Stardate (Star Trek: TOS zine edited by Randall Landers)

Zine
Title:	Stardate (with #22 in 1985 it became Orion)
Publisher:	Stardate Press (until 1985), then Orion Press
Editor(s):	Randall Landers, with occasional guest editors
Date(s):	1979 - 1984
Series?:
Medium:	print zine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Stardate is a gen (and sometimes fairly explicit het) Star Trek: TOS fanzine published by Orion Press.

The 1983 "Best Of" issue called "Stardate Logs" contains fiction from issue #1 through #7.

From the Orion Press website:

In 1979, there were more K/S zines than genzines (non-adult general content), and in June of that year I decided to start my own fanzine: Stardate. The first issue sold over 800 copies over the years, and while it's crap by today's zine standards, it was the start of Stardate Press.

Science Fiction, Stardate, and Male Fans

From Boldly Writing:

Many editors of the time were not science fiction fans and did not care whether the story happened on the Enterprise or even in the Federation as long as Kirk and Spock were featured. In contrast, Randall made sure that all of the stories he published fit into the Star Trek universe, and that the stories would have few, if any, departures from the facts established on the screen. Because of this, Randall's Star Trek publications have enjoyed a wide readership. In particular, Randall attracted more male fanzine writers and artists than most other publications. Regulars of his early issues included Rick Endres, Richard G. Pollet, Don Harden (who presented a story in issue 5 in comic strip form), and Tim Farley.

A Dispute, and a Title Change

It was first published in 1979 and ran for 21 issues under the title "Stardate" and then was renamed Orion due to a 1985 legal dispute with FASA Gaming Corporation.

This 1985 legal dispute was also likely the reason "Stardate Press" became "Orion Press."

There is a letter from the editor in Datazine #35 that says that Stardate under Stardate Press, will no longer be published because FSA Gaming Corporation (a Paramount company that makes a Star Trek role-playing game) has used their title and format for a magazine of their own. Landers has contacted his lawyer but was advised he really could do nothing. He expresses his extreme regret at having to give up a zine he's worked on for six years and hopes that fans will support his new zine Orion.

From Sensor Readings:

As of May 15, 1985, Stardate Press is no longer in existence thanks to the callousness of the FASA Gaming Corporation. This company, which is licensed by Paramount Pictures Corporation to produce to a Star Trek role playing game, came out with a magazine for their customers Their magazine was given the title, Stardate, and the same cover format devised for 'Stardate' #21 by Tim Farley (which was to be used on all future issues of our publication) was employed by FASA on their first issue. After discovering this, I made an enquiry into the matter with FASA and issue. After discovering this, I made an enquiry into the matter with FASA and politely asked them to change the name of their publication. They failed to respond for a number of months. Then, I was contacted by their attorney who threatened legal action if 'Stardate Press' continued to produce 'Stardate,' claiming that they had exclusive rights to the title and format under a license from Paramount and under a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. I am simply floored. I had been producing 'Stardate' since June 1979. I produced 21 issues in the six years of operation. 'Stardate' received several favorable reviews for various issues in Universal Translator and Datazine.... It was printed under what fans refer to Common Law Copyright, as most fan magazines. 'Stardate' has over three thousand satisfied readers. And because I can't afford to sue this corporation (and they apparently can afford to sue me), I am no longer able to produce 'Stardate.' To quote an ancestor, 'I will fight no more.' As of May 15, 1985, Orion Press will be born from the ashes of Stardate Press Our first issue, 'Orion' #22, will be legally copyrighted, trademarked, and given an ISSN number, as will all our other publications.

Issue 1

cover of issue #1, R. Landers

Stardate 1 was published in June 1979 and contains 28 pages.

On the cover: "A NEW ZINE FROM GEORGIA."

The publisher describes in in 1988: "[The first issue of] 'Stardate' was a piece of crap. I know it, and so does everyone else who has read it."

• Plague! by Randall Landers ("The Enterprise crew is dying of a strange disease after shore-leave on a peaceful planet. And even though McCoy knows the cause, he's helpless to stop it. But why?") (16 pages)
• The Salos Sellout by Thomas Harden ("The crew of the Enterprise has been ordered to Axanar to collect a status report from the mining colony there. But instead, they unearth a secret which could lead to war.") (9 pages)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

See reactions and reviews for Plague!.

See reactions and reviews for The Salos Sellout.

[zine]: I received your STARDATE. The stories weren't bad.

[zine]:

I am writing this letter in response to your new fanzine, STARDATE. All in all, it was not bad for a first issue; I've seen better, and I've seen worse. The only problem is the artwork. Your writing isn't bad, but the illos were terrible. You need someone with a bit more talent.

Secondly, there was not enough material. Two stories do not a fanzine make. The first story, "Plague", was an interesting story, but it was way too long.

If you want to keep your zine to less than thirty pages, you'll have to cut out the "novelettes."

I'm looking forward to STARDATE #2 mainly to see if you've developed the potential you've shown thus far.

[zine]:

I recently received a copy of your new Star Trek fanzine, STARDATE #1, and I must say that I was impressed. As a dyed-in-the-wool Trek aficionado, I'm always looking for new stories to quench my thirst. The stories were very interesting, and the artwork was fairly well-done. I was especially impressed with how neat and clean the design of the zine was. It's always nice to get off on the right foot with a good first impression. Also, you are to be congratulated for the obvious amount of time, work and effort that went into the production of STARDATE #1. It was almost a one-man show.'

All in all, I think you can be proud of your work. I really enjoyed reading the zine, and I'm looking forward to the next issue.

[zine]:

Concerning your fanzine, STARDATE #1, I must say that the stories were okay. The first story, though, was rather long for a fanzine of that size. But, all in all, it was better than a lot of first fanzines issues I've seen. The artwork was nice (heh, heh).

I'm looking forward for STARDATE #2, to see how your fan zine has developed.

[zine]: The first issue was relatively well-done; a little rough around the edges, but cleanly laid out (an important factor), and well balanced. The major problem was the art. The general idea of the illustrations was not that badly executed, but the main characters look nothing like the originals. Since you [have] mentioned that your artwork was mediocre, I won't dwell on this...I am certainly no artist myself. "Plague!" was an average ST fanfic story; the mystery was handled well. But there was little else in the story. Perhaps this was intended. "The Sales Sell-out" was not much different; there was more of a recognizable tone in the piece but the writing was uneven.

[zine]: ...Enjoyed your first issue. Admittedly, the art leaves a lot to be desired, and the fiction, while not superb, isn't terrible either, and shows potential...

Issue 2

front cover of issue #2, Don Harden

back cover from issue #2, Don Harden

Stardate 2 was published in November 1979 and contains 38 pages. On the cover: "A NEW ZINE FROM GEORGIA."

The artwork is by Don Harden, Randall Landers, and Richard Pollet.

• From the Editor by Randall Landers (2)
• The Captain is Always Right #2, cartoon by Randall Landers (2)
• Next Issue "Assassin and "Star Trip" (2)
• Stardate Unknown, poem by Richard G. Pollet (3)
• Writing Contest Rules (3)
• Of All the LoC (4)
• The War Mongers, story by Thomas C. Harden and Randall Landers ("Once again the Enterprise is serving as a diplomatic courier as it transports the ambassador of a warring planet to a station for peace talks. But once again, someone is out to prevent the truce, and it's not the Klingons or Orions.") (5)
• Star Trek Trivia, The Man Trap (20)
• To Die Or Not To Die, story by Richard G. Pollet ("One by one the members of Spook's landing party are killing themselves, and soon, only Spock is left. Can Kirk keep his friend from committing suicide?") (21)
• Star Trek Trivia, The Naked Time and Charlie X (28)
• Attack from the Beyond, story by Randall Landers ("An amusing tale of a mad scientist's attempt to solve the 20th century energy crisis by tapping energy from another universe. Problem: The Enterprise is in that other universe.") (29)
• Mirror, Mirror, a poem by Richard G. Pollet (37)

• 

  from issue #2, Randall Landers

• 

  from issue #2, Richard Pollett

• 

  from issue #2, Don Harden

• 

  from issue #2, Randall Landers

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

The second issue was definitely better [than the first issue]; it was neater and had more diversified artwork of slightly better quality. "The War Mongers" had basically the same structure of "Plague!" but was much too long. Much subsidiary material that added little to the movement of the plot should have been edited out. "To Die or Not to Die," a story by Richard Pollet, started off with an attention grabbing shocker, but that was it. It went nowhere and did nothing. "Attack from the Beyond" was much better. Although this one should have been expanded, I liked its idea, and it was well-handled. The remaining filler, poems, trivia, and short biographies, was satisfactorily done and did in fact, fit in nicely with the rest of the zine.

"The War Mongers" was very good.

"Attack from the Beyond:" what is Hilbert space? I find it quite annoying to see an unexplained unfamiliar term. [Hilbert space is very non-Euclidean and our laws of standard geometry cannot be applied there. I make use of it as James Blish did in Spock Must Die! and say that it is the continual creation point, like the cosmic egg theory of what existed before the Big Bang and God saying "Let there be light." As a biology/geology major, I am not a physicist, nor could I explain Hilbert space. But it is a hypothetical universe, and is made mention of in the Encyclopaedia Brittanica. - Ed.]

Issue 3

cover of issue #3

Stardate 3 was published in March 1980 and contains 42 pages.

The art is by Mitchell B. Craig, Amy Crews, Rick Endres, Don Harden, Randall Landers and Richard G. Pollet. Poem by Pollet, and cartoons by Craig, Harden and Landers.

• Assassin by Randall Landers ("Someone is out to kill Kirk and Spock takes it upon himself to keep his captain alive. But who's taking care of the Vulcan?") (7 pages)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Cage, The Doomsday Machine and Obsession) (3 pages)
• A Time To Cry by Thomas Harden (Parody. "Captain Kirk finds himself aboard the Seaview with Admiral Nelson, Captain Crane and Mr. Pem. Can he escape the horrors of that universe before he finds himself totally insane like them?") (9 pages)
• Star Trek Trivia: Spock's Brain (1 page)
• Meeting at Xanadu by Alex Rosen ("The crew of the Enterprise encounter a former Starfleet Academy history teacher whose love for the past may endanger the peace of the present.") (21 pages)
• Three Strikes, Yer Out by Richard G. Pollet ("Once again, Scotty is forced into action during a shore-leave on Disneymoon. The hilarious winning entry in the writing contest.") (9 pages)
• Star Trek Trivia: Devil In The Dark (2 pages)
• The Last Survivor by Rick Endres ("A post V-ger story set on the planet Neural. Can the precarious balance of power be maintained there? A Federation observation team has disappeared while seeking the answer." A sequel to "A Private Little War.") (17 pages)
• A Review of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2 pages)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

See reactions and reviews for A Time to Cry.

See reactions and reviews for Meeting at Xanadu.

See reactions and reviews for The Last Survivor.

[zine]:

In looking over STARDATE #3, I see a lot to praise, and not a lot to hype on. "Assassin" was all right, but you could tell by the quick ending that it was meant to be a short story.

[...]

I’ll skip over "Meeting at Xanadu" because it was my story.

"Three Strikes, Yer Out", the winner of the writing contest, was a good story about Scotty1s unfortunate shore-leaves.

"The Last Survivor" gives an excellent reason for the new Klingons, and a bit more of a glimpse of the ’new’ Spock as well.

STARDATE #3 also contained, among other things, pages and pages of trivia. Almost too much since a number of questions were asked about original scripts that not too many people have had the chance to see. But I will admit that these may be good for those interested in wanting to know everything about the episodes.

Since I haven't the ability to analyze poetry, I won't here. The cartoon, "Star Trip", was excellent, but it could’ve been longer (in place of some trivia, perhaps).

The artwork needs a little bit of improvement. You have too many illos that leave something to be desired, although Don Harden's work is fantastic. "The Captain Is Always Right #3" is probably the best one yet.

I enjoyed reading your opinion of ST-TMP; it's always nice for someone as little critical as myself to read another fan’s opinion.

The main problem that takes away from this issue is the number of typos. There are just too many of them. Also the issue might be a little too long. I’m not really complaining about the length, though. The larger the zine, the better for any ST fan. But I must point out that the effort in putting together-such a lengthy issue (in comparisons to STARDATE #1 & #2) must be difficult and expensive. One must ask if future issues of you zine will be as long? And it does look as though you are making it your life’s work. [Not really. It’s just a hobby that is not as expensive as it was at one time because of the new printing process. And only the summer issues will be double issues. - Ed.]

[zine]: Thanks for the information on STARDATE #3. Sounds great, especially a double issue! Thomas Harden has given your zine a big plus. His artwork is good, and yours is improving. [I should point out that there are two Hardens. Thomas is the author and younger brother of Don who is the artist. Both are regular contributors, and I can see where the confusion may come from. - Ed.] I also like Rick Pollet’s.

[zine]:

Let me start by giving you an overall view of STARDATE #3, I liked it very much. Your zine continues to improve each time out. "Assassin" wasn't a bad story but I more or less liked the others better. Which is more of a compliment to the others than a knock to this story. The calvary [sic] is supposed to arrive just after the hero gets himself out of what looks like an impossible situation, and they're only supposed to do mop up duty. [That was the point of the story. I don't see Kirk and Spock getting themselves out of trouble every time. - Ed.]

[...]

"Star Trip" looks to be good, and I like "The Captain Is Always Right." I don't think I really mentioned it before, but the artwork also continues to improve. That's about it. Keep up the good work.

[zine]: Your zine is improving. There is a slight loss of reproduction quality in the printing system you are now using, but considering the more pages you can print for less money, that's not much of a disadvantage. There is too much trivia at times, and entirely too much altogether, But I do like the use of the first draft references. it avoids the rehashing of the same old questions and answers which everyone knows. The questions on the first drafts also give insight into the authors original intent. Storywise, I found the parody, "A Time to Cry," worthy of any ST zine. Keep up the good work.

[zine]: The stories in STARDATE #3 were for the most part good. "Meeting at Xanadu" wasn't good, though. I will concede that the author has a good style of writing but the story didn't appeal to me. The editorial on the last page, "The Last Word," was a good closing statement. The artwork was better than in previous issues. I didn't think I'd like your new process when I first heard it was xerox copying, I thought it would look cheap, but after having seen it, I was quite pleased.

[zine]: "Meeting at Xanadu" was very good, and "Three Strikes, Yer Out" was amusing. "A Time to Cry" was hardly funny at all. "The Last Survivor" was well-written, but I dislike stories with sad endings that inspire only horror, not sympathy from me. Your trivia was very tough.

[zine]: I enjoyed Alex Rosen's "Meeting at Xanadu".... Nomad's "The Last Survivor" is excellent, though a bit bloody. A touch of this is acceptable on occasion, though.... Nomad's Kh'myr Klingons are awesomely menacing.

Issue 4

front cover of issue #4, Randall Landers

back cover of issue #4, Rick Endres

Stardate 4 was published in August 1980 and contains 38 pages. On the cover: "THE HUMAN ADVENTURES CONTINUE."

The front cover is by Rick Endres. Other artwork by Mitchell B. Craig, Don Harden, Tim Farley, Randall Landers, and Rick Pollet.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• End of the Line by Mitchell B. Craig ("On a planet slated for terraforming, the crew of the Enterprise encounter a life-form. But will the Masada mining company representative stop this sole inhabitant of the planet from interfering with his mission by killing the intelligent being?") (5)
• Star Trek Trivia (21)
• Writing Contest Rules (22)
• The Starfleet Manual: Navigation Coordinates In Star Trek by Tim Farley (23)
• The Lady and the Gorn, poem by Mitchell B. Craig (26)
• A Question of Sanity by Randall Landers ("Kirk and the captain of the U.S.S. Mediator are en route to a distant star. But has Jonathan Spencer gone mad? - Some mature scenes." Lander's comments: "It's the tale of a man who becomes convinced that his wife is dying while he's having sex with another woman. Not explicitly written, of course. After all, this is s genzine. But I'm sure that you'll find it interesting, and a little like "One Step Beyond.") (27)
• Star Trek Trivia, correction (34)
• Star Trip, comic by Don Harden (35)
• Zine Listings (37)
• The Last Word by Randall Landers (40)

• 

  from issue #4, Mitchell B. Craig

• 

  from issue #4, Randall Landers

• 

  from issue #4, Don Harden

• 

  from issue #4, Don Harden

• 

  from issue #4, Randall Landers, self portrait

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4

See reactions and reviews for A Question of Sanity.

See reactions and reviews for End of the Line.

[zine]:

I liked the zine. The photostatic printing really reproduced well, and the whole thing was generally very readable and enjoyable. I should point out to the readers that somewhere along the line a sentence from the second paragraph of my article got lost [STARDATE #4; The Starfleet Manual]. Between the third and fourth sentences, there should be another sentence reading: "If you begin to move in a straight line in any one direction, you will be moving toward one (and only one) specific point on the surface of the globe." This should clear up any problems readers may have had with that paragraph. [Sorry, Tim. Even I, the egotistical, fiendish editor makes mistakes, sometimes, if not often.]

[see End of the Line]

The trivia was just the right size, but the answers should be placed on another page or upside down. Don Harden's Gorn [illo] was really superb.

[see A Question of Sanity]

The only thing I didn't like about "Star Trip" was that it didn't go on longer! Very well written and skillfully drawn. I was a little unaccustomed to reading zine listings without some sort of review, though; I assume that all the zines are well worth buying. [Please note, the editor accepts no responsibility for the quality of any zine other than his own. Remember: "Let the buyer beware."]

You may be mumbling something like "That picky little..." but sorry, I can't help it. Like most fans, I have a somewhat fanatical devotion to the Star Trek Universe, and the slightest little thing can bother me. As someone once said, "Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle."

Well, I hope this letter has been helpful...

