The Shatner Revival: The Starlog Project, Starlog 199, February 1994

William Shatner never really went away, of course. Before Star Trek, he had a long and varied career that included Shakespeare and more; after Trek, he acted in other movies (Trek and non-) and even starred in another prime time television show in the 1980s called T.J. Hooker. But in the mid-1990s, Shatner came back in a way that established himself as an immortal, or at least someone who clearly was going to be around a long time.

When he launched his Tekwar books, they were always likely multimedia candidates, and this issue Starlog highlights the Greg Evigan-starring television movies (it had already been translated into comics). Before the Tek wave had gone, it would also spawn a short-lived TV series and a video game.

There are lots of actors and other creative folks who have late-career resurgences; their rediscovery by the general public generally lasts a cycle and then recedes. But Shatner’s is still going strong in 2012, having conquered TV, social media (he’s got more than 1.4 million followers on Google+), dot-com success (Priceline), and yet more books, TV series (winning two Emmys for his Denny Crane portrayal), and videos.

But, as I noted, Shatner never really left. Even during that time that I tend to think of as his wandering through the desert phase – the 1970s – he was busy with stage shows, films, animated television, game shows, and commercials. Yet for all of that, it is fair to consider his Tek success as the birth of Shatner as multimedia entrepreneur, a role that he continues to play with much success today.

Starlog #199
84 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $4.95

This month, Starlog publishes its official statement of ownership, management and circulation. The total paid circulation for the issue closest to the statement's filing deadline is listed as 265,192 (a giant increase over the previous year's 164,886), including the number of paid subscriptions of 9,350 (little changed from 9,675 in the last year). Why did Starlog’s circulation take off like that? Part of it might have been a distribution strategy by the publisher; the total copies printed was a whopping 610,000 (more than twice what it was in previous years), which means there were way more than 330,000 returns unsold from the newsstand. As wasteful as that seems, it was possibly driven by the new newsstand competition Starlog was preparing to face from upstarts Cinescape, Sci Fi Universe, and Sci Fi Channel magazine (later renamed Sci Fi Entertainment), all of which would debut later in 1994. Control of the newsstands was something Starlog Group was experienced in.

Random classified ad under the “Miscellaneous” banner: “HOLLYWOOD WILL BE KILLING OFF STAR TREK – BUT! Hollywood has read our ‘strong support’ petition letter and – Hollywood says yes! This particular letter would definitely ‘force’ them to reconsider – if they are flooded with them! Please sign this letter and mail it back now! Or Star Trek is dead. To receive yours, enclose a S.A.S.E. within an envelope to …” It does make you think Starlog should have raised its classified ad pricing for each additional exclamation point used.

The rundown: This month, the magazine breaks with its usual photographic cover treatments and runs the illustrated image from the Shatner epic Tekwar; meanwhile Nana Visitor in Bajoran garb takes over the contents page. In his Medialog column, David McDonnell reports that “There will be another Star Trek TV spinoff, also following the adventures of a spaceship, one with a smaller crew complement than the Enterprise (and including a Vulcan, a Klingon, and possibly some Next Generation characters.” Which reminds me of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring Laserblast, in which Mike saves the SOL by taking on Captain Janeway’s persona (and clothing) and saying at one point, “I’m responsible for the lives of 148 crewmembers aboard this ship, 144 of which we never see.”

Michael McAvennie reviews MechWarrior, Traveller, Magic: The Gathering, and more in his Gamelog column. The Communications letters from readers include a super-long letter defending Star Trek: The Next Generation, among other letters, plus Mike Fisher’s Creature Profile featuring the Mummy. Books reviewed in Booklog include Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura, The Far Kingdoms, Majyk by Accident, Growing Up Weightless, Turning Point, The Longing Ring, The Callahan Touch, ViraVax, When True Night Falls, Harm’s Way, The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall, Down Among the Dead Men, Out of Time, Crashcourse, Shroud of Shadow, The Cygnet and the Firebird, Catfantastic III (yes, a collection of short stories featuring “tales … of magical, mutant and mundane cats" – it’s what people did before LOL cats websites), Into the Green, and The Well-Favored Man: The Tale of the Sorcerer’s Nephew. In Videolog, David Hutchison reports the latest video releases, including Highlander, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, and a Twilight Zone boxed set. And in Fan Network, there’s the usual listing of conventions and directory of Trek fan clubs and publications (including Star Fetch: The Fun Fan Magazine, published in my home state of Wisconsin).

