Hello everyone… I hate to but I’m going to have to take a short vacation from blogging. Work has been very busy lately and for around 2 or so weeks…it’s not going to let up.
I’ve barely been able to stay caught up recently so I thought I would shut down the place for a short amount of time instead of a complete month like last August. That should be enough time for the work projects to pass…plus I do need to recharge as well. I will start Star Trek back up as soon as I come back plus post some original songs.
I wish all of you the best and I may drop by once in a while. Thanks for reading!
If you want to see where we are…and you missed a few…HERE is a list of the episodes in my index located at the top of my blog.
This show was written by Gene Roddenberry and Gilbert Ralston
I thought this was a good episode of the series. Thought-provoking, very well-written, and well-paced, with a nice balance of attention paid to the various performers.
Kirk and his crew are waylaid by a powerful alien who claims to be the ancient Greek god Apollo. Apollo demands they abandon their ship and become his worshipers like the Greeks of old Earth had been, and Apollo is not taking no for an answer. The crew has to figure out how to escape his clutches without falling victim to his extraordinary powers and his violent temper.
The idea that the ancient gods were, in fact, visiting aliens is interesting and has been used many times since however here it seems like a way to make an apparently all-powerful being a bit more interesting. Lt. Palamas, we can guess that she will somehow be important in this episode and indeed she is as she appears to fall for Apollo.
The speech that Kirk gives to Palamas was brilliant, I thought. A great piece of rhetoric that is strongly moving, and is potent enough to induce her to betray her heart and act for the good of her fellow humans.
In the end, the combined efforts of Kirk and the landing party on the planet and Spock back on the Enterprise work independently to sort out the challenge. This episode is a great one for Chekov…a very good introduction to him.
From IMDB:
.The title is taken from Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Line 415 reads “Who mourns for Adonais?”. Shelley’s Adonais is derived from Adonis, a male figure of Greek mythology associated with fertility. Also, “Adonais” would be the English plural of the Hebrew Spoken Name of God (the Hebrew word ‘adonai’ simply means ‘lord’), so it would mean “Who Mourns for the Gods?”
In the original script, the gods and other mythological figures were mentioned in their Latin names, but, in the revised final draft (and the finished episode), they are called by their Greek equivalents (possibly at the suggestion of series researcher Kellam de Forest).
The producers were looking for someone with an English dialect and Shakespearean theatrics to pull off the Apollo role. First, they wanted to find someone in England, but rather decided to look for an actor at the San Diego Shakespeare festival. The head of the theatre recommended Michael Forest, who was already in Hollywood, making films at the time. Forest was called in for an audition, where he first had to take off his shirt, to let them see if he had the muscles needed for the part. Next, they asked him to read some lines in a British accent. Forest refused, claiming he couldn’t do it, but is able to speak in a Mid-Atlantic accent, probably more suitable for the character. He did it, and they gave him the role.
Michael Forest recalled working with his co-stars, “Leslie Parrish was a delightful person to work with; no problems; never any difficulties; we would just discuss what we were going to do and we would do it. She was excellent and very personable. William Shatner was a bit of a problem, however. You never saw me standing with him; we were always in different shots. We would be talking to one another, but we wouldn’t be on camera at the same time. I’m sure that’s what he stipulated – because I was so much taller.”
William Shatner was so concerned with the height disparity that he disallowed any shots which would show him and the much taller Michael Forest side-by-side in the same frame. According to Forest, whenever Shatner would speak to him, Forest would notice Shatner inadvertently standing on his tip toes.
This is the very first episode of Star Trek (1966) (in broadcast order) to feature all seven members of the original cast – including Walter Koenig who was the last to join the cast at the very beginning of Season 2.
Apollo’s temple was constructed on an indoor studio set. Swaying trees (courtesy of hidden stagehands) and dubbed-in bird sounds were combined with stock footage of an outdoor lake and adequately conveyed the illusion of being outdoors.
The fused, charred phaser Kirk holds up as he is speculating about Apollo visiting Earth is the one crushed by Khan Noonian Singh in Star Trek: Space Seed (1967).
This is the first time Kyle is shown in an officer’s uniform (colored shirt, black pants) instead of the noncommissioned officer’s and enlisted man’s jumpsuit. He must have been exceptional since he has jumped past Ensign and Lieutenant Junior Grade to full Lieutenant.
The gown Leslie Parrish wore was glued to her skin to keep it in place, which was painful for her because it tore her skin when it was removed.
In the trailer, the phasers fired by the Enterprise at the temple are blue. In the episode itself, they are red. They would once again be blue in the remastered version of this episode.
This is the only time in TOS that a star is both referred to as its Bayer designation and ancient name, specifically Beta Geminorum aka Pollux.
This was released in 1967. Erich von Däniken published theories concerning ancient aliens coming to earth and being taken for gods due to their advanced technology being witnessed by early humanity only in 1968.
Michael Forest reprised his role as Apollo in the fan-made sequel Star Trek Continues: Pilgrim of Eternity (2013) 46 years later.
This is the first episode, in broadcast order, to feature Chekov’s Russian pride. When Apollo identifies himself, Chekov says “I am the Czar of all the Russias!” Later, after Chekov notices Apollo is fatigued and disappears, Chekov says “He disappeared like that cat in the Russian story…”
The producers originally wanted Jon Voight for Apollo, but he was hired for another project.
A traveling matte was used to allow a giant Apollo to appear with the landing party in the foreground at the end of act one.
Marc Daniels cited this episode as his favorite among those he directed, claiming “it all came together so well”.
Michael Forest and Leonard Nimoy had played brothers on Laramie: The Runt (1962). They also worked together on the play and television adaptation of Deathwatch (1965).
The scene in which Apollo flips Scott to the side was actually executed by stunt double, Jay D. Jones, who was wearing a special harness with which he was pulled backward on cue. Jones nearly slammed into a step prop which could have caused serious injury.
Jason Alexander cites this episode as his favourite of the original series, describing it as “thought-provoking, beautiful, and very sad.”
Summary
The Enterprise is stopped dead in its tracks by a powerful energy force that appears in the form of a human hand. Soon, a being claiming to be Apollo orders Kirk (William Shatner) and several others down to the planet below. Apollo (Michael Forest) claims to have visited Earth 5,000 years ago and Kirk theorizes that he may be telling the truth. Apollo’s demand for unquestioned servitude, however, doesn’t give the crew much choice and it becomes imperative that they locate and destroy his power supply.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy Michael Forest … Apollo Leslie Parrish … Lt. Carolyn Palamas James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Walter Koenig … Ensign Pavel Chekov John Winston … Lieutenant Kyle Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Roger Holloway … Lt. Lemli (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)
I’ve seen this song listed as (Night Time is) The Right Time, Night Time Is The Right Time, and The Right Time.
I first heard this song from the Creedence Clearwater Revival cover version of it. I loved it and then I heard the Ray Charles version…I was lost. Night Time Is the Right Time was first performed by Roosevelt Sykes in 1937. His version, which he wrote with fellow bluesman Jimmy Oden was different than the version we know.
In 1938 Big Bill Broonzy recorded this song. Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp (Nappy Brown) recorded it in 1957 as The Right Time. Brown’s version had the Night and Day backing vocals. His version was on a small label and didn’t make much impact. Brown got credited as the songwriter after he changed it around.
