Star Trek: The Animated Series Coloring Book

The Animated Series (or TAS as it is known) holds a lot of nostalgia for me and many others. Although I was already a fan of Trek before I saw it, TAS was really my first extensive introduction to the series, since it was in first-run, while in the early 70's the original series re-runs had not kicked in to the extent they would a few years later, and were harder to find. Although I never had a TAS coloring book, I have found an excellent site by Kail Tescar devoted to the series that has created an entire gallery of such pages! Go here to view them, then print your choices out and let your kids have at it! You can help a little too.

Below are some samples from the site. Sharpen your crayons and  have fun!

Bonus: a sexy painting of Lt. Uhura found online for your enjoyment!

View the full size image here.

Source:  http://instagram.com/p/XXtN2PtcNj/#

1980 Interview with Gene Roddenberry

From issue #40 of Starlog, published in November of 1980, comes this interview with the Great Bird about the Star Trek: the Motion Picture, in which he looks back on what it turned out to be. The points he makes about the differences between a movie and a TV show are still valid when applied to the recent movies by JJ Abrams. Great pic of Gene in the Captain's chair!

(Click on images to enlarge. Once open you may have to click on the image again to view full size.) 

Bonus: below, "Men In Tights,"  a b&w production shot of Kirk and Charlie Evans about to wrestle in the gym. When watching this scene, it might seem like Kirk is bullying him, but he is just trying to teach him social interaction skills and how to take competition without getting angry. Charlie fails to learn the lesson.

Bonus: Another page from one of the coloring books that were put out to tie-in with ST:TMP, but seemed to be recycled material from earlier TOS versions. Can you figure out what they are looking at?

Star Trek Aliens Coloring Book

On a lighter note this time, I'm featuring some select pages from a coloring book that features (mostly) the Star Trek aliens. This was published in 1986, and, although the interior artwork by Paul Abrams is passable, with decent facial features, the artist clearly was not familiar with Trek lore or designs, and was only working from a few isolated photos; much like the artist on the Gold Key comics in the early days. But if they were working from reference photos, how do you account for the strange looking alien on the cover that is "supposed" to be a spying Klingon (who looks like Lorne Greene), but is sporting rounded bumps on either side of his head? Oh, well, it's just for kids, who's gonna notice? (Says the artist.) T'Lar seems a bit taken aback by it, though... either that, or she's totally checking out his butt.

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"Oh, Bill, I've found your hairpiece, do you mind not leaving it lying around?"

I know that if you have any vintage Star Trek coloring books you are not going to let your kids color in them. So, print out these pages and hand them out to the kids with your blessing!

Below, a nice group shot, based on the familiar publicity photo we all know and love. So far, so good...

But below the lack of familiarity with the show manifests itself as a purely imaginary picture of Spock's father and mother. But you have to admit, his mother really is a hottie! And with a dad that looks like a cocky and confident Vulcan Sean Connery, a Spock from this background would have probably been portrayed by a super-cool and swinging James Coburn (click here for my interpretation of how this would have played out; I've always thought Coburn would have made an excellent Vulcan). Coburn's super agent Flint had a similar nerve pinch, too. By the way, did you know that Spock's half-brother Sybok was originally supposed to be played by Sean Connery? Tru dat! Man, I got off on a tangent there...

"He always liked Sybok better than me. I think it's because of the beard."

He's blue, and worried, because he's missing an antenna. Since he's subtly pointing to his thigh, it's possible that he wants you to search his pants for it.

Mr. Chekov brandishing... something. A squirt gun? A futuristic stapler? One thing's for certain, it sure ain't no phaser. Pavel was getting into his new position in Security, so color his shirt red, for much blood, pain and screaming.

"Hey, Uhura! I think I've found a cure for PMS!"

"Please deposit 50 cents for one more minute, Doctor."

Rubber gloves donned, the crew braces for the mess they have to clean up from the captain's sick targ.

"Who took my burlap sack? I'm naked and it's freezing on this blasted ship! And would it kill ya to leave a little salt scattered around?"

"Yo inna heap o' trouble, bo-ah!"

