STAR TREK has left a strange legacy … and an awesome wake on the imaginations on both audiences and creators of the entertainment industry, and it is doubtful we shall again see its like soon.
Yet it is so popular that every weekday evening in New York City, a STAR TREK installment is aired. No one seems to get tired, and it has one of the city’s highest re-run show ratings. In England, it is phenomenally popular. And merchandising such as comic books in both Great Britain and America is still going strong, even though the series ceased production over three years ago.
The tide of public interest in this television masterwork is becoming so immense, and not promising to receed or subside, that at the Statler Hilton Hotel in New York, a gigantic STAR TREK CONVENTION is held (details on page 23).
Figuring this all newsworthy, this special ALL-STAR-TREK issue of THE MONSTER TIMES has been prepared in honor of the event. All continuing articles from last issue have been stripped to next issue (out in two weeks). Instead, we zero in now on the humble origins of STAR TREK, and some interesting stories of the show’s tempestuous career.
…STAR TREK
ALLAN ASHERMAN
AND
CHUCK McNAUGHTON
piloting a dream
Back in 1965, Gene Roddenberry, who had the mildly successful OUTER LIMITS horror-science fiction TV anthology under his belt, began work on his private dream, a continuing science fiction TV series-STAR TREK-and produced a sample “pilot” film of the show.
This first pilot of STAR TREK was rejected by NBC, Roddenberry was consolingly informed by those who make such decisions that it was a beautiful effort, but that the script was too adult or brainy or “cerebral.”
Roddenberry, working with stock science fiction settings tried to compensate by writing a script which was sensitive and mature. This somehow confused and bewildered the various Network’s Executives who appear to have considered Sci-Fi to be something where Mad Robots steal girls from U.S. Government Girdle Factories, only to be thwarted in their expansive world-conquering attempts by Handsome Young Scientists with apple pie on their side and iron in their fists. Figuring that if they themselves couldn’t understand STAR TREK, then no one could; the Network executives turned it down.
pull a dream out of a nose-dive
However, there was one man with foresight at NBC, a fellow by the name of Mort Werner, a program director, who saw a lot of merit in the show. He gave Roddenberry the go-ahead to produce the second STAR TREK pilot film (“Where No Man Has Gone Before”)-after much talking to his superiors. We salute Mort Werner!
Jeffrey Hunter originally played Kirk in the first pilot film, but bowed out of the second pilot and the series, due to other commitments. After some casting about, William Shatner was found to play the captain, and so rode to international acclaim upon the strength of this one role.
clear flying ahead
The second pilot OK’d, Roddenberry’s troubles had just begun. Now to produce a weekly series, requiring special effects and props and optical darkroom magic, and mature plots which would attract both adults as well as youngsters and with competent acting, excellent scripts, and to do one whole show each 6 days! Oh, boy!
NBC, once convinced that they had a good property, invested more money into STAR TREK than into any other series … over $300,000 per show-a million dollars every three weeks! Such funds are inconceivable to we mere mortals who don’t run TV networks. Every time someone “beamed” aboard ship or down to a planet, it cost $10,000 for the special optical matte work effects (which involved shooting the scene through several cameras, “masking outlines of the persons transported onto several negatives, and other complicated processes). Imagine what it would’ve cost if they’d tried to land the Enterprise on a planet!
music to vacuum in
NBC, now giving their full support to the fresh show, naturally wanted a hand in it to make it “commercial”-so “commercial” tamperings with the physical universe like “whooshing” and “whizzing” rockets in the soundless vacuum of space were added (Gee-don’t rockets whoosh?), and the presence of theme music was added. However, not to quibble, we’re sure that if there really could be orchestras playing theme music for astronauts in outer space, the tunes would sound remarkably like the stuff composed capably by Alexander Courage, George Dunning and Fred Steiner. Courage penned the STAR TREK Theme, and music of most of the first season. Dunning composed the music of the 2nd and third seasons, and Fred Steiner composed and orchestrated the music of “The Corbomite Maneuver.” Without these gifted gentlemen’s efforts, we admit the vacuum of space would have been awfully dull.
Roddenberry persuaded some of the finest science fiction writers available to him in California to write scripts for him. One acclaimed author, the inimitable Harlan Ellison, wrote an installment entitled “The City on the Edge of Forever”–which earned him a Screenplay of the Year Award from the Television Screenwirters’ Guild.