When Ray Charles released this in 1958 it was a hit…it’s become the definitive version of the song. It’s been covered many times…some who covered it are Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Lulu, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Rufus & Carla Thomas, and The Animals.
The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1958. Margie Hendrix with Charles’ backup singers the Raelettes provided the accompaniment to Charles’ vocals.
Nappy Brown: , “The difference between me and Ray Charles’s ‘Night Time Is the Right Time’ … is he had it up-tempo with Mary Ann and them behind him—the ladies [Charles’ female backup singers, the Raelettes]. I had mine in a slow tempo with a gospel group behind me. That was my gospel group. But he got everything just like mine, note for note”.
Night Time Is The Right Time
You know the nighttime, darling (night and day) Is the right time (night and day) To be (night and day) With the one you love, now (night and day)
Say now oh baby (night and day) When I come home baby, now (night and day) I wanna be with the one I love, now (night and day) You know what I’m thinking of (night and day)
I know the nighttime (night and day, oh) Whoa, is the right time (night and day, oh) To be with the one you love, now (night and day) I said to be with the one you love (night and day)
You know my mother, now (night and day) Had to die, now (night and day) Mm, and my father (night and day) Well, he broke down and cry (night and day)
Whoa! Whoa, baby (night and day) When I come home baby now (night and day) I want you to hold my hand (night and day) Yeah, tight as you can (night and day)
I know the nighttime (night and day, oh) Whoa, is the right time (night and day, oh) To be with the one you love (night and day) You know what I’m thinking of (night and day)
Whoa! Sing your song, Margie Baby (night and day) Baby (night and day) Baby (night and day) Oh, baby (night and day)
Girl, I love you (night and day) No one above you (night and day) Hold me tight (night and day) And make everything all right (night and day)
Because the nighttime (night and day) Oh, is the right time (night and day) To be with the one you love now (night and day) Oh, yeah (night and day)
Tease me (night and day) Squeeze me (night and day) Leave me (night and day) Ah, don’t leave me (night and day)
Lawdy, baby (night and day) Take my hand, now (night and day) I don’t need (night and day) No other man (night and day)
Because the nighttime (night and day) Ow, is the right time (night and day) To be with the one you love (night and day) Oh, yeah (night and day)
I said baby (night and day) Baby (night and day) Baby (night and day) Whoa! Baby now (night and day)
Oh, come on baby (night and day) You know I want you by my side (night and day) I want you to keep (night and day) Oh, keep me satisfied (night and day)
I know the nighttime (night and day) Every day is the right time (night and day) Yeah, to be with the one you love now (night and day) Well, you know it’s all right
This song tells a tragic tale of a son going off for fame and coming back home for the acceptance of his parents but he finds out…they died. They recorded this track in Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama. It was before they were signed to a contract. Shooting Star which came after this song…. covered a small portion of this but the star in this song lives but doesn’t get satisfaction out of the outcome.
At first I got lost, then I got found But the ones that I loved were in the ground
It was on an album called First and Last. It was released in 1978 after the crash. It covered the demos they made at Muscle Shoals. The owners of the studio thought they would be signed because their songs were very good and they had everything arranged before recording…so it was quick. After they were not signed…Ronnie Van Zant promised the recording studio owners that he would mention them in a song if they hit. They thought…yea right! A man of his word…a couple of years later in Sweet Home Alabama he did “Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers and they’ve been known to pick a song or two (yes they do).”
I wouldn’t dare compare this to a normal release but it has it’s charm all the same and shows how advanced the band was in the early seventies. Van Zant worked his band members hard to get them in shape. They practiced in an old cabin with no air conditioning in Florida. He would make them go through songs until they were perfect…they nicknamed the place Hell House.
Ronnie Van Zant was a great and sometimes underrated songwriter. The band members have said that he never wrote lyrics down on paper. The band would be practicing and he would hear a riff or a chord progression he liked and would tell them to keep going through it over and over. After thinking about it he would start singing what he came up with.
They were not a jam band (again the Allmans were) but a song band that played their 3-5 minute songs and got off the stage with the exception of the lengthy Free Bird. They were planning to release this before the crash.
No one wanted to sign them because they couldn’t figure out what they were. Record executives said they sounded too much like The Allman Brothers. Which that in itself is just stupid. The executives thought anyone from the south sounded like the Allmans. The Allmans had jazz influences and Lynyrd Skynyrd drew inspiration from British acts like Free and lead singer Paul Rodgers. They were completely different in every way.
Al Kooper met and signed them to a contract back in 1973. Kooper had worked with Jimi Hendrix, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and Bob Dylan. He said Lynyrd Skynyrd were the best arrangers of songs he ever met plus the most organic musicians he worked with. That is high praise coming from Al Kooper.
Another song off of this album is called Comin’ Home which is really good.
Was I Right Or Wrong
Like a restless leaf in the autumn breeze,
Once, I was a tumbleweed
Like a rolling stone, cold and all alone,
Livin’ for the day my dream would come
Never cared for school or any golden rules
Papa used to always say I was a useless fool
So I left my home to show ’em they was wrong
And headed out on the road, singin’ my songs
Then one sunny day, the man, he looked my way
And everything that I dreamed of, it was real
Money, girls, and cars and big long cigars
And I caught the first plane home so Papa would see
When I went home to show ’em they was wrong
All that I found was two tombstones
Somebody tell me, please, was I right or wrong?
Lord, it’s such a sad song
At first I got lost, then I got found
But the ones that I loved were in the ground
Papa, I only wish you could see me now
Take a listen Papa, I learned how to play my guitar, superstar
Play one for momma now
If there’s any way that you can hear what I say
Papa, I never meant to do you wrong
All the money, girls, and cars,
And all the world’s long cigars,
Papa, I just want you to know,
They couldn’t take your place
When I went home to show ’em they was wrong,
All that I found was two tombstones
Somebody tell me please, was I right or wrong?
Lord, it’s such a sad song
At first I got lost, then I got found
But the ones that I loved were in the ground
Somebody tell me, please, was I right or wrong?
I like hearing this song once in a while. It’s one of those 1970’s AM Gold Hits.
They recorded Third Rate Romance for its 1975 album Stacked Deck, releasing the song as the group’s debut single. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard 100 and #1 in Canada in 1975. This is a country/rock humorous song. Sammy Kershaw covered this song in 1994 and is maybe the better-known version for some people but this is the version I remember and like.
The Amazing Rhythm Aces were formed in 1974 in Memphis by Jeff Davis and Butch McDade. By 1975 they had added Russell Smith, Barry Burton, and James Hooker to the group. Burton left the group in 1977 and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. They disbanded in 1980 after the release of their album How the Hell do you spell Rhythum? The song was written by Russell Smith.
Rusell Smith went on to be a successful songwriter, Billy Earheart joined Hank Williams Jr’s Bama Band and Cameron joined Sawyer Brown, who had their own success with a style close to the Amazing Rhythm Aces.
Russell Smith:“I got the idea for it from watching a couple in a restaurant, but I made up a lot of the story. At first, it was like a goddamn book report, about eight minutes long. But once I’d edited it down, I was pretty happy with it.”
