Star Trek Action Group (newsletter)/Issues 101-120
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Issues 001-020 · Issues 021-040 · Issues 041-060 · Issues 061-080 · Issues 081-100 · Issues 101-120 · Issues 121-141
Issue 101
Star Trek Action Group 101 was published in August 1991 and contains 70 pages.
- this issue, in celebrating 25 years of Star Trek, has a long, long article on it's history; much of the zine is made up of extensive actor bios
- Nikki White contributes a long article called "Star Trek in Australia"
- Gisela Dirr writes an article called "Star Trek in Germany." An excerpt: Star Trek, or as the series is called in Germany "Raumschiff Enterprise" (Starship Enterprise), was first aired on 27th May 1972. The first episode shown was 'Tomorrow is Yesterday.' The German TV station, ZDF, had only bought 39 episodes (at first 26, then another 13 following protests against cancellation). The last episode was shown about two years later, in 1974. The other 41 episodes, including the two pilots, were to be broadcast much later... The time slot of 18.00 indicated that the ZDF considered ST to be a children's series. This was lucky for me as I was only seven years old then, but it was bad for the image of ST. The dubbing (into the German language) added to that; to make the series 'funnier' the dubbing often bore little resemblance to the original dialogue. The result was often very silly. One of the best episodes, 'Amok Time', was cut in order to make the result "suitable for children'; by deleting a number of scenes (it runs only 38 minutes) and altering some of the dialogue they created a version in which Spock suffers from some kind of space fever and is given a drug by McCoy. This drug causes a dream in which Spock kills Kirk. When Spock wakes up, he is cured and the whole visit to Vulcan has never happened as it was only a dream! Fortunately, I had read the Blish novelisation -before watching the episode, but I was confused and disappointed by the ZDF's version.
- a fan, Beatrix Huber, writes about "Star Trek in Switzerland"
- a number of fans write testimonials: "What Star Trek Has Meant to Me"
- there is a list of DC Comics Star Trek books
- this issue has a list of third season TNG episode synopses
- there is an Open Letter to "All Star Trek Fans" written by a fan who warns other fans of the shoddy, greedy, restrictive, sneaky practices of Creation Con
- this issue has many, many letters by fans, most congratulatory and enthusiastic about Star Trek and the newsletter itself
- a fan, Trina Fitzalan-Howard, writes an essay entitled "How to Survive Star Trek 1-5 Showings, Just!" and describes a ST film marathon (this article is reprinted from The Final Frontier a newsletter for "Mensa STsig")
- there are two con reports for the very, very first British Star Trek Convention, see those pages
Issue 102
Star Trek Action Group 102 was published in October/November 1991 and contains 44 pages.
- Book Reviews: Boogeymen , Crisis on Centaurus , The IDIC Epidemic , Mindshadow , Survivors , The Vulcan Academy Murders, Worlds of the Federation
- fans write in about Gene Roddenberry's death
- Conventions: con report for MidCon 91, see that page
- there is an article called "The Technology in Star Trek" called John Evans
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 103
Star Trek Action Group 103 was published in December 1991/January 1992 and contains 56 pages.
- Conventions, Reviews of The 11th The Leonard Nimoy Convention, see that page
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 104
Star Trek Action Group 104 was published in February/March 1992 and contains 68 pages.
- this issue has a detailed report of the club's financial status
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 105
Star Trek Action Group 105 was published April/May 1992 and contains 60 pages.
- Filk Song: This Whole Crew by Ulricke Boller
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 106
Star Trek Action Group 106 was published in June/July 1992 and contains 68 pages.
