The Center Seat

The Center Seat is a gen Star Trek: TOS newsletter. It has the subtitle: "The William Shatner Fan Fellowship Newsletter." 
==v.1 n.1==
The Center Seat v.1 n.2 was published in April 1980, contains 12 pages.
* a discussion of a possible club fanzine
* pen pal listings
* notes on club charities
* a complete horoscope for William Shatner
==v.1 n.2==
The Center Seat v.1 n.2 was published in 1980 and contains 12 pages.
* an announcement of the William Shatner Weekend ("not a convention, but rather a celebration. The weekend will give fans a chance to meet Mr. Shatner and attend a banquet at one of the best hotels in Los Angeles!." It was admittedly to be very pricey as it was in a fancy hotel and Bill got to pick the menu.)
* a fawning bio of Marcy Shatner
* many fawning shorts about how wonderful William Shatner is
* you find out Shatner's favorite color is "earth tones"
* a LONG, strange, very petulant and inappropriate letter from Bjo Trimble about being taken advantage of by a visiting fan family: "Unfortunately, it only takes one bad apple to show up to make the whole barrel suspect. I've had that bad apple show up, ruining my day, my hospitality, and my reputation!" 
* a long, almost equally strange letter by Sonni responding to Trimble's letter, recounting the drama
* a testimonial by a fan about the poor, desperate behavior of other fans, and how she isn't like that
* a long article about "Bill's natal horoscope"
* glowing reviews of Shatner's recent appearances
Image:centerseat2-1.jpg|letter by Bjo 
Image:centerseat2-2.jpg|letter by Bjo
Image:centerseat2-3.jpg|letter by Bjo
Image:centerseat2-4.jpg|letter by Bjo
Image:centerseat2-5.jpg|response by Sonni
Image:centerseat2-6.jpg|response by Sonni
Image:centerseat2-7.jpg|response by Sonni
==v.1 n.3==
The Center Seat v.1 n.3 was published in August 1980 and contains 12 pages. 
==v.1 n.4==
The Center Seat v.1 n.4 was published in October 1980 and contains 12 pages. 
==v.1 n.5==
The Center Seat v.1 n.5 was published in December 1980 and contains 12 pages. 
* Shatner wishes everyone, "including myself," a loving and prosperous New Year
* lots about what Shatner is up to, and how super he is
* Marcy Shatner's apple pie recipe: the crust takes 1/2 cup sesame or sunflower oil, 1/3 water, 2 cups of whole wheat flour... Be ready to break a tooth on that. 
* an article on dog shows, Dobermans, and Shatner's dogs
* update and details on the upcoming William Shatner Weekend: ("This is not a convention. It is a meeting of WISH members." -- "Here's your chance to really meet Bill, have dinner with him, and get to know him. Your attendance at the Weekend will prove to him how much we really do care."
* a review of the movie "The Babysitter"
* a recounting of an art show where Marcy Shatner was the model
* a fan offers up her audio tapes of the show: "Trek Audio Tapes for the Blind" -- Generosity is a characteristic of Star Trek fans and our club members are running true to form. If any of our members know of a needy blind member, or better still, of a school for the blind who might take up Marie Jean Abt's offer, contact WISH. Marie writes: "I am a member of the William Shatner Fan Fellowship and I am an avid fan of Bill's. I have an audio-tape (reel-to-reel) of the Star Trek TV series -- all of the 79 shows. As I have now purchased a video-tape recorder, the audio reels are now sitting in the attic. What a waste! Do you suppose that some blind Star Trek fan would want these tapes? I will send the tapes free of charge to that person." We are proud of members like Marie. -- Sonni"
* there is a blurb for Equicon 1981: "Good news for convention goers. Bjo Trimble is once again putting on Equicon. For those in the know, Equicon is the superlative for convention. Never in fandom has there been a better convention than the 4 previous Equicons. The membership will be limited to 2,3000. That's a small convention in these days of the hype of the professional con-sharks. Equicon is a fan con. It is a non-profit venture for charity.... Here's where you come in. We have a table for WISH and we need people to staff it.... You will be expected to buy a membership in the con, even if you are helping. It is for charity. This will give some of you a chance to make a concrete contribution of support for WISH and the return of a fan-run quality convention." 
==v.1 n.6==
The Center Seat v.1 n.6 was published in February 1981 and contains 10 pages. 
* announcement that Star Trek will return "in the form of a television feature" and "Bill was really excited about the prospect of putting on the Admiral's uniform again"
* a long, scolding letter to fans about what the club's officers do, and don't: examples -- "If you're having family problems, mental health problems, or personal crises of some sort, look up the appropriate agency in a local telephone boo, and call them. Club business does not include running a mail-order psychiatric, family counseling, or occupational guidance service." And "Letters complaining about missed newsletters when you moved without bothering to inform us of your new address aren't too popular around here, either." And "The William Shatner Weekend is not a STAR TREK convention. It's expensive (just like we warned you it would be!) because we don't have the attendance a convention attracts.... Los Angeles is "The Big Enchilada," and costs reflect that fact. The banquet alone will take $25 of the $50 Registration fee as for under that we'd need "catering by MacDonald's." I hardly thing that would be appropriate to honor Bill, do you?"
* info on various charities
* yet more about the William Shatner Weekend, and a reminder that uniforms and costumes are inappropriate
* a question and answer section with Bill: you learn that one thing that drives him "into a rage" is "interference with my personal life"
* a full-page ad for a two-record set of "William Shatner Live"
* a full-page ad for the fan club's swag and some publicity photos
* the newsletter reprints a rude article "from" Shatner that was printed in The National Enquirer, and then refutes that Shatner had anything to do it
* a article about Bill's upcoming 50th birthday, about how hard it is for actors to age, and how WISH fans will support him no matter what
* a recipe from Marcy Shatner: "Vegetable Squares" -- dry soybeans, raw peanuts, butter, celery, carrots, mushrooms, onion, walnuts and water, bake in a shallow pan and cut into squares, "good served with a vegetable sauce" Sounds like something Spock would like. 
==v.2 n.1==
The Center Seat v.2 n.1 was published in April 1981 and contains 9 pages. 
* from Bill: 
 