Third Rate Romance
Sitting at a fancy table, in a ritzy restaurant,
He was staring at his coffee cup,
Trying to get his courage up.
The talk was small when they talked at all,
They both knew what they wanted,
There was no need to talk about it,
They were old enough to talk it out, and still keep it loose.
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous,
Then he said, “You don’t look like my type, but I guess you’ll do.”
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous,
He said, “I’ll tell you I love you, if you want me to.”
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous,
They left the bar, got in his car, and they drove away;
They drove to the Family Inn, she didn’t even have to pretend.
She waited in the car and he went to the desk,
Made his request while she waited outside.
When he came back with the key she said,
“Give it to me and I’ll unlock the door.”
She said, “I’ve never done this kind of thing before, have you?”
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous
He said, “Yes I have, but only a time or two.”
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous
Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous.
If you want to see where we are…and you missed a few…HERE is a list of the episodes in my index located at the top of my blog.
This show was written by Theodore Sturgeon and Gene Roddenberry
A 5-Star Classic episode of Star Trek. They don’t get much better than this one. This is a good episode. The series was renewed for another year and began with a very original story. Spock’s physiology demands that every seven years he must mate. Mr. Spock is overcome with desire, and his emotions are raging on fire, must return to Vulcan, the flames he must fan, if he can’t the prognosis is dire.
This requires a trip to Vulcan. When Spock and his crew mates arrive, it becomes obvious that Spock must be a very important figure because he is in the presence of the matriarch ruler, T’Pau. Unfortunately, his trip proves a difficult one in that his soon-to-be bride has decided, according to Vulcan law, to choose a different mate. She also has the privilege of choosing someone to fight for her. Instead of choosing a Vulcan hero, she picks Kirk.
This is one of the most memorable shows concerning Spock and his home planet of Vulcan. You get to see Spock in a different light completely. The scene between Nurse Chapel and Spock is very good and shocking in some ways.
I can’t really pick on this episode. It has the chemistry between Kirk, Spock, and Bones and is an excellent episode. This was the first episode in that Walter Koenig appears as Pavel Chekov.
From IMDB:
First appearance of the Vulcan phrases “Peace and long life” and “Live long and prosper”. Also the first ever Star Trek episode to feature any Vulcan characters other than Spock.It’s also the first episode to air since filming began for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
First appearance of the Vulcan hand salute. Leonard Nimoy improvised this symbol during the production of “Amok Time,” modified from a traditional Jewish religious hand gesture.
Season 2 introduced new opening credits. DeForest Kelley’s name was added to the “starring” cast and the theme music was extended and had the female soprano voice Loulie Jean Norman and percussion added to it.
The prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) considered having its regular Vulcan character (played by Jolene Blalock) be a younger version of T’Pau. Since that would have required paying a fee to the estate of Theodore Sturgeon the author of Amok Time, this plan was abandoned and the new character was rechristened T’Pol.
Romulan helmets are reused from Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966), this time worn by Vulcans during the pon farr ritual. In both productions, the helmets were a de facto economy measure as they precluded the need for the actors to wear ear prostheses.
Another innovation of the second season was the further-expanded sickbay that now includes McCoy’s new office.
First time we hear the now-famous “Star Trek fight music” (in 5/4 time), when Kirk and Spock battle. The theme is also played, albeit differently and more slowly, when Spock first informs Kirk of the details of his condition in Spock’s quarters and during the entrance of T’Pau.
When child model Mary Elizabeth Rice posed as seven year-old T’pring (fitted with only one ear prosthetic, since a single still photograph taken from the side was all the script called for), she was ill with chicken pox, replete with fever. She later commented that her sickness had been a plus, as it made her appear more serious.
One of only two times in Star Trek (1966) where Spock shows an emotional reaction without being influenced by something – if only for a few seconds. The other example is the first pilot Star Trek: The Cage (1966), filmed when the rules hadn’t been established for this character.
Summary
Lately, Spock’s behavior has been increasingly and unprecedentedly erratic. When McCoy finds it to be a growing medical risk, Kirk drags the truth out of him: it is the ‘blood fever’, the one time in a Vulcan’s life he regresses to a primitive, hormonal state of mind, setting out to mate for life. He is granted the first request for shore-leave in his entire career to go to Vulcan, asking Kirk and McCoy to join him in his equivalent of a marriage ceremony with his since-age-seven arranged fiancée, T’Pring. But, once on Vulcan, T’Pring halts the matrimony by calling the ancient challenge, whereby a champion of her choice will fight Spock for her. Surprising all, she selects Jim Kirk. He accepts after due consideration only to find, when the first of two dueling weapons are handed out, that the fight is to the death – too late to decline in front of T’Pau, the presiding top official for Spock’s family and the most powerful of all Vulcan dignitaries.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy Celia Lovsky … T’Pau Arlene Martel … T’Pring Lawrence Montaigne … Stonn Majel Barrett … Nurse Christine Chapel George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Walter Koenig … Ensign Pavel Chekov Byron Morrow … Admiral Komack Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Vulcan Ceremonial Aide (uncredited) Walker Edmiston … Space Central (voice) (uncredited) Charles Palmer … Vulcan Litter Bearer (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited) Joseph Paz … Vulcan Ceremonial Aide (uncredited) Russ Peek … Vulcan Executioner (uncredited) Mary Rice … T’Pring as Child (uncredited) Mauri Russell … Vulcan Litter Bearer (uncredited) Gary Wright … Vulcan Litter Bearer (uncredited)
This is a song that should have been a bigger hit. Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney were fans of this song. Dave Davies remembered Paul jokingly telling him “You bastards! How dare you! I should have made that record!”
This song is about the loss of Ray’s sister, who lived for a time in Ontario, Canada. Upon her return to England she developed a sickness and died while dancing at a night club. Just before she died she gave Ray his first guitar for his 13th birthday.
He wrote the song while traveling in India years later when he heard about the significance of the Ganges river in the Indian death ritual. Two years later he again used the metaphor of crossing a river in his beautiful song Waterloo Sunset.
The song peaked at #10 on the UK Charts in 1965.
Ray Davies:“A bit more care should have been taken with it. I think (producer) Shel Talmy went too far in trying to keep in the rough edges. Some of the double tracking on that is appalling. It had better songs on it than the first album, but it wasn’t executed in the right way. It was just far too rushed.”
Ray Davies:“It’s more about you’ve lost the female love of your life, therefore you only have your friends left. That little interchange – ‘She is gone’ – is the sound of someone who is completely distraught. It’s more about camaraderie than homosexuality. But then it borders on that. You go out for a pint with the blokes and then it gets to that moment… (whispery laughter) and they’re singing to one another pissed, and they hug one another.”
See My Friends
See my friends,
See my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
See my friends,
See my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
She is gone,
She is gone and now there’s no one left
‘cept my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
She just went,
She just went,
Went across the river.
Now she’s gone,
Now she’s gone,
Wish that I’d gone with her.