- Convention Reports: Federation (Augsburg, Germany, May 1-3, 1993), Holodiction (Sydney, Australia, May 15-17, for this con report, see that page), SOL III (for this con report, see that page)
- STAG Postal Lending Library list of pro books and rules, see that page
- the editor writes: I would like you all to join me in welcoming Sara Lyford-Smith to the STAG committee. Sara has kindly volunteered to help out with a new project we are about to launch. This project concerns Star Trek books. Buying all the books that become available is not only expensive; they tend to take up a lot of space in the home. Also, for those of you who are relatively new to fandom, some of the older titles are not easy "to find unless you are a frequent visitor to second-hand bookshops. So, STAG has decided to launch a postal lending library of Trek and Trek related books and zines. We have already stocked it with over sixty titles, including most of the 'staple' Trek books and, with your help, we hope to increase our stocks in future. If you have any books you no longer need we would be delighted if you would donate them to this good cause. So, have a turn out and send all your unwanted books to us. We will accept any Trek books (fiction and non-fiction), Trek related books (eg. written by the Trek actors) and any predominantly Trek zines. Full details of this library and how you can join will appear later in the newsletter, just before the advert section. We are sorry that we are not able to offer this service to members overseas.
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 107
Star Trek Action Group 107 was published in August/September 1992 and contains 80 pages.
- Convention Reports: Contagion, see that page, Rec-Con, see that page, Vulkon Atlanta
- into Twilight (about William Shatner in The Twilight Zone)
- The STAG Postal Lending Library
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 108
Star Trek Action Group 108 was published in October/November 1992 and contains 55 pages.
- Editorial, the editor mentions that she has changed her name to Lynne Banister
- Librarr:STAG Postal Lending Library list and rules; the listing of contents includes zines for the first, and only, time
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 109
Star Trek Action Group 109 was published December 1992/January 1993 and contains 40 pages.
- this issue is almost nearly Deep Space Nine and Next Generation orientated
- Deep Space Nine's imminent release has rekindled all the old arguments on which Trek was better; fans who liked TOS but not TNG were now joined by fans who like TNG but are prepared to not like DS9; and everyone sticks up for TOS, even if sometimes simply for the nostalgia factor -- every new show seems to bring out a new wave of rationalizations, and hurt feelings
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 110
Star Trek Action Group 110 was published in July 1993 and contains 64 pages.
- Book Reviews: Shell Game, Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, War Drums
- Convention reports: Pasadena con, UFP Holiday Trek in Cyprus, Warp, see that page for con reports
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 111
Star Trek Action Group 111 was published in 1993 and contains 80 pages.
- one fan comments about changes in fandom and in zines: My first con was Aucon '81 in Coventry. It was a wonderful experience which I will never forget; the whole atmosphere was sheer magic with people wearing original uniforms and badges. I went into the dealers' room and couldn't believe my eyes. I just didn't know where to begin as I had never seen so much merchandise before. Then some fanzines caught my eye; I started reading a couple of them and I was hooked. I bought £20 worth and when I stepped out of the room people were sat on the floor reading their zines. Remember, the original series was not yet on video and, as you said, the only way to get new stories was to read zines. This is something you never see now. I recently attended the Warp One con in Morecambe, my first con in 6 years. I bought some zines; they are still excellent reading, but fans don't seem to read zines much anymore. Can I make some other observations about fandom in general? At Warp One I was staggered at the choice of merchandise available. You were spot on, Lynne, when you said there is just too much stuff to choose from. You could easily spend hundreds of pounds on merchandise. Now don't get me wrong, I think it is wonderful that we have such a choice but it can be extremely frustrating; it beats me how people can afford to buy some of the things on offer. As a collector, I am overwhelmed by it all but I still buy plenty of fanzines. When I first joined STAG back in 1981 zines were a tradition and I very much hope that zines will not disappear because I for one will be very sorry indeed. My all time favourites are A Human Kind of Learning and No Way Home.
- for other contents, see table of contents image
Issue 112
Star Trek Action Group 112 was published in February 1994 and contains 68 pages.
- a fan comments: "I've just had a Star Trek alarm clock for my birthday. It's great; it starts off with the sound of a communicator opening, then the words "Landing party to Enterprise, beam me up Scotty," and then the transporter sound effect. It's very loud and it does this five times before going off."
- Book Review - The New Voyages, see that page
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 113
Star Trek Action Group 113 was published in March 1994 and contains 44 pages.
- there are several comments about the new ST movie. One of them: I'd like to make a point about this STVII film. As much as I enjoy Classic Trek, I really think that enough is enough. Surely even the Federation will have some sort of retirement age! Wouldn't it be awful if something happened to one of our heroes, our friends, on the film set? Let the 'youngsters' have a go; let's have a Next Gen film. It breaks my heart to think that there will be no more Classic episodes or films but we have to be sensible about this.
