Jack's ponto

DAY 26

I am currently reading "I am Jack" by Susanne Gervay to all of Stage 2 and 3. Here's my newly-made prop: Jack's "ponto", from the novel. (Jack has managed to graft an onion to a potato to invent a new vegetable, which he calls a "ponto").

Holy fine finny fiends, Batman!

Okay, I know they found a bullshark swimming in a flooded Brisbane street this week, but I found *this* in my garage yesterday! It took me a while to work out exactly what it was - but it's the interactive shark fin prop I made when Hoyts Cinema Centre in the Sydney CBD asked us to dress up and do a series of weekly "Rocky Horror Picture Show"-type events for the 60s' "Batman" movie revival in January 1987!

As Robin, I ran across the screen with this "fin on a stick" just before the famous "rubber shark scene". Ah, fame is so fleeting sometimes.

Star Trek 365

I am now the proud owner of "Star Trek 365: The Original Series", a massive house-brick sized book filled with big colour pics, sketches, memos - and lots of info. Written by Paula M Block & Terry J Erdmann, the book is introduced by Dorothy "DC" Fontana and published by Abrams Publishing (no connection to JJ).

I've barely done more than flip through the wonderful rare and familiar pictures so far, but this looks to be a wonderful publication! Just when you think no more could possibly be left to see or read about "Star Trek", Paula Block & Terry Erdmann have scrounged out those last(?) remaining bits of trivia!

A few random pages of the 365 double spreads:













Lug a copy home today!

Captain's Log: Supplemental. I was lucky, even though living in Sydney, Australia, to find a copy of this Abrams Publishing "365" in a local bookshop - as it turned out, many weeks before the jealous US readers started to report seeing copies!

Paula Block & Terry Erdmann have done an incredible job of fossicking through all those years of material on Star Trek and presenting a blend of iconic, familiar and extremely rare photographs and facts about Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek". The "365" format is certainly unusual and modern. I laughed out loud at early Amazon.com reviewer comments complaining about the unique design features; features which I immediately thought were wonderfully retro and modern at the same time. (In fact, my great experience with this particular edition convinced me to go back and pick up a shrink-wrapped "Star Wars 365 Days" from the same publisher - and I'm not even much of a "Star Wars" fan.)

I've had the "Star Trek" book for weeks now (it's 9th September now; yesterday was TOS's 44th anniversary), using it exactly as intended: as a coffee table book, but safely on a coffee table upon which food and drink are never served! I feel like I've barely done more than flip through the wonderful rare and familiar pictures so far, or yelling out factoids to anyone who passes. Stunning photos! Glorious colours! I stop riffling every so often to absorb brand new (and sometimes well known) trivia in the text. There are even some great mini interviews and quotes from people we haven't seen in the limelight for decades! It's a wonderful publication!

Just when you think no more could possibly be left to see/read about the original "Star Trek" series, Paula & Terry have scrounged out those last(?) remaining bits. And now... I want more! Bring on the movies book, TNG and beyond, and the Abrams' book of JJ Abrams (no relation)!

"I Am Jack": a triumph!

Tim McGarry of Monkey Baa as Jack

I have such a fondness for Jack.

For once I don't mean Jack, my Jack Russell terrier. I mean Jack, the charming, hilarious, resilient boy at the heart of Susanne Gervay's very important children's novel, "I Am Jack".

I was fortunate enough to be given this book to review for the teacher-librarian's journal, Scan, in 2000. It was in a stack of about fifteen assorted new books, but it just stood out. First of all, the intriguing cover (as below) was at once bright yet ominous, and, within a few pages of reading, I was rallying to the cause of its appealing protagonist - who goes from lovable, normal, happy-go-lucky kid, to unexpected victim, to proud and empathetic victor, throughout the course of the book. The story really touched the heartstrings. It was probably no surprise, bumping into the author at a literary function some months later, that I learned how much autobiographical truth there was in "I Am Jack". Susanne and her son, whom I also met at another function, bravely shared their true story of playground bullying so that other children might be empowered.

A few years later, in my role of editor of Scan, I worked with a school team of educators who'd used Susanne's book with students, and wanted to share their journey and results in the journal. The Scan article went through quite a long consultative process. Crossing over several Key Learning Areas as it did, and being about such a sensitive issue as bullying, it was so important that the article - not to mention the teaching notes, and my interview with Susanne) would cross all the t's and dot all the i's (or is that cross all the eyes?). The article(s) eventually appeared in Scan 21(3) August 2002.

