ARR Page 12—SUSQUEHANNA TIMES of 687 East Market Street, and Bonnie Reitz of 240 West Market. It’s called ““Antithesis,”” because it’s about the other guys—the bad guys, to be specific. Even more specifically, it’s about the bad guys in the old TV series Star Trek: Klingons, Romulans, and Gorns. For those of you who aren't ‘‘Trekkers’’ (as the avid followers of the Star Trek reruns are called), a brief explanation follows: The good guys were mostly human, from Earth, on the TV series; people from other planets were some- times good (eg., Vulcans), often bad, and many times beyond those conventions. Since the show went off the air about ten years ago, the number of people who watch it has gone up—even though the Trekkers can only watch series re-runs of less than S0 shows. They know those shows by heart. A small industry has sprung up to meet the needs of Trekkers. There exist stores which sell only Star Trek paraphenalia. There are 125 Star Trek magazines, or ‘‘fanzines,’’ published today. Pat and Bonnie felt that they were too one-sided, though, because they were all about the good guys, notably Captain Kirk and Science Officer Spock of the Enter- prize starship. (The new, real-life space shuttle was named after the Star Trek ship.) “Those fanzines run the same stuff over and over,”’ says Pat. ‘‘One month Kirk falls in love; then Spock falls in love; then the i Pat Spath, left, and Bonnie Reitz work on the next month after they both fall in love.” Pat got tired of the same stuff over and over. While at the Star Trek Convention in Philadelphia last year, she got the bright idea of writting about the villains. “I’ve always been fascinat- ed by bad guys and nomads,’ explains Pat. “Like the Vikings and the Conquistadors. They didn’t kill people just for the fun of it. They must have had a reason for what they did.” Pat points out that, in real life, the good guys have turned out to be the bad guys quite often—as in the Watergate affair. STAR TREK —ADULTS ONLY There are all sorts of variations on the TV series in the fanzines. Many times the leading charac- ters are killed off; others try for variety by adding sex. ‘‘Adult’’ Star Trek fanzines. Pat and Bonnie's fanzine doesn’t get explicit—it’s intended for kids as well as adults—but there is a bad scene when one of the Klingon males goes after one of the heroines, with his face ‘‘clouded by the terrifying madness of the mating drives of Ikra.” Fortunately, it turns out to be just a dream. The Klingon girl wakes up before the man gets to her. LEATHER AND TORTURE There’s lots of violence, though, both physical and psychological. The Klingon anti-heroes wear leather, love to torture people, and want absolute power above all else. Even in romance, their chief delight is struggle and conquest. issue of Antithesis. The photo shows the editorial office, which is a corner of Pat's bedroom. On the wall behind Klingon politics is much like Russian politics, except they don’t believe in any ideal like a Workers’ Paradise. They believe in stabbing the leader in the back and taking his ultimate position of author- ity. Banana republics are models of order next to the Klingon warrior caste. Unlike the Klingons, Trekkers are nice people. Pat says that the popular image of Star Trek fans as fantasizing weirdos is false. “They're very intelligent, and friendly. Even the actors from the show who come to the conventions are very nice. We went jogging with George Takei.” [George Takei played the part of the the Japanese officer Sulu on the series. The crew had representatives of every race and nationality on Earth, and, a rarity those days, a black woman officer. Of course, the cap- tain was a WASP.) Trekkers take their favor- ite show seriously. Pat told of a physicist Trekker who lectured at the convention on the antimatter drive which the Enterprize used. Bonnie has lived in Marietta all her life; Pat moved here a year and a half ago when her husband Doug took a job as a nuclear operator at Three Mile Island. Strangely enough, though, the two met at Cole’s book store in Park City. They became friendly, and discovered that both were Trekkers and lived in Marietta. Antithesis was the result. ...bad guys are heroes in new Marietta magazine March 8, 1978 “Mara—it is either produce life or die,’ Kang stated 4 ——— oe me. te ent etme. \ . flatly. “There is no alternative.” \ This drawing illustrates the courting behavior of Klingon WAS DOUG A KLINGON? Bonnie and Pat are true Trekkers. Pat’s husband Doug is less so than she, but when he went to the convention with her, he looked so much like a real Klingon that people assum- ed he was an actor from the series and asked for his autograph. Her son, Doug III, won a prize for his costume. While the Times was interviewing Pat in her home, little Doug in the next room played star wars with a model plastic are a painting by Bonnie [of a battle cruiser], a picture of a “real” Klingon [from the TV series], and other stuff. Pat and Bonnie are both artists and both writers. Klingon warship, and real- istically imitated the sound of a photon torpedo. STRANGE HANDLES A note for Mariettians who own CB radios: if you ever hear a strange conversation between ‘Klingon Leader’’ and “Klingon Battle Cruiser,” don’t worry about your neighborhood—it’s only Pat and Bonnie. Pat has been drawing and writing for years, and Bonnie has been an artist and writer ‘‘For ever.” They are new to magazine publishing, and can’t afford a real printing job, but their fanzine is fun to read. The price for their quarter- ly publication is $4.50 an issue; no subscriptions are available yet. If you want a copy, or would like to contribute, write to Pat or Bonnie. The next issue will come out in April. The last issue ran 110 pages, xeroxed on one side. | Open House & Science Fair Donegal High School invites you to their Open House tomorrow night, March 9 from 7:00 to 9:00 | PM. They've been getting | ready for weeks, and every department will be on hand | with displays, projects, and | performances to comple- ment the Science Fair. The Science Fair exhibits | of both junior and senior ' high students will be in the | gym at DHS. Ribbons and ‘awards will be given out, , and the science department ‘will be on hand to answer ‘questions and discuss the Fair. The entire school will be opened up. There will be - exhibits of business prac- tice, graphic arts, wood- working, printing, casting; home computer uses of the at DHS future; weird mathemati- cal formulae; a collection of International flags; Ameri- can Indian cultures; career programs. Agnetta Wenninger, the Swedish Exchange student, will talk about her country and show slides in room 206, and the language department will have other exhibits; a preview of No No Nanette will start at 8:00 in the auditorium; a band rehearsal will take place in room 188. There will be a book fair in the library. Guidance counselors will be on hand to discuss students’ pro- grams; and almost every teacher in every depart- ment will be on hand. If you are the parent of a DHS student, you shouldn’t miss the Open House.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers