From 1991: the original DEATH'S HEAD crosses the Atlantic for a rare US appearance in the pages of THE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK 24.
Appearances by Marvel UKverse characters (except, of course, it didn't exist when this appeared) outside their own books are so rare that its often easy to overlook them because you just assume they don't exist to begin with.
This has a higher profile than most because it was included in the DH Panini trade paperback collections.
The She-Hulk, somewhat of a second tier title, was by this point in the care of Brits Simon Furman and Bryan Hitch, a dream team combo of DH collaborators that made the guest shot possible.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to convince incoming British Bullpen boss Paul Neary to relaunch the Freelance Peace Keeper in a new limited series, pitched at the States, and he scrapped the project in favour of DEATH'S HEAD II and the start of the UKverse the following year.
There was, except for the much more recent trade paperback, no contemporary UK edition but it was reprinted in the hard-to-find final issue (12) of THE INCOMPLETE DEATH'S HEAD in late 1993/ early 1994: one of the final titles to emerge before the Genesis Massacre shredded the UK line.
From March 1985: A V: THE SERIES interview with Lane (Nathan Bates) Smith from ENTERPRISE INCIDENTS.
Smith was a venerable TV and movie trouper, often cast as unsavory or unscrupulous business or political leaders (indeed, I was watching the original RED DAWN over the weekend and there he was as the town mayor... also an untrustworthy collaborator name of Bates. It's easy to believe the movie influenced the thinking of the weekly series, especially episodes like The Wildcats). His others great genre TV contribution, playing somewhat against type, was as Daily Planet editor Perry White in LOUS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTUTUES OF SUPERMAN the next decade.
This interview must have been carried out early in his run as manipulating businessman Nathan Bates in the ill-judged weekly incarnation of the NBC invasion franchise. He was one of a number of cast members (arguably all the most interesting characters... Or expensive talent) jettisoned in the mid-season purge which coincided with a hefty budget cut and simplified (LA as an "Open City" governed by Bates becomes a all-out war zone, albeit with a budget too small to realistically realise it) format. The writing was on the wall.
The show was cancelled the following year.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Nixon in the 1989 ABC teleflick THE FINAL DAYS.
Smith died, aged 69, in 2005.
The now-professional EI, having jettisoned its origins as a TREK fanzine was already tranisioning into SF MOVIELAND by running both logos.
From 1975: Forget the Bullpen's post TMP venture into the TREKverse... This is (unless you know different) the first time that STAR TREK appeared on the cover of a Marvel publication.
MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES, published under the Curtis Magazines masthead, was another interation of the FAMOUS MONSTERS formula. Although this claims to be an annual (essential a regular magazine but with a bolstered page count rather than the hardback stocking stuffer that Brits know and love), the small print inside reveals its actually the ninth issue of the regular mag.
There's no comic strips inside but there is, as the cover announces, a new Nimoy interview.
The production standards seem painfully old fashioned and this type of magazine would soon be overtaken by the likes of STARLOG, STARBURST and the next generation of genre titles.
From 1979: the ninth issue of FANTASTIC FILMS magazine (July) runs an extensive ten page feature devoted to the screen-size flip-flopping opener to BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY (aka Awakening, albeit off screen).
Like much of the early print media related to the show (and, indeed, the Mego action figures which were all derived from the movie), the Big Bad of Draco (Ardala's pa) is prominently featured in the publicity stills. In the final cut, the scenes involving Joseph Wiseman's character were all, the exception of none brief scene reminiscent of the yet-to-be-shot debut of the Emperor in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, droped from both the theatrical and TV cuts.
The character was referenced ("Your father...") by Ardala and Kane throughout their first season appearances but it was obvious the writing team had no plans to bring the character back.
Unlike BATTLESTAR, Buck's deleted scenes have no been fully explored on line and don't seem to have entered the public domain. Hopefully they'll be unearthed, along with any blooper reels and a full account of the making of the series for any future Blu Ray release. There is a fan cut of the movie in circulation which combined scenes from the two official edits.
The BUCK ROGERS movie was shot, alongside the opening instalments of BATTLESTAR, during the summer of 1978 (allowing the Draconia's corridors to double as the Viper Pilot transport tube amongst other double-ups), but not released until the following year.
From June 1978: the launch issue of yet another Star Age magazine launched in the wake of the success of Star Wars... FANTASTIC FILMS.
To the credit of the editorial team, this was (for its time) a pretty good package and, whilst not quite Starlog, was certainly several notches above the various quickies that Warren and co were churning out.
The attempts to translate the alien language of CE3K and others is fun but also the sort of thing that gave fandom a bad name in the mainstream media... At least in the Star Age.
FF wasn't initially big on cover numbers and frequently relaunched with new volumes which makes trying to figure out which issue is which pretty tricky. This is identified in the small print as Volume 1, issue 1 but there was an earlier "première" issue dated April '78 which I don't have in my collection.
The magazine eventually ran through to 1985.
Labels: 1978, FANTASTIC FILMS MAGAZINE, SUPERMAN THE MOVIE.
From 1978: A really nice compilation of ABC on-screen promotions, and channel branding, for the September debut of, for me, the second-most iconic media property from the peak of the Star Age: the three-hour (with commercials) TV premiere of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
With hype like this, and sixty-five million Americans tuning in on opening night, it was inevitable that the only way would be down. A ratings slide that alarmed network execs just at the same time that (the far cheaper) MORK AND MINDY was surging. The die was already cast.
It's interesting to see that the opener is obliquely referenced by its 'saga of a star world' title (one of several working titles briefly considered for the series in 1977) even through the episode name doesn't appear anywhere on the programme itself.
There's also several shots (including a prominently featured Imperious Leader... kept in the shadows in the final cut and sidelined in the series proper) and some alternate effects work that don't appear anywhere in the completed episode.
Someone has also dubbed a reference to the "Android Sisters" (a production team gag) into the trail. Whether this was an outtake from the show itself, or done especially for the promo to raise a laugh, is lost in the mists of time.
Surprisingly, unless I blinked, neither the Ovions nor Muffet make much of an appearance... suggesting that either that material wasn't available when the promos were compiled or that the network wanted to hold back a few surprises for opening night. Which would have been slightly odd as both elements were heavily merchandised, covered in contemporary print media AND a cut of the film had already been released in Canadian cinemas.
From October 1982: the sixth issue of MARVEL UK's shortlived excursion into the world of film: the ill-fated CINEMA magazine.
From April 1992: some semi-obscure small screen goodies in the 17th issue of EPI-LOG.
I don't think the UK ever had a contemporary outing for MISFITS OF SCIENCE, the strike-busting MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE revival (unless one of the early satellite channels picked it up... it's subsequently been released on DVD) and ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS *may* have surfaced as part of the ITV night time offering (they rather liked cheap, scheduling filling, anthologies). TUCKER'S WITCH did air here: but only in selected ITV regions. I used to watch it in the afternoons on Thames, alongside first season episodes of RIPTIDE.