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”.

 

Blogging From a Train

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So we are on our way as of this post on Trip #4 to the Big Apple.  After driving the entire way by car the previous three times, we decided to go up to Lynchburg, VA and catch Amtrak the rest of the way, via the Northeast Regional Train #156.  I’ve got to say, this is a great way to travel, albeit a bit bumpy at times.  The staff on the train is very friendly and the experience is truly delightful.

This trip has gotten off to a great start!

Boy, Was This One Rotten

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I just cannot get over how bad the recent remake of “Ben-Hur” was.  It’s so sad that people in Hollywood even think remakes are still even remotely a good idea.

Here is the Nick’s Flix video I did yesterday to that effect:

Case closed.

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.

Nick’s Flix Review of “Sausage Party”

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It’s an article version of “Nick’s Flix”!

Here is my review of the R-rated CGI-animated comedy “Sausage Party.”

The brief version of the movie is that you have a grocery store full of talking groceries who want to get out of the store into the mythical “Great Beyond,” only to find out it isn’t what it really is.  There are lots of raunchy jokes and ethnic humor throughout this film.  Parents, please don’t bring your kids to this one! (It’s Rated R for a reason!!!!)

It’s easy to see where the writers got their inspiration for talking groceries going on an adventure.  All of the classic animation studios back in the day did a talking/singing groceries film at one time or another.  One of the most prevalent in my mind is Warner Brothers’ “Goofy Groceries.”  Think of that idea with a modern spin and fleshed out.

The story itself is a good one.  There is a lot of heart once you look past all of the expected humor in a R-rated comedy.  For the most part, the jokes aren’t necessarily over the top, but the scene at the end of the movie (you’ll know which one when you watch it, no spoilers) is totally expected given the tone of the film.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just predictable.

This is a very slick, well edited movie.  I never felt like the pace of the film was off.  It has a modest running time of 89 minutes, which is about right for an animated film.  It’ll be interesting to see if anything was cut out when the Blu-ray comes out (probably.)

I’d recommend this film, but again, I warn you, DO NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS TO THIS MOVIE!!!

NSFW Trailer below:

Voting

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I am not one to post a lot of political things on social media or even on this blog.  I do not want to speak in this forum about who I am going to vote for, or why you should vote for them.  Lots of friends and acquaintances do that already.

But there is one thing that everyone can agree upon:  Vote.  Just, vote.

No matter who you like or dislike, let your voice be heard.  Get out there and let your thoughts be known in the ballot box.  Because, whether you believe it or not, your vote does count.  Especially in local races where good people like you and me do things you probably don’t think about.  Everything from maintaining the infrastructure of our communities to how our schools are ran.  You name it, your local elected officials are involved with it.

The right people for those jobs have to be there, and if you don’t make your voice heard about it, then you don’t have a place to complain about whether or not you like that person.  So, whenever you have an election, albeit local, state or national (and maybe someday intergalactic, who knows), get out there and make your voice count.  Just vote.

My thoughts on the Summer 2016 Game Shows

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I was thinking to myself, what do I think of the summer game shows currently on broadcast television.  You may be surprised at my thoughts.

Celebrity Family Feud (ABC)

While I don’t care much for the question material on the current versions of Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey, there are still plenty of laugh out loud moments to make it somewhat tolerable… at times.  The problem with celebrities of today is that I’ve never heard of some of them, and some of those people are… let’s see, how do I put this… not altogether there.  (Note to self: don’t be so denigrating, celebrities are people too.)

The $100,000 Pyramid (ABC)

Now *this* is an awesome show.  When I heard that Michael Strahan was going to be the host, my initial reaction was one of skepticism.  He did have a good run with Kelly Ripa on Live and was very popular with the audience of that show.   I was very impressed to hear in interviews that in preparing for the show, he went back and watched episodes of the Dick Clark version on YouTube.  Read this article from the New York Post and you’ll see why I think he’s a great addition to a new breed of host that I enjoy watching.  The winner’s circle has brought lots of excitement to this version as in any other.  It still remains my favorite bonus round/end game of all time of any game show, without question.  It’s fun to see people master the art of this round.  And one more thing….

2016pyramidset

That set.  It’s so freaking beautiful.  A great update to the classic look.  This is how a modern game show set should be done.

