WI: The Enterprise completes its five year mission (Star Trek survives for 5 seasons)

[dsp19]

And now, one of the moments we've been waiting for. The 51st Academy Awards are here! On April 9, 1979, Hollywood gathered for its most prestigious ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was one of the leading contenders, having secured eight nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Original Score. First, a recollection from Robert Wise, the director of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and a nominee for Best Director. Wise won Best Director in 1961 for West Side Story and in 1966 for The Sound of Music.

Robert Wise:

Unlike most of the rest of the nominees for Star Trek, I had gone through the pressure of being favored to win an Academy Award for my work, and later being honored twice, for two of the greatest films of all time, West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Star Trek was a notch below those two epics, but it had a tremendous heart, and I was proud to accept another nomination for my work. I wanted Star Trek to win all eight awards it was nominated for, but that rarely happens in this business, and it didn't happen this time. I really wanted Bill Shatner to win most of all, because he put everything he had into his performance, and it was the finest bit of thespian work I had the pleasure of directing since his good friend Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music. Johnny Carson was a tremendous host, and was extremely complimentary of all the nominees, including Star Trek. I believed our movie would win at least one Academy Award, but I was surprised by how successful Star Trek was on the night.

Shirley Jones and a child actor, Ricky Schroder, presented the Academy Award for art direction. Star Trek was considered a favorite to win this award according to the critics, and I think Schroder had that excitement that a child brings to the stage which was so refreshing to all the jaded actors and actresses in the audience. It was wonderful seeing him given a chance at that young an age to present an award. Schroder and Jones read out the nominees: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, California Suite, Heaven Can Wait, The Interiors, and The Wiz. Jones read the card: Harold Michelson, Joe Jennings, Leon Harris, John Vallone, Linda DeScenna for Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry pumped his fist in celebration. We had our first win of the night. Schroder was jumping up and down on the podium, because it was the only movie of the five nominated for Art Direction he had seen. He told Michelson before he accepted the award that he loved the red uniforms and wanted one of his own. Michelson promised him that he would make a special officer's uniform for Schroder, and a few weeks later, after Michelson passed the message along to Robert Fletcher, our costume designer, Schroder was seen in a picture in one of the teen magazines wearing a boy's size Admiral Kirk uniform and holding a model of the refitted starship Enterprise.

Speaking of Fletcher, the Academy Award for costume design was presented immediately afterwards. Robert Fletcher was beloved by Star Trek fans for the red uniforms. Although Gene Roddenberry wasn't a fan of them, he was proud of Fletcher for securing a nomination. Critics split on this award before the show. Some believed that Star Trek would win; others believed that The Wiz, a wonderful Broadway show adapted for the big screen, would prevail. This was a close call, and Fletcher was extremely nervous. "This will make or break my career," he told me. Well it made his career. Ray Bolger and Jack Haley, the scarecrow and Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, presented this award. Despite some late chatter that Death of the Nile would swoop in and win, Fletcher would jump out of his seat in jubilant celebration when they called out: "Robert Fletcher, Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Fletcher was one of the most grateful Oscar winners I've ever seen. He credited William Ware Theiss, the costume designer for the television series, for being an inspiration. Star Trek had bagged a second award. We were two for two.

About 45 minutes later, Star Trek would hear its fate for the third award of the night it was nominated for, that for Best Cinematography. Richard Kline was as good as there was in the business in cinematography. He should have won for King Kong in 1976, and I felt that he was undoubtedly the best nominee this year. Kline was a revolutionary in the field. We were favored to win this award by all the critics when Superman was surprisingly passed over for a nomination, one that they definitely deserved. However, without Superman as our main rival for the award, this went as predicted. Kline earned his Oscar, was his understated self on stage. Gene Roddenberry then told me, "we could go eight for eight." I had my doubts. Science fiction rarely won awards outside the technical fields, and our awards were in the technical fields. But I couldn't doubt him, we won all three awards so far, by some miracle, why couldn't we sweep the board?