A few weeks ago, I heard that "I Am Jack" had been turned into a play for schools. By coincidence, Susanne and I had just found each other again - this time on Facebook, and she gave me some days and venues. It had already been playing relatively close by: at Parramatta, but I'd missed that. In a panic, I realised that all of these other times were for weekdays. Drat. Except today... 2pm. If I felt like getting myself to Campbelltown.

Or I could wait until its return season... Next year. D'oh!

The radio was warning about a blazing hot day but I decided that, if there was no railway track maintenance when I checked the online timetables this morning, and if I could leave it till after 10.00am before I left the house (having confirmed with the box office that there were some tickets left), then I'd venture off to the unknown wilderness that is Campbelltown to see the play.

Timing worked out perfectly. After two longish train legs, and a leisurely walk from Campbelltown Station, past lots of intriguing shops I was sure I'd never get back to, to the beautiful Arts Centre, I was there in plenty of time to have lunch!

At about 1.50 pm, I wandered over to the theatre area and there was Susanne signing copies of "I Am Jack". It was great to see her again. Her fellow authors, Di Bates and Bill Condon, both of who I knew well from my early days as a teacher-librarian, ended up sitting next to me - another happy reunion - and I also got to meet the real "Rob", template for fictional Jack's gregarious and supportive future step-Dad in "I Am Jack".

How to describe the set? It's a one-actor tour de force, with Tim McGarry portraying Jack and ten supporting characters, surrounded by oversized, scribbled-on furniture that at once recaptures Cathy Wilcox's unique illustrations in the book, and makes Tim McGarry the size of an eleven-year-old schoolboy!



Tim had an array of wonderful shorthand mimes to cue the audience as to which supporting character would be appearing next. Feeble Nanna playing "Uno" against Jack was a hoot, as was Rob driving the car, one hand on the wheel. Also amazing was Jack playing handball against unseen opponents, without a tennis ball being thrown.

The anti-bullying message is crystal clear, both in the book and the play: it can happen to anyone, at any time; bullies isolate someone, in order to improve their own sense of power, and they can peck away at whatever self-esteem the victim has/had until he or she is further and further isolated from the very people who could have helped; it takes the whole group to stand firm against bullying, so it's a change of culture that will affect a change in behaviour.

The play concluded with a question-and-answer session with Tim and Susanne. Apart from some perceptive questions about bullying and writing by the young audience, a real hit, prop-wise, was Jack's amazing science experiment: the ponto in its glass jar: an onion grafted onto a potato, which has seemingly successfully sprouted and may, one day, make Jack a fortune as an impossible hybrid plant! Amazingly, the play's ponto was made from plastic vegetables bought from a two-dollar shop by the Monkey Baa propmaster. (You know what? I want one!)

After that, Susanne invited a group of us back to the Arts Centre's cafe for coffee. Even though they were "closing in ten minutes", I'm sure we got in a good twenty extra minutes of gossiping.

I had such a great day. It was well worth the long commute, and maybe I shouldn't mention how I was waylaid by some amazing DVD bargains in the Borders store in Macarthur Centre while looking for the station entrance after Susanne and her "Rob" dropped me near Macarthur Station.

So, if you notice that "I Am Jack" is coming to a theatre near you, or if you know anyone who has ever bullied, or been bullied, this play is one to see! And, in the meantime, read the book. Or its excellent sequel, "Super Jack".

Hey Hoshi, translate this!

We all know that, in the original series of "Star Trek", Doctor McCoy cured his patients with a selection of rejected, exotic salt shakers, originally purchased for use in the episode, "The Man Trap". And then, in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", McCoy cured Chekov's brain with a piece of a Klingon Bird of Prey model ship.

But Hoshi Sato found a 22nd century use for toilet cleaners!


Universal translator from "Star Trek: Enterprise".


Mineral magnet toilet cleaner, in the latest "Penny Miller" catalogue
(Spring 2007) that landed on my doorstep this week. Obviously, this handy
little device was the basis for the mould of the Universal Translator, as
seen in "Star Trek: Enterprise".


Andorian Ambassador Thoris, feeling flushed
with his trusty mineral magnet toilet cleaner...,
er, Universal Translator. ("Terra Prime", ENT.)

Props, costumes and auctions, oh my!

Over recent weeks, my monitoring of the It's a Wrap! auctions of Star Trek props and costumes led me to a great online bulletin board (BBS) for collectors of Star Trek props and costumes. I can highly recommend it as a place where questions are answered, answers are questioned (always in a friendly, helpful manner), and the members display amazing access to encyclopedic knowledge of ST trivia.


Star Trek Props, Costumes and Auctions BBS

As for my own journey as a SF media costumier - and authentic Star Trek prop collector - I cobbled together my first TOS redshirt in 1980, from an old red velour sweater. Coincidentally, this favourite velour top had some tiny holes right where the insignia and rank stripes should be.

