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

[dsp19]

Opening credits for Starfleet Intelligence would go something like this:

Commander Uhura: We represent a side of Starfleet you've never seen before. Starfleet Intelligence: an organization working undercover to stop threats against the Federation, from external and internal threats. We serve the Federation...in cognito.

Star Trek: Starfleet Intelligence

Starring Nichelle Nichols as Commander Uhura
Alfre Woodard as Lieutenant Garvin
Co-starring Ron Perlman as Karlax
Cindy Morgan as Mikaela Marx

Executive Producer: Harve Bennett
Producers: David Gerrold, Nichelle Nichols

 

[dsp19]

Much of this update centers around the drama engulfing both the Democrats and Republicans as they decide their presidential primaries. However, we have a few other stories, starting with a cast shakeup for Starfleet Intelligence. We'll get a preview of the 1984 summer blockbuster season, with Disney's addition of The Great Mouse Detective to the films that premiered in 1984 IRL. Plus, George Takei provides an update on preparations for the 1984 Olympics. I'll start with Starfleet Intelligence.

WALTER KOENIG, ANDREW ROBINSON TO JOIN STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE

May 2, 1984

Starfleet Intelligence will gain a familiar face to Trek fans and add a brand new one. Walter Koenig will return as Pavel Chekov to play the second in command to Nichelle Nichols for Season 3, while Andrew Robinson, who received a Daytime Emmy nomination in the soap opera Ryan's Hope, will play a Romulan defector. In addition, Cindy Morgan's character, Mikaela Marx, moves up to the third lead, and will become an ensign, having previously held no rank on the show. "Walter and Andrew are talented actors who will work extremely well with Nichelle Nichols," Harve Bennett, executive producer of Starfleet Intelligence, said. "We believe we'll have a very successful third season after our tremendous work in the first two seasons. We must also wish Alfre Woodard well. Even though we're adding two great actors, we're losing a great actress and that hurts." Koenig, who has had a recurring role on Gene Roddenberry's Battleground: Earth, had his character killed off by the Taelons last season, and is glad to play Chekov again. "This is the perfect role for me," Koenig said. "It's dead serious. No more Pavel Chekov for laughs. Chekov is a cold-blooded secret agent now." Robinson was considering retiring from acting, after being largely inactive for the past three years. "Harve Bennett's offer gave me reason to enjoy acting again," Robinson said. "This is a fantastic role they're setting up for me, and I'll have a three-dimensional character. I can't say any more other than the fact I'm a Romulan. But I guess that says it all." Cindy Morgan will receive an expanded role after largely being a supporting character in the first two seasons. "I'm glad that there will be more stories using my character's talents," Morgan said.

REPUBLICAN PRIMARY: VICE PRESIDENT TOWER RESIGNS, DROPS OUT OF REPUBLICAN RACE FOR PRESIDENT
REAGAN TAPS LAXALT FOR VP; DOLE JOINS RACE FOR WHITE HOUSE

May 3, 1984

The scandals enveloping Vice President Tower in regards to his personal conduct were apparently too much. Under pressure from President Reagan, Tower resigned as Vice President and dropped his campaign for the White House. Reagan immediately chose Nevada senator Paul Laxalt, a close personal friend, as his new vice president, but demurred on an endorsement. On the same day Tower resigned, Kansas senator Robert Dole joined the race, leading to a decision for Reagan and the Republican electorate: Laxalt or Dole? "Tower's position was untenable," President Reagan's Chief of Staff Donald Regan said. "The President believed that Tower would give the Republicans no chance to retain the White House in the upcoming election, so we have to go to Plans B and C. We've contacted Senator Laxalt to be the new Vice President, and he has agreed. All we need is a vote from Congress and we'll be set." When asked about an endorsement of Laxalt, Mr. Regan answered in an open-ended way. "Laxalt has the inside track, but nothing is assured at the moment," Regan said. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, who previously declined to run against Vice President Tower, announced that he was jumping in with a late bid. "The Republican voters deserve a choice now. We committed a major error by clearing the field at the start, and we're playing catch up now. As much as I respect Mr. Laxalt, I have a better chance of being elected with my resume."

Since Vice President Tower held a majority of the delegates, the Republican primary would have to be decided at the convention. Laxalt and Dole campaigned in the remaining primary states, including California, New Jersey, and Ohio, for primary votes. But it all came down to President Reagan, whose decision remained close to the vest. Reagan trusted Laxalt more personally, because he was a closer friend than the more standoffish Dole. But Dole had a point. He was a more charismatic campaigner who stood a better chance of carrying the Midwest against the Democrats, who looked likely to nominate a Midwesterner for the White House. Laxalt was perceived as this eccentric conservative from the West who seemed out there with some of his ideas. Even Reagan, who was criticized at times for being "out there," thought Laxalt's history as a casino owner could hurt him significantly in a general election. And unlike Reagan, Laxalt was no guarantee to carry California. The President would have to make a decision soon. He knew that Laxalt and Dole would be the next Republican ticket, but the question was who would be at the top...

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY: MONDALE DROPS OUT, LEAVING GLENN AND JACKSON
GLENN IS PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE; JACKSON REFUSES TO DROP OUT

May 16, 1984

Walter Mondale carried on his campaign as long as he could, but after defeats to John Glenn in Tennessee two weeks ago, Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio last week, and Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon last night, Mondale gave up the ghost. In a concession speech in Minneapolis, Mondale praised his campaign workers who attempted, in vain, to propel him to the Presidency. "I feel awful for all of my supporters. We gave it our best shot, but it was just not to be," Mondale said to his disappointed constituents in Minnesota. "I support Senator Glenn, the only viable Democratic candidate left in the running, and would be honored to run with him as the vice presidential nominee, if I am selected." Glenn praised Mondale for refusing to drag on what was turning into a lost cause. "Walter Mondale is an honorable servant for the American people and a great Democrat," Glenn said. "I will definitely consider my good friend from Minnesota as my running mate. However, I will conduct a national search and evaluate all the potential candidates on my short list fairly." Jesse Jackson, despite only winning in the District of Columbia and Louisiana, stuck by his promise to continue on to the convention. "I owe it to all my supporters, as the first African-American to run for the highest office in the land, to stand as a nominee for the Democratic Party in San Francisco this July," Jackson said. "The Democratic Party requires African-American support to win in the current political environment. If I am not selected as a running mate, I encourage Senator Glenn, who appears to be the nominee, to consider a black man or woman."

John Glenn was in command of both the Democratic Party as its presumptive nominee, and the general election. With the chaos engulfing the Republican nomination after Vice President Tower's resignation, Glenn had a double digit lead in polling against both Republican candidates, Paul Laxalt and Bob Dole. However, he faced a very difficult decision. He wanted to make Gary Hart or Walter Mondale his vice presidential running mate, because they deserved the opportunity after running spirited primary campaigns. However, as a white man from the Midwest with limited appeal to African-Americans, he understood that Jackson could threaten to withhold Black support from the ticket if Glenn did not choose an African American. Glenn believed that he was going to bleed support either way. If he selected Mondale or Hart, he would lose African-American support, which was critical in what could be a close election, and Glenn needed every vote he could get. However, if he selected Tom Bradley, the new governor of California, he would lose significant support from white swing voters in the Midwest, who he counted on to win, and concede most of the South to the Republicans, despite their fumbles. Glenn consulted his wife Annie, who simply told him, "Do what you believe in your heart is right for the country. That's what you've always done."


STAR TREK ACTORS TO PARTICIPATE IN TORCH RELAY

May 25, 1984

Four of the famous seven Star Trek main characters will participate in the Olympic torch relay this summer. Los Angeles mayor George Takei enlisted himself, Leonard Nimoy, Walter Koenig, and Nichelle Nichols to carry the torch through Los Angeles in the days before the Summer Games, set to begin on July 28. The actors considered this a once in a lifetime opportunity. "We'll only see the Olympics once in our lives in Los Angeles, most likely," Takei said. "I wanted to share the experience with my best friends in Hollywood, and I'm glad they accepted." William Shatner and James Doohan, as Canadian citizens, declined to run with the torch, but are expected to participate in the 1988 Winter Olympics celebrations in Calgary. DeForest Kelley declined because he was not a fan of running. "Running with a torch is for young whippersnappers like George, Walter, and Nichelle," Kelley sarcastically said. "I'm just too old! If I was 10 years younger, I'd definitely do it. But I'll definitely support them, and I'll be riding alongside with my wife Carolyn as they carry the torch."

THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE IS #1 AT THE BOX OFFICE

May 21, 1984

The Disney/Paramount collaboration has produced its first major hit. The Great Mouse Detective, starring the voices of Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Vincent Price, Barrie Ingham, and Susanne Pollatschek, made a big splash over the last weekend, grossing $28 million in its first weekend. "Disney, which has been reorganized by young Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, is now a significant player again in the movie industry after several years of struggles," Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, said. "I expect more great things from Disney in the upcoming years. Their business plan is to release one major animated feature every year, which is a wise business model, if the rest of the movies are as good as the Mouse Detective on Baker Street." It will be difficult for the House of Mouse to remain on top of the box office; Paramount's other major blockbuster, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the sequel to the acclaimed Raiders of the Lost Ark, will hit theaters on the 23rd. Ghostbusters, the highly awaited movie starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, premieres in June, along with Gremlins. For the moment, Disney can savor a long-awaited victory at the box office. "Cinema is always better served to have a strong Disney studio," Ebert said. "They've been the hearts of the imagination for so many American children since the 1930s, and I believe the studio still has a great future, even under the Gulf+Western umbrella."

 

[dsp19]

In this late evening/early morning (for the Europeans) update, we have a long feature on Gene Roddenberry and what he thinks of Star Trek; Paramount creates a separate Star Trek division; President Reagan endorses Paul Laxalt for the Republican ticket; and John Glenn reduces his vice presidential list to three.

RODDENBERRY: STAR TREK IS STILL THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION FRANCHISE, BUT IT'S STRAYING FROM MY VISION

June 3, 1984

For the past three years, Gene Roddenberry remained largely silent on his first great television creation, Star Trek. His two other series currently on the air, Battleground: Earth and Andromeda, are accomplished science fiction shows of their own, with Battleground earning a couple of Emmys in the acting department. However, Roddenberry spoke out about the state of Star Trek with the Times yesterday, and he had a lot to say. "Starfleet Intelligence has elements of the original series I created that are fantastic, such as cooperation between different species to solve common goals," Roddenberry said. "I commend Harve Bennett for maintaining my vision in that respect." Roddenberry saved his greatest praise for Nichelle Nichols, the star of Intelligence. "Nichelle Nichols is such a fantastic actress, and she's as talented a person as there is in Hollywood. I found Nichelle back in the early 1960s, when she tried out for The Lieutenant, and I am proud of Nichelle for accomplishing so much in the past twenty years. I love the fact that she's stepped out of the shadows of Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and become such a star in her own right. She's had to work twice as hard, due to the obstacles African-Americans and women face in Hollywood." Roddenberry also praised the casting of Alfre Woodard and Ron Perlman. "Harve did what I did; he found another talented actress and placed her in a position to succeed, when he got Alfre Woodard. As for Ron Perlman, the idea of a Klingon playing a protagonist is original, and if we ever set a Star Trek series say, a hundred years after Kirk and Spock, we'll have a Klingon protagonist there as well. The Klingons and Federation will make peace by then."

However, Roddenberry sharply criticized the direction Starfleet Intelligence is taking with respect to its writing and level of violence. "Starfleet Intelligence is incredibly violent, far too violent to be part of the Star Trek vision I created," Roddenberry said. "Half the episodes end with Uhura and her team of spies shooting up the enemy and blowing up the base. I think that's James Bond, just in the future. I really liked the episodes where Uhura had to outwit the enemy, instead of simply blasting them with her phaser, like a Star Trek version of Han Solo." If placed back in control of the Star Trek franchise, Roddenberry did not promise that Starfleet Intelligence would remain on the air. "I would definitely change much of Starfleet Intelligence, especially the violence. It's way too much," Roddenberry said. "If I were in charge again, that show would be more like the old Mission: Impossible and less like James Bond. Nichelle Nichols and I created the Uhura character to be a smart, sensible, problem solver who outsmarted everyone, not a femme fatale who kills people left and right." With a new Star Trek division ready to be unveiled at Paramount, Roddenberry is lobbying to lead it once again. "They'll probably let Harve lead for a couple of years. He made Star Trek III; if Star Trek III does well, he'll probably make Star Trek IV. After Star Trek IV, whenever that is released, I'll want my show back, and nobody is going to stop me. Andromeda and Battleground: Earth will likely be wrapping up their television runs by then, and I'd love to make a Star Trek a century after Kirk."


Nichelle Nichols: When Gene came out with those comments in 1984, I knew that we were living on borrowed time. The ratings dropped a little bit in Season 3 because of what Gene did. We were a top 5 show in Seasons 1 and 2, but slipped to 12th in season 3, 20th in season 4, and out of the top 25 in season 5. Gene would completely change the character of the show, and make it less interesting than the direction Harve set out from the beginning. It was only a matter of time before Harve left, in 1986, after Star Trek IV was released, and Gene was once again in charge, 20 years after he put the original show on the air. Gene and Paramount came to an agreement to cancel our series at the end of the 1986-1987 television season, to make way for The Next Generation. I was initially very bitter towards Gene, who did everything up until that point to support me. I initially refused to join the cast for Star Trek V when he was involved. However, I got over the bitterness and made that movie to support my fellow actors who I became best friends with over two decades. Over time, I became more thankful that Starfleet Intelligence didn't get stale. We started to rehash plots in seasons 4 and 5, and were a little less creative than we were at the outset. If we made a sixth season and beyond, Starfleet Intelligence would have flopped. So in retrospect, it was a good move to let it be at five seasons and let Patrick Stewart's cast take their turn leading the franchise on television.

PARAMOUNT CREATES "STAR TREK DIVISION" WITHIN STUDIO

June 10, 1984

Star Trek has its own division at 5555 Melrose Avenue. Paramount CEO Barry Diller has set aside seven of the 36 soundstages at the studio for Star Trek productions "in perpetuity," with the possibility that he will receive more funding from Gulf+Western, Paramount's owners, to build two or three more soundstages in the future solely for the sci-fi giant. The Star Trek division will be led by Frank Mancuso, Jr. from the studio side, and Harve Bennett as executive producer. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, lobbied to be executive producer, but was turned down by Paramount. However, it is expected that Roddenberry will assume control of his creation again when Bennett leaves the franchise. "Star Trek is the most valuable property at Paramount, and perhaps the most valuable entertainment property in the world," Diller said. "Although I am not a big fan of science fiction, I am a fan of profits, and Star Trek makes Paramount money hand over fist. We are the top studio in Hollywood because of Star Trek's success. That is why we have created a separate division of the studio solely to create Star Trek." Gene Siskel, film critic for the Chicago Tribune, wondered whether Paramount's move was a response to the rise of Lucasfilm, George Lucas' company. "20th Century Fox pretty much has this setup with Star Wars and Lucasfilm, so Paramount is simply doing the same thing," Siskel said. "Although Star Trek has two blockbusters under its name, I still think of Trek as a television franchise, and Star Wars as a film franchise. What is remarkable about Trek is that it made the transition from television to film so easily, with more than one executive producer, unlike Star Wars, which was always run by George Lucas."

REAGAN ENDORSES VICE PRESIDENT LAXALT FOR PRESIDENT
DOLE TO BE LAXALT'S RUNNING MATE

June 22, 1984

President Reagan came to the decision that most political insiders expected once he appointed Paul Laxalt as his new vice president. Yesterday, Reagan endorsed Laxalt for the presidency, and Robert Dole agreed to be his running mate. "I believe that Vice President Laxalt will be a tremendous successor to me in the Oval Office, and will continue my policies which led to economic growth over the past eight years," the President said. "Laxalt is a staunch supporter of supply-side economics, tax cuts, and deregulation. We have unshackled American industry and ingenuity during my Presidency, and Mr. Laxalt will continue on this path." Laxalt, previously the senator from Nevada, promised to be a successor to Reagan's conservatism. "We cannot let the tax-and-spend Democrats reclaim this Oval Office," Laxalt said to a crowd of reporters. "The Democrats already control Congress and have stifled some of President Reagan's better ideas. In a Laxalt White House, we'll have a Republican Congress as well, and we'll set America on a better path out of obstructionism." Senator Dole was disappointed that Reagan chose to endorse Laxalt, but was pleased to be offered the vice presidential spot on the ticket. "Mr. Laxalt is a very good friend of mine, and we largely see eye-to-eye on policy," Dole said. "We'll be a ticket that all Americans will be proud of. Vice President Laxalt and I will run a clean, strong campaign that contrasts with the mania on the other side of the aisle. The choice will be crystal clear in November. Laxalt-Dole for more prosperity, or Democrats for ruin."

GLENN NARROWS VP SHORTLIST TO THREE

June 30, 1984

Democratic presumptive presidential nominee John Glenn has narrowed his vice presidential selection to three choices, seventeen days before the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. The three choices are believed to be California governor Tom Bradley, who was elected in 1982 in the Golden State; former presidential primary rival Walter Mondale from Minnesota, and Texas senator Lloyd Bentsen. Glenn campaign insiders believe that each candidate has advantages and disadvantages. "Glenn needs to improve his appeal with African-American voters, who he needs to turn out in large numbers to win in November," Paramount News' Edwin Newman said. "If he picks Governor Bradley, he'll have that turnout, but how much will he lose with white moderates and conservatives? A Black man has never been on a major party ticket." Mondale provides the advantage of a liberal on the ticket, which will solidify union support for the Democrats. "Democrats saw the percentage of the union vote slip in 1976 and to a lesser extent 1980, and Mondale is strong with that subset," Newman said. "Plus, two Midwesterners gives the ticket the appeal of safety and stability. Mondale would be a do no harm selection." Senator Bentsen would help Glenn in the South. "Bentsen could win back Texas and a few other Southern states," Newman said. "The risk with Bentsen, is will he turn off non-white voters and liberals as a relatively conservative Southerner? Glenn is already a little bit on the conservative side, and I think he needs someone more liberal than him to balance the ticket. But Bentsen's got strength in the South, which is critical."

 

[dsp19]

In this update, Ghostbusters and Gremlins lead the box office, but are sharply criticized for their content; John Glenn picks his vice presidential running mate and the Democratic National Convention is held in San Francisco; Harve Bennett previews Season 3 of Starfleet: Intelligence and discusses Star Trek III, and the 1984 Summer Olympics begin in Los Angeles.

GHOSTBUSTERS AND GREMLINS DOMINATE BOX OFFICE
MOVIES CONDEMNED BY RELIGIOUS GROUPS

July 2, 1984

As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, Ghostbusters, the comedy with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, is still #1 at the box office a month after release. The occult blockbuster has made over $125 million at the box office, and Ray Parker Jr.'s song of the same name reached #1 on the Billboard charts. Trailing just behind Ghostbusters is Gremlins, which has made $90 million. However, both movies are being sharply criticized by conservative figures. Pat Robertson of The 700 Club condemned Ghostbusters as an "overtly, sexually promiscuous movie made for children, which promotes lewd and illicit behavior in addition to its ungodly, occult themes." Conservatives noted that Parker's song contained covertly sexual references, a scantily clad woman, and Parker appearing to flirt with the scantily clad woman. The Reverend Jerry Falwell condemned Gremlins for its "over the top, grotesque violence being marketed as acceptable and desirable for children. The country will decay morally if more movies like Gremlins become hits at the box office. Footloose was even worse." President Reagan was much more diplomatic than his Moral Majority culture warriors. "I was an actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood," the President said. "I believe that my generation of actors made superior movies to those that are currently being produced by today's filmmakers." However, the President recommended one movie above the rest. "The Natural is a fantastic movie," Reagan said. "Robert Redford is absolutely terrific as Roy Hobbs and should be nominated at next year's Academy Awards for Best Actor."

BENTSEN'S THE ONE: GLENN PICKS TEXAS SENATOR FOR VP

July 13, 1984

Three days before the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Democratic presumptive nominee John Glenn made his choice. To the dismay of many party liberals, Glenn picked Senator Lloyd Bentsen from Texas as his running mate for President. "I considered Senator Mondale and Governor Bradley as nominees very closely," Glenn said. "When I considered the resumes of each of the potential candidates, I returned to Senator Bentsen. I believe that the Glenn-Bentsen ticket will provide strong, stable, measured leadership for America for the next four years." Bentsen is one of the leaders of the Democratic Party in the South. He unseated Ralph Yarborough, the leader of the Texas liberal Democratic wing, in 1970, and has voted like a moderate ever since his election. "Bentsen is a steady hand, and we need those after President Reagan's erratic leadership," Glenn said. Senator Mondale was disappointed, but pledged to support the ticket. "I know Senator Bentsen well and he is a good friend. Despite some policy disagreements, Lloyd is a solid Democrat and is surprisingly liberal when he wants to be." Rainbow Coalition leader Jesse Jackson was very upset with Bentsen's selection. "John Glenn picked a conservative from the South to be his vice president. African-Americans have no real choice in this election. We know Paul Laxalt would be a bad president, but I'm starting to question Senator Glenn's judgment when Tom Bradley was sitting right there, waiting for a call. Glenn will not get good African-American turnout in the upcoming election."

