FIRST (Star Trek: TOS fan club)
| Fan Club | |
|---|---|
| Name: | FIRST (Friends for the Immediate Revival of Star Trek) |
| Dates: | 1972 |
| Founder(s): | L. David Gray |
| Leadership: | |
| Country based in: | USA |
| Focus: | Star Trek: TOS |
| External Links: | |
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FIRST was a very early Star Trek: TOS fan club.
From L. David Gray, the president of this fan club, who commented about its history in the zine, The Neutral Zine #1. In that zine, he stated that FIRST had had a zine planned, called, STARSHIP EARTH, which was never published, and that NETURAL ZINE was an homage to this club:
Weeks before it even started [on the air for the first time], I knew about STAR TREK, even if it was only a small amount. By the time it was to air on September 8, 1966, I was prepared (or armed, if you like) with a tape recorder and an open mind. Before I had recorded too many of the episodes which had aired, I had become one of the faithful. A small group of people got together at my local school to form a club in which we could "talk STAR TREK." I ended up as the President of the club, if only because of my intimate knowledge of the show which I had due to my collection of recordings.
When STAR TREK was cancelled, the members of our little group were among the outraged. But how were we to know that thousands of other "little groups" had been created -- and were equally out raged? Despite the lack of this knowledge, the members continued to communicate with one another through a small newsletter which I edited and published.
After a time, the members graduated or moved away or some thing -- but we still wrote to each other and I still printed the newsletter. Before too long, the old members started sending new people along to me, and they in turn sent more new people, and they sent their friends...well, you get the picture. By 1972 our group had blossomed into a larger, nationwide group. We finally decided, since we now knew about Star Trek Welcommittee and other groups, to form a nationwide group known as the Friends for the Immediate Revival of Star Trek (FIRST as we liked to call it -- egotistical, weren't we?). During the life of FIRST, we went from a small local group of about twenty-five or so to an eventual membership of over two thousand. But — and this is the important part -- only about two hundred were actually paid up, contributing members. Without the necessary contributions financially, FIRST went down the tubes, leaving a great many people drifting in the wake.
But not before I found out that there were a great many people out there who loved STAR TREK as much (if not more) than I did. As President of FIRST, I started correspondence with many of the members -- some of whom went on to bigger and better things -- and some of whom just didn't care anymore. And ONE who cared enough to offer her friendship, and eventually love, directly as a result of the dream of STAR TREK.
That's why I do it — to repay all those who care enough about STAR TREK to make the movie possible, as well as those who made my marriage possible, and especially those of you former members of the club who never got a copy of a promised zine which FIRST was to publish in 1975.
This zine is dedicated to all those people -- Brad Hicks, who in the end formed another "branch of FIRST; David Gerrold, who, with out knowing it, is indirectly responsible for my marriage; and all the other little people who, together, make this dream a reality. This zine is the result of MY dreams of STAR TREK. After a delay of over six years, this is the zine which should have been — STARSHIP EARTH.