Star Trek

Trek Review: “Mudd’s Women”

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Ah, that intergalactic pimp and no good swindler, Hartcourt Fenton Mudd, deftly portrayed by Roger C. Carmel.  Mudd has always been one of my favorite Trek characters.  As the story goes, he’s trying to take three women and marry them to lonely husbands, and of course, profit form it.  Even though that isn’t specified in the script, you’d be a fool not to assume that’s what he’s after.

This was one of the stories that was being considered to be the second Trek pilot.  With the raciness and sometimes raunchiness (by 1966 standards) of this story, I am fairly confident that this was never actually going to be made as the second pilot.  Nor would it be considered an appropriate series premiere or an early series episode.  I think airing it 6th is a good decision by all involved.  At this point, you’re familiar with the characters, who they are, what they do, and a plot like this is just the different kind of story that all Trek series would come to be known for over the years.

In other words, play out your more typical stories first and then go for the “way out there” stories.

So, what would I have thought then?  I honestly would have thought the story was a bit hokey, but overall it’s passable because of the character interaction that is going on.  The guest cast certainly drives this show, especially Maggie Thrett as Eve.  She deserves major props for playing the most outspoken of the three women in this story.  It should be put on the record that a story like this was very much of it’s time and would never fly as-is on today’s shows.

As you probably know, this isn’t the first appearance of Hartcourt Fenton Mudd, we’ll catch up with him again real soon.  Even in 1966, you had a feeling that it might be a recurring character.

Next Week, androids appear for the first time!

Trek Review: “The Enemy Within”

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Take a person, split them into two, one good and one evil, and you will see something about yourself that you probably would never want to see.  Take a hero like Kirk and do that same thing, and you have “The Enemy Within,”  the first great opportunity in the Star Trek series to watch William Shatner absolutely chew up the scenery in a classic, riveting performance.

Just to recap the rest of what was going on:  the transporter malfunctions, splits Kirk and a funny looking animal in two, and Mr. Sulu and three other crew members are trapped on a planet where the temperature drops way below zero at night, so they will freeze to death unless the transporter is repaired.  Ardent fans of the series will no doubt ask themselves, “Why don’t they just use a shuttlecraft to pick them up?”  This is an easy trap to fall in.   The concept of the shuttlecraft hadn’t been invented yet (that comes later in the season.)

I got to thinking about if, *if*, you took the men trapped on the planet out of the equation, how could you sustain the story?  Well, there is a scene in the episode in which the Evil Kirk is obviously in pain, and Good Kirk asks if his other half is dying, McCoy confirms that he is.  That simply is it.   It’s still a race against time to reassemble the Captain as a whole person.  Neither can survive without the other.  You might lose some moments, however, like the scene where Kirk is wanting someone else to make a decision on whether to go ahead and try to put him back together or not.  Honestly, the story is probably fine the way it is.  It’s a unique dilemma in retrospect, to say the least.

Now, what would me, the 1966 viewer think?  Shatner. Emmy nod?  Perhaps.  His performance drove this story home.  Without that, the story would not be believable and campy.  He makes it work.  Leonard Nimoy certainly has a great contribution here as well trying to support his Captain.   Also you have to give major props for Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand.   Depiction of attempted rape was something you didn’t see on TV during the late 1960s, and this show is bold for tackling the issue.  Her performance proves just how much supporting characters can contribute to the overall continuity of a show.

That’s all for this week.  Next week: Space Pimping!

 

Trek Review: “The Naked Time”

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A person’s inhibitions can be very revealing. We all probably say things we regret whilst intoxicated. “The Naked Time” taps into that side of a person’s very essence with the spread of a virus found on planet Psi 2000. This leads to some very revealing characteristics being examined of most of the principal actors on the Starship Enterprise.

This is a great episode, hands down. If I wasn’t hooked on the series by this point, this is surely the episode that would force me to make the show appointment television every week.

I have always admired Leonard Nimoy’s solo scene in the briefing room towards the end of the episode in which he is trying not to succumb to the effects of the virus. The story of how that scene came to be is the stuff of legends. Go look it up for yourself, because I won’t dwell on it here. That scene gives the first really great insight into the Spock character. When I was first watching the series in 1991, this was the scene that made me love Spock more than any other character on the show. That still remains true to this day. It would have been no different in 1966. I would bet that a lot of people would have felt the same way.