She is gone,
She is gone and now there’s no one left
‘cept my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
She is gone and now there’s no one else to take her place
She is gone and now there’s no one else to love
‘cept my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
See my friends,
See my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
See my friends,
See my friends,
Layin’ ‘cross the river,
The first season was a tremendous opening season. Out of 29 episodes I had 11 with 5 stars. Only one episode was under 3 and that one was at least interesting. Some of the most classic episodes are in Season 1 but we have more in Season 2. We will also see a new crew member Pavel Chekov, a Russian who joins the crew in the 2nd season. The Monkees were huge at the time so the producers wanted to have their own “Davy Jones” for the girls watching.
Lucille Ball... without her, it might not have happened. She wasn’t in on the creative side of the show but she and her studio Desilu did help finance Star Trek. A studio accountant named Edwin “Ed” Holly is on the record saying “If it were not for Lucy, there would be no Star Trek today.”
Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Janice Rand… only after 8 total episodes Yeoman Rand just vanished from the series. Janice Rand was supposed to be a major character on Star Trek but was written off the show after season 1. Gene Roddenberry once stated that Whitney’s firing was purely financial. Whitney tells a different story. Only a few days before her firing, she was sexually assaulted by a studio executive on the Star Trek set. Whitney discussed the incident in her autobiography years later and, although she deliberately did not mention the executive by name, stated that she had a hard time believing the assault wasn’t at least in some way related to her exit from The Original Series.
Gene Roddenberry later apologized for giving in to pressure from the network to let Whitney go, even going so far as to say that writing Janice Rand off “was the dumbest mistake” he had ever made. To show how much she was loved by the fans and cast…she returned when the movies started in 1979.
William Shatner once said that their budget was lower than what it takes to cater a cast and crew in today’s time. What they had were great writers and good actors who had extremely good chemistry. The leading three men will always be known for their roles in this series. William Shatner as Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, and DeForest Kelley as “Bones” or Doctor McCoy. The supporting cast was great also…with Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel, Nichelle Nicols as Nyota Uhura, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, and James Doohan as Scotty. I can’t forget Grace Lee Whitney who should have been in the entire series.
Thank you all for reading each Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. We have some more in front of us and I’m looking forward to it.
If you tried to giverock ‘n’ roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry…John Lennon
Chuck Berry is the father of rock and roll. His guitar paved the way but most importantly his poetry with his writing. He used rhyme and more reason to weave his songs into the fabric of society. If you were a teenager in the 1950s you understood No Particular Place To Go and his other songs. He used cars as a symbol of freedom much like Bruce Springsteen would do years later.
Berry’s assistant, Francine Gillium, told Berry about the High School that she worked at and helped him get in the right mindset to write these songs about teenagers. He mostly stayed away from politics and topical references in his songs…which is why many are relatable today.
Sweet Little Sixteen, the second-biggest pop hit of his career next to the terrible My Ding-a-Ling. Chuck wrote this song when he was on a package tour, and came across a teenage autograph-seeker who was insistent upon getting the autograph of each headliner on the tour.
The most important collaborator that Chuck had was Johnnie Johnson. He was a piano player who collaborated with Berry on many songs, including “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Sweet Little Sixteen.” Johnson often wrote songs on the piano, and then Berry converted them to guitar and wrote lyrics. Berry joined Johnson’s group, The Sir John Trio, in 1953, and quickly became the lead singer and centerpiece of the band.
There is a controversy that Johnson came up with a lot of the riffs that Chuck used and Berry would transpose them from piano to guitar. In 2000, Johnson sued Chuck Berry, alleging he deserved co-composer credits (and royalties) for dozens of songs, including No Particular Place to Go, Sweet Little Sixteen, and Roll Over Beethoven, which credit Berry alone. The case was eventually dismissed because too many years had passed since the songs in dispute were written. Keith Richards has talked about this also… he is a huge fan of Chuck but also a huge fan of Johnnie Johnson.
Sweet Little Sixteen
They’re really rockin’ Boston
In Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
And down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen
Sweet Little Sixteen
She’s just got to have
About half a million
Famed autographs
Her wallet filled with pictures
She gets ’em one by one
Becomes so excited
Watch her, look at her run, boy
Oh, mommy, mommy
Please, may I go?
It’s such a sight to see
Somebody steal the show
Oh, daddy, daddy
I beg of you
Whisper to mommy
It’s all right with you
‘Cause they’ll be rockin’ on Bandstand
In Philadelphia, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen
‘Cause they’ll be rockin’ on Bandstand
Philadelphia, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with, ooh
Sweet Little Sixteen
Sweet Little Sixteen
She’s got the grown up blues
Tight dresses and lipstick
She’s sportin’ high heel shoes
Oh, but tomorrow morning
She’ll have to change her trend
And be sweet sixteen
And back in class again
But they’ll be rockin’ in Boston
Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
Way out in St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen
This was the Journey I really liked…before a member left (Gregg Rolie) and one was added (Jonathan Cain)…and they became more radio-friendly with Escape. It comes down to my personal tastes. Gregg Rolie played a B4 organ and sounded great and Cain played an 80’s Casio (just kidding but…) synth…it changed the music completely…but it did make them more accessible to the masses…so yea I’m in the minority.
This song was on the album Infinity. Personally…my favorite Journey album is Departure. The three I listen to are Infinity, Evolution, and Departure. The albums before were prog albums and the ones after…more 80’s radio pop. With those three albums, they were more of a rock band.
The origin of this song is interesting. It started off as a poem by Diane Valory, the wife of Journey bassist Ross Valory. The band’s first vocalist, Robert Fleischman, wrote new lyrics, and guitarist Neal Schon wrote the melody on acoustic guitar in the back seat of a station wagon while the band was driving between shows.
This song was the first single to chart for the band. Before this album, they were more of a progressive band. With this single and the next two albums, they started building themselves up in the charts to lay the groundwork for superstardom in the eighties.
The song peaked at #57 on the Billboard 100 and #45 in Canada in 1978.
Wheel In The Sky
Winter is here again, oh Lord
Haven’t been home in a year or more
I hope she holds on a little longer
Sent a letter on a long summer day
Made of silver, not of clay
Ooh, I’ve been runnin’ down this dusty road
Ooh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
I’ve been trying to make it home
Got to make it before too long
Ooh, I can’t take this very much longer, no
I’m stranded in the sleet and rain
Don’t think I’m ever gonna make it home again
The morning sun is risin’
It’s kissin’ the day
Ooh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
I don’t’ know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’, whoa, whoa, whoa
My, my, my, my, my
For tomorrow
Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
Ooh, I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps me yearnin’
Ooh, I don’t know, I don’t know where
Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
Ooh, I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
Ooh, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
Don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Ooh, the wheel in the sky keeps turnin’
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’
If you want to see where we are…and you missed a few…HERE is a list of the episodes in my index located at the top of my blog.
This show was written by Steven W. Carabatsos and Gene Roddenberry
We have hit the last episode of the first season. This weekend I’ll have a First Season review.
The Enterprise is tracking a strange straight line pattern where all of the inhabitants of the planets in line are going crazy and dying – some are killing themselves. The next planet in line is Deneva, a Federation Outpost where Kirk’s brother Sam is stationed. Kirk, Spock & McCoy beam down to the planet to investigate and to visit Sam and his family. What they find are strange flat flying creatures attacking people and everyone on the planet are either going crazy, dying or already dead.