* various glowing fan testimonials
* the editor justifies her purchase of a computer for the fan club: mainly that she's a professional writer and expects one, and Bill Shatner "wants to play with it" 
* an account of Bill in Toronto
* recipe from "The Captain's Table": "Marcy suggests this tasty salad -- 'Garbanzo Bean-Cheese Salad'"
* a full-page ad for "nature's gift," Marcy Shatner's Hair & Skin Care Products
==v.2 n.2==
The Center Seat v.2 n.2 was published in June 1981 and contains 8 pages. 
* a report about the versions of Trek that are shown in Japan with Japanese dubbing
* Shatner's daughter is getting married, Shatner gets a new dog named Paris
* a small photo of some WISH members at Equicon
* a WISH-focused Equicon con report
* a long article about changing fandom and rotten behavior by fans, see Public Image
* recipe from Marcy for "Triticale Bread"
* the editors describe their trip to see the landing of the space shuttle Columbia
==Reactions and Reviews: v.2 n.2==
 
==v.2 n.3==
The Center Seat v.2 n.3 was published in August 1981 and contains 15 pages. 
* some of Bill's comments at William Shatner Weekend
* four pages of Harve Bennett's comments at William Shatner Weekend
* a full-page, single-spaced account by Shatner of having to put his dog to sleep
* the club "adopts" a Navajo boy named Matthew, photo included
* three page recount of the William Shatner Weekend, one of these pages was a photo collage
* a full-page ad for the William Shatner Fan Fellowship club
* two full-pages of a newspaper clipping from the Los Angeles Times about Shatner and fandom
* a full-page ad for club swag
* an open letter by a fan to "Bill, March, Sonni, Susan and all" about how fabulous they are
==v.2 n.4==
The Center Seat v.2 n.4 was published in October 1981 and contains 12 pages. 
* a group of six New York fans ("4 WISH members, 2 prospective recruits") got together on July 31 at a hotel a la William Shatner Weekend: "dinner consisted of Chicken cutlets in mushroom and wine sauce, Spinch souffle a'la Geiger, and cheesecake for dessert. At 8:00 we retired to the Geiger TV room, which was renamed the Shatner Viewing Room, for the evening, where we viewed photos of the WISH weekend through each others eyes, and recapped the details. At 9:00, we broke out wine and some health food snacks, and settle in to watch one of Bill's wonderful performances in "Kingdom of the Spiders." 
* every issue appears to have had something about lost newsletters in the mail, and the "Klingons" who swipe them; this was no exception
* "Our Gift to Bill" is about an "ambitious new project: the acquisition of a Star on Hollywood Boulevard for our star"
* Bill gets another dog, this one named "China"
* a long review of Marcy Shatner in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
* part two of a report on the William Shatner Weekend
* five testimonials from fans about how fabulous the William Shatner Weekend was, including one from an unemployed man who sold his motorcycle to be able to make the trip
==v.2 n.5==
The Center Seat v.2 n.5 was published in December 1981 and contains 8 pages.
* includes a photo of the fan club president, Sonni Cooper and Bill
* an ad with Bill Shatner selling Commodore Computers
* Marcy offers up a hearty soup recipe: celery ("save tops for garnish" You're gonna need to do something to dress this up. ), water, leeks, potatoes, mushrooms, some herbs, blend in blender, cook some more, "be careful -- it will burn easily!", makes two quarts Sounds like about 1 7/8 quarts too many. 
* some letters from fans about reassuring Shatner that they would still see a Trek movie without Spock in it, not to be downhearted about all the fans that say they would boycott a Spock-free movie, and that fans really love Bill Shatner
* a long, LONG descriptive article by Sonni Cooper about being on the set of Star Trek II, includes an interview with Kirstie Alley
* the end of the run, printed in red: 
==v.2 n.6 ==
 
The Center Seat v.2 n.6 was published in February 1982 and contains 9 pages. This was the last issue.
* a farewell editorial which thanks a lot of people
* a recipe for hummus: "If anyone wondered what that stuff we served in the Suite at the Weekend was that looked like beige library paste and Bill dove into, well, this is it!"
* a description of Nicholas Meyer on the set of the Star Trek movie, as relayed by Sonni Cooper
* Barbara P. Gordon has an ad selling large portraits of James T. Kirk
* a clearance sale on William Shatner Fan Fellowship swag
* an interview with Merritt Butrick
* a clipping of an article out of an Australian news service
* many thank yous from fans
* Sonni Cooper cites the high costs of putting this newsletter out, and how much work it is and adds, see more at Why and How WISH is Ending: 
* Sonni Cooper plugs her upcoming pro Star Trek book, and writes: 
==Fan Comments==
==References==
 
Category:Club Zines
Category:Star Trek TOS Non-fiction Zines
Category:Star Trek TOS Actor-centric Zines
Category:1980 ZinesCategory:1981 Zines