1994 Time "Generations" cover article

Just in time for Thanksgiving, an edition of Time magazine that was published the week of a past Thanksgiving, November 28, 1994. Sure, most of us have this issue, but this is for those that missed it, or for those that just haven't taken it out to look at in awhile.

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Hope all my readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of the love of your family, enjoyment of great food, and reflection on what you have to be thankful for... remembering the One to express our gratitude to.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! Psalm 100:4 (RSV)

Check out some vintage Thanksgiving ads from papers that I clipped movie ads from here, and here.

Star Trek 4 Starlog articles

This time we look at a couple of articles on Star Trek IV from Starlog issue #114, published January 1987, which means it was on the newstands in December of the previous year, when the movie came out. "The Voyage Home" was a great present for Trekkers that year! First, the cover...

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And next, the main article, which is an interview with director/star Leonard Nimoy.

Next we have a three-page look at the movie itself.

And finally, as a bonus, a cartoon from the same issue that re-casts the crew with some looney actors. Am I the only one that would like to see this idea realised now as a special DVD movie?

Rare Pics of Bill Shatner

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From the Corbis photo website, comes these archival images of Bill in his younger days (See the site for lots more photos of Bill throughout his career).

Below, Bill adds playing the harmonia to his already-full range of accomplishments.

Below, Bill tries out a punching bag, one he might need to keep in practice for punching out beligerent aliens and traitorous starship captains.

Below, relaxing at home with a cigarette and a script. Glad our couches now are more comfortable than those in the 60's!

Below, a photo that looks to be from the late 70's as Bill is in good form on the parallel bars.

Below are a my favorites in the set of new images, as Bill trades massages (!) with Yvette Mimieux, who, as you recall, played "Weena" in 1960's "The Time Machine." Since Captain Kirk was my hero, and I had a teen crush on Weena, seeing them both together is great! They looked as if they were getting pret-ty cozy there...

Bonus update: you may recall reading in some recent posts about the fan film "Paragon's Paragon;" the most recent of which is here. Well, I have finally heard from the filmmaker John Cosentino, and he has told me, "I am going to try getting Paragon's Paragon re-mastered onto dvd over the winter. The super8 film is 35 years old and anything can happen. It is a $500 dollar project. Should it work I will make actual snippits of Paragon available. "

This is good news for fans like me who have been intrigued by the images and info we have seen from this film over the years. I will keep you posted on any news, and when they are ready to premiere! Let's wish John luck as he goes through the process of digitizing the old film.

1990 "Starfleet Academy" article

Here's an article from the May 1990 edition of the awesome magazine "Cinefantastique," where Walter Koenig spills the beans about the then-planned "Starfleet Academy" movie which could have been ST 6. Thankfully, it was never made, and we got to see our heroes one more time in a grand send-off, "The Undiscovered Country." If Walter's efforts to alert the fans (and the resulting backlash) factored at all into the studio's decision to scrap the idea, then we should be grateful to him.

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Of course, Star Trek '09 was in essence the same idea; recasting the characters with younger actors, showing the Academy days, and even using Nimoy as an anchor; but enough years had passed that by then, we were ready to revisit the original show and were willing to accept new actors if it meant seeing the TOS crew in action again.

Bonus: Below, a silly article from the National Enquirer tabloid, published in September of 1983, that tries to use Star Trek to lend "credibility" to it.

"Uh, you should be gettin' back under the beam, Cap'n, unless ye want to lose the left side o' yer body, sir."

"The Search For Spock" Press Kit Pics

Where ever I lived at the time, I made it a point to get in good with the person at the local newspaper who handled the entertainment section and received the movie press kits. I was fortunate to be able to get quite a few press kits for various genre movies when they were finished with them, as most were thrown out later. Here are a few from the "Search For Spock" press kit package, I'll post more from this and others as time goes by. Beneath each one is the card stuck to the back that described the photos.

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On a personal note, I apologise for the lack of recent posts; but it's getting into the holiday season and my mail order business is getting very busy and taking up more time than usual (no, it's not Trek-related.) I'll try to post more soon, though, as often as I can!

"Paragon's Paragon" Fan Film Found! Partly...

Readers of this blog may recall a post on the long-thought-lost 70's fan film "Paragon's Paragon," reproducing a Cinemagic magazine article on the production. (Go here to read it, if not.) I ended the post with a note that I hoped someone would read it and supply clues to the whereabouts of the film... and it's happened! Sadly, the actual video is not currently available for viewing; but we do have color images from the film now.