Dean Martin, of the famous Rat Pack, and Raquel Welch presented the music awards. There was a tremendous amount of competition for this award, with Star Trek, Superman, and Midnight Express all in the hunt. This award could go in any direction. Jerry Goldsmith had his problems with the Academy in the past due to not receiving credit for work he had done in previous movies. This time, he was facing two of the great composers of all time, Giorgio Moroder and John Williams. Moroder's resume spoke for itself, and Williams won the Academy Award last year for Star Wars. Goldsmith was nominated twice, as a matter of fact, for Boys of Brazil in addition to his work for Star Trek. However, Goldsmith pulled out a very close vote over Moroder and WIlliams, who composed a remarkable score for Superman and was hard done by. There were three Academy Award worthy scores this year, and it was a shame that they all couldn't win, but I was glad we earned another one. William Shatner said, "I can't wait to win my Academy Award, the way this is going." He would unfortunately have to wait a number of years for his next chance.

I felt that David Gerrold and Alan Dean Foster wrote a remarkable screenplay, but they fell short to Oliver Stone and Midnight Express. Shatner, for all of his wonderful exploits, lost out to Jon Voight, and was crestfallen, telling me, "I don't know if I'll ever get another shot at this." I told him that he would, and in six years, he got another shot with The Search for Spock. Then it came time for Best Director. Usually, the winner of Best Director would carry the Best Picture honor as well. I thought that Hal Ashby and Michael Cimino, the directors for Coming Home and The Deer Hunter, were favored, because those two movies were the favorites for Best Picture. I had an acceptance speech written, but I wasn't planning on needing it, because Star Trek: The Motion Picture was not favored to win Best Picture. Francis Ford Coppola and Ali MacGraw announced the names: Cimino, Ashby, Warren Beatty for Heaven Can Wait, Alan Parker for Midnight Express, and myself for Star Trek. MacGraw passed the envelope to Coppola. "Robert Wise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture," said Coppola. I was stunned. Not for myself, but for the likelihood that Star Trek would win Best Picture, since the Best Director usually won Best Picture. I thanked everyone on the cast. The actors deserved the award more than I did because they directed me just as much as I directed them. I was the newcomer to Star Trek, and they were the old hands. So I invited the cast on stage to accept the Academy Award, because without them it would not be possible. I had already won two of these, and aside from Shatner and Nimoy, none of them had come close to the famous statue. That was a very emotional moment on stage. Nichelle Nichols was crying tears of joy. Gene Roddenberry told me, "we're going to win Best Picture for sure now." Unfortunately, Roddenberry was wrong. Coming Home won Best Picture, and I was extremely happy for Hal Ashby, a very humble gentleman.

William Shatner:

I had high hopes coming into the night. Although Jon Voight won the Golden Globe for his performance as Luke Martin in Coming Home, he told me before the Academy Awards that I was his greatest competition for the award. He thought my performance was better than Robert De Niro's in The Deer Hunter, and I thought De Niro was great. As a matter of fact, I thought De Niro would win the Golden Globe, but it went Voight's way. I also had high hopes for the movie. Usually, a movie that gets nominated for eight Academy Awards will win several. We won five. All five honorees were highly deserving. Robert Fletcher was incredibly emotional after winning for Best Costume Design. He made me and the rest of the cast look sharp in those powerful red uniforms. Fletcher was one of the most popular people in the Star Trek universe after his win, because he validated all of the fans who wore the uniforms to the conventions. They became an even greater fashion statement than before.

Richard Kline won for cinematography. I never saw his hands shake once when filming us. If Superman was the Man of Steel, Kline was like the man of steel behind a camera. Unlike Fletcher, Kline expected to win. He had come close twice in his illustrious career, and Star Trek validated all his excellent work that came before. Jerry Goldsmith gave the movie soul with his musical score. Superman and Midnight Express had wonderful scores, but I have never met a composer outside of John Williams as talented as Goldsmith. He was a marvel and gave our movie a remarkable character. Harold Michelson designed the Enterprise bridge, and the art directors stayed true to Matt Jefferies' vision of the television series, while refining the bridge and sets to near perfection. They are still the finest sets I've ever worked on in any film.

The best moment of the night, without a doubt, was Robert Wise winning for Best Director. Nobody expected him to win, and the Academy gave him a third Best Director honor. When Wise invited the entire main cast on stage, it felt like we all won an Academy Award. Nichelle Nichols was crying on stage. She never believed she would make it to the main event of an Academy Award show, let alone on the stage for an honor. It tempered some of the ill feeling I had near the end of the night when I lost out on Best Actor to Jon Voight. Leonard Nimoy came over to me and said, "You'll get another chance, if we keep on making great movies." I did, for Star Trek III. I'll tell you all about that some other time.


