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Starlog #21, April 1979: Mark Hamill vs. Harlan Ellison

There's a Fangoria angle to this issue of Starlog. First, we see the name "Bob Martin" pop up on the staffbox, listed as associate editor. Martin was marking time until his magazine, Fantastica, exited legal limbo and he could do his real job. Not explained until much later was that competitor Fantastic Films magazine was suing Starlog, claiming that the name Fantastica was too much like Fantastic Films. Eventually, the mag would be renamed Fangoria and a (publishing) star would be born.

Starlog #21
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

In an interview that set off a public spat between Star Wars star Mark Hamill and author Harlan Ellison, Hamill tells Starlog some not-necessarily complimentary things about Ellison, who had apparently not liked Hamill's movie that much. The back-and-forth would continue for a while, until the two patched things up. All reported in Starlog.

Publisher Kerry O'Quinn talks about science fiction's global mission in his From the Bridge column; Communications letters range from reader reactions to Superman, Battlestar Galactica, the reason Chewbacca didn't get a medal, Harry Harrison praises Galactica-bashing, and more; Log Entries short news items include an overview of NASA's 1979 plans, a 3-D illustrated Harlan Ellison project, first word on Futureworld, news of The Cry of Cthulu film, and more.

David Houston discovers two science-fiction convention-going fans who got their day in the sun; Steve Swires interviews Mark Hamill, who shares his thoughts on everything from the Battlestar Galactica rip-off idea to his love for science fiction to why Harlan Ellison doesn't like Star Wars; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report covers the goings-on on the Trek set; Robin Snelsom reports on Pioneer-Venus exploration results; David Houston gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the bridge set of the Galactica was built; Michael Catron reports on the premiere of Superman in Washington, D.C., which President Jimmy Carter attended; Gerry Anderson's Space Report explores "The Birth of 'Starcruiser 1,'" complete with a sketch of the ship; Ted Michael Hruschak and Richard Meyers find that "Lost in Space Lives," writing an introduction to their complete episode guide to the series (a series whose fans sometimes complained that Starlog gave it short shrift compared to Star Trek); Steve Swires interviews George Romero on the making of Dawn of the Dead; Jonathan Eberhart's Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., visits Hektor, the oddball celestial body; David Houston writes about Buck Rogers' life as a motion picture; David Gerrold takes on Warren Beaty and Heaven Can Wait; Andrew P. Yanchus gives us a history of plastic model kits (complete with a two-page "SF Model Checklist"); Paul Mandell visits SFX legend David Allen; David Houston's Visions column looks at Brave New World and 1984; and, finally, Howard Zimmerman suggests science fiction fans take a look at real science now and then.

"[Harlan Ellison] wrote one article in which he said something like, 'Not only is Luke Skywalker a nerd, but Darth Vader sucks runny eggs.' Thats a wonderful effect, and he really should be a lounge act in Las Vegas. I don't think it's worthy of him, with the reputation he has as a wonderfully imaginative science-fiction writer, to lower himself that way. Why should I think his opinion is important, when I know my opinion isn't important?"
–Mark Hamill, actor, "An Interview with Mark Hamill

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Starlog #22, May 1979: Pretending We Like Moonraker

The expansion of the Starlog world continues, even as the page-count decreases. The newest Photo Guidebook is released, Special Effects (probably the most successful in the series, because Starlog eventually published a total of five of them) and its line of SF poster magazines continues to grow. Meanwhile, the page count for the issue drops eight from last month, and for much of the next decade the magazine would bounce between 68 and 76 pages, except for occasional special issues (anniversary issues, review specials, etc.). Damned inflation!

Starlog #22
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

The SF films of 1979 are previewed in this issue, so there are lots of short articles checking in on the movies, some of which have become classics today. The main place of pride on the cover, though, is given to the James Bond SF entry Moonraker, which is a classic of cheese, but not fantastic filmmaking.

Kerry O'Quinn kicks things off in his From the Bridge column by talking about how a passion for science fiction in young people is a great thing, and he has a great response for a mother worried about her son's obsession. Letters in the Communications pages include background on Lost in Space, high hopes for The Martian Chronicles, conflicting reactions to Superman, and more. Short news in Log Entries includes insight into Star Trek -- The Motion Picture's only outdoors set, an advance SFX shot from Supertrain, a revival of Marvel Comics' Weirdworld, a preview of Time After Time, and more.

Robert Martin gets his first Starlog byline with a preview of the James Bond flick Moonraker; Battlestar Galactica's Lorne Greene (Commander Adama) is interviewed by Barbara Lewis; Lewis also interviews Noah "Boxey" Hathaway ("I Want to Direct"); wait, it's more Barbara Lewis, who also brings us an interview with Alien's Veronica Cartwright; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report notes the end of principal filming on the motion picture (she writes, "Speaking of sets, things are looking good for at least one sequel movie, since all of the valuable sets have been stored on Stage 9." Must have missed that sequel.). David Gerrold's State of the Art discusses the coveted Hugo Award; David Hutchison displays some aliens' masks from the Star Trek movie; Richard Meyers interviews space artist Don Maitz, whose great paintings remind me of John Berkey's work; Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., visits "The Polar Dunes of Mars"; Gerry Anderson's Space Report answers readers' questions; Lem Pitkin previews Brave New World; Tom von McDonoughkin (I think we can assume that's a pseudonym) writes "Statues of the Gods," a von Daniken parody; Richard Meyers previews The Vortex; Berthe Roegger previews The Shape of Things to Come, the sequel/remake of Things to Come; the SFX section focuses on careers in special effects, with Paul Mandell looking at model animators; David Houston's Visions column looks at "The Science Fiction of Ayn Rand" and is illustrated by the great Boris Vallejo; and, last but not least, editor Howard Zimmerman's Lastword defends the inclusion in Starlog of articles on things besides SF films and TV productions.

"Show me a kid who wants to spend his allowance for a mask, a model, or a good SF magazine or movie, and I will show you a kid who is probably on the right track. An interest in science fiction doesn't automatically mean that a young person is brilliant or morally strong or creatively promising, but it does mean that the kid is attracted to excitement, adventure, imagination, and a positive attitude toward the future."
–Kerry O'Quinn, publisher, From the Bridge

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Starlog #23, June 1979: Alien Invasion

This issue has one of my favorite Starlog covers: A very moody, mysterious, dark shot from Alien. It perfectly captures the otherworldly thrills that Alien will deliver. It's funny that only this week did I look closely enough at the photo to realize that it's cut off and replaced by a solid band of black along the top (and, presumably, along the bottom, though I can't see an obvious clear cut). Look about half an inch beneath the "R" and the "L" in the magazine's logo, and you can see that the bluish alien tunnel doesn't just fade into darkness, it's sheared off where, presumably, the edge of the original photo ended.

Starlog #23
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

As the magazine completes its third year of publication and prepares for its large anniversary issue the following month, the focus is on aliens: the odd Doctor Who, Gort and Klaatu, Space: 1999's Maya, and the most alien of aliens -- the Alien alien. Some are good, some bad, some are peaceful, some want to plant a baby alien in your chest.

Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge chronicles his company's move into film production (which would not come to much); the Communications letters pages include a note about the delayed launch of Fantastica magazine, Harlan Ellison's reply to Mark Hamill's comments about him a couple issues ago, and more; short news items in Log Entries include an advance look at The Black Hole, info on Superman II, talking with the Flat Earth Society, celebrating Isaac Asimov's 200th book, and more.

Gerry Anderson's Space Report features a photo essay on Space: 1999 character Maya. A large preview article on the new movie Alien is the Starlog article that future "Uncle Bob" Bob Martin was born to write, so it's good that they let him write it; Peter S. Perakos gives a sneak preview of the Philippines-lensed movie Monument (remember that movie? Of course you don't); Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report answers the most-asked question about Trek; David Gerrold's State of the Art column discusses the awards game; Ellen M. Mortimer profiles Britain's time-traveling low-budget classic/embarrassment (take your pick) Doctor Who, and she writes an episode guide to the 1974-1978 seasons of Who; Al Taylor provides a retrospective on the classic The Day the Earth Stood Still; David Hutchison gives a behind-the-scenes peek at the work of Joe Viskocil; David Hirsch interviews Darth Vader himself, David Prowse; Douglas L. Crepeau gives us an overview of "Blacks in Science Fiction Film"; David Hutchison's SFX section continues looking at careers in the special effects trade; David Houston's Visions column looks at Charles Darwin's effect on science fiction; the Next Month box bloats to two-thirds of a page to announce the 100-page anniversary issue (on sale Tuesday, June 5, 1979 -- be there!); and Howard Zimmerman eeks out a one-third-of-a-page Lastword column, where he remembers the late Al Hodge.

