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Post by CBG on Aug 26, 2008 7:29:31 GMT -5
Greetings- It's been mentioned that a Star Trek thread was in order. I searched and found a prior thread, but it's over four years old. So, with all the new blood we have around here, I'd thought I'd fulfill the request. I shall be back later to comment and relay some of the stories I have from working on everything from TNG to Enterprise.
But for now, enjoy:
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Post by ijon on Aug 26, 2008 8:15:49 GMT -5
Hey! The new movie isn't as bad as I'd feared. Thanks for the preview, Change!
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Post by CBG on Aug 26, 2008 8:19:31 GMT -5
Speaking of the new movie: Whadda ya think? Personally, can't wait.
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Post by Jackie Frost on Aug 26, 2008 8:20:00 GMT -5
Back in the nineties I was a raving Trekkie. Not so much these days ...but I admit I found it interesting that Spock used to have red skin - and then they changed it because Gene thought it made him look too demon-like. Now one of you Misties said that which one? As the pointed eared one himself would say, " ...Fascinating."
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Post by ijon on Aug 26, 2008 8:31:16 GMT -5
TS 69 offered that, I believe. NBC apparently was really leery of the Spock character initially, even airbrushing out the ears in the earliest publicity stills.
Another interesting bit was that NBC apparently wouldn't allow Chinese crewmen aboard the Enterprise, even in bit roles.
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Post by Trumpy Dumpy's Salvation Army on Aug 26, 2008 8:41:51 GMT -5
I'm afraid I have to differ with you. The Cage was shot in color. The first restored version (restoring the footage not used in the "envelope" episode The Menagerie) used B&W prints of that footage, but the most recent restoration is all color. I'll take my meds now. I almost have my Trek addiction under control . . . What I saw was a dvd of a recorded TV special from way back. It was mostly B & W with color scenes thrown in from the pilot. I was wrong about it being the pilot. I do have to admit that I'm not well versed on TOS, I'm a child of the TNG era.
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Post by CBG on Aug 26, 2008 8:48:32 GMT -5
The Episode of which you speak is called "The Menagerie". It was a way for NBC to recoup its losses on the first pilot, and a way to give the production schedule time to catch up with itself. The original "The Cage" was cut into a story line which had Spock kidnapping his former Captain (Christopher Pike) who had been severely maimed by radiation burns he suffered while rescuing others. Anyway, they used the first pilot footage to help explain why Spock had done such a thing as to purposely and willfully violate Starfleet regulations by taking his captain to a place that is restricted upon penalty of death. Later in the eighties, a full color version had been located and placed into mass distribution.
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Post by ijon on Aug 26, 2008 9:22:04 GMT -5
Change, the reused footage in The Menagerie was also color. It sounds like Trumpy saw that first restoration of The Cage that Shep was talking about. By the way, they're both on the season three extras disk. (^_^)
For me, the old show was something I grew up on. Indeed, I have no recollection of seeing an episode for the first time. It was just a fixture of my early life.
I bought the whole shebang on my first trip to a Costco after returning to the States and finally finished it about a month ago. It was different this time. The show was in pretty continuous syndication from my childhood through my twenties, and I guess in some corner of my being I was still three every time it came on. This time it had lain fallow long enough for me to see it as an adult. It was interesting how differently I reacted to some episodes.
Thinking about it as a whole, I think the first season was the best science fiction, the second was the best Star Trek and the third was trying to decide what to do next.
By that I mean that the second season is where the Kirk/Spock/McCoy relationship came together. The Cap'n's probably right that the show wouldn't have lasted like it has without that, but I think the trade off was that the characters came to dominate their universe. To me, that's a little more the heroic Star Wars mold than one of using the characters to explore a future world. It's not wrong, but it's different.
The problem it did cause in series TV at that time was to remove a degree of tension. You knew that anything which threatened to change that relationship or a member of it was ultimately going to melt away. All shows had the problem of course (barring the anthologies), but it led to some manipulative scripting that doesn't always hold up. Once you've done a City on the Edge of Forever a Paradise Syndrome will never really work, even if you electroshock the "I am Kirok!" out'ta Shatner.
Looking at season three, I think the best scripts were those that put the triad in touch with a well developed guest character who really might be at risk of emotional damage. Requiem for Methuselah was perhaps the best example of this.
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Post by Trumpy Dumpy's Salvation Army on Aug 26, 2008 9:36:15 GMT -5
One day when I get rich, I'll be picking up the DVDs. I do enjoy TOS.
What do you TOS guys think about the recent additions they made for TOS that've been making their rounds on late night TV? The ones that have 3D planets and such added. I've seen a couple, but they don't really seem to take away from or add anything to it. Maybe I'm just so used to seeing the 3D planets and all that jazz in the newer Star Treks that I don't really notice it.
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Post by JoshWay on Aug 26, 2008 9:41:59 GMT -5
I'm glad there's a safe and friendly place to admit I'm a downward-spiraling Trek fan. It started with TOS and I told myself "This is it, this is the only REAL Star Trek. I'll just check these out and get back to my life."
Now I'm in season six of TNG, and I'm already weakening in my resolve to let this be the end. Now it's "OK, Deep Space Nine - and then I'm DONE!" We'll see...
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Post by Trumpy Dumpy's Salvation Army on Aug 26, 2008 9:47:51 GMT -5
I'm glad there's a safe and friendly place to admit I'm a downward-spiraling Trek fan. It started with TOS and I told myself "This is it, this is the only REAL Star Trek. I'll just check these out and get back to my life." Now I'm in season six of TNG, and I'm already weakening in my resolve to let this be the end. Now it's "OK, Deep Space Nine - and then I'm DONE!" We'll see... ......Voyager is really good too.... That is all.
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Post by ijon on Aug 26, 2008 9:47:59 GMT -5
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Aug 26, 2008 10:24:49 GMT -5
Thinking about it as a whole, I think the first season was the best science fiction, the second was the best Star Trek and the third was trying to decide what to do next. By that I mean that the second season is where the Kirk/Spock/McCoy relationship came together. The Cap'n's probably right that the show wouldn't have lasted like it has without that, but I think the trade off was that the characters came to dominate their universe. To me, that's a little more the heroic Star Wars mold than one of using the characters to explore a future world. It's not wrong, but it's different. That's a very good point, and I think you're right. Really, your preference comes down to what you want out of the show. I love most types of science fiction, but for a television show or movie series, I often prefer it to be character-dominated. Edit: Yes, that does cause there to be less tension, but I think that's more inherent in a series show in general rather than a sci-fi anthology show. Of course, we (mostly) know that the big three characters are going to survive, but that just provides the writers with a bigger challenge to keep us interested. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't. Rats. Apparently I deleted my MSPaint version of the hippy episode.
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Post by Trumpy Dumpy's Salvation Army on Aug 26, 2008 10:40:54 GMT -5
Ya know, I remember reading that thread now. Thanks. While we're talking about the new movie, I'll just mention the new game. I'm wondering how Star Trek Online will turn out. I hope it's fun and creates the genuine Star Trek experience I've always wanted to see in a ST game.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Aug 26, 2008 10:48:33 GMT -5
I'm not much into sci-fi and never could get into the other Trek shows. I think I liked and watched the original simply because I liked all the characters. They were all so personable and cool and of course the chemestry between the big 3 couldn't be matched.
Plus it was so 60s. I dig that.
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