RUNDOWN OF THE 1979 (51st) ACADEMY AWARDS:

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE WINS FIVE ACADEMY AWARDS:
Best Director: Robert Wise
Best Original Score: Jerry Goldsmith
Best Costume Design: Robert Fletcher
Best Cinematography: Richard Kline
Best Art Direction: Harold Michelson, Joe Jennings, Leon Harris, John Vallone, Linda DeScenna

Other notable winners:
Best Picture: Coming Home, Jerome Hellman, producer, and Hal Ashby, director
Best Actor: Jon Voight, Coming Home
Best Actress: Jane Fonda, Coming Home
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter
Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith, Heaven Can Wait
Best Original Screenplay: Coming Home, Nancy Dowd, Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones
Best Adapted Screenplay: Midnight Express, Oliver Stone
Best Sound: The Deer Hunter
Best Film Editing: Superman
Special Award for Visual Effects: Superman

 

[farmerted555]

Wait a minute. Shatner WINS an Oscar for Star Trek III? This sums up my reaction:

 

[dsp19]

Wait a minute. Shatner WINS an Oscar for Star Trek III? This sums up my reaction:

I didn't say he'd win, I said he was nominated. I'm not planning on him to win though

 

[farmerted555]

I didn't say he'd win, I said he was nominated. I'm not planning on him to win though

All kidding aside, Shatner is an underrated actor, in my opinion.

 

[dsp19]

All kidding aside, Shatner is an underrated actor, in my opinion.

Star Trek III was probably Shatner's best performance as Kirk in a movie, and if he's ever going to get nominated again ITTL, that's going to be the chance

 

[dsp19]

The 1979 Oscars update is by far one of the most important on the entire timeline. It's a huge divergence from RL

 

[dsp19]

There will be some differences in Wrath of Khan ITTL as opposed to RL.

--TWOK will premiere in November 1981 instead of June 1982, so the timetable will be different and it will be more highly noticed for awards season.
--TWOK will have a $25-30 million budget, instead of the $12 million it got IRL
--Ricardo Montalban is going to get nominated for something for TWOK, at a minimum
--With the larger budget, Candice Bergen plays Carol Marcus instead of Bibi Besch.
--With the larger budget, the SFX is better than IRL
--Sulu and Chekov switch roles, so there's no continuity error regarding Chekov having never seen Khan
--When Kirk, Spock and Bones are reviewing Genesis, they make mention of this being the terraforming device discussed ITTL's TMP. Bones is more outwardly upset at this development than he was in the movie IRL
--The Enterprise's shields are raised before Reliant attacks, and it is established that Reliant is an upgraded ship, more state of the art than the aging Enterprise. So there will be a longer combat scene, but with a similar result (Reliant initially wins, but Enterprise uses the prefix code on Reliant like OTL). Kirk thinks Terrell is attacking him, and doesn't know it's Khan, and makes mention of this during the first battle scene
--Uhura is seriously injured in the first Enterprise-Reliant confrontation and Bones has to save her life. Scotty is in sickbay at this time, so it's added on to the Peter Preston sickbay scene, which wasn't shown in movie theaters, but was in the ABC director's cut when TWOK was shown on network television.
--We'll try to get a face-to-face between Shatner and Montalban on Regula, but that's the only part of the movie where I think you can do it without ruining the flow of the film
--Uhura sings Amazing Grace, then Scotty plays the bagpipes at Spock's funeral
--Saavik openly cries at Spock's funeral

 

[mortonofski]

Your version of The Wrath of Khan sounds amazing! I do have one question:

--The Enterprise's shields are raised before Reliant attacks, and it is established that Reliant is an upgraded ship, more state of the art than the aging Enterprise. So there will be a longer combat scene, but with a similar result (Reliant initially wins, but Enterprise uses the prefix code on Reliant like OTL). Kirk thinks Terrell is attacking him, and doesn't know it's Khan, and makes mention of this during the first battle scene

It was a good character moment when Saavik quoted Starfleet regulations at Kirk regarding raising shields (and subsequently being proven right when Reliant attacks); moreover it was established that Khan's intelligence allowed him to pinpoint exactly where best to target the Big E. The rest (Reliant's more state-of-the-art than Enterprise, longer combat scene that plays out largely as OTL, Kirk not knowing it's Khan until mid-battle) sounds awesome, but perhaps OTL's bit about shields being raised would still work here?