[zine]:

Now, my first impression was that an average length short story and a short, short story, do not a fanzine make. Of course, you do have more besides art, but not enough to compensate, besides, stories are the main part of a fanzine, or at least it should be. I also think you should do one of your reviews in STARDATE.

You did do one (more or less) on the movie, but everyone did a review on that.

"End of the Line" was fairly good, it reminded me of "The Devil in the Dark," a bit. "A Question of Sanity" was also fairly good, through most of the story, it seemed like Spencer was insane as I'm sure was the idea.

The artwork was uneven, Don Harden's Gorn in was the best. The cover was also pretty well done. There were a couple of others that weren't bad, all others were below average. The cartoon is nice but too short. The poem was a bit above average, but again, not enough.

[zine]:

The fourth issue marked a transition to photocopying for printing. Although a little messiness showed through, it can be chalked up to experience and will probably disappear in future issues. #4 showed still further improvement as far as material. The artwork, both the editor's and the contributors', was definitely improved.

"End of the Line" was slightly uneven, but altogether a fine story. It showed a sensitivity and the general atmosphere indigenous to the ST episodes.

It would have been improved, however, by ending it before the log entry on pg. 20; the rest is anticlimatic. The navigation article might have had a limited appeal, but it was about as unconfusing as possible, and I enjoyed it.

[see A Question of Sanity]

In general, STARDATE is a promising zine with a bright future. If I have been critical of several points, especially with the fiction, it's because I edit a zine myself, and I am very interested in literature and language and tend to look for everything that can be improved. Randall, you do seem to be winning the continual fight against typos. Truth fully, one can find much worse in ST zines, and only a handful of better ones.

[zine]: The cover was all right. "End of the Line" was good; I liked it, and its artwork was all right. "The Starfleet Manual" was excellent. A very good article. "The Lady and the Gorn" was a dumb poem, but very good art by Don Harden. I didn't care for "A Question of Sanity." It ended too quickly, but the artwork was okay. "Star Trip" was fantastic, of course.

[zine]:

[see End of the Line]

The Starfleet Manual is an excellent article series. They are concise, well thought out and a joy to read. The prose style is a comfortable one wherein I wasn't bored silly by the Dick and Jane approach, nor was I snowed under by something so pedantic I would be forced to rush to the dictionary every third word. Bravo! The author has accomplished a Herculean task in writing that is neither insulting to the "average" fan's intelligence or the quasi-scientifically snobbish But, the Trek Manual being a disgrace? I wouldn't go so far as to say that. It has its uses. As an artist, I find it an invaluable aid to consoles that must be rendered and such when I can't stand to squint at tiny ST slides anymore.

[see A Question of Sanity]

Issue 5

coverof issue #5

Stardate 5 was published in October 1980 and contains 62 pages.

• The Captain is Always Right (Cartoon) (1 page)
• The Wages of Vengeance (first of a trilogy: "The Wages of Vengeance," "Oath of Vengeance" and "The Cost of Freedom") On the planet Serenadid, Captain Kirk murders the ruler during a ceremony for the signing of a treaty between the planet and the Federation) (25 pages)
• Star Trek Trivia: Bread and Circuses (1 page)
• An Analysis Of: (The Corbomite Maneuver and The Man Trap) (1 page)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Enemy Within (1 page)
• First Mission by Richard Pollet (As the new captain, Jim Kirk has his hands full with his science officer, Spock, who has left the ship to join up with a telepathic killer and has taken all the ship's dilithium with him. A tale of revenge and more.) (7 pages)
• Star Trek Trivia: Specter Of The Gun (1 page)
• Star Trek Myths by Don Harden (Article) (2 pages)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Slaver Weapon (1 page)
• A Funny Thing Happened… (A group of practical jokers aboard the Enterprise) (9 pages)
• A Review of Star Trek Maps (1 page)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Motion Picture (1 page)
• First Impressions, article by Randall Landers

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 5

See reactions and reviews for Wages of Vengeance.

STARDATE #5 is really superb, and you have every right to be proud of it.

[see The Wages of Vengeance]

The only thing I think might be altered is the "look" of the zine - putting the story and article titles in big type at the top of the page would help break up the sections of the zine and help the reader transfer his/her attention from one piece to the next. As it is, the articles all seem to "run together." Just a thought. [Hmm. Anyone else think so? If so, I’m considering it. - Ed.]

Enjoyed "Star Trek Myths" and look forward to more. I think the main problem is that the human relationships in which the makers of the show (and all of us as individuals) are involved in are very complex, and not conducive to simple explanation. Naturally, each of the principals will distort the story in their favor - either deliberately, unconsciously, or because of a misconception on someone’s part. It is good that we are now getting new sources of information - maybe someday we’ll piece together something close to the "truth." However, I should warn [every]one to take Freiberger’s comments with a grain of salt - not because he ruined the third season (which he did), but because as a newcomer to the Star Trek [production] crew in a troubled time, he probably did not fully understand the situations which existed or developed between the other members of the crew. He admits himself that he didn’t fully understand what was going on with Dorothy Fontana. I’d like to see an interview with her about the matter.

Anyway, keep up the good work...

"First Impressions" was a good article since it deals with something few fans have ever realized. I felt that "The Man Trap" was a mistake to show first, even though I like its "Outer Limits"-style. However, it was not a typical ST episode. "The Corbomite Maneuver" had more tension than action, "Man Trap" had more action and so it was probably decided by the network and production team to start off with an action-packed show.

I didn’t really feel compelled to finish reading "First Mission." There was no ’hook’ or ’need’ established. It took too long a time to develop, but it had too quick an ending. "A Funny Thing Happened..." I didn’t laugh at. My only real complaint is that it is to be continued. It’s also pretty much a copy of "The Practical Joker." I’ll wait until the ending to make a final comment on it. Tim Farley’s article is an intelligent one. Tim knows his stuff, but it doesn’t take much to agree with him. I certainly do. The cartoons were okay. Rick Endres’ drawings are nice. His art is really getting better.

Overall, the best issue I’ve seen yet.

STARDATE #5 was a joy to read! The illustrations were at their usual peak of excellence, and "Star Trip" just keeps on getting funnier and funnier...

Now for individual stories, let's discuss [see The Wages of Vengeance]

The review of the ST Maps was very well-researched and finely thought out. The "Star Trek Myths" should turn out to be interesting reading; I found the first article a fascinating introduction to the series, even though it was just a rehash of what most of us have already foruid out in various publications. I would like Don to make comparisons of various stories connected with ST, analyze and speculate on the legends of the Trek universe we didn't see.

...Aside from the few typos you made in my letter (Harlon? Space-craft?), you're doing a bang-up job. So may the Great Bird of the Galaxy smile on your head...but just in case, have an umbrella handy.

[see The Wages of Vengeance]

"First Mission" was good. I didn't like the log entry; it could have been tighter. I liked the implication of revenge and not coming right out and saying it. The artwork was bad [for this story].

"The Star Trek Myths" was very trivial. Who cares if Robert Bloch didn't care whether or not he wrote for the show? It's all trivial. I can't really get excited by it. I don't care about the things he [Don Harden] brings up. It's all in the past and it doesn't matter. I think that "Star Trip" was ridiculous but cute. I am unhappy with the editing and artwork on my story [You can say that again. And will. See the editor's page "The Last Word."]. I'm no artist but it looks as if Kirk is shoving pencils up his nose. Sulu's not bad, but it needs help. The back cover does not resemble Uhura, but it is a good drawing. Good McCoy on the front cover.

STARDATE does have a clean layout, but the titles aren't distinct enough. You need more of a separation. It's not aesthetically pleasing. I liked the trivia from "STTMP" and you're not the only zine in Georgia; there are others in the works. [I didn't say that there weren't others in the works. Aside from your zine, there is also Fanfare and possibilities of an Emory fanzine as well as some others I know of. I was the only, but you can never say I wasn't the first. - Ed.]

STARDATE continues to improve with each passing issue. Both the stories and artwork seem to get a little better each time out. Donna Clark shows a lot of promise as an illustrator; I really enjoyed her back cover sketch of Uhura. As for Don Harden's cover of McCoy, what can I say? Well done, as usual.

I enjoyed "First Impressions," It brought back my own memories of that eventful September night in '66. I was a junior in high school at the time, and I was looking for ward to watching Trek because I was interested in seeing some good SF on the tube. I remember being almost knocked out of my chair by that opening flyby shot the Enterprise in orbit. My brother and I looked at each other, said "What is THIS??!" and we were hooked. Little did we know what it would lead to! Anyway, it was a good article.

I also liked Don's article on "Star Trek Myths," and enjoyed the saga of the Enterprise mice. Rick Pollet's "First Mission" was a great concept, and his story: was really good. I think it could have been better, though, if he'd filled it out a little. It needed better characterization. After all, plot and action are fine, but it is characterization, the interaction of the main characters, which has made Trek so enduring. These are real people we can relate to; we can empathize with their hopes and dreams, their loves and fears, their triumphs and tragedies. It's as if Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest really existed; again, as though they were real people, not cardboard cut-out drones like Buck Rogers or the crew of the Battlestar Galactica.

If I have any negative comment at all, it's that the number of typos seems to be up a little bit over the past issues. This might seem like a minor point, but it can be very distracting if the typos are excessive. This has, fortunately, not happened as yet with STARDATE, typos can chop up the continuity of the story, even if the reader only has to pause for a fraction of a second to figure out what the word if really supposed to be. On top of that, it can give the impression, rightly or wrongly, that the zine was a rush job. Again, as I say, this hasn't happened as yet with your zine. It's just something to watch.

In all, I'd say #5 is your best issue yet. Good luck, and keep improving.

STARDATE #5's cover was good. "The Wages of Vengeance" is excellent. Is there a sequel? [Yes. Rick Endres is working on it for a future issue. - Ed.] Fine art work. I like the Kh'nyr KLingons. I agree with "First Impressions." "First Mission" was all right. It was interesting because you had the people from the second pilot, but other than that, it was bland. "Star Trek Myths" made the point that Roddenberry isn't God. I agree. "A Funny Thing Happened..." was all right, but I haven't seen the conclusion, so how can I comment on it? The review of "Star Trek Maps" made sure I won't buy it. "Star Trip" was fantastic.

[see Wages of Vengeance]

On "A Funny Thing Happened..." what can I say? This kind of story is right up Kay's and Eva's alley. Only thing wrong is that they stopped this segment in the wrong place; it was just getting good.

[see Wages of Vengeance]

"First Mission" - arg! Too short and too many delicious hints dangled before us. I must know more on the Implied Spock/Number One relationship. That's a theme worth exploring. Come on! More on the pre-Kirk era - plleeeeaaassseee???

Don treads dangerous ground in "The ST Myths." There are those hardline Trekfen who believe unwaveringly in the "Goddenberry." And I'm behind [Don] 100%.

"A Funny Thing Happened..." - charming! I especially like the everyday aspects of the crew's lives. And the Mice are true to form. Those who are in starship crews are highly trained individuals and capable of thought and action independent of the Big Three.

Star Trip is a gem. I love the comic style of the illos.

This past week I've spent enjoying STARDATE #5, I was very impressed with the little personal sketches on the authors at the end of their pieces. As a whole, the zine was impressive. The print was clear and the pages clean. The zine seemed a little crowded, but larger titles would have handled that.

The trivia quizzes were challenging, and because there were several of them, a reader got more than one crack at winning, I liked, too, having the answers close at hand, not is some future issue.

I love cartoons and comic strips, and STARDATE #5 has both! Rick Endres' artwork is full of action and emotion, both very hard to achieve. Donna's art, also, is not sterile and is distinctive and blunt, Don seems to be versatile and very comfortable in his artwork. It is rare to see good backgrounds in amateur comic strips, I think, though, that you should have given yourself credit for your very good cartoon on p, 6 under the art credits, [I'm no artist! And cartoons are rarely credited. - Ed,] The artwork for this was good enough that everything didn't have to be spelled out in the dialogue. It was a very good subject.

STARDATE #5 was presented in an adult and professional manner. The stories were illustrated (this is important!) and varied. However, the titles were not situated obviously enough to pull me to a halt as I flipped through the zine. There was no definite: A story begins here.

[see The Wages of Vengeance]

"First Mission" began a little brusquely and seemed impulsive. I felt as if I were reading a rough draft simply because of the obvious little things that were included when they should have been assumed, because there were too many compound, descriptive sentences, and bits of detail seemed to be added as they were needed. Although I was sorry to learn of Number One's death, I felt this story had a good premise and moved right along.

Despite being very aggressive and completely thumbs down, I liked "A Review of the Star Trek Maps." I felt as if somebody had spent their money and were mad.

Thanks for the warning. "Zine Listings" was well-done.

"The Star Trek Myths" held my interest. This piece was well written, and clearly presented.

"First Impressions" I thought had a good idea. I'd like to see more of this sort of thing....

I had fun reading your zine.

[see The Wages of Vengeance]

[WoV] continues in STARDATE 8 (1981). The only minor complaint I have here is that I wonder if the entire crew of a starship would beam down for a ceremony. Further, the ethics of erasing someone's memory are dubious, in my opinion. Otherwise, the story is greatly improved here from the first installment.

In this issue was a story about McCoy's divorce called "The Anniversary Gift" by Donna C. Clark. This is the way I imagined that it happened; that is, both parties were well-intentioned, but had different expectations: he put priority on his work; she put priority on family life. As such, I found the story quite believable.

Issue 6

front cover of issue #6, Rick Endres

back cover of issue #6, Donna C. Clark

Stardate 6 was published in November 1980 and contains 68 pages.

The art is by Donna C. Clark and Rick Endres.

From "The Last Word" by Landers:

Well, I'd like to say a few things about what's happening in Starlog. In response to the interview with Fred Freiberger written by Mike Clark and Bill Cotter (issue #39), David Gerrold in Starlog #40 viciously attacked the two authors, suggesting that they were just throwing mud and bringing up the past to shove in everyone's face. He attacks Fred Freiberger again, and then suggests that the editor and publisher should have more responsibility than to print the interview. I note Gerrold did not deny anything Freiberger said. And he even compared the two authors to Woodward and Bernstein. Now that's a sentence Gerrold really put his foot in his mouth on. Don's series will cover this in detail in the future, but I wanted everyone to know that I thought it was very unprofessional of Gerrold to use his column just to respond to what he thought was an attack. And unprofessionalism is something not to be tolerated from professionals.

• From the Editor (2)
• Star Trek Trivia from the episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• Writing Contest Announcement (6)
• Resurrection, novel by Randall Landers (It features Gary Mitchell. "On a barren, little world at the edge of the galaxy, Kirk finds what is apparently a ghost. The horror unfolds as Kirk's old friend has now become a threat to the galaxy." A post-ST:TMP sequel to "Where No Man Has Gone Before.") (7)

• Mother, poem by Donna C. Clark (65)
• Zine Listings (66)
• The Last Word (68)

• 

  from issue #6, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #6, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #6, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #6, Rick Endres

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 6

I got STARDATE #6 and finished it two days ago. The cover was all right, but it really didn't make an impression on me. It was average for your 'zine. As far as "Resurrection" goes, I like how Rick Endres explains the new Klingons. I also liked the twist with the Ph'ecdalyns, especially since it was quite obvious that Mitchell had two personalities. The rest of it wasn't impressive, but all in all, it was decent. I guess I'm partial to action-adventure stories rather than love stories.

That's why I liked parts of it, and not other parts. The art work was all right, especially the illo of the Klingon starships fighting the Enterprise. The poem was nice, and the illo is the best thing that I've seen of Donna Clark's work so far. The back cover was okay.

"Resurrection": I think Rick really did a good job with this story. I think with possibly a few exceptions, that I'd be hard put to find fault with it. I think Rick got the characterizations pretty fairly pegged and in a story like this, that's 3/4 of the battle. I especially liked the last couple of scenes: 1) Where Kirk stuck to the bridge despite everything. 2) Uhura firing the final missile, 3) Then all trooping off for what I think will amount to a final tribute to Gary even though it is going to result in several pretty good hangovers, All in all, I liked the story real well.

Artwork: I liked p. 8, 35, 65 and the back cover the best. Though Rick Endres does a good job with his art, his facial expressions are off and that's what I look for in good Kirk, Spock, etc. illos.

Really enjoyed #6. Thanks for including "Resurrection" by Rick Endres. It was a fascinating story. Yes, I think you should print some more novellas. Rick is an excellent writer.

Keep up the good work in 1981...

Enjoyed "Resurrection" immensely. A very well-written story, and the typically superb Endres illos. The plot did advance a bit too quickly near the end; it was like SLAM! BANG! BOOM! "Let's go home." However, I had no qualms about any of the plot elements. Really liked the idea of the energy barrier as a life form - explains both the bizarre character changes in Mitchell (in the episode and the story) when he gets the power, and the scientifically unexplainable "barrier," which always seemed hokey to me.

Nomad is coming right along. He's developed the new breed of villain in the Kh'myr Klingons -- getting good mileage out of the changes in the movie. I really did like Resurrection...I for one really enjoy getting into the characters' heads to see what makes them tick -- it gives me additional insight into myself I guess. Nomad tackled a few things I had wondered about myself and supplied plausible explanations (i.e. why crewmen weren't affected on the Enterprise's subsequent crossings of the energy barrier, and whether or not the rockslide would be sufficient enough to kill Gary Mitchell). Uhura and Gary's romance developed in record time, however, and that did seem to stretch things a bit.

Nomad seems to be your best writer. He's bit lurid and over-dramatic at times, but his character and plot development show an awful lot of promise....the ending of Resurrection was a cop-out. However, I wasn't too happy with the original "Where No Man Has Gone Before" story either. That 'energy barrier' business just plain rubs me the wrong way..."

