John Trimble, longtime Trekkie and fan advocate, passed away on April 19, 2024. He was 87 years old. The world of "Star Trek" owes the man a debt.
Bjo and John Trimble were Trekkies from the very start. Indeed, the married couple were early adopters of "Star Trek," becoming enamored of the series before the word "Trekkies" had even become a part of the fan lexicon. Trimble met Betty JoAnn Conway through the fan networks first set up by genre-movie ultra-booster Forrest J Ackerman, having first conversed while hiding underneath a grand piano at Ackerman's house during a party. They were married for 64 years.
Back in the 1960s, sci-fi and fantasy fan networks were achieved solely through the mail, and Trekkies would communicate almost exclusively through letters columns printed in the backs of sci-fi magazines (a model first invented by Hugo Guernsback back in 1926). More enterprising fans would author and print their own fanzines,...
Bjo and John Trimble were Trekkies from the very start. Indeed, the married couple were early adopters of "Star Trek," becoming enamored of the series before the word "Trekkies" had even become a part of the fan lexicon. Trimble met Betty JoAnn Conway through the fan networks first set up by genre-movie ultra-booster Forrest J Ackerman, having first conversed while hiding underneath a grand piano at Ackerman's house during a party. They were married for 64 years.
Back in the 1960s, sci-fi and fantasy fan networks were achieved solely through the mail, and Trekkies would communicate almost exclusively through letters columns printed in the backs of sci-fi magazines (a model first invented by Hugo Guernsback back in 1926). More enterprising fans would author and print their own fanzines,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The final episode of the original "Star Trek," an episode called "Turnabout Intruder," aired on June 3, 1969. It was an inauspicious end for the now-celebrated sci-fi series, as the episode was, by its very construct, blazingly sexist. In the episode, Sandra Smith played Dr. Janice Lester, an ex-lover of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) who uses an eerie new technology to shunt her consciousness into Kirk's body and put Kirk's consciousness into her own. She aims to impersonate Kirk because she was never able to attain the rank of captain herself. This is the only time in "Star Trek" history where it is said that women were, by Starfleet's own rules, not allowed to be captains. Additionally, there are several lines of dialogue about how Lester's female emotions are clearly getting in the way of her judgment, and how she resents her own sex.
This has thankfully been ignored by all modern "Star Trek" writers.
This has thankfully been ignored by all modern "Star Trek" writers.
- 7/22/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
An internal memo announcing the closure of the Stitcher app
From: Joe Inzerillo (Chief Product & Tech Officer), John Trimble (Chief Ad Revenue Officer), and Scott Greenstein (Chief Content Officer)
To: All Staff
Date: June 27, 2023 @ 12:00 Pm Et
Subject: An Update from Joe Inzerillo, John Trimble and Scott Greenstein
All,
As we continue to evolve our business and our brands, we’ve made the decision to sunset the Stitcher app at the end of August. Podcasts are an important part of both our subscription and advertising strategies. The scale and reach of our widely-distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business, while incorporating podcasts more holistically into our flagship SiriusXM subscription service will help to drive further growth. As a result, we have made the decision to sunset our standalone podcast listening app as we increase our focus on these priorities.
One of the original...
From: Joe Inzerillo (Chief Product & Tech Officer), John Trimble (Chief Ad Revenue Officer), and Scott Greenstein (Chief Content Officer)
To: All Staff
Date: June 27, 2023 @ 12:00 Pm Et
Subject: An Update from Joe Inzerillo, John Trimble and Scott Greenstein
All,
As we continue to evolve our business and our brands, we’ve made the decision to sunset the Stitcher app at the end of August. Podcasts are an important part of both our subscription and advertising strategies. The scale and reach of our widely-distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business, while incorporating podcasts more holistically into our flagship SiriusXM subscription service will help to drive further growth. As a result, we have made the decision to sunset our standalone podcast listening app as we increase our focus on these priorities.
One of the original...
- 6/28/2023
- Podnews.net
SiriusXM will shut down its podcast app Stitcher at the end of August.
In a memo sent to employees, executives from the satellite radio and audio company said SiriusXM will not be backing away from podcasting, but rather will be trying to move more listeners over to its Sxm app in order to grow subscriber numbers ahead of new “streaming experience” launching this fall. The SiriusXM Podcast Network, which includes content production hubs Stitcher Studios and Earwolf, remains unchanged as part of this decision and there will not be layoffs as part of this.