Ian Spelling, Starlog’s go-to guy for Star Trek reporting, interviews Nana Visitor, one of the stars of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Her role of a Bajoran officer aboard the space station was originally going to go to Michelle Forbes, who portrayed Ensign Ro on Next Generation, but Forbes reportedly wanted a movie career rather than being tied to a series. So Visitor stepped in. Craig W. Chrissinger talks with Ashley McConnell, a novelizer of Quantum Leap stories. She gives some interesting insight into the how-tos of writing licensed novels, such as negotiating her contract almost by accident, or how much freedom the writer has to write the stories (a lot, in her case). And Bill Warren profiles actor John D’Aquino, who portrays Lt. Ben Krieg on seaQuest DSV. (My favorite pullquote from the issue is in the D’Aquino article: “I was such a boring kid that I would memorize TV Guide.”)

Veteran film scorer John Barry tells writer Tom Soter about his work on James Bond films, The Black Hole, Howard the Duck, and more. Soter writes:

[Barry] remembers 1986’s Howard the Duck with a shudder and a chuckle. “I had just finished Out of Africa with the same company, which wound up a hugely successful movie; it won all the Academy Awards. I got this mad phone call [from the film company, Universal Pictures] and they said, ‘It’s George Lucas’ movie,’ and I thought, ‘Well, a cartoon death wizard, a ridiculous thing, it just might be fantastic.’ So I said, ‘OK,’” Barry scored sequences without seeing the special FX, recalling that “I went blindly, with confidence, and I thought that [Lucas] was going to be taking care of all that. That never worked out. I still don’t know what happened. It was such an unbelievable disaster. And I never met George Lucas.” 

Peter Bloch-Hansen previews the TekWar telefilm. John Vester interviews the seemingly tireless Star Wars novelist Kevin J. Anderson. Joe Nazzaro takes a look at Sylvester McCoy, who recalls his work as Doctor Who. Pat Jankiewicz continues Starlog’s eternal quest to interview every person ever involved with the Trek franchise, this time talking to actor Jan Shutan, who guest starred as Scotty’s girlfriend in “The Lights of Zetar.” Tom Weaver profiles Billy Benedict, co-star of the Adventures of Captain Marvel serials in 1941. In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn highlights Mario, a friend who explains his inspirations for pursuing a film career. Mark Phillips interviews Robert Hamner, who discusses his writing credits in Star Trek (original), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and others. And in his Liner Notes, editor David McDonnell lays down the law about what Starlog’s staff can and can not do for you (hint: Don’t send them your fiction stories and don’t ask them to forward a letter to your favorite actor).

“I think, for sure, all the women who came before us made a difference in how our roles were destined. I’ve been in relaionships where you’ve tried to get a man to marry you, but he’s resisting the relationship. You figure he is just not the marrying kind and you leave him. Two months later, you find out he got married to the next woman he met. That seems to be a common pattern. He needed to be comfortable with [marriage], so he could finally do it in a fresh environment. I think, maybe, in a sense, that’s what happened with Star Trek. Marina [Sirtis] and all the other women had an effect on what Terry [Farrell] and I get to do on Deep Space Nine. And I’m very grateful to them.”
–Nana Visitor, actor, interviewed by Ian Spelling, “Major Player” 

For more, click on Starlog Internet Archive Project below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent site.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #149, December 1989: Back to the Back to the Future

We know from his interview with Starlog several years back that Harlan Ellison hated Back to the Future. To punish him for his troublesome relationship with the studios (such as making a submarine drop on a big-time producer’s head) (you had to be there), Hollywood decided to release Back to the Future II: The Wrath of Khan. Wait, no, it was just Back to the Future II.