Jackson threatened a walkout, but Glenn smoothed over the cracks in the Democratic coalition when he promised Jackson a cabinet post. At the Democratic National Convention, Glenn made a more inspiring speech than expected, drawing on his background as an astronaut. "What is America, if not a country that looks forward instead of backwards?" Glenn said at his acceptance speech. "America is great when we march forward, like John Kennedy did, like Martin Luther King did. We reach for the skies and we shoot for the moon. That's what America is all about. The current administration is simply focused on the wealthy. Well that's not how my America will operate. My America will be inclusive, a place where your merits allow you to advance and fairness is enshrined in the law." Glenn's speech was well received, and the Glenn-Bentsen ticket rocketed to a seventeen point lead in the polls, 55% to 38%, before the Republican convention would take place in August. President Reagan tried to put on a brave face for his newly appointed Vice President, but Paul Laxalt knew he was up against it. "What do you think are my chances of winning," Laxalt asked the President. "Ten percent, at best," the President replied. "We'll have to tear John Glenn, a war hero and national hero down. Not even Lee Atwater can do that. There are some issues we can hit Glenn on, but I'm not sure it makes up seventeen points." Fears of low enthusiasm among African-Americans and Hispanic voters did not materialize. They wanted Reagan and all he represented out of office, and it didn't matter whether the nominee was a liberal or a moderate. As long as John Glenn promised to build an inclusive administration and followed through with Jackson's appointment to a cabinet post, they were on board.

HARVE BENNETT DISHES ON STAR TREK III, INTELLIGENCE

July 19, 1984

Harve Bennett revealed a couple of spoilers about Star Trek III, the sequel due in theaters in November, and the upcoming season of Starfleet Intelligence. As for Star Trek III, Bennett said that the audience would be shocked by certain events in the movie. "At least two, possibly three specific events in the movie will cause the audience to cry," Bennett said. "Of course, I'm not at liberty to discuss what they are, but we made an extremely emotional drama. We expect it to live up to its billing and be a box office hit, just like the first two Trek movies." Bennett revealed the main theme of the movie. "Friendship. It's all about friendship," Bennett said. "How far will this crew, who have served together for 18 years, go for one another?" As for Starfleet: Intelligence, Bennett responded to Gene Roddenberry's criticism about the violence in the series, specifically Commander Uhura's use of a phaser. "We've developed more plots this year that require Uhura and her team to solve puzzles instead of blast their way out of trouble," Bennett said. "I think Gene's criticism is valid to a point. If we continue to blast our way out of trouble, the series will get stale. So we made a slight shift in our storytelling." However, Bennett said that on some occasions, Uhura and company will not have a choice. "Sometimes, the only way to solve a problem is with those phasers," Bennett said. "We tried to limit that a bit though, to the most extreme situations."

LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC GAMES OPEN
MAYOR TAKEI WELCOMES THE WORLD TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

July 29, 1984

Los Angeles welcomed the world's greatest athletes to the Coliseum last night with the most stunning opening ceremony in the Olympics' storied history. Thousands of people lined up in mosaics of the Olympic rings and various other American patriotic symbols, while Star Wars composer John Williams introduced a new, heroic soundtrack to the Games. The crowd was in a celebratory mood, even applauding the Warsaw Pact nations, including the Soviet Union, in a show of sportsmanship. However, they saved their greatest applause for the Americans, who shocked the world in 1980 by outperforming the Soviets in Moscow. Team USA was roared into the Coliseum by over 90,000, chanting "USA" for ten minutes as they walked around the track. This is Los Angeles' second time hosting the Games; the Coliseum was built for the 1932 Olympics, which was the last time the Summer Games were held in America until today. Mayor George Takei welcomed the world to Los Angeles. "There's no place better to host an athletic competition than sunny Los Angeles," Takei, who participated in the torch relay a few days earlier, told the world. "We will be the most accommodating, welcoming hosts in the history of the Olympics. When you're not competing or watching your favorite athletes compete, you can enjoy our beaches, palm trees, and visit our Hollywood studios. Los Angeles will truly be the City of Angels for these Games, and we'll revolutionize the Olympic movement in the process."

 

[dsp19]

In this update, the NERVA Mars mission, with the Mars rover Inspiration successfully lands on the Red Planet; The United States has a successful 1984 Olympic Games, Walter Koenig discusses Starfleet: Intelligence, and the Republicans nominate Paul Laxalt and Bob Dole as their ticket for 1984, but face an uphill climb.

NERVA MISSION SUCCESSFUL AS INSPIRATION ROVER LANDS ON MARS

August 1, 1984

The Martian Rover Inspiration successfully landed on the Red Planet yesterday, after a little over four and a half months of flight time from Earth. NASA reported touchdown of Inspiration at 2:15 AM, July 31, with data returning back to Earth a few minutes later. Inspiration will determine if there is any evidence of water on the barren Martian landscape, which would also lead to potential theories about past life surviving, and possibly thriving, on Mars. NASA administrator James Beggs hailed the landing's success. "We've successfully launched a nuclear propulsion rocket, which cut the transit time from Earth to Mars in half during Martian launch windows. This is a major step in space exploration. If Inspiration finds water or evidence of past water on Mars, that makes the mission even more successful." Beggs, however, had a few notes of caution. "We need to improve the NERVA rocket function. It took a little over four and a half months to make the transit. We want to develop the rocket further so that it can make the transit in 90 days. That is the first requirement for potential human exploration in the distant future." The possibility of Inspiration failing in the harsh Martian landscape and the potential that the rover does not find water were also discussed. "We don't know if there is a pool of liquid water under the surface anywhere on Mars, or whether such a pool of water existed," Beggs said. "Of course, Inspiration could shut down if a sandstorm knocks the probe out of commission. Our scientists did the best they could to weather proof the rover."

Inspiration turned out to be a major success. The rover found rocks containing remnants of organic material, and bacterial life was proclaimed to have existed "in all likelihood" on the Red Planet three billion years ago. However, no signs of major water pools were found underneath the surface. Inspiration transmitted valuable data back to Earth and shut down after six months when a major sandstorm caused the rover to cease functioning. The last data from the rover was transmitted in February 1985. NASA would plan another mission to Mars, this time testing a more powerful NERVA rocket, in the next Martian launch window, to determine if transit could be made from Earth to Mars in 90 days.

UNITED STATES CAPS OFF SUCCESSFUL OLYMPICS WITH BASKETBALL GOLDS

August 13, 1984

The United States came out on top once again. In its first Summer Olympics since 1932 on home soil, the Americans led both the gold medal count and overall medal count, with 51 gold medals and 123 overall medals, topping the Soviet Union, who had 45 gold medals and 108 overall medals. Carl Lewis won four gold medals on the track, leading a star-studded track outfit. Rowdy Gaines added three more gold medals in the pool, passing Mark Spitz with eight gold medals, to become the most decorated American swimmer of all time. On the final weekend of the Olympics, the women's basketball team upset the favored Soviets, 87-81, with 38 points and 15 rebounds from USC star Cheryl Miller, who declared herself the best women's basketball player on the planet after her performance. In the men's final, the favored Americans rolled, also defeating the Soviets, 88-73, behind 28 points from North Carolina star guard Michael Jordan and 20 points from Georgetown star center Patrick Ewing. Jordan had the emphatic moment. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Americans up five points, Jordan drove down the lane and threw down a vicious slam dunk on young Soviet center Arvydas Sabonis, electrifying the crowd. "Jordan is the best player I've ever coached, and that includes Isiah Thomas, who I coached at Indiana," USA coach Bobby Knight said. "I think he'll be the best player in the NBA within three years. Better than Magic and Larry Bird. I've never seen a player with his skills at the guard position, and I've coached basketball for a long time." Knight, a staunch anti-Communist, implored his players that this was the most important game of their lives. "We will not repeat the farce and shame of 1972 at Munich," Knight told his players before the game. "Don't allow it to be close enough for them to screw you over."

WALTER KOENIG: STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE IS VERY INTELLIGENT

August 17, 1984

Walter Koenig led a promotional tour for Starfleet: Intelligence's third season, which will premiere next month on the Paramount Television Network. Koenig repeated the spoiler Harve Bennett mentioned last month, where he said there would be less violence on the show. "We have many more 'thinking man's plots,' so to speak, this year as compared to the previous two years," Koenig said. "I think out of the first six scripts, only one of them has a major phaser fight." Bennett and Koenig answered this question in response to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who liked elements of Intelligence but condemned the violence that marked many of the episodes in the first two seasons. "Some of the solutions we come up with are extremely intelligent, like real spywork," Koenig said. "I can't spoil anything more, but Uhura sees Chekov back and they have an immediate bond, which becomes a plot point early in the season. The other characters have to adjust to Chekov, because he's not a junior lieutenant like Uhura's previous second in command, Lieutenant Garvin. He's a hardened Starfleet veteran, and he shows it." Koenig also welcomed the development of Chekov as a character, citing the seriousness of the role. "Gene Roddenberry, as great as he was, put me in a bad spot in the original Star Trek by making me a comic relief character. The current Pavel Chekov is a Russian who takes no crap from anyone." Koenig is also working on a book. His first book about Russian inventions was well received, and he decided to pen a sequel. "I think the book will be ready next year," Koenig said.

LAXALT, IN CONVENTION SPEECH, ATTACKS GLENN'S ISRAEL RECORD

August 24, 1984

Vice President Paul Laxalt, the Republican nominee for President, came out swinging against his Democratic opponent, John Glenn, during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last night in Dallas. Trailing by seventeen points in the polls leading into the convention, Laxalt condemned Glenn's record on Israel, arguing that the Ohio senator was not a reliable ally of the Jewish state. "Senator Glenn believes that Americans should open direct talks with the PLO," Laxalt said. "The PLO. A terrorist organization. Glenn thinks we should negotiate with terrorists! A Laxalt administration will never negotiate with terrorists, especially the vile PLO." Laxalt also condemned Glenn's vote on selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia. "Glenn endangered Israel by selling weapons to the Arabs," Laxalt said. "A Laxalt administration will be a more reliable ally to Israel and our NATO allies against evil Islamic revolutionaries in the Middle East and the Warsaw Pact countries that threaten NATO." On economic matters, Laxalt declared Glenn's "Real Deal" dead on arrival. "What 'Real Deal' does Glenn have?" Laxalt said. "The same old warmed over New Deal tax and spend policies that almost brought America to bankruptcy? The Reagan Revolution must continue for the American economy to thrive. We cannot go back to the same old failed policies of the New Deal, President Johnson and President Muskie. Remember, the Republican Party knows economics. The Democratic Party knows economic ruin."

Vice President Laxalt received a convention bounce, but it was not the size he hoped for. When the dust settled after the conventions, John Glenn held a ten point lead, 52% to 42%, over his Republican rival. Laxalt struggled from the perception of him as an "eccentric," compared to Glenn's status as a national hero, being the first American to orbit the Earth. Laxalt employed Lee Atwater, the infamous adman, to write television spots condemning Glenn as anti-Semitic, tying Glenn to Jesse Jackson, and accusing Glenn of providing "handouts" to non-white voters. To Laxalt's fury, none of the attacks stuck. By Labor Day, Glenn still held the same ten point lead. Desperation was setting into the Laxalt campaign. He again asked President Reagan for advice, in a White House meeting. "I'm doing everything I can to tear Senator Glenn down, but nothing is working. The attacks on his Israel record aren't working. What else can I do," Laxalt asked the President. "You have to sell yourself," Reagan replied. "The voters see you as an oddball. There's no way you can win unless you change that perception. Once the voters see you as a normal American who relates to them, you'll have a chance to win. I launched negative attacks on my rivals, but I was also relatable to the American people. Paul, your strategy has to change. Play up your status as a war hero and Bob Dole's sacrifice for his country. Then you'll be able to win this thing."

On the other hand, Senator Glenn was flying high, like he did before he entered politics. Glenn asked Lloyd Bentsen to campaign in Texas as if he were running for governor there. Glenn spent most of his time in the industrial Midwest and California, receiving applause from largely supportive crowds. However, he was questioned sharply on his policies towards African-Americans, and did not have a ready answer aside from his promise to appoint Jesse Jackson to a cabinet post. This caused consternation in the African-American community. Would Senator Glenn overlook our community as President? Glenn had to come up with an answer to this question, before turnout dropped on his side among African-Americans and liberals. The first debate was a little over a month away, and Glenn huddled with his pollster, Peter Hart, to plan a course of strategy. Hart recommended a "rising tide lifts all boats" strategy, but Glenn realized that this would not work and sought a different answer. At a campaign stop in California, Glenn met Governor Tom Bradley, who was on his shortlist for vice president. Bradley told Glenn, "You must equalize the playing field for us. Fairness is the word you must use. Outline some economic plans for African-Americans in the cities. It might cost you a couple of votes among white conservatives but it's the right thing to do. So Glenn, taking this advice, got to work...

 

[dsp19]

In this update, The Terminator premieres; a peek into the Glenn and Laxalt campaigns; Mayor Takei and Mayor Koch's records are compared; and the third season of Starfleet Intelligence premieres.

THE TERMINATOR EXTENDS SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER SEASON INTO SEPTEMBER

September 4, 1984

On the last day of summer, 1984's bumper crop of films continues to rake in the cash at the box office. The Terminator, James Cameron's dystopian science fiction thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a murderous cyborg from the future, made $30 million in its first four day weekend. Schwarzenegger, who starred in Conan The Barbarian, will certainly rise to superstardom after cashing in big here. "The Terminator is a completely different type of film, with a future that is bleak after the machines take over," Roger Ebert, film critic from the Chicago Sun-Times said. "It is a warning that technological advances could go too far and turn on humanity. Unlike Star Trek, where humanity corrals its technology, the Terminator shows technology out of control and killing virtually all of humanity if left unchecked." Schwarzenegger's cyborg is sent back from 2029, where machines have largely defeated humans in a world war, to kill Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton. Connor is supposed to be the mother of the future resistance leader against the machines, named John. "I felt The Terminator was extremely violent, but for some reason, the movie-going audience likes violent movies," Ebert said. "There will almost certainly be a sequel, and it'll perhaps be Schwarzenegger fighting another machine, either in our future or in the present. I'm not exactly looking forward to The Terminator, Part 2, if it is as violent as this movie," Ebert said. "However, the core message about technology outstripping humanity is a sound one."

GLENN, LAXALT HAVE DUELING RALLIES IN NORTH CAROLINA

September 17, 1984

John Glenn landed in Charlotte, North Carolina, full of confidence. In a campaign rally supporting Jim Hunt, the governor of North Carolina running against Jesse Helms for Helms' Senate seat, Glenn proposed an economic plan tailored towards urban communities. "The Urban Renewal Program will be at the top of my agenda in the next Congress, if I am elected as the next President," Glenn said. "I will develop commercial zones in residential communities and consult with mayors of our largest cities to make our urban neighborhoods more accessible and economically friendly. Our urban areas have been ignored by the Reagan administration, and I will not ignore them as your President." Glenn's Urban Renewal Program earned two thumbs up from California governor Tom Bradley, who also traveled to Charlotte and took credit for developing parts of the plan. "There will be money for entrepreneurs in urban areas who want to turn their small businesses into chains, or who simply want to start up a small business," Bradley said. "Mr. Glenn has allocated $20 billion in the next budget for revitalization. The urban cores have decayed under Reagan, who focused on the suburbs. We will bring our cities back and make them the envy of the world again."

Vice President Laxalt, in a rally in Kannapolis, not far from Charlotte, proposed a larger tax cut than that passed by President Reagan. "I will lower the top tax rate to 35 percent and the bottom rate to 10 percent," Laxalt said to cheering supporters. "I will also introduce a tax credit for families. The more children you have, the greater the tax credit. President Reagan passed a version of this in 1982, but I want to expand it." Laxalt condemned Glenn's plan to revitalize urban areas as a handout. "John Glenn is prioritizing one group of American citizens, those who live in cities, over Americans who live in suburban areas and rural areas," Laxalt said. "Senator Glenn should know better. He represents a mostly rural state and has a rural background. The idea that he could simply turn his back on rural Americans is downright scary." Laxalt also played up his war record. "I served this country in World War II, and I will not allow us to elect a President who turns his back on our allies. Israel is one of our allies. Senator Glenn thinks we can negotiate with Yasser Arafat. When I'm President, I will condemn Yasser Arafat." A Washington Post poll released this weekend showed Glenn with a nine point lead, 53 percent to 44 percent, over the Vice President. "We've made up 8 points since the Democratic Convention," Laxalt said. "There's plenty of time left. If I win the debates, I'll be in a dead heat."

Glenn then traveled to New York City and received a strong endorsement from New York's Jewish senator, Elizabeth Holtzman. Holtzman told the audience at the 92nd Street Y, "I have never known a better friend to Israel than Senator Glenn. John is committed to Israel's survival, and he thinks about it every day." On September 26, the first night of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Glenn attended services at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, and was applauded by the congregation. One enthusiastic supporter said, "You'll never see Laxalt in temple!" to which Glenn smiled. Glenn maintained his ten point lead through the rest of September, as the debates neared. Glenn also chose the cabinet post for Jesse Jackson: the HUD, if he were elected, earlier that day. Jackson joined Glenn at Emanu-El and was initially booed by the congregation, but made a stirring speech to turn the audience in his favor. "My comments about Jews in the primary were made from a position of ignorance," Jackson said. "Having witnessed this service, it is one of the most beautiful events I have attended in my life. I have been made richer and healthier by the experience." Jackson received a standing ovation. From that point on, Glenn experienced little difficulty winning over the Jewish constituency.

On the other hand, Laxalt's tax cut proposals and candidacy started to fall on deaf ears. The Religious Right supported him fervently, but most of the voters who could be persuaded to vote for either party were already in the Glenn camp. Laxalt realized that his only chance was in the debates. He had to land a knockout blow on Glenn to get back in the race. Laxalt began debate prep with the President, who was known as a strong debater. President Reagan then hit on a theme: Glenn is boring. "If you make yourself less eccentric and more genuinely interesting, and paint Glenn as a boring, stodgy man, you'll make up some of the deficit." The other point the President made to Laxalt was a quip: "Glenn's plans for the country are in outer space. They are not grounded in reality." Laxalt would use this line to great effect in the first debate, and Glenn had to find an answer, or the race would be a cliffhanger instead of an easy win for the old astronaut...

KOCH, TAKEI TAKE DIFFERENT APPROACHES ON RUNNING THEIR CITIES

September 29, 1984

New York's larger than life mayor, Edward I. Koch, praised Los Angeles mayor George Takei on the revitalization projects occurring in the City of Angels. Koch, who oversees the largest public transportation system in the world, noted that Takei's policies would increase the population of Los Angeles. "George is a visionary in terms of developing public transportation for his citizens," Koch said. "New York cannot survive without the subway and train system. I have no idea how Los Angeles did it all these years, but Takei is recognizing the need. Mayor Bradley did this first, but this is Takei's greatest achievement, because he'll get subways done in LA by 1987." Despite Koch's support of Takei's economic revitalization plans, he is an opponent of Takei's liberalism. "I came from a very liberal place when I was a congressman in Lower Manhattan, and I evolved out of that to be an effective mayor," Koch said. "I think Takei is a little pie in the sky when it comes to social policies. He's for legalized prostitution, as long as it's regulated. Well prostitution is a disaster in New York City, and I'm going to clean it up." Koch also criticized Takei on his ideas regarding drug rehabilitation. "I'm taking the druggies off the streets," Koch said. "Takei is simply giving the druggies a chance to relapse."

Takei thanked Koch for the kind comments on the transportation system, but criticized the almost imperial mayor of New York in his reply. "I think drug rehabilitation programs are necessary for reducing the number of drug addicts on the streets," Takei said. "In the first year of my mayoralty, I've managed to get 15 percent of the drug addicts into rehab, and some of them are turning their lives around." Takei also thought Koch's ideas about legalized prostitution were stodgy. "New York has a prostitution problem because it's completely unchecked and there are no regulations, like in Amsterdam. New York is out of control but Koch thinks the answer is making it illegal. That will simply drive it into the outer boroughs, and a place like the Bronx will become worse than 42nd Street in Manhattan is now on that front." Takei told Koch to make a trip to Los Angeles for a meeting. "He has some good ideas on transportation and I have some good ideas on social policy. I'd like for each of us to adopt the other's strengths."


