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.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

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.

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.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

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