Enquirer's Star Trek 30th Poster

This time we open the scrapbook to bring out a 30th Anniversary commemorative foldout poster from The National Enquirer, published on September 10, 1996. The accompanying article from the previous page is included below; rather than isolating the Trek material as I usually do, I left in the rest of the page's material since it's so darn amusing. I don't think Roy Rogers got his wish when he rode out into that great ranch in the sky a couple years later. (However, I would like to think he and Trigger were reunited there.)

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Next, the poster itself, which had to be scanned in four sections and pieced back together.

Bonus link: Go here for some great Star Trek artwork by Pat!

Enquirer Star Trek 6 Preview

Warning: if you haven't seen "Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country," DON'T read this sneak preview by The Enquirer. At least, that's how the first sentence should have read in the fall 1991 article, because they don't just preview it; they give away every single plot point in the entire blamed film! By blabbing the whole story, they ruined any potential surprises for a lot of fans who read the article. Typical, but this was really one of the worst examples of spoilerage just for the sake of sensationalism. Nice photos, though. One plot point they got wrong was that Spock falls in love; Valeris was not a love interest, only a trusted protege.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Below is a newspaper ad for the movie that I clipped from the Friday, Dec. 6th, 1991 edition of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. This movie premiered only one day before the first Trek movie did, Dec. 7th, back in 1979 (reposted from my other blog "Held Over!").

Below is an interesting Trek-themed ad for the sound system in one of the theaters showing the new movie. Apparently Vulcans (or merely fans in rubber pointed ears) are accomodated in this theater. The shape of the ear is all wrong, however.

Bonus: Below are a couple of pages I got in a newsletter/catalog from Dage Co., (run by Tribbles author David Gerrold) during the summer of 1974. Interesting article by David about the efforts to revive the series, and already you could see the seeds of what would become "The Next Generation" being planted.

Bonus #2: a 1976 ad flyer for some high-class UV-reactive posters on black velvet, "suitable for framing." Anyone out there get any of these?

I'm alone for a few weeks, maybe more, as my wife is out of state visiting her sick mother. So, with not much to do, I've been enjoying this afternoon by taking my magazines out of the cabinets and organizing then better. Here's how it looks right now, and that's not even all of them yet, I still have the third cabinet to get them out of. Here's another pic, closer up, so you can see some of the covers better. It was taken from the same angle, only closer, but I flipped the photo so you can see them without craning your head around. It does make you dizzy to look at anyway, though.

1994 article: The Death Of Captain Kirk

Before the internet became what it has in recent years, one of the main sources of info about upcoming movies for us Trekkers was the tabloids. Although couched in gossipy terms, one could get facts early that weren't available anywhere else, if one didn't mind wading through the other junk. Kind of like eating lunch in the middle of a cow pasture; you might enjoy the meal but feel a bit dirty from the surroundings (come to think of it, it's not much different from the internet in that respect). From the "Star" tabloid, published Sept. 6, 1994, comes this article on "Star Trek: Generations," as the secret of Captain Kirk's death is spilled... and without the warning that there were "spoilers" in the article, as the term came to be known. Thanks, Star!

(Click on images to enlarge.)

It's funny reading some of the errors in the article, such as the bit about them teaming up to fight a scientist "bent on destroying the universe." That seems a bit overly ambitious, not to mention impractical. If you destroy the universe, who would be left to gloat over it to?

Below is a later article, printed September 20th, 1994, reporting the fandom's furor over the spoiled secret, thanks mostly to the paper for publishing it. Unlike the last-minute script change in "The Wrath Of Khan" which responded to fan reaction by providing an "out," there never was one added to this movie to allow for a chance at Kirk's resurrection. The NG movie producers weren't interested in bringing him back, they only wanted him gone so they could move on with their versions, which is understandable. But Shatner would have reason to regret it when he was locked out of the new '09 movie by the fact. At least Kirk lives again in the enjoyable novels from Shatner "co-written" by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.

Bonus: Below is a scan of one of the items members of the "Official Star Trek Fan Club" received when joining; I got this sometime in the mid-80's as far as I can recall.

Bonus: Below is one of the multitude of small newspaper clippings in my scrapbook regarding the many conventions that were held in south Florida during the mid-70's. This one from 1976 is significant because although I didn't get to go to it (three guesses why), a friend brought me back autographed pictures of Nichelle and Doohan, which I still treasure and have framed on my wall.

And finally, below is a short interview with Gene about the planned movie from "The Monster Times," issue #42, published in July of 1975. This took the place of the regular feature "Trek Talk" in that issue, so I'm tagging it with that anyway for easy location. It's always interesting to look back at these movie announcements and remember how long it took to see it made, and how many false starts there were. But if nothing else, it kept Star Trek alive in the public's mind, and for that reason, Gene's efforts were worth it.