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

Hat tip to @Sunflare2k5

EPISODE 49: NERVA (Airdate: September 18, 1984. SEASON PREMIERE). Nerva, a Romulan defector played by Andrew Robinson, joins Uhura's team. Immediately, he and Karlax get into a brawl, which lands both of them in sickbay. Karlax remembers Nerva as part of a Tal Shiar cell that killed members of his House in the last Klingon-Romulan conflict. Uhura threatens to turn Karlax back to the Klingon Empire and Nerva back to the Romulans if they continue to argue with each other. Both of them agree to cooperate, but not before Karlax calls Nerva a lowlfe p'takh. Uhura's mission is to facilitate Kroska's transition from a Klingon colony to a free planet. However, Klingon renegade Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) shows up in his Bird of Prey and threatens to bombard Kroska, claiming that it will become a Federation planet. Uhura finds the solution to the problem in a non-violent manner; she consults with Sarek to determine if Kruge's world can also become a free planet. Sarek agrees, but the Intergalactic Council of Peace votes down the proposal. As Kruge is threatening to bombard the planet, the Saratoga and Intrepid appear and chase the Bird of Prey away. Kruge is stuck on Kroska, and Uhura has a choice; apprehend him or let him free? Uhura decides to give Kruge safe passage back to his home world. The Intergalactic Council of Peace convenes again, and allows Kruge's planet to become a free world, by a one vote margin, with Uhura giving a speech in favor of the proposal.

EPISODE 50: THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH (Airdate: September 25, 1984). Uhura's team are sent to investigate rumors of Romulan activity at Gamma Trianguli VI. While she was off duty for the Enterprise's mission, she did hear about it afterwards, and how badly it went. The Romulans are after at least one of the following: the remnants of Vaal's technology (which was only established as being drained of power, not totally destroyed), the explosive rocks, or the poison dart plants. The Federation did try to teach the Triangulans the survival techniques denied to them by Vaal. It didn't go well. The Federation could teach agriculture and architecture and such, but that didn't make up for the point that Vaal's power had kept the people disease-free and virtually immortal. That they'd been kept safe from inclement weather and dangerous lifeforms. Too many of the Triangulans simply couldn't deal with the psychological shock of all these things changing at once. The Tal Shiar arrives at Gamma Trianguli and discovers the poison dart plants. Uhura recognizes that they could be used as a chemical weapon. She and Chekov tell the Romulans to get lost, but they don't. A firefight ensues and the Romulans are driven off, but they acquire one poison dart and escape.

Vignettes: Starfleet Intelligence was nominated for three acting Emmys, but fell short in each category. Ron Perlman got a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama nomination, while Nichelle Nichols got a Best Actress in a Drama nomination and the outgoing Alfre Woodard got a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Tom Hanks repeated the feat as Best Actor in a Drama for Battleground: Earth, and left the series to pursue a movie career. This allowed Jeff Goldblum to become the lead on Battleground in its final season, and he would be the frontrunner for Best Actor in a Drama in 1985.

 

[dsp19]

In this update, the presidential debates between John Glenn and Paul Laxalt occur, as well as the vice presidential debate between Lloyd Bentsen and Bob Dole; the New York Mets make a run at the World Series, two years earlier than OTL (1986); President Reagan promises to meet Soviet premier Gorbachev before he leaves office, with a summit in Reykjavik scheduled for December, and more Starfleet Intelligence episodes. The only article in this update is going to be the Reagan-Gorbachev announcement. The rest will be written as a narrative.

Doc Gooden in 1984, winning the National League Rookie of the Year

Recollections from the New York Mets postseason run in 1984:

Frank Cashen (Mets general manager): We acquired Gary Carter from the Montreal Expos at the trade deadline because for the first time in a decade, we were contenders for the National League East. Carter immediately galvanized the team, and pranked a few of his teammates in the process with the Spock ears. He hit 10 home runs and drove in 42 runs in August and September, and we made up a six game deficit on the Chicago Cubs. We got the pennant race to the last day of the season, where we were tied with the Cubs. We were losing 5-4 in the ninth inning, and the Cubs were winning, so we needed a moment of magic. The Expos had Jeff Reardon, one of baseball's best relievers, out there to end our season. Keith Hernandez singled with two outs in the ninth. Then Carter hit a towering home run to center field, and our pennant dreams stayed alive. We won 6-5, and forced a one game playoff against the Cubs at Shea Stadium. The team carried the momentum from there, all the way to the World Series.

Dwight "Doc" Gooden: I was the best pitcher in baseball in 1984, as a rookie. Nobody could hit my curveball. I almost felt helpless when we were losing to the Expos on the final Sunday of the season, but when we took the lead on Carter's home run, Davey Johnson, my manager, sent me out there to pitch the bottom of the ninth. I gave up a single but struck out two and we won that game. Then I was scheduled to start the one game playoff against the Cubs. They had an imposing lineup. Ryne Sandberg was the MVP of the league, and Gary Matthews could intimidate a young pitcher. But I was fearless. Having the home crowd behind you is such a rush. They give you an extra two to three miles on your fastball. I struck out Bob Dernier, Sandberg, and Matthews in the first inning. The crowd was roaring on every pitch. There's nothing like a playoff crowd in New York in October. Keith homered in the first inning and said, "You've got your run." Darryl Strawberry homered later on and told me, "this game is over." We won 2-0, and I struck out fifteen Cubs. The back page headlines called me "the next Tom Seaver," and even Vin Scully called me that on the TV broadcast.

Darryl Strawberry: We then faced the Padres in the league championship series. We thought, "this is going to be easy, a sweep. All they have is old Steve Garvey and Goose Gossage, and Tony Gwynn is a singles hitter." But the Padres blew us out in Game 1, 10-3. Gwynn hit 2 home runs. We had to get our act together for Game 2, and Sid Fernandez, another great young pitcher, shut the Padres down. I hit 2 home runs in that game, and we won 8-2. Then we traveled to San Diego, and we had to win two games out of three there to go to the World Series. Ed Whitson was a pitcher who could be rattled pretty easily. Keith and I wagged our bats at him to intimidate him. He lost his control in the first inning. Then Carter smashed a 3 run HR and we cruised, 7-1. Game 4 was the only close game in the series. Doc was pitching and the Padres couldn't touch him, but we couldn't hit Tim Lollar either, which was a surprise. In the 8th inning Goose Gossage came on, and I was up with two outs. It was 1-1. Goose was aging but could still throw a fastball. I hit one of his fastballs about 450 feet down the right field line. The only question was if it would stay fair. It hit the foul pole, and we were up 2-1. Then it was down to Doc. Except for a Tony Gwynn double in the 9th, Doc struck out the rest of the Padres and we were in the World Series. I was NLCS MVP.

Davey Johnson (Mets manager): The Detroit Tigers were almost unstoppable in 1984. They were led by Kirk Gibson, the hometown hero from Michigan who had a career year. But we split the first two games at Shea Stadium. Sid Fernandez was once again outstanding in Game 1, striking out 10 and leading us to a 5-3 victory. We lost Game 2 in heartbreaking fashion, and I think that was the turning point of the series. We led 3-2 in the top of the 9th. Doc once again pitched his heart out. But Gibson hit a home run in the top of the 9th to tie it at 3. We eventually lost, 4-3, in the 12th inning. Detroit then blew us out 9-2 and 6-1 in Games 3 and 4 to take a 3 games to 1 lead. Sid wouldn't let us die though. He threw a stunning three hit shutout to deny the Tigers at Tiger Stadium, 3-0. We thought the series was winnable with the last two games at Shea. We took a 3-0 lead in Game 6 behind Hernandez and Carter once again. But Doc's arm was tiring. He never threw that many innings in his life. A guy who would eventually become a major part of our future success, Howard Johnson, hit a 3 run home run off Doc in the 5th inning, and Lou Whitaker homered in the 6th inning to make it 5-3 Detroit. We had our chances, but Willie Hernandez, their MVP and Cy Young winning reliever, was too tough, and the Tigers celebrated the World Series on our home field with a 5-4 win, and a 4 games to 2 series win. But the crowd at Shea didn't leave. They wanted to give us an ovation for getting to the World Series. After the Tigers left the field to open the champagne, we returned to the field and our fans applauded us for a half hour. We made a vow to ourselves that we would never lose a playoff series again while I was manager, and we never did. We also swore to bring home the World Series in 1985, which we did. In fact, we became a dynasty. Three titles in four years. The Yankees played second fiddle to us in the 80s.

Keith Hernandez: The first time Carter put the Spock ears in my locker, I said, "Don't you ever put those things in my locker! Who knows where they've been!" But we eventually loved the Spock ears. If Carter put them in someone's locker, that player had to make a big play. Usually, it worked out that way. It definitely worked out that way from 1984 to 1988. Four World Series appearances and three wins. One time, Lenny Dykstra tried to throw the Spock ears in the garbage in 1986, and Darryl started a fight with him so it wouldn't happen. Baseball players have weird rituals, and that was one of ours.


THE GLENN-LAXALT DEBATES (PLUS BENTSEN VS. DOLE)

Two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate were held during October 1984. The first debate was held on October 7, 1984, with ABC's Barbara Walters moderating.

Walters: Vice President Laxalt, you're currently trailing in the polls and your message doesn't seem to be resonating. What do you think you have to do to turn this around?
Laxalt: I think we've made a nice comeback, thank you. We were 17 points down in August and we've cut the deficit to 9. I'm not worried about the polls. We'll have this thing as a dead heat by Election Day.
Glenn: I'm not worried about the polls either (crowd laughs).

Walters: The economy had its ups and downs under eight years of the Reagan administration. What would each of you do to set the economy on a more stable path? We've had periods of growth, but two recessions during the Reagan presidency.
Laxalt: Democratic obstruction in Congress led to the two recessions. Senator Glenn's more liberal colleagues led the effort to stop the President from passing more vigorous tax relief for Americans. When I'm president, I'm getting that major tax bill passed with a Republican Congress. The Democrats in Congress have ruined this economy by not following along with what President Reagan wants.
Glenn: Voodoo economics didn't work in 1977, and it doesn't work now. I support a targeted tax cut for the working class, but my good friend from Nevada wants all the money flowing up towards the business class. That type of economic model doesn't work.
Laxalt: John Glenn's boring, dull leadership style inspires nobody. He would simply be a placeholder President, and he'd be controlled by the liberal interests in Congress. Voting for Glenn is basically voting for Ted Kennedy and Elizabeth Holtzman, the two most liberal senators in the Democratic caucus.
Glenn: Excuse me, Mr. Vice President? I'm my own man, thank you. I'm the first American to orbit the Earth. To call me boring and dull is astonishing, even for you. I resent that remark.

Most of the 80 million television viewers considered the first debate to be a win for Laxalt, and he closed to within five points of Glenn in the polls before the second debate. One Gallup poll even had Glenn and Laxalt in a statistical dead heat, with 49% for Glenn and 46% for Laxalt. It would be up to Glenn's running mate, Lloyd Bentsen, to stanch the bleeding in the vice presidential debate, and he largely did the job. Sander Vanocur of CBS News moderated the vice presidential debate.

Vanocur: What do you make of the accusation that your ticket is boring and uninspiring, Senator Bentsen?
Bentsen: Well I'm inspiring enough to be elected senator from Texas three times. That isn't inspiring to you? You've got to have a strong personality to win statewide races in Texas.
Dole: John Glenn and Lloyd Bentsen couldn't inspire a single voter in the Democratic base to vote. Most of the Democratic voters are far to their left.
Bentsen: Left, center, right, conservative, liberal, it doesn't matter. John and I will govern the country how it needs to be governed. You and Laxalt will govern the country out of dogmatic ideology that doesn't work.

Vanocur: Traveling across America, I sense that this election is not as inspiring to the average American as those in the past. We don't have a charismatic figure running, like Kennedy or Reagan. Why has this election been all about policy and not about charisma?
Dole: Nobody is as charismatic as President Reagan, Sander. If we tried, we'd look like fakes. I'm not going to be a fake.
Bentsen: I think President Reagan caused that situation, Sander. If he actually allowed a Republican primary to occur instead of anointing my old friend John Tower for the GOP, we might have a more charismatic individual in the race.
Dole: I think Vice President Laxalt is pretty charismatic. He's not Jack Kennedy, but he can charm people pretty well.
Bentsen: Senator Dole, I knew Jack Kennedy. No politician in my lifetime was like Jack Kennedy.
Dole: President Reagan is.
Bentsen: I repeat my point. Nobody is like Jack Kennedy.

The 60 million viewers gave Bentsen the edge over Dole. Glenn held a seven point lead, 51% to 44%, in the polls when the second presidential debate aired on October 21, 1984. Edwin Newman of the Paramount Television Network moderated the final debate.

Newman: Vice President Laxalt, aside from tax cuts, what is your economic plan? You've campaigned largely on social issues, but we haven't heard anything else from you on the economy.
Laxalt: I want a larger tax break for families. The more children you have, the larger a tax break you get. I think my opponent can support that.
Glenn: I would agree with that proposal, but I feel that we're penalizing young adults who haven't started a family yet. If you design a large family tax credit, you should design a college education tax credit as well.
Laxalt: I am firmly opposed to a college education tax credit. That is a giveaway to young people who haven't paid their dues yet.
Glenn: I don't think young Americans are going to like that response very much, Mr. Vice President.
Laxalt: We can't just spend and spend for everyone in the country, Senator. We only have so many dollars in the economy. Americans understand that, but Democrats don't.
Glenn: Young Americans still don't understand what you just said, Mr. Vice President.

Newman: As our final question, tell us something that the American people don't know about you, that makes you more relatable to them. There's been a relatability problem in this campaign, according to polls.
Laxalt: I go skiing at Lake Tahoe whenever I can. I don't often get back to Nevada, but Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Everyone should go there once before they die.
Glenn: I watch Star Trek every week.

According to snap polls, sixty percent of American voters thought Glenn won the final debate. Once again, the senator from Ohio held a nine point lead, 53% to 44%, and time was running out. Vice President Laxalt seemed to accept the inevitable at a campaign stop in California after the final debate. "The only poll that matters is on Election Day," Laxalt said. "None of the polls had Truman winning in 48 but he won. I'll pull a Harry Truman." However, the polls didn't budge, even after a late October surprise claimed that Glenn had sexual relations with a woman other than his wife, Annie. Americans just weren't buying what Lee Atwater was selling.

REAGAN, GORBACHEV BREAK DEADLOCK
REYKJAVIK SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER

October 22, 1984

President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev finally broke the ice, after Gorbachev swore earlier in the year he would not meet his counterpart from Washington. The two leaders will meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, two weeks before Christmas. Arms control will be on the table, as both leaders seek a reduction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. "I'm glad we're holding this summit," Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said. "I wonder what could have been if the President were allowed to serve another term and improved his relationship with Mr. Gorbachev. We could have made some real progress, but most of the negotiations with Gorbachev will be left to the next White House." Experts believe it is unlikely that an arms control treaty will be signed, but are holding out for a breakthrough. "Gorbachev's hardliners don't want him to sign a nuclear arms deal yet, so most of the holdup is on his side," a source at the State Department said. "President Reagan wanted arms control ever since 1982, but he was never getting it with Andropov, and the Warsaw Pact war games earlier this year in response to NATO's Able Archer held up matters." The surprise summit announcement also caused some Washington officials to change their opinion of Gorbachev. "I think Gorbachev is willing to buck his hardliners and make his own policy," Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger said. "The question is, if Gorbachev comes home with an arms control deal, will his position as Soviet leader be in danger? The hardliners still hold a lot of sway in the Kremlin after Brezhnev and Andropov's rule."


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

Hat tip to @Ogrebear

EPISODE 51: ULTERIOR MOTIVES (Air date: October 2, 1984). President Roth opens up dialogue with Romulan Praetor Vespasian (played by Lorne Greene) regarding weapons of mass destruction. While the talks are occurring, Admiral Fitzpatrick receives a communication from Uhura stating that the Romulans stole poisoned darts from Gamma Trianguli and are planning to develop a chemical weapon. Roth breaks off the talks and Uhura's team are sent after the Tal Shiar. Fortunately for Uhura and company, the Romulans haven't been able to synthesize the chemical compound in the darts for industrial production. Uhura's team steals back the darts, and the Tal Shiar offer chase. Chekov and Nerva discover that the Romulans weren't there to develop a chemical weapon after all; there was a plague on Romulus killing 5% of the infected population and they had no cure for the virus. Uhura is against helping the Romulans but Chekov convinces her that it is the right thing to do, and could bring peace between the two empires. Uhura gives her consent; Chekov and Nerva develop the cure, along with a female Romulan scientist, Rivak. President Roth discovers the reason the Romulans stole the darts; he and Praetor Vespasian agree to arms control talks.

EPISODE 52: BACK TO MIRI (Airdate: October 9, 1984). Lt. Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) contacts Uhura regarding the ongoing project on Earth 2 (from Miri). She has heard from a contact there that 'foreigners' have been sniffing around trying to learn the secrets of the Life prolongation project' - Marx is sent with Orion operative Neras (Kimberly L. Ryusaki) to pose as outsiders and investigate. Earth 2 has been much cleaned up (still looks like the 60's-cheap sets) and a UFP presence is obvious. Marx and Neras find there are still some children about, but also some are now adults and want off the planet who are willing to hand over secrets for passage off-world. Miri herself (Kim Darby) helps them break up the ring and expose the Orions behind it.

EPISODE 53: DIVIDING THE EMPIRE (Airdate: October 16, 1984). On one of the UFP Klingon worlds, Karlax is part of a crew delivering supplies. He says a few things about 'not having to be reliant on the Federation' which gets little traction from the other Klingons (smooth and ridged headed) some of which berate him for being 'behind the times'. At a bar, Karlax is approached by Valkris (Cathie Shirriff) who offers him a chance to 'gain honor against the UFP.' the two hit it off. It becomes clear Valkris is also a Starfleet operative trying to get close to a terrorist leader. After briefing him, Karlax is brought further into an organization trying to drive the UFP off the worlds and return them to the Empire 'the sheep who like the luxury, be damned' who are led by Torg (Stephen Liska) on behalf of a bigger leader- the name of which is Valkris' true target. Karlax suspects the leader to be Kruge but does not know it yet.

EPISODE 54: GENOCIDE ON BETA POLARIS (Airdate: October 23, 1984). We discover that Karlax and Valkris are after Kruge, whose home planet is Beta Polaris, the Klingon colony given free world status by the Intergalactic Council of Peace. Kruge returns to Beta Polaris with several Birds of Prey. He divides the population between those loyal to him and those loyal to the Federation. Starfleet Intelligence detects that Kruge is planning a massacre, and Uhura's team is brought in to investigate. Unfortunately for Uhura, her decision to release Kruge is wrong, and Kruge massacres over a thousand Klingon colonists deemed disloyal to the Empire before Uhura has a chance to capture him. Uhura feels guilty for allowing the massacre and offers to resign her commission to Admiral Fitzpatrick, but Admiral Kirk intervenes and persuades his former communications officer to stay in Starfleet. Uhura has a dream where she kills Kruge in cold blood, and screams out in anguish. She talks to Karlax and asks why Klingons like Kruge behave in that manner. Karlax says that there is nothing Uhura can do about Klingon customs, and that the massacre is not her fault; massacres like Beta Polaris occur regularly within Klingon territory. Kruge is placed on a Federation most wanted list, and Admiral Fitzpatrick sends a mission to Orion space to find him...only for the ships to disappear, never to return. Meanwhile, Kruge cultivates another contact at Regula One...

Vignettes: Genocide on Beta Polaris would be nominated for an Emmy Award in 1985 for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series and Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series. Harve Bennett said of the episode, "it was the most emotional we ever produced. Seeing Kruge commit genocide against his own people was not only a shocking moment for television, but raised the stakes for Star Trek III," which premiered on November 8, 1984.

 

[dsp19]

Hat tip to @TheFaultsofAlts

Here is the Paramount Television Network Schedule for 1984-1985:

Monday:
7:00: Entertainment Tonight
7:30: Wheel of Fortune
8:00: Webster
8:30: The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones
9:00: Family Ties
9:30: Cheers
10:00: Paramount Reports with Ed Bradley

Tuesday:
7:00: Entertainment Tonight
7:30: Wheel of Fortune
8:00: Star Trek: Starfleet Intelligence
9:00: Battleground: Earth
10:00: Andromeda

Wednesday:
7:00: Entertainment Tonight
7:30: Wheel of Fortune
8:00: Brothers
8:30: Paramount Sports Spectacular
9:00: The Love Boat
10:00: Call to Glory

Thursday:
7:00: Entertainment Tonight
7:30: Wheel of Fortune
8:00: The Wonderful World of Disney
9:00: Fantasy Island
10:00: Doctor Who

Friday:
7:00: Entertainment Tonight
7:30: Wheel of Fortune
8:00: Walter Cronkite Presents
9:00: Paramount Friday Night at the Movies

Saturday:
7:00: Disney Family Album
7:30: EPCOT Magazine
8:00: Hometown
9:00: Paramount Saturday Night at the Movies

Sunday:
8:00: Paramount Reports with Roger Mudd
9:00: The Big Show

Saturday Morning:
8:00: Disney’s Famous Creations
10:00: Bernard and Bianca: Rescue Rangers
10:30: Adventures of the Gummi Bears
11:00: Raw Toonage
11:30: The Little Rascals(reruns)
12:00: Paramount Sports Programming

Sunday Morning:
7:00: Around the World with Merlin(reruns)
7:30: The Adventures of Br’er Rabbit(reruns)
8:00: The Fonz, Laverne, Shirley, Mork and Mindy Hour(reruns)
9:00: The Peak of Information
11:00: Paramount Sports Programming

Weekdays:
6:00 AM: The Morning Report
7:00 AM: Paramount Television's Morning in America
9:00 AM: Contraption
9:30 AM: Press Your Luck
10:00 AM: Mousercise
10:30 AM: Anything for Money
11:00 AM: The Disney-Paramount Vault
12:30 PM: The Disneys and The Fleischers
1:30 PM: Guiding Light
2:30 PM: Welcome to Pooh Corner
3:00 PM: Dumbo’s Circus
3:30 PM: You and Me, Kid
4:00 PM: Star Trek (reruns)
5:00: Local News
6:00: Paramount Reports with Lester Holt (in small markets); Local News in larger markets
6:30: The Paramount Evening News with Ed Bradley

 

[dsp19]

November 6, 1984

A Christmas present to my readers! The 1984 Presidential Election is here. John Glenn and Paul Laxalt finished campaigning in their home states of Ohio and Nevada respectively, and they await their fate from the voters. The Paramount Evening News, with Ed Bradley, Walter Cronkite, Edwin Newman, Harry Reasoner, Roger Mudd and young reporters Lester Holt and Connie Chung give us the breakdown.

