Starlog's German Adventure

Just a couple cover images to share here. In the late 1990s, Starlog magazine published a German edition. It was produced and printed in the United States by its U.S. staff (plus some translators, naturally), with only a little local German content added, mostly in the form of book reviews and the like.  In fact, oddly, for much of its run, all of the in-house ads, including subscription ads, were untranslated English-language ads straight out of the American edition. Later they began translating them into German so it matched the other content.

It lasted for about four years, and despite those oddities, it was a nice publication, though I think they missed the boat with it. Germany has such a rich science-fiction past – from foundational writers such as Kurd Lasswitz to great silent classic SF and horror films such as Metropolis or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and onward into the modern era with Cornelia Funke and that damned neverending story – that the magazine should have featured some regular original articles on German content. The U.S. team should have supplied what it did best, which is coverage of the U.S. film/television/book/games/comics market, and supplemented it with a few articles each issue of original German content.

Nevertheless, during its run, the magazine also published two special issues: Starlog Feiert Batman & Robin (which is what inspired today's blog post after I stumbled across it in a random web search) and Starlog Feiert Star Wars. (Fiert means celebrates.) Leaving aside for the moment the oddity of having one special issue on one of the truly great genre films and another special issue on one of the truly miserable genre films, it nonetheless interests me that Starlog was being creative in its marketing over in Germany, even if it wasn't terribly creative in its article selection (as noted above).

In 2000, Starlog in the United States produced a short series of special 100-page "Millennium Edition" one-shot magazines all on the theme of "100 Years of." So there was 100 Years of the Automobile, 100 Years of Baseball, 100 Years of Science Fiction, and 100 Years of Comics. (100 Years of Animation was also advertised, but I've never seen a copy of it. Please correct me if you know otherwise. My assumption was that the series wasn't selling well so the publisher killed it before that last title was published; the company underwent swinging reductions in staff and magazine titles shortly thereafter, related or unrelated, I don't know.) I only mention it here because, even though it was no longer publishing a regular German edition, the company did publish 100 Jahre Science Fiction and 100 Jahre Comics in Germany. I own a copy of the latter, but haven't gotten my hands on a copy of the former. I also seem to recall that, during my visit to Berlin in early 2001, I saw a German-language edition of Starlog's official licensed movie magazine for the L. Ron Hubbard turkey Battlefield Earth. I didn't like the movie, so I didn't buy the magazine in English or in German. Nonetheless, Starlog obviously hadn't given up on the Fatherland's audience at the turn of the century.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #146, September 1989: The Year of Batman

For the second issue in a row, Tim Burton’s Batman is on the cover of Starlog.

For those of you keeping track of the Starlog family of publications, the company has produced the first edition of its Comics Scene Spectacular magazine, featuring guess what on the cover? Yup, Batman. It’s also been busy with its Starlog Poster Magazine line; according to the ad in the Starlog Trading Post ads, that publication is currently up to the second issue of the second series (so, #10 overall). And the Starlog Yearbook (which apparently is published twice a year, so what’s in a name?) is up to its fourth issue. Mind you, all of these magazines were put out by the same small staff that produces Starlog each month, plus four issues each year of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine.

Starlog #146
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $3.95

Photo caption of the month: “In reality, Einstein did know Marie Curie (Odile le Clezio), but they weren’t an item.”

The rundown: Jack Nicholson’s Joker is the cover boy; a scene from James Cameron’s The Abyss is featured on the contents page (which again, alas, doesn’t list departments, only the feature articles; this is kind of the contents page for Unclear-on-the-Concept contents page designers). In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn visits the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum; Communications letters include a call to save TV’s Beauty and the Beast (it seems that sooner or later, just about every science-fiction TV series ends up with fans pleading for the show to be saved), defense of Wesley Crusher, thoughts on why Blake’s 7 is a cult classic, and more; in his Medialog column, David McDonnell reports the exit from Star Trek: The Next Generation of Diana Muldaur, and her replacement by the person she had replaced, Gates McFadden.