Aside that I'm not sure was mentioned here, but is likely on-topic - Douglas Cramer passed away last week...

 

[dsp19]

Your version of The Wrath of Khan sounds amazing! I do have one question:


It was a good character moment when Saavik quoted Starfleet regulations at Kirk regarding raising shields (and subsequently being proven right when Reliant attacks); moreover it was established that Khan's intelligence allowed him to pinpoint exactly where best to target the Big E. The rest (Reliant's more state-of-the-art than Enterprise, longer combat scene that plays out largely as OTL, Kirk not knowing it's Khan until mid-battle) sounds awesome, but perhaps OTL's bit about shields being raised would still work here?

Aside that I'm not sure was mentioned here, but is likely on-topic - Douglas Cramer passed away last week...

A legendary producer. RIP Douglas Cramer.

The shields bit could still work this way. Reliant fires first against an unshielded Enterprise, who gets her shields up and a longer battle results. However, due to the first hit, Reliant still wins before the prefix code is entered, but it's not as one-sided as IRL. TWOK was amazing IRL, so what I'm doing is just tweaking it a little

 

[dsp19]

I'm going to write an update tomorrow. I have to catch up on the non-Star Trek news that happened in March and April of 1979, so a lot of stuff about Iran in the next update. Plus I have to write a reaction to the Academy Awards

 

[farmerted555]

Another possible addition to TWOK: Have Kirk and Khan ACTUALLY MEET IN PERSON! The fact that they didn't meet face-to-face in the OTL movie is, really, the only knock I have against it.

 

[kaijudirector]

--Uhura is seriously injured in the first Enterprise-Reliant confrontation and Bones has to save her life. Scotty is in sickbay at this time, so it's added on to the Peter Preston sickbay scene, which wasn't shown in movie theaters, but was in the ABC director's cut when TWOK was shown on network television.

Why is Scotty in sickbay? Did he lose his middle finger after the engine room gets hit like I suggested a few posts back?

 

[dsp19]

Why is Scotty in sickbay? Did he lose his middle finger after the engine room gets hit like I suggested a few posts back?

In my TMP, Scotty has to get his hand fixed, as it gets injured.
In TWOK, he's in sickbay because Peter Preston died. That scene is part of the TV version of TWOK but not part of the theatrical release

 

[dsp19]

Before I post the update for today, I have to figure out how to remove the poll from the top of the thread

 

[dsp19]

Although Star Trek: The Motion Picture took up most of the news coverage during Academy Award season, other events occurred in the world at this time. I'll review three or four of them in this update. Two of them involve President Reagan and Iran, with a third update regarding the early polling for the 1980 election.


IRAN ATTEMPTS TO CUT HORMUZ STRAIT: US NAVY RESPONDS

March 20, 1979

The Iranian Navy attempted to restrict access to the Hormuz Strait, the entrance to the Persian Gulf, a key waterway for oil tankers transporting petroleum from the Middle East to the West. A carrier group in the Arabian Sea led by the USS Constellation intercepted the Iranian naval contingent and engaged in a short battle, where the Iranians were driven off. The Navy reported no major damage to any of their vessels. Five Iranian vessels were sunk, while another four vessels sortied away from the Hormuz region. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, in a press conference, said that "Iran is a threat to world peace and the international economy. The United States Navy took action to protect an international waterway from Iranian aggression. We were successful." In response, Iran cut off all oil exports to the United States, and asked other Middle East and OPEC nations to follow its lead. "The wanton aggression provoked by the United States shall be met with an economic embargo of all oil from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United States," a message from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini read. "The Hormuz Strait is in Iranian territory, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to engage in actions against American petroleum tankers. Iran will convene a meeting with other oil producing nations in an effort to expand the oil embargo against the evil United States of America," The Soviet Union condemned the United States' action in the Persian Gulf. "The United States engaged in an act of war with the Iranian government, who legally have the right to control the Hormuz strait," a statement from the Politburo read. The tension in the Persian Gulf caused oil prices to spike, and the pain at the pump provoked fears of a second oil crisis, which caused a recession. "The Reagan administration will do everything in its power to prevent a recession," President Reagan's chief of staff, Donald Regan, said.


