Video Guide Article on Star Trek IV

From the local (to Beckley WV) "Home Video Guide" which was available to videostore patrons, comes this October 1987 article on Star Trek in general, and the new movie out on VHS, " Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" in particular. First, the inside page which reproduces the VHS ad poster, and the table of contents.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Sheen: "Sometime in the future, I guess around 2011 or so, I'll probably have to resort to acting nuts to stay in the public eye."

Next, the article itself:

Below, the trivia contest from the same mag. Answer them if you can (and every real Trekker can) but don't send in the form. You missed the contest deadline date slightly.

Bonus: Below, a convention ad flyer from 1994 featuring none other than the actor famous for his Mission: Impossible role, and to a lesser degree, as "Dr. Spock" from an obscure TV series from back in the 60's.

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.

Star Trek '77 poster

(Click on images to view full-size.)

In spring of 1977 I was 18 and still living at home, and we were living in Macon, GA again, my hometown. I saw this poster in a bookstore, and they had another copy which they gave me. Of course I didn't get to go see Doohan thanks to you-know-who.*

Below is a cool newspaper feature that I found in a paper I picked up while traveling through N.C. Think of it, a regular Star Trek feature in the daily paper! Cool stuff.

And below is a picture I drew as a teenager, probably about 17, of Spock. Not good, I know, but I enjoyed drawing my Trek heroes.

*(Regular readers know it was my stepdad who made me go underground with my Trek fan activities.)

1976 Miami Star Trek con flyer

Click on any images to view full-size scans.

When I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL back in 1975-76, I was right in the middle of a hotbed of Trek fan activity. It was an exciting time, but for me only by proxy. Thanks to a controlling step-father, I never got to go to any of the conventions or mini-cons that I read about. (Sorry to bring that up so often, but really, those days were dominated by that kind of life and my Star Trek memories are affected by it.) The best I could do was collect the flyers and mailers they sent out, which was exciting to me anyway. I have all of them in plastic pages now, in my Star Trek scrapbook, and they bring back good memories of the time. I'll post more as time goes by!

One of the organizers of this and many other conventions, as well as an avid writer about such things, was G. B Love. I never had the opportunity to meet the man, to my regret and loss. Here is a link about this remarkable guy and how he impacted fandom and the lives of those around him. http://www.inter-fan.org/history/gblove.htm

Below is a scan of an ad from the back cover of The Monster Times for the 1974 3rd annual NY Star Trek convention.

1976 NY Convention Article

From a 1976 teen magazine... interesting coverage of a NY con, with an awesome bridge set!

And a clipping from a 1976 newspaper about a convention coming to the Boston area.

The early and mid-70's were the glory days of the Trek conventions. I lived them vicariously through the magazine and newspaper articles I found concerning them. Although isolated from other fans, I felt a part of something just by reading about them. We all shared a love for the same thing, and there was nothing else like it!

The third issue cover of the much-loved Starlog magazine, scanned in below, captures the excitement and hero-worship of these early conventions!