Nomad's novella, Resurrection: Frankly, I am floored! This is the best I've read in a Star Trek zine in a looooooonnnnnnggggg time! And Uhura is intelligently written! (I don't know if I can handle the output of talent this man, Nomad, has.) I have never been a Gary Mitchell fan, but I was hooked from the first few paragraphs--this is a major part of the struggle for any writer: to grab that audience and make them want to read on. The dialogue and characterizations are brilliant. He shows us just enough to titillate us, but holds back just enough to keep us coming on. By the end of this novelette, I actually cared about Mitchell! You have succeeded, Nomad, and done brilliantly. More! More!

I've just finished reading Nomad's Resurrection, and I enjoyed it very much. One of the things I like most about your press is that many of the stories are in the post:TMP setting. It serves to set up a continuity between the movie and whatever is to happen next. Keep up the good work.

....As far as Resurrection goes, I like how Nomad explains the new Klingons. I also liked the twist with the Ph'ecdalyns, especially since it was quite obvious that Mitchell had two personalities. The rest of it wasn't impressive, but all in all, it was decent. I guess I'm partial to action-adventure stories, rather than love stories. That's why I liked parts of it, and disliked others.

I think Nomad also really did a good job with Resurrection. I think with possibly a few exceptions, I'd be hard put to find fault with it. I think Nomad got the characterizations pretty fairly pegged and in a story like this, that's 3/4th the battle. I especially liked the last couple of scenes: 1) where Kirk stuck to the bridge despite everything. 2) Uhura firing the final missile. And 3) all of them trooping off for what I think will amount to a final tribute to Gary even though it is going to result in several pretty severe hangovers. All in all, I liked the story really well.

I enjoyed Nomad's Resurrection immensely. A very well written story.... The plot did advance a bit too quickly near the end; it was like SLAM! BANG! BOOM! "Let's go home." However, I had no qualms about any of the plot elements. Really liked the idea of the energy barrier as a lifeform -- explains both the bizarre character changes in Mitchell (in the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" as well as Nomad's story) when he gets the power, and the unexplainable "barrier," which always seemed hokey to me.

Wow! I printed out and read the Nomad novella, Resurrection, while waiting for my brakes to be repaired at an auto shop. It was fantastic.

Anyone with the slightest interest in Gary Mitchell, the Galactic Barrier and Uhura need to read this thing ASAP. I would swear it was written by an actual Trek novelist. It had great continuity with past episodes that answered such questions as why the ESP transformation didn't take place in the Kelvan and Medusa episodes as well as a plausible explanation as to the Klingons change of appearance.

Well done -- congrats to the author.

Resurrection by Nomad -- A compelling Second Mission sequel to the First Mission episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Vividly disturbing "dreams" and an old guilt lead Kirk back to the planet Delta-Vega and to a strange reunion with the "ghost" of his old friend, Gary Mitchell. Well-written, this story adheres to the gives established in the episode, as well as reflecting accurately the character growth of the crew since Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Nomad's explanations regarding the energy barrier are fascinating. Also, Uhura's part in this story was well done.

Issue 7

front cover of issue #7, Donna C. Clark

back cover of issue #7, Donna C. Clark

Stardate 7 was published in December 1980 and contains 87 pages.

The art is by Donna C. Clark, Amy Crews, Rick Endres, Don Harden, Randall Landers, and Melody Rondeau.

From "The Last Word" by Landers, some comments on editing and feedback:

I print every letter, and nearly every bit of each of those letters as long as it applies to STARDATE. What I don't print are complaints about other letters printed in the letter-col, and I don't print too much on the subject of complaining about the editing. But on the former, I want to say a few words.

If you are ever dismayed about what you read in the letter-col, I'm sorry. I'm not going to be one of those saccharin editors and give every one the impression that only good things are written to me about STARDATE and its contents. Now if you get upset by the fact that someone doesn't like your work, I don't want to hear about it. I print the addresses on the letters, so you can write them, not me. Do I sound a little angered? I hope so, 'cause I Another thing I don't like is unjustifiable editorial complaints. I don't just arbitrarily slice through a story with a green flair. I actually spend at least three hours, if not more, looking over a story. I didn't at first. In fact, I only corrected typos, but I'm now beginning to become concerned for the quality of the stories in STARDATE, and so I'm really getting into plot inconsistencies and character flaws. Both are story flaws, and one or more can mar a zine. If it's a very minor one, I'll add a phrase, or possibly two. But if it's a major one, you can expect it returned with flair pen marks on it. Now if you don't think I should be concerned and just print everything verbatim, that's tough. If I printed half of what's submitted verbatim, a few people would get so many negative comments on their stories, they wouldn't even speak to me again.

Enough about that, now for you LoCers, please remember that my contributors are living human beings just like me, and we all get our feelings hurt when any individual writes in saying our work is comparable to "a five year old's." That I don't like, especially from a contributor. There are much nicer ways to be critical that to write something like that.

Now I'm trying to be very diplomatic about all this, and not just airing dirty laundry. I hope you all understand. I'm angry and I'm using this column to vent my anger. I've done it before, and I'll continue to do it.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• Writing Contest Announcement (6)
• Until Judgment, fiction by Rick Endres, Randall Landers and Tom Harden ("On a prehistoric planet, Kirk and his landing party are sentenced to death for breaking a local taboo." A post:ST:TMP story.) (7)
• Star Trek Trivia, based on the episode "The Tholian Web" (42)
• A Close Encounter Of The Worst Kind by Randall Landers (a Star Trek/Space: 1999 parody illustrated by Melody Rondeau -- "A sequel to Thomas Harden's "A Time to Cry" has Trelayne encountering a runaway natural satellite with a compliment of Humans and an alien living there. What he does to them could cost them their lives. Will they escape their curse?") (43)
• Star Trek Episode Poll Announcement (46)
• Star Trek Trivia: More Tribbles, More Troubles (46)
• The Outer Limits Connection, article by Don Harden (47)
• untitled poem by Linda Kay Williams (50)
• Future?, poem by Linda Kay Williams (50)
• To Catch a Unicorn, story by Donna C. Clark ("Kirk and a landing party beam down with Ambassador Kitt to establish diplomatic relations with the inhabitants of a planet. But they have an unusual condition that must be met first.") (51)
• Star Trek Trivia: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield and The Eye of the Beholder (62)
• The Starfleet Manual—The Warp Drive and Other Hyperlight Technologies In Star Trek Part I: “Warp Factor Cubed”, article by Tim Farley (63)
• review by Debbie Bryant of Star Canticle #3, see that page (65)
• My Friend, I'Chaya, poem by Donna C. Clark (66)
• Completion, fiction by Linda McIinnis ("Kirk's wife is pregnant, and he's only seventeen! And his mother and the rest of the city are totally exuberant at the prospect with one exception. But you might just be surprised at just what's going on in this short story.") (67)
• The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective, fiction by Terry Endres ("While on shore-leave, Spock and Scotty are sequestered by the police to help solve a crime. Can the Scot stand the strain?") (70)
• The Sound of Death, fiction by Randall Landers ("The Enterprise is on a first contact mission to a newly discovered planet. But the crew had never been prepared for the kind of reception they received.") (78)
• Craig's Corner, cartoons by Mitchell B. Craig (81)
• review by Debbie Bryant of Sun and Shadow, see that page (82)
• review by Debbie Bryant of In a Different Reality #9, see that page (82)
• Zine Listings (83)
• The Last Word by Randall Landers (85)

• 

  from issue #7, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #7, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #7, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #7, Melody Rondeau

• 

  from issue #7, Donna C. Clark

• 

  from issue #7, Don Harden

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 7

It is sad that [some issues of] STARDATE #7 were messed up by the printers, but I think the content more than made up for it. "Until Judgment" was another great story, with great illos. I thought the "let's spill our guts" scene between Rand and Chapel was a bit forced, though. Those little touches are what makes a great story, but that one seemed a bit far out. The ending seemed a bit rushed, as in "Resurrection;" you would think that the bridge crew would have more of a reaction to their well-loved colleagues appearing before them from the brink of death. Of course, it was a very tight command situation...

"Close Encounters" was good, though it could have been a bit longer. [The original draft was twelve pages long. - Ed.] The Melody Rondeau illo really added alot to the story and the zine in general. You should try to get her to do more illos for STARDATE.

The Outer Limits article was as interesting as Don Harden's last article. I'm looking forward to more and more of his series. I think that claiming that ST's creatures-of-light came from "Counterweight" was pushing it a bit...that is a kind of general sci-fi concept. The same goes for the Wolf 359 creature; the use of a gloved hand for a creature is something I could imagine many inventive SEX designers coming up with. However, the overlap of production personnel, specific makeup appliances and props, and specific SEX footage does indeed indicate some kind of parasitic tie between ST and OL. It makes-one reconsider any statements.-one might make about Star Trek's inventiveness.

"To Catch a Unicorn" was a nice little story. I think that Donna Clark is getting better and better in her creativeness. I especially liked her illos on pages 65 and 69 of STARDATE #6. The one on 65 was really nice because it was a departure from her usual line drawings. I hope she does more like it.

Really enjoyed "Completion" immensely. What has Linda Mclnnis been doing all these years - letting ST fandom suffer without her great talents? Hope she will do more things for STARDATE, perhaps some longer stories.

Enjoyed the "Vulcan Detective" story. Seems that talent runs in the Endres family. Very nice little story. I must say that Scotty's hand in the illo on page 72 looks like a hairy claw! (Sorry, Don). The rest of the illo was fine though.

The ending of "The Sound of Death" seemed extremely rushed. Here we have this nice, well-written intro to a new culture, and KABOOM!!! it's dead. The officers beam down (a little recklessly), discover the cause in what seemed like two minutes and go home. Very choppy, and unbelievable.

"Until Judgment" was a very excellent story, but I do have one small complaint. Are you planning to bring back everyone who served aboard the Enterprise? If you are, you're gonna have to get some god-being to restrict all those crewmen killed in the line of duty: Darnell, Green, Kelso, Tormolen, Matthews, Raybum, Tomlinson, Jackson, Galway, Rizzo, Lt. Tracey, Thompson, Harper, Watkins, and D'Amato, to name just a few. Seriously, I didn't mind seeing Riley and Palamas again, 'tho some new crewmembers could be interesting.

"Close Encounters of the Worst Kind" summed up everything that was wrong with Space:1999. Besides the interesting contributions Freddie Friedboogers made toward 1999's cancellation, a series in Starlog proposed the idea that the show was originally conceived to confuse people. Isn't it nice to know that they that they succeeded at something? Melody Rondeau's illo fit "CEWK" like a glove. So, Rick Endres has a talented brother/sister, eh? [Brother. - Ed.] "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective" was a nice little detective piece. Speaking of detective stories, how about this one; "The Adventure of the Missing Serial?" After all, some of us are a tad curious to find out the identity of the Mice.

YOU TILL NOT MAKE ZUCH AN ERROR AGAIN? IS ZAT UNDERSCHTOOD? [Quite. I will never print a two part story ever again since neither author has yet to contact me regarding their next segment despite a few letters. Sorry, gang. -Ed.]

"The Outer Limits Connection" was a fascinating article. It's no secret that George Lucas drew on a variety of sources for Star Wars; it's also well known that Star Trek borrowed certain concepts from Forbidden Planet, which was a futurized version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest". But just how much Star Trek borrowed from Outer Limits really surprised me. And if you've ever watched Mork and Mindy, you'll note that Mork's Orkan uniform bears more than a passing resemblance to the uniform seen in "Space Seed" and "The Savage Curtain'. And the environmental suit worn in "The Tholian Web" and "Whom Gods Destroy" appeared in an M&M episode. The cycle goes on. [Since both ST and M&M are Paramount's properties, they can do that. You might've noticed when M&M first appeared, the thirty second ad spot on ABC used a second of ST's Enterprise fly-by footage. It's all a matter of saving money, - Ed.]

Donna C. Clark's poem and story were excellent, as were her illos. However, did "Completion" have some sort of cosmically meaningful significance? Even if it did, it's a dud. Sorry 'bout that, Linda.

And your Bible lesson, Randall, was very apt.

...On the whole, the 'zine was quite enjoyable - worth the money, which is saying a lot these days. The artwork is definitely Improving (I loved the illo on page 35!!), and none of the stories made ma want to quit in the middle. The whole thing is really beginning to come together, and you are to be commended...

...On to the storie! "Until Judgment" is an interesting premise. There was some good tension as the star began to get more and more unstable. Bringing Palamas back was a twist, which brings me to the illo on pg. 24. It's a good illo, but it's not Palamas. There are still pictures of that actress around, I'm sure. Send one to the artist. Excellent illo of Uhura on pg. 12 almost makes up for it, though.

One segment in the story I had a little trouble with was the conversation between Rand and Chapel Just after Rand was zapped. I think if I had Just taken a mega-volt charge, I probably wouldn't even remember who Captain Kirk was, much less remember how I felt about him. Also, I think Aleph's complete turnabout is not quite believable. A bit more convincing by someone, perhaps Spock? Altogether, though, a well-paced story.

"Close Encounter of the Worst Kind" is just that! I cringe when I even think about "that show." And the illo was prefect!

The articles and the poetry were interesting and a good break between stories, "To Catch a Unicorn" was a bit contrived. If you were going to introduce Trelane into the story at all, he should be there on purpose, not just someone Kirk runs into. And I doubt that our captain would "freese in terror" when he heard the squire's voice. Grimace in annoyance, maybe.

I truly enjoyed "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective," although I think the author might have challenged Mister Spock a bit more. 20 cc's of strawberry soda with 2cc's of dry vermouth? Hmm.

Randy, "The Sound of Death" rang so true to me! Scary. I've often wondered how many people I know would react to a coherent signal from outer space. I hope it won't be that way. Good work!

The reviews are a nice idea, and I always enjoy your editorials...Well, that about does it. I hope my comments helped a little....I hope to see more STARDATEs on a regular basis.

"Until Judgment" - my only gripe with this story is that the landing party was captured a tad too easily for my tastes. And Aleph's switch over was a little too abrupt. Donna's cartoon was well placed after the lead story.

Star Trek Myths was again a delight. I grew up on Outer Limits and I was sure some of those props looked familiar, but I became convinced I was probably just imagining things. Thanks for proving once again that I am indeed sane

"To Catch a Unicorn" cried out to be expanded and explored. One question arises, who would unicorns have the need to build cities? There are non-humanoid sentient beings with high levels of intelligence that have no need of human shelter (dolphins, for one example). Donna's illos continue to improve with each issue.

The short story, "Completion," was an excellent little after-the-fact story based on Scalos. Brief, to the point, and not unnecessarily cluttered with useless prose in an attempt to lengthen it.

My only gripe with the "Vulcan Detective" is that some mention should have been made that the three "drunken" Klingons were of the warrior caste and not tv-style subraces.

"Sound of Death" - What can I say? I liked it. I was impressed (and this is not just because I agree with it). How can man bo so vain as to believe that an all powerful God would confine himself to creating only intelligent beings on Earth? Good grief, the Lord created the entire universe} it's just plain foolish to assume that we're the only intelligence out there!

I enjoyed your STARDATE #7. "Until Judgement" was nicely handled with some good dialogue. It had qualities reminiscent of "Bem," but it seemed to rise above that Gerrold story. I thought it was very gripping. I really like Rick Endres' illustrations, however, his women tend to be overly endowed. The ST movie uniforms are supposedly form-fitting and I don't recall any of the women's uniforms as being that tight-fitting, even on Uhura. Has anybody else consented on this? Just an observation.

"Vulcan Detective" was okay and the characterizations were smooth. The Warp Drive article was a good and interesting dissection of what has always been a confusing technical matter. The technology on ST did have problems in keeping consistent. For instance, in "The Changeling," Nomad "improved" Scotty'a engines so the ship could travel at Warp 11 and there was a big-to-do about dangerous stress to the structure of the ship. Then, in "That Which Survives," we are to believe that Scott is within inches of the matter-antimatter flow and causes the ship to go up to Warp 11.1 (!) without any explanation other than "reverse polarity" with a funny looking screwdriver.

Tour "Last Word" was to-the-point. LoCs are designed to comment on STARDATE itself, not to attack other LoCs and LoCers. I think the only real exceptions to this would be limited to clarification of factual matters or answering of specific questions posed by writers. Either way, the editor makes the final decision as to what appears in his/her zine.

STARDATE has been keeping a high standard and all I can say is keep it up!

This issue has got to be your best issue to date. The artwork is getting better and better all the time. The front cover is really good; the technique of the other artists is also improving.

Of the stories, "Until Judgment" is a classic situation; the so-called Superior race vs. the Inferior. I think you carried it off very well; although I question the use of the Enterprise crew to do the actual digging. Usually, a team of trained experts would do that part of it, and the Enterprise people would be there only as a precauUonaiy measure. "A Close Encounter..." is hysterical; I've often wished to blow Moonbase Alpha away, with or without Trelane's help.

Trelane pops up again in "To Catch a Unicorn." It is just a bit too pat (I know, I used the brat myself once). "Completion" is probably the best story in the issue; it's just beautiful, and it makes sense in terms of the episode. I'm glad that the Scalosians made it. Finally, the "Adventure of the Vulcan Detective" gives Scotty a new roles Watson to Mister Spock's Sherlockl

Of the articles, the one of Star Trek's connection with The Outer Limits by way of props and technicians was fascinating. The one on the engines was incomprehensible (I'm a storyteller, not an engineer!).

Keep up the good work! STARDATE is getting better all the time!

I was perturbed STARDATE #7 arrived and promptly fell apart. [Ooops. Sorry about that. Chief. But since the printers usually don't charge me for the staples, I can't in all honesty complain to them about it. I will be willing to pay for the industrial stapling should enough people complain, but as it is, it will make the zine more expensive. - Ed.]

I liked "The Sound of Death." It's different. This takes the 'parallel development' concept off on a new tangent. Until now, every other 'parallel' story has the inhabitants surviving the contamination. In this one, they didn't.

"Until Judgment" was pretty good and even interesting at that. Rick's artwork varies from "not bad" to "pretty good." I thought the story could've been better. I think the usage of the spheres was too much like the Sargon episode.