7:00 PM

Announcer: From Election Night Headquarters in New York, this is the Paramount Evening News, presenting Election 1984. Tonight's telecast is presented to you by Ford Motor Company, Apple Computers, and General Motors. Here from New York, Ed Bradley and Walter Cronkite.

Bradley: This marathon 1984 presidential campaign has finally come to a close. Today is the most special day in our democracy, or any democracy. You, the voter, have the most powerful voice of all. You decide every four years who our next President of the United States will be. Every two years, you decide on the makeup of the next Congress. I am proud to be anchoring an Election Night broadcast for the first time, as it is the most important duty for any newscaster in the United States. Next to me is a man who needs no introduction; he has anchored many Election Nights over at CBS, and is now anchoring his first here at Paramount. Mr. Walter Cronkite.

Cronkite: That was a wonderful welcome, Ed! Tonight, fifty states and the District of Columbia choose our next President through the Electoral College. There are 538 Electoral College votes, and 270 are required for one of our candidates to get over the top, and be elected as the 40th President of the United States. We've made a little change to the colors on the map this year. States won by Democratic candidate John Glenn will be shaded in blue, while states won by Republican candidate Paul Laxalt will be shaded in red. Roger Mudd will break down the Senate for us tonight. Roger.

Mudd: Thirty-three seats are at stake tonight in the Senate. The Democrats currently hold a whopping 63 of the 100 seats in the body, one of the largest majorities in years. We don't expect them to make major gains beyond that point, despite the fact that the top of the ticket is doing well in the polls. The Democrats have 18 seats to defend, while the Republicans have 15 of their 37 seats at risk. One of the closest Senate races in the country is in Kentucky, which is a tossup between Democratic incumbent Walter Huddleston and his Republican challenger, Jefferson County judge Mitch McConnell. Senator Glenn made a stop in Kentucky yesterday to campaign both for himself and Huddleston, and it appears that his stop paid off. Huddleston leads McConnell by 4 percent, with 25 percent of the precincts reporting. We will keep a close eye both on Kentucky in the presidential race and the Senate race as bellwethers for the national vote, perhaps an indication of how well Senator Glenn is doing. Covering the House of Representatives is Edwin Newman, who has a special announcement to make.

Newman: Tonight's broadcast will be my final one as a newscaster. I will be retiring to enjoy more time with my family. But for one last time, I suppose it's important to give our viewers the breakdown of the House of Representatives. The Democrats also have a large majority in the House of Representatives, with 262 seats, to 173 for the Republicans. Republican minority leader Bob Michel hoped to make a gain of fifteen to twenty seats due to the Democrats being overstretched, primarily in the South, but Speaker of the House Morris Udall anticipates that the Democrats will maintain their large majority. I'll pass it on to my old friend Harry Reasoner for the governor's races.

Reasoner: Usually, most of the governor's races are held in off-year elections. However, we do have a few notable elections this time around. A very young, charismatic Democrat from Arkansas, Bill Clinton, occupies that seat, and is favored for reelection. Democratic party insiders expect Clinton to make plans for higher office in the future, and they are definitely keeping an eye on him. In Vermont, a normally Republican seat could be occupied by a Democratic woman. Madeleine Kunin is running a very close race against the favored Republican, John Easton. In North Carolina, Senator Glenn made a stop to campaign for Rufus Edmisten, who is facing a tough battle against James Martin. In Utah, the Republicans, who are a large majority there, will likely pick up that seat. We'll pass it back to Ed and Walter at the front desk.

Bradley: Paramount would like to welcome two new, young reporters to the team. This is their first Election Night broadcast, and we have embedded them with each of the campaigns. First, Connie Chung with the Glenn campaign, holding their election night party in Columbus, Ohio.

Chung: The mood at Glenn headquarters is one of relief and anticipation. Glenn expects that he will win in a landslide, and most of the polling agrees with him. Glenn was campaigning in the South, in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky, for most of the last two weeks. He believes that all four states are winnable, and if any of them go his way, it'll be an indication that they'll start the party early. Annie Glenn was a little nervous. Part of the reason why Senator Glenn kept out of the spotlight for several years was due to Annie Glenn's speaking issues. However, Annie has seen a specialist, and will speak tonight along with her husband if the Glenn campaign is victorious. She told me that First Lady Annie Glenn has a nice ring to it. Back to you in the studio, Ed.

Bradley: Our other major new addition to the team is Lester Holt, who is covering the Laxalt campaign. How is the mood over there in Las Vegas?

Holt: Laxalt himself is upbeat, and the crowd is hopeful, but I think there is already some resignation setting in. They're seeing the early returns from Kentucky and Indiana, and they're groaning a little bit. Laxalt is with his wife, Carol, and they're more optimistic than the rest of the Republicans. Laxalt believes he'll win most of the states in the South, he'll win California, and maybe make inroads in Michigan and Wisconsin, where Glenn was leading but showed some weakness. Outside of Laxalt headquarters, Vegas is what you expect Vegas to be. There's a lot of gambling action on the Strip, and some of the money is pouring into this presidential campaign. Back to you in the studio.

Bradley: With all the introductions now out of the way, it's time to get to brass tacks. Indiana and Kentucky are too close to call in the Presidential race at this moment. Senator Glenn leads Vice President Laxalt by four points, 52% to 48% in Kentucky. In Indiana, Laxalt leads by two points, 51% to 49 percent. The Paramount election team cannot make a call on either race at this time.

Cronkite: In the last three elections, Indiana and Kentucky were called fairly quickly for the Republican candidate. The fact that they are tossups, or in the case of Kentucky, possibly leaning Democratic, is a very bad sign for Vice President Laxalt. It portends to an early night. We haven't really had an early Election Night since President Johnson's landslide in 1964.

8:00 PM

Bradley: It is 8:00 PM on the East Coast, and Paramount Evening News has several calls to make. Ohio, the home state of Senator Glenn, will go into his column, as expected. No Republican has ever won the Presidency without Ohio. Normally, Ohio can go either way in Presidential elections, but due to Glenn's strength there as a hometown hero, Laxalt chose not to campaign there. Ohio, for Senator Glenn, and its 23 electoral votes. Several other states have fallen into the Glenn column. The District of Columbia, which is almost 90% Democratic, belongs to Senator Glenn. Three electoral votes. Massachusetts, a Democratic bastion, goes to Glenn with a potential 68% of the vote. Massachusetts has 13 electoral votes. Connecticut will go to Glenn in a landslide with 60% of the vote. Eight more electoral votes in the Glenn column. West Virginia, a state that Democrats thought was trending away from them due to Reagan conservatism, snaps right back into the Democratic column. Six electoral votes for Glenn; 64% of the vote projected. Maryland, another state trending heavily away from the Republicans, is called at the moment the polls close. Sixty-three percent of the vote projected for Senator Glenn there, and its 10 electoral votes go into the Democratic column.

Cronkite: This looks like a wipeout.

Bradley: It appears that way. We're getting precinct data from all over the country that shows Senator Glenn potentially winning in a landslide. Glenn is also projected to pick up Delaware's 3 electoral votes, where Senator Biden will also win, with 60% of the vote. All of Maine's 4 electoral votes will go Democratic. In a major surprise, we're also projecting the normally Republican state of Vermont to go Democratic. Glenn will win 55% of the vote there, according to Paramount's election desk. Rhode Island, with three electoral votes, was an easy win for Senator Glenn, with 66% of the vote. Vice President Laxalt has picked up Alabama, with its 9 electoral votes. However, the Vice President is projected to win only 57% of the vote there. The Vice President did better in Mississippi, where we project him to win 60% of the vote, and carry its 7 electoral votes. The map shows Senator Glenn with 73 electoral votes, and Vice President Laxalt with 16.

Cronkite: The way this is going, we'll know by 9:30 PM at the latest who is going to be the President. I suspect Senator Glenn is preparing his victory speech right now for the White House. The fact that many states that went Republican in the last three elections in the South, outside of Alabama and Mississippi, are uncalled, means this is a long night for the Vice President. What do you think, Roger Mudd.

Mudd: Vice President Laxalt is running far behind President Reagan in both of his victories in the South. I believe at the end of the night, there will not be a Solid South; it will be split between the parties. Bad news for the GOP.

Reasoner: Madeleine Kunin will become the first female governor of Vermont, Paramount Evening News projects. A historic moment for that state.

Bradley: States too close to call include Kentucky, with Glenn holding a narrow lead; Indiana, with Laxalt holding a narrow lead, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Vice President Laxalt has an edge in Oklahoma, but it's too early to call yet.

8:30 PM

Bradley: We have several very important calls to make at 8:30 PM at Paramount Evening News Election Night headquarters. Kentucky, which had previously gone Republican in the last four presidential elections, is carried by Senator Glenn. He'll win 52.5% of the vote in Kentucky, and carry its 9 electoral votes.

Mudd: If I may interrupt, Ed, Senator Huddleston will also hold his seat in Kentucky, defeating Mitch McConnell with 51.5% of the vote.

Cronkite: That was the bellwether to determine if we were going to have a long evening or a short one. Kentucky. It's a conservative state but it voted Democratic this time, both for President and for its incumbent Democratic senator.

Bradley: Another Southern state will also go Democratic. Virginia, which had also gone Republican in the previous four elections, goes to Senator Glenn, with 53% of the vote. Its 13 electoral votes go in the Democratic column.

Mudd: The Republican Solid South is not solid at all in this election.

Cronkite: It most certainly won't be. The Republicans have relied on a Southern strategy to win three of the last four presidential elections, but it has fallen flat here.

Bradley: We can make calls on two other states. New Jersey, with 16 electoral votes, will go to Senator Glenn. New Jersey has been a tightly contested state in the last last four elections, but Glenn will carry it comfortably, with 55% of the vote. Oklahoma, normally Republican at the presidential level, stays that way. Vice President Laxalt wins Oklahoma with 57% of the vote. Its 8 electoral votes will go Republican. At the moment, Senator Glenn is winning 111 electoral votes, and Vice President Laxalt is winning 23.

Cronkite: Even in the Republican states, the wins aren't convincing enough. I don't think Vice President Laxalt will carry a single industrial Midwest state aside from maybe Indiana.

9:00 PM

Bradley: It is 9:00 PM on the East Coast, and the Paramount election desk has several very important calls to make. Florida, another state carried by the Republicans in the last four Presidential elections, goes to Senator Glenn. He is projected to win its 21 electoral votes with 53.5% of the vote. Glenn's status as an astronaut certainly helped him there. Pennsylvania, with 25 electoral votes, a state neighboring Ohio and very similar in its industrial nature, goes to Senator Glenn. He'll win 56% of the vote there. New York, where Vice President Laxalt saw an opportunity to attack Senator Glenn over his Israel record, goes Democratic. New York and its significant 36 electoral votes 56% for the Senator from Ohio, according to Paramount's projections. Arkansas, another relatively conservative Southern state, goes to Glenn. Bill Clinton's presence as a popular Democratic governor helped Glenn there. Fifty-three percent of Arkansas's vote will go to Glenn, and its 6 electoral votes go Democratic. Vice President Laxalt has carried South Carolina, with its 8 electoral votes. However, it was a struggle, as Laxalt only won 53% of the vote in the very conservative Palmetto State. At the moment, Senator Glenn looks to be running away with it. He has 199 electoral votes, and Vice President Laxalt trails far behind, with only 31. Walter Cronkite.

Cronkite: It's only a matter of time now. I see no path for the Vice President to pull this out, even if he is stronger in the West. There just aren't enough electoral votes in the West for Laxalt, if Glenn is dominating most of the states in the East.

9:30 PM

Bradley: At 9:30 PM on the East Coast, Paramount has three more significant projections to make. North Carolina, a state that voted for President Reagan twice, goes Democratic. John Glenn wins North Carolina with 52.5% of the vote. North Carolina, and its 13 electoral votes, go Democratic. Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, and its important 24 electoral votes, goes to Senator Glenn. Glenn is projected to win Illinois with 54% of the vote. Minnesota and its 10 electoral votes also go for Senator Glenn. Glenn will easily carry the land of Ten Thousand Lakes with 57% of the vote. Vice President Laxalt narrowly carries Georgia, with its 12 electoral votes. The Vice President will win 52% of the vote in the Peach State. At the moment, Senator Glenn is almost over the top. He has won 246 electoral votes, to Vice President Laxalt's 43.

Cronkite: John Glenn can start measuring the drapes in the Oval Office now.

9:45 PM

Bradley: At 9:45 PM, Paramount Evening News has called the Presidential race. Michigan, and its 20 electoral votes, will go to Senator Glenn with 53% of the vote. New Hampshire, with its 4 electoral votes, will go to Senator Glenn with 52% of the vote. Senator Glenn's victories in Michigan and New Hampshire give him exactly 270 electoral votes, the magic number that ensures victory in the Electoral College. John Herschel Glenn has been elected the 40th President of the United States, and is officially the President-elect until January 20, when he will be sworn into the Oval Office. Walter Cronkite.

Cronkite: I was there for CBS News in 1962, covering John Glenn the astronaut, who became the first American to orbit the Earth. It is a historic occasion for the country that an astronaut becomes President for the first time. Senator Lloyd Bentsen becomes Vice President-elect, along with President-elect Glenn. It appears to be a landslide victory for the Democrats, with majorities in Congress maintained.

Mudd: The coast is clear for President-elect Glenn. He'll have at least 60 Democratic senators and a large House majority. He can truly transform this country if he wants to. The Republicans never really stood a chance once the allegations against former Vice President Tower were revealed. Vice President Laxalt, for all of his talents, was a second-tier emergency candidate who was never presidential timber. He answered the call because the Republicans needed him.

Cronkite: I wonder if Senator Dole, who was considered for the top of the ticket, would have made a better choice to face Glenn. Laxalt was never entirely convincing as a presidential candidate. At times, I'm not even sure if he wanted the job.

Mudd: I think some blame for the Republican defeat has to be laid at the feet of President Reagan, Walter. He never really allowed a primary process to occur, and simply thought that Vice President Tower would carry the torch. Once Vice President Tower resigned, there was nobody really ready to run a campaign. Senator Dole might have performed a little better, but I still think the result works out the same way.

Bradley: We're hearing that Senator, excuse me, President-elect Glenn, will address his supporters in an hour. Connie Chung.

Chung: It is party time at Glenn headquarters in Columbus. Absolute elation over here. When you announced that Glenn had clinched the victory, the party broke out the Ohio State fight song. They're still singing it.

Bradley: Ohio will have a President for the first time since Warren Harding in 1920.

Cronkite: Ohio is traditionally the home of Presidents. I'm not sure how many of them were good Presidents, though. We hope President-elect Glenn will be more successful than Taft and Harding.

Bradley: We also have to hear from Lester Holt in Las Vegas. The Laxalt people and Laxalt himself must be deflated.

Holt: Vice President Laxalt is definitely unhappy, but I believe he was resigned to defeat for weeks. He was putting on a brave face at several campaign stops, but I think everybody knew what the results were two weeks ago. Laxalt has announced he will give a concession speech within the hour.

Bradley: President Reagan has called President-elect Glenn to congratulate him on a well-run campaign. The President has promised a smooth transition period, starting tomorrow. President-elect Glenn will meet at the White House with President Reagan to discuss matters of succession.

11:45 PM

Excerpts from John Glenn's victory speech...

Glenn: We ran a campaign on what we believe is possible in America. America has always been a land of possibility, above all else. Our Founding Fathers designed this great experiment to give its people that possibility, but did not create a perfect union at first. We had to strive for over 200 years to make the union better for all Americans. We will take this country where it has never gone before. We will remove the scourge of child poverty, like my predecessors Lyndon Johnson and Ed Muskie attempted to do. We will create more opportunity for the Americans who are struggling the most.

I am reminded of one of my favorite television characters, Captain Kirk. He did not believe in a no-win scenario. In America, we don't believe in no-win scenarios. There is always an answer for our problems. If it takes a month, a year, a presidential term, or even a lifetime, we will always find the answer, because America is an exceptional nation that confronts whatever ills it faces and vanquishes them. That's how we became leader of the free world, and that's how we'll continue being the greatest nation on earth.

Before I go, I must thank my wife Annie. Without her, none of this is possible. Annie is the best wife a man could ever have, and she'll make us proud as the First Lady. Thank you, and God bless these United States.

Post-mortem:

The 1984 election was a landslide; the first true landslide since President Johnson's decisive victory over Barry Goldwater. Democrats couldn't beat Reagan himself, but they beat what he represented, and looked to reshape the country dramatically with President Glenn. Democrats, on the strength of Bentsen, even carried Texas, although that wasn't decided until a week later in a recount.

GLENN/BENTSEN: 427 EV, 53.6% PV
LAXALT/DOLE: 111 EV, 45.1% PV

 

[dsp19]

The Democrats entered the 1984 election with 63 Senate seats, and the Republicans entered with 37 Senate seats. The following seats changed hands:

Illinois: Paul Simon (D) def. Charles Percy (R-inc)--Democratic gain
New Hampshire: Gordon Humphrey (R) def. Thomas McIntyre (D-inc)--Republican gain
New Mexico: Garrey Caruthers (R) def. Toney Anaya (D-inc)--Republican gain
North Carolina: Jim Hunt (D) def. Jesse Helms (R-inc)--Democratic gain
Tennessee: Al Gore (D) def. Victor Ashe (R)--Democratic gain, Republican Howard Baker retired
Texas: Phil Gramm (R) def. Jim Wright (D-inc)--Republican gain

Iowa: Tom Harkin (D) def. Richard Jepsen (R)--Democratic hold, Democrat Richard Clark retired
Massachusetts: John Kerry (D) def. Ray Shamie (R)--Democratic hold, Democrat Paul Tsongas retired
West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller (D) def. John Raese (R)--Democratic hold, Democrat Jennings Randolph retired

Therefore, the Senate remained exactly the same. 63 Democratic senators, with Robert Byrd (D-WV) as majority leader, and 37 Republican senators, with Bob Dole (R-KS) returning to the Senate after losing the race for President, as minority leader.

In the House, Republicans gained twelve seats, mostly in the South, after Democratic retirements. Morris Udall still had a majority of 250 seats and retained his speakership. The Republican caucus grew to 185 seats, and Bob Michel (R-IL) held his post as minority leader. John Glenn had large majorities in Congress, and sought to shape America in his image, in the time that he had. He knew that he would lose seats in the 1986 midterms, and had to act fast...

 

[dsp19]

This is the regular update. Just three articles today: The Star Trek cast goes out on a promotional push for Star Trek III, premiering on November 8; President-elect John Glenn dots the I at Ohio Stadium, plus a long feature on Michigan vs. Ohio State ITTL; and three of the most popular acts of the 1980s join Bob Geldof's Band Aid, in a prelude to Live Aid in 1985. Plus, more Starfleet Intelligence episodes. The rewritten parts of Star Trek III will be in the next couple of installments, plus the reaction to the movie will be its own small update.

STAR TREK CAST JOINS PARAMOUNT'S MORNING IN AMERICA

November 5, 1984

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley led the original Star Trek cast on Paramount's Morning in America to promote the newest Star Trek feature, The Search for Spock, to audiences. Nimoy, the director, told Paramount's Connie Chung and Lester Holt that Star Trek III is all about friendship, with touches of politics. "There's some political drama in the movie, which you'll see play out, similar to what we've seen on television in Starfleet: Intelligence, but it's not as politically heavy as Nichelle's series," Nimoy said. "Instead, this is a movie about friendship. What will the crew, especially Admiral Kirk, sacrifice to find their old friend, who is presumed dead?" To that, William Shatner said, "I sacrificed a heck of a lot," to laughter. Nimoy then said, "Let's not give the entire movie away, Bill." DeForest Kelley said that Star Trek III was the finest acting performance of his long career. "I think I was at my absolute best filming Star Trek III," Kelley said. "Leonard knew exactly how to play to our strengths. We've worked together for so many years, that it was just natural for Leonard to direct us." To that, Shatner replied, "Everyone responds better to Leonard directing them than they did to me directing them. At least I got that producer's credit, so I don't have to think about directing." Nimoy then responded, "Thank goodness you're not directing, Bill!," and the rest of the cast laughed. Nichelle Nichols said, "I get to do Starfleet: Intelligence things in this movie. The fans will definitely see a little connection between Starfleet: Intelligence and Star Trek III."

