The Starlog Project: Starlog #134, September 1988: Rabbit Redux

For the second issue in a row, Starlog gives over its cover to the animation/live-action phenomenon Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This time, the titular bunny shares the cover with director Bob Zemeckis, one of only a handful of times that a non-fictional person is on the cover.

On the company’s merchandising side, it publishes four magazines for the very non-science-fiction Sylvester Stallone film Rambo III: a poster book, a poster magazine, a movie magazine, and a theater program.

Starlog #134
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $3.50

This issue also keeps the fires burning in the controversy over the exit of Denise Crosby from her role as security chief Tasha Yar in Star Trek: The Next Generation. My how time flies: It was just issue #130 when Crosby told the magazine she didn’t think her character was going to be killed off, and now she’s back telling the magazine about how her character was killed off. But don’t worry – her character returns many times, so often that I assume she never even bothered to clear out her dressing room.

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn tells the story of a teenage Dutch boy who’s a science-fiction fan (Once there was a Dutch boy, his name was ... oh, wait, wrong song); after a few letters about Starman, the remainder of the Communications section is taken up with reader comments about the controversy du jour: Tasha Yar’s death and exit from Star Trek: The Next Generation; and wait – there’s more Star Trek leavingness: David McDonnell reports in his Medialog section that Gates McFadden’s Dr. Beverly Crusher character will not return for the show’s second season.

Newly minted Canadian correspondent Peter Bloch-Hansen profiles Kenneth Johnson, the V veteran behind Short Circuit 2: More Input; the Fan Network pages include David Hutchison on the Film Forum's second annual SF and fantasy festival, and more; Eric Niderost goes behind the scenes of the Cyndi Lauper/Jeff Goldblum film Vibes; Marc Shapiro profiles comedians Rick Overton (a Starlog pal from years back) and Kevin Pollak about their role as the wee men of Willow; Kim Howard Johnson uncovers the “Curse of The Blob,” focusing on the remake of the B-movie; Marc Shapiro checks in with actress Denise Crosby for her Next Generation exit interview, in which she tells the magazine that she and Gene Roddenberry had a pleasant parting of the ways.

Patrick Daniel O’Neill profiles seventh Doctor Who actor Sylvester McCoy about the program’s upcoming 25th anniversary and criticism the show has received; Adam Pirani interviews Who Framed Roger Rabbit director Bob Zemeckis; in part two of Michael Vance’s interview with C.J. Cherryh, the SF author defines science fiction story-building; Outer Heat has finally been renamed AlienNation, and Carr D’Angelo profiles star James Caan, who also talks about his stint playing Rollerball; Scott Lobdell interviews Big director Penny Marshall and manages to get her to talk about Laverne and Shirley; David Hutchison’s Videolog reports the newest genre video releases (he themes them in terms of "distant tales," but it’s really just a roundup of videos); Kyle Counts previews Nightfall, the planned film adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s classic short story; Marian Sue Uram previews Moontrap, the new film starring veteran Walter Koenig and newcomer Bruce Campbell; Patrick Daniel O’Neill interviews actress Joanne Whalley about her role as Sorsha in Willow; and David McDonnell’s Liner Notes responds to fears that Starlog “jumped the gun” with its cover to issue #130 by teasing readers about a possible exit from Next Generation by Denise Crosby and whether the magazine misled readers (answer is no to both – magazine lead-time is a tough master).

“Gene [Roddenberry] ... knew the dramatic impact would be tremendous because no regular character in the Star Trek series had ever been permanently killed [except David Marcus]. He really felt it would blow people’s minds. ... The script really went against the grain. I think people were expecting a last minute battle with Tasha going out with all phasers blazing. The intent was to make Tasha’s death more horrifying by having it appear sudden and indiscriminate.”

–Denise Crosby, actress, interviewed by Marc Shapiro: “Denise Crosby: Farewell to The Next Generation”

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