Scott Atwell Star Trek Discussion thread (Series and Films) (4 Viewers)

[Ockeghem]

Nelson,You recorded the audio at a drive-in theater? Now that, sir, is committment on your part! Rather than being reduced two steps in rank for your past transgressions (whatever those may be), I hearby promote you to Fleet Admiral.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Fleet Admiral Au!

Has a nice ring to it.

 

[FanCollector]

Someone snoring? Ouch! Especially on opening night. Let's hope he was just very tired.Glad you waited for the end of classes, though. Lieutenant Kirk would have approved!

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Scott, Lou. I think I'd rather be captain. .

 

[FanCollector]

Your first, best destiny.

 

[Nelson Au]

Lee, it was an odd day, my friend who did cut classes saw it at the big Coronet Theater in San Francisco. He was at the very first show of the day so the newspaper film critics were there too. My friend said one guy he thought was one of the critics sniggered during the close-up of Kirk as he gazes upon the Enterprise after Scotty turns the travel pod to get a front view of her. That wasn't nice. Then the snoring during my evening viewing. Let's hope that guy had a hard day and was tired.

 

[FanCollector]

There wasn't a preview for the critics? That never occurred to me. When did they start doing that? So people who got the newspaper on Friday morning couldn't read the review of the movie? That's so different from the way things are now.

 

[Nelson Au]

Well, that's what my friend said. . I do remember looking to the San Francisco Chronicle afternoon edition to see the movie reviews for later movies. I never read the Star Trek reviews to avoid spoilers. But of recent years, I just read the reviews on the web. I have heard of the kiss of death if a movie these days are not available for preview for the critics usually meaning the film is a bomb.

 

[Nelson Au]

Wow, I found this review of Star Trek The Motion Picture by Roger Ebert. I'll post this over on the Motion Picture thread too.I was hoping to find a review from the San Francisco Chronicle. But this might be better:http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-trek-the-motion-picture-1979

 

[FanCollector]

Afternoon editions! Of course. I forgot about those. I don't really recall them personally, but that would solve the problem.Ebert was always a good writer. When I was an archivist, I processed the papers of historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. In the late '70s and early '80s, he did some movie reviews, mostly because he thought it was fun, in a weekly paper. I found his review of TMP, which was interesting. In essence, he said the movie wasn't great but that everyone should go see it because the television show (which his kids started him watching) was so good.

 

[Nelson Au]

That's pretty cool what Schlesinger said about the series! I was curious and tried to see if his review was on-line, but had no luck.

 

[Ockeghem]

Nelson,I think you would have had better luck had you checked the Australian newspapers. But I'm sure you already knew that.

 

[FanCollector]

http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1980feb02-00028

 

[Dave Jessup]

A good friend and I have fond memories of waiting outside one of the (now-gone) Holiday 6 theaters at 7am... in Buffalo, NY... on December 7th. First show was noon. The theater management took pity on the dozen or so of us and allowed us to see the 9am test run.

Between the contracted December 7th bookings and the delays in producing the optical effects, the film literally wasn't finished until days before (in Robert Wise's view, it really wasn't finished then). Prints were shipped out "wet" from processing. I believe the print we saw had arrived the night before and had been assembled for projection that morning. The print used for the Washington DC premiere on the 6th was carried by Wise to the event.

So - no advance press screenings were possible.

 

[Nelson Au]

Of course 99, the Australian papers!

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Lee for the link to the review by Schlesinger. Ouch! The score is the best score there ever was for a Star Trek film and he called it boring.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Dave, it's great to hear others experiences on December 7th in 1979. That was really great the theater let you in. Times have changed!

 

[FanCollector]

Thanks, Dave. It would have been impossible for most cities to have critic previews of the movie that week. I forgot the story about Wise carrying the preview print to Washington on the Paramount corporate jet. (And my wife, who grew up in Buffalo, remembers going to that theater also.)

 

[Carabimero]

I got my notice from the Kickstarter today for TOS season three THESE ARE THE VOYAGES that my book is about to ship.

 

[Nelson Au]

Same here Alan, I sent them my shipping address last night. And Lee reminded me that the Star Trek The Motion Picture oral history book is shipping this week too!