You remember that movie? It was the one you sat through because you thought it’d be better than the first one, but it turned out to look like a collection of out-takes from the first Back to the Future. In short, Back to the Future II was the Star Trek V of this series. (BTTF III, however, I thought was quite enjoyable, my usual Ellison-support be damned.)

Nonetheless, Back to the Future II is given center stage this issue, while Star Trek V: The Final Frontier takes it on the chin from readers and from Starlog’s former co-publisher.

Starlog #149
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $3.95

Classified ad of the month: “THE FIRST STAR TREK COMMUNITY will form for mature Trekkers. Structured community life expressing core values of ST on realistic level. Responsible, self-supporting individuals send legal SASE and autobiog letter of interest to ...” Who says fans don’t have commitment anymore?

The rundown: Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are the co-cover boys this issue, heralding the second in the Back to the Future trilogy; but pre-teen girls will prefer the contents page, which features a big photo of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. The Communications section is entirely devoted to reader reactions to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (one reader notes, “The Final Frontier is a perfect caricature, a distillation of everything that spells Star Trek to the uninitiated and the unsympathetic: camp, silliness, pseudo-science, pretentious pseudo-morality.”); and David McDonnell’s Medialog column questions whether Star Trek V killed the Trek film franchise. This might be a good issue to hide from William Shatner.

Marc Shapiro goes behind the scenes of the new Alien Nation TV series, a spinoff of the recent film of the same name; Richard Feather interviews novelist Connie Willis; Michael J. Wolff, the magazine’s interplanetary correspondent, explores movies from the sea (Creature from the Black Lagoon, Splash, etc.): “The number of legends concerning ‘sirens’ would indicate that ‘sea-faring’ nations (Greece, England, etc.) contained a greater than average number of mermen among their populations. Sinbad, Odysseus, Popeye, Nemo, Cousteau and other maritime adventurers may have been mermen or descendants of mermen” – make of that what you will.

Peter Bloch-Hansen interviews actor Robert Lansing, who portrayed Gary Seven in the original Star Trek episode “Assignment Earth” and who says of co-star Teri Garr, “She hadn’t had much experience then, but she had this kooky personality that certainly worked,” which is amusing only because in her own Starlog interview, Teri Garr pretty much straight-up expressed her disdain for the science fiction world; the only time I ever recall seeing Raggedy Ann & Andy mentioned in Starlog is in this month’s Videolog column by David Hutchison; in a recent issue of Starlog, we met Catwoman, and this time we meet Yvonne Craig, the Batgirl actress who is interviewed by Kyle Counts.

In the Fan Network pages, Peter L. Huston writes about a public television station that broadcasts episodes of Space: 1999, Laurie Morris announces the winning candidate for Klingon of the Year honors (it's Worf), and an unsigned item announces J.M. Dillard’s book Star Trek: The Lost Years; Marc Shapiro goes behind the scenes of Back to the Future III to preview the sequel; in part six of David Hutchison’s lengthy examination of the special effects of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, we learn some of the challenges that faced the filmmakers; Kathryn M. Drennan talks with actor and director Jeff Corey, who discusses what it was like to testify before the House Unamerican Activities Committee at the height of the Red Scare, and Mark Phillips contributes a sidebar on Corey’s role in the Star Trek episode “The Cloud Minders”; Edward Gross checks in with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier screenwriter David Loughery (with two sidebars: “The God Thing” and “Star Trek V: The Lost Ending”); Bill Warren checks in with actor Charles Cooper, who plays Klingon General Korrd in Star Trek V; continuing the Klingon theme, Kris Gilpin interviews actor Todd Bryant, who played Klaa in Trek V; it’s a veritable mini-Klingonpalooza, as Marc Shapiro interviews actress Spice WIlliams about portraying Trek V’s Vixis; in his Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn continues his theme from last issue, as he finally gets to see Shatner’s Trek directorial debut and gives a mixed review of it, saying it’s not as bad as people had told him, but giving it especially harsh grades for its silly religious content; and editor David McDonnell is photographed “consulting with Weasels in Toontown” and chats/jokes about time travel in his Liner Notes column.

