1969 Star Trek Critique Article

Via a trip through the Guardian of Forever, from out of the dim past of the year 1969 (near the end of the show's first run) comes this article from issue #14 of the terrific magazine "Castle of Frankenstein." (Read an earlier post of the CoF #11 Star Trek article here.)

(Click on images to enlarge.)

"Castle of Frankenstein" was a monster/genre mag written on a more mature level than any of the other such publications of the time, and the graphic layout was bold and exciting. Covering science fiction as well as horror, and TV as well as film, the magazine was a real treat.

Above is a detail of the cover photo, corrected for the picture's reversed state.

Now, before you dig into the article, expecting to read details not seen since 1969, a word of caution; it's not a pro-Trek article. In fact, it's a printing of a letter sent to the editors by someone with not just a bone to pick with the show, but a whole skeleton. Reading the diatribe, one truly wonders if they are talking about the same show we know and love. But hey, the pictures printed with it are good!

I think you'll be amazed as you read the things they write about some of the episodes, several of which are now regarded as among the best. His insults of the various facets of the show, calling DeForest Kelley 'a hack," for example, and the makeup artists efforts "abominable," are laughable to me. His example of the "failure" by the makeup artists by "having to bring in John Chambers" to get Mr. Spock's ears right is wrong as far as I can determine; Fred Philips saved the day from another makeup artist's poor efforts by working many late hours making the ears as we saw them in "the Cage." Although John Chamber's contribution of the ears is a popular bit of trivia, neither the "Making of Star Trek" nor Nimoy's books "I Am Not Spock" and "I Am Spock" mention him as being involved in the difficult process. (This is backed up here.) The book "Inside Star Trek" does mention that Fred Phillips designed them and had them made in John Chamber's makeup lab; but the results that came back were still too crude, and Phillips had them sent to someone else at MGM to do them. Be that as it may, right or wrong, it has little impact on the sweeping charges brought by the irate writer that "the makeup is beyond belief, it is so bad."

Calling the ground-breaking exterior design of the Enterprise "lacking in grace and sleek beauty," (whu-u-u-u-t?) and the interiors "disgustingly bad," on the level of the old "Flash Gordon" serials, he compares the art design unfavorably to three of Irwin Allens' shows. That particular statement boggles the mind, because most of Allen's sets consisted of blinking lights and reel-to-reel computers against a black background. His criticism of the show's legendary, memorable musical scores is the final straw. I think it must have been Irwin Allen himself writing under an assumed name.

The photo above represents the writer's attack on the show.

Mr. Spock prepares to launch a counter-attack against the illogical critic and open up a can of well-deserved Tal-shaya.

Well, it was interesting to learn in historical hindsight that some saw this outstanding effort at bringing believable science fiction to the tube as greatly lacking; but as Captain Kirk said, "there's no accounting for taste." The editor's weak "rebuttal" at the end did nothing to argue against some of the more ridiculous statements, but the show itself is the strongest argument. It has stood the test of time and then some! If I had been the editor I would have filed this letter under "crank" and wrote something worthy of the magazine.

Update: The name of the writer is Craig Reardon, and I wonder if he is the same Craig Reardon that became a movie makeup artist? If so (and it seems likely since they are both from Inglewood, CA), this might explain his extreme criticism of that facet of the show's production (which was way off-base in my opinion, in any event). It would be ironic if this were the case, since he went on to do the makeup on one of the Star Trek spinoffs, Deep Space Nine! He would have been close to 16 at the time of the letter... so it's possible. I wonder if he still feels the same way about the original series now? It would be interesting to find out.

Below is a small writeup about the looming cancellation of the show from the same issue, which makes for fascinating reading. Too bad some other network didn't pick it up, give it a bigger budget and restore Roddenberry to producer status.

Bonus: below, the next in the series of four TOS coasters referenced in the last post. I never used these four to hold my drinks; I reserved that for the four Voyager ones.

Bonus: Lastly, another of the Random House Star Trek greeting cards from 1976. The inside text says "Let's keep in touch!"

"Oh, man... dude, it's like, it's like, I can totally feel the color of this paint! Seriously, you gotta come feel it! And bring the Fritos."

Consider that card's sentiment of "let's stay in touch" to be an invitation to comment about this post! I truly do enjoy hearing from my readers.

Blog Awarded

It's nice to be noticed and appreciated! I was notified this morning by Trek site Ex Astris Scientia webmaster Bernd Schneider that I had won this month's EAE Award, via this nice email...

Dear Frederick,

I enjoyed your blog a lot, and I am pleased to announce that you win the EAE Award March 2010. Congratulations! Here is a small blurb to be posted at EAS:

"My Star Trek Scrapbook is a gem among the growing number of Trek-themed blogs. It is unique because it showcases a plethora of Star Trek memorabilia from over 40 years, among them many newspaper or magazine clippings that even avid fans probably wouldn't have kept for so long. But thanks to the steady efforts of blog owner Frederick these funny or insightful documents from Star Trek's history have been preserved and are being made public again - with updates occurring as often as every few days. My Star Trek Scrapbook deserves praise for the quality of the content as well as of the presentation. Unlike many other bloggers Frederick is very careful in tagging and indexing his content, thereby improving the accessibility and avoiding that entries disappear forever on the umpteenth archive page. And anyone who still thinks that science fiction and nostalgia don't mix should check out My Star Trek Scrapbook right now, as well as the other sci-fi, horror and comic blogs by the same author."

