Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Coca-Cola Drinking Glass Set

Item Name: "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Drinking Glasses
Manufacturer: The Coca-Cola Company



The Rundown: So there's been a lot of talk recently about safety issues with the paint used on promotional drinking glasses. It all started with a recall of the Shrek glasses at McDonald's due to dangerously high levels of cadmium in the paint. That recall lead to the testing of various other glasses as well, including some from way back before 2000. That got me thinking about Star Trek glasses...



There have been various sets of promotional Trek drinking glasses over the years, some focusing on the crew in their original series looks and some focusing on the movie looks (like the Star Trek III set spotlighted HERE). I'll bet every one of them is just loaded with lead or cadmium. Drinking can be fun... or dangerous.



The set we are looking at today was made by Coca-Cola as a promotion for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". This set is a bit odd for a couple of reasons. First, there are only 3 glasses. Each of the other "major" glass set promotions featured four. Second, they don't seem to have a clear distributor. While most of the glasses were filtered through various fast-food outlets, it seems that maybe these never found a restaurant to call home. (Well, at least that's what I've been told! Please chime in if you have any other info!)



Each of the glasses follows the same format- An image up front (like Ilia and Decker up there)...



... and a bit of information on the back.



The choices made for the front are "okay". Of course, the Enterprise is a no-brainer, but I'm not sure why Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are all crammed onto one glass together. Sure, I like having an Ilia/ Decker glass... but I would have much rather seen Kirk and Spock together on one glass, and maybe McCoy/ Scott on a fourth. I guess beggars can't be choosers.



The set is pretty nice overall, but not nearly as cool as some of the other Trek glasses available over the years. The price fluctuates on this one, with the glasses ranging from $10- $25 each. I can't say they are a "must-have" by any means at, but if you dig TMP like me, they are pretty cool to have.

By the way... I've drank out of these glasses plenty over the years, and there's nothing wrong with me. Government worry-warts.

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Taco Bell "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" Drinking Glass Set

Item Name: "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" Drinking Glass Set
Available From: Taco Bell

The Rundown: I've been on a streak of figure spotlights lately, so I thought it was time to mix it up a bit and spotlight something a little different. Looking around the basement the other day, my collection of Star Trek glasses caught my eye, so I figured "why not?".

The Star Trek III glass set was available through Taco Bell, and is probably the easiest-to-acquire and least expensive of the glass sets (well, okay the 2009 BK movie set is easier and cheaper, but that's a different ball of wax). It's a well done set, and the glasses all feature really nice crisp images on them. There are four different glasses:



"Spock Lives", which features a depiction of Spock at 3 different ages on the front and...



...his open torpedo casket on the back. The text reads: "Through the wonders of the Genesis Effect, the lifeless body of Captain Spock evolves from an infant to a grown man in a matter of days."



"Enterprise Destroyed" ,(my fav of the 4) which features a great image of the Enterprise self-destructing on the front and...



...a shot of Kirk, Scott, and McCoy witnessing the destruction on the back. The text reads: "Scotty, Kirk and McCoy of the U.S.S. Enterprise watch in safety as the great starship, their home for the last 20 years, self-destructs in the skies above them."



"Lord-Kruge", which has a moody image of Kruge on the front and...



...a shot of the final battle between Kirk and Kruge on the back. The text reads: "On a high peak of the artificially-created Genesis Planet, Admiral James T. Kirk and Klingon battle in a life and death struggle."



"Fal-Tor-Pan", which has an image of the Vulcan priestess performing the ritual on McCoy and Spock on the front and...



...an image of a happy Spock and Kirk on the back. The text reads: "In a mystical ceremony on the planet Vulcan, the priestess rejoins Spock's essence with his body. Restored to his former state, Spock is reunited with his friend Kirk."

The set is really sharp, and since it's relatively inexpensive, you can actually use them without fear of breaking a pricey collectible. Perfect for entertaining a group of your Trek friends! Just don't fill them up with Romulan Ale...

Oh, and here's the original commercial (care of fuzzymemories.tv) for your viewing pleasure!



-James