Fun Finds: Starlog, April 1979

I picked up this vintage magazine during one of my periodic rummages. It was taped up in a baggie, so I didn't get to look through it prior to purchase. The cover looked promising, but I didn't feel like the inside fulfilled the expectations I had. However, there are a couple of interesting things along the way. And... stay tuned till the end because I have a mini-bonus in store. This was certainly era, as I was 12 years old in 1979! I was all-in on the various sci-fi TV series and movies mentioned herein. I think the magazine was just a bit more erudite and technical versus the tabloid-y and tawdry sort of things I tend to go for! Ha ha! 

 

For the record, I LOVED Superman (1978) and thought Christopher Reeve was perfection as the Man of Steel. The film was long at 2:23, even after cuts. Years later, a 3:08 rendition was released on Blu-Ray with bits not seen originally or even in alternate televised versions.

There has never been a time when I was able to get into Dr. Who, no matter who played him. I just never could click with it.

I think most people are familiar with Westworld (1973), especially since it was redone as a TV series not too long ago, but I bet fewer people recall its sequel Futureworld (1976.) Somehow this middling flick was indeed chosen as the first U.S. film sold to China for a wide release following new relations between the nations.

The remake of Village of the Damned (1960) mentioned here did not see the light of day in the end. The married scriptwriters mentioned wound up working extensively in daytime dramas for a time instead! In 1995, a remake did see the light of day, but it was not a success. It was the final film Christopher Reeve did before his debilitating accident.

Speaking of Reeve (again!), this little "article" referencing his prior career as a soap opera actor really seems like reaching to make something out of nothing in order to use a misleading headline. 

So far as I can tell, "The Cry of Cthulu" was never made. Most of the involved parties moved on to other things in time.

This article focuses on a third season episode of Wonder Woman in which her alter-ego Diana Prince attends a sci-fi convention hosted by Robby the Robot from Lost in Space.

Initially, I was irritated that the headline reads "Wonder Woman Meets Robby" and then there is no such photo in the article! As it is, the two never met in the episode... The character of Wonder Woman never shares the screen with Robby. However, detective that I am...

I did discover that Diana Prince shares the frame with Robby for about two seconds. No one thought to photograph the two iconic TV characters together. So this is all it is. Like Reeve as Superman, I thought Carter was beyond perfect as WW. I didn't dislike Gal Gadot (and thought that 3/4ths of the first movie she did was pretty great - the sequel was horrendous), but Carter will always be my Wonder Woman.

Fans of the original Star Wars movies and the young hero of them, Mark Hamill, ought to enjoy this next piece.

With Star Wars (1977) and Superman (1978) having seen super-successful releases, the next big sci-fi extravaganza was being eagerly awaited by fans. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) would be in theaters that Christmas. Attendance was massive, but the long-delayed and constantly-augmented project had incurred a huge budget for that time, which made it an overall disappointment profit-wise. A sequel three years later, with a more reasonable budget, was a big hit and secured the franchise's future for some time.

The imagery is a bit startling. All it is is the designer of the sets for Battlestar Galactica peering through one of its view-screens.

Reading through this, I could sort of (finally) understand how some sci-fi sets just look incredibly cheap and flimsy versus ones which have had a lot of thought (and $$) given to them.

I went ahead and scanned this final page in case someone was really invested in the details.

I found this account of the premiere of Superman interesting. I hadn't been aware of the fundraising aspect of it or that the President was in attendance as well. The caption of Reeve and his girlfriend... her name was Gae, not Gea! I recall her back in the day and always thought she seemed a little hard.

Even though I am an avid fan of most things Irwin Allen (even if they aren't all that good!), I only count myself as having a mid-level interest in his TV series Lost in Space.

One of the things I liked about LIS was the handsomeness of Guy Williams and Mark Goddard and maybe it annoyed me that over time they were featured less and less.

When, rather early on here, I wrote a tribute to Goddard, he was so kind, gracious and complimentary and even sent me a free, autographed copy of his book!

