1979 "On The Right Trek" article

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How well I remember the nerve-tingling excitement I felt the weekend the above article came out! ST:TMP had just opened the night before and if there was ever a weekend to get the entertainment section of the local newspaper, this was it. And I wasn't disappointed; when I opened the paper I was greeted with this cover story on the "Weekend" insert. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

As you may have realised, 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of ST:TMP, and I hardly think you'll find more articles about it anywhere than on this site. So visit often in coming months for more, as well as more TV show and subsequent original-cast movie material. The old scrapbooks are not exhausted yet, not by a long shot!

Below is the whole page from the same insert advertising the movie... I thought you might find it interesting to see all the other movies out at the time. If you like newpaper movie ads, check out my other blog devoted to just that: "Held Over!" at http://www.heldovermovies.blogspot.com/.

Fun link: If you have an Original Series Communicator fetish, this site will curl your toes and possibly cause you to hyperventilate: http://www.herocomm.com/Home.htm

1972 "Nostalgia Special" article

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Clipped from the December 1972 issue of Movie Life, the above article's category of "Nostalgia Special" is somewhat funny to read today, over 40 years after the series premiered. They were waxing nostalgic about a show that had only been off the air for three years! But Trek was only really just starting to emerge in the public consciousness as the cultural phenomenon it was destined to become.

Each month, for about 7 issues or so in '72 and '73, the "Movie Life" magazine would publish another in the series of photos of characters from the show, which made it a priority for me to get. Fortunately, a used bookstore in downtown Macon, GA where I lived at the time made it possible for me to get most of them if I missed them on the stands. It was these monthly black and white photos that really made me begin my first scrapbook and caused it to grow. Each item added was done so with excitement and pride.

Bonus photo: Another black and white publicity shot, from a glossy in my collection. Uhura seems as if hearing Kirk speak is giving her a good feeling, doesn't she? Or maybe she just bumped into Spock behind her and realised he was enjoying looking at her! :)

"Look, Captain... I can write what you're saying with my eyes closed!"

Bonus: Below, the scanned cover of the first Trek calendar, published in the fall of 1975. This was really a big deal to me, so much so that when I learned it was coming out, I made a special trek by bus across town (Ft. Lauderdale) to a large mall where Walden Books had it in stock. I was one happy camper when I came out of that bookstore with the calendar in it's cardboard holder, which I still have it stored in today. All the way home on the bus ride, I gazed at each of the twelve months, and soaked in the montage image created for the middle poster, which I plan on scanning in and posting on a later entry. It is hard to scan large items such as these, and I have to do it in sections then use Photoshop to put them back together in one image.

That is one awesome publicity photo used on the cover there. They've never made a calendar to match that first one. The black and white pictures inside each unused date's oval for the month added to the visual interest and they've never done it like that since.

The one regret I have about it is that I used it as a journal for the episodes I was able to tape from the weekday afternoon showings on TV. In the little oval shapes for each day, I wrote IN PEN (what was I thinking?) the episode title I watched and recorded on cassette. But, what it lacks in collectable resale value, thanks to my writing in it, it makes up for in memories that it invokes as I open it up and look at it occasionally. Most of the time I saw an episode then, it was for my first time, so I have a record of when I initially viewed many of them.

"Spotlight on Star Trek" 1974 article

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This article was clipped by a 15-year-old me from the "Teen World" movie/TV magazine in 1974. I'm not sure when in 74 it was published, since I didn't save that information when I clipped it. I was a little short-sighted back then, I should have written it somewhere at the time. But who knew I would ever be needing that info again? I was only able to determine the year by the mention in the article about Gene and Majel having their son Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (nicknamed "Rod") recently. Now he's all grown up and running the family business, which back then was known as Lincoln Enterprises. It also mentions Shatner's marriage to Marcie Lafferty.

Bonus: Below, another glossy black and white promo picture of the whole regular crew on the transporter platform. This was part of the press kit sent out to stations to promote the syndication in the mid-70's.

ST:TMP Prop article from Starlog

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For your enjoyment today, an article scanned from Issue 47 of the sadly now-defunct Starlog, published June 1981. What were you doing in the summer of 1981?

Bonus #1: Below, a local ad in TV Guide for the weekday reruns, from June 23, 1986, clipped while I lived in Beckley, WV.

Bonus #2: Below, Shatner takes a tumble on his motorcycle... but the funny thing is how cool and collected he is doing it. It's like "hey, I actually meant to do that... to... demonstrate... the correct way... to fall from a bike." I know that the people on this blog will totally dig this picture! It's really just for them.

Persis Khambatta articles

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Clipped from "People" magazine, January of 1980.

Not a lot of commentary today, since the character really didn't do a lot for me except take screen time away from some of the secondary characters I would have rather seen more of. But, she was in the movie, so I clipped her articles as well. Her role in the movie was somewhat of a mystery, since her "oath of celibacy" line went completely without any explanation. It seemed out of place without some reference, as if all officers had to take one, and would have been better left out, I thought. Unless one read the novelization, and knew her species attitudes toward sexuality, and extra-strength pheremones, it made no sense. And neither did Sulu's awkwardness over her. Thankfully this aspect of her race was not carried over when the character was recycled to become Deanna Troi on the Next Generation.

Below, a newspaper article about Persis, from Dec. 12, 1979. Her passing away in 1998 was a tragic and early end to what had begun as a promising career in international films.

Below, some publicity photos taken of Persis showing off her smooth and shaved look.

As for question number one, "No, it is not."
And for number two, "No, I will not put them on the table."

"All right... who took my wig... and my pants?"

Below is a test shot of Persis in a bald cap and original series uniform, taken when she was to play the character in the planned "Phase II" tv series, before it was upgraded to a theatrical release.

How Shatner Saved Star Trek 2

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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!

It's A Shock When Spock Visits Doc

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I can't say that this headline is any worse than the earlier posted "Mr. Spock Is Not In Hock," but it's pretty close. I suppose some other possibilities were "Mr. Spock Circles Block On Way To See Flock," or "Don't Mock Dr. Spock or He'll Clean Your Clock." These hack writers showed their attitude toward the show right up front, and I know the sensitive Mr. Nimoy must have winced and gritted his teeth when seeing some of these headlines after the interview.

"Oh, no! The hot Mr. Spock has hit his foot on a rock!" Nimoy considers running to hide when he sees the press coming to interview him.

Check out these candid photos of Leonard from 1968! http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncatigger/sets/72157603241059658/