Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
I don’t really need to say anything, do I?
There are some different pages and variations in the pre-toy fair catalog, including a spread of the mail-away Action Figure Display Arena. I didn’t think you’d mind if I posted that too.
I’ll shut up now. Happy Friday.
Meco (Domenico Monardo) launched the space disco era with Star Wars and other Galactic Funk (1977), which went platinum. He followed with several disco-ized soundtrack albums, including Encounters of Every Kind (1977), Superman and other Galactic Heroes (1978), and Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album (1980).
Music from Star Trek and The Black Hole (1980) didn’t go over well. The movies bombed at the box office, and the original, now classic soundtracks (by Jerry Goldsmith and John Barry, respectively), resisted the transition to upbeat funk. Meco knew it, and faked most of The Black Hole. The main theme is the only track that clearly resembles Barry’s score.
You can listen to Meco’s “Star Trek Medley” here. The entire Black Hole suite is below.
The album art is by Shusei Nagaoka, who did many memorable sci-fi-themed covers throughout the ’70s, including Out of the Blue (ELO) and Raise! (Earth, Wind & Fire).
A German group called Nostromo, following a very curious disco version of the Alien theme in 1979, released a 7″ called The Black Hole in 1980. It’s much more faithful to the original, although I like Meco’s misdirected space-funk a little bit more.
Just the front and back covers and a two-page spread from each catalog, but it’s enough to give you an idea of the once proud art of advertising to kids. Beautiful colors, beautiful layouts. Estes was the biggest model rocket company in the ’70s and ’80s. Centuri was second.
(Images via Myndscrape’s Paper Trail)
The Empire Strikes Back was released on home video, LaserDisc, and CED in November 1984. CED stands for Capacitance Electronic Disc (catchy, no?), basically a phonograph that played back audio and video. The format was discontinued in 1986, having lost RCA a reported $600 million.
Star Wars was released on video, for rental only, in 1982, although you could pay a small fortune for a “lifetime rental.” Some sources say the movie was released for true purchase later in ’82; other sources say 1984. The brochure leads me to believe it had been available before 1984, but possibly discontinued after a certain period of time.
The Empire tape cost $79.98 upon release and sold a record 400,000 copies. Rambo beat it in 1986, selling 425,000 copies at the same price.
(Images via Star Wars Seller/eBay)
When I say Zen, I mean Zen. See all sixteen (sixteen!) enlargeable images at Kenner Collector, where I found them initially. They originate from Ron Salvatore at the Rebelscum Forums, where you can find details on origin and location. Salvatore co-edits and writes for the definitive Star Wars Collectors Archive.
Lots of other beloved toys to be seen, including the Star Bird Avenger and Mattel’s Battlestar Galactica Viper Launch Station.
A pool of drool is collecting on my desk.
The outstanding photos are from the original Interview magazine story, which ran before Star Wars premiered. The interviewers, Susan Pile and Geraldine Smith, have absolutely no idea how to approach the subject of a “space thriller.” The actors don’t seem to, either. Interview was founded in 1969 by Andy Warhol, hence the unedited, improvisational nature of the exchange.
Hamill is turning away and covering his face because of his terrible car accident earlier in the year. It actually makes the photos more compelling, in my opinion. The interviewers don’t mention it specifically, but we do get this: “Pile introduces Matthew Rolston, the photographer, to everybody and explains that Mark’s face is not to be photographed.”
I love this exchange with Ford:
PILE: So, being an actor then, being a professional actor must be kind of hard because you have to let your ego be sublimated by a director who tells you who you are?
FORD: No. Not at all. [laughs] It’s easy. The only thing hard about being an actor is being out of work. So, when you get a job—that part ain’t hard at all.
Little did he know that he would never be out of work again.
Regular readers will know by now the legend of Mikey Walters. D&D module designer, video game programmer, filmmaker, and compelling interview subject, Mikey has recently unearthed some jaw-dropping home video of several Christmas mornings in the 1970s.
See Mikey caress the Death Star! See Mikey fire the Laser Rifle! See Mikey apply decals to the Tie Fighter, play Electroman with his awesome Dad (“Hi, Mom!”), test the crank of the Star Bird Command Base, from which he launches his Star Bird Avenger into the stars! It’s a video prelude to the photo I posted of Mikey last year.
Here’s another one. Christmas, 1976. Look at him go!
Toys seen here include the incredible Star Trek Mission to Gamma VI playset and a Star Trek Tricorder; The Six Million Dollar Man Mission Control Center and Bionic Transport and Repair Station; the Earthquake Tower (“World’s tallest playset!”); and—wait for it—the Space: 1999 Eagle 1.
See all the videos on Mikey’s YouTube channel, and read about Mikey’s memories of those mornings on his blog.
There was a time when our biggest worry was which amazing present to open first. Here it is, in living color.
The Star Rider is the only toy I know of that tries to simulate the experience of flying a spaceship. It was pricey (about $50) and, from what I can tell, was only produced in ’79 and ’80. This 1983 article describes the Star Rider as “a young child’s riding toy now being marketed by Playskool,” but it sounds like a mistake to me. There’s nothing in the catalogs after 1980. A very rare find today.
That’s Kenner’s Imperial Troop Transporter to the right of the Falcon.
(Photo via Jack Mayfield/Flickr)
It’s probably too late for Christmas, but damn, these are really nice. The images have been digitally recreated by Greg at the Retro Art Blog based on original trading card wrappers, View-Master covers, classic board game covers, classic model covers, and so on. Above is a small sampling. See the rest at his eBay store, Retro Art Stuff.
Sizes vary depending on what’s being reproduced: board game canvases will look like board games, and trading card canvases will look like a (giant!) pack of trading cards. All of the prints above are 16″ x 20″. The killer Spock print is based on the cover of an old AMT model kit.
Greg’s also on Facebook.
2 Warps to Neptune 