2-5YM

You may be looking for Five Year Mission and Beyond.

Zine
Title:	2-5YM (Second 5-Year Mission)
Publisher:	S.T.A.R. Syracuse (beginning with the third issue)
Editor(s):	Karen Funk
Date(s):	December 1973-December 1977
Series?:
Medium:	print
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:	the editor mentions it here
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

2-5YM is a Star Trek: TOS club zine.

It was "written by and for Trekkies. Published whenever possible by some Trekkies in a middle-class 20th century suburb known as Manlius, New York."

About: From the Editor

Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about 1973, I read about the existence of something called Star Trek fanzines in a couple of books by David Gerrold, most notably The World of Star Trek. In November or December of that year I put together my own zine, 2-5YM, which was short for Second Five-Year Mission, something we Trekkies all longed for back then.

That five page ditto led to my meeting my friend, a young English teacher who later became a librarian. Soon we merged with STAR Syracuse, the local Trek club.

We continued to publish 2-5YM until 1977, by which time it was published by offset press, if I recall correctly. At least a few issues in between were done by mimeo, typed for us by a little old lady in Fayetteville.

Issue 1: December 1973

cover of issue #1

Eighty copies were printed. From the second issue: "All of our free copies placed in the Economy Bookstore, Dewitt, are gone."

When 2-5YM began last December as a new, monthly zine, it was a five page ditto, the work of about four people who wrote it up and ran it off on the ancient hand-run machine in the Fayettaville-Manlius High School music department. That first issue was handed out free, and future issues were to be 50, plus a stamp (8 cents).

"Thank you to the magnificent David Gerrold, to whom this issue is dedicated, and also thanks to Mr. Tiffault for the use of the ditto machine."

• 2-5YM? What is that? (short history of the show and its fandom, excerpt: "The cartoon is also a stepping stone to the real goal. There is a greater chance than ever before of getting new episodes of the show on network prime time, with real sets and more than just the voice of Bill Shatner as he pushes Starfleet objectives instead of margarine. We should now let NBC know we won't be satisfied until that happens.")
• Communications (about shows on television)
• 2-5YM's Standing Challenge (trivia)
• Science Department: Dilithium, article by Dan Cheney
• Address List (addresses for fans to write and bug the TPTB)
• Related Subject Department: Kohoutek, article about a comet
• The Future (plans for this zine)
• Tag (the zine is free now but "we have no intention of paying for 2-5YM indefinitely. Future issues will cost five cents.")
• Galactic blessing ("May the Great Bird of the Galaxy nest in your Christmas tree (or fly over your menorah)! and may the coming year be free from Klingons! (Would you believe a tribble in every stocking? How about a Vulcan? Most illogical...) KEEP ON TREKKIN'!")

Issue 2: Feburary 1974

cover of issue #2

This issue contains 6 pages.

"For those of you who wish to subscribe to 2-5YM, the rate is $1.50 for about twelve issues, which is our expected yearly output."

The second issue was a six page ditto which cost 15 cents and came out early in February. A revised version of this issue went to the convention in New York City (and no, Virginia, we are nowhere near that fabled metropolis), and we felt established. As early as January, we asked David Gerrold, author of "The Trouble With Tribbles," two animated episodes, two ST books and some impressive non-Trek sci-fi, to do an interview with us, by mail or by phone. Somewhat to our own surprise, he consented to do one -- after February.

• some corrections from the first issue
• Calling all T.V. watchers! (a plea to help distribute a poll about television viewing habits and students, the completed poll was to be sent to WSYR, WHEN, "and especially WNYS.")
• A thought ("Are you one of those unfortunate people who have no opportunity to New York City or Los Angeles for the major Star Trek conventions? Then why don't we have our own local cons? We're game if you are. Interested? Call us.")
• Communications (information about shows on television)
• Now Available ("The Original 2-4YM Superlist" is ready. For 15 cents, you get dozens of Star Trek addresses, and for another 25 cents we'll even send you more of them as they become available.")
• The Future ("Next issue will feature coverate of the S.T. convention in N.Y.C. by Dan Cheney, and the following one will have an exclusive interview with David Gerrold! Watch!")
• The International Star Trek Convention, etc. (info on Star Trek Lives! (convention)/1974)
• a Questor quiz
• Science Department: The Transporter, acticle by Richard C. Cline