"Mr. Hamill's confusion about my attitude toward the little film in which he appeared is touching.... Equally touching is his understanding of the unimportance of his opinions; would that more of us had the sense and nobility to perceive our limitations. ....I take it as a gesture of magnanimity not to further ridicule him: As a functional illiterate, Mr. Hamill does a good enough job on himself."
–Harlan Ellison, letter writer, Communications

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Starlog #24, July 1979: Third Anniversary Celebration

The magazine publishes its first 100-page issue, celebrating its three-year growth into a behemoth in the niche that is the science fiction magazine publishing world. It includes a rare two-page table of contents, a buxom (I'm running out of adjectives) two-page publisher's column, a bunch of extra color pages, and a look back at the previous year in science fiction. In short, it's a muscle-flexing issue that tells the SF world that Starlog's the new measure of success and quality. Of note: For the first time, we see that sister magazine Fantastica has been renamed Fangoria.

Starlog #24
100 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

The double-sized contents page includes a collage of science-fiction images, created by editor Howard Zimmerman (something he would continue for the next couple anniversary issues). The cover is also the blocked-photo design the magazine's annual birthday parties would retain for nearly a decade.

Kerry O'Quinn jump-starts the party by retelling "The Roots of Starlog," how it was born in a manger... wait, that's not it. Actually, two art directors start their own business, and after a number of publications, attempt to put out for another publisher a one-shot magazine devoted to Star Trek. That publisher was unable to get his distributor to agree to a Trek-themed magazine, so Norman Jacobs and O'Quinn rethought the entire concept, making it an ongoing science fiction magazine that would cover many topics. "We decided that what was needed was a beautiful magazine (to help pull SF out of the pulp ghetto) with full-color art and photos -- an authoritative magazine featuring expert columnists, writers, and researchers -- an informative magazine including speedy news and behind-the-scenes interviews and articles," O'Quinn remembers. They eventually convince their distributor to carry the magazine, which quickly became a collectors item. O'Quinn, of course, doesn't neglect the proliferation within the Starlog family: trade paperbacks, records, Future/Future Life, SF Color Poster Books, Cinemagic, and Fangoria. Unmentioned in this column are the other titles produced by their company, such as Daily TV Serials (a soap-opera publication that lasted quite a few years in the 1970s and was briefly revived in the mid-1980s) and specials such as Hollywood Musclemen, The Fab 50s, and licensed movie magazines and posterbooks (there's an ad on page 71 of this issue advertising "official movie posterbooks" for Moonraker and Rocky II. Licensed movie magazines would become a very lucrative business for the company in the 1980s, when the company would reign as the number-one publisher of licensed movie publications in the country.

Now, on with the issue! The letters in Communications range from arguments over socialism and capitalism to news about model kits to a follow-up for the "Statues of the Gods" spoof article, and more; short news in Log Entries includes an SF and fantasy art gallery in Los Angeles, an update on Superman II, SF-themed pinball games, David Gerrold wins the Skylark award, and more. David Gerrold's State of the Art column features a grab-bag of news and notes, including a literal note that George Lucas passed along explaining his use of "parsec" as a time measurement instead of a distance in Star Wars, and the column ends with Gerrold's announcement that this is "the last State of the Art column that I would write." William G. Fowler compiles a seven-page index to Starlog's first 22 issues; a one-page "Space-Age Spaceware" looks at SF toys and games; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report presents a roundup of news, including the item that "Bill Shatner is also active on our softball team." Speak of the devil! Barbara Lewis interviews Shatner (his third talk with the magazine in its short life so far, by my count).

A 32-page color anniversary section is fronted by a reprint of the Star Trek art from the cover of Starlog #1. Included inside is a photo-heavy recap of recent big SF events: Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Buck Rogers, Starcrash, a roundup of other films, some classic films, a "Best of SFX" section, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Space: 1999, a roundup of other TV programs, three pages of space art, and Jonathan Eberhart on the photographic results of Jupiter probes.

Barbara Lewis also brings back Leonard Nimoy for another Starlog interview ("He Is Spock"); Allan Hendry gives advice for making photographs of things you think are UFOs; David Houston describes an SF-themed radio program called Hour 25; a four-page "Anniversary Salute to Starlog" prints birthday congratulations from the SF famous (such as this from Arthur C. Clarke: "I'm still in a daze this morning having just spent two hours on the phone with Carl Sagan, Ray Bradbury and the Voyager team, as the closeups of Jupiter arrive at J.P.L. in Pasadena. Now there's some spectacular artwork for you to publish and, I suspect, where the action is in the centuries to come. Best wishes to Starlog." Or this from Harlan Ellison: "Starlog deserves to flourish. ... You deserve praise and support because you fight the good fight, trapped between your own lofty ethics and your need to purvey cheap thrills to get [readers'] attention. It cannot be an easy task ... and I applaud you."). Bob Martin explains the Moonraker story; Fredrick King previews The Cry of Cthulhu; David Hutchison goes behind the scenes of the Major Mars film, which was to be part of the Intergalactic Picture Show, Starlog's never-realized feature film that was supposed to come out in the autumn of 1979; Bob Martin returns with an interview of Alien producer Walter Hill; David Houtson's Visions continues his look at Charles Darwin's influence on science fiction; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword urges readers to be discerning in their appreciation of film and TV during this boom period in the genre.

"Starlog, with three years behind it, is a lusty young giant, symbolic of the new stature of science fiction in the visual media. May you and SF continue to grow and may humanity enter a good science-fictional world of space exploration for a growing and united world."
–Isaac Asimov, author, "An Anniversary Salute to Starlog"

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Starlog #25, August 1979: Now with More Bradbury!

It's a good issue, but Starlog had some headaches coming off the blocks to begin its fourth year of publication. For example, on the cover above the logo (in what we in the magazine biz call "roof text") is a blurb announcing a pinball art contest and directing readers to the entry form on page 45. Except -- you guessed it -- it's not on page 45. The full-page contest form is on page 49, instead. No biggie, I know. But subscribers' versions of Starlog #25 included a bind-in card that reads: "Dear Subscriber: Due to a mistake at our printing plant, the subscription copies of Starlog #24, the 3rd Anniversary issue, were not wrapped in our usual protector. This does not indicate a change of policy. You will find that because the cover is laminated, the mailing label can be carefully peeled off without damage to the magazine. Our sincere apologies. -- Starlog Magazine." Ah, well, the issue gets better from there. And we have two more photo guidebooks released: Robots and Science Fiction Weapons. I think it'd be cool if they put out a combined book of Science Fiction Robot Weapons. But that's just me.

Starlog #25
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

The colorful cover painting of the new U.S.S. Enterprise from the Star Trek movie is also printed as a full centerfold. This fourth year of publication would be the Year of Trek at Starlog, with three covers devoted to the movie, a three-issue excerpt from Walter Koenig's nonfiction book about the filming of the movie (read it and you'll always remember Koenig asking to kiss Persis Khambatta's bald head), Harlan Ellison's review that takes apart the movie and Gene Roddenberry (one of the most controversial articles Starlog would ever publish), and numerous other articles. So might as well start off the year with a Trek-heavy issue, right?

Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge does two things: talks about strange behavior at science fiction conventions, and takes issue with a recent article (the Day The Earth Stood Still retrospective in #23) that took aim at nuclear weapons. Communications letters include pleas to revive Battlestar Galactica (but in Galactica 1980, it would be a revival much like that in The Monkey's Paw), reader praise for Starlog's diverse articles, someone who really hated the satirical article "Statues of the Gods," and more; Log Entries short news includes the impending release of the movie Meteor, ABC's announcement of a new two-hour Galactica movie (seriously, don't get your hopes up, kids!), winners of Starlog's first annual SF Short Film Search, news that Star Wars would be serialized as a special National Public Radio program, Starlog's beautiful Space Art Photo Guidebook was excerpted for 10 pages in the publishing behemoth Reader's Digest (I had not known that before now; I had seen that Omni magazine excerpted Space Art in its second issue but hadn't known that Reader's Digest had done so), and more.

Bob Woods kicks off the feature section with a profile of Dale Enzenbacher, the "Mad Sculptor of San Francisco" (and the article is illustrated with many color and black-and-white photos of his fantasy sculptures); David Gerrold was pulling your legs last issue when he said that was the last edition of his State of the Art column, because he's back this issue with Rumblings, the new name of his column, in which he tells an emperor-has-no-clothes fable; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report relates some "Trivia & Teasers" (such as "Which actor has LEMLI on his car's license plate, and what does it stand for?"). Barbara Lewis interviews the great Ray Bradbury, who discusses his life and the upcoming production of The Martian Chronicles; a one-page SFX-TRA looks at the making of Howard Hawks' The Thing; David Hutchison interviews artist and Trek production designer Mike Minor; Gerry Anderson answers more reader letters in his Space Report column; Brick Price and Cory Faucher give a behind-the-scenes SFX look at how models of the original Enterprise can be lit up; a two-page photo layout showcases the Alien movie; Michael A. Banks visits the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum; Barbara Lewis gives a progress report on Star Trek -- The Motion Picture, including a sidebar on"The FX Mess" (which would be covered in-depth in a future issue); Bob Martin profiles pinball machine manufacturer Bally; Jonathan Eberhart's Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., visits Caloris Basin (on the sunny planet of Mercury); it's part III of the series of career profiles in the SFX section, with David Hutchison profiling Frank van der Veer and Paul Mandell profiling Susan Turner; David Houston's Visions column continues his Charles Darwin linkage to modern science fiction, including 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword column covers some sciencey things to do during those long summer months.

