Does anyone remember The Starlost? It only lasted about six episodes. Harlan Ellison was developing the science-fiction series for teevee (along with Ben Bova and others), but by the time the network was done dicking around with it, Ellison got pissed off and left (he insisted that his name be removed from the credits, to be replaced by “Cordwainer Bird”) and the script was turned into a novel called Phoenix Without Ashes by Edward Bryant. The fiasco is described in great detail in Ellison’s introduction Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas, Toto.
The premise is that the Earth was doomed, so a gigantic ship (200 miles long) was made to transport all of Earth’s cultures to a new home. It was a “generation ship” (is there a film being developed with that name?) and after a while people forgot they were on a ship. They lived in 50-mile-diameter “biodomes” and they came to accept over a very very long time that these were their “worlds”. Unfortunately, the ship’s crew had died or had been killed. They might have been killed by a phenomenon called “Nemesis”, but I don’t recall exactly. In any case, for generations the ship has been flying off course and was heading directly for a star. It was up to a trio (?) who discovered the secret to save the ship and its inhabitants from being destroyed. There was one character called “Garth” who was Amish. He was being hunted by his people because he didn’t believe that they were actually on a planet. He discovers a hatch and escapes and joins another guy and a girl. Together, they go from dome to dome, trying to find the ship’s bridge and hoping they can alter the ship’s course so as to avoid being incinerated in the star.
Personally, I thought it was great. But then, I was a pre-teen when it came out. I’ve read the book, and I saw the error of my ways. It probably was absolute crap. But I’d like to see it again to be sure.
Oh… I don’t think they ever revealed what “Nemesis” is. Maybe it’s just my bad memory, but I’d like to know.