The Starlog Project: Starlog #123, October 1987: Guys with Big Muscles

Oopses! I just realized I posted my writeup for issue #124 before #123 – had forgotten I had #123 written but not posted. So time travel with me back one issue ...

Sylvester Stallone, He-Man, Superman. Starlog is covering a lot of the musclebound hulks in 1987, because they’re the ones dominating the cinemas. Even Robocop, though metallic, is a part of this bulk-up-and-fight-the-bad-guys time period.

In the late 1980s, Starlog was the number-one publisher of licensed movie magazines in the country (probably the world, considering the genre), and the new titles came fast and furious. Sometimes they published movie magazines (Starlog-sized publications dedicated to the movie) and other times they published poster magazines, featuring 10 or 12 posters from the movie plus some pages of editorial content. Rarer is the deluxe magazine, published on better paper stock, featuring an upscale version of the regular magazine, sometimes with some posters added.

So, just to get caught up in 1987, I should note that Starlog published the official movie magazine for The Untouchables (a great movie, and a very nice magazine), Over the Top (a Sylvester Stallone film about – I kid you not – arm wrestling), The Living Daylights, Masters of the Universe, and Star Trek: The Voyage Home (with three publications for that film: poster mag, regular mag, and a deluxe magazine).

Also this month, editor David McDonnell announces the return of the loved-but-previously-dead sister title Comics Scene. It is brought back as a one-shot test issue, and it will perform well enough at the newsstand that the publishers will soon relaunch the title and produce it for eight or nine years, by far the longest of Comics Scene’s three runs.

And on the personnel side, Starlog has a new production director again. This time it’s William Gipp. Don’t get too attached to him, though; Starlog is changing production directors like the rest of us change our socks: often.

Starlog #123
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

Odd classified ad of the month: “WITCHCRAFT harness its powers. Gavin and Yvonne teach you how ...”

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, publisher Kerry O’Quinn gives a behind-the-scenes peek at George Lucas’ appearance at the Starlog convention honoring Star Wars’ 10th anniversary; Communications letters include a bunch of readers reacting to Star Trek’s 20th anniversary, actor Marc McClure (Jimmy Olson in the Superman films) responding to a recent Superman article in the magazine, reader interest in Starman, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Max Headroom, and more; Medialog includes a photo with extended caption on Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride, plus Edward Gross on Eddie Murphy’s interest in being in a Star Trek film, and David McDonnell with a roundup of the latest genre news (such as info on how a directors’ strike had affected science-fiction/fantasy TV productions).

Eric Niderost profiles actress Nancy Allen, who talks Robocop and – in a sidebar by Kim Howard Johnson – Poltergeist III; David Gerrold’s Generations column is his final one, as he announces he’s leaving the Star Trek: The Next Generation fold to go produce his own TV show; Bill Warren talks with producer Jon Davison about Robocop; Brian Lowry interviews screenwriter Jeffrey Boam, who talks The Lost Boys, Innerspace, and more, though it’s still too early for his best film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; the Fan Network section features responses to reader queries (including, “Are there soundtracks for Great Mouse Detective, The Secret of NIMH and Watership Down?”); in what must have been the ultimate Trek fan experience, Carr D’Angelo reports (and Eddie Berganza photographs) on the first Trekcruise (this is your chance to see Nichelle Nichols in a two-person sack race and George Takei posing with his mother); the 25th-anniversary look back at James Bond continues from last issue (featuring more mini-excerpts of past Starlog Bond coverage); speaking of which, Lee Goldberg talks with the new James Bond, Timothy Dalton, who admits, “If I cock this up, it’s going to put a full stop to my career for a year or two.”

He-Man, in the form of actor Dolph Lundgren, is interviewed by Carr D’Angelo; Edward Gross talks with Superman IV director Sidney J. Furie; David Hutchison’s Videolog reports on Superman serials and other video releases; it was a busy month for the managing editor, for Carr D’Angelo is also writing the Comics Scene column, with a roundtable discussion with the creators of the 45th issue of the Star Trek comic book (including Trek comics editor Robert Greenberger, the founding editor of Comics Scene and a former Starlog editor); Faryl M.S. Reingold visits the remote set of the aptly named film Stranded; part two of Dan Scapperotti’s look at Disney animators includes Frank Thomas (no, not the White Sox slugger) and Ollie Johnson; in his Liner Notes column, editor David McDonnell announces the resurrection of the late, great Comics Scene magazine.