"CEWK": I admit that Space: 1999 has its faults, but don't pick on it like that! Randy, you’re getting to be a little bit nasty. [Nasty? Perhaps, but it deserves it! - Ed.] It was also a nasty illo, but it fit the story well.

"To Catch a Unicorn": I liked the story, but I didn't like the way Trelane showed up in the middle. There could've been a more feasible way to explain things other than using him. I love that unicorn!

"Completion": I loved it!

"Vulcan Detective": It's a good and funny, hilarious story. I liked it, it was unusual.

STARDATE #7 was well-done.

"Close Encounters" was funny, and it brought back to me all over again how bland Space:1999 was. Melody Rondeau's illo was super; the caricatures of the '99 crew were great. I enjoyed Don Harden's Outer Limits Connection" article a lot, and Linda Kay Killians' poems were nice. Donna C. Clark shows a lot of promise; her artwork was well crafted, and "To Catch a Unicorn," while uneven in spots, was a good story. Tim Farley must be a genius. His technical articles are lucid, well-written, and understandable. He has a knack for putting across ideas so that even a non-technical person can get a lot out of them. Let’s see more in the future.

And now we come to Linda McInnis. What can I say? Randy, I don’t know where you found her, but hang on to her! "Completion" was a great story. It displayed a lot of depth and understanding of emotional texture in characterization. The story was very appealing on several levels that may not be apparent at first. Excellent effort, and I hope she keeps writing.

"Sound of Death" was well-done. It almost had the ring of a parable, and I’d have liked to have printed it in the aborted second issue of "Where Mo Man Has Gone Before." I’m glad it saw the light of day. My little brother has always had a sense of the ironic. His "Vulcan Detective" story was a bit of wry fun. I’ll try to convince him to write more.

In all, STARDATE #7 was a fine issue.

Nomad, Harden and Landers' "Until Judgment" was another great story...I thought the "let's spill our guts scene" between Rand and Chapel was a bit forced, though. Those little touches are what makes a great story, but that one seemed a bit far out. The ending seemed a bit rushed, as in Resurrection; you would think that the bridge crew would have had more of a reaction to their well-loved colleagues appearing before them from the brink of death. Of course, it was a very tight command situation...

Really enjoyed "Completion" immensely. What has Linda McInnis been doing all these years -- letting Star Trek fandom suffer without her great talents? Hope she will do more things for Orion Press, perhaps some longer stories.

Nomad et al's "Until Judgment" was a very excellent story, but I do have one small complaint. Are you going to bring back everyone who served aboard the Enterprise? If you are, you're going to have to get some god-being to resurrect all those crewmen killed in the line of duty: Darnel, Green, Kelso, Tormolen, Matthews, Rayburn, Tomlinson, Jackson, Galloway, Rizzo, Lieutenant Tracey, Thompson, Harper, Watkins and D'Amato, just to name a few. Seriously, I didn't mind seeing Riley and Palamas again, although some new crewmembers could be interesting.

So Nomad has a talented brother/sister? {Terry is Nomad's brother, in fact. - Randy} "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective" was a nice little detective piece.... However, did Linda McInnis' "Completion" have some sort of cosmically meaningful significance? Even if it did, it's a dud. Sorry about that, Linda. {It's actually a clever sequel to "Wink of an Eye." Read it from that perspective, and I think you'll see it's actually a well-written piece. - Randy} And Randall Landers' Bible lesson, "The Sound of Death" was very apt.

"Until Judgment," by Nomad, Harden and Landers -- all in all, it's a pretty good story, but I didn't like the Palamas rape scenes. I don't go for stuff like that anyway.

Nomad, Tom Harden and Randy Landers' "Until Judgment" was nicely handled with some good dialogue. It had qualities reminiscent of "BEM," but it seemed to rise above that Gerrold story. I thought it was very gripping.

My only gripe with Nomad, Harden and Landers' "Until Judgment" is that the landing party was captured a tad too easily for my tastes. And Aleph's switch over was a little too abrupt.

Linda McInnis' short story, "Completion," was an excellent little after-the-fact story based on Scalos. Brief, to the point, and not unnecessarily cluttered with useless prose in an attempt to lengthen it.

My only gripe with Terry Endres' "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective" is that some mention should have been made that the three "drunken" Klingons were Kh'myr.

Randy Landers' "The Sound of Death" -- What can I say? I liked it; I was impressed (and this is not just because I agree with it). How can man be so vain as to believe that an all powerful God would confine himself to creating only intelligent beings on Earth? Good grief, the Lord created the entire universe; it's just plain foolish to assume that we're the only intelligence out there.

"Until Judgment" is a classic situation; the so-called Superior race versus the Inferior. I think Nomad, Harden and Landers carried it off very well; although I question the use of the Enterprise crew to do the actual digging. Usually a team of trained experts would do that part of it, and the Enterprise people would be there only as a precautionary measure.

Linda McInnis' "Completion" is probably one of the best stories you've published; it's just beautiful, and it makes sense in terms of the episode. I'm glad that the Scalosians made it.

Finally, Terry Endres' "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective" gives Scotty a new role: Watson to Mister Spock's Sherlock!

I liked Randy Landers' "The Sound of Death." It's different. This takes the 'parallel development' concept off on a new tangent. Until now, every other parallel story has had the inhabitants surviving the contamination. In this one, they didn't.

Nomad, Harden and Landers' "Until Judgment" was pretty good and even interesting at that. I thought the story could've been better. I think the usage of the spheres was too much like the Sargon episode.

Linda McInnis' "Completion": I loved it!

Terry Endres' "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective": It's a good and funny, hilarious story. I liked it; it was unusual.

"Until Judgment" [by Nomad, Thomas Harden and Randall Landers] has an interesting premise. There was some good tension as the star began to get more and more unstable. Bringing Palamas back was a twist....One segment in the story I had a little trouble with was the conversation between Rand and Chapel just after Rand was zapped. I think that if I had just taken a mega-volt charge, I probably wouldn't remember who Captain Kirk was, much less remember how I felt about him. Also, I think Aleph's complete turnabout is not quite believable. A bit more convincing by someone else (perhaps Spock?) was needed. Altogether, though, a well-paced story.

I truly enjoyed Terry Endres' "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective," although I think the author might have challenged Mister Spock a bit more. 20cc's of strawberry soda with 2 cc's of dry vermouth? Hmmm. [It amused me to no end that many of our readers (as you will see if you read on) enjoyed this story, and yet it is derided on "God-awful Star Trek Fan Fic" website. - Randy]

Randy Landers' story, "The Sound of Death" rang so true to me! Scary. I've often wondered how many people I know would react to a coherent signal from outer space. I hope it won't be that way. Good work!

...And now we come to Linda McInnis. What can I say? Randy, I don't know where you found her, but hang on to her! "Completion" was a great story. It displayed a lot of depth and understanding of emotional texture in characterization. The story was very appeal on several levels that might not be apparent at first. Excellent effort, and I hope she keeps writing.

Randy Landers' "The Sound of Death" was well-done. It almost had the ring of a parable....

My little brother, Terry, has always had a sense of the ironic. His "The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective" story was a bit of wry fun. I'll try to convince him to write more.

Randy Landers' "The Sound of Death" is a sobering story. "And tragic that a race could actually think they were the sole masters of creation." That says it all. Thanks for a good read.

Issue 8

front cover of issue #8, Rick Endres

back cover of issue #8, Vel Jaeger

Stardate 8 was published in February 1981 and contains 117 pages.

The art is by Donna C. Clark, Rick Endres, Don Harden, Vel Jaeger (back cover), Randall Landers, and Blake Sims.

From "The Last Word" by Landers:

Well, how do you like this issue? I actually think it's one of the best I've ever put out, if not the best. Oh-oh. Ego's showing. I've decided to print a really upbeat "Last Word" this time because I'm feeling pretty upbeat.

[...]

Last issue, I made a club announcement for the Atlanta Star Trek Society. I'm hereby rescinding that announcement for reasons I have chosen to keep to myself. I am also rescinding ad privileges for that organization, as well as ad privileges for the fanzine, CAPTAIN'S LOG, edited by Richard G. Pollet.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of all the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• The Captain is Always Right, cartoon strip by Randall Landers (9)
• Story Contest Announcement (10)
• Oath of Vengeance (second of a trilogy: "The Wages of Vengeance," "Oath of Vengeance" and "The Cost of Freedom") by Rick Endres, sequel to The Wages of Vengeance in issue #5 ("On peaceful Serenidad, the Klingons have returned. Will the crew of the Enterprise save Princess Teresa and Carlos from a horrible fate? Some mature and violent scenes.") (11)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Motion Picture (2 pages)
• Star Trip (cartoon serial) by Don Harden (73)
• The Anniversary Gift by Donna C. Clark ("Leonard McCoy was one of Atlanta's best surgeons, but he wasn't the world's best husband. Find out how McCoy joined the service in the prequel to Star Trek.") (75)
• The Trek Trivia: The Conscience of the King (84)
• Variable Velocities in Subspace by Tim Farley (85)
• The Balance of Nature by Jeffrey Woytach ("While on a mission to investigate the loss of two research vessels, James Kirk comes across a cloud creature which is a threat to the safety of the galaxy.") (89)
• Mainviewer, review of Enter-comm #3 (115)
• Zine Listings (115)
• The Last Word (117)

• 

  from issue #8, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #8, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #8, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #8, Don Harden

• 

  from issue #8, Don Harden

• 

  from issue #8, Rick Endres

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 8

See reactions and reviews for Oath of Vengeance.

I, too, am impressed since the first issue [of "Stardate"]. I think that Rick Endres is a fine action-adventure writer. He makes good use of the entire crew of the Enterprise, instead of only the "Big Three," and he had a good feel for plotting and characterization. Other than an occasional lapse into cliche (constantly referring to Uhura as the "lovely Bantu woman," for example), I can't fault his writing style at all.

I do wish, however, that he didn't give us quite so many cheesecake shots in his illustrations. It reminds me a lot of the Marvel magazines (as opposed to the Marvel comics): the freedom to show nudity, since the magazines are not distributed under the Comics Cose authority, has degenerated into the feeling of obligation on the editor's, authors', and artists' part to include naked breasts in every issue, regardless of their necessity to the plot at hand, or the anatomical improbability of the breasts in question. What I'm basically trying to say is that I find the preponderance of such pictures detracts from my enjoyment of the story.

I really like the new logotype on the cover; it's very distinctive. It also looks nice inside for titles. Again, it improves the overall "look".

Donna Clark really came into her own in #8. Those are some of her best illos yet, and "Anniversary Gift" is a fine sensitive piece. She does a great job with characterization in this one. Tim Farley's excellent Starfleet Manual continues to amaze me. The amount of work put into this series has to be staggering. Jeffrey Woytach's "Balance of Nature" was a fine debut story. It may have leaned just a bit heavily on the technological jargon, but it was obvious he knew what he was doling. I hope he keeps writing.

Nice to see "Star Trip" back; Don Harden is a fine artist. I enjoyed the cartoon and his illos for "Balance of Nature." Vel Jaeger's detailed Kirk portrait on the back cover is very striking. It’s always nice to see a talented new contributor. And before I forget, Debbie Bryant’s fanzine reviews are a nice touch. They're crisp and to the point, the way a good review should be.

In closing I’d like to thank the readers who wrote all those nice comments about my stories and artwork over the past few issues. I’m glad and gratified that they enjoy them so much, because I sure enjoy doing them. I haven't had so much fun in a long time.

Meanwhile, Randy, keep up the good work. You've got a great zine, and it keeps getting better.

First, I would like to comment on the 'zine overall. The changes you've made in lettering and layout add such a great deal. STARDATE is really taking on a professional look. I'm looking forward to the reduced letter section, because I, for one, truly enjoy all the LoCs, good or otherwise. Keep them in! Now for the stories.

[see Oath of Vengeance]

Ah, well, enough about that. Really enjoyed "The Anniversary Gift.” I do have a softness for the McCoy stories, anyway, but Donna's had a good catch at the end, too. Her illos for this one were her best, yet, especially on page 82.

Tim Farley's articles are always enjoyable. I welcome with cheers a technical article that's easy to read and to understand without being condescending. There's a special knack to writing like that and Tim certainly has it. By the way, Tim, where were you when I was going to Agnes Scott?

"Balance of Nature” was a fine first story, though it had strong overtones of both "Obsession” and "Alternative Factor.” I think it could have been a bit shorter, quicker to the point. Do hope to see more of Jeffrey's work.

Altogether, Randy, this is definitely the best one yet, and I have a feeling that even better issues will soon be coming from behind the door of the Stardate Editorial Office. Keep it up!! [The office Linda's referring to is my room on campus. I've got a sign on the door which reads "STARDATE Editorial Office." - Ed.]

A few general comments before I start clawing the 'zine to small shreds: your artwork's improving, and so is your reproductive system (that's the printer, not the result of Rick Endres' story - of which more in a minute).

Cartoons are OK, although Star Trip is getting a little tedious; how often can we use Kirk's flab as a joke? Especially since Shatner's been on his vegetarian kick, and he's got to keep fit for his-very young and lovely Marci?

[see comments about Oath of Vengeance]

"The Anniversary Gift" is excellent - a variation on a theme that's been suggested by several people in former fanzines, but it's a logical explanation that fits the circumstances.

"The Balance of Nature" - Okay, it's another Giant Amoeba, but it's a good adventure story, and the solution makes scientific sense.

I can't understand warp drive anyway, so I assume Tim Farley's article is accurate.

So much for STARDATE #8 (Georgia-style). Keep up the good work...

"Turnabout Vengeance" by Nomad -- I'm told that this was his first attempt at Star Trek fiction. Even so, it is very good, well-done and intriguing. Janice Lester returns, obviously insane and deliciously diabolical, seeking revenge on Captain James T. Kirk. I also appreciated the fact that Ambassador Sarek was actively involved with this story.

"The Price of Peace" by Randall Landers -- In view of our own 20th century Mid-East complications, the idea of a religious war being waged over a strategically located, iridium-rich planet is quite plausible. I only hope that my the 23rd century, a peace-keeping body like the Federation Council will indeed be able to convene and act that swiftly and efficiently. Another example of Star Trek optimism. I was pleased to see the return of the Romulan Commander and that she is still endeavoring to seduce Spock into joining her in the Romulan Star Empire. Nice touch. Sarek's inclusion, as always, was appreciated. Also enjoyable was the detailed description of everyday, early morning chit-chat and routine aboard a Federation starship.

Resurrection by Nomad -- A compelling Second Mission sequel to the First Mission episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Vividly disturbing "dreams" and an old guilt lead Kirk back to the planet Delta-Vega and to a strange reunion with the "ghost" of his old friend, Gary Mitchell. Well-written, this story adheres to the gives established in the episode, as well as reflecting accurately the character growth of the crew since Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Nomad's explanations regarding the energy barrier are fascinating. Also, Uhura's part in this story was well done.

[see comments about Oath of Vengeance]

"The Anniversary Gift" by Donna C. Clark -- I enjoyed this story and its description of the demise of McCoy's marriage and his ultimate decision to join Starfleet. It probably would have happened pretty much like that. However, I do not believe it would have been an impulsive decision. Nothing quite so rash.

"The Balance of Nature" by Jeffrey Woytach -- Though the plot of this story was similar to that of "The Immunity Syndrome," it was interesting, well-written, and very descriptive. Also, I thought the characterizations were correct, especially Scotty's. Nice.

Jeffrey Woytach's "The Balance of Nature" -- I have to be honest and say that while the plot was acceptable, the actual writing needed some heavy-handed polishing. For instance, it was filled with things like "Kirk's command instinct gave him a little jolt." I don't know whether or not this is Jeffrey's first story, but he shows a lot of promise. {It indeed is his first and only story submitted to us for publication. - Randy}

Donna C. Clark's "The Anniversary Gift" -- I find it hard to accept that McCoy would join Starfleet on the spur of the moment. His feelings for Heather must have been non-existent if he let her go so easily.

[see comments about Oath of Vengeance]

Donna C. Clark wrote a story about McCoy's divorce called "The Anniversary Gift." This is the way I imagined that it happened; that is, both parties were well-intentioned, but had different expectations: he put priority on his work; she put priority on family life. As such, I found the story quite believable.

Issue 9

front cover of issue #9, Don Harden

back cover of issue #9, Vel Jaeger

Stardate 9 was published in March 1981 and contains 95 pages.

The art is by Don Harden, Vel Jaeger, Rick Endres, and Randal Landers.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• Mark of the Beast, fiction by Rick Endres ("An inhuman killer stalks the corridors of the Enterprise in search of human prey; can Uhura escape this werewolf?") (7)
• Star Trek Trivia - Star Trek: The Motion Picture (50)
• The Star Trek Myths: First Season Production Staff, article by Don Harden (51)
• Star Trek Trivia: Errand of Mercy (52)
• A Matter of Trust, fiction by Tom Harden, Randall Landers, and Kevin Morgan ("While investigating the loss of a science expedition, the landing party is marooned on the surface of a planet with a contingent of Romulans nearby.") (53)
• Star Trek Trivia: Operation—Annihilate (66)
• To Say Goodbye, fiction by Linda McInnis ("After the loss of Spock and McCoy, Kirk takes a long vacation.") (67)
• Mainviewer, fanzine review by Debbie Bryant of Enter-comm #4, see that page (93)
• Zine Listings (94)
• The Last Word by Randall Landers (96)

• 

  from issue #9, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #9, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #9, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #9, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #9, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #9, Don Harden

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 9

See reactions and reviews for Mark of the Beast.

See reactions and reviews for A Matter of Trust.

Received another fine issue of STARDATE the other day. Number 9 continues the standard of high quality of recent issues. You are to be commended! The front and back covers were very nice; I like the heavier stock used on them.

