Star Trek Magazine – July 2019

CAPTIONS LOGGED

ARCHIVE IMAGES LOST AND FOUND

Y

es, it’s the 40th anniversary of

Star Trek: Th e Motion Picture.

Recognize our archival image this

issue? It is a bit diff erent.

See, in the vast array of images

snapped for any production, there

are obviously “stills” of moments

from the show. Th ere are also, as we

love to spotlight here, behind-the-

scenes moments of directors and crew

interacting with their cast. But let’s

not forget all those set-up “gallery”

or publicity shots of individual actors

and characters, meant to glamorize the

character for poster or cover use, or to

record details of a costume or make-up

for future reference.

And so we have this Aaamazzarite.

You heard me. Of a host of

aliens meant to take advantage of

Th e Motion Picture’s big-budget

contrast to the lowly TV series, the

Aaamazzarites were among those

initiated by costumer Robert Fletcher

and then barely glimpsed onscreen

in the San Francisco air tram station,

their primary use. Owners of the

original Motion Picture soundtrack

album got the best glimpse of them

all, with this set of standees gracing

the record sleeve.

It’s a sure thing this pose dates

from about February 1979, when

that scene was shot and the aliens

were all in use – about a month after

the principal shoot wrapped

on January 26.

But every actor needs a little

motivation – even on a gallery

shoot. Officially, Fletcher memoed

that Aaamazzarites are an insectoid

or arachnid-like species, and that

they “manufacture everything they

use from their own chemistry, from

inside their own body, from

clothing to furniture... like bees

making hives.”

So here’s your chance to bring

life to an Aaamazzarite and say what’s

really going on here, preferably with

a Universal Translator in tow. What

might be on his (or her, or its) mind?

Words: Larry Nemecek

Caption Logged by:

Jean Dufresne, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Send your Trek caption to

[email protected],

@StarTrekMag (Twitter), or @Star-

TrekMagazine (Facebook), and we’ll

print the best one... Aaamazzarite?

BE CAREFUL,

SOMETIMES ALL

THOSE BOLTS CAN

DRIVE YOU NUTS!