“[Timothy] Dalton would have us believe that The Living Daylights is pure [Ian] Fleming, and that Timothy Dalton isn’t a new James Bond, he’s the old James Bond. It’s a pretty nifty strategy, and best of all, it works. Just when it seemed like the Bond series had finally become tired, The Living Daylights takes the character back to his roots, back to the wild espionage stories and the ruthless spy who takes his job very seriously.”

–Lee Goldberg, writer, “Timothy Dalton: The Knight of The Living Daylights”

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #122, September 1987: Timothy Dalton is 007 James Bond – Briefly

The first of Timothy Dalton’s two outings as James Bond, The Living Daylights, takes center stage. I rather liked Dalton’s Bond; it was more serious and realistic than the Roger Moore era’s Bond, and he’s a good actor. But the producers were obviously waiting to get Pierce Brosnan, so Dalton was soon shown the door. Oh, well, at least he lasted longer than George Lazenby.

Some details on this issue: I might be incorrect, but I think this might be the only issue of Starlog ever published that doesn’t have any roof text – the blurbs that appear above the magazine’s logo on the cover. Also, for the first time, Fangoria is listed in the subscription ad as being published 10 times a year, instead of the previous nine.

Starlog #122
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

My favorite classified ad of the month: “COLLECT YOUR BACHELOR’S DEGREE from STAR FLEET ACADEMY! Laser printed with your name and choice of degree printed on Circa 1987 parchment. Embossed. Choose from: Interstellar History, Military Science, Business Administration, Command Disciplines, Computer Sciences, Parapsychology, Star Navigation, Humanoid Medicine, Propulsion Engineering, or Communications ...”

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn shares some personal recent pain and urges readers not to waste their time when they could be living life; Communications letters include lots of reader feedback on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, praise for the most recent Starlog Scrapbook, and comments on two television programs, the cancelled Twilight Zone and the new Starman; Medialog includes David Hutchison on The Film Forum Summer Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction, plus David McDonnell’s newswire of genre media news, such as noting the new CBS television series Beauty and the Best, starring Linda Hamilton.

Jessie Horsting and Carr D’Angelo interview actor/comedian Martin Short about Innerspace (this is actually representative of many Starlog articles with multiple authors; they are based on the writers’ separate interviews with somebody, and are put together either by the writers or by the editors; David Gerrold’s Generations column goes behind the scenes of the making of Star Trek: The Next Generation, here featuring photos and bios of the actors (including “Cheryl” McFadden, who portrays Dr. Beverly Crusher); Kim Howard Johnson interviews actress Mariel Hemingway about her role in Superman IV; David Hutchison’s Videolog reports on Fahrenheit 451 and other genre video and laserdisc releases; like the magazine’s overview of Star Wars coverage in #120, Starlog presents a six-page compilation of mini-excerpts of past Starlog articles on James Bond, in celebration of the super-spy’s 25th anniversary. It makes me certain that if Starlog had been published in the 1960s, it would probably have had an interview or three with the late Ian Fleming (whose final interview was published instead by Playboy).

Speaking of Bond, Lee Goldberg previews The Living Daylights; the Fan Network pages include Mike Glyer’s compilation of science-fiction and fantasy clubs, Jim McLernon’s report on Spider-Man’s wedding (is the the same Jim McLernon who's a future art director of the magazine?), and more; Eric Niderost talks to director Paul Verhoeven about his new film, Robocop; William Rabkin interviews actor Barnard Hughes (Tron, The Lost Boys); Patrick Daniel O’Neill pens the Comics Scene column, in which he examines The Incredible Hulk; Marc Shapiro looks at Masters of the Universe; William Rabkin profiles actor Duncan Regehr (V, The Monster Squad, Earth*Star Voyager); Brian Lowry interviews actress Daphne Zuniga about portraying the spoiled princess in Spaceballs; Cinefantastique’s Dan Scapperotti presents part one of this multi-part look at Disney’s Snow White; Lee Goldberg previews the John Updike adaptation The Witches of Eastwick; and editor David McDonnell’s Liner Notes column relates the sad but heroic tale of the lost-and-found issue of Starlog, #121.