“In this first Back to the Future, I felt more like a tool. In this one, I feel more like an accomplice. ... In the last movie, Marty [McFly] was pretty much a victim of circumstance. He starts out that way in this one but we also discover a weakness in his personality along the way that tends to stir the pot and make things interesting. Marty has gone through enough of this traveling stuff to think that manipulating it might benefit him. He thinks that, in an innocent way, playing with time just might help him out.”

–Michael J. Fox, actor, interviewed by Marc Shapiro: “Back to the Future III”

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #144, July 1989: Shatnerized

It’s the magazine’s anniversary again, and Starlog celebrates its 13th birthday with a thick issue full of interesting articles. Not only is the cover taken over by William Shatner, but the man was busy taking over the Star Trek film franchise itself, as he checks in on his feature directorial debut, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

In staffing news, Eddie Bergana and Daniel Dickholtz, who had previously shared the title of associate editor, now share the title of managing editor. And remember that weird title “advertising design” from a few issues ago? No longer exists. Meanwhile, the company’s publishing efforts continue to expand, with the launch of All-Star Action Heroes, covering action films and including four posters. The debut issue includes an interview with Mel Gibson that is actually safe for kids to read.

This issue is the first to carry a $4.95 cover price (last year’s 100-page anniversary issue was $3.95). The regular-sized issues will increase in price to $3.95 next issue. It’s of course quaint to realize that a 100-page science-fiction magazine that cost $4.95 in A.D. 2010 would be a steal, but then one realizes that this was 21 years ago, that age is catching up with you, and you burst into tears. Which is appropriate for a birthday issue. So what do the editors have in store for their sweet 13th?

Starlog #144
100 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $4.95

I’m quite sure few people read it at the time, so its mention here is only vanity on my part. In 1989, I reviewed Star Trek V for my college newspaper, The Badger Herald. My thoughts on the movie were, of course, mixed, which made me one of the more indulgent reviewers of this film. Actually, even 21 years later, my feelings are mixed. Parts of it disappoints me as a let-down, as less than what could have been. But other parts of it are quite nicely done. Am I consistent or what?

The rundown: If I were a better host for you through this history of Starlog, I would go through each of the previous anniversary issues so I could see if the following statement were true or not, but I”m not: I think this is the first anniversary issue in which Kerry O’Quinn’s From the Bridge column is normal-sized, not a super-sized “special anniversary editorial.” Nonetheless, he goes Down Under and reports on the Aussie science-fiction scene. In Communications letters, readers write post-mortems of sorts for Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, and other readers write about everything from Alien Nation to Gates McFadden’s Star Trek: The Next Generation exit; and David McDonnell’s Medialog updates us on all of the science fiction and fantasy projects of mid-1989, such as which genre pictures were recognized by the Academy.

Robert Greenberger talks with Count Nikolai Tolstoy about Merlin/King Arthur stories (is this the first time Starlog has interviewed anyone with the title of “count”? Again, I’m not that nice of a host to go back and check); Peter Bloch-Hansen interviews Richard Cheeves, star of War of the Worlds; David Hutchison’s Videolog rounds up the latest genre video releases, such as Willow and The Wizard of Oz; Bill Warren interviews actor Martin Kove about the TV show Hard Time on Planet Earth; and just in case you were worried that people were beginning to think science fiction was getting waaaaay too serious, San Scapperotti goes behind the scenes to report on the Jeff Goldblum- and Geena Davis-starring oddity Earth Girls Are Easy; and the Fan Network pages include Michael McAvennie’s report on the continuing matter of Starfleet spaceship designs, plus there’s a quiz about SF movie advertising lines (and they include the Star Trek V ad showing a seat flying through space with the tagline, “Why are they putting seatbelts in theatres this summer?” which I think is a damn good advertising slogan. I mean, it’s no “In space, no one can hear you scream,” but I might have to go back and adjust my review of the movie....).