Storywise, "A Matter of Trust" was a good Trek tale....And now for Linda McInnis. "To Say Goodbye" is a blockbuster! This young lady can write, and I mean with a capital "W"! It's a stark, riveting tale; Linda handles her characterizations and dialogue better than some so-called professional writers. It feels so natural; I mean, if Jim Kirk really was in that terrible situation, I believe that is the way he would react. Also, Don Harden's illos enhance the overall feel of the story; he did his usual fine job. In all, "To Say Goodbye" stands right at the top of the list of great fan fiction. If I were you. Randy, I'd get Linda under contract right away! A fine, fine job. I hope she keeps writing, and I hope STARDATE continues to maintain the superb level of quality it has achieved.

...#9 looked beautiful with those blue covers - very nice. Your layout is really good, and physically it's an attractive zine.

Now comes the hard part - most of the stories in the issue just didn't appeal to me. I find so much graphic violence very repulsive, and most of the longer story seemed to consist of flying viscera. While most of the illustrations were technically well-executed, again the gore turned me off. [I'd like to point out that the violence has been curtailed in recent issues quite a bit because of a number of LoCs received about the subject. I personally was not repulsed, but then again, I wasn't repulsed by Alien or Outland either. However, we of STARDATE listen to the readers. The violence will remain as subdued as possible. - Ed.]

If you're still listening, I did enjoy one story very much, and that was the one by Linda McInnis. However, I felt as though I'd stumbled into a scouting lecture. And I hope you'll keep Tim Farley's trivia quizzes, and his technical articles - those are excellent. Debbie Bryant is doing a good job with the reviews, also....

I hope you'll take the criticism in the spirit in which it is given; I really hate having to say things like this, but I think you'd rather have an honest opinion if you're to keep on improving the zine. [Indeed, I do appreciate any and all comments about STARDATE whether they be critical or praising. It gives me and the rest of the staff an idea of what needs to be done and what needs to be done more. - Ed.]

Very nice cover art for STARDATE #9. I agree with your "Last Word" column* At this point, I can’t see writing the networks or whoever doing any good. The odds are they would resent being told how to do the movie. That doesn't mean the fans are wrong. I think the majority seem to forget the actors - Shatner, Nimoy, etc. - have a pretty good idea who their characters are and what they would do in a given instance. As for the technical side, there's always going to be plenty to debate over. Just think how primitive the old TV series sets look compared to the movie. The LoCs, I see, are very favorable. Artwise - Rick's Uhura is the best illo in the zine. Too many nude illos. After some of the K/S art I've seen, nothing in an ST zine could shock me. However, most of the nudes in STARDATE seem to be there just for the sake of being there. All of the art continues to improve with each issue. Your layout is improving. I don't want to even think about what a pain everything copy-ready must be. Like the colored covers much better than the white ones.

Of the three stories, two contain excessive violence. Particularly, "Mark of the Beast." I don't object to one of these stories occasionally, but, I'm afraid readers are going to begin associating them exclusively with STARDATE. [I hope not. - Ed.]

Like the Captain's Logs in the stories. Writers rarely include them.

[see comments about Mark of the Beast]

"A Matter of Trust" - Aha, I knew I'd read a similar story somewhere. Good idea! I found myself wishing it was a bit longer. It would have been nice to have both groups thrown together for a longer period of time to see how they would interact.

"To Say Goodbye" - The premise was fine. Linda is a good writer. The length of time Kirk and Barbara spent together is a bit unrealistic. Between the initial meeting and parting the story is vague as to what they did with their time. Surely not just wandering around in the forest and discussing their lost friends. I was pleasantly disappointed that they didn't become lovers. That would have changed the emphasis of the story.

All in all, #9 is a good issue. Noticed you have some new people helping out. Don Harden's article is a nice addition.

Issue 10

front cover of issue #10, Evallou Richardson (ERIC)

back cover of issue #10, Tim Farley

Stardate 10 was published in May 1981 and is 52 pages long.

The art is by Donna C. Clark, Rick Endres, Tim Farley, Don Harden, and Evallou Richardson (ERIC).

From "The Last Word," this one by Linda McInnis:

I was fortunate enough to have been at the launch of the Columbia. The aching disappointment and the badly hidden fear that she would not go up at all after the Friday morning postponement vanished when that bird rose Sunday morning in a blast of brilliant orange flame and a gut—deep roar of sheer power. When I saw that; when I saw her land at Edwards Air Force Base two days later, I was overcome with a feeling of such awe and wonder, I felt as one of those ancient British knights must have felt when he witnessed Arthur pull the sword out of the stone.

I thought to myself, "We're really on our way." And we are. Or we can be, if the people who. run this country know that they have our support - no! - our demands for this program behind them. Readers, we convinced Paramount Pictures, that haven of bureaucratic red tape, that ST:TMP was a worthwhile project. Don't you think that the excellent minds that wrote those letters to the studio could write equally effective letters to the government? Let's do it! After all, we do have an actor in the White House!!

America Needs Space to Grow

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• Homecoming, fiction by Rick Endres ("Spock is in pon farr after the V'ger encounter. And there is no T'Pring. Who will he mate with or will he die?" Another summary: ". After his mind-meld with V'ger, and after re-examining his own philosophies, Spock finds himself carried up in the mating drive, pon farr. And this time, he faces death without T'pring to bond with. How can he say goodbye to Kirk, McCoy and his parents?") (5)
• Edith, poem by Donna C. Clark (24)
• A View from the Helmsman Position, fiction by Pamela Rose ("a very short story, an AU of sorts, where Sulu speaks out on a variety of topics") (25)
• Star Trek Trivia: Obsession (26)
• The Starfleet Manual—The Warp Drive and Other Hyperlight Technologies In Star Trek Part III: Some Possible Velocity Formulae, article by Tim Farley (27)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Original Episode titles by Randall Landers with Don Harden and Dave Eversole (28)
• Something That Happened Long Ago, poem by Donna C. Clark (29)
• The Once and Future Kirk, fiction by Rick Endres ("James Kirk has reached the maximum retirement age of 80. Can he bear to retire? Or will he even live long enough with the alien marauder attacking his ship?") (30)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Motion Picture (45)
• Star Trip, cartoon serial by Don Harden (47)
• Mainviewer, zine review by Debbie Bryant of Nome #4, see that page (49)
• Zine Listings (50)
• The Last Word by Linda McInnis (52)

• 

  from issue #10, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #10, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #10, Donna C. Clark

• 

  from issue #10, Don Harden

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 10

STARDATE #10 is a joy to read (I suppose you had to use reduced type for a few pages, but that’s my problem, not yours). I’m glad to see "Star Trip” has reduced Kirk's bulging belly to normal proportions - the man is looking marvelous these days.

"Homecoming" - at last a Spock-in-Pon-Farr story that makes sense. The Romulan Commander is the perfect answer to Spock's sex drive. The Sarek and Amanda sections were well-handled, too. Now, if the Romulan really wanted detente - But, that's another story!

"A View from the Helmsman Position" — Is Sulu really so cynical, not to mention nasty? George played him with so much verve, it's hard to see him bad-mouthing the captain and the rest of the crew.

"The Once and Future Kirk" - I’m not enthusiastic about time-travel stories (even though I've written a few), and I’m even less enthusiastic about the "It was all a dream/illusion/drug experience" ending. Rick Endres has gotten better since he wrote this...

"Homecoming": Overall, this one is excellent. The building of tension as Spock goes further and further into Pon Farr is gripping. I kept waiting for him to finally snap. I really think if Spock were "caught" in that situation again, he would react as he did. Always the strong, silent, long suffering type. And he accuses McCoy of a martyr complex! Also, his revelation of his love for Amanda was a touching scene. Wish we'd seen what happened when he came back! And I must mention the illo on page 6 - one of the best Spock's I've seen in a long time! The return of the Romulan Commander was worked in so well. What could have become contrived and awkward, or both. Rick has handled very smoothly. All together, this is one of Rick's best stories.

Which brings me to "The Once and Future Kirk." Wow! That first scene is a real tear-jerker! Of course I'm a sucker for Kirk anyway, but Rick really pegged the captain this time! A question: How about a sequel where Kirk begins to remember, flash by flash, what he saw in his future. How would it affect his decisions in a life threatening crisis? Rick?

Just loved Pamela Rose's Sulu piece. I can just see all that going on in the inscrutable helmsman's mind as Captain Tomcat hugs Janice Rand on the bridge.

Tim's warp factor article was enjoyable, but I think I better bone up on my theoretical mathematics before I begin to dispute it. Tim, are you going to discover warp drive before you. graduate?

Donna's poems and illos were a good break, and "Star Trip" gets crazier by the frame!! Where to now?

Overall, number 10 was a good, solid piece of work. Thanks, Randy and crew!!

Read "Homecoming" today and enjoyed it thoroughly. Nomad reads easily and his characterizations seem good from a quick reading. A question: "Vulcans do not perspire?" What then do they do? Dogs, cats, and other lower animals perspire only through their noses, if at all, but exhale excess moisture through the breath. Vulcans neither pant nor do they have wet noses -- do they pass more water than Humans then? I find this point interesting to speculate. Why would Nomad state arbitrarily that Vulcans do not perspire, other than to add another difference between Humans and Vulcans? I've not encountered this 'fact' anywhere else. Perhaps it has to do with their internal temperature regulation -- Vulcan is a particularly hot world -- I should their there would be a need for the ability to perspire. Just speculation, no criticism....I could also go on, particularly about pon farr, but I won't this time, as I fear it would run into pages. It does seem at first reading that the vase of the Vulcan navigator shouldn't be the norm by any means. Vulcans should be very well informed as to the onset (warning signals) of pon farr in order to avoid his mistake. But I'll let it rest there. Again, this isn't meant as a criticism of Nomad's story. It was an element which served to strength the logic of Spock's decision to isolate himself on Vulcan...

Nomad's story, "The Once and Future Kirk" is also quite good in my humble opinion. I find it interesting, also, to speculate on the Klingons becoming allies of the Federation in Kirk's lifetime, even if it was in a dream. I rather prefer them to remain the chief enemies of the Federation, but their integration into Federation forces would present some interesting situations due to the usual callous nature of Klingons, at least of those we encountered in the aired version of Star Trek. Of course, the Andorians are a violent race, and have been successfully integrated with Humans in Starfleet.

Nomad's "Homecoming" -- At last, a Spock-in-pon-farr story that makes sense! The Romulan Commander is the perfect answer to Spock's sex drive. The Sarek and Amanda sections were well-handled, too. Now, if the Romulan really wanted detente--but that's another story!

"The Once and Future Kirk" by Nomad -- I'm not enthusiastic about time-travel stories (even though I've written a few), and I'm even less enthusiastic about the "It was all a dream/illusion/drug experience" ending. Nomad's gotten better since he wrote this one...

Nomad's "Homecoming" -- Overall, this one is excellent. The building of tension as Spock goes further and further into pon farr is gripping. I kept waiting for him to finally snap. I really think if Spock were "caught" in that situation, he would react as Nomad wrote him. Always the strong, silent, long suffering type. And he accuses McCoy of a martyr complex! Also, his revelation of his love for Amanda was a touching scene. Wish we'd seen what happened when he came back! And I must mention...the return of the Romulan Commander was worked in so well. What could have been contrived and awkward, or both, Nomad has handled very smoothly. All together, this is one of Nomad's best stories.

Which brings me to "The Once and Future Kirk." Wow! That first scene is a real tear-jerker! Of course, I'm a sucker for Kirk anyway, but Nomad really pegged the captain this time! A question: how about a sequel where Kirk begins to remember, flash by flash, what he saw in his future. How would it affect his decisions in a life threatening crisis? Nomad?

Nomad's "The Once and Future Kirk" -- This story was confusing at first! I was reading it and saying to myself, "Well, this does not give with what we know now about the Trek universe today. Maybe it was because the story was written some time ago." Then I find out that the entire beginning of the story is a dream created for Kirk by the Lotus Stone. Cool! What a great idea! I'm glad you didn't spoil it in the editorial up front. It's too bad that the Lotus stone was destroyed because there could have been many of these future type stories. Maybe there's another one. Of course, we know that Kirk's dream future was only that -- a dream. Or was it...

"Homecoming" -- I like Nomad's inclusion of the captain's log. I wish more people would use it in their stories. The story was well-thought out until the part where Spock left for the desert. When I first started reading the story, my initial reaction was "ho-hum, another dull pon farr story." Then Nomad changed the direction of the story by having Spock decide to go to Vulcan and i.e. I really couldn't believe he was going to die, but I couldn't figure out what fortunate accident was going to save him. That's why the last half of the story was so disappointing to me. Having the Romulan, Di'on, suddenly appear was just too convenient. From this point on, the story seems hurried, as if Nomad was tired of it and wanted to get it finished. {

"A View from the Helmsman's Position" - It's no use; I Just don't like this one.

"The Once and Future Kirk" -- Sentimental, I thought. That is until I got to the part about the Lotus Stone, which is too much like those stories where they wake up at the end and discover it was all a bad dream. I'm glad the Klingons were there. Now, I can see them doing this to Kirk. If someone is going to do a story having Kirk, Spock, etc. having "bad dreams," there should be a good reason for it explained at the end of the story. Nomad did a good job on this one. His writing is getting better all the time....

All in all, #10 was a good issue....

This is a comparatively short zine with a basic action/adventure format. The two major pieces of fiction are short stories by Rick Endres… In the first story, ‘Homecoming,’ the run-in with V’ger has caused Spock’s biochemistry to go awry, prematurely bringing on pon farr. Knowing that there will be now one awaiting him this time, he returns home to die. He does not tell Kirk or McCoy, of course. After visiting his family one last time, he makes his way to a cave in the desert that had been something of a sanctuary to him as a child. There, just as madness is about to claim him, he receives an unexpected visitor. The only thing I find questionable in this story is the visitor’s motives in seeking Spock out. In my opinion, this character would not have reacted in such a way… The story is nicely put together, cohesive, and written in a concise, straightforward style that makes for smooth reading… The same can be said for the other short story, ‘The Once and Future Kirk.’ This one opens up on Kirk’s seventy-fifth birthday, it is also his last day as commander of the U.S.S. Enterprise. But before he can get to his own retirement ceremony, he comes upon trouble in the form of a Priority One distress call from the U.S.S. Procyon…. This story will surprise you. There are a couple of twists … as is characteristic of Endres’ writing, the story moves along quickly and is tightly constructed…. On the whole, quite readable and highly enjoyable. The artwork in this zine is quite satisfactory to not quite adequate. The poems are not too bad… I conclude by saying that Stardate is one neat little zine which elicited from me something akin to nostalgia. The format, embracing anything from serious short story to trivia to poetry to cartoons with an emphasis on action/adventure is reminiscent of the type of fanzine being produced when fanfic was still young. The same enthusiasm is still there but whereas the early zines were sometimes faltering and awkward, Stardate is polished and confidant, the culmination of this particular genre.

Stardate is a zine of new and burgeoning writers, and it shows. But that, in itself, is not necessarily bad. In this zine's LoCs I found an overwhelming sense of comraderie and support, of nurturing and reproof. It was refreshing to see in a fandom that all too often shows its remoulding tendencies by first severing the head. The main part of Stardate 10 is composed of two stories by Rick Endres. "Homecoming," in which Spock comes home to die in Pon Farr having no one to mate with, becomes interesting when the lady Romulan Commander, unknowing of his condition, but having heard of Spock's experiences with V'ger, decides to track him down to re-state her case for defection to the Romulan Empire. "The Once and Future Kirk" has Kirk affected by an alien stone and forced to relive, or maybe a better word would be pre-live, his mandatory retirement. Aside from a literary ploy of sequence that is attempted and does not work, it is by far the better of the two pieces. Mr. Endres knows how to do all of it right — unfortunately, he does not use this knowledge all of the time, nor all in one story. There is a fine line of know-how between falling short and being good. Some authors never make it to the far side of that line; Mr. Endres is teetering on the edge. Whether he will continue to teeter, dipping in and out of some very good and some very mediocre writing, or will reach the other side, remains to be seen. Because there is a Stardate, we will have the opportunity to watch, and maybe the opportunity to see something special. There is also in the zine some pleasant but unspectacular poetry, Trek trivia, complementary zine listings, ads for previous issues of Stardate and an editorial by Linda Mclnnis. An article by Tim Farley on Warp Drive from Star-fleet's Technical Manual looked properly menacing, complete with mathematical formulae in equations. So menacing did it look, that I have to admit, I did not tackle it. Several things that were very good in Stardate 10 were the review of Nome 4 by Debbie Bryant, a very funny Trek cartoon feature by Don Harden and a short, first person ditty by Pamela Rose called "A View from the Helmsman Position." The latter was a ribtickler, and very much in the character of Sulu. All in all, Stardate fills a needed position. It is basically a labor of love — labor in the sense of new birth, to be looked on, encouraged, and perhaps, in the course of time and maturity of talent to be recognized as the beginnings of real quality.

Issue 11

front cover of #11, Tim Farley

back cover of issue #11, Rick Endres

Stardate 11 was published in June 1981 and contains 60 pages.

The art is by Rick Endres and Tim Farley.