“I really suffered on Robocop, but it was OK because I was doing something I had never done before. It was part of the challenge, part of the learning process. I like to explore different facets of the human condition. When I did Spetters, for example, I was saying something about Holland and teen sexuality there. But I’ve made my statement; I wouldn’t like to continue to do only sexually themed films.”

–Paul Verhoeven: director, interviewed by Eric Niderost: “Paul Verhoeven: War, Rememberance & Robocop”

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #95, June 1985: A View to a Kill

Maybe I'm not getting an accurate view because I'm consuming (well, re-consuming) these issues in a relatively compressed period of time, rather than taking them one month at a time without the benefit of hindsight, but it seems as if just last week that the previous James Bond film was all the rage at Starlog. Yet here we are with A View to a Kill, the latest Bond film, and co-star Grace Jones grabs the featured cover slot this issue.

Starlog #95
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

Starlog has never had an overflow of advertising. Perhaps it was just a matter of the publishers' business philosophy to charge readers more and have fewer ads, or perhaps it was because advertisers don't like magazines that don't have independently verified circulation figures (because they can't be sure they're being told the correct number of people who might see their ads). But whatever the reason, Starlog nearly from the beginning had a lot of "in-house" ads that sold products from other companies; you sent the cut-out coupon to Starlog, but the delivery of the product was fulfilled by the other company (and, presumably, the other company paid only for the number of fulfilled orders). So what are some of the products you can buy in this issue of Starlog? How about a Doctor Who wallet or coffee mug, or a Raiders of the Lost Ark movie program?

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O'Quinn writes about the secret to success; the Communications section is filled with three pages of readers' thoughts on the Dune movie; and in the Communications short-news section, items include David McDonnell and Adam Pirani on the cancellation -- er, hiatus -- of Doctor Who, genre historian Will Murray on the return of pulp character Moon Man, Chris Henderson on fantasy writer Barbara Hambly, and more.

Brian Lowry interviews Jonathan Betuel, scripter of The Last Starfighter and director of My Science Project; the Fan Network includes science-fiction pen pals, reader questions, a Mark Hamill fan club, and more; John Sayers and David McDonnell profile Edward Feldman, producer of Explorers; David Gerrold's column comments on computers and writing (a favorite topic of the author's, who even today, in 2010, is still a columnist for a computer magazine); Merritt Butrick, Star Trek film actor, is interviewed by a young writer named Anthony Timpone, who would soon be editing sister magazine Fangoria (and would continue to do so for a quarter century); Adam Pirani interviews Grace Jones about the new Bond film; Adam Pirani writes "On the Set of Oz, Part Two," but I don't remember part one; Mike Clark interviews actor Frank Ashmore about V; Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier visit the location shooting of the Mad Max sequel, Beyond Thunderdome; Patrick Daniel O'Neill interviews actress Mary Tamm, who portrayed Doctor Who companion Romana in the Tom Baker years; Kim Howard Johnson visits the set of the Ron Howard film, Cocoon; in the Future Life pages, John Clayton (the same John Clayton who's the magazine's staff photographer?) explores the designing of a space station, plus news items on phased-array radar and space lasers; Lee Goldberg interviews Ladyhawke and Blade Runner actor Rutger Hauer; Marc Weinberg interviews a cute Matthew Broderick, who plays "Mouse" in Ladyhawke; and Howard Zimmerman wraps it all up in his penultimate Lastword by talking about some trends in genre films.

"I used to hear stories that Rober [Moore] always played tricks on all the girls with whom he had love scenes, like pulling out dildos and things like that. Maybe. I don't know. So, I decideed, during our scene, to get back at him before he got to me. ... Oh, I can't say. I'm not going to tell! They recorded it on film, too. But it won't be shown."

–Grace Jones, actress, interviewed by Adam Pirani: "Grace Jones vs. 007: 'Trouble Follows Me Around'"

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #75, October 1983: Excuse Me While I Change into Something a Little More Comfortable

This is a real year of transformation for Starlog. Multiple changes in paper quality, page count, amount of color, etc. And this is the last issue of the current, 74-page iteration. Next issue, of course, is another special 100-page movie review issue. But after that, things change again (don't worry, it's for better).

