I saw TMP & TWOK. They played the episode first, had a 10 minute intermission, then played the movie. That makes more sense especially playing Space Seed before Khan.
They showed the episode where I went right after TWOK credits.
Intermission length must be at the discretion of individual managers or projectionists. Last night, another patron at my Regal told me that when he saw TMP the night before, there'd been a six-minute break after the episode.
So as the Space Seed credits began to roll, I quick-marched to the concession stand (which was right next to our auditorium), was first or second in line, and grabbed the metal popcorn bucket for my wife. I hotfooted it back and had missed practically all of the TWoK opening credits and Horner's magnificent intro. So I guess not six minutes after all.
Speaking of buckets, the merch situation was chaotic. Regal corporate had sent different stuff to different theaters, and concessions couldn't sell me a matching cup and popcorn bucket combo in the same color unless it was red. This was due, in various degrees, to how inconsistently merch was shipped, how poorly the staff was prepped, and (probably) the fact that I waited until "intermission" on day 2 of the event to try to make my purchase.
At the check-in point they were handing out promotional Magic the Gathering cards with a Star Trek character on it; interesting, but the character oddly was Picard. People sitting next to us in the auditorium said "oh, yesterday our friend told us they drove down to the other Regal in town who had Spock cards instead; they asked if they could trade Picards for Spocks and the manager just gave them a couple of Spocks." So after our show we drove to that other one (just a few miles away) and asked the same question. It was a firm no, and I also found out that the other Regal (a) didn't get any plastic Trek cups or matching popcorn buckets, (b) only got a grand total of 6 Enterprise popcorn buckets, and (c) got all Spock cards and no JLPs. On top of that, the manager told me that at their location, due to their shorter operating hours, the advertised four-film marathon on Tuesday would actually be split into two pairs of two films each, showing in different auditoria simultaneously, so moviegoers there will have to choose between two half-marathons and won't be able to see both since it's a one-time-only affair.
Came home and gave Picard to my daughter (who plays MtG), and she told us there are like six of these promo cards for an upcoming MtG/Star Trek crossover set of some kind, including Spock and Kirk. Some were given out at the gaming/anime convention she had just attended the same day, though she and her friend had trouble getting them.
Anyway, clearly the Regal corporation is handling all their merch very willy-nilly, and Paramount is handling the overall movie event in the same way. Each of the three movie chains (Regal, AMC, Cinemark) has different proprietary merch. The "cups with mystery ship toppers" we heard about in advance are completely unknown to Regal, and between the three chains there are at least four different styles of collectible ST60 popcorn buckets, two of which have plastic Enterprises on them in somewhat different hull shapes, very different sizes, and very different price points.
Couple all this merch chaos with the facts that nobody knows in advance whether the episode or the film is shown first at their theater, or the length of the break in between. In some cases, which individual theaters would even be showing the films was changing up until like a week ago, to the point that AI search summaries were misreporting which was which, and I even got a false result on my Android phone saying that the specific shows we had pre-purchased had been canceled at the last minute due to insufficient attendance. They had not, but this threw us into chaos and had us trying to rebook at a different theater until we could confirm what was real.
All in all, the process of going to the movie and getting some popcorn and Mt. Dew was just exhausting. By the time I was actually watching TWoK, I wasn't really in the right frame of mind. It took a while to settle in.
Thanks for the logistical crapshow, Paramount; you're the best. You always know just what to do.
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What firm manufactures the merchandise?
To answer my own question:
www.goldenlinkinc.com
To answer my own question:
Golden Link Inc.
Your One-Stop Shop Solution for Film-Related Concessions and Promotions
www.goldenlinkinc.com
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I saw TWOK at an AMC theater, they played Space Seed and immediately after that it went right into TWOK with no break.
Today I went to a Cinemark theater, and they played Amok Time, and then there was a 5-8 minute Intermission with the Cinemark logo and a little countdown, that was cool. I didn't like AMC lacking a break after Space Seed. I was curious how Regal Cinemas handles it, but from the comments it appears they give an Intermission. Or it's based on every theater manager/projectionist. I didn't like the AMC experience, no break, lousy food, lousy theater workers, the only good thing about them is they have Star Trek merch to buy if you want it. Regal has merch and better food, but no reclining seats, at least in my city. Cinemark seems to be my sweet spot, nice reclining seats, decent food and at least the kids working at the one I went to are trained to be a bit more professional than the AMC kids that hate their life for working in a theater and that makes a world of difference. The Cinemark food is far better than the terrible AMC food.