Of another note: Bruce Hyde as Kevin Riley. Only he could make “Kathleen” the most annoying song in years! 😛

Next week:

Trek Review: “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (the air version)

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As everyone knows, there are two Star Trek pilots.  You don’t need the history lesson from me, that has been said many, many times.  It also goes without saying that in a good number of TV shows in history, there are major differences between a pilot or pilots and the actual series, such as casting changes, set changes, costume changes, etc.

What’s interesting about watching either of Trek’s pilots against the actual series is these not so subtle differences.  The uniforms were quite different (no red shirts, no mini skirts) and Spock looked different as well.  Note the more up-swept eyebrows that made him look more devilish than later on.

The tale of Where No Man itself is a very straightforward action-filled moral dilemma… does the Captain liquidate his best friend who has mutated into a god-like figure?  I wouldn’t want to have to make that decision, I can assure you.  But James Kirk has to do it, to save the ship and save the crew.

I would have loved this story in 1966 or 2016, no matter when I would have seen it for the first time.  This is the story that sold the show to NBC to make it into a weekly series.  You can definitely see why.  All of the great elements of a great show are present, even if all of the characters aren’t here.

I wonder how many people noticed in 1966 and said the following…

“Hey, where’s Dr. McCoy???  Who’s that old fart playing the Doctor here?  Where have I seen him?”

Of course I am referring to Dr. Piper played by Paul Fix, who was a veteran of many, many movies and TV shows.

And you movie buffs will know that perhaps the roles Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman are better known for are ahead of them. It helps that they bring great charm and charisma to this pilot.

All in all, a memorable hour of TV that is significant on so many levels. I could go on for days about it, but I’ve said enough. 🙂

By the way (and I might include these every week, because I like them), here is a look at next week…

Trek Review: “Charlie X”

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This story has always been a so-so one for me.  The tale of Charles Evans, alone since he was three years old, discovered at 17.  But, he was given a power by a race called the Thasians so he could survive.  Couple teen angst with power to change things at will and you have a tale probably better suited for the Twilight Zone episode “It’s a Good Life.”

I almost certainly would have drawn that conclusion in 1966 as I do now.  But, that doesn’t make it a bad episode whatsoever.

The guest star, Robert Walker, Jr., I have always thought that his performance leaves a lot to be desired as Charlie.  Sometimes it feels as if he is going a little too over the top in his interpretation of the role.  It’s not bad, but it leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion.

The story is solid.  Who can fault a script by the legendary D.C. Fontana?  Visually the show is a bit passable, but most bottle shows (that being a story completely on board the ship, to save money) are.  No big visual effects here, nor are any necessary.  This is definitely a story-driven episode.

That music score by Fred Steiner however is the most memorable thing to take away from this show.  Such legendary cues that would be heard several times over in later episodes.

Me, the TV viewer of 1966, would have gobbled up every moment of this show!  It was a much better experience than the previous episode, and more indicative of what this show is about.  What would intrigue me however, is the teaser for next week, and the odd looking uniforms to what I had previously seen.

 

See you next week! 🙂

 

Trek Review: “The Man Trap”

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Thursday night, September 8th, 1966 from 8:30pm-9:30pm on NBC is a sacred, historic time in television history.  It’s the debut of Star Trek.  Viewers were treated to the saga of the Enterprise visiting Planet M-113 and crossing paths with a monster that has come to be affectionately known as the “Salt Vampire.”

I can’t help but think after watching this show that the audience, unless they absolutely knew what they were watching, would be left bespectacled, but a tad confused.  Nobody had ever seen a show like this on television before.

To be quite honest, I probably would have felt the same way.  But, knowing my penchant for unusual ideas, I would have been fascinated to tune in again.  Just to see what they were cooking up next.

I always have a false impression that you always should be introducing characters in a series premiere.  One has to remember however, that Star Trek was never like that at all.  Even in the two pilots, there are little morsels here and there revealing character traits, but the background of all characters is something that was gradually added to over time.  As to whether or not this episode needed more introductory material, not really.  The plot is the point of this episode, any expository stuff is merely here to pad out the episode.

Speaking of opportunities for exposition, I call attention to a scene in the middle of the episode.  It’s when Yeoman Rand visits Sulu in the Botanical section.  I call your attention to the plant, named “Beauregard” (or “Gertrude” according to Sulu) in the center of the room.

hand-plant

I don’t need to tell you that it is obviously someone’s hand.  Remember the show has a limited budget, folks.  It adds to the charm.