Starlog #75
74 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

The 11th "Starlog Science Fiction Classic" is another current film, Twilight Zone the Movie, so it's by definition not a classic (at least not as of September-October 1983). In fact, this issue even has an article on the movie's premiere, so how can it be a classic? Or am I just tilting at windmills ...

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column responds to a reader's letter concerning getting a job at Starlog (short answer: do something else first); reader letters in Communications include lots of fallout from Ed Naha's column in issue #69 regarding the anti-nuke film The Day After (correspondents include former Starlog editor David Houston, who defends nuclear weapons as a necessary deterrent against communism), reader praise for David Gerrold's A Matter for Men, lots of conflicting views of the V mini-series, and more; Log Entries short news includes the cessation of sister magazine Comics Scene's short life, a sneak peek at Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, short obituaries for James F. Butterfield and Art Cruickshank, a nice one-page report on the progress of the unmanned space probe Pioneer 10, and more.

Richard Schenkman interviews Barbara Carrera, who plays Fatima Blush in the Bond film Never Say Never Again; Paul Mandell contributes the first part of his retrospective of 1950s Superman George Reeves' work; Lenny Kaye's Space Age Games column continues his look at arcade games; Lee Goldberg profiles "The Forgotten James Bond," George Lazenby, and includes a sidebar on Barry Nelson, "The First James Bond"; Sal Manna interviews the great Ralph McQuarrie and showcases his color concept illustrations from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; David McDonnell interviews John Lithgow about his work in the Twilight Zone movie, The World According to Garp, Blow Out, and more; Steve Swires wraps up his two-part interview with outspoken screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (who includes a mea culpa for the Flash Gordon film); Starlog reports on the world premiere of Twilight Zone the Movie in Rod Serling's hometown, with reporting by Robert Greenberger and photos by Deborah Upton; Don McGregor concludes his two-part interview with Bond titles creator Maurice Binder; it's definitely an issue for conclusions: David Gerrold concludes his four-part excerpt of his groundbreaking novel A Matter for Men, and he pens an introduction while Alex Nino provides the illustrations (including the final, full-page, full-color one); Ed Naha interviews actress Nancy Allen; and Howard Zimmerman uses his Lastword column to report on some of the controversy over Return of the Jedi, and he complains that the Hugo awards have no category in which Starlog can be recognized.

"What [George] Lucas said was that he personally will not be producing or directing [further Star Wars films]. He has already written the outlines to the two remaining trilogies. No matter how far removed he may be from the daily, on-line production, rest assured that Star Wars chapters one, two, three, seven, eight and nine will still be true to Lucas' vision."

--Howard Zimmerman, editor, Lastword

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #68, March 1983: Double 007

Starlog bounces back pretty handily after last month's embarrassment of a blurry cover photo. This month, not only is the photo crisp and clear, but they've cheekily merged two Bond images -- in the days before Photoshop -- into one, thus making it look as if Roger Moore and Sean Connery are standing together (with Moore pointing his gun at his predecessor). Nice job.

Starlog #68
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.50

Bob Martin ("Uncle Bob" to his readers and fans), the editor of sister magazine Fangoria, becomes a regular contributor to Starlog this month with his Space Age Games column, wherein we find out that the horror movie mag editor is a video game addict.

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn recounts some of his "Tribbleations" with longtime columnist David Gerrold, who called him following O'Quinn's Spielberg and Ultimate Fantasy editorials to remind him that readers look to this publisher for positive, not negative, ideas; Communications letters include responses to David Gerrold's column about fan criticisms of Star Trek (with a further response from the author), some final (?) thoughts on the E.T. controversy, Norman Spinrad's reaction to reader criticisms of his Blade Runner review, and more; Log Entries short items include first news of David Cronenberg's Videodrome, a look at the life of Robert E. Howard, Revenge of the Jedi is officially changed to Return of the Jedi, filmmaker Verna Fields passes away, and more.

