of a science fiction / superhero show, Matthew Star became more of a supernatural espionage series with Barton and Gossett Jr. (whose character was renamed "Walt" for some reason) working in partnership with the US government. Rather than revitalizing the show, these changes simply made it more derivative. During the last half of its run, the series' main characters battled spies, jewel thieves, terrorists, and mob bosses. (So much for keeping a low profile, guys.) The show, which clearly had little vision and a weak premise from the beginning, was put out of its misery after twenty-two episodes.
Unlike other short run sci fi shows from the 80s, it's safe to say that The Powers of Matthew Star is not destined for some kind of cult status. There's nothing unusual or special to warrant it, honestly. You can see some of the episodes on YouTube, but most are close to unwatchable as bad is still bad... even 30+ years later.
Despite that comparison, it was not a winning combination.
Outside of its atrocious writing and predictable plot lines, Matthew Star's biggest problem was its casting. Unlike Whiz Kids, which I praised in my previous article for actually casting teens to play teens, Barton was 32 years old at the time Matthew Star aired. And without meaning this in any disparaging way, he looked it. The show already required its audience to suspend their disbelief as a poorly executed ripoff of the Superman story, but it was asking too much for us to accept a middle-aged man as a sixteen-year-old high school student. Matthew's love interest, played by Amy Steel, was marginally better as she was only a 22-year-old playing a sixteen-year-old. Louis Gossett, Jr., whose star was on the rise in 1982 thanks to his Oscar-winning performance in An Officer and a Gentleman, also seemed completely out of place as Matthew's mentor and guardian. Shep was little more than a nanny, pointing out Matthew's mistakes and patting the man-boy on his giant hair-helmet whenever he did something right. At the very least, Matthew Star seemed like a weird career choice and a waste of Gossett Jr.'s obvious talent.
Perhaps in response to these casting issues, poor reviews, and flagging ratings, the show was weirdly retooled mid-run. Overnight, Matthew spent little time at school and major characters were dropped without explanation, including Matthew's girlfriend and best friend. Instead of a science fiction / superhero show, Matthew Star became more of a supernatural espionage series with Barton and Gossett Jr. (whose character was renamed "Walt" for some reason) working in partnership with the US government. Rather than revitalizing the show, these changes simply made it more derivative. During the last half of its run, the series' main characters battled spies, jewel thieves, terrorists, and mob bosses. (So much for keeping a low profile, guys.) The show, which clearly had little vision and a weak premise from the beginning, was put out of its misery after twenty-two episodes.
Unlike other short run sci fi shows from the 80s, it's safe to say that The Powers of Matthew Star is not destined for some kind of cult status. There's nothing unusual or special to warrant it, honestly. You can see some of the episodes on YouTube, but most are close to unwatchable as bad is still bad... even 30+ years later.
Regardless of how you felt about the series conclusion, it wasn't your call and it's time to move on with life.
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