Star Trek Fact Check
October 13, 2014 7:31 AM Subscribe
Sifting through decades of publications, oral history and archival records, Michael Kmet sets the record straight on numerous aspects Star Trek: TOS production history lore. Was "Spock's Brain" originally conceived as a comedy episode? Did Roddenberry write the lyrics to the theme song as a cash grab? Which of the Mercury Seven did Roddenberry try to get as guest stars?
The blog also offers glimpses into early story pitches that fizzled as well as detailed look at the writing of Star Trek's Vietnam allegory episode "A Private Little War."
The blog also offers glimpses into early story pitches that fizzled as well as detailed look at the writing of Star Trek's Vietnam allegory episode "A Private Little War."
If you haven't purchased the 2 volumes published so far of These Are The Voyages by Mark Cushman, do that now. Fascinating reading.
posted by wittgenstein at 7:57 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by wittgenstein at 7:57 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
I can't wait for the script review of Paul Kinsey's "The Negron Complex."
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 8:24 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 8:24 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Is there a similar site for TNG? I would love to get a confirmation of this particular "story pitch that fizzled" tale.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:24 AM on October 13, 2014
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:24 AM on October 13, 2014
Clear my appointments.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:52 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:52 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Can't wait to have enough time to really dive into this. For now, I'm content with this entry about a sort of early prototype of "Day of the Dove" in which the Klingons are menaced by an alien race known as The Dorn.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:46 AM on October 13, 2014
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:46 AM on October 13, 2014
"If you haven't purchased the 2 volumes published so far of These Are The Voyages by Mark Cushman, do that now. Fascinating reading."
I don't know anything about Cushman's books beyond this, but Kmet pretty comprehensively demolishes Cushman's claims that ST:TOS was actually a ratings success -- and, importantly, does so by showing how Cushman both misunderstands and gets simple facts about it wrong, and ubiquitously. That's -- as people say these days -- concerning.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:03 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
I don't know anything about Cushman's books beyond this, but Kmet pretty comprehensively demolishes Cushman's claims that ST:TOS was actually a ratings success -- and, importantly, does so by showing how Cushman both misunderstands and gets simple facts about it wrong, and ubiquitously. That's -- as people say these days -- concerning.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:03 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ivan may have a point. I have dug into the website and found his review of volume 1 of the Cushman book and he has some issues with it. I look forward to digging deeper into this site and comparing it with what I read this summer in the two volumes of Cushman's book.
posted by wittgenstein at 3:51 PM on October 13, 2014
posted by wittgenstein at 3:51 PM on October 13, 2014
Although I do love the tiny marketing datum that in 1966, Star Trek was the #1 show among viewers with color televisions. Sci-fi nerds, man, always have to have the latest gadget. They probably stood in line for a week outside the Porta-Color store.
posted by ormondsacker at 3:56 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ormondsacker at 3:56 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Reading a few of these, like the one about Paul Carr and the deal with the lyrics to the theme linked in the post, I had no idea Roddenberry was so… mercenary. On the other hand, I guess the show was always bigger than the man, as the story of Mae Jemison also linked in the post makes plain.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:27 PM on October 13, 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 4:27 PM on October 13, 2014
The best thing that happened to TNG was Roddenberry dying.
sorry
not sorry
posted by Ferreous at 4:31 PM on October 13, 2014
sorry
not sorry
posted by Ferreous at 4:31 PM on October 13, 2014
Is there a similar site for TNG? I would love to get a confirmation of this particular "story pitch that fizzled" tale.
They completely fucked up their opportunity to do this when they introduced the "q's kid" thing in voyager.
it could have been just as great, if not even more surreal if it was like a toddler warping the entire universe for a day and then the adults have to unfuck it up. the entire thing could have looked like it was conceived while someone was on a thumbprint of acid, and then just ended with another Q showing up and going "oops, our bad, sorry bout that everything's cool now" and the episode just ends like a normal episode would start and trails off.
I mean, that other one was good too, but it seemed so obvious when they introduced a child q.
posted by emptythought at 6:50 PM on October 13, 2014
They completely fucked up their opportunity to do this when they introduced the "q's kid" thing in voyager.
it could have been just as great, if not even more surreal if it was like a toddler warping the entire universe for a day and then the adults have to unfuck it up. the entire thing could have looked like it was conceived while someone was on a thumbprint of acid, and then just ended with another Q showing up and going "oops, our bad, sorry bout that everything's cool now" and the episode just ends like a normal episode would start and trails off.
I mean, that other one was good too, but it seemed so obvious when they introduced a child q.
posted by emptythought at 6:50 PM on October 13, 2014
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posted by JHarris at 7:45 AM on October 13, 2014