"One can scarcely tour the spaceways looking at one spectacular after another without trying to visualize how such features formed. The eruption of Beta on Venus, the colorful evolution of Io, the exotically layered sand dune of Mars -- each evokes dramatic images of its genesis. And the genesis of Caloris Basin would have been a sight to behold."
–Jonathan Eberhart, columnist (and space sciences editor of Science News magazine), Interplanetary Excursions, Inc.

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Starlog #26, September 1979: Loving the Alien

The Starlog top brass made some great decisions over the years, and they took some big risks that really paid off. But when you look at the ad on page 22 of this issue, you do have to wonder who bought the Salvage I SF Poster Book. Probably a better idea was the special one-shot John Wayne & The Great Cowboy Heroes advertised on page 7.

Starlog #26
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

It's another Alien-heavy issue, as the 20th Century Fox flick continues to blow minds. No doubt, the Starlog staff (at least the straight male members of that staff) (um, I didn't mean that to sound quite that way; let's try "the heterosexual males on the staff") was thrilled with the mildly pornographic H.R. Giger painting on the contents page.

Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column pumps up artist Don Dixon's SFX article in this issue (step-by-step instructions on making a space painting); Communications letters range from reactions to a large-screen Battlestar Galactica movie to people praising or damning David Gerrold's column to others ranting about the Harlan Ellision & Mark Hamill smackdown, and so much more; in Log Entries short news, another (as yet unnamed) Space: 1999 movie is being planned, Hugo award nominees are listed, scientists in Mountain View, California, create a mini-universe on a computer, and more.

David Houston interviews Alien director Ridley Scott; Houston also interviews H.R. Giger about his surrealist designs for the movie (and, er, the contents page); Howard Zimmerman profiles SF movies about the moon (A Trip to the Moon, Woman in the Moon, 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc.); in an eight-page special fold-out, Starlog's newest photo guidebook, Science Fiction Weapons, is previewed, complete with blueprints; David Hirsh relates how and why Gerry Anderson created the TV production of The Day After Tomorrow; David Houston profiles artist Steve Scherer; Alan Brender interviews Bo Brundin, who plays Rolf Mannheim in the upcoming disaster flick Meteor; a two-page color spread features photos from Moonraker; Susan Sackett discusses the audio side of Star Trek; in Unreel, the magazine takes a look at some of the SF Short Film Search winners; Stephen J. Sansweet uncovers SF toys from Buck Rogers to the present (er, 1979) day; J. Blake Mitchell looks at Grady Hunt's SF costume designs; Don Dixon writes "Secrets of a Space Artist," this month's SFX section; David Gerrold's Rumblings column (which is printed accidentally without the logo, though the logo background appears -- oops) compares Star Trek to later SF TV productions such as Space: 1999 and Battlestar Galactica, which both pale in his comparison; David Houston's Visions column examines Arthur C. Clarke's classic Childhood's End; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword column praises the movie Alien.

"Battlestar Galactica isn't even that hopeful in its premise. Nine-tenths of the human race has been wiped out and the survivors are fleeing the enemy Cylons, a race of chrome robots. (I fail to understand why a robot even wants an oxygen-atmosphere planet; oxygen encourages rust.) The premise here is even less honorable: 'They're after us! Let's run like hell!'"
–David Gerrold, columnist, Rumblings

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Starlog #27, October 1979: Galactica Lives ... Not

Just like with issue #23, the image on the cover of #27 is cut off (or the image ended long before the top of the cover) and replaced with black. Look inside the "A" in the logo, just above the crossbar. Years later, it would become very easy to use the Adobe Creative Suite of tools to smoothly blend the image and the black, but 1979 was an ancient time, with tools nonexistent, and most magazines were hand-painted by roomfuls of monks. Or the Starlog art staff just was too rushed. Who knows?

Starlog #27
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

The very first issue of Starlog that I ever ordered as a back issue, #27 has always remained a favorite of mine. It's a very nice-looking issue, and it features some great articles to please the science-fiction fan. And for fans mourning the loss of Battlestar Galactica, it was a treasure trove of information and great photos.

Kerry O'Quinn uses his From the Bridge column to complain about the injection of religion into science stories (using George Pal's Conquest of Space as an example); letter writers fill the Communications section with praise for space artist Adolf Schaller, questions about Obi Wan Kenobi's presence in The Empire Strikes Back, excitement about special effects, bemusement at a religious TV station's censorship of an episode of Battle of the Planets, and more; short news in Log Entries includes note that Saturn 3 has wrapped production, Heavy Metal magazine is making a movie, Soviet displeasure over Battlestar Galactica, Isaac Asimov was approached to write the script for the Battlestar Galactica revival TV film (wouldn't that have been interesting?), and more.

A two-page un-bylined article looks at Filmation's SF-themed programs; Bob Martin previews NBC's Martian Chronicles mini series; Jonathan Eberhart's Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., returns, this time to visit Solis Lacus on Mars; David Houston goes behind the scenes of the model makers working on the troubled SFX of Star Trek -- The Motion Picture; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report looks at the movie's Klingon contingent; David Houston reveals the tug-of-war for special effects capacity between Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; an eight-page yellow-pages insert features a complete Galactica episode guide, spiced up with short articles on a possible revival of the series, Mattel's Galactica toy line; a glossary to Galactica terminology, Marvel Comics' Galactica series, and definitions of the various vehicles in the series. Gerry Anderson's Space Report answers more reader mail, and it includes a flash announcement that the producer's Five Star Five space adventure is about to commence production; David Houston gives an on-the-set sneak preview of The Black Hole; David Gerrold's Rumblings column features "The Return of Solomon Short"; David Houston (who must have written half of this issue) interviews Time After Time director Nicholas Meyer; Bob Woods gives Houston a rest and previews Urshurak, an illustrated fantasy novel from the Brothers Hildebrandt; David Hutchison's SFX section features Brian Johnson and Nick Allder's special effects for Alien; David Houston's Visions column looks at "The Filming of Dune"; and Howard Zimmerman wraps up the busy issue with his Lastword look at NASA, meteors and Meteor.

"The movie will have a lot of explicit sex and nudity and a lot of violence, so it will certainly be rated R. We won't do anything that will get us an X, though, because that would bee the kiss of death. On the other hand, we can't settle for a PG either, because that wouldn't be faithful to the spirit of the magazine."
–Michael Gross, associate producer of Heavy Metal film, quoted in Log Entries

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Starlog #28, November 1979: Stuck with Buck

Decades after this issue was published, longtime Starlog editor David McDonnell would commiserate about life back before cable TV brought us a surplus of science-fiction and fantasy television shows. Back in the late 1970s, SF fans felt compelled to support even weak shows such as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. How else can we explain its featured spot on the cover of issue #28?

Starlog #28
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

It's another fall SF-TV preview, so prepare yourself for a reminder of just what genre television was like more than 30 years ago.

Just because Buck's on the cover, it doesn't mean that Starlog's going to treat the time-travelling hero with kid gloves. Though the behind-the-scenes contents page photo (David Houston snapped Gil Gerard getting a quick shave between scenes) is kind of a neat touch, publisher Kerry O'Quinn takes a mallet to Buck Rogers, mourning the jokey, campy aim of the new show and wishing that O'Quinn's friend Gil Gerard would be given the chance to play the character as a real hero. Letters in the Communications pages include a notice that Starlog will be publishing an Official Starlog Communications Handbook, which would become one of the magazine's unique reader-service products of its lifetime, as well as letters from France, Sweden and even the exotic land of North Carolina; Log Entries short items include the completion of filming of Beyond Westworld, the Starlog staff has a picnic, production news of Altered States, the cancellation of plans for an Atlas Shrugged mini series, and more.

David Houston previews the new Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series from Glen Larson; Alan Brender visits the Universal Studios' Galactica amusement ride; David Gerrold explores "The Cracker Jack Theory of Storytelling"; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report covers the wind-down of the movie's production; David Houston visits Don Post Studios, a famous mask maker; Samuel J. Maronie tells us how The New Adventures of Wonder Woman was done in by Diff'rent Strokes, and he provides an episode guide to the show's ABC and CBS seasons; Sam Maronie's back with an interview with The Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno; Jonathan Eberhart -- though it's not listed as being his Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., column -- nonetheless visits "Venus: Veil by Veil"; Gerry Anderon gives the scoop on his Five Star Five movie; Alan Brender interviews Herb Jefferson Jr., who played Lt. Boomer in Battlestar Galactica; Al Taylor and David Hutchison profile Les Bowie, "The Father of British Special Effects" in the SFX section; David Houston's Visions column explores the origins of Buck Rogers (and thought he touches on it, I don't think he quite nails just how mind-bogglingly racist the first Buck Rogers stories were back in the early 20th century); and, finally, Howard Zimmerman's Lastword column talks about reader praise for his Alien comments and about dealing with mundane journalists who don't understand science fiction.