I recently received an email from Robert Long II, that said this:

Dear Fred,

Great article you have on Paragon's Paragon. It does indeed exist as I have the 25 minute convention version of the 100 minute film. I got it from my friend Don Dohler before he passed away. John Consentino is still alive, retired, and lives in the Midwest. I've tried to get in touch with him with no success. As this is not my fan film - I am not posting it on Youtube without his permission. However, if you write back I'll try to send you some screen grabs from it. If you ever find yourself in my area I would be happy to screen it for you. It also has a making of that is very cool.

Regards, Robert Long II
Of course I immediately wrote back and asked for anything he could send regarding this previously lost fan film. He kindly sent the cover of the video, along with 13 screen captures from it, with this note:

Hello Fred,

Here is a hand full of screen grabs from John Consentino's Paragon's Paragon. Made in the early 1970s it is one of the earliest Star Trek fan films to take the sets, costumes, and special effects to such a high level. The full movie deals with two identical Vulcans, attacks from the Klingons, the shuttle craft landing on an alien world, and the Klingons and the Federation meeting up with the Organians. I hope you and your readers will enjoy the screen grabs of this VERY rare production. Robert Long II

We are grateful to Robert for taking the time to capture the images and send them to share with us! Here is the cover of the VHS box...

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Below are the promised screen captures; the first known color images from this early fan effort which adapted the Blish novel "Spock Must Die" for their own original characters (who are really analogs of our familiar crew). Please pardon the attempts a humorous captions, but I love doing that! They do not reflect on the quality of the film, only my weird sense of humor.

"These are the voyages of the AMT Enterprise..."

"Schamba, open hailing frequencies... and go lighter on the minstrel makeup next time, huh?"

"Oh my God, WHERE did you get those shoes, they're FABulous!"

"My symbiont muttonchops and mustache agree that we are in deep trouble."

"I refuse to step into any machine that uses tinfoil as an element!"

#1: "Would you tell that person to stop mocking me?"
#2: "Would you tell that person to stop mocking me?"

"Just because you are handsome and incredibly intelligent does not mean I admire you."

"Please clear the track, the podraces are about to begin!"

"It's funny how much bigger those shuttles are on the inside than the outside."

It's a little-known fact that the Organians were a race of swinging bachelors.

"In this case is preserved the only remaining fart of Kahless."

"Hmm... no, I don't think you look fat in that dress. Not really. I mean, not at all!"

"We are masters of the hand shadow show!"

And, there you have it... looks pretty ambitious! Although we would like to be able to see it, we can understand the reluctance to post it. We can wish, however, and perhaps expressing our desire to see at least some of it might convince Robert, the holder of the movie, to edit and post a trailer, at least. I'll let you know of any further info as it becomes available.

1-20-2012 update: I have heard from Robert, who owns a copy of a convention highlight reel, which are portions of the film shown at cons years back. He graciously allowed me to view it! It has no audio from the film, only Trek music dubbed in, but the footage is interesting to finally see. I have emailed John Consentino for permission to post it, and if he gives it, and if Robert allows, I will post it soon. But all that is pending. However, in any event, I will be posting some behind-the-scenes information about the making of the film from John himself, very soon. He liked my captions, by the way, saying "Your wise cracks under the freeze frame Paragon shots are cute." Hey, if TOS shots get these, "Paragon" is not exempt from my weird humor!

Update for 4-24-12: John Cosentino, due to the input from fans wanting to know more, has begun a blog about the movie! Go here to read more, and get all the inside info! http://www.paragonsparagon.com/

Starlog #1 Nimoy article

I've been bringing out some material from the early Starlogs recently, and while I had them out I thought I might as well do some more. This time we are revisiting the landmark first issue (published June of 1976) that meant so much to many of us young fans at the time, and still means a lot in terms of the memories it evokes. I've already posted the Shatner interview, so this time I'm scanning in the Nimoy article for your enjoyment. Whether you've read it before, or this is your first time, I hope you get a kick out of it!

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Below, the 5 x 7 color postcard from Lincoln Enterprises that I ordered in 1974, which -although I have posted it here before- I am displaying as a color version of one of the black and white images in the article. Not exactly the same, but snapped only seconds apart in the photo session taken before the filming of the first regular episode after the second pilot. The ship is the three-foot filming model used sometimes for the show's effects.

Mr. Spock caught playing with his models again.