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 114
Star Trek Action Group 114 was published in May 1994 and contains 72 pages.
- this issue has an article by fan about Star Trek fandom in France. An excerpt: Espace, frontiere de l'infini vers la quelle voyage notre vaisseau spatial. Sa mission de 5 ans: explorer de nouveaux mondes etranges, decouvrir de nouvelles vies, de nouvelles civilisations, et, au mepris du danger, reculer l'impossible." Such were the words which caught the attention of casual TV viewers as they zapped from channel to channel on a Sunday in 1982. Only a dozen or so episodes were shown at 1.15pm on TFl (channel 1) every so often. They were picked at random and used as stop-gaps when the people in charge had nothing else to fill in the time. That is how Star Trek made its first appearance on our television. It was not until 1986 that channel five decided to air the whole series at 7.30pm, every day. And that is only when I, along with most of us fans in France, discovered the world of Star Trek and got hooked by the pointed ears of Mr. Spock.... The series is dubbed in French and, on the whole, it is very well done, apart from some glaring mis-translations, particularly in the titles. The voices are good and perfectly adapted to the characters. The French-speaking Spock has a deep voice, not unlike that of Leonard Nimoy, but poor Sulu has a high-piched voice which sounds strange when you know the original Sulu's voice. When I told George Takei about it, he was horrified! Though the dubbing actors were Canadian, there is no trace of any French-Canadian accent. And last, but not least, we saw all 79 episodes, uncut, complete with the scenes which apparently shocked the BBC... Finally, neither TNG nor DS9 have been aired in France and I doubt they will be; in general there isn't sufficient interest.
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 115
Star Trek Action Group 115 was published in July 1994 and contains 68 pages.
- this issue contains a review of Textual Poachers, see that page
- a fan gives a short comment about the most recent UFP Con, saying it made her want to "jump into the river"; see that page
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 116
Star Trek Action Group 116 was published in September 1994 and contains 72 pages.
- this issue has a review of Chi-Sen-Yai, see that page
- there are two con reports: Archon, see that page, and Contagion, see that page
- fans are at the mercy of the Beeb, SKY, rented videos played on hacked VCRs due to regional controls, and deal with all sorts of other roadblocks in their desire to view DS9 and other shows
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 117
Star Trek Action Group 117 was published in December 1994 and contains 65 pages.
- the editor comments on cons: Once again we had a marvellous time at the Spotlight con. Prior to the con, some friends and I had been discussing Trek cons in general and realised that we were feeling nostalgic for the pre-TNG style of con. Many long-time Trekkers feel overwhelmed by today's cons which they feel are too crowded, too commercialised and not as much fun as they used to be. They feel that Classic Trek is being overlooked at cons and, as much as I love Next Gen, I have to agree. We came to the conclusion that it is time for a Classic Trek revival in the form of an old-style Classic Trek only convention.
- the librarian for the STAG Lending Library comments: It always fascinates me what section of the library is the most popular, as from time to time the trend swings. The zines are without a doubt the most popular items, with Classic Trek and new books following close behind. Our comic section sort of fizzled, then went very quiet (probably due to the small amount of comics in stock) and the DS9 books are hardly borrowed at all. It is somehow comforting to know that even after all this time, Classic Trek is still holding its own amongst the other contenders.
- a fan comments on the decline of zines and fans' apparent desire for the slick. For more on this topic, see History of Media Fanzines: ... fans don't seem to want home-made fan merchandise anymore. There is so much professional merchandise available now and, with a fan's limited budget, it would seem inevitable that most would choose the official items. There are now so many books on the market, non-fiction, fiction, biography, that it's very hard to keep up; it's little wonder that zine sales are down. Also I think many of the new fans, those concerned only with TNG and DS9, have a much different view on being a fan than the ones brought in by the Original Series. People want glossy pictures of their favourite actors. Those pictures are now many and varied. Merchandising has altered considerably in the last couple of years alone with everything from badges to plates, comics to very expensive sculpted statuettes, computer and video boardgames to action figures. Very little of this is aimed at the more literate or story-loving fan. With so much available, it's not surprising that the fanzine and the like is overlooked. That is not to say that this state of affairs is justified. There are many interesting and imaginative stories told in fanzines. Many about characters that didn't get the screen time or depth of story they deserved. For these characters, the zine seems to be the only avenue left to them. It would be sad, if not tragic, if the fanzine lost popularity to the extent that it was no longer produced. It's the same with a lot of fan-made items; they have a certain individuality and character that is lost on some 'authorised' products.