GAS PRICES SPIKE AS IRANIAN EMBARGO HURTS AMERICAN POCKETS

April 11, 1979

Oil prices have risen five dollars from their previous highs, at $18.50 per gallon, in the past month, due to tensions between the United States and Iran. The disruption in the oil markets, precipitated by an Iranian oil embargo which began last month, has led to gas prices increasing by twenty-five to thirty-five cents per gallon. Moody's projects that gas prices could rise another fifty to seventy-five cents per gallon, depending on actions taken by other OPEC nations, who are more sympathetic to Iran. "This oil shock could cause a second recession," former Federal Reserve chairman Arthur Burns said. "The United States must bring the other OPEC nations onside diplomatically and convince them that Iran is a rogue actor. Otherwise, the pain at the pump will increase further and millions of jobs will be at risk at home." The Reagan administration has responded by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and approved hundreds of leases in the Great Plains and Southeast United States for oil drilling. "The Reagan administration will ward off serious gas price increases by adding petroleum to the market," Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt said. "We will open up more of Texas, Oklahoma, and the other Plains states for drilling, and use petroleum from the strategic reserve as needed. Americans do not deserve to suffer because of the rogue Iranian government."


REAGAN LEADS DEMOCRATIC RIVALS FOR REELECTION IN EARLY TRIAL HEATS; GLENN WITHIN MARGIN OF ERROR

April 25, 1979

Despite a myriad of economic and international crises, including projections of a recession from several economic outlets, President Reagan is in a good position for reelection in next year's general election. The President leads all of his Democratic rivals in our Washington Post poll. He holds an eight point lead, 51 percent to 43 percent, over Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, and a seven point lead, 49 percent to 42 percent, over Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. The Democrat who gives President Reagan the closest race is Senator John Glenn of Ohio. Reagan leads Glenn by two points, 47 percent to 45 percent, with eight percent undecided. The two percent margin is within the Post poll's four point margin of error. "President Reagan's support remains strong, and only Senator Glenn keeps it within striking distance for the Democrats, despite the fact the Republicans lost badly in the last midterm elections," Louis Harris, pollster for the Harris poll, said. "Reagan has a magnetic personality, and is able to convince the American people that the difficult decade of the 1970s will lead to a better tomorrow in the new decade starting next year. None of the Democrats have been able to dent Reagan's power of personality, even though they are in pole position in Congress." Kennedy and Glenn have signaled their intent to run for President later this year, but neither potential candidate has set up an exploratory committee at this point. Sources close to Carter indicate that he is eyeing the race, but needs to be more competitive both in primary polling and general election polling to enter the contest. The first Democratic primary heats show Kennedy leading with 24 percent, with Glenn close behind at 22 percent, and Carter third at 15 percent. Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale runs fourth at 10 percent, while young Colorado Senator Gary Hart is fifth at eight percent.

 

[dsp19]

Today, we have Academy Award reaction to Star Trek's five wins, a reunion of the Trek cast for Planet of the Titans, George Foreman vs. Larry Holmes, which never happened IRL, and Space Invaders as the most popular arcade game of all time

WE CAN'T WAIT FOR STAR TREK II AFTER THE OSCARS

Starlog, April 1979

Star Trek: The Motion Picture dominated the Academy Awards in its first outing as a major motion picture, winning five Oscars. The image of our heroes, Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, and the rest, on the stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, receiving the Best Director Oscar from Robert Wise, was the greatest moment in science fiction fandom. We cried tears of joy with Nichelle Nichols. We loved when Robert Fletcher got emotional on stage, and promoted the Starfleet uniforms which looked absolutely snazzy on our heroes. We know that sequels are often not as good as the original, but why can't Star Trek II be as good as the first one? Paramount has already approved a sequel and a television movie with our heroes in action. We're intrigued by this Titans story, but I wonder what Star Trek II is going to be about. I think if they go with the Klingons again, it won't be as good as the first movie, so they should use a different plot. Perhaps the Guardian of Forever? We'd love another Guardian story, but will Harlan Ellison approve of its use in a major motion picture without him writing the story? We know Harlan and Gene do not have a great history working together. A pretty crazy idea would be to bring Khan back from the first season episode Space Seed. I wonder what happened to Khan after Kirk left him on that planet? It would be interesting to see a sequel on the big screen. Perhaps Khan commandeers a ship and attacks the Enterprise? That would make a great film. Are they going to involve that terraforming device mentioned at the end of the movie we just saw? It seems like the Federation is developing some Death Star level technology in response to what the Klingons did to Sherman's Planet. Whichever way they go with the sequel, it's certainly going to be interesting, and we'll certainly wait with baited breath.


