# 1980s sci-fi series

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 9, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774 "2005-07-09T19:42:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774/1 "2005-07-09T19:42:08Z")

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This has gotten under my skin, and I’m hoping someone can help me to get it out!

Does anyone remember a low-budget TV series which involved a car going through a carwash, and emerging as a spaceship? This may have been a syndicated program, or a local Los Angeles show. I’ve found a couple of other people looking for it in newsgroups, so I’m fairly certain that it’s a real show and not a figment of someone’s imagination.

It definitely is not **Quark**.

Help me, SDMB, you’re my only hope!

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**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774/2 "2005-07-10T03:34:44Z")

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Was there a series of The Last Starfighter? Sounds like something that may have been in that movie.

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**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774/3 "2005-07-10T03:52:21Z")

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Thanks, **Zebra**. I’ve seen **The Last Starfighter** several times, but it has been quite a while, and I don’t remember anything about a car wash. Can you refresh my memory?

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**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774/4 "2005-07-10T04:15:45Z")

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There’s no car wash in Last Starfighter. Don’t worry about that avenue.

All I can think of is how in **Automan** his car often changed into things, like a helicopter. But I doubt that’s it either.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980s-sci-fi-series/311774/5 "2005-07-10T11:02:07Z")

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Now that you’ve mentioned it, **Automan** does sound plausible, but, again, there’s no spaceship. Maybe it was the aforementioned “space-age” looking helicopter.