Thanks for a very entertaining blog and keep up your great work!

Best regards, Bernd Schneider http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/

Thanks again, Bernd! Recognition by you and an award from a site like yours is a real honor. May this blog, your site, and all the readers of both, "Keep On Trekkin'!"

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!

(Click in images to enlarge.)


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.

1981 Mark Lenard article

Back in the day, Starlog wasn't the only source of Trek and genre material, but it was one of the foremost. From the depths of one of the collection cabinets comes issue #42, published December of 1980. The featured article is on my favorite Trek guest-star, Mark Lenard. My earliest recollection of seeing the show on TV was during the first run of "Balance of Terror." I only remember a little of the show, but I know it was this episode, and even at 8 years old I found it interesting. I only really got into it when I was 13, though.

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"This text is invading my personal space."

Korg found out that Earth women could be tougher than they looked, especially when food was involved.

"You want to keep this nose? Steal my Cheetos again, lobster-head, and you will lose it."

Bonus: Below, from the same issue, is an small write-up about the then-new Star Trek Maps, my copy of which I still have in my cabinet.

Bonus: Fortunately, ST:TMP was not the last time Mark Lenard was on Trek; we got the chance to enjoy his appearances as Sarek on movies 3, 4 and 6, as well as once on ST:TNG (I mean twice, as I was reminded by a kind commenter). Below, father and son pose for another of Mother's many snapshots. They got together so seldom, you know, and she just loved to take pictures.

"Really, Amanda... saying "cheese" is not logical; nor preferable."

Link: Here is a great page I just found devoted to Sarek and Amanda!

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.

Mad spoof: "Star Blecch III: The Search For Plot."

Through the power of my awesome intellect and formidible brain power (which enabled me to open my collection cabinet, bring out this magazine, scan the pages, format them for the page, and upload them), I am presenting for your enjoyment this time the Mad spoof of "The Search For Spock," published in December of the Orwellian 1984. Behold, the epic known as "Star Blecch III: The Search For Plot."

Alfred says to click on the images to enlarge and not worry so much.

Below, from the same issue, Don Martin looks at the movie...

Bonus item #1: Below is the cover of the great fanzine "Enterprise Incidents" #5, put out in December of 1977. The art is depicting ships from the Franz Joseph Technical Manual, which many fans really took to heart. I'm certain that the space station seen in Star Trek '09 was inspired by the Starfleet headquarters depicted in the manual.

The next bonus item is from the back cover of the November 1974 issue of "The Monster Times." These ads and subsequent reports on the early conventions were as close as I ever came to them, but I enjoyed knowing that others shared in my love for the show to such an extent.

If you have memories of attending that convention, or anything associated with it, share them with us! Heck, even if you didn't go and have no memories of it, enjoy reading about it and comment anyway... I'm not particular as long as I hear from you! "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear..."

And yes, I did own both of those "stupendous" and "colossal" life-sized posters advertised. I still have the Spock one; don't ask what happened to the Kirk one. Just... don't ask.

1972 ST Convention Report

In 1972, the first Trek convention was held in New York at the Statler-Hilton hotel from January 21st through the 23rd. (Here is a pre-con writeup in TMT #2, for other Trek-related items from this issue, go to previous posts on article #1 and article #2.) In the Sci-Fi Super TV Special from The Monster Times, printed in 1973, we have a two-page spread about the convention, posted below:

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Forget about ancient history; if I suddenly had access to a time-traveling DeLorean, I would put the pedal to the metal and head for this convention!

Bonus item #1: With the release of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," the was a flood of merchandising the likes of which had never been seen by fans before, and as far as items for one movie, I don't think has been equalled yet (except perhaps for the new '09 movie). It was a good time for fans who liked to collect memorabilia; even if some of it was a bit silly, like the Star Trek Adhesive Bandages, pictured below. I wish I could have removed all of the price label on the front, but I couldn't without further damaging the small box, about the size of a pack of gum. Below is a scan of the front and back of the container, with one of the bandages in the middle.

Yes, Star Trek: The Motion Picture could even make your boo-boos better. I paid only 50 cents for the box when I bought it new... today, the collectible value of this rare item is probably... 2 for a $1. A great investment.

Bonus #2: Below are scans (not photos) of the small metal Klingon Battlecruiser made by "Dinky." I bought it in 1979 and tried super-gluing it to a small necklace chain in order to hang it from my rearview mirror in my 1968 Cougar, but it kept falling off; you can see the glue residue on the top view. The ship is only 4 inches long from the bow to the ends of the engines.