1966 WEEK Meets FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS!
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Welcome to 1966 WEEK — a 60th anniversary celebration of an extraordinary, landmark year in popular culture. For seven days, we’re bringing you a whole host of features on everything from Star Trek, to Batman, to the Beatles, to the Monkees, and much, much more. (Just check out Walt Grogan’s latest fab banner, above!) Click here for more of the far out fun! — Dan
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By FRANCO
Star Trek!
Gosh, I love that show. The whole universe they built. Next Generation. Deep Space Nine. Although I’ve watched all the new ones (and we talk about them almost every week — check out Aw Yeah Trek Watch on the Word Balloon podcast network.) I’m not as big a fan of those. Let’s just say… I’ve got issues.
Star Trek has been going for 60 years now! It debuted Sept. 8, 1966! I even took part in 13th Dimension’s TOP 13 STAR TREK EPISODES POLL!
They’ve changed things over the years. Not all good. But one thing I’m glad they kept was the SPACE HAIR! I love that art nouveau hair has been a staple throughout the years. Six decades of innovative salon stylings to endure any ship shakes!
I decided to explore the often-not-talked about space coifs and run down my favorites.
Now, we could discuss the obvious with James T. Kirk and his hair line in the Original Series and then his… more hair in the later movies. But that doesn’t count. As his character had the hair. Unlike Benjamin Sisko — who did have the hair and then it moved to his face and he went badass bald with a goatee! And he wasn’t even mirror universe Sisko! Coolest of the cool!
Then there’s the hair that everyone recognizes: Spock! In any iteration of his character, he’s got that bowl cut with the inverted triangle burns. But you should always stick with original series Spock. Classic. Never change a thing! The only thing I want to know is what sized bowl was used. (Also, I think I had that haircut when I was seven. That’s what I like to think and that it wasn’t styled after Moe from The Three Stooges.)
Too much sci-fi in your hair? You can always go with the classic, always elegant, Lieutenant Uhura! She could stop a tractor beam in its tracks! The new version of Uhura in Strange New Worlds has a series of amazing hairstyles too, but Nichelle Nichols — chef’s kiss!
Speaking of SNW, you can not go wrong with the stiff peaks and soft valleys of Captain Pike’s hair; they have gone in a direction no one has gone before. Season after season, that hair of his has gone straight up and I hope it never comes down! Dreamy!
Remember, we’re not talking aliens here, we’re talking crew members. (I may have to do another one of these posts eventually. And, yes, I know “Spock is an alien” but I argue he’s just as human as the rest of them. Just ask Dr McCoy!) So, for my money, my absolute favorite has to be Yeoman Rand. The character was written out of the show after just eight episodes during the first season due to budget cuts, changes in creative direction, and behind the scenes issues, but eventually she did return in the movies.
But that hair! Man, that was up and it was down, it was hot and then cold, it was right and it was wrong, we fight, we break up, we kiss, we make up… sorry… Strayed a bit too far into Katy Perry planet orbit there.
Anyway, I dare any of you to walk into a space hair salon and say: “Give me the Rand!”
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Want more 1966 WEEK? Click here!
Want more FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS? Come back next week!
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MORE
— The Complete 1966 WEEK INDEX of Features. Click here.
— Face It: SPACE GHOST Is the Most Realistic Superhero of Them All. Click here.
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Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three Eisners.
His new books, Action Cat & Adventure Bug: Let’s Do This!, with Art Baltazar, and Ninja Kaiju: Unleashed, with Scoot McMahon, both from Papercutz, are out now.
