Everything about Starlog totally explained
Starlog is a monthly
science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers
Kerry O'Quinn and
Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got their start in publishing creating a
soap opera magazine. In the mid-1970s, O'Quinn and high school friend David Houston talked about creating a magazine that would cover science fiction-related films and television programs.
History
O'Quinn came up the idea of publishing a one-time only magazine on the
Star Trek phenomenon. Houston's editorial assistant Kirsten Russell suggested that they include an episode guide to all three seasons of the show, interviews with the cast and previously unpublished photographs. During this brainstorming session many questions were raised, most notably legal issues. Houston contacted
Star Trek creator
Gene Roddenberry with the intention of interviewing him for the magazine. Once they got his approval, O'Quinn and Jacobs proceeded to put together the magazine but
Paramount Studios, who owned
Star Trek, wanted a minimum royalty that was too much for their costs to cover and the project was shelved.
O'Quinn realized that they could create a magazine that only featured
Star Trek content but without it being the focus and therefore getting around the royalties issue. He also realized that this could be the science fiction magazine he and Houston had talked about. Many titles for it were suggested, including
Fantastic Films and
Starflight before
Starlog was picked.
To keep costs down,
Starlog was initially a quarterly magazine with the first issue being published on August
1976. The issue sold out and this encouraged O'Quinn and Jacobs to publish a magazine every six weeks instead of quarterly. O'Quinn was the magazine's first editor with Houston taking over for a year and then replaced by Howard Zimmerman when Houston was promoted to the "Hollywood Bureau." Zimmerman was eventually succeeded by David McDonnell, who is still the editor of the now-monthly magazine.
One of the magazine's milestones was its 100th issue, published on November 1985 and featured who they thought were the 100 most important people in science fiction. This included exclusive interviews with
John Carpenter,
Peter Cushing,
George Lucas,
Harlan Ellison,
Leonard Nimoy, and Gene Roddenberry.
The magazine's 200th issue repeated the format of the 100th issue but this time interviewed such notable artists as
Arthur C. Clarke,
Tim Burton,
William Gibson,
Gale Anne Hurd, and
Terry Gilliam.
Starlog was one of the first publications to report on the development of the first movie, and it also followed the development of what was to eventually become . The magazine is devoted to
science fiction films, television series, and books. Many fans of this long-running magazine considered its heyday to have been the 1980s with very little substance to the content in later years and many of its long-time contributors having since moved on. But it continues to boast some top-flight genre journalists, including film historians Will Murray and Tom Weaver. It is one of the longest-running and most popular publications of its type.
It published its 30th Anniversary issue in
2006.
On Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007 at approximately 11 a.m. a warehouse, operated by Kable News, in Oregon, Illinois containing back issues of Starlog and Fangoria Magazine burned to the ground. (At this point it isn't known if the warehouse contained all of the back issues.)
Others
In addition to
Starlog, O'Quinn and Jacobs also published dozens of other magazines, including the science/science-fiction hybrid
Future Life,
Comics Scene,
Cinemagic, and
Fangoria, which is dedicated to
horror films. Over the past 30 years,
Starlog has produced books, videos, science fiction conventions, trivia books, and more. It has also had a number of foreign editions, including in Japan, Germany, France, The UK, Brazil, and Australia.
After the entire magazine industry took a serious stumble in 2001, Starlog Group was eventually purchased by Creative Group, Inc., which continues to publish
Starlog and
Fangoria, and is expanding its franchises into the Internet, satellite radio, video, and TV.
Best science fiction movies by year
In 2002, the magazine announced the best science fiction movies by year. The winners are as follows.
Other Uses
The term "starlog" is also used in the TV series, in lieu of the more traditional stardate.Further Information
Get more info on 'Starlog'.
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