I haven't been around these parts (TrekBBS) in ages, but it's interesting seeing some familiar faces. The TOS movies being back in theaters brought be back to the TrekBBS, my old hangout in the late 90s/early 2000s. I used to be an early-mid 20s college kid on this site, but life happened and I got old.
But the other theater patrons for these Trek movies looked a lot older than me, except those that dragged their teenage/20s kids (or grandkids) to the movies. One elderly man (appeared over 80 and had a walker) behind me seemed to have breathing difficulty and kept coughing through the show, I know basic life support skills, and I kept wondering if it's best to leap into action or just let the theater workers or 911 handle this if this guy collapses or if they had a defibrillator/AED on standby, I mean the man sounded awful. I guess the demographic these movies attract is a given considering how old these flicks are and how old TOS episodes are. These movies were my childhood in the 80s, but I'm an old guy now too, so this would be like a rerelease of movies from the late 1950s/early 60s back in my younger days on this site.
Today I went to a Cinemark theater, and they played Amok Time, and then there was a 5-8 minute Intermission with the Cinemark logo and a little countdown, that was cool. I didn't like AMC lacking a break after Space Seed. I was curious how Regal Cinemas handles it, but from the comments it appears they give an Intermission. Or it's based on every theater manager/projectionist. I didn't like the AMC experience, no break, lousy food, lousy theater workers, the only good thing about them is they have Star Trek merch to buy if you want it. Regal has merch and better food, but no reclining seats, at least in my city. Cinemark seems to be my sweet spot, nice reclining seats, decent food and at least the kids working at the one I went to are trained to be a bit more professional than the AMC kids that hate their life for working in a theater and that makes a world of difference. The Cinemark food is far better than the terrible AMC food.
I haven't been around these parts (TrekBBS) in ages, but it's interesting seeing some familiar faces. The TOS movies being back in theaters brought be back to the TrekBBS, my old hangout in the late 90s/early 2000s. I used to be an early-mid 20s college kid on this site, but life happened and I got old.
But the other theater patrons for these Trek movies looked a lot older than me, except those that dragged their teenage/20s kids (or grandkids) to the movies. One elderly man (appeared over 80 and had a walker) behind me seemed to have breathing difficulty and kept coughing through the show, I know basic life support skills, and I kept wondering if it's best to leap into action or just let the theater workers or 911 handle this if this guy collapses or if they had a defibrillator/AED on standby, I mean the man sounded awful. I guess the demographic these movies attract is a given considering how old these flicks are and how old TOS episodes are. These movies were my childhood in the 80s, but I'm an old guy now too, so this would be like a rerelease of movies from the late 1950s/early 60s back in my younger days on this site.
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Indeed it does. Thanks for making me realize that I was remiss in not reporting that every employee I talked to at the main Regal we went to was very courteous (if under-informed), and they were ready to be flexible on the merch. Happily allowing mix and match on the coordinated plastic drink & popcorn cups, for instance. My wife wanted the metal popcorn bucket, but didn't want the actual popcorn until the ride home, so when I realized supplies were waning I asked if I could by the bucket right now but pick up the popcorn after the movie. "No problem sir, happy to make that work for you. Whatever you need, we're here on your schedule." It was pretty refreshing, actually.
I'm in Australia. We are apparently getting "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" at the Hayden Orpheum for the 60th anniversary, but very limited seating.
But... as for TOS on the big screen:
From 1976-2000, Sydney-based Star Trek fans were seeing six -- later five -- episodes of TOS in a theatrette in the Sydney CBD. Monthly screenings! I probably saw about 50 episodes for the first time on that screen at ANZAC House. The Melbourne club had their own venue and saw the selected episodes the next weekend.
"Star Trek Marathon", 1976 flier by Ian McLean, on Flickr
The organiser at ANZAC House was technically in breach of the Nine Network's agreement with Paramount, but the network was choosing not to show what they had the rights to, following disappointing ratings in first-run. They didn't see the Marathons as a threat. (The network had finally chosen to screen about ten episodes -- "for the first time in colour!" -- to celebrate the arrival of colour TV to Australia in 1975. This was how I discovered TOS, which had previously screened after my bedtime in the 60s.) If our club sent letters to Channel Nine requesting more episodes to be aired, a reply was sent from Penny Spence, Head of Children's Programming. Says a lot about why the series stayed buried. We did get first-run TAS in b/w on Saturday mornings, and then in 1975 colour repeats during breakfast television from 1975.
