{"id":48924,"date":"2016-09-06T12:16:08","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T19:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entertainmentearth.com\/news\/?p=48924"},"modified":"2019-03-05T18:03:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T02:03:48","slug":"history-of-star-trek-toys-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entertainmentearth.com\/news\/history-of-star-trek-toys-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"To Boldly Play: A Warp-Speed History of Star Trek Toys (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Part 1 of our Star Trek<\/em> toys\u00a0retrospective<\/a>, we started surveying the history of Star Trek: The Original Series<\/em> toys with AMT\u2019s classic model kits and Mego\u2019s often odd but always fondly remembered action figures.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s see what happened when Star Trek<\/em>\u00a0beamed\u00a0from the small to the silver screen. For almost a decade, fans had rallied around the slogan, \u201cStar Trek<\/em> Lives!\u201d Amazingly, it did.<\/p>\n

It just took a while for the toys to catch up.<\/p>\n

Star Trek<\/em><\/strong> Movie Toys: The Plaything Adventure Was Just Beginning<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In its high sci-fi concepts, lingering effects shots and leisurely running time, Star Trek: The Motion Picture <\/em>(1979) aimed to emulate 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em>. But in its merchandising, TMP<\/em> wanted to mimic the space movie that helped give Trek<\/em> its cinematic shot.<\/p>\n

Hoping to create a Star Wars<\/em>-sized splash (and also to raise money for finishing the film), Paramount merchandising exec Dawn Steel struck as many licensing deals as possible. Her dramatic, live \u201cbeam-in\u201d to a presentation for potential licensees helped secure her reputation as a marketing miracle worker. (She would go on to become the first woman to helm a major motion picture studio at Columbia Pictures.)<\/p>\n

The biggest tie-in alliance Steel forged was with McDonald\u2019s. In December 1979, the fast food giant launched its first themed Happy Meal, the \u201cStar Trek<\/em> Meal.\u201d<\/p>\n