Adam Pirani interviews Alison Doody, who plays Indiana Jones’ (and Dr. Henry Jones’) sorta-Nazi, sorta-girlfriend in The Last Crusade; the Shat is back: Marc Shapiro interviews William Shatner about his Trek directorial debut, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Scott Bruce looks at SF-related lunchboxes; Adam Pirani interviews Batman co-star Kim Basinger; Kim Howard Johnson previews the Terry Jones film The Saga of Erik the Viking; David Hutchison talks with Who Framed Roger Rabbit (and really Who Censored Roger Rabbit?) creator Gary Wolf and others involved in the movie version; interplanetary correspondent Michael Wolff (with illustrations by George Kochell) takes a look at genre stories of shrinking people.

Lynne Stephens profiles actor john Neville about his role as Baron Munchausen; Juanita Elefante-Gordon interviews actress Sarah Sutton regarding her time playing a Doctor Who companion in the Peter Davison years; Paul Tomlinson questions Stainless Steel rat author Harry Harrison; Edward Gross talks to director Vincent McEveety about working on original Star Trek episodes such as “Balance of Terror,” “Dagger of the Mind,” and “Patterns of Force”; Kathryn M. Drennan pens a one-page look at actor DeForest Kelley’s career in Western films; and David McDonnell’s Liner Notes explains why the magazine is publishing David Hutchison’s many-part article on the special effects of Roger Rabbit.

“There were some cast members who had expressed their apprehension about what I would do. But I knew what I wanted from certain actors and did my damndest to get it. Despite any fears the cast may have had, they were totally cooperative. As the movie progressed, they saw that I did know what I was doing, and I think I turned those people around who had previously doubted my ability to direct.”

–William Shatner, actor/director, interviewed by Marc Shapiro: “Shakedown Cruise, Part One”

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

The Starlog Project: Starlog #118, May 1987: Taking Point Position on Star Trek: The Next Generation

Probably one of the most lucrative opportunities that ever came along to the Starlog publishers was Paramount’s decision to produce a new Star Trek series in the late 1980s. Starlog was already identified with Trek from its very first issue – which had originally been intended as a Star Trek one-shot publication until distributor wimpiness forced the publishers to rethink their strategy. Even its name is a Star Trek throwback. And the magazine has covered (and would continue to cover to its dying days) every aspect of Trek – basically, every single writer, actor (including guest star), director, producer, craft services provider, etc., would get an interview in the magazine. And don’t think I’m mocking that; the magazine had enough pages to cover other topics, and it did so quite comprehensively.

But then Star Trek: The Next Generation was on another level altogether. Not only did the show perform spectacularly well for Paramount (it was originally intended to be the flagship program of a Paramount network – as Voyager would be years later – but the network didn’t materialize, and Next Generation instead became a syndicated program; in fact, it became the number-one syndicated television program for years. So, not only did it do well for Paramount, it was a godsend for Starlog. It provided an opportunity to feature the popular program on its cover and within its covers issue after issue, thereby boosting sales. It gave the magazine the opportunity to have former columnist David Gerrold return, a la Susan Sackett’s Star Trek Report, to chronicle the creation of this series. And Starlog won the licensing rights to publish the official Star Trek: The Next Generation magazine, which it would produce for the full run of the series (and for successor programs Deep Space Nine and part of Voyager). Licensed magazines were a very important contributor to the Starlog Group (aka O’Quinn Studios) bottom line, and I’d hazard a guess that the Next Generation magazines were the single biggest source of cash from that business line.

This issue, Starlog #118, features the first of Gerrold’s behind-the-scenes Next Generation columns, offering an exclusive look at the designs, characters, story ideas, and personnel of this groundbreaking TV series.