• From the editor (2)
• The Captain is Always Right #6, cartoon strip by Don Harden and Randall Landers (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• Shattered Mirror, fiction by Rick Endres ("STTMP story of first getting the Enterprise back, but with a twist—the mirror crew.") (53)
• Star Trek Trivia: The Motion Picture (53)
• Star Trek Episode Poll Results and Analysis, compiled by Randall Landers and Don Harden (54)
• Mainviewer, fanzine review by Debbie Bryant, Saurian Brandy Digest #27, see that page (56)
• Zine Listings (57)
• Zine Auction (58)
• Coming Soon (58)
• The Last Word by Randall Landers (60)

• 

  from issue #11, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #11, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #11, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #11, Rick Endres

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 11

I thoroughly enjoyed Rick's novella in #11 ["Shattered Mirror"]. Oddly enough, if my reaction to "Mark of the Beast" [S#9] was honest, I didn't mind the violence nearly as much, if at all. Perhaps there was a sense of poetic justice about it; the bad guys finally got their just rewards. I like the violent Uhura best of all, I think...I'm not sure why. Maybe because she never really showed but one facet of her personality on the show, and much of fan fiction passes over her, too. Somehow, the blood-thirsty, ambitious officer of the mirror-Universe was quite refreshing. Also, Rick made excellent use of the movie story-line, quoting verbatim at times, and then throwing in twists to make his novella a piece that stands on its own as a fine story. I especially was intrigued that Kirk would actually push to get Spock out of the re-hab colony. The one man who had really stood up to him, and he wants him back. Rick shows very well how that no one is ever pure in anything, be it good or evil.

The artwork, too, was excellent. Rick's best by far. I know it's difficult but if he can keep his Kirfcs at the quality of his p. 20 illo, he could be in the running for a place with some of the better fan artists. Keep it up. Rick!

Also, enjoyed the Poll results. There are quite a few interesting differences in the two. Trek's and STARDATE's. Your reasons explaining them were valid, I think, but it still makes me wonder if I should believe anything I read. Editorials and zine reviews were, as usual, thought-provoking and informative. STARDATE is maintaining a quality that is unusual in these days of shoddy product and uncaring salespeople. Thanks, Randy.

Issue #11 of Stardate is mainly comprised of a novella by Rick Endres entitled Shattered Mirror. It is not his best work. A talented but very inconsistent young writer, this effort reveals a story heavy in marred dialogue, incomplete characterizations, and violence and sex at the expense of character relationships.

The story line was a good one: In a mirror universe that has some parallels to the events of the movie, Kirk gets back an Enterprise that was almost tricked away from him and asks for Spock as his First Officer. (Spock, having seen the value of "our" Kirk's words, is in a prison for treason to the Empire) Spock is released at Kirk's request and to Kirk's responsibility, having supposedly been "re-habilitated" to Empire standards. The rest of the story involves Spock's secret workings to lead the ISS ENTERPRISE into the hands of the Klingon Confederacy as a means to weaken the Empire and quicken its fall.

Rick's assumption that in a mirror universe the Klingons would be the good guys was intriguing as was the scene between a supposedly reformed Spock and his releasing warden. Also of interest was the interaction between Spock and Xon, a young Vulcan officer who wisely sees the value of Spock's goal.

Unfortunately, the storyline is buried beneath the attempt to show us how mean and nasty the Empire really is. The possibilities of showing us a Spock that was neither "our" Spock nor the Spock seen on "Mirror, Mirror", but an emerging individual, the chances to see in depth, what each of the characters really were, fell by the wayside in favor of lurid descriptiveness. This novella is not worthy of Mr. Endres talents.

The author's own art illoed the novella showing much improvement from the last issue. There were several good Kirks as well as a fine Sulu illo.

Also in this zine is a cover by Tim Farley, LoC's, movie trivia, complimentary zine listings, a zine auction, an Episode Poll and Analysis by Randy Landers and Don Harden, and a review of Saurian Brandy Digest #27 by Debbie Bryant.

...Found the ST episode poll results to be very reasonable. Had no major arguments except that I would rank "City on the Edge of Forever" and "The Naked Time" higher and I was surprised to see "The Empath" left out on the worst 15 list.

Enjoyed "Shattered Mirror." Couldn't help but notice Rick Endres lost no time murdering off or otherwise eliminating every major element of ST:TMP, including, in effect, the new Enterprise. Found it hard to believe that "the most ruthless and effective assassin in the entire galxy" would have failed to equip his quarters with sophisticated enough security devices to prevent Uhura from getting in to tamper with his sonic shower. The story also seemed to degenerate into a massive "get-'em" yam at some points - Rick knocked off a lot of people in the story. However, I think Uhura-'s character was sufficiently strong enough to carry the tale.

About the much discussed, alleged Endres boob fetish: so what? If he likes well-endowed women, let him draw 'em - you don't tamper with an artist, especially when he or she is talented as Rick is. However, one might look at the possibility of producing some art of males with well-developed thoracic musculature for the female-type readers. Of course, there's always the possibility that the nudity could affect STARDATE's readership, but I say don't tamper until such a decline demonstrates itself.

In general, STARDATE is really doing well - keep up the good work.

I think I will do something to Rick Endres - something long and lingering, with boiling oil or molten lead. I finished "Shattered Mirror" as a shattered wreck! Okay, it was entirely in character - but who needs it? Any story that begins with Kirk vaporizing Nogura and ends with him as a drunken wreck.

Klingons are the Good Guys - where Spock is a prisoner - and half of the cast gets killed before it's all over. I do not recommend. I hope Rick has gotten all his hostilities taken care of.

....This is going to sound like a broken record, but Rick Endres keeps improving. Just go back and read one of his earlier stories then reread "Shattered Mirror." In it, he did a good Job of maintaining the characters as true mirror universe "bad guys" instead of romanticizing them as villains 'with hearts of gold. Rick managed to make us realistically imagine and react to people we tend to think of in the most glowing terms as capable of cruelty and all the other dark things we'd rather not think about....

Issue 12

front cover of issue #12 by Vel Jaeger.
In 2011, Vel commented on this art: "You have to blow it up to close to the 8 1/2" X 11" size to make it out, but the phrase 'Get Well Scotty' [referring to the actor's recent surgery] is on the right side sleeve of the arm (image's left side) hidden in the folds of the uniform. I don't have Hirchenfeld's talent, but I don't have a problem with borrowing his ideas. Also, the lettering is from a class project I did, for which I had to create an alphabet. I named this one "Costa Mesa," for a ritzy, exclusive neighborhood south of us, where Gene Roddenberry was building a house. Amazing, isn't it, how much detail one can squeeze into a small drawing. All part of the fun!"

back cover of issue #12, Donna C. Clark

Stardate 12 was published in August 1981 and contains 56 pages.

The art is by Bonnie Reitz, Vel Jaeger, Don Harden, and Donna C. Clark.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC, letters of comment (3)
• To Weather a Storm, a story by Jody Crouse ("Kirk and McCoy must locate Spock who has been taken from the bridge by an alien transporter. But why has the Vulcan been kidnapped?" Another summary: "While en route to a starbase, Spock has disappeared from the bridge. Kirk and McCoy must trace the alien transporter beam, but the ship is literally falling apart under them. Can they find him before the ship must return to Starbase, or will everyone be marooned on an alien planet?") (5)
• Star Trek: The Fandom, essay by Randall Landers (an essay about the fandom and the differences among types of fans: Trekkies, Trekkers, Trekfen, Trekists, BNFs, Goddenberrys...) (21)
• Only the Sound Remains, a story by Linda McInnis ("Spock apparently has been beguiled into leaving the Enterprise to join a race of true telepaths. But can he give up James T. Kirk?" Another summary: "Will Spock's curiosity and esper capabilities lead him to abandon his life aboard the Enterprise? What IS the secret of the strange, underwater civilization of telepaths? What will Kirk do to keep his first officer and friend?") (23)
• The Captain Is Always Right #7, cartoon by Don Harden and Randall Landers (50)
• Zine Listing (51)
• Clubs (51)
• The Last Word by Randall Landers (56)

• 

  from issue #12, Don Harden

• 

  from issue #12, a Venn Diagram of fans by Randall Landers

• 

  from issue #12, Rick Endres

• 

  from issue #12, sample text

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 12

See reactions and reviews for To Weather a Storm.

See reactions and reviews for Only the Sound Remains.

Issue 13

cover of issue #13

Star Trip by Don Harden from issue #13

inside art from issue #13, Rick Endres

Stardate 13 was published in December 1981 and contains 88 pages. Rick Endres, editor.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC (3)
• ad (6)
• A Collection of Lines, a story by Linda McInnis (An alternate communications officer must deal with her husband's promotion to security under Lt. Chekov. With his new job, how can she bear the nights alone?) (7)
• an ad (18)
• Star Trek: The Animateds (Part One) An Indepth Analysis Of The Series by Randall Landers (19)
• Chess Partners, a story by Donna Clark (Lt. Joanna McCoy has been transfered to the Enterprise. But can she bear to be subjected to her father's continual scrutiny?) (25)
• The Star Trek Myths—Reflections On The Second Season Production Staff by Don Harden (Article) (47)
• an ad (49)
• Star Trip by Don Harden (Cartoon) (51)
• The Star Fleet Manual—The Warp Drive and Other Hyperlight Technologies In Star Trek Part IV by Tim Farley (53)
• The Human Equation, a story by Rick Endres, illos by Rick Endres (Lt. Xon learns about what makes human beings live and die, and learns about how he will adapt to the Enterprise mainly human crew.) (nominated for a TrekStar Award) (55)
• an ad (84)
• Mainviewer, a review by Debbie Bryant (85)
• zine listings (86)
• an ad (87)
• The Last Word, an editorial by Rick Endres (88)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 13

"A Collection of Lines" is a nice look at the Enterprise crew -- I guess there are a couple of people like that on every spaceship....

And I like Xon as seen in Nomad's "The Human Equation." It took Spock nearly twenty years to learn with Humans, and he was half-Human himself! I don't know why women of Terran extraction crawl all over Vulcans either, unless it's the challenge of the hunt?

Another winner: Nomad's "The Human Equation" -- very nicely executed story. Xon provides a "fascinating" new perspective, I think.

Linda McInnis' "A Collection of Lines" -- What a sad and emotional story. It reminded me of "Balance of Terror" where the guy dies on his wedding day. This was a more in-depth treatment. A really nice piece done from the viewpoint of the bereaved and not one of the standard characters.

Nomad's "The Human Equation" -- I liked this story because it had Ensign Antonio Perez... this was a good story that shows even Vulcans are Human, too. It was good to see Xon (one of my favorites from Star Trek Phase II) in a story of his own. Xon begins the story a little naive and ends learning a great lesson, that having emotions may not necessarily be such a bad thing. It would be interesting to see another story with Xon after this. I was disappointed that Lisa Templar didn't live to see the end of this story, but I guess that would have made it a different story. I would have liked to have seen how Xon and hear dealt with the fact of her feelings towards him along with his burgeoning emotions.

I thought the characters in Nomad's "The Human Equation" wooden and unconvincing, and the plots terribly predictable. The young Vulcan who should have been the focus in the story came across as a confused adolescent with so-called Vulcan characteristics grafted unconvincingly onto a vapid framework, and I'm afraid I'm tired of the character "Lisa" and all her counterparts unless they are awfully well-conceived.

I did enjoy Linda McInnis' "A Collection of Lines," and think it's one of the best you've published. The characters were convincing and fun. I think Linda has some real insights; she showed us something about the captain, and she created believable new characters in that familiar setting. I'd like to read more of her work.

Full marks to Linda McInnis' "A Collection of Lines." She handles grief well and achieves a sense of awkwardness between Kirk and Kemper, two people trying to share, which is quite effective. I thought Nomad's "The Human Equation" was quite admirable. Both these authors are to be commended for thoughtful writing. May they continue to work and improve. We'll all benefit.

"A Collection of Lines" by Linda McInnis -- All in all, its a well put-together story. The characters don't get mangled (except for Kirk's eyes). Well thought out. I don't like gore, and this story doesn't have much at all.

Nomad's "The Human Equation" -- I liked it, I really did. It was fascinating; I like the way Xon confides in Doctor McCoy. He's kinda befuddled at the female attraction to Xon.

Since, I cannot take credit for editing these stories -- Nomad and Linda McInnis edited the fanzines in which they originally appeared, I thought I should express my opinions on them as a reader.... Linda McInnis' "A Collection of Lines" is a beautiful story, tragic and sympathy-provoking... Nomad's "The Human Equation" introduced a new crewmember, namely Lieutenant Xon. It's nice to see he finally made it... My favorite scenes are the accidental "overhearing" of the woman's sexual fantasy, and all the confrontations Xon has with McCoy.

Nomad's "The Human Equation" is a fine character study of Lieutenant Xon. Nomad has taken a character sketch by Gene Roddenberry and made him live, with excellent results.

I've Just finished reading STARDATE #13. Mice collection of stories. Do wish your xerox machine or copier was kinder to artwork.

Linda McInnis' "A Collection of Lines" was a good change of pace story. It's nice to read something that hasn't been rehashed dozens of times. I did get the impression it was written in a detached manner. What I mean is that is seems like Linda wrote it like it wasn't from personal experience or anything. It seems to be what she imagined or maybe what someone told her the experience should be. I don't know; I really can't explain. I just couldn't get involved in the story.

Chess Partners" - saw no reason for Spock to immediately fall for her. Also the chess gambit has been written to death in the past. I'll admit I like a good Mary Sue story every now and again, but this one held no new surprises. [I wouldn't have called the story a "Mary Sue." - Ed.] I was pleased that she did the decent thing and left the ship.

The Human Equation" was the best story. I think Rick did the

right thing by just bringing Xon onboard the ship instead of trying to explain how he avoided the transporter accident. [Sorry, but that was Lieutenant Commander Sonak that died in the movie's transporter accident, not Xon. Xon is from the old Star Trek II's Writers' Guide. - Ed.] My favorite part was where he nicked up people's day dreams. That's an intriguing possibility that should be used in more stories containing Vulcans.

"A Collection of Lines" by Linda McInnis -- A sensitive examination of the pressures of starship duty have exerted on the lives and marriage of a young Starfleet couple. The first person narrative, from the point of view of the young wife, was handled well, and served to intensify the feeling of loss and sadness. Thanks again, Linda!

I appreciated both articles: "Star Trek: The Animateds" (Part One), by Randall Landers, and "The Star Trek Myths," by Don Harden. Hell-written and informative.

"Chess Partners," by Donra C. Clark - I found the relationship between Doctor McCoy and his daughter, Joanna, both believable and touching. I also believed and was amused by McCoy's reaction to a potential Joanna/Spock relationship. The self-reliant, yet caring. Lieutenant Joanna McCoy depicted in this stiry is very much 'Bones' McCoy's daughter. One final point: The reference to a past Kirk/Joanna friendship - while it deos lend an additional dimension to the story, surely in the entire galaxy, there must be at least one woman our virile captain has missed!

"The Human Equation" by Nomad -- I had been looking forward to reading Nomad's Xon story, and as expected, it was terrific! In my opinion, Xon's character was handled sensitively and accurately -- just as it should have been had Xon ever made it to the TV/movie screen. The Xon fantasy scenes, of course, could not have gotten a PG rating. However, in the context of the story, I found it amusing and within limits. I also found Doctor McCoy's advice to Xon very much in character, and his explanations of Vulcan sex-appeal insightful. Great story! Thanks, from an Nomad fan!

STARDATE #13 is an improvement on the previous two issues, both from the point of view of art and writing. "A Collection of Lines" is a nice look at the Enterprise crew - I guess there are a couple of people like that on every spaceship. "Chess Partners" is another possible future for Joanna McCoy - I guess Bones shudders at the thought of calling Spock "Son!" And I like Xon as seen in "The Human Equation" - It took Spock nearly twenty years to learn to live with Humans, and he was half-Human himself! I don't know why women of Terran extraction crawl all over Vulcans either unless it's the challenge of the hunt? The Warp Drive article was as good as any of them I've run a couple in Grip, and I still don't understand how the Enterprise goes. I assume that it does, but it stops just as often!

Issue 14

cover of issue #14, Bonnie Reitz

Stardate 14 was published in March 1982 and contains 72 pages. It was guest edited by Linda McInnis.

The art is by Bobbie Hawkins, Donna C. Clark, Rick Endres, Randall Landers, and Bonnie Rietz.

• From the Editor
• Art Credits
• Of All the LoC
• No Place Like Home, fiction by Rick Endres ("Gap-bridging story, set between the end of the five year mission and the start of the new one, explains what was happening during that time with Kirk and Lori Ciani and more. Nudity, mature language and scenes.") (contains a nude illustration of Lori) (26 pages)
• Easier Said Than Done, fiction by Jane Wesenberg ("Spock readjusting to emotions after his mind-meld with V’ger. Who can he turn to for help, and who can he turn to for love?") (11 pages)
• Star Trip, cartoon by Don Harden (2 pages)
• The Star Trek Myths: A Look At The Third Season Production Staff, article by Don Harden (7 pages)
• untitled poem by Linda McInnis
• No Beach To Walk On, fiction by Linda McInnis ("The walls are closing in on Janice Rand and James Kirk, but how can this be happening aboard their own starship?") (4 pages)
• Listen, poem by Donna C. Clark
• Star Trek: The Animateds, part two, article by Randall Landers
• The Decision, fiction by Donna Clark (Young Spock has to make a choice of career. But how will the decision affect Sarek and Amanda and himself?) (6 pages)
• The Starfleet Manual: The Warp Drive and Other Hyperlight Technologies In Star Trek Part V: The Impulse Drive and Time Warps, article by Tim Farley (2 pages)
• The Captain is Always Right #9, cartoons by Randall Landers
• And The Children Shall Sue, fiction by Kiel Stuart ("A parody of the worst episode of Star Trek. Can Captain Jerk defend himself against charges of child molestation? Can Schmuck?") (8 pages)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 14

Stardate is definitely an up and coming ST zine with a strong emphasis on action-adventure. Well… usually. This issue seems to be a departure from the regular format, probably due to the editor. In the editorial, Ms. McInnis tells us that the regular editor, Mr. Landers, called her up and basically suckered her into editing the zine. Poor way to run a zine if you ask me…

The lead-off story is by Stardate’s usually fantastic assistant editor, Rick Endres, and it is entitled, ‘No Place Like Home.’ This story is one of the best pieces I’ve read to explain what was Kirk up to between the television series and ST:TMP. I really enjoyed the interplay between the characters, and instead of boring us with a lot of details, Endres used several scenes of dialogue to provide the information we needed to know, rather than boring narrative. Well done, Mr. Endres!

