1980 DeForest Kelly Interview

 One got the feeling from just watching the original series that "Dr. McCoy" was the most relatable human on the show; the person that represented the "everyman" from our time period, and the actor DeForest Kelly was the one we could be most comfortable around. DeForest Kelley was that kind of person in real-life, as all the interviews bear out. Here's a good one from Starlog issue #38, published in September of 1980.

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Bonus: a candid closeup of De from a movie magazine that came out during the series run.

Bonus #2: a great shot of Bill giving archery lessons to De during the series.

"Okay, De, let's try to hit Leonard in the behind and bring him down a couple of notches."

1980 Interview with Gene Roddenberry

From issue #40 of Starlog, published in November of 1980, comes this interview with the Great Bird about the Star Trek: the Motion Picture, in which he looks back on what it turned out to be. The points he makes about the differences between a movie and a TV show are still valid when applied to the recent movies by JJ Abrams. Great pic of Gene in the Captain's chair!

(Click on images to enlarge. Once open you may have to click on the image again to view full size.) 

Bonus: below, "Men In Tights,"  a b&w production shot of Kirk and Charlie Evans about to wrestle in the gym. When watching this scene, it might seem like Kirk is bullying him, but he is just trying to teach him social interaction skills and how to take competition without getting angry. Charlie fails to learn the lesson.

Bonus: Another page from one of the coloring books that were put out to tie-in with ST:TMP, but seemed to be recycled material from earlier TOS versions. Can you figure out what they are looking at?

1980 Harold Michaelson Interview

From Issue 30 of Starlog magazine (see the cover and another article here), published January 1980, comes this interview with the production designer of ST:TMP, Harold Michaelson. Michaelson took the existing Mike Minor designs for the new warp core from the planned "Phase Two" series and expanded it vertically to encompass multiple stories, as well as horizontally. The now-familiar design has been the design basis for every new show and movie ship's engineering deck... with the notable exception of the one movie that really could have used it... the recent '09 reboot. The money-saving use of a beer factory as engineering was nearly universally lambasted by fans, and hopes are that the producers of the sequel will listen to fan feedback and give us a real engineering room set, one befitting a big budget.

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"Whatever thou doest, Spock, dost not look up, lest thee seest up the robe of Surak."

The caption for the top photo is in error, as the ship on the design board is actually the air tram and not the Vulcan shuttle.

Bonus: Below, a fun video promoting the Star Trek "Battlestations" slot machine game. Since I don't anticipate ever going to Vegas, and I don't frequent casinos, this is about as close as I'll ever get to this game... but it does look like it would be fun to play. If I ever get rich, I might order one for my game room. The copy promoting the machine is under the video. Go to Youtube to view the video in larger format: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpGN0ixpErU



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1979 Robert Wise Interview

1979 was one of the most exciting years to ever happen for many Trekkers, and especially me. From that heady time comes this interview with director Robert Wise from Issue 30 of Starlog magazine, which came out in December of 1979, bearing the cover date of January 1980. For many, this issue came after they had seen the movie, but since I had to wait until January to sneak off to see it (thanks to my uptight and perpetually-irritated stepfather) this material only stoked my fervor.

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However, the excitement was tinged with worry, as early word leaked out that the movie was less than stellar. We kept on believing, though, and didn't let the rumors dampen our anticipation. This article by Tribbles author David Gerrold from the same issue did worry me, though... fortunately it did earn enough to warrant a sequel, which amped up the action factor.

Bonus: From 1967, a photo of Shatner on a smoke break, from one of the movie-TV gossip magazines.

"I could knock the Marlboro Man right out of his saddle."

Coming soon: the Harold Michaelson interview from this same issue.

1980 article: The Lost Designs of ST:TMP

From issue #32 of Starlog, published March 1980, comes this revealing article on the "Lost Designs of ST:TMP" featuring an interview with Andy Probert.

Probably the best photo you will ever see for the details on the filming model of the Vulcan shuttle "Surak."

1980 article on ST:TMP from "Superstar Heroes"

The time leading up to and around the release of "ST:TMP" was exciting, and a great period of collecting for me, since magazines and articles in any place were what I looked for. Below is the January 1980, issue #11 of "Superstar Heroes," which was on the stands in December of 1979. This publication was a step above in quality "Media Spotlight" but several below "Starlog." This extensive article on the new movie has some great pictures and info, but there are several inaccuracies concerning production on both the new movie and the original series. Oh, and thanks, writer, for totally exposing the plot twist of what V'Ger was. Way to blow what little suspense there was!

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Nice view of the model for the orbital dockyards office... possibly the best photo you'll see for examining details.

"Alright, for the next scene we'll have them stare in awe at the viewscreen for 20 minutes straight."

Bonus: Below is the first of some coming bonus images covering the 4 original series coasters in the set released in 1998 by Newfield Publications. Newfield offered the set of 16 coasters (four from each of the Trek series) for free when you tried out their subscription for card pages that went into Trek database notebook binder. (Here is the Memory Alpha page on it: Trek Giant Cards.) I didn't subscribe to it, I just got the binders and the first set of cards for it. But I will post what I do have, those pages on the original series that are interesting, as time goes by.

And another bonus, one of the nicely-painted cards in the Skybox ST Masterpiece Series put out in the 90's. Of course I'm starting out with one of my favorites from the series.... wonder why?

The kiss may have been forced by the Platonians, but the tongue he slipped her was all his idea.

3-2-1 Contact article on ST:TMP

The collection cabinets yield up another article on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," this time from the January 1980 edition of the youth educational magazine "3-2-1 Contact," available for students to order much like the Scholastic publications. There are two parts to the material from this issue; first, a write-up on the movie, (which does manage to get a few facts wrong) and a more educational article featuring the film's science advisor, Jesco von Puttkamer of NASA.

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Bonus: Below is an ad from the second issue of "The Monster Times," published in 1972, for a color Spock poster. I'm sure this poster hung in a lot of young people's bedrooms. Did you have it?

Bonus #2: Below is another in the set of greeting cards put out in 1976 by Random House. Inside, the text says "With any luck at all your gift should arrive in 7 light years! Happy Birthday!" Of course, making the common error of confusing a measure of distance with time.