When they get to Sam’s place they find Sam is dead, Sam’s wife starting to go mad then suddenly dies and Sam’s son in a comatose state and dying. Spock is attacked by one of the creatures. The 3 beam back aboard the ship with Kirk’s comatose nephew. Kirk, Spock and McCoy race to find the answers.
Spock is infected with one of the aliens, who cause such great pain as to drive their hosts mad. Spock uses his Vulcan half to control his emotions, even under extreme pain, and this provides Nimoy something to really sink his teeth into.
Unless a method of destroying the creatures can be found, Kirk is faced with the possibility of having to kill millions of people to prevent the creatures from spreading further throughout the galaxy, Spock and Peter, Kirk’s nephew included.
This time there are no mind melds or any kind of communication with the flat-looking creatures. They want them exterminated immediately and for good reason.
From IMDB:
This is the first time McCoy’s lab is seen. Inside the lab, the prop used previously as Balok’s lamp device in Star Trek: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966) can be seen sitting on a shelf. Different components of sickbay were added over the first season, such as the decompression chamber seen in Star Trek: Space Seed (1967). McCoy’s lab contains one of the life support canisters used on the Botany Bay.
The Deneva outdoor scenes were shot at the headquarters of TRW Space and Defense Park in Redondo Beach, California (currently [2021] the Northrop Grumman Space Technology headquarters). The establishing shot of Kirk’s brother – Sam’s lab was a building on the campus of UCLA, and the entrance of the building was the cafeteria at TRW. See Google Earth for location. The actual location where Spock is attacked by the parasite is the lobby of TRW Building E1 next door to the cafeteria where the outdoor scenes were shot. It is now (2021) Northrop Grumman Aerospace Building E1.
The parasites bear a strong resemblance to the titular enemies from the 1951 Robert A. Heinlein novel The Puppet Masters, sometimes considered to have started the “body snatchers” sub genre of science fiction. The same story was the unofficial basis for The Brain Eaters (1958) which also starred Leonard Nimoy. See also Star Trek: Charlie X (1966) and Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967), additional Star Trek The Original Series episodes with Heinlein resemblances.
William Shatner portrays Kirk’s brother Sam in the scene where McCoy rolls his body over to identify him. The shot is brief, but freezing the frame reveals Shatner in light character makeup and a mustache.
Craig Huxley (Kirk’s nephew Peter) reappears in Star Trek: And the Children Shall Lead (1968) as Tommy Starnes, and composed some music for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). Also invented the “Blaster Beam”, the musical instrument used for the distinctive “V’Ger” sound from Star Trek:The Motion Picture.
Steven W. Carabatsos had an obligation in his contract, that he must deliver at least one script of his own while serving as story editor. Carabatsos left the series in late-1966, but still had to fulfill this task before departing. Having no idea of his own, Gene Roddenberry suggested him one, entitled Operation: Destroy!, which was the basis for this episode.
The fly-by of the Enterprise that opens this episode was only seen one other time. It is re-used in Star Trek: The Tholian Web (1968) as the ship is thrown clear of the Tholian force field.
Stock footage of Leslie’s hands from Star Trek: The Alternative Factor (1967) is used to represent the personnel in the satellite control room. This shot was removed from the remastered version of the episode.
The voice of the Denevan who cries out, “I did it. it’s finally gone! I’m free!” is clearly that of Leonard Nimoy’s.
Some non canonical Star Trek novels have given the explanation that Sam Kirk’s two other sons (spoken of in Star Trek: What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966)) were away from Deneva during the events of the episode. It has also been suggested that Sam Kirk having three sons was part of the misinformation Kirk planted in his robot double in that episode.
The clubs used by the Denevans during their attack on the landing party appear to be thick Lucite rods. Curiously, the gray, grooved clubs used by Spock during his fight with Kirk in Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967) and some of the miners on Janus VI in Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967) were not recycled for this use.
Summary
The Enterprise traces a virus-like outbreak that seems to be traveling in a direct line across a planetary system. The next planet is home to Kirk’s brother Sam, his sister-in-law and their young son. The Enterprise arrives too late however for Sam. They find flying jellyfish-like creatures that attach themselves to humans. They take over the victims nervous system forcing them to bend to their will. Spock finds a weapon to use against the creatures but it leaves him hopelessly blind.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk / Samuel ‘Sam’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott Joan Swift … Aurelan Kirk Maurishka … Yeoman Ellen Zahra Majel Barrett … Nurse Christine Chapel George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Craig Huxley … Peter Kirk (as Craig Hundley) Fred Carson … First Denevan Jerry Catron … Second Denevan David Armstrong … Kartan (uncredited) Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Guard (uncredited) Jeannie Malone … Yeoman (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited) Ron Veto … Harrison (uncredited)
It’s a rare event that I post a top ten song of the eighties but this song was a cover and I didn’t know that for the longest. In the 80s my favorite female singers of that time were Maria McKee from Lone Justice and Patty Smyth of Scandal. As far as mainstream artists…I did like Cyndi Lauper and Pat Benatar at the time. My then-girlfriend played Lauper constantly so I gradually started to like her music like Money Changes Everything.
This song was her breakout song and never did I think it was a cover. She released an album in 1981 as a member of the group Blue Angel, but “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” made her famous. She turned the song into a 1980s anthem. The song was on the album She’s So Unusual released in 1983.
Singer/songwriter named Robert Hazard, who had a band called Robert Hazard and the Heroes, wrote it and released it in 1979. It was much more rock guitar based than Lauper’s version.
Lauper had trouble recording the song. They tried it in different ways but nothing worked. Lauper listened to Come On Eileen and was inspired by that…they did it in that tempo and it worked.
The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #1 in New Zealand, and #2 in the UK in 1983. She would have two number 1’s in Billboard with Time After Time and True Colors.
The album She’s So Unusual peaked at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand, and #16 in the UK. She had 5 charting singles off of that album…four top 5 songs including a number 1 and one top 30 song.
The video made for the song features the wrestler Captain Lou Albano as Lauper’s father, and also Lauper’s real-life mother, who had no acting experience. It won the first ever award for Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards. Albano was also in her next video, “Time After Time.”
What’s an eighties song without a parody from Weird Al?… “Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch.” He said he didn’t want to make fun of women so he kept it at lunch. Lauper said: “I like Weird Al. I LOVED ‘Like a Surgeon.’ I thought he was going to make MORE fun of Girls just wanna have lunch. But it wasn’t hard. Because everybody thought I was an alien, I spoke funny and I dressed funny… Not hard to make fun of.”
Cyndi Lauper:“I wanted ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ to be an anthem for women around the world – and I mean all women – and a sustaining message that we are powerful human beings. I made sure that when a woman saw the video, she would see herself represented, whether she was thin or heavy, glamorous or not, and whatever race she was.”
Girls Just Want To Have Fun
I come home in the morning light
My mother says, “When you gonna live your life right?”
Oh, mother dear, we’re not the fortunate ones
And girls they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun
The phone rings in the middle of the night
My father yells, “What you gonna do with your life?”