Unfortunately, the next story ‘Easier Said than Done’ is not up to this level of quality. Characterization rape should be made a felony in my opinion, and this author should get the maximum sentence for her portrayal of Mr. Spock. Why is he such a cry-baby in this story? Maudlin and definitely not a good story. I know that this was her first effort, but I hope she realizes she has a long way to go before she can achieve the kind of quality that fans deserve.

‘No Beach to Walk On’ is a little nightmare by the editor. Actually, it’s quite nice, and Kirk is nicely dealt with. A little short, but I wouldn’t have wanted it to be much longer. ‘The Decision’ is the old story we’ve seen before, and this author tell it in a rather boring way. She seems to have the same ideas as several other writers who have treated the concept much better, but one can tell she hasn’t read much fan fiction herself.

‘And the Children Shall Sue’ is a delightful parody of what I think has to be one of the most wretched stories ever filmed for television. The author did an excellent job here… Priceless.

Artwork for this issue is a mix of mediocre to fantastic. There is a fantastic art portfolio by Bobbie Hawkins, and the xerox printing method employed did a decent job copying a lot of black tones. Rick Endres has one nude, a little out of proportion, but she’s not as well-endowed as some of his nude females have been. Not particularly offensive, but not particularly necessary either… his Kirks are great, though. I wish he’d do more of them and less of the bare-chested females. Bonnie Reitz has an excellent front cover of Sulu. The poetry is mediocre with the exception of McInnis’ untitled piece which captures the Arthurian tradition as ST embodies it. Very nice. Articles are there for those of you who read them as well. A modest buy, not high on a list of priority. It’d give this issue a 77-78 for its quality.

Nomad's "No Place Like Home" -- I really liked this one. I think it should have been longer. The whole time that I was reading this I had a sense of deja vu. Did I read this somewhere before? Yep, I checked -- Jeanne Dillard's The Lost Years. I'm really interested to know which was written first and if there is any connection between the two other than the subject matter. {"No Place Like Home" was first published in 1982, eight years before J.M. Dillard's novel, Star Trek: The Lost Years was published. It's not the only such coincidence. For example, in 1994 we reprinted "Just What the Doctor Ordered," by Autumn Lee (which had originally been published in 1990 in Laura Guyer's fanzine Encounters). It's a story about a bar and cafe located where various universes meet. Sounds strikingly similar to "The Captain's Table" series published by PocketBooks in 1998, doesn't it? - Randy}

Nomad's "No Place Like Home" -- I really got into this one; I liked it a whole lot. The love interest is tastefully done.

Nomad's "No Place Like Home" perfectly fills the gap between the series and the first movie. Nomad can be one of the best writers in Trekdom, in my opinion. Linda's "No Beach to Walk on" didn't really appear to me; I've read similar stories all too often.

Nomad's "No Place Like Home" -- I enjoyed quite a bit. It filled in an empty area in the chronology of the Star Trek universe that I'm sure bothered a lot of people....There is one scene in the story that was a bit racy -- I don't think it would have hurt the story to leave a little bit of the descriptive passages out.

....As for Linda McInnis' "No Beach to Walk on" -- tremendous! I've always been partial to the Kirk and Spock scenes in "The Naked Time," and while I usually don't enjoy stories which rely heavily on an episode (except where they fill in a gap), this one was touching and believable. It really is too bad that Linda isn't writing any more.

Nomad's "No Place Like Home" (one of my favorites!) is one of the best characterizations of Kirk I have ever read. Such depth of feeling! He really gets inside the head of our beloved starship captain.

Linda McInnis' "No Beach to Walk on," while short, was very, very well done. Now that's the way to handle characterization!

Issue 15

cover of issue #15, Evallou "ERIC" Richardson

interior page from issue #15, Don Harden

Stardate 15 was published in April 1982 and is 118 pages long.

The art is by Rick Endres, SKD, Don Harden, Bonnie Reitz, Gennie Summers, Bobbie Hawkins, Donna C. Clark, and Evallou "ERIC" Richardson.

• Masks by Bonnie Reitz ("A post ST:TMP action-packed mystery. A group of aliens, a religious artifact, a Romulan peace envoy, and a murderous entity are all present.") (26 pages)
• Star Trip by Don Harden (6 pages)
• Dream for Help by Sgt. Stephen W. Clark and Donna C. Clark (siblings) ("This story has Kirk haunted by dreams of a young woman. Post St:TMP and very much like 'One Step Beyond."") (11 pages)
• Spectres Within the Shadows by Randall Landers ("Kirk and company encounter Orions on a mission of destruction. Unfortunately, Mr. Spock and McCoy are found dead in a turbolift. Or are they?") (8 pages)
• Incident On Xantharus by Rick Endres ("Captain Pike and his crew deliver a new secret weapon (known as a 'phaser') to Starfleet, but unfortunately those nasty Orions pop up again.")

• 

  from issue #15, Bonnie Rietz

• 

  from issue #15, Donna C. Clark

• 

  from issue #15, Bobbie Hawkins

• 

  from issue #15, SKD

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 15

STARDATE #15, like all other STARDATEs, is a joy to read. Each issue in the past is filled with high quality action-adventure stories and this issue was certainly no exception. The star of STARDATE is generally its assistant editor, Rick Endres, but this issue had several contributors which were deserved of high praise.

The first and best story to be considered is Bonnie Reitz's "Masks." Ms. Reitz's works are always high quality, and so is this one! It's an action-filled mystery, perplexing and confusing to Kirk. And there are several red herrings thrown in to keep the reader (and Kirk) guessing as to the identity of the mystery killer aboard the Enterprise during one of those ever-so-popular diplomatic missions. Top notch science fiction in a Star Trek setting is always a pleasant surprise.

The next story is by Sgt. Stephen W. Clark and his sister, Donna, and is their first joint effort. The story is not bad, but definitely forgettable. The following story by the editor, "Spectres Within the Shadows," is another such piece. Humorous, but somewhat forgettable. Still, the clarity of Mr. Landers' zine makes up for his fair-to-middlin' fiction.

The poetry is definitely not spectacular. Good to mediocre at best. The artwork is fair to fantastic, the best pieces being done by Bonnie Reitz, Rick Endres, and Bobbie Hawkins.

The last issue in the story is extremely good. "Incident on Xantharus" is by Rick Endres. It is a totally engrossing tale of Captain Pike's Enterprise. The plot is very complex, spellbinding, and very enjoyable to read. The only reason that Ms. Reitz's piece is better is because of the descriptiveness of Mr. Endres' work. Mr. Endres is very good at writing, and often the luridness of the story makes one queasy. Readers who wade through the graphic violence and scenes of humiliation will be entertained by the many twists and surprises Mr. Enders has in store for the readers. The ending of the story is quite unexpected, and is one that evokes sheer horror in the readers while reminding one that the Federation isn't always right. 'Definitely a good buy, this STARDATE gets a 89-90 for its quality. Very recommended.

Nomad's "Incident on Xantharus" -- Interesting story centering on Ensign Julie Chastain. I liked that this story involved the Enterprise and crew during the Christopher Pike era. There was a lot of violence and masochism in this one which was sometimes a little heavy. Otherwise, a well written story about the rescue of Chastain and the plans for the phasers. I thought that the semi-unhappy ending was a nice touch. It seems that phasers weren't created without bloodshed. I love irony. I really like the bits with the crew of the Enterprise. Too bad there couldn't have been more like that. Captain John Raintree was a likable character. There should be more stories with him.

Among my favorite stories are "Masks," by Bonnie Reitz, and "Incident on Xantharus" by Nomad, even though I think the raping of Julie Chastain served no purpose than to titillate the readers or shock them. {Would you believe both? - Nomad} The Dance of the Sun was a nice, if gruesome touch, though wasn't something like it used in A Man Called Horse? {Yes, it was. - Nomad}

"Masks" by Bonnie Reitz -- A Star Trek mystery of high intrigue and deception. Well-written and rather imaginative. The Thrith, Beruntian and Pakari characterizations were especially well-done. Hope to see more of Bonnie's work.

"Incident on Xantharus" by Nomad -- A Captain Christopher Pike story. This, in my opinion, is one of Nomad's best -- a clever plot with several intriguing twists and turns. The lovely opening dialogue between a youthful Spock and the forever mysterious Number One was a nice touch. I found it to be touching and rather thought-provoking. By far, the most interesting and surprising character of this tale was "Malana," a young Orion female. In just a few pages, I was repulsed by her, admired her, and even pitied her. Good characterization. Though the violence in Nomad's story was a bit too detailed for my tastes, still, as always, even that was very well-written

Nomad's "Incident on Xantharus" was a damn good story! It's the only Captain Pike story I have read so far that I really loved. A bit too graphic in some places, but that only helped me to more easily visualize what happened to the characters.

Bonnie Reitz's "Masks" was outstanding. Bonnie has the mechanical skill to get the reader from Point A to Point B (or in her case, Point Q) smoothly, and she has the story-telling skill to make the trip vastly enjoyable. The Thrithians are excellently conceived. Alien-ness must go beyond the physical realm (a pitfall for many fan writers), and these do. The mask entity is a truly frightening idea, and the way it killed was well-drawn and believable within the framework. Her Romulans are equally believable. They are arrogant, yet possessed of their own very unique and very unbreachable code of honor to create "hero-villains." Too often, both Romulans and Klingons are used merely as "Bad Injuns" to present a peril and then be blown out of space by Kirk and company until next time. Bonnie's Romulans are worthy enemies, not just straw men, and one can conceive of a future in which they may become equally worthy allies. The Pakari concept is one I've seen her use before, always to good advantage. Not having a chronology of her work, I don't know which cam first in "Masks" -- the Pakari or the plot -- but in either case, the character was well-used. All in all, it was a rousing good piece of work.

"Incident on Xantharus" wasn't particularly my cup of tea, principally because of Nomad's apparent fascination with torturing naked ladies. It was also flawed by a near total lack of characterization of the lading lady. We saw all her outside -- and I DO mean ALL! -- but none of her "inside." The constant reminders that she was "lithe," "lovely," "golden-haired," "firm," "young," etc. and the descriptions of her "writhing in bondage" got a little tedious after a while. The best parts of the story were the first and last sections. The opening scene, with Spock and Number One mind-linking, really had nothing to do with the rest of the story, though. I kept waiting for that to become important, and it never did! He made up for it in the ending, with the ironic twist. Having Pike discover that the Hood had been used as a decoy and purposely sacrificed was a stunningly effective touch.

Bonnie Reitz's story, "Masks," was very good. It showed a lot of thought had gone into composing such a complex plot. It was different, which is always a nice surprise, from the usual Star Trek story of the Enterprise fighting with the Klingons. The story-line was imaginative concerning the impressionistic part of the plot using the character Triann. It was a very skillful bit of writing.

I could not finish Nomad's "Incident on Xantharus." It was such a disgusting story...

Bonnie Reitz's "Masks" was good. I liked the Thrithians, from their name and description to their depiction in the story. The Mask was a different kind of villain. The threat, and the mystery, the wolf/shapeshifter, with Romulans mixed in for good measure, made for an attention-holding narrative. It was also set in the Second Mission; I like that. The alien names were very interesting. I dislike borrowing too much from history, mythology, or other Earth sources for names in science fiction; I prefer originality....

Nomad's "Incident on Xantharus" -- "Incident"? more like "Horror"! -- was powerful, gripping and highly readable. I felt that some of the indignities heaped upon Julie Chastain would have been better left to the imagination, however. The characters were very well presented, and developed within the story so that I really cared for them. I like Amerinds. The ending was especially pathetic as it seemed that all they had been through and had lost was almost for nothing. Spock would've understood Captain Raintree's being torn between two cultures; I like to think they would have a talk later. It seems to me that Nomad dwelt on and lingered over Julie's humiliation and degradation, much more than the torture of John Raintree. Okay, so he chose to make her the central character, but I'm just wondering. I'm no feminist, but I'm wondering if this kind of material doesn't tend to exploit and cheapen women. {Actually, my girlfriend at the time who helped type and proofread our fanzines was very fond of this story except for the ending. We discussed whether or not the story was exploitative, and agreed it -- and most of Nomad's other writings while lurid, dark and violent, in fact -- just aren't exploitative. - Randy}

Nomad gives us a rip-roaring, slam-bang adventure story in "Incident on Xantharus" -- and gives us a tale about Captain Pike and the original crew to boot! I've always wanted to see a story like this one. Thanks, Nomad! His Julie Chastain character is well handled. That poor girl! After all she went though, to find out that the Hood's mission was just a decoy, well, the irony is really heart-rending. Nomad's writing goes beyond run-of-the-mill fan fiction; it's Star Trek with guts. He's not afraid to be a little dangerous or daring, and that's very refreshing. It might surprise you, but we ladies enjoy some sexiness in our reading material from time to time...

Randy Landers' "Return to Xantharus" -- A well done, fast-paced adventure that was right up my alley. Randy and I have a lot in common when it comes to writing. Which explains why I liked this story so much. It also gave us a reason why Admiral Cartwright got involved with the conspiracy revealed in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Issue 16

cover of issue #16

Stardate 16 was published in October 1982. The art is by Bev Clark, Ann Crouch, Rick Endres, Don Harden, Bonnie Reitz, and Sherry Veltkamp. Poetry by Demetri and Sarick.

• The Fourth Season That Might Have Been by Don Harden (article)
• Power for the Warp Drive by Tim Farley (article)
• Klingons, a trilogy by Randall Landers and Rick Endres
• Star Trip II: The Wrath of Dhon by Terry Sue Shank
• Assassin in Our Midsts by Randall Landers
• To Deny All Truths
• Through Time and Tears by Terry Shank that introduces Lt. Gaea Stark (It is later reprinted as part of a longer novel, Gaea)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 16

Stardate 16 is the largest issue the editor has ever put out. I have always enjoyed reading Stardate from its beginning. This issue, like those which have preceded it, is the best yet. The entire zine is one of the best produced I have ever seen. There are a few typos, but excellent typing in general, fantastic art, and it is strip-bound. The only production flaw was the mis-numbering of a few pages…

The first piece of fiction, a ‘novel,’ is simply a trilogy of stories with a ‘prologue’ and an ‘epilogue’ attached to it to confuse the reader. These additions, though, are extremely well-written. Both Endres and Landers did nice jobs on them. The first story of the three was by Randall Landers, and it was a little choppy. However, several scenes are very memorable. One in particular involves McCoy and Chapel. For once, the former nurse now a doctor, is handled very intelligently; she is not a wimp!

The second story, ‘Assassin in Our Midsts’ is much more polished. It’s a mystery about a Klingon about the Enterprise, and it’s up to Chekov to solve the problem. The surprise is the mature way that the young Russian is handled. Landers has allowed the characters to grow.

The third story is quite nice. It is this story in which the Klingon’s point-of-view is explored in detail, and explored well, I might add…

To Deny All Truths,’ the Klingons have half of the pages donated to them. The soon-to-be-relieved-of-his-command Kor goes on a rampage, setting a course for Earth, and destroying everything in his way. But the ugly ST:TMP Kh’myr Klingons have other ideas. The solution was quite a twist, and I’m glad to see that things worked out the best for everyone. The artwork for the novel is simply incredible. Rick Endres, Bonnie Reitz and Don Harden all did excellent work. As with Endres’ usual penchant for over-developed nude females, the only ‘nudie’ is well-proportion. Excellent!...

‘Star Trip- The Wrath of Dhon’ is an excellent parody of ST:TWOK. Don Harden did an excellent job with the art, and the dialogue provided by a number of people is simply priceless. The claim that it was based solely on rumors can’t quite be true, I’m sorry to say, because there are indications the authors (or, at least the artist) saw a few publicity trailers. I suppose that does count as ‘rumors’ though since half of the publicity clips I saw were never seen in the film. The humor, though, makes up for it. DELIGHTFUL!

‘Through Time and Tears’ was a first effort story by Terry Shank. An excellent story to say the least, it introduced one of the few non-Mary Sue characters I’ve ever seen in fan fiction. Gaea Stark does have a few Mary Sue tendencies, but overcomes them. She is Amanda’s niece, but is a human who acts Vulcan. Kirk is a little out of character at the end, but the rest of the story does make up for it. I’m looking forward to more of this new talent’s work in future issues of Stardate. The artwork by Endres for this piece was superb. Stark looks a little like Wilma Deering from the television show Buck Rogers, but there are some excellent Kirk and Spock illos here.

The rest of the issue contains a review of the Trek novels, poems by Patricia Demetri, a technology article by Tim Farley that makes sense to a non-techno person like myself, a ‘Star Trek Myths’ article by Don Harden in which he talks about the fourth season that could have been, a review of TREKisM at Length #2 by Bryant. All in all, this is a well-rounded, balanced issue, quite well-written, produced, and illustrated, and I’d give it an ‘87’ on a scale o f100. A very good buy, don’t miss it for the Star Trip!

I just finished reading Randy Landers' Klingons!...a worthy effort, I must say. I was disappointed in the ease with which the Klingons were defeated -- it was almost as though you and Nomad both got tired of the effort after a while. The first portion -- Spock the Stargod -- seemed to have either been cobbled up to make the novella longer, or to have some Klingon footage tacked on to connect an unrelated short story to the novel. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the effort. {Regarding the evolution of Klingons!, "To Capture God" (Spock the Stargod) was the original story, and the Klingons were essential to the story. There were no extra scenes added to make it lengthier. "Assassin in Our Midsts" (Chekov's tragedy) was written about a year later. "To Deny All Truths" was half-way finished when I ran out of steam and shipped it off to Nomad for completion. I then added the Prologue, and he tagged on the Epilogue to make it a novella. To be honest, I was never one hundred percent satisfied with the first story. I'm still not. *shrug* But if I was ever going to wait until I was perfectly satisfied with the story, it never would've been published, and that would've been a shame. - Randy}

Issue 17

cover of issue #17

Stardate 17 was published in October 1982 and contains 124 pages.