Starlog #118
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

In Starlog company news, David McDonnell announces that he’s no longer overseeing sister magazine Fangoria’s editing chores. Those have been assumed by junior editor Anthony Timpone, who would hold onto the reins for almost a quarter century. They’re also starting to mine the merchandising possibilities of that magazine, with the launch of the Fangoria Poster Magazine, modeled on the successful Starlog Poster Magazine. In staffing news, Eddie Berganza and Daniel Dickholtz (the writer of much comics-related articles) move up the staff box to be listed as contributing editors.

The rundown: The cover photo is Star Wars’ C3PO and R2D2 (posing with a giant rodent), getting in one last cover appearance before Star Trek: The Next Generation takes it over. In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O’Quinn heralds the new Star Trek: The Next Generation series; Communications letters feature a bumper crop of letters commenting on recent coverage of Japanese anime, plus letters on the future of Star Trek, Kerry O’Quinn’s liberty editorials, and more; the Medialog section includes Patrick Daniel O’Neill’s report on the renewal of Doctor Who without the lead actor (Colin Baker), plus David McDonnell’s comprehensive roundup of genre news (such as, oh, let’s see, a note that there’s nothing firm about a Lost in Space reunion movie: “However, insiders maintain it’s very unlikely that such a revival will ever take place”).

In his inaugural Generations column, returning champion David Gerrold offers a first inside look at the planning for Star Trek: The Next Generation and he ends it with a suggestion that now’s a damn good time to renew your Starlog subscription, so you stay informed; another veteran returning to the Star Trek fold for Next Generation, Dorothy Fontana, is interviewed by Edward Gross; in his Booklog column, Chris Henderson covers the latest genre book releases; Steve Swires talks with actor Rod Taylor, who discusses Outlaw, TV’s Masquerade, and more; Tom Weaver interviews actor Jeff Morrow (This Island Earth, Kronos, Captain Lightfoot); Jean Airey and Laurie Haldeman profile Blake’s 7’s “cowardly safecracker” Michael Keating; the Fan Network pages include an update on Star Trek fan clubs, answers to readers’ questions (such as, “Is the two-hour, European-version of Ridley Scott’s Legend with Jerry Goldsmith’s music available on video?”), and more; William Shatner talks about spoofing Trek on Saturday Night Live, the Trek movies – including his first thoughts on directing Star Trek V – and The Next Generation in an interview with Ian Spelling, Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier.

In another three-writer teamup, Bruce Gordon, David Mumford, and Chris Tietz explore Disneyland’s Star Tours, a Star Wars-themed attraction (plus a fourth writer, David Hutchison, chimes in with a sidebar on George Lucas’ involvement with the Disney enterprise); author George R.R. Martin is interviewed by only one writer, Daniel Dickholtz, and he discusses Nightflyers; Dickholtz also pens the Comics Scene column, looking at Retief, a comic about a 29th-century diplomat; David Hutchison’s Videolog looks at some on-sale genre videos; Marc Shapiro checks in with special effects designer Bill Stout and his illustrations for Masters of the Universe; a special Tribute section features the obituraries of five people: Scatman Crothers, Ian Marter, Elsa Lanchester, Keenan Wynn, and Roger C. Carmel; and editor David McDonnell wraps it all up in his Liner Notes column, where he deconstructs his editorial writing style, imparting some tidbits of news along the way.

“I think it is a mistake. To call a series Star Trek that doesn’t have the cast and the ship in it is an error. The error seems to me to be overexposure of the Star Trek name and the possibility of not having the Star Trek quality we’ve become accustomed to. It remains to be seen. [Should The Next Generation fail,] the whole thing is unnecessary jeopardy. ... It’s unnecessary to take that kind of risk. I don’t know how much money they’re going to make. I suppose it’s going to be considerable, but it can’t be more than the grosses they would make from the films. I don’t understand their reasoning. I’m not connected with this TV series at all.”

--William Shatner, actor/director, interviewed by Ian Spelling, Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier: “William Shatner: Captain’s Log: Star Trek V”

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

Video of William Shatner Singing Tribute to to George Lucas

At the AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, Star Trek's William Shatner sings -- er, talks -- a musical tribute to Star Wars' George Lucas.