Below, the cat may be giant, but why is the table leg also giant? It seems the artist thought that Kirk had been shrunk. Again, nitpicking on a kid's coloring book. I almost feel like a bully doing it.

"And hurry the **** up about it, you sotted Scot!"

Below, a couple more pages that feature Uhura, but the facial resemblance is not that great, neither is the body type accurate. She looks more like agent Lana Kane from the cartoon series "Archer." But that's okay, because she is made of total hotness also.

"I just love stroking Bill's hairpiece. Listen , it's purring!"

"I just know this planet is going to have some great stores for shopping!"

Dec 7th: Happy Birthday ST:TMP!

Star Trek may have been born on September 8, 1966, but it was born again on December 7th, 1979. It's rebirth was a long time coming; although in retrospect it doesn't seem that long, for those of us who lived through the 70's as a fan, it was very long indeed. Now, as I look back, it's hard to believe that 31 years have passed since the newest Star Trek in over a decade was bursting upon us, heralded in the TV spots by the weighty tones of the equally weighty Orson Welles. This wasn't just a new movie... it was an Event!

(If you are new to this site, and haven't yet plumbed its depths, click on this link for all the entries tagged Star Trek: The Motion Picture to enjoy the many articles and items I've posted so far. It will take you back to that exciting time!) Here's an article you can skip to that came out the weekend of the movie premiere that spotlights Stephen Collins.

Here is a short article from issue #17 of Starlog (published in October of 1978) that features the upcoming movie, as it was just getting underway; for real this time.

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Here's the Star Trek Report from Susan Sackett from the same issue. There's a line in it from a hopeful writer about a planned book set "70 years in Star Trek's future." Don't think the book got published, but it is interesting that it just about coincides with the time of the future Next Generation series that came later. Coincidence? Or the germ of the idea to advance things to that time period? Like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know.

Bonus #1: Here's one of several coloring books that came out in 1979 using publicity photos from the movie for front and back covers. A nice picture on the front that I don't have anywhere else.

The phrasing of the text on the back is amusing: "The Enterprise has beamed down on you..." Huh?

Bonus #2: A nice b&w publicity shot, taken very early in the shoot (possibly on the first day) of the crew all together.

Nichelle's uniform would have been so much better by leaving off the pants and letting her wear high black boots.

And one more bonus, a nice photo of our heroes in those infamous one-piece jumpsuits that left nothing to the imagination below the waist.

One word that describes the movie that really doesn't fit any of the sequels in "epic." The scope, the leisuirely pace to enjoy the scale, and the lofty ideas and concepts all combine to take one on what feels like an important journey, and not just an adventure. The tagline, "The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning" is accurate (if not in the intended meaning), in that the action/adventure would only come in followups; but this one, more than any other, had the feeling of a truly big-budget film, and not just a movie. The oft-maligned drydock tour of the ship, criticized by many as too long and only being a showcase for special effects, was for me the highlight of it all; the long-hoped-for lingering look, in close-up detail, had tears of awe flowing from my eyes the first time I beheld the starship in all it's glory. I knew how Kirk felt as he gazed at her with love!

That said, the tightened and finished Director's Cut is the superior version, and the only one I take out to watch now. I look forward to doing that once more to celebrate this 31st birthday!

ST:6 "The Undiscovered Country" review

From December 7th, 1991 comes this Miami Herald review of the sixth Trek outing, the last with all the original cast. Written by someone that is obviously not a fan, it is a lukewarm review that manages to denigrate the entire series of movies. Take it with a grain of salt, as I did when I read it. You can tell when a reviewer is prejudiced against a film's source material to the point that they can't write a fair review.

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One of the most laughably ridiculous phrases is when he writes that the movie "zips and snorts and wheezes past sets and situations that seemed new when George Lucas invented them for Star Wars in the 70's." O-o-o-kay, we know where you're coming from now, Bill.

Bonus: Below, from around 1981 comes a clipping from the kid's section of the Sunday paper (from Beckley, WV) about Leonard Nimoy...

Bonus #2: Below is another of the Random House Trek greeting cards that came out in 1976, which I picked up at the store Starship Enterprises from this display. Needless to say, I didn't give these to people for their birthdays or any other occasion; they stayed in my collection.

