Star Trek The Motion Picture's Premiere - Episode 120

Star Trek The Motion Picture's Premiere - Episode 120

Author: Bob Turner & Kelly Casto February 22, 2019 Duration: 36:15

It was the first major film adaptation of a TV show...A show that had been off the air for ten years!  December 7th, 1979: It's the day Star Trek The Motion Picture premiered.

And fans had been eagerly awaiting this day for ten years.

In his book "Star Trek Creator," David Alexander described that Gene Roddenberry and Robert Wise worked on the film until the last minute.

He wrote, "...perhaps not finishing the film so much as simply doing as much as they could in the time permitted...and then stopping."

Robert Wise took a print of the film with him for the premiere that was fresh from the lab.

When arrived in DC, there was a lot of excitement and anticipation for the film.  In her book "The Making of Star Trek The Motion Picture," Susan Sackett writes, "The fans had been mentally standing in ticket lines before the lines ever existed.  As early as February 1979, The Star Trek production offices were swamped with requests for premiere tickets."


Dive into the fascinating decade when Star Trek lived on without a single new episode airing on television. Hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto guide 70s Trek: Star Trek in the 1970s through a detailed exploration of how a cancelled series refused to fade away. This podcast digs into the people who kept the flame burning-the original cast finding new voices in animation and convention halls, the writers and artists expanding the universe in novels and comics, and the passionate fans who created a blueprint for modern fandom. Each discussion connects the dots between the show's internal creative shifts and the wider cultural currents of the seventies that it both reflected and influenced. You'll hear about the specific efforts, from fan-led letter campaigns to Paramount's strategic decisions, that slowly built the momentum leading to a theatrical rebirth. It's a story of resilience and reinvention, examining not just what happened but how it felt to be part of that enduring phenomenon during those years. For anyone curious about the hidden history between the original series and "The Motion Picture," this podcast offers a rich, conversational deep dive into the community and commerce that made a comeback inevitable. Join Turner and Casto as they unpack the legacy of a show that was technically off the air, yet somehow more alive than ever.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

70s Trek: Star Trek in the 1970s
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