Over the years, my Andorian persona, Therin, got to wear a homemade beige TMP costume, a ST II-style uniform, and a formal tailcoat, depending on the occasion, be it convention or movie premiere night. A friend made me the TNG outfit in which I played Data several times. My mother helped me to make a Robin the Boy Wonder costume (from TV's "Batman" series), a David Marcus shirt, and a "Greatest American Hero" costume. Our Star Trek club once spent a weekend casting plaster moulds of each other, and making latex appliances, which is when I made my Maltz (the Klingon from ST III) head! After growing a beard for a few years, I also began to play a Tellarite named Grol.

Owning an actual screen-used costume is going to be a very different type of satisfaction and excitement, as making replica costumes was a wonderful challenge, and perhaps something I've really missed since so much of interactive ST fandom vanished from Sydney in the 90s.

Performing in a costume parade (when not actually hosting or judging them) was also very fulfilling. It's not just wearing a good replica, or choosing something that suits your personality and/or physical dimensions, it's staying in character. And that clever one-line quip during the performance can really make a costume, and can definitely tip the voting in your favour.

A few examples:

I was in my Robin the Boy Wonder costume, with friends dressed as Batgirl and Lois Lane. Our Batman failed to turn up at the convention. The theme of the convention was "V: The Series" and the guest was Judson Scott (aka Lt James). As we came out, Lois pretended to be taking notes and I exclaimed to Batgirl, "Holy indigestion! Batman's been eaten by a Visitor!" (We won best group in that costume parade.)

My friend Karen and I came out dressed as Andorians - at a science fiction literary convention, no less - and I presented her to Guest of Honour, Harlan Ellison, and said, "Isn't she blue-tiful?" (We won best couple, even though Harlan has his infamous love/hate relationship with Star Trek.)

Bjo Trimble - "the woman who saved Star Trek" in the 60s - once told a convention audience about a very shy girl in a costume parade, who came out dressed as a female version of Luke Skywalker ("Star Wars"), with a life-sized Yoda doll/backpack on her shoulders (as per "The Empire Strikes Back"). She asked the Yoda doll, "How can I prove my Jedi powers, Master Yoda?" Yoda replied, "Levitate audience you will." She simply closed her eyes and wiggled her fingers a bit. When she opened her eyes again, the entire audience had stood, as one. Spectacular!

Bjo also mentioned one of the poorest efforts she'd seen at costuming. A beautiful young girl, wearing a stunningly brief slave girl Leia "Return of the Jedi" outfit, but she walked out "as if going to the shop to get a milkshake". As I said the other night, clothes maketh the alien - but so, it seems, does performance.

Raiding my old photo albums for some fun stuff to put on Flickr!, here are some scenes from Sale of the 23rd Century. This was a parody game show, performed and videoed live at Brisbane's Con Amore in 1985. The edited footage, with titles, a few newly-shot insert sequences, plus some special effects, became the first fan film of Harpic Productions. As a lark, I nominated the fan film for an Australian Science Fiction Media Award, and it ended up winning in the category of "Best Audiovisual Production". No doubt we were helped by the fact that many fans voting had seen the live version at the previous national convention.


Therin of Andor and Tackee the Orion slave girl (left); Therin and Tharrah see Tackee get shocked (centre); the contestants resolve a tied score (right). Photos by John Tipper, 1985.

Propwise, I own one of the very last large two-toned, screen-used 60s tribbles (from "The Trouble With Tribbles") that David Gerrold found in his garage a few years ago. I also have: a security clearance set pass from TMP; a patch of artificial Genesis Cave grass from Stage 5 (ST II); Majel Barrett and Michael Berryman cue cards (from ST IV); an unfinished breathing mask prop from ST V; a security clearance set pass from TNG; two "Starfleet Materiel Supply Command 01" cargo deck decals (one red; one blue); and a "baggie full of Star Trek" - bits of carpet, decking, wood and wire from ST: TNG - collected from the set by Bjo Trimble.




My favourite item might just be: a little clay tabletop-model house from the Old Bandi City of "Encounter at Farpoint", which were once attached to dozens of Christmas cards given out by the SPFX guys to the cast and crew.


Originally located on Deneb IV, somehow this little cottage was transported backwards through time and space - and is now situated on a plot of grass from the Genesis Planet. Yes, it's my Little Bandi House on the Prairie.


And my apologies to my niece, Beckie, who likes all my blog posts except the Star Trek ones. Sorry, Beck, it's been a big Star Trek week!