"The reason we will see a buffoon instead of a hero [in Buck Rogers] is really the subject for a longer article, but it has to do with the way television executives guess at what the public wants to see. In my opinion, the network people have an incredibly low and inaccurate opinion of their viewing audience. So, I will not only be disappointed this fall; I will also be insulted by implication."
–Kerry O'Quinn, publisher, From the Bridge: "Buck in the 20th Century"

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Starlog #29, December 1979: Meteor and Other Disasters

This issue of Starlog is sobering, and not just because of the crap disaster movie on the cover. Kerry O'Quinn shares a tragic story of an SF fan's needless death -- not his usual optimistic-overload. On a lighter note, we see the first ad for Starlog's Official Communications Handbook, which I continue to argue was a unique and smart publication by Starlog.

Starlog #29
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

I should really read the small print more often. For years, I had thought the cover art on Starlog #29 was studio-provided promotional art for the movie Meteor. But on page 4, the "About the cover" note informs us that it is in fact a painting by space artist (and Starlog's own space art advisor) Ron Miller. Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column tells about a teenage boy who was so wrapped up in his favorite TV show, Battlestar Galactica, that he jumped to his death when the show was canceled; Communications letters include a Canadian complaining about the inclusion of articles about rock and disco in Starlog and Future Life, conflicting opinions on Alien, convention reflections, and more; short news items in Log Entries include the return of Duck (that's Duck not Buck) Dodgers, the apparent kibosh on a Galactica TV special, first news of Carl Sagan's upcoming incredible Cosmos series on public television, photos of David Prowse arm-wrestling various Starlog staffers (he wins, except against Susan Sackett), Kerry O'Quinn is attacked by an Alien face-hugger, and more.

David Houston kicks off the Meteor coverage with a report from his visit to the movie's set; Jeff Szalay interviews Ted Parvin, Meteor's producer; Alan Brender interviews Erin Gray, who played Wilma Deering on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report explains what the movie's cast has been doing since they finished shooting the film (Grace Lee Whitney recorded some of her original music, for example); David Hirsch writes a Space Report Extra profiling Space: 1999 miniature maker Martin Bower; the Third Annual Science-Fiction Merchandise Guide fills eight yellow pages inserted in the middle of the magazine; Doug Crepeau writes about Dean Jeffries, who makes futuristic vehicles for science-fiction movies and television programs; David Gerrold's Rumblings column covers "Making Your Own Movie -- or -- The Impossible Dream"; David Houston gives a behind-the-scenes look at the "Mork in Wonderland" episode of Mork and Mindy; Tom McDonough is back with "Unidentified Talking Objects," so you better hope the readers who didn't get his previous satirical article have smartened up since then; Alan Brender interviews Buster Crabbe, the original Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon (and guest star on an episode of the new Buck Rogers in the 25th Century); Al Taylor and David Hutchison continue their extensive SFX profile of British special effects master Les Bowie (complete with an extensive filmography listing); for the first time in recorded history, Starlog features a poem, editor Howard Zimmerman's "Starlust" (illustrated by the great Jack Katz) on page 70; David Houston's Visions column looks at "Artificial Intelligence: Before the First Generation"; and Howard Zimmerman wraps it up with his Firstword column explanation of the magazine's forays into poetry and satire.

"[Buster] Crabbe almost had a small part in Star Wars, and regrets not getting it. 'Lucas,' he explains, 'suggested to the production department, "Why don't you fly Crabbe over? We'll set him in with all the characters from the bar." But they didn't buy the idea. I would have done it for nothing -- just the transportation -- to be in the film."
–Alan Brender, writer, "The New, Original Anthony Rogers – or – Two Bucks in the 25th Century

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Starlog #30, January 1980: The Year of Trek Continues

As we move further through Starlog's fourth year of publication, it becomes increasingly clear that the magazine's design is becoming more standardized and, yes, a bit more boring. (As I noted in a previous issue post, my favorite design period was by previous art directors Howard Cruse and Robert P. Ericksen.) That's not to say the magazine is looking bad. Quite the contrary: It is a well put-together magazine that was head-and-shoulders above any of its competition on the newsstand. I only mourn the loss of some of the more innovative layouts of earlier years. In the magazine's art staff's defense, they were no longer just putting out one or two magazines; Starlog was now publishing monthly, it had its eight-times-a-year sister magazine Future Life, its bimonthly little brothers Fangoria and Cinemagic, plus poster magazines, trade paperback photo guidebooks, one-shot specials such as the John Wayne magazine, special projects such as the Communications Handbook, a 1980 calendar of space art, and licensed movie magazines and posterbooks (such as the 1941 magazine and posterbook, advertised for the first time in this issue, on page 10; by the way, a few years later, we'd learn that the company lost a ton of money on the 1941 products). So even though the magazine's art staff had grown, it was being tasked with producing a lot of material. That's how small publishing houses operate, and Starlog knew how to do it well.

Starlog #30
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

The Year of Trek continues at Starlog, with an iconic Trek photo on the cover (a photo that would be flipped over and used again on the cover of the first Starlog Scrapbook photo magazine in a year or two, and that was used -- in its flipped version -- on the cover of the Japanese edition of Starlog). The magazine also has quite a coup with the first of three excerpts of actor/writer Walter Koenig's book, Chekov's Enterprise. The contents page photo is a beautiful shot of the Enterprise in dry dock. Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column is a grab bag of notes on different topics, which is probably why it's called "Grab Bag Notes"; Communications reader letters include William F. Nolan taking credit for a space comedy script mentioned in a previous issue, Brick Price explaining at length the Star Trek special effects debacle, and even someone's report on their summer vacation. Log Entries short news items include a production report on The Empire Strikes Back, a roundup of British science-fiction television programs, two fans who had a Star Wars-themed wedding, and more.

David Houston interviews Robert Wise, director of Star Trek -- The Motion Picture; Alex York provides a retrospective of a different Gene Roddenberry production, the stillborn effort The Questor Tapes; Walter Koenig's diary from the Star Trek movie, Chekov's Enterprise, begins its three-issue serialization; "Great Moments in Science Fiction" is an illustrated two-page feature; David Gerrold's Rumblings estimates how much the Trek movie will have to earn at the box office to cover its bloated budget; Gerry Anderson's Space Report this month is a one-page photo feature of Martin Bower's miniature work from Space: 1999; David Houston interviews Star Trek -- The Motion Picture production designer Harold Michaelson; Karen E. Willson profiles female stuntwomen; David Hutchison's SFX article explores the art of the matte-scan (focusing on Harrison Ellenshaw); David Houston's Visions column explores "Artificial Intelligence: The Rulers of the World" (obviously including HAL 9000 in the mix); and Howard Zimmerman ends the issue with thoughts on the meaning of the new Trek film.

"At $42,000,000, Star Trek will be the most expensive motion picture ever filmed inside the continental United States and the third most expensive motion picture in history; Cleopatra cost $44,000,000, and the Russian version of War and Peace cost $100,000,000. ... Star Trek is going to have to earn at least $84,000,000 and maybe as much as $126,000,000 (depending on the various deals involved) before it actually shows a profit."
–David Gerrold, columnist, Rumblings: "The Bottom Line"

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Starlog #31, February 1980: Into The Black Hole

Susan Adamo, a future managing editor of the magazine, is now sharing "associate editor" listing with <i>Fangoria</i>'s Robert Martin. And it's just in time for <i>Starlog</i> #31, a Disney-heavy issue. (Okay, there's no connection that I know of between Adamo and Disney.) Also this issue includes the annual postal statement of ownership and circulation. So, as I did with its first appearance in issue #19, here are the main stats: The paid circulation for the issue closest to the statement's filing deadline is listed as 145,637 (a drop of about 50,000 from the previous year), including the number of paid subscriptions of 19,000 (drop of about 4,000).

Starlog #31
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.95

Disney's attempt to enter the big-budget science-fiction sweepstakes with The Black Hole is featured on the cover of this issue. Disney's movie wasn't a big hit, though there are plans afoot three decades later to film a remake of the movie. This issue also features a bit of design re-jiggering, with the column and department headings simplified (or boring-ified, if you're catty). Check out what I mean at the top of the SFX article included in this post.

Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge article is headlined "Touching Each Other," and it features stories about people who were positively affected by Starlog's publications, including the gay youth who says Davd Gerrold's Future Life article about anti-gay legislation in California is the reason he's still alive today; Communications letters include accusations of male chauvinism, additional Wonder Woman episode descriptions, promises of survival for Han Solo, and more; short Log Entries news items include a check-in with Harlan Ellison, a statement from Tom Baker (the then-current Dr. Who), PBS' Lathe of Heaven, and more.

