I originally saw this pilot on British TV some time during the 1980's. It was billed as a movie, but was actually made for TV as a potential action series which was never made. As such, it suffers from all the usual corny plot devices you expect from an 80's action show. That aside, Northstar is the most enjoyable piece of trash you can imagine. The plot is terrible - an astronaut looks at the sun during a spacewalk, and a solar flare hits him in the face. Instead of being fried or at least blinded for life, he gains super powers which only kick in when he looks directly at the sun! Of course this is a terrible example for children to follow, but we didn't worry about stuff like that in the 80's, and TV was better for it! Look out for the female doctor that treats the hero and tells him all about his special new powers - no doubt intended to be a romantic interest were it to be made into a series. This is also my favourite scene, where the doctor explains to Major North (yes - his name is 'North', he gets his powers from a star and the series is called 'Northstar' - genius!) how his powers work. Of course, she just happens to have a life-size replica of the Major behind a glass screen. She warns him not to use his powers for too long, and he watches in horror as his dummy's foam brain catches fire! Its a great film, a true cult-classic. Grab it if you can, and never let it go.

I remember watching this on TV in England when I was a kid, about six years old if it was indeed shown in 1986 over here. I have never forgotten it, certain scenes for whatever reasons were etched in my memory and I have always looked to find this childhood memory and revisit again.First thing was find out the title: Which was very hard to find until I came across a site which gave the name and details of what actually happened in the film. Then I came to IMDb and seeing as I was only the second post on here at the time, almost gave up any hope of finding this again.Now, with thanks to the people who know who, I have managed to get two copies and was obviously delighted.With some fear I might be expecting something mindblowing, I went into this excited but calmed myself down to the fact it would be disappointing if I hyped it up too much.Needed have! This is class, and why this "pilot" was never picked up as a future series or made much more commercial I will never know. The idea is clever for 86. The acting is good for the 80s and the whole style is unique and original.The moments I had flashbacks were the scenes in which Jack chases after the car thieves, the following scene with the dummy and the exploding head. The beginning with the exposure to the sun and the graveyard scene.The villain I remembered as being bald but I still remember the guy,maybe the slick back look had me muddled as a kid lol.I remember the observotory, and the near ending but I have had to pause it before I watch it as this is the scene I have wanted to see the most.The music as well, is great. I'm a lover of John Carpenter films and scores and although he has nothing to do with this, the score is somewhat heroic and almost edgy. From what I have seen, I had to post and give Northstar the thumbs up.Class!!! I can now rest in peace lol

I don't know about anyone else, but I thought this film was brilliant (for it's time). This guy was the closest human equivalent of Superman ever portrayed, and I liked the fact that he didn't really WANT these powers in the first place. To my annoyance, a lot of these "new" heroes seem only too happy to slap on the spandex and start running around wreaking havoc in the name of the Greater Good, often having the reverse effect.Now I KNOW special effects in the 80s didn't have the panache of the 90s with its CGI, and that somewhat cheesy performances were the norm with a lot of 80s TV actors! But I feel the film's makers did a pretty good job with what they had, and the plot wasn't half bad either!(NB - I originally posted this comment on 10-Nov-2000 as IronFan, which I've since deleted)

Greg Evigan plays an astronaut that while using a state of the art stellar scanner recieves a dose of radiation through the device. Eventually when he gets back to Earth, he comes to the painful realization that UV radiation can burn out his brain thus killing him, but other than that he is superhuman, as the radiation has enhanced his body as well as his IQ. Not really great as a pilot film but enough to keep the kiddies munching popcorn while they watch.