Before the Internet (and particularly the Internet Movie Database), fans relied on published lists of TV series episodes (which were generally pretty rare except for the most popular shows) in order to pin down the ones they'd seen or wished to see. I include this lengthy listing of LIS eps because of the photos contained along the way. 

It's not that I didn't like or appreciate actor Jonathan Harris and what he was doing on the show, but let's just say that, after a time, a little went a long way for me. And I have always leaned more towards drama versus comedy (though I certainly love my share of unintentional humor!)

The one with the giant vegetables is quite infamous in its idiocy.

I wonder if June Lockhart ever had to fend off any high-ranking studio officials like this?

I know I have seen Night of the Living Dead (1968), but I never did see Dawn of the Dead (1978.) I guess I ought to because it has a rather strong reputation!

At last we arrive at the cover story. Here we find Gil Gerard on set.

Shot for TV, but released instead as a movie, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) had a confusing genesis, especially since parts of the movie were edited/changed when it was time to introduce the series. The rendition that ultimately served as a pilot went unseen from September of 1979 until 2013 (and the movie version was not available in its widescreen aspect until 2020!)

This was it... Just one pinup and two pages for the cover story! I was anticipating more. But it was interesting to see diminutive Felix Silla being placed in his Twiki costume.

This article is about as deep a dive into Heaven Can Wait (1978) as you're likely to see...

The columnist was a contributor (ideas and scripts) to Star Trek as a youth. He also penned a number of sci-fi novels.

I actually had the Mr. Spock model kit shown here! But I had neither the talent nor the patience (nor the money for multiple colors of oil paint!) to do it justice. I gave up pretty quickly. Was probably too young.

Good lord, I could never have done that Land of the Giants model. Very many small pieces, requiring precision and patience. (And paint!)

David Allen went on to work with the effects in movies such as The Howling (1981), The Hunger (1983), Willow (1988) and many others.

I almost would have bet that Laserblast never saw the light of day, but it had been released in 1978. Among its actors were Ron Masak, Keenan Wynn and Roddy McDowall. Never heard of it!

I was glad to see this rare photo of Fay Wray, who I adore.

Somewhat prescient what with all this AI talk going on at the moment.

Finally, we have this piece on UFOs, also timely as there has recently been an uptick in the discussion of extraterrestrials visiting Earth.

::: BONUS PICS :::

Look, there was no way I was going to pass on my own disappointment with the Gil Gerard coverage of this magazine on to you, my loyal readers. I decided to perk up the end of this post with a few additional photos. As a kid, I was mesmerized by the skin-tight costume he wore on the first season.

My own first contact with Gerard came two years earlier when I went to see Airport '77 (1977) and he was the taunted ex-plaything of a deliriously catty Lee Grant.

That fall, he played a handyman who managed to send several residents of Walnut Grove into a tizzy when he appeared to have more than a passing interest in his client, Caroline Ingalls, on Little House on the Prairie.

It was chiefly nothing more than gossip and unintentional circumstances, but he got tongues wagging and hearts beating a mite faster than usual.

Cocked and ready for adventure on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Seen here, undercover as an assassin with Markie Post, the costumers enjoyed showing off various parts of his hirsute body.

Frank Gorshin is shown with him in this pic. Gotta love the 1970s plunging neckline!

Same sort of thing happening here with a young Jamie Lee Curtis.

Occasionally he'd be relieved of his shirt altogether!

A winning smile.

1979 was a big year in that he also wed for a third time. Connie Selleca and he were together until 1987. As you can see, his personal wardrobe could sometimes be as snug or even more so than the one he sported as Buck Rogers.

Already by the second season, Gerard was grappling with a variety of addictions from cocaine to alcohol to compulsive overeating and his wardrobe was altered as a result in the changes his body was going through. He later was able to deal with these issues and get his life back on track. (At one point he was up to 350lbs, losing 145 of it after undergoing gastric surgery over the course of nearly one year.)

But those painted-on spacesuits were fun while they lasted.

The End!