Oh, daddy dear, you know you’re still number one
But girls they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have
That’s all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Oh, girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun
(Girls they want, wanna have fun)
(Girls wanna have)
Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun
Oh, girls they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have
That’s all they really want
Is some fun
When the working day is done
Oh, girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun
(Girls they want, wanna have fun)
(Girls wanna have)
They just wanna, they just wanna (girls)
They just wanna, they just wanna (girls just wanna have fun)
Oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun
(They just wanna, they just wanna)
They just wanna, they just wanna (girls)
They just wanna, they just wanna (girls just wanna have fun)
Oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun
When the workin’
When the workin’ day is done
Oh, when the workin’ day is done
Oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun
Everybody, ha, ha
They just wanna, they just wanna (girls)
They just wanna, they just wanna (girls just wanna have fun)
Oh, girls, yeah, girls just wanna have fun
(They just wanna, they just wanna)
When the workin’
When the workin’ day is done, oh (they just wanna, they just wanna)
When the workin’ day is done (girls)
(Girls just wanna have fun)
Oh, girl, girls just wanna have fun
(They just wanna, they just wanna) Everybody now
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(They just wanna, they just wanna) Yeah, yeah
Girls
In the late seventies, my friend had the Fly Like An Eagle album. I loved it at that time and this song is the one young Max zoned in on. It’s one Steve Miller song that is NOT worn out! It’s not a great song by any means but there is something charming about this country-type song. It’s one you can imagine someone singing on a back porch.
I like when artists do something different out of the norm. At this time he was changing from blues to pop…and this song went in a different direction.
The Steve Miller Band started off as a blues psychedelia band. They got signed for $50,000 dollars in 1967…quite a lot at that time… after the band had an impressive performance at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival They continued to release one album a year but they never rose up the charts too much. At that time the band included drummer Gary Mallaber and LonnieTurner on bass, but the albums also featured contributions by harmonica player James Cotton, session guitarist Led Dudek, and the Doobie Brothers’ John McFee…and Boz Scaggs was a member for a while.
One song in the earlier period I’ll touch on in a few weeks is “My Darkest Hour” and he recorded it with Paul McCartney in one of his most darest hours…right after Paul refused to sign with Allen Klein.
After The Joker was released as a single in 1973, Miller started to move toward pop melodies and struck gold with Fly Like An Eagle. The album bounces everywhere in style. He does a Sam Cooke cover, Send Me to sitars on “Wild Mountain Honey…along with this Bluegrass – Country song Dance, Dance, Dance. Then there are the hits. The title track Fly Like An Eagle, Take The Money and Run, and Rockin’ Me. This album is one of the building blocks of classic rock radio.
The album was released in 1976 and it peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album Charts, #4 in Canada, and #11 in the UK.
Dance, Dance, Dance
My grandpa, he’s 95
And he keeps on dancin’
He’s still alive
My grandma, she’s 92
She loves to dance
And sing some, too
I don’t know
But I’ve been told
If you keep on dancing
You’ll never grow old
Come on darling
Put a pretty dress on
We’re gonna go out tonight
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
All night long
I’m a hard working man
I’m a son of a gun
I’ve been working all week in the noon day sun
The wood’s in the kitchen
And the cow’s in the barn
I’m all cleaned up and my chores are all done
Take my hand, come along
Let’s go out and have some fun
Come on darling put a pretty dress on
We’re gonna go out tonight
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
All night long
Pick on
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
All night long
Come on darling, don’t look that way
Don’t you know when you smile
I’ve got to say you’re my honey pumpkin lover
You’re my heart’s delight
Don’t you want to go out tonight
You’re such a pretty lady
You’re such a sweet girl
When you dance it brightens up my world
Come on darling put a pretty dress on
We’re gonna go out tonight
And dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
Dance, dance, dance
All night long
A true rock and roll pioneer. I don’t have to be coaxed to listen to Gene Vincent but I watched the 1969 bio of him doing a UK tour in 1969 (at the bottom of the post). He radiated star but you could tell he was in pain probably from all directions. I always liked him because of his attitude while singing but I noticed…very late…but I saw what a great unusual voice he had. He could go from ballad to rocker in a split second.
Vincent was injured in a car accident on April 16, 1960…with Eddie Cochran in a taxi which killed Cochran. Vincent whose leg was weak due to a wound incurred in a motorcycle accident in Virginia during the Korean War. He walked with a noticeable limp for the rest of his life. In 1962 he was in Hamburg and played on the same bill as the Beatles.
The 50s revival had started in the UK and Vincent did around 24 shows altogether on that tour. The bio is a fascinating look into the UK in 1969. The music is there of course but it gives a lesson on how touring is not always glamorous and 5-star hotels.
Vincent’s energetic performance and dynamic vocals make this song a standout track. It was written by Whitey Pullen and Jerry Merritt. The song was released in 1960 and it peaked at #22 in the UK charts. By this time the UK is where all of the 50’s rock stars went because America was too busy listening to Paul Anka, Fabion, and Pat Boone. It was a sad state of music at that time for rock and roll. The parents probably loved the no soul no trouble singers. Then thankfully…the British invasion and Motown were coming up.
The Beatles, Stones, Who, and other bands made America wake up to the blues and rock artists they had been ignoring.
Gene Vincent would die only two years after this tour in 1971 after recording an album called The Day the World Turned Blue at 36 years old. He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997. The following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He would die of a ruptured ulcer, internal hemorrhage and heart failure.
She She Little Sheila
Well, she, she, she little Sheila
Best lookin’ gal in town
Well now, she, she, she little Sheila
With your hair so long and brown
Well, you never-never know what my Sheila’s puttin’ down
Well now, Dick Clark said you’re the best lookin’ girl
On his big bandstand
I know it too and I love you true
And honey, I’m your man
Well, you never-never know what my Sheila’s puttin’ down
Yeah, she, she, she little Sheila
She, she, she little Sheila
She, she, she little Sheila
She, she, she little Sheila
Well, you never-never know what my Sheila’s gonna put down
Well, she, she, she little Sheila
Best lookin’ gal around
Well, she, she, she little Sheila
With your hair so long and brown
Well, you never-never know what my Sheila’s puttin’ down (aw)
Yeah, she, she, she little Sheila
She, she, she little Sheila
She, she, she little Sheila
She, she, she little Sheila
Well, you never-never know what my Sheila’s puttin’ down
If you want to see where we are…and you missed a few…HERE is a list of the episodes in my index located at the top of my blog.
This show was written by Harlan Ellison and Gene Roddenberry
If someone asked me the best episode of Star Trek…this would be the one. This one has drama, comedy, romance, and most importantly…Time Travel!
McCoy is accidentally injected with a stimulant that makes him paranoid and aggressive. He attacks crewmen and beams himself down on a planet the ship is orbiting. There, he jumps into a time travel device that resembles a giant donut called the Guardian. The Guardian has time running through and you can watch history. He manages to totally disrupt time…so much so that the Enterprise no longer exists.
Kirk and Spock ask the Guardian to start again and Kirk and Spock jump through into a period a few weeks before McCoy lands in depression-era New York. They take refuge in a homeless shelter run by Edith Keeler and prepare for McCoy’s arrival. Spock works to create a method of viewing the history he had recorded and Kirk grows close to Edith. When Spock finally finishes his work he sees that he has recorded two contradictory histories… one where Edith dies in the near future and one where she does on to work for peace
The question is which history is the ‘correct’ one, which led to the future being changed and how will McCoy interfere with what is meant to happen? I cannot say enough great things about this episode.
