Monday, July 20, 2009

ST:TMP Premiere A Religious Event

(Click images to enlarge.)

The article posted above is from the Atlanta Journal, published Dec. 12, 1979, just days after the film opened. I suspect after coming out of the film's showing, some of the faithful few were a bit let down after the buildup of anticipation. But, later films would help lessen the feeling and restore their faith.

The soundtrack review below, clipped from a magazine about the same time, was really more about the author airing their lukewarm opinion of the movie, while the actual soundtrack review is reduced to one sentence. One. People just hoped and expected for more. But with the next movie, they got it.

Bonus: Below is another of the hilariously (and head-scratchingly) mis-captioned Leaf bubblegum cards from 1967. "Teeny-bopper"? I suppose that's what Leonard was considered to be back then. Feel free to add your own caption to the comments box! Also identify the episode if you can.


"Settle down, Leonard... Bill was probably just kidding when he called you his sidekick."

6 comments:

Abe Lucas said...

Speaking of reviews on ST:TMP, that was the first time I knew of that a commercial for a film used the opinions of actual moviegoers--the ones who raved about the film, anyway--and I remember getting pumped up to see it after being bombarded with those ads. Of course, being eight at the time, the movie bored the crap out of me, though I've grown to appreciate it since.

Frederick said...

C.K.,

Welcome to the blog! Hope you enjoy poking around the archives.

I was abotu 20 when I saw the movie, and it bored me as well, but it was a comfortable boredom... kind of like a family reunion, where you are sitting around chatting with relatives you haven't seen in a while. The conversation is mundane, but you are happy to be there with them regardless. :)

Anonymous said...

Is the Teeny-bopper photo from the episode By and other Name?

I was 18 when saw the slow motion picture as I call it came out. Twenty minutes of blue just about nearly sent me to sleep but at the same time I was glad to see the cast back, especially Spock/Leonard Nimoy.

DFG

Frederick said...

DFG,

Good guess! That passed through my mind as well, when Spock is recoiling from the mind-touch with the Kelvan guard. But in researching the images and episode matches, I believe I have identified it as from "The Galileo Seven," when Spock was trapped under the rock and he is being helped to the shuttlecraft.

Anonymous said...

I remember buying a pack of Star Trek gum cards which included that "Teeny-Bopper" picture. I was recovering from H3N2, of which I quite literally had nearly died, so it was mid- to late January 1969. (I'm your "Spock poster in the department store" commenter -- I have to find a good handle.)

Frederick said...

Poster Thief,

(Just kidding!) It's neat that you remember that, how old were you at the time? I didn't really discover the show until about 1970 when I was 11. I do remember picking up a set of Outer Limits cards, and how scary they were to me. Wish I still had them! I did get a couple of packs of Lost In Space cards, most of which I do still have.