STAR TREK’S convention debut
Critics acclaimed the show from the start. In fact, less than a month before the first episode ran on Network TV, Gene Roddenberry gave science fiction fans a special treat at the World Science Fiction Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Labor Day Weekend, 1966. Roddenberry there showed both the original pilot of Star Trek and the “Where No Man Has Gone Before” episode. Science fiction fans who only scant hours before had had a garbage network show of that same season inflicted upon them in premier – a monumental horror called Time Tunnel-(the absent-minded man’s Land of the Giants), were overjoyed at Roddenberry’s astounding, refreshing package of adult, intelligent, worthwhile science fiction.
In fact, both authors of this article were present and the convention’s main hall, when overjoyed science fiction fans lifted Gene Roddenberry upon their shoulders, and jubilantly carried him about like a conquering football hero–the long-awaited champion of the poor, downtrodded misunderstood long-suffering seekers of good TV science fiction! A savior had arrived, and they knew it! Now … if the show would only last ….
a touchdown – but not the game
It sadly seemed as if their joy was premature.
Only a few weeks into the first season, NBC officials stunned science fiction enthusiasts (and therefore loyal STAR TREK fans) with chilling news-Ratings were low… and although increasing, were not growing fast enough. STAR TREK would not go into a second season.
STAR TREK was declared dead before the season was halfway over. Some considered it stillborn. Some considered it Assassination-by-Ratings-and-NBC.
S.T.SAGA
a story to wring handkerchiefs by:
But STAR TREK fans would not take this lying down! Across the vast continental United States, Canada, Hawaii and Alaska, sci-fi fans sat and talked, telephoned, printed leaflets mailed to each other. What can we do? they asked. In California, a science fiction STAR TREK supporter and professional writer and illustrator, a concerned woman named Bjo Tremble, organized fans to SAVE STAR TREK campaign. Word passed about via grapevine from one fan to another: WRITE TO NBC! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!
First a trickle, then a monumental flood of over 100,000 letters poured in NBC!… pleading, begging, demanding, threatening, politely requesting-Don’t cancel our favorite show! We support it! We’ll support you! We’ll even buy the sponsor’s products-believe us! WE WANT STAR TREK NEXT YEAR! Don’t kill it, please!
And NBC was impressed, persuaded to change its mind. The first decision was now “too hasty” … STAR TREK was not canceled! The option was picked up for another season. And ratings continued to climb.
But not high enough.
In the middle of the second season the same disheartening news was again uttered by mighty NBC-Ratings are not sufficient to continue airing the program. There will be no third season.
NBC Troubled: Trembles at Trimble’s Tribbles!
But Bjo Trimble and her legions would not take no for an answer and a second SAVE STAR TREK! letter-writing campaign was instituted. And again NBC changed its mind, and continued the series-BUT-this time, NBC decided they had better let their “creative geniuses.” “handle” the show. And make it a “commercial” proposition.
Oh boy!
Roddenberry was busied with other commitments, and the third season’s shows were presided over by a certain rapscallion named Fred Freiberger, who, so legend has it, knew absolutely nothing about science fiction and even less about the continuity of STAR TREK and the purpose of the series.
ham handles STAR TREK = Dreck!
Freiberger without so much as flinching, went straight ahead and violated just about every ground-rule which Roddenberry and his loyal crew had initially set down. Fearless Fred forthrightly experimented with flabbergasting stories, inept directing, and barbaric acting to produce something at which even the most loyal STAR TREK fans shook their heads in disbelief, perplexity, and dismay.
Was this dreck STAR TREK?! Really? Honest? Anyone taking bets?
No longer did aliens have superior mental attributes, or try to establish cultural contacts with us, to establish awesome interstellar trade, or discuss ethics, or test our species for its peaceful attributes or even care to talk space shop.
Instead they beat everybody up. If Kirk wasn’t fighting some foolish intergalactic war one week, he was certain to encounter a planet full of brainless Amazons who craved madly to kiss him to death, the next.
It wasn’t exciting, or imaginative, or adult of even sexy-it was a dumb show-all of a sudden. Spock, who wasn’t supposed to register emotions or act irrationally, was grimacing or grinning like a possum or showing so much emotion as to make him a prime subject for an Earth lunatic ward, let alone a Vulcan one.
the saga treks into retirement
At the end of the third season, STAR TREK faded away, and hardly anyone sent a postcard of complaint-or even condolence. For two years, fans had had a great show-and now they had fond memories.
