# Identify the 1980s TV movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585 "2007-04-03T17:25:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585/1 "2007-04-03T17:25:38Z")
My husband and I were talking about old made-for-TV movies last night and both remembered seeing a certain one, but we can’t remember the name or who was in it. It was set in the not-too-distant future, and the plot involved a group of teenagers who were recruited to man a deep space mission. They all had to be so young because wherever they were going was so far away, it would take decades to get there. I remember a scene early in the film where some of the kids are calling home on videophones to have a last conversation with their parents before leaving on this heroic mission. I have a weird impression it aired on ABC sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s. It may have been produced by Disney, but I’ve tried searching for that and haven’t come up with anything. Can anyone help? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585/2 "2007-04-03T17:47:31Z")
[QUOTE=cbawlmer] My husband and I were talking about old made-for-TV movies last night and both remembered seeing a certain one, but we can’t remember the name or who was in it. It was set in the not-too-distant future, and the plot involved a group of teenagers who were recruited to man a deep space mission. They all had to be so young because wherever they were going was so far away, it would take decades to get there. I remember a scene early in the film where some of the kids are calling home on videophones to have a last conversation with their parents before leaving on this heroic mission. I have a weird impression it aired on ABC sometime in the mid-to-late 1980s. It may have been produced by Disney, but I’ve tried searching for that and haven’t come up with anything. Can anyone help? [/QUOTE] It sounds very familiar. The thought fluttering in the back of my brain is telling me it might have been a failed TV pilot and not a movie but no further information is coming to me. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585/3 "2007-04-03T17:53:54Z")
I considered that, but I have’t had any luck searching for it that way either. I really think it was a self-contained story, but maybe it was one of those things where they spent the money to make the pilot, it didn’t get picked up, so they decided to make an ending so at least they could air something. But obviously I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585/4 "2007-04-03T17:58:00Z")
Sounds like [Earth Star Voyager](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095077/). Here’s a [YouTube clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJz6WnXyUWE). ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585/5 "2007-04-03T17:59:04Z")
I remember it. As a kid I liked it. They had to wear ponchose when outside because of Acid Rain. One of the characters was a lothario who was calling all his ladies and having the same “I will always love you” final phone conversation with each of them. I remember being disappointed that there were no aliens. I thought it was probably meant as a pilot for a series that didn’t get picked up. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-1980s-tv-movie/398585/6 "2007-04-03T18:08:27Z")
I looked at that one on IMDb before I posted, and it didn’t sound like what I remembered. Seeing that clip, I’m pretty sure that’s it, but I do not remember a lot of that. I wonder if maybe I only saw the beginning. Thanks for finding the promo clip – that was helpful!