Years before Yahoo became synonymous with searching the World Wide Web, people across the nation were terrorized by the word Yahoo because it probably meant they were about to be subjected to a comedian called Yahoo Serious. Scott Lobdell interviews Yahoo about his movie Young Einstein. Speaking of comedians of disputed success, Bill & Ted are back to pester audiences with the video release of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, according to David Hutchison’s Videolog column, which also notes other recent releases; Will Murray talks with director Michael Anderson about his film Millennium; former staffer Robert Greenberger’s back this issue to provide answers to readers’ queries in Fan Network (such as this query, “Sometime ago, I heard rumors that the people who made Terminator were planning to make a sequel. Will it ever be made? Or another Alien?”).

Eric Niderost interviews Cesar Romero, who played The Joker in the 1960s TV series version of Batman; Nick Dudman, who performed the makeup chores for Jack Nicholson’s Joker, is interviewed by Adam Pirani (plus a sidebar on costume designer Bob Ringwood’s work on The Joker); novelist A.C. Crispin interviews Alice Mary Norton, better known as novelist Andre Norton; Iain Blair talks with director James Cameron about a little film called The Abyss; Ian Spelling profiles Max Headroom star Matt Frewer; Peter Bloch-Hansen interviews War of the Worlds star Philip Akin; Kathryn M. Drennan checks in with Star Trek actor James Doohan (who reveals that he almost signed on to be the chief engineer in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea); Ian Spelling interviews George Takei (who admits to not watching Star Trek: The Next Generation); Lee Goldberg talks with Michael Wilson, producer/co-writer, about the latest James Bond film, Licence to Kill; in the third part of David Hutchison’s special effects report on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, we meet the animators behind the work; and in his Liner Notes column, editor David McDonnell talks about someone who’s been impersonating novelist Diane Duane.

“The basic idea hasn’t changed at all, although obviously many of the details have gradually evolved over the years in between first getting the inspiration and actually being able to get it on film. I originally conceived [The Abyss] as a story about a group of scientists in a laboratory at the bottom of the ocean, which is the sort of sci-fi idea that appeals to all kids, I suppose. But once I had arrived in Hollywood, I quickly realized that a bunch of scientists aren’t that commercial, so I changed it to a group of blue collar workers and made the whole thing much more accessible to the average man on the street.”

–James Cameron, writer/director, interviewed by Iain Blair: “Underwater in The Abyss”

To see more Starlog issues, click on Starlog Internet Archive Project below or visit the permanent home of The Starlog Project.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #124, November 1987: Star Trek: The Next Generation Arrives

Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted when I was working at my university newspaper, The Badger Herald. We had a separate lounge/TV room, and most of us filled the little room to watch the premiere. As I watched subsequent episodes that first year, I thought: That captain sure abandons ship a lot; doesn’t he like it? I stopped watching it regularly for a year or two, until a group of us were at the apartment of a friend who watched the show religiously, and when it came to airtime, she made us all view it. The episode was “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” and I was hooked at last. Intelligent, daring, exciting – it was good TV drama and it was good science fiction. The political correctness overkill of the first year had matured into a more realistic series. And Picard showed the best, wisest leadership of any of the Trek series.

But it all started back in the fall of 1987 when the show premiered in syndication, and it would soon grow into a phenomenon even before I rejoined the party. Starlog was there from the beginning – before the beginning, really, considering various articles and David Gerrold’s mini-series of a column, Generations. It would soon begin publishing the official Star Trek: The Next Generation licensed magazine (first as a quarterly and then as a bimonthly). And this issue, #124, is only one of numerous 100-page, super-sized editions that would feature ST:TNG on the cover. Like I’ve said in the past: Starlog and Star Trek: The Next Generation was a match made in heaven.

Staffing news: Remember William Gipp, the production director announced last issue? Not to be found this issue.