So, in summary.  From an average TV viewer’s perspective, what is my impression?  I would be encouraged by what I seen.  I would have probably hoped for a more spectacular story then a melodramatic monster-fest that this episode was to open the show.  But, not knowing the production challenges going on behind the scenes at the time to even get the show on the air by its airdates.

Next Week: “Charlie X”.

 

Before The Trek Began

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It’s almost the 50th anniversary of the premiere of “Star Trek” on NBC.  As a tribute to a show that I have enjoyed since I was a kid (way back in the early 90’s), I plan to watch every episode of the Original Series each week, on their respective airdates.  However, I am taking a different approach as we navigate through this exciting time.

I thought recently, “What if I were my current age, never heard of this show, and saw the promos/advertisements for the show, and my curiosity piqued.  What would I think after I watched the premiere?”

So, I am going to take the approach of an average viewer and try to give an impression of what an average TV viewer would have thought of this show when it premiered on September 8th, 1966.

At this stage, all I would have to go on are a few rumblings in the press and trade publications about the pilot being picked up to series and who was starring in it.  By about this point, when this article is being published (August 26th), mentions of it might have appeared in newspapers.  But for certain, I and others would have seen this promo airing either during NBC network programming or during local time:

 

The artwork seen in the promo was done by James Bama based on promotional photos from the second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” shot the previous summer.  It’s quite good artwork when you look at it, but you can see the obvious misinterpretation of what propels the ship in the photo.

jamesbama_trekart_1966

 

I’ll admit, the NBC promo was very limited, using one the one rendering scanned in different places.  But, with the show coming dangerously close to not meeting airdates, it’s the best the promo makers at NBC could have done to tantalize the audience.

You will also notice that NBC was going to premiere Star Trek on September 15th on their annual “NBC Week.”  But the program planners at NBC had a trick up their sleeve.  They decided to give special “Sneak Previews” of their new fall shows.  So the previous week became the “Sneak Preview” week.  Star Trek had it’s special Sneak Preview episode on September 8th.   ABC apparently got wind of this and decided to copy the stunt and call it “Advance Premieres.”

trek_nbcweek_tvguide66

The actual TV Guide fall preview issue didn’t come out until the week of the Sneak Previews (which would be listings for the following week), so I’m guessing that I wouldn’t have seen that information before the Thursday night premiere.  I remember that when we had a TV Guide subscription in my house in the late 90s that we would get the next issue sometime around Wednesday or Thursday.  It’s probably likely that the issue was on newsstands by the day of the September 8th premiere.

tvguide_fallprevew_startrek

So based on all of this, would I, assuming the guise of the average TV viewer had been excited?  Yes, I would have been.  Based on my sensibilities and tastes, even if I had been alive in that era, I can safely say that I would have been enthusiastic about what I was reading about the show and what I had seen in that promo.  Looking at what was on against the show on the other two networks…

1966_TV_Programs_cropped

“The Tammy Grimes Show” was very forgettable.   I doubt I would have wanted to watch that show.  “My Three Sons” on CBS was a true ratings success,  plus the show has a funny concept, so I might have wanted to watch that one as well.  Remember kids, there were no VCRs/DVRs/etc.  in 1966!  At 9:00pm, you could flip over to “Bewitched” on ABC, or the beginning of the “CBS Thursday Night Movie.”  Tough choice there, since CBS usually programmed big blockbuster movies in that slot.  In the case of the premiere night, CBS showed the 1961 Jerry Lewis comedy “The Ladies Man.”

In hindsight, I can see where the majority of viewers might be turned off by the sight of a Sci-Fi series like “Star Trek.”  Imagine the reaction of the average household at that time:

“That show looks too complicated!” 

Or…

“That looks like a kiddie show!”

I would bet more on the second of those reactions being what more households who might have seen one of the promos above might have thought.  So, they’ll probably stick with the Douglas family, or Sam and Darren, or just turn the TV off and spend time with their family and/or go to bed.

So, that sets the stage for the “Sneak Preview” of Star Trek.  The next post will be the day after the premiere, with my thoughts on what I would have thought after I had watched the premiere on September 8th, 1966 on NBC.