1980 article: The Lost Designs of ST:TMP

From issue #32 of Starlog, published March 1980, comes this revealing article on the "Lost Designs of ST:TMP" featuring an interview with Andy Probert.

Probably the best photo you will ever see for the details on the filming model of the Vulcan shuttle "Surak."

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!

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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!

3-2-1 Contact article on ST:TMP

The collection cabinets yield up another article on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," this time from the January 1980 edition of the youth educational magazine "3-2-1 Contact," available for students to order much like the Scholastic publications. There are two parts to the material from this issue; first, a write-up on the movie, (which does manage to get a few facts wrong) and a more educational article featuring the film's science advisor, Jesco von Puttkamer of NASA.

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Bonus: Below is an ad from the second issue of "The Monster Times," published in 1972, for a color Spock poster. I'm sure this poster hung in a lot of young people's bedrooms. Did you have it?

Bonus #2: Below is another in the set of greeting cards put out in 1976 by Random House. Inside, the text says "With any luck at all your gift should arrive in 7 light years! Happy Birthday!" Of course, making the common error of confusing a measure of distance with time.

1980 article on Bob Fletcher

Ah, what fun I'm having going through the collection cabinets looking for stuff to share with you! Lately I've been hitting the Starlog shelves, and there's so much good stuff in them that I think my readers will enjoy, that I've been posting them back to back. Here from the April, 1980 issue of Starlog is an interview with and article on Bob Fletcher, costume designer for ST:TMP.

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On the Rigellian homeworld, interior decorators also moonlight as fashion designers. Which makes a lot of sense when you realize that they resemble turtles, which carry their homes on their backs.

Bonus: Below is a clipping from the same issue of Starlog about the official Hollywood premiere of ST:TMP.

Goldsmith, having been the only one to have seen the film beforehand, seems to be wryly anticipating the reaction of the others.

Bonus: Below, from the back of the magazine, an ad for a neat jacket that lit up! (Yes, they did have LEDs that long ago!) Which would have been a cool thing to wear to a disco as the ad says... but how many Trekkers would have been at a disco, dancing the night away with the non-nerdy crowd?

Guaranteed to get attention is the school lunchroom, just before you got your lights punched out... literally.

ST:TMP article from 1980 Famous Monsters

This time we take a fond look back at Issue 161 of the fun(and pun)-filled Famous Monsters, as they covered the new Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This was published in March, 1980 and I bought it on the newstand while living in Savannah, GA at the time. I was 22, going on 16. (I have always been younger in heart than my actual age.)

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In case you're curious about the unusual use of the word "sevagram" in the article above, I looked it up for you. I learned something new about a word I have never read in use before. See, kids could learn from reading FM!

Bonus: below, one of the early publicity photos taken before regular production. They got a lot of mileage out of that transparent chart, as a number of both Shatner and Nimoy photos were made using it. It kind of reminds me of the transparent display screens seen in Abram's '09 Trek movie, except static.

The captain calculates the amount of Vitalis needed to control flyaway hair during action scenes.

Bonus: Below, a vision of loveliness that could go under the wikipedia entry of the word "goddess." Nichelle from her pre-Trek days. No wonder Roddenberry went for her!