The Game: Michigan vs, Ohio State, 1984

And now, the Ohio State marching band presents the most iconic tradition in marching band history, the incomparable Script Ohio!

The drum major led the Best Damned Band in the Land, as they were known at the Old Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, out of their block O formation into the beginnings of Script Ohio. President-elect John Glenn was nervous. In fact, he was more nervous than at any point in the presidential campaign. What if Annie and I trip all over ourselves in front of 90,000 at Ohio Stadium? The band played Le Regiment, Ohio's version of the French military march, Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse. Although Glenn was not the biggest college band fan, he always found Script Ohio remarkable. How did they pull it off without anybody colliding with each other?, he mused, as the formation started tracing the big O in Ohio. As Le Regiment played, John and Annie stood near the 30 yard line, ready to dot the I. Usually, a senior sousaphone player dotted the I. This was a special occasion. Ohio elected its first President since 1920, and Script Ohio wasn't a tradition when Warren Harding was President. As a matter of fact, the Ohio State fans hate to bring up its origin; the more nationally acclaimed Michigan Marching Band performed it first, and taught it to the so-called Best Damned Band in the Land in the 1930s. To that point, Ohio could tell the state up north that they elected a bunch of Presidents; no President was ever born in Michigan. As the Script Ohio formed perfectly and the drum major approached the President-elect and the First Lady to be, the drum major told Mr. and Mrs. Glenn, "I'll do all the work. You just walk to where I point." As the final strains of Le Regiment played, the drum major did his high trot towards the I and pointed his lance down in a flourish. Mr. and Mrs. Glenn simply walked to where they were told, and they dotted the I, to the roars of the huge crowd. John and Annie started singing, along with the huge crowd:

In Old Ohio, there's a team
That's known thruout the land
Eleven warriors, brave and bold
Whose fame will ever stand
And when the ball goes over
Our cheers will reach the sky
Ohio Field will hear again
The Buckeye Battle Cry

Drive! Drive on down the field
Men of the scarlet and gray
Don't let them thru that line
We have to win this game today
COME ON OHIO!
Smash through to victory
We cheer you as we go
Our honor defend
So we'll fight to the end for O-HI-O!

As for the game, it was a celebration for the Buckeyes. Michigan had its worst team in Bo Schembechler's 15 years as coach, and Ohio State rolled to the Rose Bowl, 21-6, behind two touchdowns from All-Big Ten running back Keith Byars. As wonderful a day as it was for the Buckeyes, John Glenn, and the entire state of Ohio, nobody in the crowd at Ohio Stadium on the afternoon of November 17, 1984, including President-elect Glenn, knew that their beloved Buckeyes would not defeat Michigan again for seventeen years. Glenn would never see Ohio State defeat Michigan as President. An injured sophomore quarterback for the Wolverines, Jim Harbaugh, started the Sixteen Years of Dominance, as they were known in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh was like another famous captain with the first name Jim, just at quarterback; he was gutsy, commanded his team with an undisputed level of leadership, scrambled out of trouble, and always made the right decisions.

In 1985, Michigan entered The Game as the #1 team in the country, ready to avenge their embarrassment from 1984. Michigan had a couple of close calls in 1985, but they had a dominant defense. They escaped Kinnick Stadium with a 13-9 win over then #1 ranked Iowa, when they were ranked #2. That dominant defense intercepted a pass at midfield with five minutes remaining and Michigan up 10-9 to save the Wolverines and vault them to #1. There, they remained, with a 9-0-1 record, inviting the Buckeyes into the Big House, Michigan Stadium. Ohio State gave as good as they got, scoring two touchdowns against a Michigan defense that conceded only five touchdowns all year to that point. But with nine minutes remaining and Michigan up 20-17, Harbaugh found John Kolesar deep down the field with a long pass under pressure. Harbaugh was hit hard by a Buckeye linebacker as he threw and never saw Kolesar run past the Ohio State defense for a touchdown, but he heard the roar of 100,000 Wolverine fans. Michigan won, 27-17, the fans stormed the field, and they went to the Rose Bowl #1. They would duly dispatch the overmatched UCLA Bruins, 24-9, in the Rose Bowl, and finish as the only undefeated team in the country, at 11-0-1 with a national championship. A trip to President Glenn's White House followed.

Harbaugh and Coach Schembechler motivated the 1986 Wolverines with the rallying cry, "Let's visit that so-and-so [language redacted] John Glenn in the White House again!" And they would (although they'd have to take their turn with Penn State, who also finished unbeaten). Michigan started 9-0, but almost lost to unfancied Minnesota. Harbaugh had to lead a late comeback to defeat the Gophers, 20-17. Then, two weeks later, The Game again. This time, in Columbus. Harbaugh guaranteed a victory and a trip to the Rose Bowl. With President Glenn in attendance, Ohio State smashed Michigan in the mouth for most of the first half, building a 14-6 halftime lead. But Harbaugh, just like Captain Kirk, rallied his Wolverines again. They eventually built a 26-24 lead, but Ohio State had a game winning field goal attempt. The kick missed wide left. Michigan was in the Rose Bowl again. There, they faced more drama, against Arizona State and future Ohio State coach John Cooper. Arizona State held a 22-15 lead with four minutes left. Harbaugh once again led the comeback. He found Greg McMurtry with a 25 yard touchdown pass to make the score 22-21 with 28 seconds left. Bo went for two, and Harbaugh found Kolesar in the end zone. Michigan won, 23-22, and finished 13-0. Their world famous fight song blared out in Pasadena:

Hail, to the victors valiant
Hail, to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail, hail to Michigan
The leaders and best!

Hail to the victors valiant
Hail, to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail, hail to Michigan
The champions of the West!

MICHAEL JACKSON, MADONNA, AND AN OBSCURE BAND, METALLICA, JOIN BAND AID, A MUSICAL RESPONSE TO THE ETHIOPIAN FAMINE

November 26, 1984

Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the obscure hard rock band Metallica were spotted in London yesterday with a who's who of famous British and Irish artists and Bob Geldof, the leader of Boomtown Rats. Crowds stormed the musicians for their autographs, who were ushered into their five-star hotel in London. When asked about their presence in London, Jackson said, "We're doing something about the famine in Africa. It's been ignored for far too long. It's time to take matters into our own hands." Madonna, the newly crowned Queen of Pop, agreed with the King of Pop. "Everyone overlooks Africa, and it's a damned shame," Madonna said. "We're going to bring attention to what is going on in Africa. Our negligence led to a famine and they can't feed their people. We're setting something really big up for 1985." Perhaps the most interesting comment came from Lars Ulrich, the Metallica frontman. He told the Times, "We recorded a Christmas song for the people out there who are in unfortunate circumstances," Ulrich said. "We have it so good in the free world, and we don't understand how others have it. We'd be shocked if we left our comfortable homes for the Third World, and saw just how dire their circumstances are. So James Hetfield, Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett and I decided to do something. We, along with Ozzy and Black Sabbath, are the most popular hard rock bands in the world, and we wanted to make a statement." Bob Geldof, the organizer of Band Aid, praised the presence of American artists. "We thought this would primarily be a British and Irish band performance, but the Americans joined in. We're setting up Live Aid for Ethiopia in 1985. It'll be the biggest concert in history."

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

There was no episode on November 6, 1984, due to Election Night coverage. Hat tip to @Ogrebear for Episode 55

EPISODE 55: THE MISSING. (Airdate: November 13, 1984). Uhura takes a private call from Spock. The Vulcan never appears on screen, but Nimoy would record the briefing for Uhura. Spock is asking her to look into his missing sister, Michelle Grayson, who is a Federation scientist who has gone missing during a mission. Spock is being stonewalled in his attempts to find out what happened to her and her crew on the Shanghai. Uhura expresses shock that Spock has a sister he never mentioned, but Spock advises that Michelle was his mother's first child born in 2220, and while she never lived on Vulcan, they became close friends and maintained a correspondence. Michelle vanished in 2279 while conducting some sort of propulsion experiment. Uhura promises to see what she can do. The search soon runs into a lot of dead-ends, missing data, and even dead Starfleet personnel. At first Uhura brings in the other members of the team in, but as the mystery deepened she choses to cut them out, leading to other members of the team worried about her, with Karlax and Nerva united in wanting to intervene. Chekov persuades them not and Marx tries to talk to Uhura only to be rebuffed. Uhura has them investigating a remote Federation system, seemingly unimportant. Tor discovers a trail of tachyon particles which Nerva deduces can only come from a ship - the Star Empire attempted such things. Uhura thanks them then vanishes back into her research with Chekov and Marx taking command. Uhura's research is going nowhere until she gets a contact out of the blue asking for a meeting, which will takes place in a literal paper-store at Memory Alpha. She goes alone, against advise. Wandering through massive stacks of boxes (filmed in the Star Trek Inc archive) Uhura meets a Starfleet Vulcan (played by William Bruce Davis) who says "the truth is in here" and hands her an actual physical folder. We never see the contents, but we see Uhura's face pass through several emotions (superb acting by Nichols) before she hands the folder back. "I understand," she says and walks away. Later Uhura is in her office, her assembled notes, evidence etc. is in front of her. She phasers all of it out of existence, then asks the computer for a line to Spock. We never hear their conversation as the credits roll.

EPISODE 56: THE BITTEREST OF ENEMIES (Airdate: November 20, 1984). On a mission to Gamma Beta IV, a world bordering Romulan space, Nerva is captured by the Tal Shiar, who have a bounty on his head after he defected. Nerva is brought back to Romulan space and tortured. Uhura asks Admiral Fitzpatrick to retrieve him, but is rebuffed. Talks between President Roth and Romulan Praetor Vespasian went poorly, and the Romulans decided to use the poison darts from Gamma Trianguli to develop a chemical weapon in addition to curing their people from the recent plague. Uhura finds out that the Romulans are developing the chemical weapon, and sends Chekov, Karlax and Marx to clean up the mistake they made when Chekov decided to help the Romulans. Chekov's team finds the Romulan base where the chemical weapon is being developed. The Tal Shiar plans to test the weapon on Nerva, but they realize that Chekov has slipped a placebo into the vial instead of the actual chemical weapon. Marx determines that there are 15 Romulans in the base, and Chekov leads them in breaking out Nerva. Uhura pilots a ship in cognito to the Romulan base to save Chekov and company, who retrieved the poison darts.

 

[dsp19]

IRL, Star Trek III was a very good movie, so I don't have to make significant changes to it. But it was the shortest of the original six movies, I believe, at an hour and 45 minutes, so there are places to add scenes. So here are some edits:

--Opening scenes with Kirk on the Enterprise and Kruge blowing up Valkris' small ship are the same as OTL, with the one difference being that the ship ITTL Kruge blows up is of Orion origin. After Kruge blows up the ship, he transmits the Genesis data to the Klingon High Council instead of keeping it to himself. The first change will be a scene that depicts the "galactic controversy" created by Genesis on the highest levels.

President Roth and Starfleet Commander Morrow are in a meeting at the President's residence in Paris.

President Roth: What is the status of Project Genesis, Admiral Morrow?
Morrow: Sir, Admiral Kirk reports that Enterprise and Reliant engaged in combat in the Mutara Nebula, Mutara sector. The Genesis Device was on Reliant when it was activated. The Mutara Nebula was transformed into a star with a planet orbiting it. We're calling it the Genesis Planet.
Roth: Was Project Genesis intended to be used in a nebula? How did Genesis reprogram the matter in the nebula? I thought it was only intended to be used on lifeless planets.
Morrow: Apparently, the Genesis matrix worked on gaseous matter in the nebula, sir.
Roth: Don't you realize that the Klingons and Romulans have star charts with the Mutara Nebula on them? Once they discover the nebula was transformed into a star system by unnatural means...
Morrow: I understand, sir. (Roth's communication system rings). Priority One message sir, from the Klingon Chancellor.
Roth: Good afternoon, Chancellor K'Pac.
Klingon Chancellor K'Pac (played by Toshiro Mifune): We have a serious matter to discuss, Mr. President. Our intelligence services have discovered the existence of a planet-destroying device created by Federation scientists.
Roth: The Federation's research is peaceful in nature. We created the device to terraform Sherman's Planet, which your forces destroyed in war.
K'Pac: You created a genocidal weapon! It is powerful enough to transform entire nebulas into star systems. How dare you develop a doomsday weapon in secret! The Klingon Empire will not stand for this!
Roth: We had no intention of creating a weapon of mass destruction, Chancellor.
K'Pac: A device with that power can destroy entire star systems. Elements in your government certainly want to use this monstrous weapon on Klingon planets. We will not sit idly by while you terrorize the galaxy. I have sent a scout to find more information about this super weapon. The Klingon High Council will enter a war footing, if we do not receive a suitable explanation for what your government did. (Chancellor K'Pac closes the channel).
Morrow: We've really stepped in it now, Mr. President.
Roth: The Mutara Sector is quarantined, except for the science vessel Grissom. No other ship can enter the sector. I will relay this message to the Chancellor.
Morrow: I'm not sure he's going to find that message to his liking, sir.
Roth: That's an order, Admiral. We have a galactic controversy on our hands. I do not intend to go to war over this.
Morrow: Aye, sir.

The movie is the same as OTL until Kruge's conversation with Maltz.

Maltz: Impressive, they can create planets.
Kruge: Oh yes. New cities, homes in the country, your woman at your side, children playing at your feet. And overhead, fluttering in the breeze, the flag of the Federation. We were subjects under that flag on Beta Polaris. We'll never be thrown to our knees again.
Maltz: Yes, my lord.
Kruge: I have shared this information with the Klingon High Council.
Maltz: To get back in their good graces.
Kruge: To eventually take control of the Empire myself!
Maltz: Certainly, my lord.
Kruge: Chancellor K'Pac dithers. He cannot wage a war with the Federation. After we visit this planet, I will lead a coup against the Chancellor. His emissaries are negotiating peace with the Federation. We will act for the preservation of our race! We will seize the secret of this weapon. The secret of ultimate power!
Torg: Success, my lord.

Continuing on, the movie remains the same until Kirk talks with Morrow.

Kirk: Then I'll find a ship, I'll hire a ship.
Morrow: Out of the question, my friend! Look, we've worked through the ranks together to the top of Starfleet. We go all the way back to the Academy, Jim. The Federation President and Council has ordered that no one but the science team goes to Genesis. Jim, your life and your career stand for rationality, not intellectual chaos. Keep up this emotional behavior and you'll lose everything.
Kirk: My rank, and even a potential promotion to Starfleet Commander, is less meaningful than the loyalty I've built with my crew over decades. I have no choice but to try.
Morrow: Of course, Jim. You understand the consequences of your actions if you defy orders from the President and Council. Court-martial, imprisonment.
Kirk: I do, sir. Thanks for the drink.
Morrow: Any time.
Sulu: The word, sir?
Kirk: The word...is no. I am therefore going anyway.

STEALING THE ENTERPRISE

Sulu judo-flips the guard.
Sulu: Don't call me tiny.
Sulu attempts to escape but several Starfleet guards surround him, and he is apprehended.

Kirk: Unit two, this is unit one. The Kobayashi Maru has set sail to the promised land.
Chekov: Message acknowledged. We cannot find Commander Sulu.
Kirk: Captured by Federation security. I'll go to the transporter room with Dr. McCoy. Chekov, break Sulu out for me.
Chekov: Aye, sir.
McCoy: You're taking me to the promised land?
Kirk: What are friends for? We've got to get Sulu out first. Kirk to Uhura.
Uhura: Yes, sir.
Kirk: When we get to the transporter room, find Commander Sulu. Chekov is already working on it.
Uhura: Aye, sir.

The part with Scotty and Captain Styles on the Excelsior is the same. We jump to Uhura and Mr. Adventure.

Uhura: Roger. Old City station at 2200 hours. All is well.
Intercom: Understood, Commander. All stations clear.
Mr. Adventure: You amaze me, Commander.
Uhura: Oh, how is that? (Uhura side-eyes Mr. Adventure).
Mr. Adventure: A 20 year space veteran, yet you choose the worst duty station in town. I mean look at this place, this is the hind end of space.
Uhura: Peace and quiet appeals to me, Lieutenant.
Mr. Adventure: Well maybe that's OK with somebody like you, whose career is winding down. But me, I need some challenge in my life, some adventure. Maybe even a surprise or two.
Uhura: You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.
Kirk: Good evening, Commander. Is everything ready.
Uhura: Step into my parlor, gentlemen. I'll make sure Chekov and Sulu are right behind you.
Mr. Adventure: That's Admiral Kirk, my god!
Uhura: Very good for you, Lieutenant.
Mr. Adventure: But it's damn irregular. No destination orders, no encoded IDs.
Uhura: All true.
Mr. Adventure: Well, what are we going to do about it?
Uhura: I'm not going to do anything about it. You're going to sit in the closet.
Mr. Adventure: The closet? Have you lost all sense of reality?
Uhura famously pulls her phaser.
Uhura: This isn't reality. This is fantasy. You wanted adventure? How's this? The old adrenaline going? Good boy. Now get in the closet.
Mr. Adventure: OK, OK.
Uhura: Go on, go on!
Mr. Adventure: I'll just get in the closet, OK!
McCoy: I'm glad you're on our side.
Kirk: Can you help Chekov break out Sulu?
Uhura: Yes sir. I'll also have Mr. Adventure eating out of my hand, sir. And I'll see you all at the rendezvous. Oh and Admiral, all my hopes.

(Kirk and McCoy are beamed aboard the Enterprise. Uhura draws her phaser and leaves to find Chekov and Sulu. She walks down a couple of corridors and finds Chekov).

Chekov: Five Starfleet guards confining Sulu, Nyota.
Uhura: Nothing we haven't dealt with before, Pavel. Set phasers to stun.

(Uhura and Chekov set phasers to stun).

Uhura: What happened to our friend, Mr. Sulu? Why is he in confinement?
Guard 1: He assaulted a Starfleet security officer.
Uhura: Admiral Kirk orders Commander Sulu to be released.
Guard 2: We've got no such order (the guards pull phasers).
Chekov: I guess we'll have to stun you. (A phaser fight ensues. Uhura and Chekov are good shots and down all five guards. They free Sulu).
Uhura: Sulu, Chekov, get to the transporter room. I'll jam Starfleet communications.
Chekov: Understood. (Chekov and Sulu get to the transporter room and beam to the Enterprise. Uhura runs down another hallway to a room with a communications console).
Uhura: They've got no chance unless I do this. (Uhura gets to work on the console).

The rest of STEALING THE ENTERPRISE is the same as OTL. The scene immediately after Kirk successfully steals the Enterprise is with Uhura on Earth.

Uhura: Code planted into Spacedock, complete. Code planted into Starfleet communications, complete. They'll never find the Enterprise now.

(Guards approach Uhura's room with the communications console).

Guard 3: Freeze! Starfleet Commander's orders!
Uhura: My work is already done. (Uhura turns herself in. A few seconds later, a hooded man nerve-pinches one of the guards. They draw phasers on him).
Guard 4: Who are you?
Sarek: Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. Commander Uhura is under diplomatic protection from the Vulcan government. Hand her over to me.
Guards: Yes, sir.
Uhura: I'm glad you're here, Ambassador.
Sarek: Spare me the human platitudes, Commander. Did you make sure the Enterprise cannot be tracked by Starfleet?
Uhura: I did, sir.
Sarek: I will clear the diplomatic details with the Federation Council. Your only job is to board this spacecraft en route to Vulcan.
Uhura: Yes, sir.
Sarek: I anticipate that your friends will return to Vulcan once they've completed the mission.
Uhura: I don't think they have a choice in the matter, sir.

We move all the way to the battle scene between the Enterprise and the Bird of Prey.

Sulu: Klingon Bird of Prey sir, she's arming torpedoes!
Kirk: Fire, Mr. Scott! (The Klingon BoP is damaged). Good shooting, Mr. Scott. Precautionary, Mr. Chekov, shields up.
Chekov: Aye, sir.

Kruge: Emergency power! To the thrusters!

Chekov: Shields partially responsive. No shielding to engines.
Kirk: Scotty!
Scotty: The automation's overloading, Admiral. I didn't expect to take us into combat, you know.

Kruge: BaH! (Fire!)

The Enterprise is hit. Sparks fly up on the bridge.

Kirk: Scotty, what can you give me!
Scotty: No phasers. All I've got is photon torpedoes, sir.
Kirk: Fire photon torpedoes.
Scotty: Aye, sir

The Enterprise fires photon torpedoes, but the Bird of Prey avoids them.

Chekov: Torpedoes off target, sir.
Kirk: Damn it.

Back to the Bird of Prey.

Kruge: BaH! (Fire!)

The Bird of Prey fires a volley that hits the Enterprise's warp nacelle. Sparks fly everywhere. The rest of the scene is the same as OTL. We move forward to the point where David is killed.

Kirk: Saavik? David?
Saavik: Admiral, David is dead (tearfully instead of coldly).

(Kirk stumbles in front of the chair).