Gerry Anderson's Space Report answers more reader questions (about music for Space: 1999, the disappearance of Space's regular actors in some episodes, and Tony and Maya's love. Aww.) David Houston interviews Disney executive vice president Ron Miller (not to be confused with Starlog's space art advisor, also named Ron Miller) about his company's Black Hole gamble; David Gerrold's Rumblings features the excerpt of a chapter from his new Star Trek novel, The Galactic Whirlpool; David Houston provides a roundup about all of the Empire Strikes Back rumors (such as Boba Fett's background, or with whom Princess Leia will fall in love); it's part two of Walter Koenig's Chekov's Enterprise excerpt; Alan Brender interviews The Black Hole star Joseph Bottoms; Jonathan Eberhart's Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., returns with "Port of Call: Stickball in Stickney"; a list of winners -- with some illustrations -- is printed from the submissions to the magazine's recent design-a-Starlog-pinball-machine contest; Bob Woods previews Elfspire; David Houston interviews film musician Miklos Rozsa; David Hutchison's SFX section looks at the special effects in Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; Mike Jittlov writes about Disney's Major Effects, which stars Joseph Bottoms (he of The Black Hole, interviewed earlier in this issue); David Houston's Visions column continues his examination of artificial intelligence with a look at the Colossus trilogy; and editor Howard Zimmerman's Lastword reviews a year in science-fiction television.

"[Joseph] Bottoms admits there are some similarities to Star Wars in this film, but there are also many differences. 'The robots are cuter. They have big wide eyes and look more like Mickey and Minnie Mouse -- very Disney. And there's no maiden in distress.'"
–Alan Brender, writer, "Joseph Bottoms: The Space Cowboy in Disney's The Black Hole"

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Starlog #32, March 1980: Designing Star Trek

Starlog's innovation shows its head again with the inclusion of a bonus 33-1/3 rpm flexible record of science-fiction sound effects (between pages 18 and 19), created by Kenneth Walker, the magazine's director of special projects. Hence the higher cover price; in fact, the regular cover price will jump 30 cents with the next issue.

Starlog #32
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

Yes, it's more Year of Trek, with a cover photo of Captain Kirk in front of V'ger, the only galactic planet-gobbling super-robot too stupid to wipe a bit of dirt off its nameplate and realize its full name is Voyager. Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column takes on one of his favorite topics, the importance of having and pursuing one's dreams; Communications letters include Moonraker stunts, homemade Nostromo ships, Rocky Jones: Space Ranger, replies to an earlier letter writer's disdain for rock and disco music, and more; short entries in the Log Entries section include notes about Galaxina, merchandising The Black Hole, Gary Coleman guest stars on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and more.

David Houston interviews Star Trek illustrator Maurice Zuberano; Kenneth Walker writes this issue's SFX section, on "Sound Effects: The Electronic Age"; David Houston interviews designer Andy Probert about "The Lost Designs of Star Trek -- The Motion Picture" (with, as you'd expect, some great illustrations and set designs); David Houston shows how the tidal wave special effect was accomplished in Meteor; the Quest department premieres, in which Starlog publishes original amateur text and images by its readers, and this month it features Tracy Warren's designs for NASA exploration vehicles; David Houston interviews Buck Rogers in the 25th Century art director Paul Peters; Alan Brender interviews Trish Stewart from Salvage 1; Gerry Anderson's Space Report column has illustrations and details on the Mark IX Hawk ship; David Gerrold's Rumblings column explains "Starpool"; Walter Koenig's final chapter of his Chekov's Enterprise excerpt is published; Howard Zimmerman takes over the Visions column for the third installment of the look at artificial intelligence, "Robots, Androids and Cyborgs"; and then in his Lastword column Zimmerman provides "A Few Words About UFOs" from a skeptic's point of view.

"Now, don't get me wrong ... I'd love for these sightings to truly be starships bearing superior, enlightened beings. When I was a child I dream constantly (mostly in school) about just such an occurance. To this day I spend many summer evenings at the seashore, my back to the dunes, staring up at the night sky ... hoping. But really -- the odds against little green men from Alpha Centuri (or Zeta Reticuli) paying us a visit in a spaceship are infinitesimal."
–Howard Zimmerman, editor, Lastword: A Few Words About UFOs"

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Starlog #33, April 1980: Harlan Ellison Smashes Star Trek

In many ways, this issue is what a great science fiction media magazine should be. Even covering some less-than-stellar SF productions (The Black Hole, Saturn 3, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), Starlog does a good job of getting the goods and informing and entertaining its readers. Throw in some high-impact controversy, a little science, a new column by Bjo Trimble, and an episode guide, and you've got an issue so strong the reader doesn't mind the recent hike in cover and subscription prices.

Starlog #33
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.25

Harlan! Ellison! Reviews! Star! Trek! Okay, Starlog didn't use the exclamation marks when it put that statement in the roof text on the cover, but it might as well have. This would prove to be arguably the most controversial article in Starlog's history, and deservedly so. After all, some of the other controversies (such as Ellison vs. Mark Hamill) simply really didn't matter beyond the spectacle of famous people arguing. But the multi-issue brouhaha that would ensue from Ellison's negative review of Star Trek -- The Motion Picture was important, because it got to the heart of whether SF fans (and Starlog) just placidly accepted whatever was handed to them by the movie studios, and whether they could handle criticism with which they didn't agree, and whether Gene Roddenberry could be called on the carpet in front of his most fervent fans. What's sometimes overlooked is that this issue also included negative Trek reviews from Howard Zimmerman and David Gerrold, but -- though there are plenty of Gerrold detractors out there -- Harlan Ellison is in a category all his own. A side note: Ellison's review in this issue would lead to him pitching a movie column to Starlog, but he was instead offered a regular slot in sister magazine Future Life, where beginning later this year (1980) he would begin an excellent column (his best nonfiction since The Glass Teat years, in my opinion) that would run until that magazine's untimely death a couple years later. It's worth searching for Ellison's collection of those columns in book form, An Edge in My Voice.

Kerry O'Quinn uses his From the Bridge column to talk about true success (and no, it's not about money); Communications letters include two full pages of positive and negative reader reviews of Star Trek -- The Motion Picture, plus some thoughts on The Black Hole and praise for the magazine's 1980 Space Art Calendar from greats Chesley Bonestell and Ludek Pesek (the latter writing from Switzerland); short Log Entries news items include more on The Empire Strikes Back, Captain Kangeroo's Robot B1, artist Wayne Barlowe's extraterrestrials guide, the premiere of the Star Trek movie, Galactica 1980, and more.

Alan Brender interviews producer and director Stanley Donen in his Saturn 3 preview; David Gerrold's Rumblings reviews Star Trek -- The Motion Picture ("When the film was over, there was half-hearted applause. And the professionals walked out without waiting for all the credits. A bad sign that."); scientist Jesco von Puttkamer shares his 1978 memorandum to Gene Roddenberry about how a wormhole functions; Samuel J. Maronie interviews Dr. William J. Kaufman, who -- in the wake of Disney's The Black Hole film -- talks about real black holes in space; fan extraordinaire Bjo Trimble (the woman who led the letter-writing campaign that saved the original Star Trek television series) launches her new column, Fan Scene, which takes the place of former columnist Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report; David Houston examines "The Kids from KAOS or The Not Ready for Reality Players"; Mike Clark and Bill Cotter make their first appearance in the magazine by researching and writing the complete episode guide to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, printed on an eight-page yellow-pages insert; Samuel J. Maronie interviews veteran actor Maximilian Schell, who plays Dr. Hans Reinhardt in The Black Hole; Karen E. Willson talks with Bob Fletcher, costume designer for the Star Trek film; reader talents on view in the Quest pages include a poet and an SF model maker; Harlan Ellison reviews Star Trek -- The Motion Picture across three glorious black-and-white pages, and the world would never be the same; James H. Burns (aka Jim Burns) examines Star Trek comic books; Gerry Anderson's Space Report looks at Barry Gray's music; David Hutchison looks at Joe Hale's animation that makes special effects come to life in movies; David Houston re-assumes control of his Visions column by looking at "The Visual Art of Science Fiction Cinema"; and editor Howard Zimmerman wraps up a busy issue with his own intelligent reaction to the Star Trek movie.

"The mark of Gene Roddenberry's limits as a creator of stories is heavily, indelibly, inescapably on this production. ... The script has all the same dumb flaws that were perpetrated in the series ... with bigger, prettier pictures. ... The basic story, for all its 'latest state of the art' and its tricked-up trekkiness, is Gene's standard idea, done so often in the series: we go into space, we find God, and God is (pick one) malevolent, crazy, or a child."
–Harlan Ellison, writer, "Ellison Reviews Trek"

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Starlog #34, May 1980: My First Starlog

Okay, here it gets a bit personal. It goes back to Stangel's Super Valu grocery store in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. I, a 12-year-old science fiction fan, had been eyeing and paging through the Starlogs and Fantastic Films and Future Lifes at the magazine rack for months, but only now ("now" being April 1980) did I save up enough of my weekly allowance to purchase a copy of Starlog. I was hooked instantly, and I was a constant reader for three decades until the magazine closed in 2009. I absolutely absorbed Starlog #34, and decades later I could still recount many of the articles even without picking up the issue. The reason wasn't quite as pathetic as it sounds; I did have a life, but in Starlog I found two things: a magazine devoted to something I was beginning to get into big-time (i.e., science fiction), and a publication that wasn't afraid to challenge me and take me outside of my comfort zone. The only downside of this is that this issue was devoted to Galactica 1980, and I'd love to say that I was so precocious as a 12-year-old that I knew that the original Galactica (not to mention the 1980 rebirth) was silliness; but the truth is that even with a dozen years under my belt, I was totally swept away with the saga and the mythos of Battlestar Galactica. I did understand that Galactica 1980 was a low-budget and poorly constructed retread of the show, so give me that. But still, that color shot on the cover of the Galactica being attacked by a Cylon fighter -- well, I just had to have that magazine.