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 118
Star Trek Action Group 118 was published in February 1995 and contains 80 pages
- fans are still trying to work out their allegiances and inner turmoil about what constitutes "Trek." One fan comments: I look forward to a Classic Trek con; it's about time we got back to real Trek. To me, all Next Gen does is upset and divide the fans of Gene Roddenberry's dream. It seems as if Berman and the rest of his cronies deliberately set out to cause annoyance and make money through controversy. Will they still be around in 28 years? I doubt it!" and another one writes: "I remember watching TNG for the first time. When Picard started saying "Space, the final frontier..." I thought how dare they? How can someone else speak those words? However, my opinion soon changed; TNG took all that was best about Classic Trek and made it even better.
- a fan comments on the difference between the slick and glossy and the fan-run creations: I see the fan-run clubs as being amateur, nonprofit-making organisations with a membership base of hundreds rather than thousands, run by people who give a lot of their time and energy to producing newsletters to keep the members in touch with the world of Star Trek. Fan-run clubs are for true fans, fans who are more interested in the printed word than glossy photos, who are more interested in contributing to fandom than just taking it for granted. Official Fan Clubs are run by professionals for one reason; money making is their main objective, bringing news to fans is secondary. They have a large membership base (the UK club has 18.000 members) and lots of glossy photos and an extremely high proportion of adverts in their magazines. While I wouldn t deter anyone from joining an official club ('though I would recommend the US one rather than the UK one), I feel that the people who join only an official club are missing out and have no idea of what fandom is really about. These new fans seem to have just jumped on a bandwagon and, while a few filter through to the fan-run clubs, the majority want only professional clubs, professional cons and professional merchandise. I don 't see the official fan club as a threat to the fan-run clubs, nor their members as true Star Trek fans.
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 119
Star Trek Action Group 119 was published in June 1995 and contains 55 pages.
- this issue has a con report for the Irish con Timewarp, see that page
- the editor announces that she is probably going to step down as the president of the club and, by default, as the editor of this newsletter
- this issue reprints a letter that was also published in IDIC, see The Viacom Crackdown for a report on this letter
- for other content, see the table of contents image
Issue 120
Star Trek Action Group 120 was published in September 1995 and contains 64 pages.
- there are some changes in leadership: the editor, who had annonced plans to perhaps step down, was staying on and another fan named Asif Zabbar was going to take over some of the reviewing and administrative tasks; also, the STAG Lending Library was going to be on hiatus as the librarian was unwell.
- there is an announcement that the BBC was going to start showing DS9: "I know that many of you have to rely on the BBC for your Trek so this is very good news for you."
- this issue has much discussion about the Viacom crackdown: There has been no news from Paramount/Viacom concerning the future of Star Trek fandom in the UK so perhaps no news is good news.... We had expected to hear something by now but, as we haven't, I think it prudent to take a 'wait and see' attitude. While we should be concerned about their interference, Spock would be quick to remind us that it is pointless to worry about what may possibly happen; we will cross that bridge when we come to it. However, I am fervently hoping that clubs like STAG will be allowed to continue without having to pay a license fee.
- another fan writes: I found the article on the future of Star Trek fandom most interesting. Paramount is obviously determined to "live long and prosper', economically that is. In the 60s certain executives had Star Trek dead and buried. It was the fans who rescued and nurtured Star Trek during the wilderness years of the 70s, demanding it should be given another chance. The inflationary success of the ST experience during the 1980s, the films and TNG owe much to that fandom. I fear the argument in question is not over the ownership of ideas but over money. There is an unpleasant smell of greed in the air. Perhaps Paramount is being run by the Ferengi! Over the past ten years Star Trek has been a nice little earner for Paramount. And now do they wish to squeeze every last penny out of it in the hope that their bank account will 'boldly go where none have gone before'? I hope I am wrong but it does seem to be a classic case of biting the hand that feeds it.
