Here is an early plug for the STAR WARS NOVELISATION, published in STARLOG issue 7 (on sale in the summer of '77... the year everything changed).
Thursday, 4 May 2017
1977: STAR WARS DAY: EARLY NOVEL ADVERT
STAR WARS DAY continues...
Here is an early plug for the STAR WARS NOVELISATION, published in STARLOG issue 7 (on sale in the summer of '77... the year everything changed).
Here is an early plug for the STAR WARS NOVELISATION, published in STARLOG issue 7 (on sale in the summer of '77... the year everything changed).
1977: STAR WARS DAY: STARLOG PREVIEWS STAR WARS
Happy STAR WARS DAY! To mark the annual event, STARLOGGED has unearthed some early sightings of the original movie from the pages of STARLOG MAGAZINE.
From Issue 6, coverdated June 1977 but on-sale several months earlier, here is possibly the earliest references... a reader's letter (is this the guy that broke the news about STAR WARS to the world?) and a one-page colour preview using - obviously - some of the yummy concept art. The same concept art that convinced Marvel to (reluctantly) take the plunge and launch the four-colour comic that saved the company...
From Issue 6, coverdated June 1977 but on-sale several months earlier, here is possibly the earliest references... a reader's letter (is this the guy that broke the news about STAR WARS to the world?) and a one-page colour preview using - obviously - some of the yummy concept art. The same concept art that convinced Marvel to (reluctantly) take the plunge and launch the four-colour comic that saved the company...
1978: STARLOG TEASES THE BUCK ROGERS THAT NEVER WAS
From 1978: A STARLOG MAGAZINE tease of the BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY that never was.
Before NBC and Universal drafted Glen Larson in to retool the concept (giving him yet another chance to dust off his desire to create a small-screen JAMES BOND clone. See also: His pre-series SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN teleflicks) as a flip-flopping series of TV movies > feature film > TV series (depending on where you are in the timeline of the convoluted development process) the show was in the care of others... and would have looked very different.
Some of the design work here (which looks a little of the Airfix model variety) would have looked very clunky in the wake of STAR WARS so Larson's more polished approach probably was the way to go. Biddi Biddi!
Before NBC and Universal drafted Glen Larson in to retool the concept (giving him yet another chance to dust off his desire to create a small-screen JAMES BOND clone. See also: His pre-series SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN teleflicks) as a flip-flopping series of TV movies > feature film > TV series (depending on where you are in the timeline of the convoluted development process) the show was in the care of others... and would have looked very different.
Some of the design work here (which looks a little of the Airfix model variety) would have looked very clunky in the wake of STAR WARS so Larson's more polished approach probably was the way to go. Biddi Biddi!
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
THE 'V' ENEMY VISITOR ACTION FIGURE
Remember these? The 'V' VISITOR ACTION FIGURE (with action features) was a mainstay of the STARLOG TRADING POST for years (along with a lot of other goodies) and was one of the few pieces of merchandise relatively easy to find (at least via mail order.... I never saw one in a store) once the show closed.
Now, of course, people would go nuts for these. But they didn't seem to be a fast seller at the time. They were the only 'V' action figure to actually go into production (except for some not-very-bendy bendy toys which went on sale in some overseas markets). There had been plans to launch a whole line of STAR WARS-scale figures and vehicles but it was abandoned as soon as it became clear that NBC weren't scoring high numbers with the weekly series and the chances of it becoming a break out (ho-hum) hit - or even staying on the air - was diminishing by the week.
Now, of course, people would go nuts for these. But they didn't seem to be a fast seller at the time. They were the only 'V' action figure to actually go into production (except for some not-very-bendy bendy toys which went on sale in some overseas markets). There had been plans to launch a whole line of STAR WARS-scale figures and vehicles but it was abandoned as soon as it became clear that NBC weren't scoring high numbers with the weekly series and the chances of it becoming a break out (ho-hum) hit - or even staying on the air - was diminishing by the week.
1979: STARLOG MAGAZINE LOOKS BACK AT SPACE:1999 YEAR TWO
From 1979: STARLOG magazine looks back at SPACE: 1999 Year Two:
1979: STARLOG LOOKS BACK AT BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
From 1979: STARLOG magazine's review of the year includes a specific BATTLESTAR GALACTICA retrospective. The show would have been winding-up reruns on ABC whilst this issue was on sale.
STARLOG REVIEW OF THE TV YEAR 1978-79
From the summer of 1979: STARLOG takes its annual temperature check of the genre with this photo-driven TV guide:
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
BUCK ROGERS VOLUME 1 VHS COVER
From the last days of tape: The first of several volumes of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY episodes released on VHS in the UK by Universal-Playback.
Typically,/ the episode selection is a little random. But considering how little of the series was available, I wasn't complaining. The Awakening (aka the pilot) was the TV edit of the opening episode. The (slightly) different feature film version (the one that most casual fans are familiar with thanks to regular outings on ITV and then the BBC) was given away (in a cardboard slipcase) as a bonus freebie if (from memory) you bought the first two full-price episodic releases.
The TV edit was actually much rarer in the UK. Both ITV and the BBC skipped the opener when they launched their runs of the series because of the movie print. ITV couldn't air the movie until after they had aired the series and BBC TWO had to skip it because ITV still (for a while longer) held the rights. When they did switch to the BBC, they aired the movie print (the one with the slightly more suggestive script and the sub-sub-BOND title sequence which was meant to be - I assume - Buck's extended wet dream during his 500 year sleep).
RETURN OF THE FIGHTING 69TH is one of the more interesting first season episodes... not least because it includes a pretty well realised asteroid sequence a good year-or-so before the release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (as with the whole GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO/ Hoth coincidence, I wonder whether the LA effects community gossiped too much and allowed Universal to jump ahead).