Starlog #34
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.25

Starlog #34 includes a neat free insert: a Star Wars cast photo, and – on the other side of the binding – a Fangoria Count Fangor bookmark. Otherwise, it's a Galactica- and Empire-heavy issue. Perfect food for a 12-year-old science-fiction fan in 1980. Also, an armload of new Starlog photo guidebooks are advertised: Spaceships (the expanded edition), Science Fiction Heroes, Special Effects Volume II, and Science Fiction Villains.

If you like Cylon raider photos, such as the one on the cover, you'll geek out over the contents page photo of raiders among the clouds; Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge is another Grab Bag Notes column, this time covering everything from digital recordings, to reader reactions to his previous columns, to why he's adding a comic strip to his Fangoria magazine (over the objections of Fangoria's editor, "Uncle Bob" Martin); reader letters in the Communications pages include reactions to O'Quinn's "Dreams" editorial, thoughts on Galactica 1980, playing the recent special effects record, and more; Log Entries is filled with short news items such as a report on Forrest J. Ackerman's science fiction museum, first news of Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars, Howard Cruse releases a new edition of his Barefootz Funnies, the death of Don Post Sr., and more.

Karen E. Willson interviews Robyn Douglass, who plays Jamie on Galactica 1980; Willson also interviews Robbie Rist, who might well be a wonderful person but who played the annoying Doctor Z on Galactica 1980; David Gerrold discusses writing, and he begins his column with the words that introduced me to Harlan Ellison ("Harlan Ellison once said that a fresh litchi nut is the third best thing in the world. I thought for a moment, then asked, "What's the second?" "Sex, of course." "Oh – then, what's the first?" He blinked. "David, I'm surprised at you! It's writing!"); David Houston interviews Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner; Bjo Trimble's Fan Scene highlights the Fantasy Artists Network; Jonathan Eberhart's Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., visits the Martian moon of Phobos; the Quest page includes some Australian readers who make SF models; a two-page color photo spread revisits The Martian Chronicles; Karen E. Willson interviews Tom Baker, Britain's Doctor Who; Alan Brender reports from the first Doctor Who convention in North America; Gerry Anderson's Space Report has the first part of "The Mysterious Unknown Force"; Samuel J. Maronie interviews Felix Silla, who plays the uber-annoying Twiki on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; David Houston writes the SFX section, looking at the Halloween production of Bob Burns; David Houston's Visions column looks at the work of William Cameron Menzies; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword covers some of the many flaws in Galactica 1980.

"You know, when I got the character I was desperately out of work and glad to have the contract. Fortunately, I signed the contract before anybody else did. I remember the wonderful feeling I had when I signed this beautiful contract, which was going to put me into television history because of the formula. Even if I had been a disastrous failure I would have gone into history as the first failure, because no one has failed Dr. Who."
–Tom Baker, actor, interviewed in "A Visit with The Doctor (Who): Tom Baker"

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Starlog #35, June 1980: The Year of Empire!

Okay, so technically this is the final issue in the Year of Trek at Starlog, but The Empire Strikes Back struck a month early. Over the next year, Empire would command three of the magazine's covers (including one of my all-time favorites, which comes up in two months) and countless articles. After Star Trek -- The Motion Picture had its 11-month year in the sun, the Star Wars sequel moves in. Unlike Trek, Empire would be almost a complete critical success. Science-fiction magazines like Starlog live and die by how they latch onto the big movies and TV hits of of the day, so it's natural for its editors to pivot quickly to a galaxy far, far away ...

Starlog #35
72 pages (including cover)
Cover price: $2.25

As the cover's roof text declares: At Last: The Empire Strikes Back! That enthusiasm is spread throughout the issue, which includes an extra four-page photo spread from the movie (and if you've ever been in magazine publishing, you know it is usually not financially feasible to add four pages instead of eight, just because of the way the printing presses work). But there's other interesting stuff in this issue, including a good long look at Star Blazers (aka Space Cruiser Yamato) and previews of many upcoming productions. Also this issue, we have the first appearance of another extension of the Starlog brand: Starlog Video, classic SF TV and movies on VHS or beta (for only $59.95 each!! -- oh, those early days of home video!). A very cool idea, though expensive and ahead of its time. By the time home video hits big in a few years, Starlog Video will have been long gone. Also this issue is the first notice of Starlog Records' latest release, and it's a coup: Bernard Herrmann's score for the Hitchcock classic North by Northwest.

Kerry O'Quinn kicks off the party in his From the Bridge column by exploring "Invisible Death," really a continuation of his "Dreams" theme about the need to pursue dreams and to not let other people deter you from your passions; Communications letters include the first fiery batch of reader responses to Harlan Ellison's (and David Gerrold's and Howard Zimmerman's) negative review of Star Trek -- The Motion Picture, as well as the evergreen complaint that Starlog disses non-Trek TV shows, reactions to Galactica 1980, and more; Short news items in Log Entries include a call for SFX help on the TV special The Tears of Thoria, reprints of the UK comics hero Dan Dare, new Bugs Bunny shorts, Kenner's Empire Strikes Back toys, announcement of th second annual Short Film Search, and more.

Alan Brender interviews George McGinnis, designer on the Disney SF film The Black Hole; Karen E. Willson interviews Bruce Lansbury, supervising producer for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (and which, in a photo, reminds us all that the late actor Peter Graves guest starred on that show); David Gerrold's Rumblings discusses how Hollywood misses the magic when it brings science-fiction stories to the screen; Bill Cotter & Mike Clark share an extensive background on a classic (to some) TV series and movie, "Up from the Depths: The Making & Breaking of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"; Gerry Anderson's Space Report covers "The Mysterious Unknown Force, Part II"; David Houston kicks off the Empire coverage by interviewing SFX co-supervisor Brian Johnson (the article includes the four-page bonus photo section, illustrated with some of the movie's scenes that would become iconic); Bob Woods continues the fun with his interview with Lando Calrissian himself, Billy Dee Williams; an unbylined one-page article updates readers on happenings at the Star Wars Fan Club (which also advertises earlier in the magazine; draw your own conclusions); the Quest reader-talent page includes Doug Chaffee's illustrations (quite good, I might add); David Houston writes a preview of Universal Pictures' slate of productions for 1980, which include "More Fuel for the Science-Fiction Boom" (such as Flash Gordon, the Get Smart movie The Nude Bomb, and more); James H. Burns introduces American audiences to a Japanese classic in "SF Animation at Its Best: Make Way for Star Blazers"; Susan Adamo's first feature article is a preview of Battle Beyond the Stars, in which she interviews director Jimmy Murakami about this Roger Corman SF remake of The Seven Samari (scripted by John Sayles and starring Richard Thomas); F.W. Evans writes this month's SFX section, focusing on "The Crew" -- a behind-the-scenes look by a special effects crew member at the miniature work on Steven Spielberg's 1941; David Houston's Visions column looks at the visualization of William Cameron Menzies' Invaders from Mars; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword sort of echoes Gerrold's column by talking about the compromises made in bringing good SF to the screen.

"Despite Star Blazers' American hassles, Space Cruiser Yamato continues to be one of Japan's most popular television shows. Yoshinobu Nishizaki has just finished production on 26 new episodes that reportedly depict Desslok and the Star Force uniting against a common enemy that threatens the existence of both humans and Gamilons. Marcella would eventually like to import this third season, but is currently going to concentrate on getting Star Blazers seen by a wider segment of the American public."
–James H. Burns, writer, "SF Animation at Its Best: Make Way for Star Blazers"

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Starlog #36, July 1980: Four More Years!

Starlog celebrates the completion of its fourth year of life (and success) with another 100-page "SCIENCE FICTION SPECTACULAR," as it announces on the cover, before it starts loading on the exclamation points. Just like its third-anniversary issue, #24, this is a jam-packed magazine with the normal coverage of upcoming and current SF movie, TV, graphic, and literary efforts, along with a special 34-page color section that examines the past year in the genre.

Starlog #36
100 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

The cover design is a repeat of the blocked-photo layout last seen on the third-anniversary cover. We get another two-page From the Bridge column by publisher Kerry O'Quinn, but ther's not a repeat of the two-page table of contents. (There is, however, another of Howard Zimmerman's photo collages illustrating the contents page.) Today it is not unusual for a niche-market magazine to have 100 or more pages in every issue (especially if it's published in the UK), but in 1980, it was a rare thing, certainly in the science-fiction media magazine field. So this special issue was an annual event.

