1972 "Forbidden Planet" Article

Forbidden Planet was a landmark film, one that most Trek fans consider to be a prequel of sorts to the show (certainly one of the major inspirations), and one that sci-fi fans hold dear to their hearts as one of the greatest genre movies of the 20th century. In issue 17, published November 30th, 1972, TMT finally focused on this classic with a film-book that recounted the events of the film with photos.

(To view the page scans full-size, click on each photo; you may have to click again to magnify to full-size.)

1969 "Outer Limits" Makeup Article

From "Famous Monsters" issue #54, published in March of 1969, comes an article on John Chambers, make-up man for movies and TV. The article presents a special make-up session in which the artist recreates the application of the makeup he did for David McCallum in the episode "The Sixth Finger."

I distinctly remember the fright that monster gave me as a six year-old kid!

First, the awesome and memorable cover painting of the alien from "Invasion of the Saucer Men, by none other than Ron Cobb!

(Click on images to enlarge; once open you may have to click on it again to view full-size.)

Bonus: from the same issue, the scary giant from "Lost In Space." Since Chambers did the makeup effects for this show, it's likely he had a hand in making this creature also. Here's an earlier post I did on the model of this monster.

Bonus: from the back cover, a full-page ad for the "Forgotten Prisoner of Castlemare." You can see a whole post I did on this model here.

Quark and Project U.F.O.

I am posting this article because of  the "Quark" material, the Star Trek/SF spoof by Buck Henry, but it also includes info about the program "Project U.F.O." I caught the second show only once, the pilot episode, and found its dull "Dragnet" pseudo-documentary style unappealing. But the article mainly focuses on "Quark," which was a really fun show that did a good job of spoofing Trek. The writeup comes from the August 1978 issue of the lower-shelf "Space Wars" magazine. The bottom color photo is from the back cover. Nice!

(Click on images to enlarge; once open, you may have to click on it again to view full size.)

Space:1999 article from Starlog #2

From issue #2 of Starlog, from November 1976 when that awesome mag was in its infancy, comes this article on "Space:1999," looking back on the problems of the first season, and what was planned for the second. Bringing on Fred Frieburger as producer may have at first seemed like a great choice to punch up the action and drama, having the third season of "Star Trek" on his resume; but they should have noted that he was more responsible than anyone else for that show's drastic decline in intelligence during the third year.

First, a great cover painting...

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From the same issue, a short writeup on Space actor Nick Tate, as he talks at a convention about the changes coming in the new season.

And, here is the back cover of the issue, advertising the soundtrack for the series.

It's still hard for me to believe that we have passed the year that the show was set in, by 13 years now. Back in the mid-70's it seemed so futuristic and far off! And we still have no moonbase.

As a bonus, here is an article from the prior issue of Starlog, #1, that also talks about the upcoming changes from an earier perspective.

1991 "The Flash" Comics Scene article

"The Flash" was, in my opinion, one of the better live-action superhero series to ever be on television. Much inspiration from the 1989 "Batman" film was evident, from the costume with the sculpted musculature, to the retro-noirish sets, to the music (the rousing and bombastic theme was composed by Batman's Danny Elfman). Below is a cover story from issue #18 of the Comics Scene magazine, (from the same publishers as Starlog) published in April of 1991, on the Scarlet Speedster as played by John Wesley Shipp.

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Below, a couple of TV Guide ads for episodes of the show, along with an "Editor's Choice" clipping.

1974 Battle For The Planet Of The Apes article

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes was the last in the film series, and the lowest in quality, before the TV series began, which seemed to take place not too far in the future from what we saw in this movie. This article on it is scanned from issue # 108 of Famous Monsters, which was published in July of 1974. This is about where I came into my awareness of the Apes phenomenon, having somehow missed it up til then; don't ask me how. But I made up for in rabid interest what I lacked in prior awareness, and my fervor for it burned in intensity second only to my love for Star Trek.

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loads, you may have to click it again to view full-size.)

Below, as a bonus, is an ad page featuring the model kits for the Apes, as well as other interesting items.

1989 John Haymes Newton interview

From the 1989 issue #6 of "Comics Scene," (a magazine from the same publishers as "Starlog"), comes this interview with the first actor to portray Superboy in the 1988 TV series, John Haymes Newton. Although a little wooden, Newton did a good job of wearing the suit, and portraying both facets of the Kryptonian, with his young Clark less nerdy than in Reeve's portrayal. Of course, he ended up not continuing in the role past the first season, to be replaced by Gerard Christopher, who enthusiastically took up the cape and ran with it (or should I say flew with it).

(Click on images to enlarge. You may have
to click again to view full-size.)

Bonus: Below, from the same issue, is a short piece on the "Swamp Thing" sequel with the waterlogged Dick Durock, who went on to portray the plant man in the TV series. Say what you will about the campiness of the movie, the costume was a significant improvement over the visible-seam-and-zippered first version.

1978 Ralph McQuarrie Article

From issue #17 of Starlog, published October 1978, comes this article on artist/designer Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie passed away recently, so I am posting this article in remembrance of this extraordinary talent.

(Click on images to enlarge. Once the image loads, you may
have to click on it again to view full-seize.)

Bonus: from the same issue, this back cover ad for the Don Post Star Wars masks. Did you own one of these?

Bonus: From the same issue is this look back at Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose writing influenced so much of modern science fiction, especially on film. Since the first filmed version of his Mars stories, "John Carter," is still in theaters as of this post, I thought it might be interesting to read this. I saw the film in Imax 3D, and it was awesome! Of course, being Disney, we didn't get to see as many naked people as in the Frazetta paintings, but it was still good.