Issue 3: June 1974

A special issue was published in June 1974 and contains 17 pages. The cover states it is a "special issue," but that is likely due to the fact it has a lengthy interview with David Gerrold.

front cover of issue #3

From an ad in Star-Borne #14: "WHO IS DAVID GERROLD AND WHY IS HE DOING THESE WONDERFUL THINGS FOR US? We aren't quite sure ourselves, but our exclusive interview with him is in 2-5YM, ST's newest zine, Zine also features a lot more (And it's good too-editor's comment!)."

cover of the reprint edition of issue #3. The artist is "T.R." This was club member, Timothy Reed.

At the time of this zine, the editor was in the 11th grade.

On March 3rd, our small band became part of a ten to fifteen member chapter of S.T.A.R., and 2-5YM became the official publication of STAR-Syracuse, And when the interview came back in all its glory, this naïve and optimistic club decided to have a special April issue, printed professionally and featuring the interview.

We called about thirty-seven printers, whose estimates ranged from $98 to $250 or more...

....And the April became the April-May issue (the March never came out at all), twenty pages offset became thirty pages offset, then twenty offset plus ten ditto in the middle, then thirty to forty pages mimeo with an offset cover, then twenty with an offset cover. As I write this, it is now June, and hopefully it will be done this week, with about twenty pages and an offset cover. At the rate we have been going, however, I am not so sure.

Also from the editorial:

[much snipped about Trek books and Trek news]

AMT's model of the Galileo 7 is out, and promises an "Exploration Kit," featuring the phaser, communicator, and tricorder, soon, while Lincoln Enterprises is making similar noises in the same direction...disagreements among members of the committee organizing the New York conventions have resulted in a split, and most of them have left to organize "The Star Trek Convention," while it may be that the old "International" one will carry on as well.

Notes: Due to financial problems, this issue is twenty pages long instead of the promised thirty. Accordingly, all photos, as well as several drawings and a few excellent articles have been cut. However, if this issue does well, these will all be in a similar, perhaps ten page, issue soon. Otherwise, it's back to the dittos!

From "The Great Bird's Wild Goose Chase":

When "The Questor Tapes" was finally aired this past spring, it was universally liked, my own opinion was that — dare I say it? — it was as good as, or better than, the best ST episode ever aired. Nevertheless, the show did not make the fall, 1974 line-up.

Why? Apparently, NBC does not learn: they are still timid when it comes to putting on anything new or different, like, for instance, such (gasp) science fiction as Star Trek and Questor, (Remember the air-brushed Vulcan ears?)

Well, they made the same mistake with Questor, except that this was more severe. Having bought it, they said (to quote Star-Borne, which quotes Gene Roddenberry"'Look, let's play it safe. Let's do The Fugitive, except he's a robot, get it?' And I [Roddenberry] said, 'I... I won't do it.' And we argued all of last year, and I finally refused to do it...'" If Questor is ever going to come on, then, it will be done right — Gene's way. And I, for one, agree with him, (If you do to, write to NBC-TV, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10029, and tell them. Who knows? It might help.)

The editor wishes Dan Cheney good luck in his upcoming move to Austin, Texas.

• Editorial (3)
• Communications (3)
• Interview: David Gerrold (4)
• The Great Bird's Wild Goose Chase, article by Karen Funk about television PTB making dumb decisions about Roddenberry's new shows Questor, The Questor Tapes, and Genesis II (Planet Earth) (8)
• The Universal Translator Analyzed, article by Richard Cline (8)
• Fleet Warfare: Dept.: The Second Romulo-Federation War, article by Will Hiestand (9)
• Satire: The Day of the Frito, fiction by Roberta Nordheim (11)
• Convention Report: 2-5YM Goes to the Con, by Dan Cheney (See Star Trek Lives! (convention)/1974) (14)
• Letters to Spock (17)

Issue 4 (v.1 n.4): October 1974

cover of issue #4, from a cartoon by Tim Reed

• list of 16 member names
• Ti-Ho Class; Federation Heavy Cruiser, article by Dan Cheney with illos by the author
• Sing a Song of Star Trek, lyrics by Karen Funk
• Science Department; Warp Speeds( and other associated items), article by Richard Cline
• Letters to Spock (humor)

Issue 5 (v.2 n.1): December 1974/January 1975

front cover of issue #5 (v.2, n.1)

This is listed on the cover as "Vol.2, #1", and listed on the title page as "Special #2".

from issue #5, illo by Roberta Nordheim

It has 16 one-sided pages.

