The Starlog Project: Starlog #92, March 1985: When Starman Met Barbarella

Though this issue looks much the same as most of the previous dozen-or-so Starlogs, editor Howard Zimmerman previews some changes that will take place a couple issues in the future. More pages, additional science reporting, and a new guest column alternating with David Gerrold's column (was that Gerrold's idea or the publisher's?), for starters.

Starlog #92
70 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

The cover this month features John Carpenter's surprise film Starman. The 23rd two-page foldout poster is a shot from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, showing a Klingon ship firing at a Federation vessel.

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn talks personal freedom in his From the Bridge column; Communications letters include former Starlog columnist Susan Sacket raising money for Gene Roddenberry's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, readers commenting on V and praising Ray Bradbury, remembering Luke Skywalker's friend Wedge, and more; Communications short news items include David McDonnell on several new books from Philip Jose Farmer, Lee Goldberg on the tragic death of 27-year-old actor Jon-Erik Hexum, Milburn Smith on the death of Francois Truffaut, and more.

Steve Swires interviews director John Carpenter about his Karen Allen/Jeff Bridges film Starman; Marc Weinberg profiles Zach Galligan, star of Gremlins; Lee Goldberg visits the location lensing of the next James Bond film, A View to a Kill; Starlog publishes a one-page reader survey (the type that asks about your purchasing habits, used to help the magazine attract advertisers); Tom Carlile pens a retrospective of the Jane Fonda 1960s film Barbarella; Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier explore the comics history of Barbarella; Robert Greenberger interviews Jeremy Leven, writer of Creator; William Rabkin explains the ILM-created special effects of Starman; Adam Pirani visits the set of Oz; Kim Howard Johnson continues his talks with former Monty Python stars, here interviewing Terry Gilliam about his (soon-to-be-classic) film Brazil; Lee Goldberg interviews Runaway star Tom Selleck; Chris Henderson previews The Faces of Science Fiction, a book featuring photographs of science-fiction writers; and Howard Zimmerman discusses some changes coming to the pages of Starlog.

"In light of her current mind-set, Jane Fonda probably would have been much happier if she had never heard of Barbarella. Although it is by no means the low point in her film career, this bizarre little fantasy, almost totally devoid of social or intellectual significance, came at a bad time in her life. Just a few months after it hit the world's movie screens, Fonda had undertaken her self-appointed role as America's most strident critic of the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation and the exploitation of women in the marketplace. Critics were quick to draw the comparison between her new activist role and her latest outing as an actress. Barbarella became somewhat of a landmark – probably the last pure-entertainment film Jane Fonda would ever make."

–Tom Carlile, writer: "Barbarella: Nostalgia Time in Outer Space"

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