It's interesting to read in the above interview that Gene was considering making the new movie a prequel, which is what the recent '09 movie was (in a way). But one has to wonder how they would have handled the fact that the stars were ten years older by that time. Would they have hired younger actors and actresses to portray the characters in the flashbacks? Also, the idea of shoehorning in the "cameos by ten international celebrities" would hang on almost up until the making of "ST:TMP," but thankfully it was forgotten. Can you imagine how cheesy it would appear now? Between that and "Magicam" it's a good thing the movie didn't get made at that time.

1984 "Star" article on "The Search For Spock"

Welcome, O Loyal Followers, and Curious Visitors. Enter in the Hallowed Halls Of Historical Trek Archives. Today we're taking some "The Search For Spock" articles out of the old dog-eared scrapbook. First, the "big one," the one I looked forward to with each new movie; the first color photos and information from "The Star," which managed to scoop most other publications by months when it came to the Trek movies. This came from the Feb. 18, 1984 edition of the tabloid, and it contained the first color photos ever seen from the new movie. This was before the instant internet publicity releases, and we fans depended on such as this to find out the latest info.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Below is an article that came out the weekend of the movie's release. This is from a July 3oth, 1984 Beckley, WV paper.

And below is one of the earliest announcements of the next sequel that I remember clipping, from Jan. 22, 1983.

Bonus: Below is another of the "Trek Talk" features from the May 1975 issue #41 of "The Monster Times." It's interesting in that it announces the "new" Star Trek figures from Mego, which so many fans that were kids back then remember with fondness. Did you know that the Apes figures predated the Trek ones? They did!

The term" Trekkers" had not yet found wide-spread use, but the "trekeys" term above (which differed only in spelling) was an early attempt to differentiate the "serious" fans from the perceived "teeny-bopper" type the media had labeled as "trekkies." Thankfully "trekeys" didn't catch on. It wasn't viable as a verbal term since it sounded just like the word they wanted to avoid, and had to be explained every time since they were on radio.

And my final bonus for this time, the front and back covers of another in the series of the also-fondly-remembered James Blish adaptations. Pretty inaccurate painting of the ship in this one...

And seconds later they were dead from the lack of atmosphere.

As always, if any of the items posted stir up memories you'd like to share, or you just want to make a comment, I encourage you to add your voice to the discussion! A post without comments is like a tree without leaves... it's there, just not as nice to look at.

1986 "Star" article on "The Voyage Home"

Today's post is a scan of an article on "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," saved from the "Star" tabloid paper, published September 30, 1986. This two-page spread took four scans to capture and then (roughly) photoshop back together into one page. Just sayin'.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Bonus: Below, mother and son share an affectionate moment in a family photo.

Bonus #2: Below you will find another in the series of Star Trek greeting cards put out in 1976 by Random House. I've added a tag for "Greeting Card" to the sidebar in case you ever want to view all the posts with the cards included as bonuses.

The inside of the card:

And finally, the last bonus item: below is the next edition of "Trek Talk" from "The Monster Times," issue 36, published in August 1974. (You may view other posts with this feature by looking for it in the "tags" section on the bar to the right.)

1974 article: Bill and Marcy's Honeymoon Haven

The old scrapbook opens this time to a two-page spread from the September 15, 1974 issue of the tabloid "National Tattler." The article takes us to a happier time and place in Bill and Marcy's relationship. Not the kind of article I hyperventilated over back then, but still about one of the stars of the show, so that qualified it to be clipped. Whenever we took my Grandma shopping, she would pick up several of the tabloids, and when she was done with them, I would scan through them for any tidbits, articles or photos that had to do with Trek (or any genre I was interested in). Scissors in hand, they would be clipped for the scrapbook!

Bonus: below, a detail from a cast publicity shot taken at the start of "ST:TMP," where Nichelle puckers up and plants an impromptu smack on Gene. Nice! Needless to say, this was not a shot used in general publicity...

Bonus: You see below one of the greeting cards put out in the late 70's, of which I bought most. I posted one earlier, which you can view here, as well as a photo of the card store display; and I'll add more as bonus items all along in the future. The text inside this one says "Hope you're back on the right trek soon!" I suppose this was a card you gave to someone that had made a bad decision in their lives....

And below is an ad found in Starlog magazine for the cards.

Leonard Nimoy Quits Star Trek

(Click on images to enlarge.)

And not a moment too soon.

Leonard had the right idea when he declined to be involved in "Generations," the first TNG movie made. If only Shatner had felt the same! Clipped from the National Enquirer early in 1994.

The time frame for this is much more recent than most items, but since I have so many articles from various years encompassing the entire span of Trek history, I thought I'd begin mixing them more. This will avoid the problem of using up all the old first and only posting the more recent as time goes by; I'd like to be able to post old and new and inbetween as long as the blog goes on. So, in coming posts, look for more entries of later items mixed in with the earlier.

Bonus from the Scrapbook: Below, a bit of history... an actual teletype machine printout from the wire service United Press International about the con known as Star Trek Chicago '75.

Held at the Conrad Hilton in Chicago, IL, August 24 - August 25 1975, and billed as the first "professional" Star Trek Convention, this two day event was packed with stars from both the crew of the Enterprise, and the science fiction literary world as well. In addition to every regular member of the crew and several other actors, Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, Hal Clement, David Gerrold and Phil Farmer were all featured guests. An earlier post featured a newspaper clipping that used some of the above UPI copy in an article on this event.

