Described as the new ‘anti-Star Trek,’ Starhunter, a $22-million sci-fi series shot in the remote locale of Minto, n.b. makes its world premiere on TMN-The Movie Network on Nov. 1. The 22-episode series has been a long time coming, and cocreators/producers Daniel D’or and Philip Jackson of Danforth Studios in Toronto are thrilled with how their ideas are translating onto film.

When Playback caught up with D’or and Jackson, the crew was getting ready to shoot the series’ 15th installment, an episode known as ‘Dark and Stormy Night,’ while prepping to shoot the 16th episode the next day.

Starhunter is an international coproduction with France’s La Sabre (a subsidiary of Canal +), Grosvenor Park Productions uk and Danforth. The series is being shot almost entirely in New Brunswick, making it the largest production to ever hit the province.

Starhunter is set 300 years in the future, after the Earth’s authority has collapsed. A lot of the worlds in the universe have been colonized and Dante Montana, a bounty hunter in command of a renegade group known as the Raiders, is on a mission to find his missing son somewhere in the universe.

The creators have called their series the ‘anti-Star Trek’ and D’or is confident the series will appeal to all sci-fi fans because it dares to be different.

‘We’ve gone off in a very different direction [with Starhunter],’ says D’or. ‘Science fiction has always been very difficult from my perspective. I think traditional audiences are looking for something that is unique and different. That has always been Philip’s philosophy: different is better.’

While at natpe in ’96, D’or says he could sense a real demand for a sci-fi product that was more than just another Star Trek spin-off or wanna-be. Despite an initial reluctance to head back into the science fiction world, the pair agreed to give it a go at natpe. The result of their decision has completely turned around the production scene in New Brunswick.

Aside from some shooting being done in the u.k. (all of which is directed by D’or) and some location work in New Brunswick, the bulk of Starhunter is being shot in a 150,000-square-foot converted warehouse in Minto, n.b., where roughly 20 interior and exterior sets have been erected and maintained for the series. Jackson says he is astonished by how authentic the sets look – as ‘authentic’ as something set centuries into the future can look, anyway.

One of the main sets Jackson is most pleased with is ‘The Tulip,’ Montana’s bounty hunting ship – one time used as a luxury liner back in the days when the Earth was still more than a wasteland. It was used on tourist missions to the colonized moons and other worlds.

‘This was a luxury liner originally done in the Victorian style with cupids and valour wallpaper, and when transport and the trade ended, The Tulip was left to rot in orbit and cannibalized for over a hundred years,’ says Jackson. ‘It was retro-fit to become a bounty hunter ship, so you have this luxurious Victorian liner, falling apart, with military technology sticking out very inappropriately here and there.’

The exterior, he says, is just as complex. It is generated by a computer but still manages to match its innards. He says there are a number of sets which will be used continuously as different locations within The Tulip.

‘We also have sets for the surfaces of other worlds and the interior of other spaceships,’ says Jackson. ‘We’ve been able to create a great visual variety, notwithstanding the fact that this is not the biggest budget in the world.’

The decision to shoot the lion’s share of the series in New Brunswick was not an easy one, says Jackson, but one the Starhunter team is not regretting.

‘New Brunswick has very good tax credits and we saw a business opportunity there and they worked very hard to get us down here,’ says Jackson. ‘We’ve been looking to establish opportunities to put down a long-term infrastructure and expand where the most viably economic conditions are. It’s less about Starhunter and more about Danforth’s long-term view of where the company is going.’

D’or elaborates, explaining Danforth’s plans to entrench itself on the East Coast.

‘The idea is to stay and develop an industry on the East Coast. New Brunswick is a very good place to do that,’ says D’or, grateful for the support of Film nb in doing this. D’or says Danforth is in talks to acquire a sizable studio in Toronto as well, which will give the production company ‘a firm infrastructure in both places.’

Much of the crew of Starhunter has been plucked from the New Brunswick production community. Jackson estimates 40% of the crew hail from the province., while many others are based somewhere on the East Coast.

‘There are a lot of experienced people here and a lot of people who are climbing up the ladder and learning the trade,’ says Jackson. ‘We’ve had some wonderful experiences from the people we’ve met. I really like the long-term relationship potential.

‘The real key is to have a self-sufficient infrastructure there because you need equipment and people right away,’ adds D’or. ‘The last thing you want to do is start importing, so our future plan is to establish an infrastructure in New Brunswick, get people trained, get an equipment facility there and set it up as a major player in the industry.’

After its tmn premiere, Starhunter will air on Canal +, Superchannel and Super Ecran. Space: the Imagination Station (ChumCity was the first buyer in) has the first non-pay-tv window in Canada.

With the first 22 episodes not even completely in the can, D’or foretells of another sci-fi series in the Danforth development file called Earthspell.

‘[Earthspell] has a whole different look, but hopefully we’ll have two sci-fi series’ running back-to-back next year.’ *