Don McGregor interviews Octopussy director John Glen; Ed Naha's L.A. Offbeat column chats with director L.Q. Jones about A Boy and His Dog, his famed film adaptation of Harlan Ellison's novella; Quest remembers the late Starfleet officer Spock with a collection of poetry and short fiction from Donna R. Bryant, Patricia Keen, Cathy Palmer, and Donna L. Harvey; Lee Goldberg interviews Richard Maibaum ("007's Puppetmaster") about Octupussy and various Bonds (and Robert Greenberger contributes a sidebar looking at the original Bond novels by Ian Fleming); David Gerrold gives his action plan for answering letters, including his use of canned paragraphs (a sidenote: I once wrote to Gerrold, and he was nice enough to reply; I'm sure the letter contained all or mostly canned text, but it was still nice that he responded; I'm sure he had plenty of work to occupy his time); Bob Martin's Space Age Games column debuts, and he pits E.T. against the Smurfs -- what more could you want? Well, probably Predator vs. the Smurfs; Bill Cotter examines the TV series Wizards and Warriors; Howard Schenkman visits the set of Sean Connery's Bond flick, Never Say Never Again; Bjo Trimble talks about her SF-notable-filled birthday party; Martha J. Bonds interviews Star Trek producer Harve Bennett; David Hutchison contributes the first of a multi-part report on his visit to Disney's new EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World; and Howard Zimmerman explains how James Bond fits into a science-fiction magazine.

"Though all of the pavillions are designed to appeal to the 'imagination,' they direct the imagination along specific themes -- land, energy, motion and so on. Imagination [pavillion] explores what might be called the 'tools' of the imagination -- color, sight, sound, shape ... an appeal to the senses, and how imagination harnesses these tools into its purest expression -- art."

--David Hutchson, science & SFX editor, "A Walking Tour: Part One -- Welcome to EPCOT Center"

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #49, August 1981: Bond Is Back

Starlog kicks off its sixth year of life by focusing on the new James Bond flick and some of the biggest names in the industry (such as someone called George Lucas). On the merchandising side, the magazine releases its calendar for 1982, this time featuring paintings from the Brothers Hildebrandt's Atlantis.

Starlog #49
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.50

Ever since Moonraker took James Bond into space, Bond has been an accepted member of the science-fiction community. He grabs the cover of this issue and is represented in the forms of much special-effects coverage (but little else) in #49.

In Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column, the publisher challenges readers to imagine life without a god; Communications letters range from someone trying to get a job as an extra on Revenge (yep, still being called that) of the Jedi, to excitement over the space shuttle's initial launch (finally), to a Swede defending her country for rating The Empire Strikes Back so that children can't see it, to more celebrity anniversary greetings (Gene Roddenberry, Howard Weinstein, John Carpenter, etc.), and more; short news items in Log Entries include the Brothers Hildebrandt's Clash of the Titans movie poster (they were forced to make it more Star Wars-y), updates on some Disney movies, neon sculpture, an LP record of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, and more.

Steve Swires interviews Escape from New York stars Kurt Russell and Adrienne Barbeau; David Hutchison examines the storyboarding of the SFX in Raiders of the Lost Ark; Don McGregor interviews Bond special effects wizard Derek Meddings; David Hirsch's In Syndication column visits NATPE -- the National Association of Television Program Executives -- to learn about how producers are selling their shows to TV stations; Bjo Trimble's Fan Scene gives guidance on how to publish a fanzine; Don McGregor continues the Bond SFX coverage by penning a retrospective look at special effects for many past James Bond films; Michael A. Banks reports on the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia; it's part two of James H. Burns' interview with Star Trek veteran George Takei; an unbylined article previews the New World Pictures dark science-fiction film Mind Warp, including a photo of production designer James Cameron working on his designs for the movie; in the wake of Raiders of the Lost Ark's success, Peter Sullivan gives an overview of past movie serials; Kerry O'Quinn's second portion of a three-part interview with George Lucas explores the movie-maker's early life and his intentions for Star Wars; David Gerrold's Rumblings column once again urges readers to be heard in the debate over funding America's space program; part two of the magazine's fifth-anniversary contest features a trivia quiz; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword recounts how we finally got to the launch of an honest-to-goodness re-usable spaceship (the shuttle) and notes the military's plans to have a presence in space.

"I've reached that point where I want to be married, ... but I don't feel that I can impose the erratic nature of my lifestyle -- taking off at a moment's notice to another city on business for anywhere from a weekend to a couple of weeks -- on someone as the foundation for a solid relationship. I wouldn't want to drastically change myself because I don't see marriage as something you should have to alter yourself for. I want to have a partner with whom I could share, but unfortunately, there's no immediate candidate right now."

--George Takei, actor and author (Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe), interviewed by James H. Burns: "George Takei: Part II"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below.