TREK CAST BACK ON SET FOR PLANET OF THE TITANS, A TELEVISION MOVIE

May 1, 1979

Just one month after the success of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Star Trek cast is back on the Paramount lot, shooting Planet of the Titans, a television movie, for airing on NBC sometime next year. William Shatner was in a positive mood at the start of filming, even if it was only for television. "Work is work," Shatner said. "After we were so successful with Star Trek in the movies, why not tell another great story for television? We're all in, and we promise our fans that this will be another engrossing tale." Leonard Nimoy commented, "We just want to make this movie so we can spend more time together as a cast. We missed each other for all these years after the television series, and my co-stars are my best friends in Hollywood. I'll never work with a better group of people." DeForest Kelley, just off of shooting for Columbo and Mork and Mindy, was pleased to be back on the Enterprise. "Anytime you can make Star Trek with the amazing people I've known for almost 13 years now, you can't turn down the opportunity, even if it is a television movie." Nichelle Nichols, who will reportedly make several appearances on the CBS hit Dallas next season as a guest star, believes that this movie should be the second Star Trek feature film. "I'm glad we're back for another movie, but I'm curious as to why this won't be a major film after the huge success of the first movie," Nichols said. "Maybe Paramount wants to alternate between big films and TV movies with us to keep us busy." George Takei, after resigning his seat on the LA City Council to return to show business full time, voiced his approval. "Anytime you can get back on the Enterprise, you take it." James Doohan said, "I'm pretty much going to be Mr. Scott forever, so why not make as many movies as possible?" Walter Koenig voiced a similar opinion. "I'm pretty much typecast, so I'm going to take the work when I get it." In conjunction with the television film's release, Paramount is arranging a re-release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the 1979 Christmas season, a similar move to George Lucas' re-release of Star Wars last year.

FOREMAN KNOCKS OUT HOLMES IN NINTH ROUND TO RETAIN HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

May 20, 1979

George Foreman was criticized for not being a fighting champion. After his knockout victory over Ken Norton in 1977, he only fought twice: a three round knockout win over the hard-hitting Earnie Shavers, and a 15 round split decision over Jimmy Young, where his stamina was tested. Both of those fights were last year, and Foreman took a ten month sabbatical before accepting the Holmes fight, after Holmes accused the champ of ducking him. Foreman was very testy with Holmes in the pre-match press conference, which resembled one of Muhammad Ali's old outings, where he engaged in a physical confrontation with Joe Frazier. In the Madison Square Garden ring, it was apparent early that Holmes could not deal with Foreman's power. Holmes attempted to work against the ropes, a similar tactic to Ali's in Kinshasa, where Foreman suffered his only defeat. However, Holmes is not a fighter in Ali's class, and it only led to punishment from the champ. Holmes was knocked down in round six, and barely beat the count. He was almost knocked down following a huge Foreman right hand in round eight, and barely made it back to his corner. Early in the ninth, it was all over after another gigantic Foreman right hand. Arthur Mercante duly counted to ten, and Foreman once again retained his title. "I've cleaned out the heavyweight division," Foreman said in his post-match press conference. "I can't see anybody beating me for a good few years, maybe ever."

SPACE INVADERS IS MOST POPULAR ARCADE GAME OF ALL TIME

May 1979

After one year of release, Space Invaders is the undisputed king of the arcade. No game has earned more revenue than the shoot-em up alien invasion game developed in Japan by Tomohiro Nishikado. Atari plans to hold a tournament next year to determine the best Space Invaders player in the world. "Informal tournaments have already been held at arcades all around the country to determine who is the best. We're going to see who is the best of the best," Atari CEO Raymond Kassar said. "We're putting up a $50,000 first prize, a $25,000 second prize, and three $10,000 third prizes." Gamers all over the country were excited about the prospect of competing against each other. "I'm confident that I'll beat everyone in the world," said Rebecca Heineman, an avid fan of the game from Southern California. "I've beaten everybody at my local arcade, and set and reset the all time high score at least five times. I can't wait for this tournament." Despite Space Invaders' popularity, it will receive some significant competition soon: Pac Man, already hyped as an exciting new arcade game among insiders, is expected to premiere in arcades all over the country later this year.