Kirk: You Klingon bastards, you killed my son. You Klingon bastards...you killed my son. You dishonorable Klingon bastards...

We move forward all the way to after the fight where Kirk kills Kruge. Kirk finds Spock and David's body, and they beam off the planet before Genesis is destroyed. Kirk has a moment with his deceased son, on the way to Vulcan.

Kirk: David...it's all my fault. I should have been there earlier. I should have beamed down to save you. How do I tell Carol? You didn't deserve this. It should have been me. (Kirk kneels and starts crying. Bones enters).
Bones: Jim, you did what you could. David set out his own path. He was his own man.
Kirk: He's still my son, Bones. I never got to know him the way I should have, Bones. It's all my fault.
Bones: Starfleet came first.
Kirk: Was it worth it? I've lost my career, the Enterprise, and my son.
Bones: We might save Spock...

Kirk's captured Bird of Prey arrives on Vulcan. The rest of the movie after this is the same as OTL.

 

[dsp19]

STAR TREK III RELEASED TO RAVE REVIEWS, BUT PLOT WAS OBVIOUS TO MANY
SHATNER PRAISED AS EMOTIONAL ADMIRAL KIRK

November 12, 1984

Star Trek III premiered last Thursday all over North America, and theaters were packed to the rafters throughout the weekend. The movie is estimated to take in $50 million on its first weekend, and gross a possible $225 million when its run is over. This is still a great return, but not as strong as Star Trek: The Motion Picture or Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Audiences were pleased with the ending, where Spock was brought back to life, but mildly disappointed with a plot that was relatively obvious. "If we didn't bring Spock back, the fans would have rioted," executive producer Harve Bennett said. "A million people could have written the script. If Paramount green lights a Star Trek IV, that will be a completely different movie." Audiences reacted positively to the scene where Kirk and company stole the Enterprise, especially the scenes where Commander Uhura used a phaser and Ambassador Sarek applied the Vulcan nerve pinch. "My favorite part was Sarek surprising the guard with a nerve pinch," a fan said. "I think the entire crowd applauded!" There was a very touching scene at the end of the movie where Shatner's Kirk is on the captured Klingon vessel, talking to his deceased son, David, who was killed by the Klingons. "That was the best acting I've ever seen out of William Shatner," another fan said. "He deserves an Academy Award nomination. I was touched by his emotions towards David. They were very real, and exposed Kirk as vulnerable." For the second time in three Star Trek movies, Shatner is receiving Oscar buzz. "We saw an element to Kirk's character that we've never seen before, and that is vulnerability," NBC film critic Gene Shalit said. "The scene where he is embracing his dead son is short, but iconic. Kirk letting his guard down was an Oscar-worthy moment, along with when he found out the aliens killed his son in cold blood."

GENE RODDENBERRY ENDORSES SHATNER FOR OSCAR NOD

November 28, 1984

Gene Roddenberry wasn't the biggest fan of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He sharply criticized the destruction of the USS Enterprise, calling it a scene played for shock and drama. To Roddenberry, the Enterprise was supposed to be "indestructible." Roddenberry also criticized the violence in the movie, including David Marcus's death, and the portrayal of some of the Klingons as brute savages. However, he lauded William Shatner's performance as Admiral Kirk. "This was by far Bill Shatner's shining moment," Roddenberry said. "Shatner works as hard as any actor in Hollywood. He gets a rap for being a ham, but he was perfect in this movie. Shatner deserves at least an Academy Award nomination, and probably should be favored for the Best Actor honor." Shatner will face serious competition just for the nomination. F. Murray Abraham was a tour de force as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus, and is considered the Best Actor favorite at the moment. Other acclaimed leading man performances include Albert Finney in Under the Volcano, Tom Hulce as Mozart in Amadeus, and Sam Waterston in The Killing Fields, released earlier this month. It is also expected that Jeff Bridges will receive consideration for Starman when that movie is released in December; early previews indicate that Bridges was excellent.


MAILBAG:

If Shatner doesn't win the Oscar this year, he never will. I know he gets criticized as a ham and he over-acts at times, but the scene where he kneels over his dead son David and talks to him was breathtaking. The entire audience cried with Admiral Kirk. There were certainly audience members who experienced the same, losing and burying a child. To see one of the classic American television and movie heroes go through the same was shocking, and made him mortal, relatable.

L.C., New York

I'm glad Kirk didn't leave David behind on Genesis. It would seem a little callous of him if he did. I was spellbound by the scene where he talks to David, and knows that David can't talk back. That was a bit of good acting by Merritt Butrick as well, playing dead. David is staring into his father's eyes, knowing nothing, but at the same time, calling out to be saved in his facial expressions. Kirk's guilt over his failure to save David was what any parent would feel if their son or daughter was lying dead in his arms.

R.J., Thousand Oaks, California

Star Trek III did not receive nearly as much attention from the Academy as its two predecessors, but William Shatner's emotional scenes were hailed as some of the best of the year in cinema. When the 1985 Academy Award nominations were revealed, the only nomination Star Trek III received was Shatner for Best Actor. Leonard Nimoy, who directed an excellent movie, was passed over for Best Director, but he did receive a nomination in another category: Senator Pat Geary in The Godfather, Part III, as Best Supporting Actor.

 

[dsp19]

The last update of 1984, and it's a long one. President-elect Glenn promises to run an administration for all Americans and announces his priorities while in the White House; President Reagan meets Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland, and hammers out an arms deal; The Godfather: Part III premieres in theaters just before Christmas, and more reaction from Star Trek III. Plus, Starfleet: Intelligence episodes, and the Starfleet: Intelligence crew throws a surprise birthday party for Nichelle Nichols (December 28).

GLENN PROMISES TO "GET DOWN TO BUSINESS" IN OVAL OFFICE
AMBITIOUS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, CABINET SELECTIONS PLANNED

December 4, 1984

President-elect John Glenn wasted no time unveiling his domestic agenda and several Cabinet selections. In a ninety-minute press conference, the President-elect promised a "Real Deal" for the American people that included improvements in infrastructure, changes in the Social Security program, filling gaps into Medicare and Medicaid to make the programs more accessible for all Americans, improved relations with the Soviet Union, and rebuilding the hollowed out Midwest and Northeast industrial areas. "Developing new infrastructure and fixing decaying infrastructure is priority one for this administration," Glenn said. "I see the roads are starting to fall apart, and buildings are getting old. That is unacceptable in this country. We're supposed to lead the world, not fall apart." Glenn's economic program consists of targeted tax cuts for the middle class and working class, while raising the taxes of the top tax bracket to 55 percent. "Everyday Americans deserve real relief, not what they've been getting from the last administration. We're going to get some tax breaks passed for those making under $45,000 per year." Glenn also promised changes in the Social Security program. "We're increasing the tax cap on Social Security to $150,000 to ensure the program remains solvent," Glenn said. "In addition, I'm allowing employees to withhold up to 20% of their Social Security tax to place into a retirement account managed by the government and linked to stock market performance."

The President-elect also called for a thaw with the Soviet Union. "I understand that President Reagan is heading to Iceland in a few days to hammer out a deal with Secretary Gorbachev on arms control," Glenn said. "When I'm President, we'll continue their work and remove the specter of mutually assured destruction from the world, as best we can. The Soviet Union is a tough negotiating partner, but do don't make peace with your friends, you make peace with your foes. I will be a peacemaker in the Oval Office." When pressed on the volatile situation in the Middle East, Glenn offered a variety of responses. "I'm glad that Secretary Gorbachev is removing troops from Afghanistan early next year. When he's able to get that done, we're going to force Iran and Iraq to stop their war. It is a blight on humanity that such atrocities are still permitted in the 1980s." Glenn also chimed in on potential negotiations between Israel and her Arab neighbors. "I will tell the Arab countries this, right now. Israel will never be driven into the sea. When they understand that basic premise, then we can start negotiations."

President-elect Glenn's Chief of Staff, Dale Butland, also announced a series of Cabinet selections and Administration posts:

Secretary of State: Jimmy Carter
Secretary of Defense: Henry "Scoop" Jackson
Treasury Secretary: Robert Rubin
Secretary of Labor: Hugh Carey
Attorney General: Brendan Byrne
Secretary of Education: Geraldine Ferraro
Secretary of the Interior: Pat Schroeder
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Jesse Jackson
Press Secretary: Mike McCurry
National Security Adviser: Cyrus Vance
Secretary of Transportation: Norman Mineta
Secretary of Agriculture: Bob Berglund
Secretary of Commerce: Harold Ford, Sr.
Secretary of Energy: Harold Brown
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Sharon Pratt Dixon
CIA Director: William Webster
United Nations Ambassador: Andrew Young

REAGAN, GORBACHEV REACH ARMS DEAL IN ICELAND

December 15, 1984

President Reagan and Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev announced the framework for an arms reduction deal in Iceland last night. In a joint press conference, Reagan and Gorbachev promised to reduce the number of intermediate-range nuclear missiles (IRNMs) on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The President and General Secretary also announced plans to reduce their stockpiles of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) by 25 percent. President Reagan lost leverage in negotiations in terms of the Strategic Defense Initiative, otherwise known as "Star Wars", due to the Republican defeat in the presidential election last month. President-elect Glenn promised to reduce investment into SDI and shift funding to NASA during the campaign. "Gorbachev had an advantage, because SDI wasn't on the table," Secretary of State Caspar Weinberger said. "However, I think we do not reach a deal if SDI was on the table. The Soviets would demand its end and the President would say no. I think the American voters unfortunately spoke on that front." The IRNM treaty crafted at Reykjavik requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate. President Reagan, in one of his final acts in office, and Secretary Kissinger will push for its adoption. "We cannot negotiate in good faith with the Soviets on arms reduction, get a deal done, and then get it shot down in the Senate," Kissinger said. "It's not the best deal in the world, but the Senate should pass the treaty." Gorbachev faces more obstacles at home than Reagan; hardline elements in the Politburo were against him even speaking to President Reagan in person. "Gorbachev is placing his premiership on the line," Kissinger said. "The Soviet defense ministry and the KGB are against this deal. Gorbachev will have to persuade them to reduce spending and change their defense posture from the Brezhnev and Andropov eras."

THE GODFATHER: PART III BLASTS ITS WAY TO TOP OF BOX OFFICE
OSCAR FAVORITE FOR 1985

December 24, 1984

Francis Ford Coppola's final movie in the Godfather epic premiered last week and immediately surged to the top of the box office. Starring Al Pacino as the ruthless mobster Michael Corleone and Leonard Nimoy as the just-as-ruthless Senator Pat Geary, The Godfather: Part III was installed as a co-favorite for Best Picture in 1985 along with Amadeus. In the movie, Senator Geary is running for President, and part of his platform is rooting out organized crime. As a law and order candidate, he triggers the arrest of all major members of the Corleone family, including Michael, the crime boss. In response, Corleone reveals Geary's affairs with prostitutes, and sinks his presidential ambitions. A campaign of vengeance results between Corleone, indicted on charges of racketeering, and Geary, permanently stained by his illicit behavior. Eventually, Corleone wins his trial in a controversial acquittal after threatening members of the jury, and Geary is forced to resign from the Senate when more evidence comes out that he acted as an associate of Corleone's in acquiring the Nevada gaming licenses. With Geary no longer in the Senate, he hires his own thugs to eliminate the Corleones, but fails. In a dramatic climactic scene, Corleone confronts Geary himself. Both men are gunned down by their respective thugs, but the Corleone family lives on through Michael's son. Vincent (Andy Garcia), who takes over the gambling empire in Nevada and the illicit businesses in New York. "The sheer hatred Corleone has for Geary, and vice versa, cut through the screen," Gene Siskel, film critic for the Chicago Tribune, said. "This was just as good as the first two Godfather installments. Normally, sequel-itis rears its ugly head, and the third Godfather is a notch below the first two, but it is still Academy Award worthy."

PARAMOUNT GREEN LIGHTS ANOTHER STAR TREK MOVIE
BENNETT PROMISES COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ADVENTURE

December 29, 1984

Following the successful performance of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in theaters, Paramount put out the completely expected news that a fourth Star Trek movie would be placed into production, with a potential release date in 1986. Star Trek fans enjoyed this outing, but Harve Bennett heard their pleas about wanting a more light-hearted story for the fourth installment. "We're going to move in a completely different direction for number four," Bennett said. "It's going to be a comedy, a fish out of water adventure. We've thrown enough heavy content at our fans, and we'll let them relax a bit." Leonard Nimoy, who directed Star Trek III, made another request of Bennett: "We had space battles in the first three movies. We can make a successful Star Trek without space battles, and make just as much money. The fans are demanding it. In fact, I think we can make two Star Trek movies without a phaser fired in anger if we wanted." Before Star Trek IV starts filming, Bennett's focus returns to the hit television series Starfleet: Intelligence and a potential television movie involving the original cast. "We're going to continue Starfleet Intelligence, with a new introduction stating that all these events occurred in the past. We're also trying to get the main cast from the old show back for a movie based on Vulcan. We've got a lot to work with, especially with Kirk and Spock's situations, to produce a nice, slower-paced, drama with the Enterprise crew stranded on Vulcan as fugitives."


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

Hat tip to @Ogrebear for Episode 59

EPISODE 57: THE DENEVAN FAMINE. (Airdate: December 4, 1984). Uhura's team is assigned to Deneva, where a famine is occurring due to a change in climactic conditions. The Denevan governor, Durassa, designs a program where only those citizens who work for the government and swear fealty to him will be fed. The rest of the population will starve. Uhura's team is outraged by this, and Uhura, remembering what Kodos the Executioner did on Tarsus IV, threatens to kill Durassa for planning to starve her people. Uhura offers Federation aid, but it is denied. Marx finds out that Durassa is infected by a parasite that is not only altering the behavior of many in her government, but is killing the crops. This parasite is a mutated version of what Kirk and Spock found in OPERATION: ANNIHILATE. Uhura remembers that ultraviolet light killed the parasites almost twenty years ago, but the experiment fails this time. As the population goes mad, Karlax realizes that he is unaffected, and there must be something in Klingon blood that kills the parasites. Karlax offers a sample of blood, and Marx determines this is correct. Marx develops the anti-parasitic spray, and the parasites are destroyed. Durassa allows food shipments to Deneva.

EPISODE 58: SUBSPACE DISTORTIONS. (Airdate: December 11, 1984). While on the USS Saratoga, subspace anomalies are detected. Uhura's team is traveling on the Saratoga. She offers her assistance, but nobody has ever seen this type of anomaly; it is causing time itself to stop. The Saratoga cannot approach the anomaly, or it will be destroyed. Marx determines that the anomaly is not of natural origin; it is being created by an alien race. Uhura realizes that they are near Excalbian space, and the Excalbians are creating the anomaly. This time, instead of recreating historical figures, the Excalbians are stopping time and destroying everything in their anomaly's path. Uhura is unable to negotiate a safe passage out of the Excalbian sector, and they threaten the Saratoga's destruction. Marx solves the problem; she determines that the Excalbians are simply performing a time experiment, and they simply do not want anybody to interfere. When Uhura passes this information along, the Excalbians close the anomaly, stating that this is simply a test to determine if the humans could hold their nerve. The anomaly disappears and the Saratoga returns to its mission.

EPISODE 59: THE MUSEUM SHIP (Air date: December 18, 1984). Uhura's team is providing security on the SS United States, a liner from Earth's ancient past long since preserved with Vulcan technology and returned to her 'award winning fittings and colors' as a museum. The occasion is the 300th anniversary of the ship's return to service and many UFP big wigs are on-board as the UFP President is a fan of the ancient ship. Uhura and company are onboard due to a credible threat. Karlax and Nerva are in different parts of the ship and both find devices deep in the bowels of the ship. They work to disable them while Uhura attempts to talk to the President who is busy networking and will not listen. Eventually Chekov hatches a plan to get an emergency transporter, while Uhura distracts the crowd. Uhura takes the stage and arranges with the band leader Max (Brent Spiner) to allow her to sing. While Uhura is singing, Marx discovers the stage is also rigged and the detonator for all the bombs is tried to one of the effects pedals the singer uses. Marx crawls under the stage to start disabling it. A very anxious Max tries to remove Uhura from the stage. To prevent a scene, he agrees to a song and conspicuously takes the mic near the pedal. Max and Uhura belt out a jazzy number and he tries to activate the SFX peddle at a certain point and looks more than put out, losing his place in the song, only to recover quickly. A montage shows the other SI members with disabled devices. After the song, Max whispers in Uhura's ear, "I need help" before she leaves the stage to thunderous applause. As the gig winds down, Max finds Uhura and demands help. He was pressured into pressing the pedal as he is heavily in debt to an Orion gambling den. He had no idea what it would do. Marx realises the bands drummer, Jorn is acting odd, and slips out, with Marx behind him. There is a confrontation on the Bridge of the United States, where Jorn claims "there will be another time" before he is beamed out in a familiar Klingon transport beam- Marx's attempt to shoot him fails. SI debriefs afterwards- the pedal, and explosive devices are of Klingon manufacture, but the design technique is Orion.


Vignettes:

Nichelle Nichols: I'll never forget the third season of Starfleet Intelligence and the surprise birthday party. We had to film that day, and everyone on set knows that I don't like working on my birthday. So Ron Perlman smuggled some cognac, a birthday cake, and several other alcoholic beverages into the Paramount lot. When Harve Bennett saw Perlman with all his contraband, he threatened to fire Ron on the spot. Ron simply said, "I need a drink, and so do you." Harve then said, "No, I think Nichelle needs a drink. Happy birthday, Nichelle!" Everyone ran on set and we had a party after shooting ended. Ron forgot to take the Klingon makeup off, he had so much fun. That was one of my favorite birthday celebrations, 1984.

 

[dsp19]

On January 20, 1985, President-elect John Glenn was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States. The rise of an astronaut to the highest office in the land would have profound effects both on the country and on its most popular science fiction series, Star Trek. We pick up the coverage at the Capitol.

Chief Justice Warren Burger: Repeat the following after me. I, John Herschel Glenn,
Glenn: I, John Herschel Glenn,
Burger: Do solemnly swear,
Glenn: Do solemnly swear,
Burger: That I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,
Glenn: That I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,
Burger: And will to the best of my ability,
Glenn: And will to the best of my ability,
Burger: Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Glenn: Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Burger: So help me God.
Glenn: So help me God.
Burger: Congratulations, Mr. President.

President Glenn unfolded his speech and began to address the audience of 750,000 at the Capitol.

Ladies and gentleman, it is an honor to be speaking here today. Thank you, President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan, for being such gracious hosts. President Reagan always protected and served our nation, and for that, we give him our thanks. Thank you, Vice President Laxalt, Chief Justice Burger, Senate Majority Leader Byrd, Senate Minority Leader Dole, and Speaker Udall. We'll be working a lot together, from the moment we leave this stage, to improve the everyday lives of Americans. Thank you Vice President Bentsen, for being a fantastic running mate. We will work together for the welfare of the American people for the next four years. The biggest thank you of all goes to my wife of over 40 years, Annie. We do everything as a team, and nothing will change, even though we're the First Family for the next four years. Annie is my guiding light, and I'd never be addressing you as your President without her.

America is in a unique place in 1985. We are on the cutting edge of technology in all aspects. Our military is second to none; our ingenuity the same. Fantastic advances have been made from entrepreneurship, creativity, and simple, good-old, American know-how. That's what makes our system the greatest in the world. Other countries suppress ingenuity and command their populations directly from a central organ, the state political apparatus. The United States is not like that. Change and advances arise from the bottom up in this great land, not from the top down. I conducted the 1984 campaign as a listening tour, to hear out Americans who need assistance. I will conduct my Presidency the same way, as a listening tour. I will always have my ear to the ground and ensure that everyone, from the richest CEO to the most humble family, is heard and heard equally. Sometimes, we prioritize the needs of the wealthy over the needs of the working class. The Glenn administration will never do that. The needs of the many, the working class, outweigh the needs of the few, the richest CEOs.

America is the land of opportunity. How can a humble farm boy from Ohio become an astronaut, a senator, and now a President? I've faced great odds to reach this point. Despite that, there are many Americans who face odds greater than Annie and I on a daily basis. Many Americans have been disenfranchised for hundreds of years in this country. That disenfranchisement lasts no longer. My administration will not stand for it. I have organized and chosen a Cabinet that reflects the needs of all Americans. Different perspectives create different, more inclusive results for the American people. For a long time, we've lacked that in our government. The Glenn Administration will address the needs that my Democratic predecessors, Lyndon Johnson and Ed Muskie, did their best to address during their terms in office. We will advance the dreams of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, the fathers of the New Deal and the Fair Deal, with the Real Deal for the American people.

Social Security will no longer remain the responsibility of the working and middle class. Every American will pay their fair share into Social Security, so the program will never run out of money. We owe that to the current generation entering retirement, the generation that suffered through the Depression and fought the Second World War and in Korea. We owe it to their children, who fought in Vietnam, the current generation of American workers. And we owe it to the children of this country and unborn generations of Americans, that Social Security becomes as permanent as the Republic itself. The greatest achievement of the past twenty years in domestic policy was the Medicaid program created by President Johnson and expanded by President Muskie. The Glenn administration will make Medicare and Medicaid eligible to all adults who choose to enroll in the program. Americans will no longer fear the loss of health care coverage and loss of financial security from expensive hospital bills. That's not what America is about; bankrupting Americans in poor health. We care for the elderly and the sick in our country.