But soon, they had more than memories. STAR TREK was straight away put into syndication… available to local TV stations… and all across the nation, local stations have been picking it up like wildfire… and it runs usually every weeknight over and over again… and no one complains.
Insanity or Genius? At least both!
Still, there were so many good shows of STAR TREK that the weak ones fade from consequence. Roddenberry, whose guiding genius made the great shows GREAT, when he was at the helm with his loyal crew managed to find time to insanely enjoy the toil. Occasionally, as the cameras were rolling, someone would goof up a line or enter a set the wrong way at the wrong time with mildly funny but devastating results.
If the cameras caught this accident (“blooper”) it generally was saved and spliced onto a monumental blooper reel. One particularly outstanding blooper to be round on that reel involves the seven-and-a-half-foot-tall actor, Ted Cassidy, who played a couple of roles on STAR TREK, but one day happened to be dressed up as an Indian for a show being shot on an adjoining lot.
Stepping onto the TREK set, Ted, feeling merry-pranksterish showed up unexpectedly during a shooting as William Shatner was about to charge into an alien hideout and rescue Spock and Scotty. Before he could, out rushed 7-2 foot Cassidy dressed as an Indian on the alien planet and carted the unprepared Shatner away. Shatner gave a puzzled Jack Benny gaze into the cameras and mumbled “But this wasn’t in my script!”
7 1/2 foot Cassidy also figured largely in another joke dreamed up by Roddenberry to get rid of a pesky tailor who was after Roddenberry to buy a suit. Cassidy impersonated Roddenberry for the tailor and dryly commented appreciative remarks about how hard it is to keep suits from falling apart, these days. Why every time. I flex my muscles…
Roddenberry, Shatner, Nimoy and the rest of the nutty crew obviously had a lot of lighter moments, but the STAR TREK team were determined to produce quality in the final print. Stories are told of shooting sequences time after time until, say, the green skin of a bikini-clad alien dancing girl processed in the labs just the right hue. Now that took dedication and hard work!
But eventually it all paid off. STAR TREK won an Emmy for special effects at the end of the third season and both Shatner and Nimoy received best actor award nominations.
the TREK Tragedy
But as the whole fun series drew to a close, a sort of tragedy set in. The acting crew of regulars, who were soaring during the series, quite at home in the vasty cosmos, suddenly saw their careers crash and become lodged on reefs of poor casting when they tried to traverse this simple planet Earth again.
A Sword of Damocles now hung over their heads typecasting. Their careers have floundered ever since the demise of the series. Sadly, Hollywood casting offices are giving the old crew roles which echo their roles on the show. STAR TREK hangs constantly above their heads on a thin thread… and rather closely and ominously.
DeForest Kelley (Doc McCoy) and George Takei (Enseign Sulu) are turning up in depressingly minuscule roles… producers aren’t willing to assume they can handle the larger roles of which they are quite capable because there’s supposed “mass identification” with their TREK roles. Why do producers not assume the American public to be bright enough to know that actors act?
James Doohan (Scotty) who is not Scottish but Canadian, and without accent at all, has primarily been doing “dialect” roles, because all the Hollywood mentalities can see this talented actor doing is a dialect role. Walter Koeneg likewise was not from Russia (as his Mr. Chekov role would indicate), but from Brooklyn; but typecasting is also laying waste to his career. They only give him roles which have Middle-Eastern or Slavic accents … the most insidious sort of typecasting … pigeonholing a man’s career because of what is assumed (wrongly) to be his voice. Astrology, another senseless sort of typecasting, would be about as appropriate and just a little less cruel.
the stars shine more brightly
Doohan and Shatner are doing voice-over dubbing announcing for commercials now and then. Shatner’s career seems to stand the most possibility. He’s doing several TV series pilot films, and without doubt, one will catch on. As a hero, he stands far better chances.
Leonard Nimoy after Mission Impossible looks like a big question mark. He put so much of himself into the character of the half-human half-Vulcan Spock, that his characterization of Paris on Mission Impossible seems pale and wooden by comparison.
And so the Saga of STAR TREK, like many other great sagas, ends on a note of tragedy. STAR TREK as well as the actors in it, suffers from misunderstanding. The series grows more popular with time… but as for those who played in it, the stigma of type-casting will probably smother their careers and their talents for some time to come.