Her considerable charms wasted, Uhura was reminded of her grandma's old expression "water off a duck's back."

1986 article: Keep On Trekking

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Above, a pull-out centerfold article from The Star, May 6, 1986. Not that long ago, I know, but any article about the original cast, show or movies is liable to be posted here; old, new or inbetween.

(Sorry for the gap in posts, but a family emergency took me away for about a week and I'm just now getting back to scanning stuff for the blog. Sometimes real life interferes with our fun.)

Bonus: Below, no date on this clipping from the Enquirer but it was around July 1995.

Bonus #2: Cover to "Letters to Star Trek" paperback published in 1977. Nice painting!

Enterprise Crew Stands By For Lift-off Into Movie History

(Click on image to view larger.)

Saved from "The Star" tabloid, November 13, 1979.

Bonus: Nice publicity shot of Kirk and Spock scanned in from another of my photo scrapbooks.

Bonus #2: A 1976 Random House Star Trek Greeting card!

To say Kirk looks insufferably pleased with himself would be an understatement. Mugging for the camera was a true talent of Bill's, and this shot from "I, Mudd" puts it to great use. There were about a dozen or so different cards for various occasions in this first set of Trek-themed cards ever put out. I was fortunate enough to get most of them, and I'll share them with you here every so often. This one opened up into an award, and was really my favorite card.

I bought all of these cards at my favorite comic book/memorablilia store ever, the afore-mentioned "Starship Enterprises" in Ft. Lauderdale. I took this 1979 photo of the display in the store where I got the cards. Neat, huh? Kind of funny to see Artoo and Threepio hawking merchandise for the competition.

How Shatner Saved Star Trek 2

(Click on images to view in Shatner-ego sized scans!)

The Shat sporting a cool car, neckerchief and hairpiece.

Clipped from the Star, April 27, 1982. Although written in the typically inflammatory style of the tabloids, which exaggerate the slightest of problems, Shatner's ego shines through as he describes how he "single-handedly saved the franchise." I think that honor can go to Nick Meyer, Bill.

"Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Kelley"

Bill's tendency to steal lines finally caught up with him.

Below, a headline from a 1981 photo that probably brought knowing chuckles to the rest of his co-stars.

Below are a couple of bonus pictures of the good captain for you to enjoy.


"Sure, I might be a bit self-centered, maybe even egotistical... but dang, I look good and you know it!"

What you don't see in this cozy shot is the knife Nichelle is holding behind his back.

Below is a 10-10-97 Robotman strip (I loved this comic, it was so full of genre references) that shows why Kirk-Fu is not effective for use in real-life, especially by nerdly wimps.

Below is an interesting autographed still from very early in 1966 during the filming of "Mudd's Women." Author and self-proclaimed god among mortals Harlan Ellison in a rare moment of jovial goodwill, before he began his Trek-hatred diatribe when Gene had the NERVE to re-write a script of his to make it more suitable for the show. We all know that story, don't we?

Bill grabs a handful of man-boob in honor of Harlan's besting him in ego size, if not in stature.

I've just been informed about, and invited to join, a new photo group on Flickr that I think my readers would find very interesting. The photo above comes from this group, named "Lincoln Enterprises Acquisitions," and it's at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdofthegalaxy/3578122787/

Here's the description: "This group is to showcase memorabilia acquired from Gene Roddenberry's company Lincoln Enterprises (originally known as "Star Trek Enterprises"), a mail-order catalog company started by Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett in 1967 as a subsidiary of the Norway Corporation. Lincoln Enterprises is still in business and specializes in memorabilia pertaining to Star Trek. Currently, the company is headed by Gene & Majel's son Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. and run through the appropriately-named RODDENBERRY.COM website.

In the 1970s they offered merchandise related to other exceptional series such as Kung Fu, SEARCH, and the television projects created by Gene Roddenberry such as Genesis II, Questor, Earth II, and Spectre. "

Check it out!

FBI Protects Trek Set

It's a good thing that the FBI helped protect those Star Trek secrets; advanced technology like warp drive, phasers, photon torpedos and transporters could be dangerous should it fall into the wrong hands! Clipped from The Star tabloid, September 1978.

Speaking of advanced technology, once people saw that big old viewscreen on the ship, they wanted one for themselves. So, the race for bigger and better TV screens, with which to better watch the show, began. This article was clipped in the late 70's sometime from one of the tabloids. Sorry I don't have more specifics, but I seldom saved such info on little clippings like this one. It's interesting that it took 30 years for big plasma screen TVs to become a reality, but now we have them and watching Trek (and other movies) on them is finally as good as we once dreamed!

Mr. Spock On Real Life Trek

Saved out of "The Star" on Oct. 3rd. 1978. Breakfast is important... but Star Trek is more important. One can live without breakfast.

Happy Birthday, Leonard!

My Favorite Vulcan is 78 today. Best wishes to him!