And the reviews start coming in...

Well, the movie finally premiered, and not all of the reviews were kind. Those who were indifferent to TOS pretty much panned it, those that loved the series were a bit kinder but still saw the problems. It was a box office success, if not a critical one, and did pave the way for the sequels. Scenes like the extended Enterprise fly-by, which was listed as a problem, were to Trekkers like me just icing on the cake. Critics who didn't have the love like we did just didn't get it.

Of course, some of the problems pointed out at the time were corrected by the Director's Cut DVD released a couple of years ago, and is the version I now watch when I get the urge. I saw the movie, back then as well as now, almost like a returning loved one that had been missing for a decade... sure, they've changed, and some things about them you don't like, but you overlook the faults, just glad to have them back. And by the time 1982 and "The Wrath of Khan" rolled around, Trek was in top form again. The excitement we fans felt at the time could hardly be dampened by the problems with the movie... Star Trek was back! That was all that mattered at the time.

Below is another press kit photo from the old scrapbook.

1978 UFO Report Magazine article

This article came from the magazine UFO REPORT, in the summer of 1978, and was published before the movie had begun filming, in pre-production. The still above, from the inside cover, was a seldom-seen overhead shot of the three-foot model (not the 11-foot filming model), a welcome change from the usual publicity photos of the ship.

An extra from the scrapbook: a still from the press kit for the movie. I like this one, with the cast and crew all smiles, except for Nimoy, in character as always.

1990 article: "Leonard Nimoy: Spock's Alter Ego"

This article on Nimoy was razored from the August 1990 issue of a Magazine called New Dimensions. I don't remember what kind of mag it was, but I seem to have the impression it was something New-Age-y.

And as an extra, below is a scan of a photo from my scrapbook that I bought back in the mid-70's. It's a classic pose and one of my favorites of the two characters together.

Click for a super-sized view!

Nichelle Nichols in CLASS Magazine

The following article (a great one, by the way) was clipped from the June 1984 issue of Right On!/Class magazine. Yeah, right on, baby!

Nichelle as she appeared in The Search For Spock. Lovely.

Below is an article from People magazine about seven years earlier, while ST:TMP was still in it's on-again, off-again stages, probably about 1977.

Nichelle as she appeared in animated form on one of her several Futurama guest appearances.

Ah, Nyota, you have opened hailing frequencies straight into my heart.

ST:TMP Box Office articles and more

Article from Life magazine, in the summer of 1979.

Pre-production painting by Andy Probert to show the effect of ship's dramatic new self-illumination in the darkness of space.

Star Trek page from 70's TV Quiz Mag

Correctly guess the right answers to the extremely difficult quiz above and I'll send you an imaginary tribble friend; you can hold him and love him and squeeze him and pet him.

Clipped from a TV trivia quiz magazine around 1976. Don't ask me how I found it, but I seemed to have a sixth sense about finding isolated Trek material located deep inside various magazines. Or I was just lucky as I flipped through different publications that had to do with TV that seemed likely. Yeah, I'd have to say it was more informed luck than any ESP on my part.

A Trek-themed "Bloom County" strip from June 21, 1982. These things were darned funny.

Here's a pen and ink drawing I did in the mid-80's for a local library's film schedule brochure. They showed 16 mm prints of Star Trek episodes regularly, which was a real treat, seeing them on a large screen... well, larger than any TV screens at the time. It brought the local Trekkers out of the woodwork and we formed a small informal fan club that met at the monthy showings.

Incredible Appeal of the Star Trek Movie

Clipped from "The Enquirer" in the middle of December, 1979. The Star Trek movie honeymoon was in full swing and the lovers don't start focusing on the other's faults until the honeymoon is over.

And the woman is Shatner's then-wife, Marcie Lafferty. She even had a small role in the movie as Illia's replacement as navigator. You can see below a clipping from a tabloid, probably "The Star," of their wedding on October 20, 1973.

Bill and Marcy party on. Dig those big ol' suit lapels! Vintage mid-70's.