Logan's Run Lobby Cards

Back in 1977 in Ft. Lauderdale, I found a package of 11 x 17 color lobby cards from Logan's Run at my favorite store, the local comic/collectables shop "Starship Enterprises." Since I was a big fan of the film, I literally saved my pocket change until I had the $30 price tag, and bought it. Hope you enjoy these large scans!

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1977 Forbidden Planet article

One can never have too much of material devoted to the movie "Forbidden Planet," at least by my calculation. As the immediate ancestor of "Star Trek," which I love, this film which pre-dated it by almost a decade set the standard for thoughtful and forward-thinking sci-fi set on a futuristic spaceship. Today's post is a scan of several articles from the high-quality magazine Science Fantasy Film Classics. This was from the first issue of this short-lived publication, which came out in the winter of 1977. (See the cover here.)

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I only in recent years found out that Robbie's bottom half and legs in the above scene are merely painted on a flat piece of wood or cardboard. It was positioned so that, when seen from the camera's angle, it gave the illusion of being the actual lower body and legs. The suit was not built to allow him to sit down, so this was a fast and money-saving solution that worked for the quick single shot.

I consider "Star Trek" and "Lost In Space" to both be sons of "Forbidden Planet." "Trek" inherited the character and intelligence, while "Lost" only strongly resembled in appearance. That said, I feasted on "Lost" as a kid, and it fueled my interest in monsters and sci-fi for years.

Project Questor: Discontinued

Since there has been some news lately about Gene Roddenberry's failed pilot "The Questor Tapes" being remade, I thought it was time to scan some of the articles about it in my collection. This one was found in the June 1977 issue of the magazine TV's Dynamic Heroes. More from different sources will be forthcoming in the future.

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I enjoyed the TV-movie when it came out, (the theme music was good also) and wished at the time that it had become a series. But in light of the fact that Roddenberry adapted the character to become Data in "ST:TNG," (even to the "I am fully functional" bit about being sexually capable) it seems a bit redundant now to revisit the concept. But, we'll see how it turns out.

1977 article on Farrah in Logan's Run

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Farrah Fawcett's tragic and untimely loss prompted me to go through some of my magazines to find an article on her role in "Logan's Run," since this is a sci-fi blog. Although her role as Holly was only a small part, she made an impression and the character was quintissential Farrah. From the second issue of TV's Dynamic Heroes, published in June 1977 we have this article...

A photo showing off the two things Farrah was famous for... her hair and face. What else did you think I was going to say, hmmm?

Below, some screen grabs I made of Farrah's scene in the movie. Logan's Run, which was made in 1976, was the last big-budget sci-fi film before Star Wars came out and changed everything, and it holds a special place in my memories. The design may be cheesy 70's, but I was a teen at the time, when "The Hustle" ruled the airwaves, and the movie was a lot of fun.

This is the way I'll always remember Farrah... who is now with the angels for real.

Bonus: a TV Guide ad for a new show coming out on September 22, 1976...

1978 Star Wars Poster magazine #10

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This 1978 poster magazine from my collection is especially valuable to me due to the personal autograph I have on it from the man behind the voice of Vader, James Earl Jones! I was working at a radio station in 1987 in West Virginia when he was there filming "Matewan," based on a true story that happened in a mining town in the Mountain State. Filming was taking place in a park that had an exhibition mine open for tours, and word reached us that he was coming to the station the next day for a live interview. I took this issue as well as a SW poster of Vader, and he was kind enough to autograph them both for me.

He was a great guy, very gracious, and it was an honor to meet him. It was made even more memorable because he came in full miner's costume, on a break fron the set! I only regret that I had no picture made of me with him. I guess I didn't want to impose too much on him, considering the little time he had there.

Below are the rest of the pages of this 31 year-old magazine, inside and back. I thought you might enjoy seeing the rest of it, if you don't have it!

Did you have, or do you still have, any of the toys depicted above? I bought my 7 year old little brother the landspeeder and blaster pistol for Christmas.

Below is a snapshot of the inside poster, which was too big to scan without messing up.

And as a bonus, from one of my five other blogs, "Held Over!" here's an earlier post of a full-page ad for the re-release (based on the artwork above), clipped by me from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel on Friday, July 21, 1978.

Exciting times when I clipped this!

1977 "Time" Star Wars article

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The article posted this time was clipped by me from the May 30, 1977 issue of Time magazine. I had been following the articles in various other magazines with interest, like Starlog and Famous Monsters. But this was the first in a mainstream publication that I had found, and it came out the same week the movie did, before I or most people had seen it. Hope you enjoy this look back to a time when it was possible to read something fresh and new about Star Wars before it became the phenomenon that it did.

Looking at that photo of Kenny Baker made me realise that it was a good thing he wasn't claustrophobic in the least, or he would have been in trouble!

Also, don't forget to visit my other fun genre blogs: "My Star Trek Scrapbook," "My Monster Memories," "Held Over!" newspaper movie ads, and "Sweet Skulls." Between "Fantastic Flashbacks" and the others, the Fred blogging experience is a sensory overload of nostalgic goodness!