Day 108: Starship Enterprise

enterprise

enterrpise_desc

Image credit: Wishbook’s “1976.xx.xx Sears Christmas Catalog (Canada) P246”

In the 70s I was forced-fed the Star Trek re-runs as a child, and I probably saw the entire series, though I don;t remember much of it.  In fact, I was never really a big fan of the series at all and I’m still not, and when gien the chance to choose between Twilight Zone and Star Trek as a kid Star Trek never won. But it was unavoidable, but rather than enjoying the characters and plots—I was much more into the transporters, communicators, and laser guns.  And the Starship Enterprise flight deck toy was a work of design genius in this regard.  The whole box frame was brilliant, and the spinning transporting room which hid your figures was a perfect touch. Moreover, the moveable screen that simulated flight blew me away as a kid. Unlike the Halls of Justice for the DC Supershero figures, the Enterprise was worth the $20.00 at the time, which was a small fortune.

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11 Responses to Day 108: Starship Enterprise

  1. Joe says:

    Phasers, Jim. Not laser guns!

  2. Boone Gorges says:

    Damn, I’m jealous of this. When I was a kid (a huge Star Trek dweeb, I might add), I had figurines of the whole crew, as well as the Enterprise herself in one or two different sizes, but this bridge setup looks dope-on-a-rope. I also like the idea of having a Klingon figurine that looks like one of the old school Klingons, before Roddenberry could afford enormous rubber prostheses. Back then, you could only tell a Klingon by his sneer.

  3. laser guns. n00b. you, sir, are not a geek.

  4. dave cormier says:

    Can i get 14 Mr. Spocks please?

    Never mind what for!!

  5. Sue F. says:

    The Nat’l Air and Space Museum out near Dulles has this full set on display, along with the comuninicators (which had been my favorite as a kid… anything resembling a “walkie-talkie” was always a hit. Communication = power?) Here’s the display as I saw it last June: http://twitpic.com/h7iy6

  6. Joe says:

    And the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle has this actual control panel from the Enterprise (Destruct Sequence Engaged).

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jugoretz/2556402950/in/set-72157605462929098

  7. Ed Webb says:

    I had a Kirk figure, bought with saved-up pocket money at a corner store, and dreamed of being able to afford the transporter one day. This, mind you, when my family did not own a TV set but I got to walk up the garden a couple of times a week to watch Doctor Who and the like at my grandmother’s place. I had probably seen Star Trek once, but it was so much part of the 70s zeitgeist that I knew quite a lot about it. I think I picked up Star Trek magazines and hardback annuals for pennies at local rummage sales, so those were probably my main source of Trek information.

    And even in that information-light state, I knew the difference between a laser and a phaser. Reverend, you may end up de-frocked.

  8. Reverend says:

    What the fuck is a phaser? Jesus, you trekkies are annoying 🙂

  9. Ed Webb says:

    Mmmm. Set to ‘stun’ or ‘deep-fry’? Quite the dilemma.

  10. Debbi Shepherd says:

    I am an original fan of the original series—five years old when it debuted, and my mom and I watched it faithfully every week. In the “lean years” before the subsequent movies and new TV shows, I reaad and re-read all the James Blish episode adaptations. Never was a big fan of the toys as a kid, but I absolutely remember wanting this one. Jim, I wonder if you’re a “Futurama” fan, and have seen its “Star Trek” episode?

    • Reverend says:

      @Debbi,
      I haven’t seen Futurama ever, and I think that is an oversight on my part. I have been late to recent TV, mainly because I haven’t had cable for more than 5 years. Which is something I am strongly considering breaking these days. Trekkies are the most loyal of pop culture fanatics, and for that I salute them, but Star Trek is no Twilight Zone, or even Bionic Man 🙂

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