This episode is considered to be one of the best episodes of the series and rightly so. It uses the time travel device to set up a moral conundrum and surprisingly doing the right thing might mean allowing a good woman to die. Guest star Joan Collins does a fine job in the role of Edith and DeForest Kelley’s portrayal of the drug-affected McCoy is one of his best performances in the series.
We have one more episode to wrap up the first season!
From IMDB:
To emphasize on the extremely high age of the Guardian in the upper millions, or well into the billions, the starfield of its planet is surrounded by red dwarfs and red giants.
When William Shatner and Joan Collins are walking together on the street, they pass in front of a shop with the name Floyd’s Barber Shop clearly painted on the window. This is the same Floyd’s Barber Shop which is often seen on The Andy Griffith Show (1960), adjacent to the sheriff’s office, in the town of Mayberry.
Gene Roddenberry apparently denied Harlan Ellison’s pseudonym request because he knew everyone in the science fiction community was aware that the “Cordwainer Bird” credit was Ellison’s way of signaling his dissatisfaction with the way production people treated what he wrote. It would have meant that Star Trek was no different than all the other “science fiction” shows in mistreating quality writers, and could have resulted in prose science fiction writers avoiding contributing to the program.
In Harlan Ellison’s original story, Beckwith’s change of the past is revealed by members of the Enterprise team who are beamed back to the ship, only to find it is now a pirate vessel named the Condor. This idea was later used in Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967).
Widely considered by both fans and critics to be the best episode of the series.
At the 50th anniversary “Star Trek” convention in Las Vegas in August 2016, fans voted this the best episode of the “Star Trek” franchise.
Gene L. Coon is mainly responsible for the small comical elements of the story, including the famous “rice picker” scene, which Harlan Ellison reportedly hated.
The footage seen through the time portal is, for the most part, lifted from old Paramount films.
This was the most expensive episode produced during the first season, with a budget of $245,316 ($2,163,601.87 in 2022 adjusted for inflation), and also the most expensive episode of the entire series, except the two pilots. The average cost of a first season episode was around $190,000 ($1,675,733.97). Also, production went one and a half days over schedule, resulting in eight shooting days instead of the usual six.
When asked in February 26, 1992 interview whether the makers of this episode consciously intended it to have the contemporaneous anti-Vietnam-war movement as subtext, associate producer Robert H. Justman replied, “Of course we did.”
The Guardian of Forever was designed by Art Director Rolland M. Brooks. Normally, set design was the purview of his colleague Matthew Jeffreys, but due to illness, Brooks took over his chores for the Guardian. When Jefferies returned to his duties and saw the donut-shaped set piece for the first time, he reportedly exclaimed, “What the hell is this?!”, according to D.C. Fontana. Special effects artist Jim Rugg was responsible for the light effects for the Guardian.
Clark Gable, who was by no means a leading man in 1930, was not the original choice of reference. The final shooting draft of this script has Edith reference “a Richard Dix movie”, but the crew on the set felt Dix’s name wouldn’t be familiar to viewers in the 1960s.
Originally, then-story editor Steven W. Carabatsos got the job to rewrite Harlan Ellison’s script, but his draft was not used. Instead, Ellison agreed to make a rewrite himself, which was again deemed unsuitable. Producer Gene L. Coon also got himself into the rewriting. Finally, the new story editor, D.C. Fontana got the assignment to rewrite Ellison’s script and make it suitable for the series. Fontana’s draft was then slightly rewritten by Roddenberry to become the final shooting draft. Much of the finished episode is the product of Fontana, who went uncredited (as did all the other writers) for her contribution. Only two lines from Ellison’s original teleplay survive in the final episode, both spoken by the Guardian: “Since before your sun burned hot in space, since before your race was born,” and “Time has resumed its shape.”
The title of this episode refers to both the dead city on the time planet and New York itself, where the timeline will either be restored or disrupted. In Harlan Ellison’s original script, Kirk, upon first seeing the city sparkling like a jewel on a high mountaintop, reverently says it looks like “a city on the edge of forever”. In Ellison’s first treatment for this episode, the city they travelled back in time to was Chicago.
The alley in which Kirk steals the clothing from the fire-escape is the same alley seen in Star Trek: Miri (1966), in which Spock and the guards have debris dumped on them by the children and the same alley seen in Star Trek: The Return of the Archons (1967) where the townspeople are stunned.
Leonard Nimoy characterizes the episode as a high-water mark in the series, calling it “good tragedy”.
Harlan Ellison’s original story had the time portal manned by people who were the real guardians of time, rather than a machine entity.
In Harlan Ellison’s original story, Kirk and Spock are aided in the 1930s by a vagrant called Trooper who reveals himself to be a veteran of the Battle of the Somme. This character was renamed Rodent, and has a smaller role as the bum who incinerates himself with McCoy’s phaser.
In one scene in this episode, a poster can be seen advertising a boxing event at Madison Square Garden featuring “Kid McCook” vs. “Mike Mason”. For Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Past Tense, Part II (1995), scenic artists Doug Drexler and Michael Okuda created a near replica of this boxing poster for a scene set in 1930 San Francisco; the DS9 poster features the same boxers, and says that it is “their first rematch since Madison Square Garden”.
The network heavily objected to Kirk’s last line, “Let’s get the hell out of here” and wanted it to be removed from the episode. The word “Hell” was used five times in The Original Series, the other four being: Star Trek: Space Seed (1967)(#1.22), when Kirk quotes Milton, “It is better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven”, Star Trek: The Alternative Factor (1967)(#1.27), when Lazarus tells his counterpart, “I’ll chase you into the very fires of hell!”, and Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine (1967)(#2.6), when Decker describes the berserker as “right out of hell.” Kirk also says “What the hell is going on?” when he activates the Constellation viewscreen and sees the Enterprise being pulled into the maw of the Planet Killer. These are the only two times that the word was used as an expletive, rather than a reference to the domicile of the damned.
Harlan Ellison’s script was unusable for the series for many different reasons. Gene Roddenberry objected to the idea that drug usage would still be a problem in the 23rd century, and even present among starship crews. Also, the production staff was heavily against Kirk’s final inactivity. It seemed that being unable to decide and act, viewers could never be able to accept him as the strong leader figure in later episodes. Elements, such as the Guardians and the Condor and its crew were simply impossible to create on the series’ budget.
One of William Shatner’s favorite episodes.
William Shatner recalled that he attempted to talk to Harlan Ellison during the writing dispute to try and calm things down. According to Shatner, Ellison responded by yelling at him.
After Kirk and Spock talk about the “flop”, the scene changes to a street view, where a kosher meat store, with a conspicuously large Star of David on its front, is displayed in the center of the scene. This is one of the very few times a human (Earth) religious symbol is displayed in this series.
Desilu Stage 11, usually not a Star Trek stage, was used for filming the mission interiors. The stage was occupied by My Three Sons (1960) previously, but as that series was moved to another location, it became available for the crew to film.
