PAGE 10 ‘NEW WORLD OF STAR TREK’ INEP by Vic Cromarty Last Sunday night at U.B.C. *s War Memorial Gym, about three thousand people were ripped off by the university’s Alma Mater Society. While the title of the show was ‘‘The NEW world of Star Trek’’ there was next to noth- ing about what fans can expect to see from Star Trek in the future. The one tid-bit of trivia was Gene Roddenberry’s con- firmation of what we all knew already. There will be a third movie, a movie in which Spock, dead though he may be, will figure prominently. Gene Roddenberry, the cre- ator of Star Trek back in the mid-sixties, came across as a> nice guy during the course of his presentation. He gave some interesting insights,into how the mind ot a writer works when building fictional char- acters, and gave an introduc- tion to a new character he is currently developing for a book and, hopefully, a film. © The character, called Gann, (or something that ~ sounds much like it) is an alien that is visiting Earth in a synthetic human body. It is an entity that was born on a planet ‘‘of methane seas’’ and has been sent to Terra to examine hu- man society. Sound familiar? Gene has al- ready done the theme of “Stranger on Earth’’ with his earlier series attempt called Questar. We've also seen David Bowie, E.T., The Man from Atlantis and count- less schlock T.V. shows ex- HE OTHER PRESS ploring the same area. Two of the better ones were My Fav- orite Martian and Mork and Mindy. So why is he doing it? Who Knows. We can hope that Mr. Roddenberry’s new character is something special, but the odds seem slim. Aside from this sneak pre- view, he also gave his stand- ard speech imploring people to be positive in their - ap- proach to technology and to be actively aware of what goes on around them. His optimism was infectious and calculated to produce applause. The message was a valid one, though the audience was a little slow to react. After a very short question period, The Great Bird of the Galaxy, as he is affectionately called, quietly disappeared. TunUaTeA UeSS Aq O10Y4d ~ review of Commodore performance next issue - Above, Peter Paddon, vocalist. No autographs, no hand shakes or mingling. Presum- ably he was anxious to get home. Then came the showing of ‘The Cage’’, the original Star Trek series pilot. The original can be seen on T.V. in colour, as part of a double episode. For some reason we were given the black and white ver- sion. That is, when the pro- jector worked, which was only fitfully. Even then we were subjected to an enforced fif- teen minute break, and en- couraged over the inadequate sound system to buy mini size bags of chips at full size prices. The show was not completely off key though. The Star Trek blooper reels were hilarious, and the NASA film ‘‘Space- borne’’ was inspiring. Y > by Dave Christian MASH ended its 11 year reign last Monday night, crowning its many previous achieve- ments with the largest aud- ience in the history of tele- vision. The television series, based on the novel by Richard Hook- er and Robert Altman’s 1970 movie, has seen many chang- es in its time. The original six member main cast, has expan- ded and changed, and the role of the supporting cast has be- come more important with the years. The TV movie that ended the show offered very little to the audience in the way of new material. It basically summed up an 11 year experience, brought together loose ends and allowed the characters to give the audience some incli- nation of their future plans. The few surprises losing his tenuous grip on his reconcilliation of life, death, his work, and the war, was a superb and totally realistic cli- max to the character. Hawk- eye consistently walked a fine line between reality and insan- ity; watching him fall and re- cover was a deeply emotional experience for the viewer, who could not help but visualize himself in the same position. The climax of the movie was good, even if the preceding two hours sometimes stretch- ed the viewer's attention. The Se Wris At six dollars plus a ticket though, you expect more than bad sound, a screen that was inadequate for the size of the gym, a joke of a question per- iod and a star guest who van- ishes before the show is over. Add to this a lousy, if cheap to rent, hall and an hour waiting in the rain for a show that finally starts three-quarters of an hour late, and you end up with a strictly second rate presentation. Though CFOX wasn’t obvious, despite their listing as a promoter, the A.M.S. was. Next time you hear about the U.B.C. Alma Mater Society sponsoring a show, think twice. Unless you're as dedicated as a lot of Star Trek fans are, you may not be able to make it through, especially if it’s held at the War Memorial Gym. Ss goodbye scenes, even if they were too much alike, were tastefully done and afforded the audience a feeling that they wete watching a family split up. It was an emotionally charged experience. In the last few years Alan offered,(Hawkeye’s break- down, Klinger’s wedding, Father Mulchahey’s deafness) were sensitively and truthfully portrayed. Hawkeye finally Alda has become the creative influence behind MASH. He directed the movie, and while his direction was relatively un- inspiring, technically, it was well done. But one cannot help getting the feeling that Alan Alda has come to see himself as the man who knows Mash best, and now views Robert Altman as a rival. The movie seemed to portray the feeling ““myMASHis better than your MASH": This is a great shame,. for two such creative talents should be able to portray dif- ferent ideas without this type of competition. The finale of MASH was sat- isfying. It was time for it to end, and it was gratifying to see it quit while ahead. While many people will miss MASH, they can be assured that synd- ication will help it to live for- ever. It may even beat ‘‘I Love Lucy.”’