From the editorial:

[If you want to start a Star Trek fan club], perhaps the first thing to try is to print up some sort of small zine or flier, to be distributed free. This is the best way that we've found to smoke out local trekkies who in most cases believe they are the only ones in the area who care about Star Trek. Be sure you have your phone number on it, and pass them around in halls at school or wherever else people congregate. Soon you should be getting phone calls, letters, and people who say, "Now I don't like Star Trek, but there's this kid in my biology class..."

Once you have come in contact with, say, eight to fifteen people, you are ready to start bringing them together. Plan a party -- or a "mini-con" as you may prefer to call it. Invite everybody and ask them to bring whatever they might want to show off—pictures, Vulcan ears, books, zines or whatever. All these are good ice-breakers.

If the party goes as it should, there will come a point when the people there will want to do this sort of thing more often. Suggest a club and you may discover you have one.

• Editorial (starting your own Star Trek club) (2)
• Communications (news) (3)
• Kohtev Class: Klingon Heavy Cruiser, article by Carl Norman and Tim Reed (includes drawings) (4)
• Concerning Tribbles, aka Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Tribbles (But Didn't Know Who to Ask), article by Tim Reed (7)
• Time Travel in Star Trek in Relation to Other Forms of Science Fiction, article by Mike "Spock" Fasman (8)
• Word Search by Richard Heath (10)
• How to Make a Starship, article by Dan Cheney (11)
• Letters to Spock, includes an illo by Roberta Nordheim (13)
• Science Department, article by Rich Cline (about impulse power) (14)
• The Stardates of Christmas, poem by Karen Funk (based on the "Twelve Days of Christmas") (15)
• Progress in Star Trek Revival, update by Carl Norman (16)

It should be noted that the apparent "ink smears" above the Enterprise on the cover occur in the same positions on other copies of this zine, so it was either deliberate (asteroids?) or accidental smudging on the master. Close inspection shows fingerprint markings in at least 5 of those smudges, supporting the second of those possibilities. (There are also lots of similar smudges on interior pages.)

Issue 6: March 1975

2-5YM March 1975 contains 22 pages.

front cover of issue #6

It is "v.2 n.6," which doesn't fit the numbering. Perhaps it is v.2 n.2?

This issue is "dedicated to Isaac Asimov in a fit of irresponsible impulsiveness on the part of the editor, who is still trying to recover... (Viva T.V. Guide!)"

Also, "The editor wishes to state that she will not defend the quality of any science, technological, starship design or fleet warfare article in this or any other issue Don't like the article? Write your own to send in!"

• Editorial (1)
• Communications ("...Bill Shatner's shooting a movie (all I remember about it is that it's being shot in the Southwest or Mexico somewhere and that he gets to ride a horse).... D.C. Fontana has given Sulu and Uhura first names, though some fans already know what they are. George said he did not want them revealed until we got ST back on... A disenchanted David Gerrold has announced that he won't go back to the children's show, Land of the Lost. Saying that they "don't treat writers well." David talked about the interference he ran into as the show's story editor trying to make an intelligent show from a mish-mash of an original premise. The show was, probably due to the efforts of David and the writers (D.C. Fontana, Larry Niven and others), number one in the ratings. David Gerrold now joins Gene Roddenberry, Harlan Ellison and Rod Serling on the list of s-f writers whose ideas were tampered with by T.V. execs.") (2)
• illos by m.j. catalano (3)
• So This is a Convention, report of Star Trek Lives! 1975 by Karen Funk (opens with description of Isaac Asimov kissing many young female convention attendees) (4)
• Alternate System of Federation Starship Designs, technical article by Thomas A. Verrillo (includes drawings) (7)
• copy of a 2-page letter sent to many fan clubs by A.S.T.R.O. which was a fan organization coordinating a letter writing campaign to save Star Trek (8)
• satirical Star Trek want ads (10)
• illo by S. Johnson (11)
• Fleet Warfare Department: Ti-Ho Class vs Kohtev Class, article by Carl Norman (16)
• cartoon (21)