Typically,/ the episode selection is a little random. But considering how little of the series was available, I wasn't complaining. The Awakening (aka the pilot) was the TV edit of the opening episode. The (slightly) different feature film version (the one that most casual fans are familiar with thanks to regular outings on ITV and then the BBC) was given away (in a cardboard slipcase) as a bonus freebie if (from memory) you bought the first two full-price episodic releases.
The TV edit was actually much rarer in the UK. Both ITV and the BBC skipped the opener when they launched their runs of the series because of the movie print. ITV couldn't air the movie until after they had aired the series and BBC TWO had to skip it because ITV still (for a while longer) held the rights. When they did switch to the BBC, they aired the movie print (the one with the slightly more suggestive script and the sub-sub-BOND title sequence which was meant to be - I assume - Buck's extended wet dream during his 500 year sleep).
RETURN OF THE FIGHTING 69TH is one of the more interesting first season episodes... not least because it includes a pretty well realised asteroid sequence a good year-or-so before the release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (as with the whole GUN ON ICE PLANET ZERO/ Hoth coincidence, I wonder whether the LA effects community gossiped too much and allowed Universal to jump ahead).
1982: MARVEL'S ANNIE MOVIE ADAPTATION
From late 1982: The sun will come out tomorrow... the two-part Marvel adaptation of the ANNIE musical movie, another long-forgotten outing from the celluloid-obsessed publisher prone to adapting any film which looked like it might be a hit. And another musical... despite the obvious problems with trying to translate music onto the printed page.
Annie, of course, started life as a comic strip... so you can almost see the logic. And maybe Marvel hoped that it would breakout beyond their core readership of teenage boys. I doubt this run - and the Superspecial magazine which published the same material - registered very highly on the Marvel sales charts. Which probably makes them some of the rarer Marvel Comics of the period. I picked them up from a 50p box.
Annie, of course, started life as a comic strip... so you can almost see the logic. And maybe Marvel hoped that it would breakout beyond their core readership of teenage boys. I doubt this run - and the Superspecial magazine which published the same material - registered very highly on the Marvel sales charts. Which probably makes them some of the rarer Marvel Comics of the period. I picked them up from a 50p box.
1983: EAGLE TEASES 'IMPORTANT NEWS' AHEAD
From 1983... and the days when even news about news was enough to generate excitement amongst comics readers.
The tease that something was to be announced in the follow week's issue was a sure-fire way to ensure a fortnight's worth of tension and anticipation. A week to wait to find out what the news was... and another week to wait for the relevent issue to arrive.
Sometimes the announcement would be disappointing (like a really duff free gift. Or even worse: a freebie that was actually just part of someone else's marketing campaign for cornflakes or baked beans) but sometimes - if the gift looked promising or a relaunch/ reboot was involved - it would ratchet up the anticipation to at least eleven.
The masterclass in this regard was 'Tharg's Megaplan', an extended piece of multi-week puffing that promised something whopping. Playground rumours suggested a bold new look. Or a Judge Dredd spin-off (we didn't know, of course, that IPC had wrestled with that one for years). Or the impending merger of THE EAGLE (Dan Dare and - especially - Doomlord looked natural transfers... even if older Tharg acolytes might have been horrified by the idea). In the end it turned out to be a record. Which seemed like the sort of project that engaged the staff of the weekly far more than it excited the readership. Despite the cross-promotional opportunities if it became a hit. Which it didn't.
This was the first official notice that change was coming soon. Although readers more attentive than I might have already been able to read the runes. EAGLE had already dropped in its first reprint strip (One-Eyed Jack... now about to be issued in book form) and was generally shifted from photo-strips to more traditional comic strips. Which didn't demand the same high-quality printing. Many other IPC weeklies already appeared in the cheaper 'newsprint' format so it would make sense, from a production and economic point-of-view, to align Eagle with the rest of the line.
A fortnight to wait... but only seven days until more stickers for the RETURN OF THE JEDI sticker album (which - curiously - I always found very dull.... possibly because so many stills from the film were available across so many sources).
The tease that something was to be announced in the follow week's issue was a sure-fire way to ensure a fortnight's worth of tension and anticipation. A week to wait to find out what the news was... and another week to wait for the relevent issue to arrive.
Sometimes the announcement would be disappointing (like a really duff free gift. Or even worse: a freebie that was actually just part of someone else's marketing campaign for cornflakes or baked beans) but sometimes - if the gift looked promising or a relaunch/ reboot was involved - it would ratchet up the anticipation to at least eleven.
The masterclass in this regard was 'Tharg's Megaplan', an extended piece of multi-week puffing that promised something whopping. Playground rumours suggested a bold new look. Or a Judge Dredd spin-off (we didn't know, of course, that IPC had wrestled with that one for years). Or the impending merger of THE EAGLE (Dan Dare and - especially - Doomlord looked natural transfers... even if older Tharg acolytes might have been horrified by the idea). In the end it turned out to be a record. Which seemed like the sort of project that engaged the staff of the weekly far more than it excited the readership. Despite the cross-promotional opportunities if it became a hit. Which it didn't.
This was the first official notice that change was coming soon. Although readers more attentive than I might have already been able to read the runes. EAGLE had already dropped in its first reprint strip (One-Eyed Jack... now about to be issued in book form) and was generally shifted from photo-strips to more traditional comic strips. Which didn't demand the same high-quality printing. Many other IPC weeklies already appeared in the cheaper 'newsprint' format so it would make sense, from a production and economic point-of-view, to align Eagle with the rest of the line.
A fortnight to wait... but only seven days until more stickers for the RETURN OF THE JEDI sticker album (which - curiously - I always found very dull.... possibly because so many stills from the film were available across so many sources).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
