Patrick Stewart's "A Christmas Carol"

From issue #186 of Starlog, published in December of 1992, comes this article on Patrick Stewart's live stage performance of Charles Dicken's incomparable "A Christmas Carol." Although I never got to see him do it live (and I think he still does it, nearly twenty years later, I do treasure the audio CD set that captures his dramatic reading. In my mind, there could never be a better delivery, and now when I read the book I hear his tones and inflections in my head, enhancing the experience.

Some years later he would go on to act the role of Scrooge in a film version, and while it is a fine addition to my collection of adaptations, it doesn't outdo the audio recording. Hearing Stewart deliver so much of the original text is a better experience to me than seeing him limited to acting out the one role, as fine the acting was in that role.

1986 Article on Planned New Trek Show

From issue #53 of the Star Trek Official Fan Club Magazine (when it was still in digest-sized form), published in December 1986, comes this article on the new Star Trek series that Gene was working on, called "Star Trek: The Next Generation." It was so early in the planning stages that the article states that they had not yet even decided if the ship would look any different from the movie Enterprise, since there was so much footage of it already. I'm glad they went ahead and designed a new version, which was necessary for the show to further stand apart from the original. It's interesting reading about the contributions from TOS veterans, before they conflicted with Roddenberry and jumped ship. My opinion is that it would have been a better show from the start had they been allowed to have freer input.

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Bonus: Below, a TV Guide clipping featuring an ad for the first look at the show!

Bonus: Below, an ad flyer from sometime in 1993 (or somewhere thereabouts) for a convention featuring Data himself.

1993 TNG Sets Article

From issue #174 of Entertainment Weekly magazine, dated June 11, 1993, comes this photo feature on a few of the sets from The Next Generation. Really, they should have covered the main intemix chamber of Engineering rather than just the monitor board. They also missed others like Sickbay, the transporter room, the conference room, etc. This could have been a more in-depth effort rather than just a three page fluff piece, but it was from EW, and for the casual reader this was probably more then enough.

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Cracked "Generations" Spoof

In December of 1994 this "Cracked" magazine spoof of the first "Next Generation" movie came out. Severin, who has been doing Trek spoofs for over two decades by that time, nails the features and costumes as usual... but, unlike some of the others, he obviously had not seen the film when drawing it. He is probably working from a script and promotional photos, as the deleted sub-orbital skydive sequence is still here. Hardly any of the scenes are accurate in the design details, which is typical when one is working from a script. But, he can't be faulted, as so often this was the case when the magazines were trying to get the spoof on the racks at the same time the movie was out.

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For the record, I liked their ending better than the one in the movie! Kirk really didn't have to die (again) at the end for the torch to be passed. He could have simply went off to live in peace and let everyone think he was dead.

1988 "Win an Appearance on TNG" Cereal Box Contest

I cut out this back and side panel from a box of Cheerios sometime in the winter of 1987. I wonder who the winner was, and what episode they appeared in? If you know, leave a comment! I did send off for the Enterprise poster, and it's in my collection cabinet somewhere... when I find it I'll scan and post it later.

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That kid is way too cocky to be a real Trekkie.

1988 Mad Spoof: Star Blecch: The Next Degradation

Welcome back!This time we are looking at the first Mad magazine spoof of ST:TNG, from issue #282, published October 1988, which means it was on the newstands in September. Featuring spot-on caricatures by the legendary Mort Drucker, and writer Frank Jacobs on-target satire of the show, this spoof is one of the better ones ever done on the show. Set phasers to "tickle" and engage!

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Of course, the parody is made even better by the appearance of the original crew at the end. A satisfying conclusion!

ST:TNG/War Of The Worlds Promo Spread

From a large-format TV trade magazine put out in 1988 comes this two-page spread advertising both the new show "War Of The Worlds" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which was in its second year.

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Early "Deep Space Nine" Promo Poster

As far as I can recall, back around 1992 when the earliest promotions for "Deep Space Nine" were being released, the form of the space station had not even been decided on. Although it's possible that they were considering using the Spacedock for the new station at some point, it's probable that the image of the Spacedock here was just being used as a stand-in for the as-yet-to-be finalized Cardassian design. (If I find anything relating to this in my future scans, I'll let you know.) Several other versions were published (which we'll see in subsequent posts) before the Cardassian design was finally revealed. This poster, measuring about 3 feet tall, came from an oversized TV industry magazine as a pullout. This might be the biggest view of the Spacedock you will ever see. (The exterior link in the image below, when clicked, will open up a higher-rez version than Blogger will allow me to post. I wanted you to enjoy the full view!)

Personally, I would have liked it better if they went with this design, but any TV show would have lacked the budget to be able to populate it with the appropriately-sized sets it would have required, not to mention the sheer number of different areas the viewer would have expected to see. This thing was a city in space! Scaling it down to a managable (and depictable)  size was a necessary requirement for any design.

Bonus: Below, a panel from the April/May 1990 edition of the Official Fan Club magazine about Mark Lenard's return to the small screen in the role.

1992 "People" Article on Brent Spiner

In one of my emails from a reader and online friend, the observation was made that material on the Next Generation was harder to find than the original series, and that each subsequent spinoff received less media exposure. This is true, attested to by the fact that my combined TNG/DS9/VOY scrapbook binder is only half as thick as my TOS one (actually I have several scrapbooks full of TOS stuff, and only one for the spinoffs). This time we are looking at an article from "People" magazine on Brent Spiner, TNG's Data, which came out on June 8, 1992. This interview with Brent Spiner is a rare look at a cast member who seemed to value his privacy more than most of the others.

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Bonus: Below is a flyer for a convention being held on March 22-24, 1991 in Orlando, FL.

Publicity Photos: Crew Reaction Shots

This time my TNG scrapbook opens to some crew reaction shots from a press kit that was sent to stations before the show aired; the photos in the previous entry came from it also. That one with Wesley Crusher looking at Tasha Yar makes me think he is really feeling those raging teen hormones just then! Poor kid, he could never compete with a tireless machine (programmed in multiple techniques).

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Welcome To My Second Trek Scrapbook!

If you came here from there, you are already familiar with the original "My Star Trek Scrapbook" blog, which displays material from my collection about the original series cast TV show and movies. (If you are not familiar with it, be sure to visit it soon!)

Well, by "popular demand," I have begun another blog, this time devoted to the material I've collected over the years from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the subsequent spinoffs. I won't say that I love these shows to the same intense degree as I do the original series and cast; but I have enjoyed them greatly, TNG in particular, (being the first return of some form of Star Trek to TV as it was) and I do have quite a bit of stuff to share. Again, not as much as the TOS items, but what I have, I want you to enjoy.

The question of "why a Scrapbook 2?" has been raised by an esteemed visitor, who asked "Isn't it all Star Trek?" In answer, I explained it this way; I keep the various shows organized in separate scrapbook binders in my collection, so why not do it on the blogs that way? The original blog was so oriented to TOS, with all the graphics and such, that it would dilute the focus by bringing in all the later versions. I thought it best to feature the spinoffs in their own blog, which you are now reading.

This first post features some publicity photos from the Next Generation newspaper press kit. Hope you like all the photos, articles, and other items I plan to post in days to come!

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"No, I was NOT "Potsie" on Happy Days!"