Ticket to the return of Star Trek by Ian McLean, on Flickr
The Seven Network eventually gained the rights to TOS, and celebrated the return of of "Star Trek" to TV with "The Menagerie" , Parts 1 and 2, at our gorgeous State Theatre in September 1981. The Seven Network was then supposed to gain access to TNG, as well, but Paramount took a bid from their own sister company, CIC-Taft Home Video, and a two-year video holdback made the TV channel rethink their plans. TNG ended up on Nine Network after all, and after the first season had taken a whole year to come out on VHS rental tapes, one tape with two episodes each month.
Redshirt Therin by Ian McLean, on Flickr
We had that too!
Star Trek: The Menagerie by Ian McLean, on Flickr
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Yes, the behavior of the employees in a theater makes a world of difference!! Also the quality of the food/snacks! I have noticed Cinemark has a bit more class and better trained employees, as does Regal compared to AMC. The better chains have employees take your order at the concession and remain focused on you the patron and not chatting with coworkers about their weekend or a girl/guy they are hooking up with. Ofcourse, those premium theaters where you can order food at your table have very well-trained employees and probably paid better, but none of them were showing Star Trek. I would have easily gone to one of those if they played Star Trek, even though they are too classy and above the whole merch thing.
Even though I'm an older guy now, I remember working at a movie chain as a kid back in the mid 90s (worst job I ever had!) so I know what that life was like and why these kids act like this, just killing time mopping popcorn, taking out trash, "chillin' planning for the weekend", taking ticket stubs, most kids working there in the 90s were...not the best, and fights b/w employees nearly happened, including myself. Cinemark has really turned it around for the better, at least the ones I've been too. AMC experience reminds me of my youth, just kids that hate working in a movie theater and being loud and planning for their weekend while filling your order. I get it, I lived that life, but even back then it was horrible, at least now the technology allows these kids to scan your phone app and move you right in.
Anyway I've enjoyed seeing TWOK and TSFS at theaters the past couple of days. I missed TMP and I intend to catch it one day. I've never been to a Star Trek convention or any sort of Comic Con, and this feels like the closest to being part of one of those events.
OP here. We saw "City" and "Star Trek IV" at Cinemark last night.
The overall experience was very good. "City" played first, followed by a 10-minute intermission and then the movie. Theater was about half full.
"City" looked great on the big screen -- you'd see things you wouldn't notice at home, even on a large TV. For example:
* There actually were more extras in the street scenes and in the mission than I'd realized. Plenty of men and women I'd never paid attention to.
* McCoy's post-cordrazine makeup looked downright frightening.
* Jerry Finnerman's cinematography could & should have been nominated for an Emmy Award. Still can't fathom why it wasn't.
* Ditto the should-have Emmy nominations for music scoring. (The cues used in "City" were outstanding.)
My only complaint is the aspect ratio of the episode was not quite right. It was cropped too much at the top -- part of the image was actually missing -- and it was stretched out wider than it should have been. Don't know if this was a theater mishap, or if Paramount actually sent them faulty digital files.
Seeing "The Voyage Home" was fun, too -- can't believe it's been 40 years since I saw it originally in a theater, but it brought back happy memories for sure.
The overall experience was very good. "City" played first, followed by a 10-minute intermission and then the movie. Theater was about half full.
"City" looked great on the big screen -- you'd see things you wouldn't notice at home, even on a large TV. For example:
* There actually were more extras in the street scenes and in the mission than I'd realized. Plenty of men and women I'd never paid attention to.
* McCoy's post-cordrazine makeup looked downright frightening.
* Jerry Finnerman's cinematography could & should have been nominated for an Emmy Award. Still can't fathom why it wasn't.
* Ditto the should-have Emmy nominations for music scoring. (The cues used in "City" were outstanding.)
My only complaint is the aspect ratio of the episode was not quite right. It was cropped too much at the top -- part of the image was actually missing -- and it was stretched out wider than it should have been. Don't know if this was a theater mishap, or if Paramount actually sent them faulty digital files.
Seeing "The Voyage Home" was fun, too -- can't believe it's been 40 years since I saw it originally in a theater, but it brought back happy memories for sure.
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Haven't forgotten about posting (and pics!) Went to all four showings at Regal, ill post about it tonight
Overall: so glad I went and got to experience TOS on the big screen
Just got back from seeing City and TVH at AMC. No intermission and everything was in the right order and aspect ratio. TOS looked great possibly even better than the film. It was like watching it for the first time again. Like I saw someone else comment I never noticed so many background extras before.
Theater wasn’t even 1/4 full but the audience was engaged so it was a good time.
Theater wasn’t even 1/4 full but the audience was engaged so it was a good time.
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