Starlog #124
100 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $3.95

Everybody watched or knew about the new Star Trek series. But this issue is also noteworthy to absolutely no one else except me – but since I’m the one writing this, I’ll include the reason here: The letters section features the third letter the magazine has published from me. (Well, possibly kind of the fourth, if you accepted my reasoning about the editorial section of issue #100.) I was responding to Kerry O'Quinn's editorial in #113 about fundamentalist parents trying to censor their children’s textbooks, and I wrote, in part, “[T]o be truthful, those religious groups do have reason to be worried. When O’Quinn writes about humanism, of belief in man’s ability to make his world as he wants, he can change minds. What O’Quinn is doing is not harmless – to them – so they will not even try tolerating his opinion. Just move right on to trying to shut him up.” Ah, yes, wild, youthful ideals and ideas ... which I still believe 23 years later. (BTW, they misspelled my last name, which really just makes it all that much more valuable on eBay, in my calculation.)

Classified ad of the month: “JOIN THE UGSS! news service for all, liason [sic] service for member organizations ...” No, I don’t know what they’re talking about, either.

The rundown: The cast of the new Star Trek: The Next Generation are featured on the cover, along with what I think might be the first photo of the new Enterprise in the magazine. In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn discusses the new Star Trek series and its chances for success; though the Communications section is an instant valuable collectible because of my letter, some folks might be more impressed by the letter from James Randi, the famous debunker of parapsychological claims, who takes issue with recent interviewee Martin Caidin’s claim to be telekinetic – he challenges Caidin to prove it and be paid $120,000: “Put up or shut up.” Caidin declined. In the Medialog section, Daniel Dickholtz gets comics writer Alan Moore’s thoughts on his new Fashion Beast, plus David McDonnell rounds up the latest genre news (such as the terrible reception given to Superman IV, which led to 30 minutes being shaved off its running time and pretty much deep-sixing any plans for a Superman V).

L. Sprague de Camp is back with a remembrance of his early years in the worlds of science fiction and fantasy; the six-page Fan Network section includes an extensive directory of SF and fantasy clubs compiled by Mike Glyer, Richard Gilbert on the fictional Vulcan T’Pau from Star Trek and a real-life T’Pau from the music world, and more; Mike Clark explores Gerry Anderson’s Terrahawks puppet series; Edward Gross interviews Lee Sholem, director of old George Reeves-era Superman tales; Kyle Counts contributes to Starlog for the first time, here with a look at the Kirk Cameron film Like Father, Like Son; Edward Gross talks with writer Samuel A. Peeples; Gross also profiles director James Goldstone, who talks about the Star Trek pilot “Where No Man Has Gone Before” plus Earth*Star Voyager; wait – there’s still more Edward Gross, who interviews actor Gary Lockwood about 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Trek; Marc Shapiro gives Gross a break and writes the next article, a behind-the-scenes preview of The Next Generation; long before she starred in Friends, Courtney Cox appeared in Misfits of Science and Masters of the Universe, and here she’s interviewed by Marc Shapiro; Steve Swires talks with actor Burt Ward, who recalls his fun by poorly paid days as Bruce Wayne’s sidekick, Dick Grayson, in the 1960s’ Batman series; William Rabkin profiles actress Jami Gertz about her roles in Solarbabies (about which she has mostly bad memories) and The Lost Boys.

Jessie Horsting talks with Australian actor Vernon Wells (The Road Warrior, Innerspace), with a sidebar from Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier on Innerspace co-star Kevin McCarthy; Lee Goldberg checks in with an interview with Jeroen Krabbe, who discusses the James Bond film The Living Daylights; in his Videolog column, David Hutchison notes new video releases from Star Trek and others; Bill Warren previews the film World Gone Wild (don't worry, it's nothing like Girls Gone Wild or Guys Gone Wild, though there is a beefcake shirtless shot of co-star Michael Pare to kick off the article); Marc Shapiro profiles Robert Jaffe about Motel Hell (subject of one of the all-time-classic Fangoria magazine covers, BTW) and Nightflyers; Jean Airey and Laurie Haldeman interview actor Ian Marter about his time portraying one of Doctor Who’s companions (which, I realize with A.D. 2010 hindsight, sounds a bit more alternative-lifestyle than it was); Splatter Movies author John McCarty contributes an article and episode guide for the old TV series One Step Beyond; and in his Liner Notes column, editor David McDonnell writes about being fooled by Superman IV.