“The scale and reach of our widely distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business, while incorporating podcasts more holistically into our flagship SiriusXM subscription service will help to drive further growth. As a result, we have made the decision to sunset our stand-alone podcast listening app as we increase our focus on these priorities,...
In a memo sent to employees, executives from the satellite radio and audio company said SiriusXM will not be backing away from podcasting, but rather will be trying to move more listeners over to its Sxm app in order to grow subscriber numbers ahead of new “streaming experience” launching this fall. The SiriusXM Podcast Network, which includes content production hubs Stitcher Studios and Earwolf, remains unchanged as part of this decision and there will not be layoffs as part of this.
“The scale and reach of our widely distributed podcasts has been and remains a crucial accelerant for our advertising sales business, while incorporating podcasts more holistically into our flagship SiriusXM subscription service will help to drive further growth. As a result, we have made the decision to sunset our stand-alone podcast listening app as we increase our focus on these priorities,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Science fiction franchises live and die based on the response that they get from fans. The passionate fans of franchises like Marvel, DC, "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Doctor Who," and "Battlestar Galactica" are known for making their opinions heard. In the era of social media, there is more opportunity than ever before for fans to discuss the franchises that they love. Audiences flock to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd to urge studios to make decisions.
Like all elements of fan culture, petitions and requests have a dark side. While it's understandable to be upset with a creative decision, harassing the actors, writers, and directors is never okay. The discourse around some franchises like "Star Wars" has become dominated by a toxic minority that makes sexist, racist, and xenophobic remarks. It's important to remember that these detractors do not represent the entire fan community. Studios should not feel that they have...
Like all elements of fan culture, petitions and requests have a dark side. While it's understandable to be upset with a creative decision, harassing the actors, writers, and directors is never okay. The discourse around some franchises like "Star Wars" has become dominated by a toxic minority that makes sexist, racist, and xenophobic remarks. It's important to remember that these detractors do not represent the entire fan community. Studios should not feel that they have...
- 9/27/2022
- by Liam Gaughan
- Slash Film
In March 1968, the fans, cast, and creators of the NBC-TV series Star Trek were celebrating an unprecedented victory: a massive mail campaign by fans of the show, which directed more than 100,000 letters (if not more) to NBC executives, had resulted in the network deciding not to cancel the sci-fi program after two seasons but to instead extend it for a third year.
That Which Survives Cancellation
NBC’s public decision to renew the show — it even announced the news on the air at the end of the March 1 episode, “The Omega Glory,” with a brief voiceover statement — was unheard of in an era when fandom did not have social media to rant, rave, and otherwise kvetch about every little thing regarding their favorite franchises. This was a physical mobilization of Trekkers, led by superfans like Bjo and John Trimble, and tacitly encouraged (and perhaps even subsidized a little) by series creator Gene Roddenberry.
That Which Survives Cancellation
NBC’s public decision to renew the show — it even announced the news on the air at the end of the March 1 episode, “The Omega Glory,” with a brief voiceover statement — was unheard of in an era when fandom did not have social media to rant, rave, and otherwise kvetch about every little thing regarding their favorite franchises. This was a physical mobilization of Trekkers, led by superfans like Bjo and John Trimble, and tacitly encouraged (and perhaps even subsidized a little) by series creator Gene Roddenberry.
- 6/3/2020
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Who among us hasn’t watched a TV series and felt as if we had gotten to intimately know our favorite characters? Certain shows barely get the opportunity to “jump the shark” despite rabid, passionate fans like Dorothy Swanson, founder of Viewers for Quality Television, a grassroots nonprofit that organizes advocacy efforts for shows the group collectively votes on.
Directed by Michael Sparaga, United We Fan is an energetic and interesting look at the culture of fandom from the grassroots efforts to save shows like Star Trek in the late 60s to modern activism taking place on Twitter and crowdfunding platforms that gave a second life to shows like Veronica Mars. United We Fan entertainingly cuts between fifty or so years of pop culture history informed by those that were there, from activists like Bjo and John Trimble (whose letter writing campaign saved Star Trek) to show runners who grapple...
Directed by Michael Sparaga, United We Fan is an energetic and interesting look at the culture of fandom from the grassroots efforts to save shows like Star Trek in the late 60s to modern activism taking place on Twitter and crowdfunding platforms that gave a second life to shows like Veronica Mars. United We Fan entertainingly cuts between fifty or so years of pop culture history informed by those that were there, from activists like Bjo and John Trimble (whose letter writing campaign saved Star Trek) to show runners who grapple...
- 12/5/2018
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
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