- another fan writes: I imagine that most, if not all, Star Trek fans will be quite horrified at reading about Paramount trying to snub out the fan-run clubs and conventions. I certainly was! It is, of course, typical of Paramount to come up with such a thing; they tried to do away with Star Trek in the first place, at the end of the second season of Classic Trek. It was the fans in the USA who persuaded them to allow a third season via a letter writing campaign. At the end of the third season Paramount probably thought that it was indeed the end of Star Trek. It was the fans who kept the name of Star Trek alive and it was because of the fans that the films, TNG, DS9 and Voyager have come along. They never learn, do they?
- from another fan: ...Paramount (the owners) won't come cheap for a licence. They may charge a smaller fee for fan-run clubs and conventions but that would mean the fans will still have to pay more to cover the fees, and that "more' will go into Paramount's pockets. I think it is about time we told Paramount what we think about all this. We have not been costing Paramount money at all; indeed, Star Trek clubs and fans promote Star Trek. Come off it Paramount, we are Star Trek fans and we are not stupid!
- another comment: Star Trek: Fandom or Commercial Commodity? Once Star Trek was some sort of show, not to be taken too seriously. Now, however, the "powers that be' have woken up! Not only can they see that there is money to be made from this, but a lot of money! So, instead of working alongside the world of fandom, instead of working together with the fan market already established, they seemed to have decided to totally take over, not only by running the show for themselves, but by also totally swallowing up everything in their path. This means out go fan-run conventions, in come the newfangled commercial and glitzy productions/conventions. Out go the fan written zines with their home drawn pictures and home spun poems, and in come glossy, snazzy magazines and books with eyecatching designs. Out go the polystyrene sets that wobble, and in come the computer-designed, attention-grabbing special effects, complete with as many gismos and gadgets that the retailer can stock.
- another comment: {{Quotation|I read the article regarding Paramount's dictatorial attitude as to what fans will and will not be allowed to do in the future and I can honestly say I find their attitude disgraceful. They are acting purely out of greed. They make more than enough money out of Trek fans and I fail to see how showing videos at cons and club meetings is going to make the slightest bit of difference to their huge profits. Why should [[Fancon|fan run conventions}} be licenced? I can understand licencing the huge profit-making US cons, but it's out of order to try and licence cons where the main use of their profits is to give it to charity; does Paramount want that money as well? I think they should be told to keep their greedy hands off our conventions and fan clubs and that whatever rules and regulations they try to impose should be completely ignored. They can't sue the whole world, can they?}}
- another remark: I want to comment on the future of fandom; what a nerve Paramount has trying to dictate to us what we can and cannot do. Don't they realise that without our support ST would not be what it is today? Having said that, however, I don't just love ST because Paramount made it. I love ST for what it represents for the future. Paramount cancelled ST, then we, the fans, still watched it and produced fanzines etc. We still supported it when Paramount didn't and now they have the gall to say we can't use the name Star Trek for our fan clubs, or even produce newsletters. What would happen if we suddenly stopped buying anything ST? This would hit them where it hurts most, but they know fans will (myself included) continue to buy ST merchandise. I hope this situation is resolved; if not I fear the worst for fandom. Have Paramount nothing better to do than dictate to us, the loyal, faithful, fans? Whatever happens, Paramount can't take away our love for Star Trek.
- this fan is not so nostalgic: The British Star Trek conventions have had it their own way for over twenty years and now it seems that Paramount may be going to crack down on them. Well, everything must come to an end. British Star Trek conventions are run by a clique, a group of people who wouldn't like Paramount to take away their power. The attendees are getting a raw deal at British Conventions these days. The Business Meeting rules are a big joke. The only rule should be "the convention is for the attendees", and not all the mumbo jumbo they have now. If it's going to take Paramount to take away the influence of this clique, then so be it. The Generations convention was a turning point in U.K. conventions. It was competition for the fan run conventions and, like the film, it was the start of a new era, and the end of an old one.
- for other content, see the table of contents image