Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (sometimes abbreviated Star Trek:TMP, ST:TMP, or TMP) was the first film adaptation of the original Star Trek television series.
==Background==
After being off-screen for nearly 10 years, fans eagerly awaited the release of the first feature length Star Trek movie. They had fought long and hard, creating numerous fan letter campaigns lobbying Paramount for further adventures of the Starship Enterprise and her crew. While many fans rejoiced in the movie's release, others felt it was too long and boring suffering from a bloated plot with too many long tracking shots of traveling through space. 
The novelization of the movie, however, provided K/S fans some legitimacy when Gene Roddenberry translated the word T'hy'la, an affectionate name that Spock gives to Kirk, in a footnote to encompass "friend, lover and brother." An analysis of that footnote can be found at The Footnote: An Explication de Texte.
Work began on the film in 1975, and it involved many twists and turns. 
One source states that Gene Roddenberry's aim with the film "was to keep it recognizably "Star Trek" but of far greater dimension" (p. 4)Paramount Pictures Corporation, "Looking At A Phenomenon... With Star Trek's Creator", in Star Trek The Motion Picture Newsletter" #1, Summer 1979.
==A Scene Beloved by Many Fans==
Spock says, "Jim... This... simple feeling is beyond V'ger's comprehension."
 
 File:Tmp1.jpg |from the movie, used as a photo reference by many fans
File:Nexus5.jpg|from Nexus #5, artist is Marie Watson (1980)
File:Nome9.jpg|from Nome #9, artist is Caren Parnes (1986)
==Rumors and Early Descriptions==
Fans, as well as PTB, heard, and spread rumors, of what they'd heard about the upcoming movie.
===1975 Descriptions===
University campuses were a popular spot for Gene Roddenberry to give speeches and presentations to fans, both about the original show, and his future creative plans. Roddenberry's comments from a December 1975 press conference at Memphis State University: 
 
Image:roddenberryspockulationsletters-1.jpg|Roddenberry also promoted his plans for this movie (and all its early rumored permutations) in zines. This is a set of letters in the 1975 issue of Spockulations
Image:roddenberryspockulationsletters-2.jpg|from the 1975 issue of Spockulations
Image:roddenberryspockulationsletters-3.jpg|from the 1975 issue of Spockulations
=== 1977 Description===
Paramount and Gene Roddenberry spent some years negotiating between rebooting Star Trek as a television series and as a movie. Roddenberry had a close relationship with fans, and kept them in touch with developments through fan networking. STAG distributed a telegram that they received from Roddenberry in June 1977 regarding the proposed television series.
 
File:STAG -TV announcement June 1977.jpg|thumb|An announcement of the proposed Star Trek TV series, courtesy of STAG (UK) in June 1977.
After the release of Star Wars, the Star Trek reboot TV series was quickly abandoned and the project was relaunched as a movie. One fan notes:
Gossip and rumours continue to spread about the TV series until the end of 1977.
==1978: Fans and Film Publicity==
The official announcement of the film came in February 1978, when Gene Roddenberry sent telegrams to fan clubs to announce that the film was officially confirmed. This was followed up by regular (often monthly) publicity releases that included letters, publicity photos, and glossy colour Paramount advertising brochures. It is presumed that this material was distributed to fan clubs around the world.
Aside from serving as testimony of Roddenberry's positive relationships with fandom, it also shows that this interaction with fans was a shrewd investment to encourage audience publicity, support and interest in the upcoming movie, and in the franchise as a whole.
 
