Star Trek: Alive and Well

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Zine
Title: Star Trek: Alive and Well
Publisher: "A Trans-atlantic Publication," out of Dayton, Ohio
Editor(s): Bill Stratton, Jr.
Organizer(s):
Author(s):
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Type:
Date(s): not dated but likely 1974
Topic:
Medium: print
Frequency:
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS
Rating(s):
Warning(s):
Language: English
External Links:
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Star Trek: Alive and Well is a Star Trek: TOS zine.

It was created by a 13-year old (Bill Stratton, Jr.) and his friends at Cornell Heights Elementary.

From the issue #1: "The following STREKZINE is the first in a line of mags which was originally titled: STAR TREK IS ALIVE AND WELL. Note the IS which we omitted because we felt this is already known, and it dragged out the title. At first Darryl Elder was the ED, but he ripped up the zines, and is now the ED of STAR TREK HATERS ASSOCIATION.(S.T.H.A.). If you like STAR TREK, then this is your rag! - Bill Stratton jr."

From issue #2: "You don't need to send stamps if you buy this mag at school!"

A Feud

There is much about a school boy feud between the group of kids who created this zine, some of the boys who left and joined another faction called the "S.T.H.A." (the Star Trek Haters Association).

The ST Con

A Star Trek con is described in the first issue. This appears to be a fan gathering that the boys organized.

Some descriptions from the first issue:

I liked the con,and bought a lot. (Boy, did they clean me out!) The food was good, but I didn’t enjoy the "messed up” movie, or BILL’S jokes!! I brought my cousin, but I couldn’t tell whether he was dead or not.[1]

In my estimation, the ST con was a total success. There were good and bad moments.

I was hoping for a more humorous audience, but the overall reaction was sufficient.

The episode which I filmed off of t.v. didn’t turn out the way we had hoped it would. We had the sound ready to synchronize,but the batteries were dead in the recorder!

Good moments outnumbered the bad. Mike Shelton won the MONSTER TIMES ish,and the food and items were excellent, but there wasn’t enough food! [2]

I felt that the Star Trek convention was a success. My main reason for this is because we earned more money than I thought we would. The convention could have been even better with more planning and sticking to it. If we had more refreshments, (pizza, koolade, cookies, etc.), we could have soaked them out of every penny they had. The audience could have been a bit more cooperative, but it worked out O.K. so I can't really complain. One thing that I can complain about is that phantom phone-caller that we can't seem to figure out who it was. If I were to rate the convention on terms of one to a hundred, I would rate it eighty three. [3]

Issue 1

cover of issue #1

Star Trek: Alive and Well 1

  • The Starship Enterprise and Bridge Crew by Bill Stratton, Jr. (1)
  • Star Trek Compared to Other T.V. Shows by Bill Stratton Jr. (2)
  • Star Trek Compared to Other T.V. Shows by Kent Eichennauer and Mike Wimmer (an S.T.H.A.er) (2)
  • Star Trek Dossiers: Bill Stratton, John Patton, Kent Eichennauer and Chong Chin (3)
  • Letters to the ST Haters Assoc., reactions by Bill Stratton and John P. (4)
  • Star Trek Report: ST Letter Drive, ST is Back, Magicam, Trekkies I.D. Card, Puzzle, and Our Movie Extra, Extra: Our St. Con (5)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

I thought it was very good. I can see that a lot of work was put into it. [4]

It was worth it. The mag was funny, but there was too much detail on the ship. I feel you shouldn't denounce people, although I enjoyed cracks on other shows. [5]

I feel the comparison with other t.v. shows was expertly done, graphics spark [my] interest, general appearance of magazine was aesthetically done, however, I feel that journalistic bickering between the proponents of ST, and their "enemies" reduced it to childish claptrap. I enjoyed the comparisons the most. [6]

Issue 2

Star Trek: Alive and Well 2 contains 6 pages. It is not dated.

front cover of issue #2, Kent Eichenhauer and Bill Stratton, Jr.

From the editor:

As we open issue two, we see that our format has changed. Number one: We are now twice monthly! Number two: No subscriptions. So you don't have to receive extra, and unwanted issues. Number three: We hope do have a part of a larger poster every ish. Number four: We hope to start a back issue dept. and we have added an ad section on page 2.

So don't get "LOST IN SPACE," get "STAR TREK!!

  • The Big Bad Klingons (1)
  • Letters (2)
  • Star Trek Compared to Other TV Shows (2)
  • Red Alert Notice (3)
  • ST Poster (4)
  • Star Report, Phasing It In, and Some Comments (5)
  • Star Trek Compared to Other TV Shows, continued (6)
  • Trek Activities (6)

Issue 3

Star Trek: Alive and Well 3 contains 10 pages. It is not dated, but there is reference to an upcoming con in 1975.

front cover of issue #3

From the editor: "The following is our third and largest issue. For Cornell Heights, it's the last. I can be one in a line for you. If you want to receive more mags, by way of mail, send your name, address, zip, and two stamps plus 25 cents per issue."

front cover of issue #3
  • Sci-Fi Rating Machine, Comparing Star Trek to Other T.V. Shows (1)
  • Opinion on Other Shows (2)
  • More Letters (2)
  • Star Trek Collectables, Star Trek Report (3)
  • ST Puzzle by Kent Eichenauer (4)
  • Star Trek Quiz: For the Real Trekkies! (5)
  • Star Trek Con Poster (6)
  • Answers to Quiz (6)
  • Star Trek Space Ship-Ship Blueprints (7)

References

  1. ^ by Darryl Elder
  2. ^ by Bill Stratton jr.
  3. ^ by by Kent Eichenauer
  4. ^ from Mrs. Bryant in "Star Trek: Alive and Well" #1
  5. ^ from Lindsay in "Star Trek: Alive and Well" #1
  6. ^ from Mr. Nagle in "Star Trek: Alive and Well" #1