For decades, Annie suffered from a disability. She struggled to speak properly. My administration will be the biggest advocate for the disabled in this country, and Annie will lead the charge. Annie conquered her disability, and we will afford all disabled Americans the opportunity to conquer or live more comfortably with theirs. One of the first laws we'll pass in this Congress is a blanket protection for the disabled population. No employer shall discriminate against an American with any form of disability. I believe it is un-American to do so, and I will come down hard on employers who do so.

I toured many cities during the presidential campaign, and I was shocked at some of the living conditions everyday Americans faced. No American should be forced to live in a place that looks like a bombed out European city during World War II. The Glenn administration will work with the mayors of America's biggest cities, and rebuild the urban areas that have decayed mightily in the past twenty years. America will no longer neglect the cities. We will conquer poverty in this country and bring as many people as possible, especially in our cities, to at least a stable, working class status. Many stakeholders in this country forgot about the fact that a large part of the innovation in this country comes from the cities. Without functioning cities, there is no functioning America. We will rebuild our industrial capacity and ensure that Americans in the cities are trained to work in industrial jobs, at the very minimum, to put food on the table for their families.

I also toured some of the rural areas in this country. Farmers are being taken over by industrial giants, and it is unfair to the working American farmer. I will pass a law that prohibits agricultural businesses to own more than a certain acreage of land, so small farmers can survive and thrive. Additionally, I will improve America's schools. Our children deserve the best education we can possibly give them. Education is the key both to innovation and winning the Cold War. The Glenn administration will collaborate with the nation's universities and add an extra 250,000 teachers to America's classrooms in the next four years. I want every American child to be able to name at least two favorite teachers they had while they were in elementary school. Teachers are the lifeblood of this country, and none of us would be here without our best teachers inspiring us as children.

Abroad, America must continue to lead NATO, but reach out to make peace whenever it is possible. President Reagan's incredible accomplishment of negotiating and passing the intermediate range nuclear arms treaty last month was an example of making peace, and this will protect future generations. The Glenn administration will seek to make peace in as many places as possible. The atrocities taking place in the Middle East in the Iran-Iraq War will stop. President Reagan has received a guarantee from Mikhail Gorbachev that Soviet troops will exit Afghanistan this year. I will follow through on ensuring that Secretary Gorbachev upholds that promise. The dispute between Israel and her Arab neighbors will calm down significantly. I will take an active role to ensure that a path towards peace is established. The Arabs must understand that Israel will never be driven into the sea. The United States will not stand for it. The Jewish people will never suffer another Holocaust, like they did forty years ago. In exchange, Israel must ensure greater rights for its Arab minority, including inviting Arab parties into its legislature. I have noticed the famine in Africa; we will take action to send aid over to the affected nations.

The space program, of course, is my pride and joy. Even though I am addressing you as the President, I am still an astronaut at heart. My greatest experience will always be orbiting the Earth three times in the Friendship Seven, way back in 1962. President Kennedy set out an ambitious goal to reach the Moon by the end of the 1960s, which was accomplished. I will continue and expand on my predecessors' effort to land a human being on Mars by the end of the 20th century. This will require a tremendous amount of funding and know-how from around the world. Therefore, one of my first acts in office will be to increase NASA spending to 2.5% of GDP and enlist the aid of the Soviet Union, our old space rival, and our European allies, to develop the technology required to land a man on Mars and bring him back safely. The Shuttle program will remain a major priority, but missions will primarily study the effects of space on the human body. America sent a man where no man had gone before in 1969. We will do the same thing in the next fifteen years. The Mars mission might not happen in my term, or if I am fortunate enough to be reelected, in my second term. But it will happen.

To close, America is a place where dreams not only can be fulfilled, but must be fulfilled. It took dreamers to fly an airplane for the first time at the start of the century in North Carolina. It took dreamers to dig us out of the worst depression in world history in the 1930s. It took almost immortal resolve to win World War II. Although we have suffered our losses along the way, we must honor all those we have lost, and strive on to make America a better place for all. We strive for all those Americans we lost in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. We ensure that this country is the greatest in the world, for those who laid down their lives to protect it. We strive to make America the beacon of humanity. Thank you, and God bless these United States.

 

[dsp19]

Short update today on New Year's with only two articles: Gorbachev and the Soviets get out of Afghanistan four years earlier than OTL; the Beatles and two members of the Star Trek cast are approached for We Are the World. Plus, Starfleet: Intelligence episodes.

SOVIETS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN

January 10, 1985

Mikhail Gorbachev ended the war in Afghanistan when the final troops pulled out of the USSR's Central Asian neighbor five years and one month after the initial invasion. Citing rising costs in both manpower and rubles, the Soviet invasion did not accomplish the aim of securing Communist rule there. Instead, a weak Communist government remains, and is threatened by the Mujahideen rebels who wish to create an Islamic state next to Iran. The Soviet press agency Tass issued the following terse statement. "Soviet forces exited Afghanistan last night after five years of combat. We will do everything in our power diplomatically to ensure the Communist leadership under Mohammad Najibullah strengthens his control over the country." The outgoing Reagan administration cut support for the Mujahideen once the Soviets exited. "Afghanistan is for the Afghans," outgoing Reagan Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said. "We expect the Glenn administration to continue our course and not pick a side in the political conflict that will certainly embroil Afghanistan." President-elect Glenn supported the Soviet decision. "Ending the Afghanistan war ensures a more peaceful world for everyone," Glenn said. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that a stable government arises out of the ruins in Afghanistan. As of now, I believe that the current leadership under Najibullah is the least bad option."

BEATLES REUNITED FOR A BENEFIT FOR THE AFRICAN FAMINE
STAR TREK CAST MEMBERS ALSO SPOTTED AT LA STUDIO

January 23, 1985

The Beatles were seen together for the first time in thirteen years last night in Los Angeles. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr entered a Los Angeles recording studio with Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Asked about why they were together, the Fab Four replied, "We're reunited for the African famine. We're recording a song to bring the disaster in Africa to international prominence." When pressed about a potential reunion, McCartney said, "It's only possible for special occasions like this. We haven't been together in so long, and we're actually getting along pretty well. However, I think it's best that we only reunite for short periods. A few days, at the most, for a special cause." It was reported that Elvis Presley would join the benefit, but he was hospitalized last night for an undisclosed issue. Two members of the Star Trek cast, Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols, were also spotted among the gaggle of musicians. "We think attention towards the African famine is important, and we want to lend our voices to the effort," Nimoy said. Nichols was more blunt about the situation. "It's an absolute crime that we're letting millions of people starve. It's 1985. We're at the end of the 20th century and people are still starving," Nichols said. "Half of the world's population is either starving or barely finding food for their families, and it's unacceptable."


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 60: THE FERENGI. (Airdate: January 8, 1985). While breaking up an Orion smuggling cell, Uhura's team finds a communication from the Orions to a mysterious, capitalist race; the Ferengi. They determine that the Ferengi are supplying arms to various galactic powers, including the Orions, Klingons and Romulans. Starfleet Intelligence sends Uhura's team to Ferenginar, their home planet, to investigate why an arms buildup is occurring along Federation borders. They discover that the Ferengi are simply in it for profit; whoever is the highest bidder receives the weapons. The Ferengi are led by a Grand Nagus Bek, and he offers weapons to the Federation for thousands of bars of gold pressed latinum to buy them off. The Ferengi's motives are actually a lot more sinister; Grand Nagus Bek is planning to join in a potential attack against the Federation with his fleet if one of the major powers declares war. Uhura reports this back to the Intergalactic Council of Peace, where a debate is held as to why the Ferengi are allowed to operate this way without representation on the council. The Ferengi are declared an "outlaw" state and trade is banned with them. In response, the Ferengi and Orions declare war on the Federation, and the Orions withdraw from the Council of Peace.

EPISODE 61: THE FERENGI, PART II (Airdate: January 15, 1985). Uhura's team is trapped on Ferenginar as the war begins. They receive orders to sabotage the Ferengi supply depots and depose Grand Nagus Bek. Both of these actions would install a new Grand Nagus that would end the brief war and force the Ferengi to capitulate. A rogue Ferengi, Doss, who owns a gambling empire in Ferengi space and hopes to become Grand Nagus, offers to join Uhura's team in order to profit from the operation. Doss sees that cooperation with the Federation will enrich the Ferengi empire, and that Grand Nagus Bek cut off their profit margin by allying themselves with the Orions instead of the Federation. As Doss builds allies, the Ferengi are losing the war, and Starfleet ships will threaten Ferenginar in a month. Doss is able to overthrow Bek with Uhura's help, and asks for an armistice. Instead of cooperation with the Federation, Ambassador Sarek offers them a seat on the Intergalactic Council of Peace, but no trade agreement. Doss wants to withdraw, but Sarek informs him he doesn't have a choice; Starfleet will be on Ferenginar controlling affairs. The Ferengi accept their seat on the council but become insular for the entirety of Doss' reign; they do not openly trade outside their territories for decades.

EPISODE 62: BLOWBACK. (Airdate: January 22, 1985). In response to Ferengi and Orion actions, the Federation has been engaging in arms dealing of their own; with the Tzenkethi, a mysterious race along the far stretches of explored space. When the Federation war with the Orions and Ferengi ends, the Tzenkethi continue to ask for support, but the Federation balks. The Tzenkethi, seeing this as a betrayal, launch a terrorist attack on Andoria, destroying the Andorian Temple of Souls and killing over 5,000. The Andorians demand war with the Tzenkethi and threaten to secede from the Federation if they don't get their war. Uhura's team is tasked to find the terrorists, negotiate with the Tzenkethi leadership as to their motives, and bring them back to Earth for trial. Unfortunately, the Andorians don't see that as strong enough action, and file papers of secession...

 

[dsp19]

First update in several days. In this update, John Glenn and a Democratic Congress begin reshaping America; Charles Bluhdorn, chairman of Gulf+Western, has leukemia, Starfleet: Intelligence episodes plus a debate on the direction of Star Trek; and the 1985 Academy Award nominations.

JOHN GLENN'S 'REAL DEAL' FLYING THROUGH CONGRESS
THREE BILLS ALREADY PASSED, INFRASTRUCTURE ON THE WAY

February 16, 1985

President Glenn, with a Democratic Congress, set out to reshape the country, and within the first three weeks of his administration, three significant pieces of legislation passed. The Social Security Act of 1985 raised the cap on Social Security contributions to the first $250,000 of a worker's annual income and allowed Americans to set up an extra Social Security savings account linked to the stock market. "We have ensured that Social Security, one of the greatest achievements of the New Deal, will survive in perpetuity," the President said, as he signed the bill into law. "More money will be flowing into retirement accounts to protect this generation and future generations of workers. Social Security will never go insolvent. Additionally, we have allowed Americans to invest extra money into the program to control their own finances." The Medicare Expansion Act of 1985, championed by Ted Kennedy, passed Congress narrowly and also headed to the President's desk. The Medicare expansion covers all adults who are not covered by employer healthcare plans and allows businesses with more than 500 employees to buy into Medicare and offer the program to their workers. "The Medicare Expansion Act ensures that there are no gaps in American healthcare. We have virtually accomplished universal healthcare coverage in the United States," the President said. Lastly, the Medical Pricing Control Act of 1985 ensures that no prescription drug in the United States costs more than $50 per month and no hospitalization costs more than $500 per week. "Americans will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices for healthcare," the President said. "We've chained the medical price controls to inflation, so families can keep up with costs." Another bill in committee, the Infrastructure Revitalization Act of 1985, is expected to pass Congress in March. "In a few weeks, we will pass the most sweeping infrastructure bill since Eisenhower built the interstate highway system," the President said. "We were elected to make a difference for the American people, and we will fulfill our promise."

GULF AND WESTERN CHAIRMAN BLUHDORN DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKEMIA
GIVEN WEEKS TO LIVE

February 21, 1985

Charles Bluhdorn, the chairman of Gulf+Western, was diagnosed with late-stage leukemia, and has weeks to live, according to sources within Gulf+Western. The conglomerate titan is most famously known for his properties in the Dominican Republic and his acquisition of the Walt Disney Company in 1979. Bluhdorn transferred control of Gulf+Western to Martin S. Davis, an executive at Paramount Pictures, indicating that the conglomerate is prioritizing its entertainment holdings above the rest of his business interests. "Bluhdorn survived a heart attack in 1983, but that was only a precursor to terminal health issues," a source within the company said. "We hope that he can attend the 1985 Academy Awards, because he would love to see The Godfather: Part III win an Academy Award for Best Picture, like the two previous Godfather movies did." Under Bluhdorn's leadership, Gulf+Western became one of the largest conglomerates in the world, owning Paramount, Disney, Madison Square Garden and its sports teams, publishing company Simon and Schuster, and rapidly expanding cable networks ESPN and The Disney Channel. Bluhdorn also owns two percent of the land in the Dominican Republic, including the Casa de Campo luxury resort near Santo Domingo. "One of Bluhdorn's last wishes was that Casa de Campo would never be sold," the source said. "He considers that his most valuable property, above all the businesses he bought."

NICHOLS: STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE ISN'T LOSING ITS EDGE

February 25, 1985

For the first time in three seasons, Starfleet Intelligence slipped out of the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings, clocking in at #11 for the month of January 1985. However, the series star, Nichelle Nichols, isn't sweating it. "Starfleet Intelligence isn't losing its edge," Nichols said. "Occasionally, shows go through ratings slumps and dips. I would know. The original Star Trek had a ratings dip in 1967 and almost got cancelled, but the fanbase ensured its survival. Starfleet Intelligence has a huge fanbase, and we'll definitely weather this slump." Industry insiders believed that bringing Walter Koenig back into the fold to replace Alfre Woodard would keep the show in the top 10, but the series has hovered around the bottom of the top 10. Paramount is growing concerned that its most valuable property is not producing to expectations on television. "We've produced some great episodes this season, despite the ratings," Nichols said. "The episode where Kruge acts against his own people was one of the most heartbreaking shows the series ever produced, and it invoked some visceral reactions from the audience. I could understand some of the audience being unable to stomach the scenes, as they were reminiscent of atrocities we've committed against each other throughout history." Nichols and executive producer Harve Bennett would not back away from the criticism they received over that episode, Genocide on Beta Polaris. "Star Trek is meant to point a lens at the human condition," Bennett said. "Sometimes it is really ugly, and we make no excuses for this."


The 57th Academy Award nominations were announced in February 1985. A list of notable nominees is below.

Best Picture:
The Godfather: Part III
Amadeus
The Killing Fields
Places in the Heart
A Soldier's Story

Best Director:
Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather: Part III
Milos Forman, Amadeus
Roland Joffe, The Killing Fields
Robert Benton, Places in the Heart
David Lean, A Passage to India

Best Actor:
William Shatner, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Al Pacino, The Godfather: Part III
F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus
Tom Hulce, Amadeus
Sam Waterston, The Killing Fields

Best Actress:
Diane Keaton, The Godfather: Part III
Sally Field, Places in the Heart
Judy Davis, A Passage to India
Jessica Lange, Country
Sissy Spacek, The River

Best Supporting Actor:
Leonard Nimoy, The Godfather: Part III
Haing S. Ngor, The Killing Fields
Pat Morita, The Karate Kid
John Malkovich, Places in the Heart
Adolph Caesar, A Soldier's Story

Best Supporting Actress:
Talia Shire, The Godfather: Part III
Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India
Glenn Close, The Natural
Lindsay Crouse, Places in the Heart
Christine Lahti, Swing Shift

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Godfather: Part III
Amadeus
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
The Killing Fields
A Soldier's Story

Best Art Direction:
The Godfather: Part III
Amadeus
2010
The Natural
A Passage to India

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 63: BLOWBACK, PART II. (Airdate: February 5, 1985). When the Federation-Tzenkethi secret arms deal is revealed, outrage sweeps the Federation home worlds. They demand the impeachment of President Roth for approving the deal, and support the Andorians after the terrorist attack. Roth does not know that the deal was consummated, and takes a lie detector test to prove it. When Roth is shown to be truthful, the Federation Council tries to find out who approved the deal in secret. Uhura and her team are tasked to find the mole in the Federation who conducted foreign policy without the President's consent. It turns out that a human member of the Federation Council, Ross Barkuss, initiated the deal in order for the Federation to win the brief war against the Ferengi. Uhura's team apprehends Barkuss, who faces trial. Unfortunately, the Tzenkethi view the end of the arms deal as a betrayal by the Federation, and declare war.

EPISODE 64: THE MAROONED (Airdate: February 12, 1985). A Starfleet patrol is marooned on Alpha Theta VI, a planet in Tzenkethi space, in the early stages of the Federation-Tzenkethi war. Uhura's team is tasked to break them out of confinement. They discover that the Tzenkethi are a telepathic species who turned the Starfleet patrol against them. Marx must work around the Tzenkethi mental probes and convince the patrol to ally themselves with Starfleet again. When the Tzenkethi realize that Starfleet has personnel that can defeat their telepathic abilities, they reveal themselves as large-headed, orange aliens who attack Uhura's team. The Starfleet patrol, still under the influence of the Tzenkethi, almost kill Uhura's team, but they eventually choose to fight for Starfleet once Marx successfully works around the telepathic blocks. Uhura reports these telepathic abilities to Starfleet, and an armistice is offered. The Tzenkethi refuse.

EPISODE 65: MIND GAMES (Airdate: February 19, 1985). Starfleet remains in a stalemate with the Tzenkethi. Although they have the better ships, they cannot contact the Tzenkethi face-to-face due to their telepathic abilities. Uhura's team is tasked to test a device that counteracts the telepathy. Marx discovers that pathways in human brains cannot withstand the device's effects, and cause madness. The device almost causes Uhura to shoot Chekov and Karlax out of insanity. When Marx reports that the device cannot be used on humans, Starfleet asks the team to test it on other species. They find that the Andorians are able to use the device, and the Andorians, thirsting for revenge after the terrorist attack on their home world, cannot wait to attack. Before this occurs, the Tzenkethi discover the device and try to destroy it; they are unsuccessful. Starfleet offers another armistice, and the Tzenkethi accept this time. The Intergalactic Council of Peace condemns the Federation arms deal and orders the Federation to cede five light years of space to the Tzenkethi. This deal is reluctantly accepted by President Roth, who promises never to engage in another war during his term.

 

[dsp19]

First update in a week. Sorry for the long wait. In this update, President Glenn gets an infrastructure bill and a sweeping law protecting the disabled passed. He also announces a European trip to meet both his NATO allies and Mikhail Gorbachev in May. Emmy buzz once again surrounds Nichelle Nichols for leading Starfleet Intelligence, and Walter Koenig for his writing. The 57th Academy Awards takes place on March 25. Finally, we have more Starfleet Intelligence episodes.

GLENN SIGNS INFRASTRUCTURE, DISABILITY RIGHTS BILLS
WILL TOUR EUROPE, MEET GORBACHEV IN JUNE

March 14, 1985

President Glenn signed two more major pieces of legislation into law today. The Infrastructure Revitalization Act of 1985 allocates $350 billion to restore old infrastructure and begin new projects, including high-speed rail networks for the Northeast Corridor, the Midwest, and the West Coast. The infrastructure bill will also modernize hospitals, schools and power plants, and includes new funding for hydroelectric power in the Great Lakes and Southern states. "This infrastructure investment is the largest since Eisenhower approved the interstate highway system," Glenn said at a signing ceremony. "During the campaign, I noticed that industrial infrastructure was in a state of decay, and I feared that the United States would fall behind the Soviet Union economically. Therefore, this law was considered a necessity both to improve the lives of everyday Americans and for national security." First Lady Annie Glenn applauded when her husband signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1985. The sweeping legislation bans employers from discriminating against individuals with disabilities, and is an addition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "Americans with disabilities will no longer be an excluded class in this country," the President said. My wife Annie will go on a national tour to promote the law, including meeting with the CEOs of major companies such as Ford and General Motors to change their hiring practices.

The President also announced an international trip to Europe in May. He will meet British prime minister Margaret Thatcher for three days, from May 10 to May 13, in London. The President will then meet his French counterpart, Francois Mitterrand, from May 15 to May 17, and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl from May 19 to May 21. He will then chair a meeting of NATO in Brussels over Memorial Day Weekend. Finally, the President will cap off his European tour with a weeklong summit with Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva in the first week in June. A major foreign policy announcement is expected during the bilateral meeting with Thatcher. The President is believed to be writing a foreign policy doctrine which will be implemented before his summit with Gorbachev. "President Glenn and I are discussing the finer details of the Glenn Doctrine," Secretary of State Jimmy Carter said. "We will seek a more peaceful world, and during our first contact with Premier Gorbachev, we determined that some of his goals and our goals are aligned. The summit with Gorbachev will act as a means to iron out differences and develop cooperation in areas where our aims are newly similar, such as the situation in Afghanistan."

