The Space Age
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Space Age |
| Publisher: | MASC |
| Editor(s): | Geoff Allshorn |
| Type: | |
| Date(s): | 1975-1976 |
| Frequency: | quarterly |
| Medium: | print (fordigraph or photocopy) |
| Fandom: | science, Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Space Age was a quarterly publication within a children's science club (called the Melbourne Amateur Science Club) in Melbourne, Australia.
MASC was started in 1971 and ran until 1977, when its Star Trek subsection (named Austrek) outgrew the parent club and forced it to shut down due to limited time and resources.
Due to the small numbers of copies printed, and the intervening decades that have passed, very few copies remain of this publication.
Club Zine
This zine was published quarterly. Volume 1 (six issues) was published around 1975; Volume 2 (believed to possibly number 3 or 4 issues before MASC closed) commenced later in 1976.
It was intended as a forum for original fiction, news, and reports from the subsections of the club, which were each dedicated to a particular branch of science, or pseudoscience (with the intention of exploring these latter topics in a scientific way). These subsections included the Star Trek subsection (named Austrek), which commenced in 1975, and volume 2 issues of "The Space Age" included volume 1 issues of Spock fanzine as handouts, commencing with SPOCK V1E2.
Some production elements of the zine drew inspiration from two external sources: a local metropolitan newspaper called "The Age" (hence the name of the zine became "The Space Age"); and "Countdown" magazine from the UK, which numbered its pages backwards (simulating a countdown) and the last issues of this zine did likewise.
The zine ceased production with the closure of MASC.
Successor Publication
"SPOCK, subtitled "Star Trek Propaganda On Club Kids", was Austrek's first ever publication and was intended to be the club’s newsletter and fanzine (a fanzine is an amateur booklet populated with fan written stories and original artwork). Early issues were typed on a stencil and printed via a Fordigraph spirit duplicator and after producing four singled-paged issues known as Volume 1, SPOCK was reborn as a proper fanzine without the subtitle known as Volume 2. The first 10-page issue of the new Volume 2 format appeared in 1976 and continued for 69 issues winning many awards and accolades until 1994 when it ceased publication." [1]
"Spock," The Insert to the MASC Newsletter
SPOCK (STAR TREK PROPAGANDA ON CLUB KIDS.) MASC STAR TREK SECTION. Number 1.(This is the first Star Trek newsletter from the group that would eventually become Austrek, the Victorian Star Trek Club.)
INTRODUCTION TO STAR TREK by Geoff Allshorn, President of MASC. Many people may ask me, 'Why even bother to have a Star Trek section at all? After all, STAR TREK is just another science-fiction show, isn't it? Here is my answer. Until early last year I knew little (if anything) about STAR TREK. But then, on February the 8th 1975, the first Saturday of official colour transmission on TV in Australia, STAR TREK was put on GTV 9, starting at 7.30 pm. I loved it. The episode was, from memory, the episode called, WHO MOURNS FOR ADONIS? I had known little from the last time STAR TREK was on, (approx. 1968), and in fact, all I knew was s few trivial things like about Mr. Spock being a Logician and having pointed ears. Within a month from the above mentioned Saturday, I had bought every STAR TREK book I could find. I loved it twice as much, and become 'hooked', I was now a typical 'trekkie', thirsting greedily for knowledge about STAR TREK. STAR TREK was created by a genius and unfortunately unrecognised genius (Unrecognised to the rest of the world, except Trekkies and Trekkers). The genius's name was GENE RODDENBERRY, who first thought of producing a SF series for TV about 1960. NBC TV in USA, in conjunction with Paramount (then known as Desilu), made the show. They started making the episodes. There was a landslide. Hundreds of thousands of letters poured into NBC and Desilu. Fan Clubs were started all over the United States. It spread to Europe and Britain. One English author, James Blish, wrote a series of books on the episodes' scripts. He was swamped with thousands of letters. The show went on for two years. Then NBC stopped it, because the audience wasn't buying enough brands of soap and tubes of toothpaste from the commercials. There was another landslide. Millions of letters of complaint poured into NBC, Desilu, and the hundreds of fan clubs. During STAR TREK conventions, the actors explained to the thousands of trekkies that they themselves wanted the show to continue. All throughout the eight years since STAR TREK was canceled, more and more people have screamed for the series to come back. There was three editions of Blish's books, a cartoon series, and two editions of the book series based on the cartoons. At last, though, NBC-Paramount have given in, and are letting Gene Roddenberry make a film on STAR TREK. Gene hopes that there will also be another series of STAR TREK, this time, a series of 2-hour movies! Millions of people are behind Gene all the way. So next time GTV9 in Melbourne brings back some episodes, watch them. If you're a trekkie, you'll enjoy them. If you're NOT a trekkie, you will be by the end of the first five episodes. That I promise you. NEXT ISSUE - Information and nice trivia on STAR TREK.
PS The difference between TREKKIES and TREKKERS is the following: TREKKIES are STAR TREK 'teenyboppers' TREKKERS are intellectual fans.