• 

  from issue #6, illo by m.j. catalano

• 

  from issue #6, fan campaign letter

• 

  from issue #6, fan campaign letter

• 

  from issue #6, illo by S. Johnson

Issue 7: June 1975

2-5YM June 1975 contains 21 pages.

cover of June 1975

This issue has a lot of mixed up pages. The editors wrote:

Because we are not professional printers, errors at times occur in our printing prosses [sic]. For this we are sorry. As you might have noticed, this zine is printed in a slightly novel way.

READING INSTRUCTIONS: Read from page one to page ten in the normal way, reading only the right hand side of the page. When page ten is reached, invert (turn over) and read from page eleven to page twenty reading of the right hand side of the page only.

Again, we wish to express our regrets if we have caused you any inconvenience.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

The editor also wrote about some financial and creative threats on the horizon:

Paramount is getting touchy about Star Trek. Gone are the days when (as we did in late 1973) a letter to their legal department asking permission to do a zine is ignored. Today, Star Trek is “beginning to look profitable — and Paramount wants to see to it that all profits go to them.

To do this, Paramount is not only giving legitimate companies like Dage Co. trouble - they are also looking at zines with an eye to making a buck. Our request to run fiction, made a few months ago, was denied. And then, a few weeks ago, Dan Cheney, Ti-Ho designer and head of a Texas ST group, wrote about the zine his group was about to distribute.

Paramount's reply: They were given permission to do a zine only if a) they sold only a cons, and b) they paid royalties — $25 plus a percentage. I know of very few zines that could afford to operate on that basis. Dan, of course, felt intimidated. He wrote to us. And we called S.T.A.R.

We were told not to panic — that Paramount was not going to bother any local or by-mail operations, but was only going to worry about zines at conventions. Furthermore, we were advised to go ahead on ST fiction; they all do it with impunity. So now we feel somewhat more secure. Could Paramount close us down? Legally, they probably could — Star Trek is a copyrighted concept, and any extrapolations are technically violations of that copyright unless licensed by Paramount. So, if they wanted to spend the time and money — they could do it. But it would be a mistake to do so. ST zines make very little money for themselves. But they do constitute free advertising —- a fact they should recognize.

• Gene Roddenberry Press Conference, excerpts from his talk ("A major event during Syracuse University's Spring Weekend, April 11-13, was to be an appearance by Gene Roddenberry at Hendricks Chapel, accompanied by the complete blooper reel and his original ST pilot, "The Cage.") (2)
• Gene Roddenberry: The Speech (there were 1000 people at this event, and due to the popularity, Roddenberry spoke again at a second venue later that evening at the University-owned Regent Theatre. There were an additional 1000 people at that event.) (9)
• Communication (10)
• Announcement (10)
• Contest (10)
• art by Shane Johnson (11)
• Snoitacinummoc: Gordon Hunter ("communications" spelled backwards, commentary on the types of Trek fans) (12)
• Letters to Spock (humor) (14)
• Star Wreck, cartoon by Karyne Szafran (14)
• Enterprise Religions, article by Hadwin Card (Religion wouldn't be something people "outgrow" but need more of, speculation on the use of the chapel on the Enterprise, comments about the Christian references to the crew's speeches referencing God and the Devil) (15)
• Trekkonsumer Reports (includes short remarks about Southern Star, Showcase, Babel, Star-Borne, Spockanalia, Masiform D, and the Star Trek Concordance Coloring Book, as well as plugs for Dage Co. and Lincoln Enterprises) (16)
• art by Shane Johnson (18)
• On Science and Star Trek, article by Richard Cline (19)
• Editorials (20)
• Star Wreck by Karyne Szafran (21)

DAGE CO, is David Gerrold's company. It sends out a flier with a lot of good info on it. It sells tribbles, books, etc., plus the Ellison version of "City on the Edge of Forever." It is a good company. It is in trouble. Paramount, greedier now that the movie is on the way, may not renew its

license to sell trek stuff. So patronize while you can.

Issue 8: September 1975

cover of issue #8