EMMY BUZZ BUILDING FOR NICHOLS, KOENIG
KOENIG'S BETA POLARIS SCRIPT ONE OF THE BEST IN YEARS

March 22, 1985

Although the Emmys are still half a year away, buzz is building both for Nichelle Nichols, the lead in Starfleet: Intelligence, to win Best Actress in a Drama for the second time in three years. Her performances have been widely acclaimed all season by critics, and she is expected to be in the mix with both of Cagney and Lacey's leads, Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, for the drama honor. "Nichols is an unquestioned television star now, just like William Shatner was in the 1960s on the original Star Trek," said Cecil Smith, the television critic for the Los Angeles Times. "The only question for me is if Starfleet Intelligence becomes a movie series like the 1960s Trek series. Some of their stories are excellent. I was particularly moved by the episode where that Klingon criminal, Kruge I think it was, a futuristic Einsatzgruppen monster if there ever was one, slaughters thousands of his own people in concentration camps." The episode Smith is referring to, Genocide on Beta Polaris, was written by Nichols' co-star, Walter Koenig. "That episode of television is a masterpiece. One of the best I have seen in years in any genre," Smith said. "There is a Holocaust denial movement trying to convert people to their insidious ideology, and that episode reminded me of a futuristic version of the Holocaust, just with aliens perpetrating the genocide instead of humans." Harve Bennett, executive producer of Starfleet Intelligence, debated whether to accept the script, but decided to give the green light. "Our heroes in Starfleet Intelligence work to stop crimes against humanity and other species," Bennett said. "We wanted to shine a light on ourselves. Sometimes what we see isn't pretty."

The 57th Academy Awards took place on March 25, 1985. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy share their recollections. Shatner was nominated for Best Actor in Star Trek III, while Nimoy was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in The Godfather: Part III.

William Shatner:

In 1979, I was nominated for Best Actor in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I believed that I would never get another chance at an Academy Award. However, the Academy surprised me with a nomination for Star Trek III. I wasn't expecting to win, but found out that I was the second favorite behind F. Murray Abraham, who won for portraying Salieri in Amadeus. I was surprised that the voters placed me in front of Al Pacino, who turned in a masterful performance as Michael Corleone in the third Godfather movie. I was also pleased that Leonard was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the same movie. The Best Actor category was stacked with remarkable talent. Abraham, Pacino, Tom Hulce, Sam Waterston, who would later star in Law and Order, and myself. However, my potential moment of glory was towards the end of the program. Very early on, the nominees for Best Supporting Actor were announced. Leonard also fell short of the Golden Globe, and he was favored to win that evening. Haing S. Ngor won for The Killing Fields. He would also win the Oscar over Leonard. And it wasn't my night either. Shirley MacLaine announced the Best Actor nominees, and Al Pacino took home the award for The Godfather. As I recall, the Godfather Part III had a pretty good night. It pretty much swept everything. I believe it won four or five. I thought Amadeus was a better movie, but the Academy didn't. I wouldn't get another chance from the Academy in terms of a Best Actor nomination, but there was a special surprise in store from the Academy when we finished our run with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The Academy was considering me for an Honorary Oscar after Star Trek VI...

Leonard Nimoy:

I didn't have to wait very long to find out my fate. I thought after the Golden Globes that Haing Ngor would win for The Killing Fields, and if I had a vote, it would go to him. When the announcement came, Haing Ngor won, and I congratulated him. After what he went through, I was actually happy not to win. I wouldn't win another Academy Award as an actor, but Steven Spielberg asked me to be a producer for Schindler's List after I directed a series of films in the 1980s and early 1990s, and I accepted.

NOTABLE ACADEMY AWARD WINS:

Best Picture: The Godfather, Part III
Best Director: Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, Part III
Best Actor: Al Pacino, The Godfather, Part III
Best Actress: Diane Keaton, The Godfather, Part III
Best Supporting Actor: Haing S. Ngor, The Killing Fields
Best Supporting Actress: Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India
Best Adapted Screenplay: Amadeus
Best Art Direction: Amadeus

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 66: THE RIBBONS. (Airdate: March 5, 1985). Uhura and her team are asked to investigate the presence of subspace ribbons, an anomaly never seen before. Karlax determines that the ribbons are not of natural origin; somebody created them. In Orion space, an Orion scientist, Ghruk, is testing subspace weapons, which are intended to tear fabrics in subspace, and make the medium un-usable in terms of allowing the Federation to communicate with its fleets. If the Orions are able to develop these weapons, the Federation could not coordinate ship movements through subspace communication. Uhura asks Karlax if the Klingons were developing subspace weapons, and Karlax confirms that they are not. Marx senses that it is the Orions, and Uhura's team discovers that the subspace ribbons are indeed small artificially created anomalies. The team goes to Orion space in an effort to apprehend Ghruk, but are captured themselves and taken to Orion Prime for interrogation.

EPISODE 67: THE RIBBONS, PART II (Airdate: March 12, 1985). While captured on Orion Prime, Uhura and her team are sentenced to death. However, they escape the prison cell through Neras' timely intervention. Neras knows where Ghruk's laboratory is, and Uhura's team finds Ghruk. They are able to capture the designs for the subspace weapons, but are unable to capture the scientist before the Orions figure out their location. Uhura's team escapes with the weapons schematics. Chekov discovers that the weapons are of crude design, and the subspace ribbons created by the small prototypes are fixable. Chekov develops the fix, which requires energy from trilithium resin, and the breaches in space are fixed. Uhura reports her findings to Starfleet Command, and the Federation sends out an all points bulletin to the entire division to capture Ghruk. As it turns out, Ghruk is on the way to the exact coordinates, wondering how the ribbons were repaired. Uhura's team captures him and Karlax interrogates him brutally, to the point where Uhura has to relieve him of his duties.

EPISODE 68: OLD LOYALTIES. (Airdate: March 19, 1985). Karlax resigns from Starfleet Intelligence after Uhura relieves him of duties, and returns to Klingon space. He meets Endira, his old love, who tempts him into joining the Klingon secret services. Karlax accepts. Endira doesn't know that Uhura sent Karlax deep undercover into the Klingon Empire to monitor political developments, specifically whether there would be more attempts against Chancellor K'Pac's rule. In the meantime, Uhura and Marx are able to monitor all of Karlax's movements, and they discover that the House of Koloth is planning a coup attempt after Koloth's death. Karlax receives this information. Endira, a member of the House of Koloth, tries to seduce Karlax into joining in the plot, but Karlax blows up the plot, and Koloth's house is disgraced. Karlax is asked to become a full-time member of the Klingon secret services, and temporarily accepts.

EPISODE 69: THE TEARS OF THE SINGERS (Airdate: March 26, 1985). Adapted from/a sequel to the RL Star Trek novel The Tears of the Singers. Uhura must save the Taygetians, a species who spends most of their time singing, from a Klingon intervention. However, the planet Taygeta V is in free space, not claimed by either the Federation or Klingons, and the Klingons attempt to take the territory. Uhura runs into John Maslin, the son of her old flame Guy Maslin who she fell in love with when she was aboard the Enterprise during the original five-year mission. However, Uhura discovers that John Maslin is running the operation for the Klingons, and has to kill him to stop the Klingons from taking over the system.

 

[dsp19]

Late night update, but it's been almost a week since I updated the timeline. In this installment, Harve Bennett receives an offer from 20th Century Fox to launch FOX, the USA's fifth television network; President Glenn gets another piece of legislation through Congress; William Shatner is philosophical about his Oscar setback, Charles Bluhdorn dies, and the final three episodes of Starfleet Intelligence's 3rd season.

BENNETT MULLS OFFER FROM 20TH CENTURY FOX
FOX PLANNING TELEVISION NETWORK IN 1986

April 3, 1985

Twentieth Century Fox, falling behind Paramount in the Los Angeles studio wars, is planning to start a fifth television network, and they want Harve Bennett to lead it. The Star Trek honcho received a multi-million dollar offer from News Corporation's CEO, Australian Rupert Murdoch. Bennett is considering the offer, having been an executive at ABC before taking over the Trek franchise. "What Bennett has done with Star Trek is remarkable," Janet Maslin, the film critic for the New York Times, said. "He's turned that series from a low budget science fiction romp in the late 1960s into one of the top franchises in Hollywood, with its own subdivision at Paramount. I couldn't think of an individual more qualified to lead Fox." Other insiders believe that Bennett leaving for Fox is a risky move. "Bennett has complete control over Star Trek," film critic Gene Shalit said. "If he becomes CEO of a new television network, that brings greater pressures. He'll be accountable for the entire network's performance, not just a television show here and a movie there. I think it'll be a lot more stressful on Bennett, especially with that Murdoch overseeing and meddling in everything he does." Bennett has committed to Star Trek IV, the next movie in the Trek series, due to start filming in a few months, and a fourth season of Starfleet Intelligence, which received its official renewal last month. "If Bennett goes to Fox, which is probable, does Gene Roddenberry take over Trek again? Does Robert Justman come back from a franchise he was fired from in 1970? Lots of questions surround Trek over the next twelve to eighteen months," Shalit said. "Roddenberry already said he doesn't like Starfleet Intelligence's direction, and the show would definitely change under his watch."

CHARLES BLUHDORN, GULF AND WESTERN MAGNATE, DIES AT 58 OF LEUKEMIA

April 8, 1985

Charles Bluhdorn lived just long enough for his favorite movie franchise, The Godfather, to go three for three at the Academy Awards. Bluhdorn lost his battle with leukemia last night, passing away at the age of 58. The eccentric, sometimes volatile CEO of Gulf+Western was first famous for acquiring Paramount Pictures in 1966, when Paramount was on the verge of bankruptcy. A year after purchasing Paramount, he bought out Lucille Ball's Desilu Studios, famous for Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. Under Bluhdorn's leadership, Paramount became a worst-to-first story. In 1979, he gobbled up one of the biggest prizes of all, the Walt Disney Company, in his most famous corporate deal. The Disney deal made Paramount the largest, most successful studio on Hollywood, and he green lighted the successful Paramount Television Network in 1980 on the back of all of his entertainment properties. "Mr. Bluhdorn was a visionary," new Gulf+Western president Martin S. Davis said. "Nobody can replace him as a CEO. I can only hope to try." Davis is expected to sell off some property in the Dominican Republic to raise cash for more deals, but was told by Bluhdorn to keep the Casa de Campo resort in his will. Bluhdorn was also proud to see The Godfather: Part III complete the sweep. "The Godfather was his pride and joy," Paramount CEO Barry Diller said. "He had a taste for the dramatic, and I think the Godfather had his fingerprints on it, just like it had Mario Puzo's and Francis Ford Coppola's. In a way, Bluhdorn was the capo of all capos running Gulf and Western and controlling the entire operation. Some of Vito Corleone definitely came from old Charlie."

MORE SUCCESS FOR GLENN ON LEGISLATIVE FRONT WITH FARM BILL PASSAGE
CARTER VISITS GORBACHEV IN MOSCOW PRIOR TO GENEVA SUMMIT

April 17, 1985

President Glenn made farms one of the priorities of his campaign. Despite losing most of farm country to his Republican rival Paul Laxalt, Glenn signed the Family Farms Act of 1985 into law yesterday. The Family Farms Act prohibits agribusinesses from acquiring more than 25 percent of land in any county in the United States, in an effort to ensure that small farmers are not bought out of their land. "The United States of America cannot survive without the family farmer," Glenn said. "Annie and I came from a small farm in Ohio, and we could never imagine our farms being taken over by huge agricultural giants. This law allows the small family farm to grow into larger farm businesses to challenge the agricultural giants." Republicans offered rare praise for a Democratic president. "This is one of the best pieces of legislation a Democrat ever passed," Senator Bob Dole, the Republican Senate minority leader, said. "I disagreed with virtually all of the social safety net legislation the Democrats normally throw out there, and disagreed with the President's other legislation. But this bill will help the small farmers a lot, and in Kansas, we have a lot of small farmers." The President is also championing an urban renewal bill, which Republicans universally oppose. "No Republican will vote for the urban renewal bill, and I suspect a lot of Democrats will go against the President on that legislation as well," Dole said.

The President also sent his Secretary of State, Jimmy Carter, to Moscow to meet with Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev. In response, the Soviet leader sent his foreign secretary, the venerable Andrei Gromyko, to meet with Mr. Glenn. Carter's initial conversations with Gorbachev were productive. "We are building some common ground on further nuclear disarmament, how to proceed in Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War, and the Israeli-Arab situation," Carter told the AP. "However, we set a hard line on Communist interventions in the Western Hemisphere. We seek rapprochement, but the Soviet promotion of Communist regimes in Latin America is unacceptable as it is within our sphere of influence." Soviet secretary Gromyko asserted that Latin Americans wanted Communist and socialist governments similar to Fidel Castro's dictatorship in Cuba. "Latin America is full of tinpot, right-wing dictators propped up by the United States," Gromyko said. "The peoples of Latin America want socialist revolution. They believe Cuba is the model they should follow." Despite disagreements on Latin America, most of the rest of the summit appears on track. "Both sides want to remove more missiles from Europe and the Middle East, and stop the Iran-Iraq conflict," Carter said. "Both sides want to see a settlement between Israel and her Arab neighbors. President Glenn and Secretary Gorbachev seek to set those proposals in motion and will work together whenever appropriate."

SHATNER: ABOUT TIME I WON SOMETHING

April 19, 1985

William Shatner, the star of the first three Star Trek movies and the original Trek television series, was nominated twice for Best Actor for playing James T. Kirk. However, he remains empty-handed while his co-stars are racking up the honors. "It chafes at me a little, I won't lie," Shatner said. "Leonard has an Academy Award and an Emmy. Dee Kelley has an Emmy. Jimmy Doohan was given an Emmy by DC Fontana. George Takei won an Emmy, and Nichelle is about to win a second Emmy in September. They all deserved their awards, but I deserve mine too, and I feel upset that I'm being left out." Shatner believes it was his call-out of Douglas Cramer back in 1970 that led to the snubs. "I took a lot of heat for holding that press conference and airing Kramer out," Shatner said. "I guess I'm feeling the backlash today." Roger Ebert, the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, disagreed with Shatner. "I think it's sour grapes from William Shatner," Ebert said. "If Doug Cramer was exerting influence to stop him from winning awards, wouldn't he do the same with the rest of the cast from the old Star Trek series? They all stood with Shatner in that press conference where he denounced Cramer. That hasn't stopped Nimoy, Nichols and the rest from winning Academy Awards, Emmys, you have it." Gene Siskel concurred. "I think Shatner was unlucky to be nominated in years where there were phenomenal fields for Best Actor. In other years, he could have won. He'll get another chance or two, maybe three, with Star Trek. Who knows, maybe they give him an honorary Academy Award like they did with Cary Grant? It's not unthinkable."


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

Hat tip to @Ogrebear

EPISODE 70: NEVER AGAIN. (Airdate: April 2, 1985). Karlax is undercover and is investigating rumors of a UFP cell operating in Klingon space trying to undermine the underground Klingon Defence Force's operations in the Archanis Sector. Karlax joins a group to root out the counteragents only to find it is his SI team. Karlax gets into hand-to-hand combat with the huge Huntan agent Tor (Janos Prohaska) while the Klingon cell escapes. Karlax overpowered Tor, winning him much honor in the cell, enough that Karlax is able to persuade them to break off operations in the Archanis sector 'for now'. Karlax and Tor then team up to fight the Klingon in charge of the operations, Kordrich. Kordrich is a genocidal maniac who has executed entire Klingon colonies that attempted to reform the Empire. After Kordrich kills Tor, Karlax challenges Kordrich to a ritual fight to save the occupants of Alpha Gamma V, another of the Klingon colony worlds near the border with Federation space. Alpha Gamma V petitioned to join the Federation after the Sherman's Planet war but was denied. If Kordrich wins the fight and kills Karlax, the population of Alpha Gamma V is doomed. If Karlax wins, he will save the planet. Karlax wins the duel and kills Kordrich. Endira, Karlax's former flame, begins to warm back up to him as Karlax announces that the age of dishonor in the Empire is over.

EPISODE 71: THE SAVIOR, PART 1. (Airdate, April 9, 1985). Uhura is on the verge of a promotion to captain and a desk job on Earth when she receives a message from an individual calling himself "The Savior." In the message, it says that "the savior" is a former lover of Uhura's, going back to their Starfleet Academy days. He is Captain Jonathan Westcross, commanding the USS Aldrin, a Soyuz-class vessel. Westcross claims to have information on another Klingon coup plot against Chancellor K'Pac after Karlax killed Kordrich in the ritual duel. Uhura has fleeting memories, but cannot fully recall this individual because of Nomad wiping her memories. Uhura asks Scotty and Xon, an acquaintance of Lieutenant Commander Garvin's on the Reliant, to develop a device that will access her old memories. Scotty, always willing to help his favorite woman in the universe, builds a device, but is unsuccessful at accessing the memories. Xon attempts a mind meld, and some of the memories start flooding back. Uhura contacts Westcross, who immediately asks her to infiltrate Klingon space and arrive at Kronos. Uhura goes ahead alone, knowing she could lose her commission. On Kronos, Westcross, disguised as a Klingon, gives Uhura a secret communique; Klingons from the house of Kor (where Kordrich hailed from) are going to attack Chancellor K'Pac's quarters while he is asleep. Uhura and Westcross cultivate their other agents on Kronos to protect K'Pac, but secretly, Westcross has agents in the House of Kor who kill those agents.

EPISODE 72: THE SAVIOR, PART 2. (Airdate, April 16, 1985. SEASON 3 FINALE). Karlax and Marx, back in Federation space, smell a rat and ask Chekov to go to Kronos once they find out Uhura is there. Chekov reluctantly agrees. They smuggle a Bird of Prey from one of the Klingon colony worlds and head to the Kronos. Meanwhile, Uhura determines she is being double-crossed by Westcross. She seduces the information out of Westcross, knowing that her old lover cannot resist her. However, as Uhura attempts to kill Westcross, she is captured by Klingon secret agents and sent to a mind-sifter to be tortured. Chekov, Karlax and Marx arrive on Kronos and determine Uhura's coordinates. They break her out, but they realize they are impossibly outnumbered and must withdraw. Uhura's team gives the coup plotter's information to Kerla, who assists them in finding the coup plotters. A shootout occurs, with Kerla's forces, assisted by Uhura's team, protecting K'Pac. Unfortunately, K'Pac is mortally wounded in the fighting, and passes control of the Empire to his son, Gorkon, before he dies. Uhura and her team are expelled from Kronos despite protecting the Empire from a coup. Karlax is given the choice to become one of Gorkon's senior leaders, but turns him down to continue serving the Federation.

Vignettes:

Ron Perlman: The last three episodes of Season 3 were my favorites. I was nominated for an Emmy for those performances. For a few months in 1985, Karlax was the most popular character in the Star Trek universe. I was the toast of the fans at conventions, and enjoyed every second of it. Karlax later led to Lieutenant Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation. They didn't say it in the Intelligence series, but in The Next Generation they said that Karlax returned to the Empire to become part of the House of Mogh. My character was not of noble birth initially, but rose to nobility status in the Empire after being exiled.

 

[dsp19]

A list of Starfleet Intelligence episodes through three seasons...

SEASON 1:

1. The Starfleet Conspiracy (series premiere)
2. Federation Divided
3. The Tal Shiar
4. Cat and Mouse
5. The Romulan Underground
6. The Dilithium Gambit
7. Karlax's Choice
8. The Triangle
9. The Tellarite Trial
10. The Cloaking Device
11. Injustice
12. War Plans
13. Urska
14. The Betazed Debate
15. Echoes of the Past
16. A Bend in Space Time
17. We Served the Empire
18. The Dirty War
19. The New Recruits
20. A New Alliance
21. Neras
22. The Breen
23. Mehkan
24. The Morals We Fight For (season finale)

SEASON 2:

25. The Band is Back Together (season premiere)
26. Escape from Mursk
27. Murder on Starbase 7
28. Dissension
29. The Venus Device
30. The Klingon Super-Weapon
31. Grief on Betazed
32. The Disease
33. The War Exercises
34. Doubts
35. The Shoot Down
36. The Refuse
37. Mutually Assured Destruction
38. The Archanis Coup
39. Arcturus Meltdown
40. Let Us Play Our Music
41. A Klingon Party
42. The Double Agent
43. Leave No Person Behind
44. The Huntan Dispute
45. The Romulan Ghost
46. A Tribble Crisis
47. The Separatists, Part I
48. The Separatists, Part II (season finale)

SEASON 3:

49. Nerva (Season premiere)
50. The Fountain of Youth
51. Ulterior Motives
52. Back to Miri
53. Dividing the Empire
54. Genocide on Beta Polaris
55. The Missing
56. The Bitterest of Enemies
57. The Denevan Famine
58. Subspace Distortions
59. The Museum Ship
60. The Ferengi, Part I
61. The Ferengi, Part II
62. Blowback, Part I
63. Blowback, Part II
64. The Marooned
65. Mind Games
66. The Ribbons, Part I
67. The Ribbons, Part II
68. Old Loyalties
69. The Tears of the Singers
70. Never Again
71. The Savior, Part I
72. The Savior, Part II (Season Finale).

Two seasons to go...