Kerry O'Quinn's extra-long From the Bridge editorial looks at opening up avenues of exploration and intellectual stimulation -- it's vintage O'Quinn, and in only the third issue of the magazine since I'd become a reader, it confirmed in my that this was my magazine, speaking to 12-year-old me; letters in the Communications section range from praise for the Tom Baker interview to comments on women in SF to follow-up on Rocky Jones to a high school mainframe computer user who discusses his Star Trek game; short news items in Log Entries include Star Wars characters guest starring on The Muppet Show, Bob Burns' time machine, Dr. Joseph Veverka on solar sails, an update on the Heavy Metal movie, first word on The Quatermass Conclusion, and more.

David Houston interviews Gary Kurtz, producer of The Empire Strikes Back (and who actually told Starlog, "Here's how it goes. There are nine stories: three trilogies of three stories each. Star Wars was the first story in the middle trilogy." Oops.); David Gerrold's Rumblings column "The Write Way," offers writing suggestions -- and he begins by relating his rejection of a young writer who asked for help, saying he can't offer it, yet then he goes on to offer writing help -- vintage Gerrold; Karen E. Willson interviews Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols; Willson also interviews Glen Larson, producer of Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (I'll bet he leaves Galactica 1980 off his resume).

In the special anniversary section, Samuel J. Maronie provides an overview of science-fiction television in the 1979-1980 season; there are photo reviews of recent films Alien, Star Trek -- The Motion Picture, The Black Hole, Saturn 3, Moonraker, and The Empire Strikes Back; there's a two-page SF collage by Howard Zimmerman (a detail of which was shown on the contents page); famous science-fiction professionals send in their anniversary congratulations to the magazine (such as illustrations by Jack Katz and Howard Cruse or Buster Crabbe's "Congratulations on your first four years. Yours has been an excellent job"); Jonathan Eberhart writes about the future of exploration in the solar system; a four-page space art section highlights some beautiful paintings by artists David Hardy and Gary LaSasso; Karen Willson and David Heath provide a roundup of upcoming science-fiction and fantasy offerings from the various production studios; Susan Adamo and John Clayton (who would soon be named the magazine's staff photographer, but is only listed as a contributor this issue) provide a three-page topic index to the last year of Starlogs.

Susan Adamo also interviews Durinda Rice Wood, the costume designer for the Battle Beyond the Stars motion picture; Gerry Anderson's Space Report completes its look at "The Mysterious Unknown Force," this time by printing letters from readers offering their interpretations; David Houston interviews Tom Leetch, co-producer of the Disney movie The Watcher in the Woods, starring Bette Davis; Samuel J. Maronie interviews Yvette Mimieux, star of The Black Hole; David Prowse (aka Darth Vader) is back for his third Starlog interview, armed with more complaints against the producers -- this time he's interviewed by David Hirsch; Frank Winter explores "Ye Olde Space Music," scores for classic SF films; an unbylined article examines science-fiction games; Al Taylor, Bill Hume and Mike Smith team up to write "Alien Worlds: Science Fiction Radio Rides Again"; David Houston's Visions column continues his look at "The Visual Art of SF Cinema" by examining the art of freeze frames ("... single shots that contain so much information, or information of such startling quality, they seem to slam right into the subconscious center of emotions"); and editor Howard Zimmerman uses his Lastword column to offer the First Annual Zimmerman/SF Awards (let's just say that Meteor does not fare well).

"Starlog, from the very start, set as one of our prime editorial goals, to be an intellectual inspiration to our readers. ... [W]oven into the fabric of the magazine, is an attitude toward new ideas, toward intellectual explorations, toward creativity and a bold, positive approach to life. This attitude is a vitally important ingredient of our publishing philosophy and, I believe, of our success."
–Kerry O'Quinn, publisher, From the Bridge: "Opening Doors"

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Starlog #37, August 1980: The Empire Strikes Back

The Year of Empire continues with Starlog #37, featuring one of the best covers in the magazine's history. Yes, I'm biased, because I like space opera, but it's still a great photo even accounting for my personal likes. It's a great action image from the big hit movie of the moment.

Starlog #37
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.25

Everyone likes Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, it seems. The publisher, the editor, the audience -- they all chime in with love for the fifth (or the second) Star Wars film. But even for the non-Wars fan, this issue has something, whether it be Buck Rogers behind-the-scenes stuff or further coverage of the Star Trek movie.

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn gushes with affection for The Empire Strikes Back in his From the Bridge column; reader letters cover Tom Baker's Doctor Who, a Fantasy Artists Network update, the Academy Awards, and more; Log Entries short news items include the cancellation of Galactica 1980, the first issue of Action Comics sold for a then-record of $6,000, the Urshurak movie, obituaries for producer George Pal and director Alfred Hitchcock, Ben Bova and Harlan Ellison win their copyright infringement suit against ABC and Paramount, and more.

David Packer makes his first byline appearance in the magazine with an interview of Harrison Ford, Star Wars' Han Solo; Bjo Trimble's Fan Scene column explores Los Angeles-area science-fiction fandom; David Gerrold's Rumblings talks computers and stories; an un-bylined one-page article shares some man-on-the-street reviews from people who've just seen The Empire Strikes Back (and included in the interviewees is actor Jerry Orbach and his son); Karen E. Willson writes part I of her making-of series on the production of the Buck Rogers episode "The Flight of the War-Witch"; Dennis Ahrens gives the background on the soundtrack to The Empire Strikes Back; journalist Samuel J. Maronie shares some anecdotes from his career, including interviewing Charlton Heston in a men's room; Maury Schallock and Susan Adamo describe how the miniature spacecraft for Battle Beyond the Stars were created; David Hutchison profiles Harvey Mayo and his miniature furniture creations (including a Wellsian time machine); the Quest page includes a short-short story by William Cofflin and some artwork by Jack Imes; Kenneth Walker looks at the creation of the music for the movie First Men in the Moon; Alan Brender interviews Doctor Who script editor and author Terrance Dicks; Karen E. Willson interviews Persis Khambatta, who plays Ilia in Star Trek -- The Motion Picture; Mike Jittlov interviews himself for the SFX section, "Ask Mr. Wizard, by Mike Jittlov: Master of Speed and Time"; David Houston's Visions column looks at interludes in SF movies that provide moments of big emotional impact, citing Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Superman and Star Trek -- The Motion Picture; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword gushes more praise for The Empire Strikes Back and shares some more thoughts on Galactica 1980.

"'Remember when Mark [Hamill] and I break into the cell block to free the Princess? That scene was written for me to speak into the communicator (before blasting it), but when it came to producing confusion -- I mean the first time anyone would ever see Han Solo confused, the man who always knew exactly what he was doing ... Well, you put him out in front of the thing and -- nothing! That was the joke of that. I never bothered to learn the exact lines so that I could really be confused. That's technique,' Ford adds with a chuckle."
–Harrison Ford, interviewed by David Packer, "An Interview with Harrison Ford"

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Starlog #38, September 1980: Spielberg Strikes Back

Steven Spielberg got some big box office in 1980 when he re-released his Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a Special Edition. Starlog certainly played it up, taking a brief break from celebrating The Empire Strikes Back (though David Gerrold has his not-necessarily-warmly-welcomed thoughts on that movie) to go inside the mothership.

A cover photo note: As the magazine did with a couple other covers (such as its first Alien cover), the photo on the cover has been artificially extended to reach the top of the cover; however, unlike past such covers where the top of the cover was black, so the dividing line between the original cover and the filler background is hard to find, this time there's quite a sharp distinction -- just look about midway down the "R" and the "L" in the magazine's logo. Tsk, tsk. In staff news, Ira Friedman is no longer listed as one of the publishers, and Rita Eisenstein's name take its place beneath Norman Jacobs' and Kerry O'Quinn's at the top of the masthead. On the merchandising front, Starlog announces its second calendar, this one, like the first in 1980, is devoted to space art; also, the first edition of The Best of Starlog is advertised on page 48.

Starlog #38
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.25

For someone who fell so deeply in love with Star Wars: A New Hope, David Gerrold sure finds a lot to pick apart in its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. But a good critic's job is to not worry about being contrarian, and even to leap at the opportunity when it presents itself. (Still, just between you and me, Empire is better than New Hope, right?)

Kerry O'Quinn kicks off the magazine with his introduction of a bit of Ayn Rand into his From the Bridge column; Communications letters include a statement from Starlog's publishers (that had been read to the audience of a June 22 event of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror) remembering the late producer George Pal, plus reader reactions to Empire Strikes Back, and more; Log Entries short news items include an update on Carl Sagan's Cosmos, info on Doctor Who's robot dog K9, Gil Gerard's appearance to support the Special Olympics, and more.