It contains some art by Mel White.

• A Crystal Clear Problem by Rowena G. Warner (A tale of the adventures of a landing party on an ice-bound world) (14 pages)
• Brain, Brain, Who's Got Spock's Brain, by Randall Landers, Alex Rosen, Tom Harden, & Don Harden (a parody and spoof of one of Trek’s most infamous episodes) (22 pages)
• First Best Destinies by Rowena G. Warner (How Kirk and Spock met at the academy) (8 pages)
• The Black and White Cookie Episode, a poof by Kiel Stuart (spoof) (9 pages)
• ”Wrath” Reviewed by Kiel Stuart(2 pages)
• Letter From Home by William Kropfhauser (a letter Scotty wrote home and the response he gets) (2 pages)
• Star Trek the Motion Picture Satire by Kiel Stuart (spoof) (18 pages)
• The Presence by Randall Landers (A sequel to “Spectres Within The Shadows”) (12 pages)
• An Evening With... by Rowena G. Warner (Setting Kirk and Spock on a talk show) (16 pages)
• The Changes in the Technology of Star Trek by Tim Farley (article) (4 pages)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 17

This issue seems to be a departure from the regular 100% action-adventure format of Stardate in its fiction department. The zine has 50% humor and 50% drama. The production is excellent; pages stapled, clearly typed and reproduced. The front cover is printed on parchment for what I suspect is effect. It really enhances the art work of Don Harden (namely a Cet Eel).

‘A Crystal Clear Problem’ is a nice little Big Three Story, with emphasis on Kirk and Spock. There’s no threat to the Big E or its crew, but, in fact their presence poses a threat for a beautiful ice-bound world. The planet will be terraformed unless they find some sort of life. Apparently, the only animal life constitutes a life-form since these are in abundance. Other than that, Kirk is taught to ice skate by Spock and McCoy. Nice, but not spectacular.

‘The Black and White Cookie Episode’ is a spoof of ‘Let that Be Your Last Battlefield.’ This author also spoofed ST:TMP in this issue. Both are quite funny and thoroughly enjoyable. Ms. Stuart also reviewed ST:TWOK. I note that she mentioned everyone but except Leonard Nimoy. Was this an oversight or an accidental omission by the editor, or an intentional oversight by both?

‘Letter from Home’ is an exchange between Scott and Mary about Peter’s death in ST:TWOK. Nice.

The poems for this issue range from decent to fair. Another technology article by Tim Farley is an easy read.

‘First Best Destinies’ is a tale of Kirk and Spock’s first meeting while at the Academy. It is a very enjoyable story, not too long, not too short. This author also wrote

‘An Evening With…’ which is a very funny well-written tale of Kirk and Spock’s visit to a talk show. Quite funny, quite serious. The characters were a little stilted, but I would expect them to be if they were ever on a TV show.

‘The Presence’ is a sequel to a story in issue #15. The first story was amusing, the second one isn’t. It’s an average story at best, and I hope there are no further sequels.

The editorial is just an introduction to the staff of Stardate which I had been wanting to see. If you aren’t interested in that sort of thing, then you’ll find it incredibly boring.

‘Brain, Brain, Who’s Got Spock’s Brain?’ is by a plethora of writers, and is one of the funniest spoofs I’ve seen in a long time. Mel White did the artwork for it, and it’s priceless. Mel also did the artwork for ‘An Evening With…’

All in all, I would give this issue an 82 for its overall quality. Worth the price for fiction by Warner and the spoofs, but not up to par set by the last issue.

Rowena G. Warner's "A Crystal Clear Problem" left me unsatisfied. The ending seemed rushed, and she had this marvelous setting and nothing happened!

Rowena G. Warner's "A Crystal Clear Problem" was enjoyable and makes you think of now and the beautiful wilderness areas we have and how threatened they are...

Rowena Warner's stories were nice. Well off the beaten path for what was originally an action-adventure fanzine, but a nice change of pace, for once. "A Crystal Clear Problem" -- "Neuron, peredon and alisitate" are not real gasses. There I go, being over-picky again. Then again, "Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle." The story was fun, but the crew conspiring to keep the U.F.P. from developing the planet was a bit much. I would've thought there would have been at least one James Watt-type around to make trouble....

And what a find you have with Rowena G. Warner: perceptive, gentle (a rare quality in fan fiction), her story "A Crystal Clear Problem" was refreshing and pleasant....

Rowena G. Warner's "A Crystal Clear Problem" -- This is beautiful. It gave me a feeling I remember from my childhood on a Nebraska farm when all the world was shrouded in ice and snow. The descriptions are powerful. The characters are perfectly depicted, and the moral of the story timely.

One of my favorite stories has to be "A Crystal Clear Problem," by Rowena G. Warner. She is a very talented writer with a rather poetic style. I believe that this particular story captures the unspoken understanding between Kirk and Spock.

Issue 18

Stardate 18 was published in March 1983 and contains 98 pages. It contains a 13-page art portfolio.

cover of issue #18

• From the Editor (2)
• Art Credits (3)
• Of All the LoC (4)
• Next Issue (7)
• What We Are, poem by Patricia Demetri (8)
• The Tribbles with Troubles, by Thomas Gray and Randall Landers (What if tribbles were predatory?) (9)
• Bigotry, a poem by Paticia Demetri (24)
• The First Parting, story by Donna C. Oakes (25)
• A 1983 Interview with Robert Bloch and David Gerrold transcribed by Don Harden (27)
• art portfolio, based on an idea by Terry Shank (43)
• poetry by Jane Yambe (61)
• Inertial Dampening Systems on the Enterprise, or "Why Do People Fall Out of Their Chairs?" by Tim Farley (article) (63)
• No Peace, a poem by Patricia Demetri (67)
• Ghosts, a poem by Patricia Demetri (68)
• Animated Star Trek: Production Notes on the Fourth and Fifth Seasons by Tim Farley (69)
• You Held My Hand, a poem by Patricia Demetri (71)
• Choice, a poem by Patricia Demetri (71)
• The Fire Bringer, a story by Jane Yambe (73)
• Vulcan Humor, a poem by Patricia Demetri (86)

• 

  from issue #18, Gennie Summers

• 

  from issue #18, Brown

• 

  from issue #18, ?

• 

  from issue #18, Bobbie Hawkins

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 18

"The Fire Bringer," by Jane Yambe, was an interesting character piece....

Jane Yambe's "The Fire Bringer" was nice at times, but so lifelessly written that I never felt engaged either by Sulu or "Prometheus" and his people.

Issue 19

cover of issue #19

Stardate 19 was published in September 1983 and contains about 150 pages.

• fiction by Marracino, Bonnie Reitz, Warner
• satire by Stuart
• poetry by Demetri, Oakes, Warner
• artwork by Farley, Nancy Gervais, Don Harden and others

Issue 20

cover of issue #20

Stardate 20 was published in January 1984 and is 110 pages long.

• Victory by Mark C. Henrie (Pre-Star Trek era) (9 pages)
• Interlude by Rowena G. Warner (Set between STTMP and STII) (18 pages)
• Scotty’s Vacation (Set during the original five year mission) (24 pages)
• The Starfleet Manual (“Technical ‘Errors’ in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan”, an article in a series) by Tim Farley (5 pages)
• Star Trip 3: Return To Genesis II (Based almost entirely on Harve Bennett’s outline) (22 pages)

Reactions and Reviews:Issue 20

There's a certain attractively streamlined look and feel to STARDATE, and also a definite sense that its creators took extreme care with everything, or at least with the technical aspects, tho I'd recommend a new team of proofreaders. This zine is that rare animal of a ST zine produced by MALE fans, and has a strong emphasis on action/adventure, scientific integrity, and humor. It is eminently successful with the first two. Its success with the latter is only partial.

The first thing you notice About thish is the exquisite cover by Pat Kilner of the Romulan Commander from "Balance of Terror. Admittedly, I am very partial to this character and Kilner's brooding, detailed style exudes strong depth and emotion. Then, too, there is the attractive parchment-like paper used for the covers which enhances the cover's beauty.

After an unevenly interesting lettercol], there is the first of the zine's four major offerings,'Victory' by Mark C. Henrie, an effectively engrossing story set during Kirk and Spock's academy days. Both are apparently cadets in the same class, About to embark on a grueling race called the Antares Two Million, wherein six cadet-built ships pass through "12 'gates' on the way to the finish line of standard orbit around Antares Nine." Each ship has two crewmembers and Spock and Kirk are each in command of their own vessels, along with their co-commanders, an Andorian male (for Kirk) and a human female (for Spock). Written in a clear, precise style, the story immediately involves you in the dangers of the race, focusing on the two lost likely winners, Kirk and Spock. The presentation of the scientific aspects is remarkably clear and not at all distracting, but an integral part of the story. The characterizations are quite good and Spock's dialogue is excellent. This is a very well-developed and plotted story, tho a few character scenes seem to be a bit forced and hurried, as when Kirk's Andorian partner discusses the differences of his culture to him in a quick, textbook-like manner. Generally, tho, the story succeeds well on action. The only real doubt I have is whether Starfleet would need to put these cadets through such a dangerous race, exposing them to burn up by a star or by a possible entry into a gas giant's atmosphere. Does West Point or Annapolis put its cadets through similar tests?

"Interlude" by Rowena Warner has a fine message about friendship and a refreshing rare argument between Kirk and Spock. It's one long scene between the two (who are later joined by McCoy), set between TMP and WOK, in Spock's quarters. Both are trying to persuade each other to take command of a new ship, Theodus, convinced that the other is unhappy with his job (Kirk is back at his desk and Spock is teaching at Fleet Academy), yet both lash out at each other, shouting they are indeed happy with their position, at least for now. The argument goes round in circles, delving perceptively into their thoughts, and foreshadows Starfleet's use of the Enterprise as a training vessel in WOK (and, not incidentally, its concept for the Big E, as shown in the newly released SFS) Finally, McCoy enters and straightens the misunderstanding out, intelligently explaining what transpired psychologically with the Enterprise crew after the 5 year mission. The problem in this piece is that there aren't enough breaks between the dialogue and Kirk is too wild and emotional, which tends to lessen the impact of the deeply complex feelings present in the scene. Still, the story is definitely worth reading because it serves to bridge the strange and wide emotional/psychological gap between the series and the filIm. It also helps a more cynical fan of the film like myself put the critical character developments that must have occurred between the series and the films (and between TMP and WOK) into perspective, something the films and their novelizatins failed to explain coherently.

Mark C. Henrie's "Victory" was extremely well written, but I question the concept of Starfleet risking top-of-the-line cadets in such a fashion. Rowena G. Warner's "Interlude" was a slight let-down from her past works. The Gol discussion seemed out of place--maybe I'm expecting too much. Mark's "Scotty's Vacation" was good, except that it seemed very similar to a story I once read in Delta Triad...

Mark C. Henrie's "Victory" is a fun story, although I wonder what the judges would say when the Victory's hatch opens and four cadets step out. "Uh, sorry, guys--you're disqualified. Rules specify only two beings per vessel. Too bad--better luck next time!" In all seriousness, one would think the judges would take circumstances into account. But would Spock get the promotion, too, considering he only rode the last leg in the winning ship? Mark's other story, "Scotty's Vacation," was light-hearted fun, though I doubt whether Starfleet would misassign its personnel like that.

Rowena G. Warner's "Interlude" was an interesting character piece--a nice counterpoint to the other, more action-oriented stories. I thought Spock and Kirk went a bit overboard, verbally abusing one another, though -- it turned into a shouting match at one point....

Rowena Warner's "Interlude" was interesting. Trust Bones to have the solution. I am a little uncomfortable with Spock, even in private, calling McCoy anything but "Doctor" or "Doctor McCoy."

Rowena G. Warner's "Interlude" was a very well done story, setting up in just a bit of a time, the whole birthday, birth/death/rebirth motif of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. I especially liked seeing McCoy as a mediator between Kirk and Spock since he is so often the instigator or aggressor. All in all, a fine character study of our three as they grow and truly mature.

I thought Rowena Warner's "Interlude" was above average, though for my own tastes, I generally don't like to see speculative deep stories. Let me explain this; my own stories might be thought of as rather speculative in nature, but "Scotty's Vacation" was open-ended, as it took place years before the First Mission. "Scotty's Vacation" was, by its very nature, speculative, but it was not deep. "Interlude," however, was speculative, deep and locked into the structure of the Star Trek universe. This somehow tends to unnerve me. Still, that's just one small caveat. The story was very well written, thoroughly enjoyable, and it presented a logical "interlude" between the first and second movies.

Rowena Warner's "Interlude" was delightful and amusing. Good ol' Bones! It does take three!

Enjoyed Mark C. Henrie's "Victory" from word one, but found his story, "Scotty's Vacation," slow to start, though the excitement of the story was worth wading through The Berlitz Guide to Tellar. If Star Trek is Wagon Train to the Stars, then "Scotty's Vacation" is The Hardy Boys on Tellar.

Just finished "Victory," by Mark C. Henrie. Love it! It was so enjoyable that I didn't want to put it down until I finished it so I didn't...put it down, that is! Hope you get more stories by him. His "Scotty's Vacation" was most enjoyable, too.

Issue 21

cover of issue #21

inside page from issue #21

Stardate 21 was published in June 1984 and contains 101 pages.

• From the Editor (2)
• Of All the LoC (4)
• Cost of Freedom (third of a trilogy: "The Wages of Vengeance," "Oath of Vengeance" and "The Cost of Freedom") story by Rick Endres (8)
• Seventy Percent Discount, vignette by Adela Peterson (25)
• To Coin a Phrase, a vignette by Randall Landers (27)
• No Margin for Error, story by Linda Goodman (29)
• Klingonese, poem by loan sloane delerius (32)
• Reflections of Two Romulans , poem by Mikki Reynard (33)
• Peregrine, poem by Gloria DeLeon (34)
• Remembrances, poem by Cathy Palmer (34)
• Encounter, a vignette by Esther Lemay (35)
• Child of the Enterprise, story by Regenia Marracino (39)
• His Was the Most Human, a vignette by Rick Endres (67)
• Salt, story by Linda Goodman (deals with the events leading up to Kirk meeting Carol Marcus, and continuing through the birth of their son David and their eventual separation) (71)
• Star Trip: Improvise a la Carte, written by Becky Franklin, Randy Landers, Kevin Morgan and David Newton (89)
• Mainviewer, reviews of "Sapreidon 1" and "From Hell's Heart" (95)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 21

See reactions and reviews for The Cost of Freedom.

Best of Issue: Stardate Logs

Stardate Logs was published in May 1983 and contains 226 pages.

the front cover of "Stardate Logs", Don Harden

the back cover of "Stardate Logs", Don Harden

It contains reprints of fiction from the first seven issues of "Stardate."

The editorial:

Some of you may be wondering why this collection of selected material from STARDATE 1 through 7 does not contain articles, cartoons, editorials, letters-of-comment, nor poems from those issues? Is it because those types of material offend the editor? Is it because examples of those types from those issues were simply unsuitable for publication in a reprint collection? The answer to both questions is no.

I chose not to reprint non-fiction because of several reasons. One; the editorials and LoCs are dated and not very interesting because of it. Two: the cartoons are almost impossible to decide upon since humor is a very special thing, and what may be a funny cartoon to one person could be a very meaning less example of "fillos" to another. Hence, no cartoons. Three: articles are generally one of a series in STARDATE. To print a couple of entries from such a series of articles seems unfair to the reader and the writer. Four: poetry is another matter of personal preference. I, myself, cannot honestly say that poem A is better than poem B because I am literally 'tone—deaf to poetry. I know what I like and what I don't like, but my tastes are probably different from yours. Hence, those types of material were excluded for good reason.

Stories chosen were either very popular ones in the letter sections, or personal favorites of mine. I hope they are to everyone's liking. The artwork was also based on LoCs and personal preference. Not all the art originally with these stories has been reprinted. I chose what I thought were the best works. If there were no illustrations that I felt were good enough to be reprinted in any of the stories herein, then I simply chose not to have new artwork commissioned for the prose. The example in question is "Plague!" which I wrote and illustrated. I don't draw very well, so I didn't include them.

Finally, many of you may be wondering why STARDATE 1 through 7 were removed from print. Quite honestly, though I feel those issues were quite good, I don't feel that they are representative of the quality current issues have obtained, so I removed them from circulation so as not to give a new reader the wrong impression about the quality of STARDATE.

I hope I've cleared up a few questions regarding the reason for the printing of this new collection of fiction.

The fiction is laid out in the following manner; the first section is based directly or set in the time of Star Trek: The Television Production. The section following that consists of two spoofs which were well-received by every letter of comment received on the issues they were in. The third and last section contains works written during the time of Star Trek: The Motion Picture or afterwards.

So sit back and enjoy what I feel is a collection of some of the best of the fiction in STARDATE!

• Editorially Speaking (2)
• Meeting at Xanadu by Alex Rosen (reprinted from issue #3) (3)
• Plague! by Randall Landers (reprinted from issue #1) (25)
• Completion by Linda McInnis (reprinted from issue #7) (37)
• The Adventure of the Vulcan Detective by Terry Endres (reprinted from issue #7) (40)
• A Time to Cry by Thomas Harden (reprinted from issue #3) (50)
• A Close Encounter of the Worst Kind by Randall Landers (reprinted from issue #7) (65)
• The Last Survivor by Rick Endres (reprinted from issue #3) (69)
• The Wages of Vengeance by Rick Endres (reprinted from issue #5) (89)
• Resurrection by Rick Endres (reprinted from issue #6) (119)
• Until Judgement by Rick Endres, Thomas Harden, and Randall Landers (reprinted from issue #7) (184)
• The Sound of Death by Randall Landers (reprinted from issue #7) (220)