File:STTMP Telegram 1978.jpg|A copy of the telegram from Gene Roddenberry announcing Star Trek The Motion Picture, as received by Austrek (February 1978)
Image:spock12.jpg|front cover of Spock #12, featuring publicity photo sent by Gene Roddenberry & Paramount (October 1978)
Image:spock12back.jpg|back cover of Spock #12, featuring publicity photo sent by Gene Roddenberry & Paramount (October 1978)
Image:spock16-17back.jpg|back cover of Spock #16/17, featuring publicity photo sent by Gene Roddenberry & Paramount, courtesy of Diane Marchant (August 1979)
File:STTMP photo from DM.jpg|TMP publicity photo from Gene Roddenberry via Diane Marchant , 1979
==1978: Fans as Extras in the Film==
 
One chapter in the book, On the Good Ship Enterprise by Bjo Trimble, and an article by Dennis Fischer, "Part of the Magic: The Experience of Being A Star Trek Extra" for Enterprise Incidents #7, both concern the involvement of local Los Angeles "Star Trek" fans as paid extras in the movie.
Image:RecDeckFans.png|"Star Trek" fans on the Rec Deck, 1978: Front row, from left: Marlene Willauer, Grace Lee Whitney's son Scott Dweck (as a Vulcan), Paula Crist (as Worene), Bjo Trimble, Grace Lee Whitney (as Janice Rand), Susan Sackett and Louise Stange. Next row, from left: Star Trek novelist, Kathleen Sky ("Vulcan!" and "Death's Angel"), Leigh Strother-Vien and the very tall Dennis Fischer. Writer David Gerrold ("The Trouble With Tribbles") is behind Grace Lee Whitney. 
A fan recorded her experiences in a poem, The Star Trek Cattlecall.
Many more fan names and memories can be found in a 2007 entry, "Faces in the Crowd", in Ian McLean's Have Phaser, Will Travel blog. http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2007/08/faces-in-crowd.html (Accessed June 9, 2019)
The 2009 Blu-Ray boxed release, "Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection", features a reunion of fan extras from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". "Special Star Trek Reunion" includes Christopher Doohan, David Gerrold, Bjo Trimble, JoAnn Christy-Nolan and Fred Bronson chatting on the same sound stage used for the film's Rec Deck scene.
Also see Fans on Sets.
==Re-Edits, Missing Scenes, and Opinions==
The film was later shown on television with more footage. 
A fan in 1983 wrote: 
==Transformative Fan Works==
==Fan Comments==
===1980===
 
 
===1980 Comments: From the Australian Print Zine "Multiverse"===
Many fans wrote to Nikki White about the film, and she published some of their responses in Multiverse #2. Some excerpts are below:
===1981===
 
===1984===
 
===1996===
===2006===
===2010===
===2012===
===2017===
==Other Dates==
 
A Facebook group was dedicated to this movie was established in 2014, and is located at The Star Trek: The Motion Picture Appreciation Society. In 2019, the group surpassed 6,000 members. An ongoing fan campaign urges Paramount/CBS to consider a high definition (on Blu-Ray or 4K) release for the Director's Edition of the movie. https://www.facebook.com/groups/StarTrekTMPappreciationsociety/members/ (Accessed June 9, 2019)
 
In 2019, to celebrate the 40th anniversary, many screenings of the 1979 version were organised by Fathom Events across USA. Boutique cinemas in other parts of the world held similar screenings.
Paramount/CBS announced that in 2022, a 4K version of the Director's Edition would launch on the streaming service, Paramount+, for an exclusive period. https://www.facebook.com/groups/StarTrekTMPappreciationsociety/members/ (Accessed January 19, 2022)
==Additional Reading==
* Endings? by Sandra D. Gray (1981)
*"Essay: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Kirk and Spock's Relationship Was The Whole Point Of Star Trek: The Motion Picture", dated May 25, 2009; WebCite. Apparently one of the reasons the film had to have a secret slash message was that without it, "it is simply inconceivable that the creator of such an intelligent series would let its first foray onto the big screen be such a trite science fiction story."
*Beyond T'hy'la: Slash Analysis of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Novel
*The Footnote: An Explication de Texte
*Star Trek: The EMotion Picture Review at Star Trek Rewatch on the Viewscreen.
* Is There Anybody Else Out There?... A Defence of THAT Motion Picture
==Notes==
==References==
*1
Category:Live-action Film