David Hutchison pens the cover story ("One Step Closer: CE3K: The Special Edition"); David Gerrold shares his problems with The Empire Strikes Back in his Rumblings column ("The Empire Strikes Out"); Karen E. Willson interviews De Forest Kelley, Star Trek's "Bones" McCoy; Gerry Anderson's Space Report excerpts the Space: 1999 writer's guide; Jim Wynorski, before he became a low-budget filmmaker, wrote articles for Starlog and Fangoria -- here he talks with Bill Malone and Bob Short about their horror film Scared to Death; Samuel J. Maronie interviews Tim O'Connor, who portrays Dr. Huer on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; David Hirsch compiles an episode guide to Buck Rogers' first (1979-1980) season; Susan Adamo previews the SF spoof Galaxina, speaking with director/screenwriter William Sachs; Quest prints model designs from Australian SF fan J.T. Millett; Karen E. Willson's multi-part making-of series on the Buck Rogers episode "The Flight of the War Witch" continues; Samuel J. Maronie provides a retrospective of the work of George Pal; C.M. Stevenson previews Ray Harryhausen's Clash of the Titans; Alan Brender interviews artist David Mattingly and shows off some of Mattingly's great paintings; Bjo Trimble's Fan Scene relates the visits of some foreign fans; David Houston's Visions (though it's not bylined this issue, I'm guessing that he wrote it) covers pre-Star Wars film scores; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword complains about the lack of quality SF productions.

"Even after Star Trek was cancelled, NBC made so much money from the syndication that they referred to the show as the '79 jewels.' It's a show that never really let go of any of us. And I don't know if it ever will."
–De Forest Kelley, actor, interviewed by Karen E. Willson: "A Candid Conversation with a 'Simple Country Doctor': De Forest Kelley"

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From WEIMAR WORLD SERVICE

Starlog #39, October 1980: Improving Buck Rogers

In this fall TV season preview issue, we get a mixture of hope (for an improved Buck Rogers), great classic SF coverage, and an all-new knock-down, drag-out controversy. Fun! Also, the Starlog magazine family grows, with the model-making quarterly Fantasy Modeling, which would only last six issues but was a well-done publication nonetheless.

Starlog #39
68 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.25

Controversy and politics are on display this issue. Like the military draft? You won't like this issue's editorial. Like David Gerrold? Then you won't like the Fred Freiberger interview. Read on. In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O'Quinn lets his libertarian flag fly by telling a parable about (and against) the draft, registration for which has just been approved by President Carter; letters to the editors in Communications range from criticism of O'Quinn's anti-censorship editorial, praise for the Harrison Ford interview two issues ago, speculation about who "the other" is to whom Yoda refers (one of the letter writers gets it right), and more; Log Entries short news items include controversy over whether Alien has actually recorded a profit or whether it's just more funny accounting by Hollywood studies, an auction of SF memorabilia (with the headline "Auctions Speak Louder than Words"), a visit by Starlog staffers to a space art exhibit at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and more.

David Gerrold's Rumblings features some spirited letters from readers; Karen E. Wilson outlines some of the big changes planned for the new season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century -- a revamping that would take the show in a more Star Trekish direction; David Hirsch writes Gerry Anderson's Space Report, featuring the second part of "The Space: 1999 Writer's Guide"; Sam Maronie previews various PBS science series, including Carl Sagan's great Cosmos; Alan Brender reports on the plans to rescue Mork & Mindy from slumping ratings; Brender also covers the new season of The Incredible Hulk; C.M. Stevenson previews the new year in Saturday morning entertainment; Mike Conroy, James Buck and David Hirsch collaborate to cover British science-fiction offerings; an un-bylined one-page article focuses on Boris Vallejo's small-scale figurine models, feeding you into the full-page ad on the next page featuring the new Fantasy Modeling magazine, which just happens to have Boris' model on the cover of the premiere issue; Jonathan Eberhart's Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., uncovers Venus; Tom Corbett himself -- i.e., actor Frankie Thomas -- pens a retrospective of his 1950s'-era science fiction television program, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet; David Hirsch previews the 12 TV movies made from repackaged episodes of Battlestar Galactica, and he includes an episode guide to the movies; in the opening salvo of what would become a pretty nasty intra-Starlog and external controversy, Mike Clark and Bill Cotter produce the first part of their interview with controversial television producer Fred Freiberger (Star Trek, Space: 1999), who shares some strong criticism of a certain David Gerrold and his writing; David Hutchison's SFX section profiles "The Brothers Skotak: Roger Corman's New Model Makers"; David Houston's Visions continues looking at SF and fantasy film music, this time taking on Star Wars; and Howard Zimmerman shares some -- can it be true? -- cautiously optimistic thoughts on the future of SF television; and on that note, the issue -- and maybe the universe -- ends.

"[David Gerrold] condemned the people on the show [Star Trek] as not being professional because he claims they knew the show was going to be canceled as production started for the third year. This is an outright misstatement of fact. If you don't like what was up on the screen, it didn't have anything to do with cancellation."
–Fred Freiberger, producer, interviewed by Mike Clark and Bill Cotter: "An Interview with Fred Freiberger"

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Starlog #40, November 1980: Mark Hamill Redux

The Year of Empire continues, with Starlog publishing its delayed interview with Star Wars star Mark Hamill (this time, he doesn't go to war with Harlan Ellison). The Hamill interview was originally scheduled to appear a couple issues earlier, but it was delayed due to scheduling changes by Hamill. And a tidbit for inveterate staffbox-watchers: David Houston is no longer listed as the magazine's West Coast editor; nor is he even listed as a conributor, though his Visions column does still carry his byline. And Starlog releases the latest in its line of trade-paperback photo guidebooks: Science Fiction Toys & Models (inaccurately listed as Toys & Games in the payment coupon, if you're picky enough to notice).

Starlog #40
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.25

This issue: Author/columnist David Gerrold strikes back at Fred Freiberger, and also takes a big swipe at Starlog's publishers and editor, plus Freiberger himself is back for part two of his interview, this time covering his tenure on Space: 1999.

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column is another "Grab Bag Notes," this time covering Swedish censorship, Short Film Search info, and comments overheard at science-fiction conventions; Communications letters include positive and negative feedback on David Gerrold's review of The Empire Strikes Back, British commiseration over a lack of SF TV, an unusual degree of anger over a mild comic, and more; short news items in Log Entries include a threat that Dino De Laurentiis is about to unleash his Flash Gordon movie, more film studio money games (this time concerning the Superman movies, and there's a separate update on the Alien revenue controversy), Sweden deems The Empire Strikes Back "too scary and too violent" for people under the age of 15, and more.

David S. Packer interviews Mark Hamill, who discusses his work in The Empire Strikes Back and says that he's as much in the dark as everyone else about what will happen in -- as it's still being called at this point -- Revenge of the Jedi; Bjo Trimble's Fan Scene responds to reader letters; comedian Rick Overton is profiled (though mostly in pictures, including several showing his science-fiction models); Alan Brender interviews Jane Seymour, who discusses her new film Somewhere in Time, and her past work on Live and Let Die and Battlestar Galactica; Gerry Anderson's Space Report is a photo feature on Martin Bower's models of spaceships belonging to various SF villains; Karen E. Willson wraps up her three-part article exploring the making of the Buck Rogers episode "The Flight of the War Witch," and she ends the article with some extended thoughts on where and how an episode can go flat; the Fourth Annual Science-Fiction Merchandise Guide is published in an eight-page yellow-pages insert; Karen E. Willson interviews Gene Roddenberry, who discusses the making of Star Trek-- The Motion Picture and responds to Harlan Ellison's extensive critique of the film in Starlog #33; the Quest page includes a short story by Sheldon E. Inkol and a comic strip by John Hall; this is shaping up to be a Karen E. Willson issue, as she interviews Gil Gerard about his frustrations and hopes for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Mike Clark and Bill Cotter continue their two-part interview with producer Fred Freiberger, who discusses his work on Space: 1999; David Hutchison covers the back-stage SFX work on The Empire Strikes Back; David Gerrold defends himself and Dorothy Fontana against claims by Fred Freiberger in part one of the Clark/Cotter interview, and he criticizes publisher Kerry O'Quinn and editor Howard Zimmerman for publishing an article in which the interviewee was "suckered into a phony feud"; David Houston's Visions column continues looking at music and genre films, focusing on the work of John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith; and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword sort-of responds to Gerrold's complaints (in particular, the "phony feud" bit), and also explains why sometimes the magazine doesn't deliver what it previews in the Next Month box (which reminds me of Fangoria editor Bob Martin's response to that topic, in which he wrote that he kind of considers the next-month box to be the science-fiction section of his magazine).

"I thought that it was an excellent review, except that Harlan, as usual, would like to escape dealing with the fact that motion pictures, like television and most entertainment today, is a blend of art and commerce. I wish Harlan's adolescent wishes ... that money would cease to be an influence ... I wish they could come true. But [that wish] is not the real world that we live in."
–Gene Roddenberry, producer, interviewed by Karen E. Willson: "An Interview with Gene Roddenberry: The Man Behind the Myth"

This is a work in progress. Check back regularly for the rest of my ongoing compendium of Starlog -- the complete run, nearly 400 issues of the science fiction film/TV/books/etc. magazine.

In the meantime, as I continue adding them on this site, you can see the up-to-date project on my blog.

Copyright © 2010 John Zipperer, except for Starlog images and text, which is the property of Starlog.