Match Game (ABC)

Gene Rayburn once said that Match Game has a weak format.  That is true.  What drives this game is the insane laughter and goings-on in between the answers.  When I heard Alec Baldwin was going to host this one, my thought at the time was, “Huh?”  Then, that quickly became, “Either this will work or it will utterly fail.”  I think it’s safe to say it was the former.  While the question writing and the stacking of said questions (such as having gimme questions in Round 1 instead of Round 2) leaves a lot to be desired, the laughs and the mixture of celebrities are working out very good.  There are still some celebrities here that I have to Google, or ask Greg, to figure out who they are.  There are other little nit-picky presentation problems that I’ve come to expect out of Fremantle Media revivals.

To Tell the Truth (ABC)

Now this show I wasn’t so crazy about.  The game play wasn’t altered that much from what we would expect from years past.  The execution was very, very lacking.  Do we need a house band on a panel show?  Do we need the host’s mother keeping score for no reason?  Do we need Twitter shame just because you were the worst panelist at trying to figure out who was lying on purpose?  I find myself asking too many questions about these elements of this show to enjoy it.  At least they tried, but I don’t see this one coming back, especially when you consider they taped the shows about a full year before they even aired.  Back burners do not a renewal make.

 

So, that’s my thoughts on this summer’s shows.  Will we see more Feud, Pyramid and Match Game?  Time will tell.  I’ll try to review more new shows and not-so-new shows in the future.

EDIT: Right after I published this post, word came down on the ABC summer press tour that all four of these shows have been renewed, presumably for next summer.  (Source for the Truth renewal was the ABC press site.)

As I Look on the Horizon

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As I look forward to next month, it’s trip #4 to The Big Apple.   This time is a bit different.  We’ll be driving up into Virginia, then taking Amtrak the rest of the way.  I have always wanted to take a train trip, and by golly, we’re going to do it.

Of course, I’ll be taking lots of photos, maybe I’ll dust off this blog once in a while and post some of them after the fact.

That is all. 🙂

Thankful

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It’s so nice to have a sense of normalcy to my life.  I’m off on the actual weekend.  So is my husband.  I can make plans, do the things that I want to do.  I can feel like sort of a normal person again.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am eternally grateful.

Just a bit of positive thinking for a change.

Shadows on the Wall

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Those who know me know I have loved the classic Gothic soaper “Dark Shadows” for many years. Me and Greg have been watching the show on DVD over the years. As of the night of this writing, we have reached the end of the series, which aired on April 2, 1971. Our intention is to go back to the beginning again. Back to June 1966.

I’ve always been fascinated with how TV is made and accomplished. That’s the big reason why I studied, trained, and now work in TV. It was a difficult show with witches, vampires, spirits and such. The show constantly needed special effects that was difficult to achieve given the equipment of the period. Just as equally fascinating is looking at where the show was actually recorded, the studios where all the magic happened.

“Dark Shadows” utilized two studios over the course of its run of almost five years. The first was ABC TV-2 near ABC’s headquarters at 77 West 66th Street. (The studio is actually located on 67th Street)

Outside of ABC on West 66th Street in NYC

DS taped its first 11 weeks here (through episode 55.) This studio is still in use today, currently it is the home of “The Chew”. There is great info about the modern look and equipment the studio offers at this link.

I have a pretty good feeling that TV-2 was only a temporary home for the series. At this time, ABC was renovating a former lumber yard in another part of Manhattan.

Original ABC TV-16 Exterior
Original ABC TV-16 Exterior
Former ABC TV-16 Exterior
The building in later days

This is ABC TV-16 at 433 West 53rd Street. DS moved here during a one-week taping break in August 1966. It must have been nice to be the new tenants of a newly renovated studio. The situation reminds me of when we converted from SD to HD at my station. New equipment, new challenges. The show had a great run here, with all the ghosts and ghouls and wonderful writing, acting and production filling the stage. Oh how it must have been fun to work on a series like this! All good things must come to an end however, and the show did so on April 2, 1971. DS remains a legendary show to this day. The studio itself however would have more legendary shows to come. It would later house the popular ABC soap “Ryan’s Hope” for the first 10 years of its run, from 1975-1985.

The picture above is from our first trip to New York City in April 2014. I made it a point to visit this location. And I’m glad I did, because it won’t be there for much longer.

That’s right, the famous studio which was home to all those great shows is about to become just another group of way-too-expensive condos. Oh well, time marches on. But the memories will remain. Forever.