“The irrepressible Ward especially enjoyed poking fun at the implications of the relationship between millionaire Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson. ‘It was like a game for me,’ [Ward] states. ‘I would just get in there and take each scene to the nth degree. Naturally, the censors were always on my back. Adam would have to calm me down, by saying,”‘No, Burt, you can’t go that far.” For example, in one scene Bruce and Dick were about to retire for the evening. As we walked up the staircase with our backs to the camera, Adam said: “Well, Dick, it’s time to go to bed.” I said: “You’re right, Bruce” – and I put my arm around him. Geez, did that create an uproar!’”

–Steve Swires, writer: “Holy Sidekick! Burt Ward”

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

Sandra Bullock's "The Blind Side" Victory

The success of The Blind Side is very pleasing. The movie --about a well-off conservative Christian woman who takes in and eventually adopts a homeless black teenager, who develops into an NFL player -- is what Hollywood calls a family film. But, as Kim Masters explains on The Daily Beast, the film almost didn't get made because it was something that Hollywood didn't know how to handle: A film with a strong, middle-aged female lead, a black co-star, and no explosions.

Others have noted an additional factor that made the film an unlikely success. The most important is that it's a film that is having its greatest success in the South and the Midwest, where moviegoers aren't scared off by watching a church-going family (they see them every day, they are them every day, what's the big deal?). Hollywood doesn't generally do well portraying evangelical Christians (and, let's face it, evangelical Christians have often been their own worst enemies when it comes to establishing a national image). In typical movies, these folks are either Bible-thumping crazies or they are sickly sweet sources of truth (if the movies made by or for the evangelical market, that is). This movie shows the Touhy family as it apparently is in real life, and which even honest secularists need to admit is not a complete anomaly: An honest, fun, good-hearted family.

No, I'm not a conservative evangelical. No, I'm not even an evangelical. But I hate laziness in culture and politics. I grew up in the upper midwest, going to relatively liberal Methodist churches each week (Sunday school and service on Sundays, choir practice on Wednesdays, and often visits on Saturday to prepare for a church play or repaint the youth group room), and I know there are lots of people who take their faith very seriously, who would give the shirts off their backs to someone in need, would never dream of shoving religion down someone else's throat, and who are largely invisible because Hollywood doesn't know how to tell stories involving such people.

I'll get off my soapbox. But only after I add a shout-out to Blind Side star Sandra Bullock; it's great to see her at the top this year.

Avatar -- The First Half-Billion-Dollar Movie?

The New York Times and Slice of Sci Fi, among others, are reporting that James Cameron's new science fiction film Avatar will cost studio 20th Century Fox about $500 million, once you factor in the production budget and the marketing budget. And yet, the studio seems rather chipper about earning a profit on the flick (or else they've bought some really good insurance).


Slice of Sci Fi notes that Cameron did this with his last big flick, the budget-busting Titanic, which scared industry executives with its price tag but which went on to earn untold trillions at the box office. I also remember that when Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Cameron's sequel to the low-budget B-movie Terminator, was coming out, it was also thought to have an astronomical, never-to-be-paid-back budget. T2 cost about $100 million, and it also went on to make gazillions.

So a half-billion sounds like a lot -- I mean, I could think of many cool uses for even half of that -- but Cameron does know how to deliver.

Various Batmans Galore, Good and Bad

In the comments to my recent post about the Batman costumes at the local Bloomingdales, the claim is made that the photo of Batman's costume is from the Christian Bale pix and not the previous series of Bat-flix started by Tim Burton and run deep into the ground by Joel Schumacher.

I might be wrong about the Bat-costume. Okay, I probably am. As I now recall, the longer the Schu-flix continued, the more hard-core and nipple-endowed the Batman and Robin costumes became. Strange, then, that that the other costumes at Bloomies were these two pictured here. One is from Burton's Batman, and the other is from Batman Forever. Riddle me this: Does Bloomies know its superheroes or not?