Below is the inside of the card.

Bonus #3: Below, another page from one of the Trek coloring books from the late 70's.

"Nyota, what say we get together after our shift tonight?"

"Your cabin or mine, sugah?"

1987 Article On Sulu's Solo Trek

From issue #119 of Starlog Magazine, dated June, 1987, comes this short article on an early fan film, "Yorktown: A Time to Heal," another of those that never seemed to get finished and the footage seldom seen. This one is significant in that they snagged Sulu himself, George Takei, for their home movie. (One cannot help but think of Galaxy Quest a little here.) The trailer, which can be found online, looks about like you'd expect for the time, and in light of today's more polished fan efforts, is somewhat embarrassing to watch... probably for George more than anyone else involved, in retrospect. The film was never finished and the footage tucked away by one of the main masterminds, Stan Woo.

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Another thing setting the production apart from the average fan film was the involvement of several Hollywood professionals, as the article explains. For this reason alone, the footage might be worth watching. Who knows, maybe someday the film will be finished with digital effects and made available to watch. Even raw unedited film would be good to see, for the historical value.

Many, if not most fan films that are planned or actually begun fall to the same fate, thanks in part to the large amount of money and work required, for very little (if any) payback; other than the pleasure of watching one's self on film making imaginary Trek. It's happened a lot in the past, all the way back to the 70's (see earlier post on "Paragon's Paragon") and it will continue to happen; but of the few that actually get made, only the rare effort is watchable for anyone other than those involved and their friends and families. I can think of only a couple that are really enjoyable, and they are the exception. However, fans want to make their own for their love of the show, and for that I commend their efforts and say, "God bless 'em."

Read more about the ill-fated Yorktown fan film story in this Star Trek Expanded Universe Wiki entry. Update: I just found out that today is George's 73rd birthday. What a coincidence!

UPDATE, June 24th, 2010: I recently received an email from the filmmaker Stan Woo, with some additional info about the effort, which you can read below. Thanks for the details, Stan!
Thanks for mentioning Yorktown: A Time to Heal in your blog. This little opus just got too expensive to complete and at the time, it also killed my grades, so I had to give it up. My father financed the film and when my grades took a nose dive, he cut off funding. That was the beginning of the end. Then I just got caught up with life and it got put back in the backburner. Maybe in my retirement, I'll start working on it again. Right now, I'm working with Paul McCudden to finish some missing dialog for a final ADR session.

Some of the Da Han wiki stuff is accurate, but some are just out in left field, especially this "Axiom' project which I'm not involved with except for footage used in the unauthorized trailer. The two Yorktowns were only at the most 15 minutes long. The first one is total crap made when I was in 11th grade thru community college. The first film was more of a first "pilot". The 2nd ended up being a second "pilot" than a sequel. It started out as "Yorktown II", but when Takei came aboard, the continuity of the first film had to be abandoned. Therefore: "Yorktown: A Time to Heal", not Yorktown II: A Time to Heal. The final title of the first film is "Yorktown: In Temporary Command", not Yorktown: The Quadroplastine Incident. The film was reworked in 1984 and the Quadroplastine reference was removed from the film. The film is so bad that I don't want to subject the youtube community to it. Stephen J. Cannell was not involved personally. Gary Winter, executive in charge of post-production at Stephen J. Cannell Productions granted me access to their sound effects library. That's it.

Here's a link to a fansite entry about "Yorktown: A Time to Heal"; perhaps you can do a link.http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/fanfilms/yorktown.htm

This entry lists the actual credits. Any other claims in the web is not accurate.

-Stan Woo
Bonus: Below is a small selection of the many mini-clippings that I gleaned from the newspapers back in the early-to-mid 70's; some from tabloids, others from the daily papers. I'm serious, if it had the words "Star Trek" in it, I saved it. About the only items I didn't clip were the daily listings of the episodes in the TV Guide. Was I obsessive, or what? And to still have them in my scrapbook, is that compulsive hoarding or what? I don't know... you tell me. The dime is included because it was once touched by Jimmy Doohan who loaned it to me for a phone call. Nah, just yankin' your chain, I included it to give some scale to the size of the tiny clippings. I'm not that obsessed.