NOTE: Foreman vs. Holmes is one of the greatest boxing matches that never happened.
NOTE: Rebecca Heineman won the Space Invaders national tournament in 1980 in New York. She is considered the first esports champion.

 

[marathag]

Iraq and Kuwait will still be wanting to ship out oil. They would not respect an Iranian Closure of the Waterway, either
A War of the Tankers with the US as an active participant, won't be pretty from the Iranian outlook.
Likely they lose some Oil platforms.
Iran also needs to sell Oil, even if trying for an embargo on the US and friends

 

[dsp19]

Iraq and Kuwait will still be wanting to ship out oil. They would not respect an Iranian Closure of the Waterway, either
A War of the Tankers with the US as an active participant, won't be pretty from the Iranian outlook.
Likely they lose some Oil platforms.
Iran also needs to sell Oil, even if trying for an embargo on the US and friends

Correct on all points. If you noticed, I'm setting up a second Reagan term unless Glenn gets nominated, despite all the chaos of the late 1970s. The hostage situation will still occur but I think Reagan would have gone about it differently than Carter

 

[marathag]

The hostage situation will still occur but I think Reagan would have gone about it differently than Carter

They first took hostages in February, months before the big takeover.
Peanut didn't do anything about that. Don't think RR would respond the same way.

 

[Ogrebear]

Cannot see Regan going 'easy' with Khomeini - he is either going to court them as another authoritarian regime to keep them from the Soviet orbit (highly unlikely) or go down hard on them with heavy sanctions, fuelling resistance, blocking trade, etc etc.

"TMP received eight nominations". - 8 Oscar noms are a great thing for Trek, and for sci-fi in general. Nothing for Close Encounters or was that the year before?

Nice of Siskel and Ebert to remember the people who actually make the movie look good- costumes, cinematography, and art direction!

5 Oscars for TMP is not a bad haul at all. Glad Superman got some gongs as well.

So in WoK it is worth mentioning that Reliant has been 'completely rebuilt' since the Klingon war as otherwise folk might be surprised at it beating Enterprise.

I still cannot understand the Peter Preston moment when Scotty leaves his post in a battle situation to bring a body to the Bridge? Sure its powerful, but it never worked for me as a moment- I simply cannot see Scotty leaving his engines while his ship is under attack- family or not. And showing a body to Kirk? What does that prove- Kirk ALREADY knows the burden of command. One more body proves nothing.

I suggest a moment of confrontation in Sickbay after they escape the Genesis Wave, when the ashen faced Krk walks through Sickbay and sees Scotty greiving over Peter, who looks up and glares at Kirk, maybe even moves towards him, but it stops by Bones who says something like "he knows the butchers bill"

Sulu and Chekov switching roles makes sense- though I somehow can see a scene on Reliant where Sulu raises concern with Terrall about the system considering he'd know where Khan was dumped, and also as a Science officer he should raise the missing planet problem for the system- just before volunteering to check the metallic or fusion signature hey are getting from Ceti Alpha V.

"face-to-face between Shatner and Montalban on Regula" - I agree I think this is the only place you can do it. Khan teasing Kirk just before he beams off.

Why didn't Enterprise detect Reliant early at Regula- I cannot remember?

Bit where Kirk and co at at his apartment- perhaps put the cast in casuals instead of uniform to make it clear they are off duty?

Action in the Hormuz Strait could erupt into a general war, one I could see Regan welcoming given the 1980 election is coming.

Wonder if the petrol price jump from Iran/OPEC US sales ban sees investment in alternative energy? Perhaps not electric cars (yet) but hydroelectric, solar, turbines, and geothermal, all of which where known at this time and just needed investment.

No way Iraq and Kuwait are joining a OPEC blockade of the US, they are probably upping production.

John Glenn vs Ronnie Regan in 1980? Hum.... think how the foreign policies impact on domestic prices may be the swing there...

That Starlog story seems a little too on the nose? Still many folk have guessed these things correctly before.

Maybe Paramount wants to alternate between big films and TV movies with us to keep us busy." - sounds like a great plan for maximising Trek, trying spin off ideas, or highlighting the co-stars.

Takei resigned? That seems.... far fetched from the little I know of the man? Leave at end of his term maybe, but resigning does not feel right for him imho.

Space Invaders tournament- wonder if someone will televise or make a documentary about it?