mholtz@sactoh0.sac.ca.us (Mark A. Holtz) (06/17/91)
NOTE: This is from the FidoNet news conferences. Everything from
this point forward is from Fidonet. . . .
Number: 380/400 [Star Trek]
Date : Mon 10 Jun 1991 7:51p (08 Jun 91 22:00:56)
>From : Allan Finkas
To : All
Title : Trek article
The following appeared in our local newspaper Saturday, June 8th. The story
concerns the 25th anniversary of Star Trek. I'd give credit to the author,
except none was listed...
Anyways, here it is:
STAR TREK STILL MAKING MONEY
"Silver anniversary for television series"
LOS ANGELES (Reuter) - "Beam me up, Scotty."
Twenty-five years after the television show Star Trek made
its debut, that phrase still makes Trekkies beam, just as the
show continues to provide a healthy revenue glow for producer
Paramount Pictures.
But the phrase - which refers to moving characters hither and
yon around the galaxy from the starship Enterprise - was
never actually said on the long-running series, whose 25th
birthday was celebrated Thursday.
Variations were said several times a show, usually by Captain
Kirk, first officer Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy to the
perpetually hassled engineering officer Mr. Scott, whose
transporter always seemed to malfunction just as a hideous
alien was closing in.
Paramount honored the show's creator, former airline pilot
Gene Roddenberry, and the anniversary Thursday by naming a
new building on its Hollywood lot after him.
Star Trek made its debut in September 1966 and lasted 79
episodes over three years on NBC.
After that, Star Trek was relegated to midnight television
rerun status. But some fans said their influence forced
Paramount to produce the five Star Trek films with the first
released in 1979. A sixth film is to be released in
December.
Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home mae the most money, with US
gross box office revenues of about $110 million. All five
films together have grossed about $400 million worldwide at
the box office.
Trekkies, as the show's stalwart fans are called, have helped
spawn an entire culture, not to mention hundreds of millions
of dollars in revenues.
Retail sales of Star Trek products, including publishing,
have topped $500 million.
On the small screen, the science fiction series made a
comeback in 1987 when Paramount released Star Trek: The Next
Generation on first-run syndication.
The second series has now surpassed its predecessor, with
more than 100 episodes filmed. An animated series was on
television briefly.
"Paramount has paid me more money than I think I deserve, and
made more for themselves than I think they deserve,"
Roddenberry said at the dedication of the building bearing
his name.
"Are you there, Mr. Scott? Beam me up!"
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* Origin: The Bit Bucket, Regina, Sask., Canada (306) 352-3236 (1:140/31)
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