Below is another page from one of the Trek coloring books that I bought in the mid-70's. The likenesses are pretty good in it. Print it out and color away!

"Captain, do you mind moving that hand from my booty? This is not the time."

Ralph's Romulans

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We feature this time the awesome artwork of Ralph Fowler, featured on the covers of "Enterprise Incidents." Artist extraordinaire Ralph Fowler was a regular contributor to the terrific fanzine "Enterprise Incidents." Issue #6, above, was published September, 1978 by the prolific James Van Hise. Full of photos, artwork, articles, fan fiction and more, this lovingly produced publication almost seemed a companion magazine to "Trek: The Magazine For Star Trek Fans," which preceded it by a year or so. Although seemingly inspired by "Trek's" example, it often surpassed it in the quality of the rare photos, artwork and articles. But for the most part it was very close, and I hold them both in high esteem, treasuring my copies of each.

Issue #7, pictured below, depicted a Romulan attack on Earth. Ralph's specialty was ships, technology and architecture, all rendered with precise accuracy and near-photographic detail. This was before CAD and Photoshop, kids... so don't feel superior to the artists that did it by hand.

As if a Romulan invasion wasn't bad enough, the eastern coast of the U.S. was threatened by a hurricane. Some days nothing goes right.

Below, an interior full-page piece of art that incorporated both his space scenes and ship interiors. Fowler never ceased to amaze me with his paintings and drawings! I'll be showcasing more in future posts, for sure.

Bonus: Below, the cover art of a coloring book. The beginning of the K/S rumor can probably be traced to this one item. There is just so much wrong here that it could almost be a "spot the mistakes" game.

The significance of the pump should not be overlooked.

Stephen Collins ST:TMP Interview

Star Trek Day: A Flashback to 30 Years Ago!

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Clipped from the Atlanta Journal on Thursday, Dec. 6, 1979.

It was the weekend of the big premiere of the long-awaited Star Trek: The Motion Picture! It was coming out the very next day, Dec. 7th, and the papers were full of items to save. Of course, it would be a full month later before I got to actually see the movie; my stepdad, you recall, was vehemenantly anti-Trek (because I loved it, not because he ever saw it) and he was watching like a hawk to make sure I didn't go see it. I finally went a month later after the heat was off and caught it at a discount theater, after saying I was going by the mall... which I did, I drove right by it on the way!

But not even that could blunt the joy and excitement I felt at the return of the show in movie form, and opportunities abounded for collecting items! Fortunately, I am no longer under such cruel restrictions, and am looking forward to going this Saturday to see the new Trek movie, which has had the kind of excitement not seen since the first movie all those years ago. And the reviews are being much kinder to this one, so we have no doubt that Trek will go on.

Below, since the interview this time was with Stephen Collins, here is a good promo shot of him as Captain Decker. (Since he's wearing that infamous one-piece jumpsuit, be thankful that the picture is only from the waist up.)

(Edited on 10-28-2014: Since the news broke a few weeks ago about the admission that was secretly taped and made public about Stephen's indiscretions toward minors, the comments made by visitors and myself in the comment area below about his "overall decency" now seem misplaced. There is an ongoing investigation, but no charges have been filed yet. This whole situation makes me sad.)

Bonus items: Below, a humorous "newspaper clipping" that was actually from a Mad magazine, from 1977.

Below, a page from a ST coloring book, that came out about 1976 or so. Copy it to your computer and do your own digital coloring, or print it out and let your kids have at it! The art and likenesses were actually pretty good in this series, so I bought them and hid them well, along with my flattened ST:TMP Happy Meal boxes. Most teens would have only had to be worried about hiding a Playboy, right? Not me! A coloring book of ST would have been fuel for a very tense few moments of yelling and berating me for the "childishness" of my hobby, indeed! I think finding a Playboy would have brought him a sigh of relief.

From the other end of the artwork spectrum: below, a lovely painting of Uhura, one of the best I've seen! Source: http://mshindoiart.com/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=16

"Let's open hailing frequencies, shugah!"

Ah, Nichelle, your character may be recast, but you can never be replaced, and your beauty never eclipsed by another, nor that red miniskirt filled out better.