Harlan Ellison’s original script later won the Writers’ Guild of America Award.To emphasize on the extremely high age of the Guardian in the upper millions, or well into the billions, the starfield of its planet is surrounded by red dwarfs and red giants.
When William Shatner and Joan Collins are walking together on the street, they pass in front of a shop with the name Floyd’s Barber Shop clearly painted on the window. This is the same Floyd’s Barber Shop which is often seen on The Andy Griffith Show (1960), adjacent to the sheriff’s office, in the town of Mayberry.
Gene Roddenberry apparently denied Harlan Ellison’s pseudonym request because he knew everyone in the science fiction community was aware that the “Cordwainer Bird” credit was Ellison’s way of signaling his dissatisfaction with the way production people treated what he wrote. It would have meant that Star Trek was no different than all the other “science fiction” shows in mistreating quality writers, and could have resulted in prose science fiction writers avoiding contributing to the program.
In Harlan Ellison’s original story, Beckwith’s change of the past is revealed by members of the Enterprise team who are beamed back to the ship, only to find it is now a pirate vessel named the Condor. This idea was later used in Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967).
Widely considered by both fans and critics to be the best episode of the series.
At the 50th anniversary “Star Trek” convention in Las Vegas in August 2016, fans voted this the best episode of the “Star Trek” franchise.
Gene L. Coon is mainly responsible for the small comical elements of the story, including the famous “rice picker” scene, which Harlan Ellison reportedly hated.
The footage seen through the time portal is, for the most part, lifted from old Paramount films.
This was the most expensive episode produced during the first season, with a budget of $245,316 ($2,163,601.87 in 2022 adjusted for inflation), and also the most expensive episode of the entire series, except the two pilots. The average cost of a first season episode was around $190,000 ($1,675,733.97). Also, production went one and a half days over schedule, resulting in eight shooting days instead of the usual six.
When asked in February 26, 1992 interview whether the makers of this episode consciously intended it to have the contemporaneous anti-Vietnam-war movement as subtext, associate producer Robert H. Justman replied, “Of course we did.”
The Guardian of Forever was designed by Art Director Rolland M. Brooks. Normally, set design was the purview of his colleague Matthew Jeffreys, but due to illness, Brooks took over his chores for the Guardian. When Jefferies returned to his duties and saw the donut-shaped set piece for the first time, he reportedly exclaimed, “What the hell is this?!”, according to D.C. Fontana. Special effects artist Jim Rugg was responsible for the light effects for the Guardian.
Clark Gable, who was by no means a leading man in 1930, was not the original choice of reference. The final shooting draft of this script has Edith reference “a Richard Dix movie”, but the crew on the set felt Dix’s name wouldn’t be familiar to viewers in the 1960s.
Originally, then-story editor Steven W. Carabatsos got the job to rewrite Harlan Ellison’s script, but his draft was not used. Instead, Ellison agreed to make a rewrite himself, which was again deemed unsuitable. Producer Gene L. Coon also got himself into the rewriting. Finally, the new story editor, D.C. Fontana got the assignment to rewrite Ellison’s script and make it suitable for the series. Fontana’s draft was then slightly rewritten by Roddenberry to become the final shooting draft. Much of the finished episode is the product of Fontana, who went uncredited (as did all the other writers) for her contribution. Only two lines from Ellison’s original teleplay survive in the final episode, both spoken by the Guardian: “Since before your sun burned hot in space, since before your race was born,” and “Time has resumed its shape.”
The title of this episode refers to both the dead city on the time planet and New York itself, where the timeline will either be restored or disrupted. In Harlan Ellison’s original script, Kirk, upon first seeing the city sparkling like a jewel on a high mountaintop, reverently says it looks like “a city on the edge of forever”. In Ellison’s first treatment for this episode, the city they travelled back in time to was Chicago.
The alley in which Kirk steals the clothing from the fire-escape is the same alley seen in Star Trek: Miri (1966), in which Spock and the guards have debris dumped on them by the children and the same alley seen in Star Trek: The Return of the Archons (1967) where the townspeople are stunned.
Leonard Nimoy characterizes the episode as a high-water mark in the series, calling it “good tragedy”.
Harlan Ellison’s original story had the time portal manned by people who were the real guardians of time, rather than a machine entity.
In Harlan Ellison’s original story, Kirk and Spock are aided in the 1930s by a vagrant called Trooper who reveals himself to be a veteran of the Battle of the Somme. This character was renamed Rodent, and has a smaller role as the bum who incinerates himself with McCoy’s phaser.
In one scene in this episode, a poster can be seen advertising a boxing event at Madison Square Garden featuring “Kid McCook” vs. “Mike Mason”. For Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Past Tense, Part II (1995), scenic artists Doug Drexler and Michael Okuda created a near replica of this boxing poster for a scene set in 1930 San Francisco; the DS9 poster features the same boxers, and says that it is “their first rematch since Madison Square Garden”.
Harlan Ellison’s script was unusable for the series for many different reasons. Gene Roddenberry objected to the idea that drug usage would still be a problem in the 23rd century, and even present among starship crews. Also, the production staff was heavily against Kirk’s final inactivity. It seemed that being unable to decide and act, viewers could never be able to accept him as the strong leader figure in later episodes. Elements, such as the Guardians and the Condor and its crew were simply impossible to create on the series’ budget.
One of William Shatner’s favorite episodes.
William Shatner recalled that he attempted to talk to Harlan Ellison during the writing dispute to try and calm things down. According to Shatner, Ellison responded by yelling at him.
After Kirk and Spock talk about the “flop”, the scene changes to a street view, where a kosher meat store, with a conspicuously large Star of David on its front, is displayed in the center of the scene. This is one of the very few times a human (Earth) religious symbol is displayed in this series.
Desilu Stage 11, usually not a Star Trek stage, was used for filming the mission interiors. The stage was occupied by My Three Sons (1960) previously, but as that series was moved to another location, it became available for the crew to film.
Harlan Ellison’s original script later won the Writers’ Guild of America Award.
Summary
When a drug-crazed Dr. McCoy leaps through a time portal to 1930 Earth, he does something to change history resulting in the disappearance of the Enterprise. Kirk and Spock soon follow hoping to arrive just before McCoy. They soon find themselves working at the 21st Street Mission for the beautiful Edith Keeler. Spock builds a crude computer and finds two newspaper articles about Edith: one dated 1936 about a meeting she had with President Roosevelt and the other her obituary dated 1930. The question then becomes which of the two are correct. Is Edith Keeler, with whom Kirk has fallen in love, supposed to live or to die?
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock Joan Collins … Edith Keeler DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura John Harmon … Rodent Hal Baylor … Policeman David L. Ross … Galloway John Winston … Lieutenant Kyle Bart La Rue … Guardian (voice) (as Bartell La Rue) Walter Bacon … Onlooker on Street (uncredited) Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Bill Borzage … Drunk (uncredited) Dick Cherney … Passerby on Sidewalk (uncredited) Noble ‘Kid’ Chissell … Server (uncredited) Jane Crowley … Onlooker on Street (uncredited) Joe Garcio … Man in Mission (uncredited) Joseph Glick … Man in Mission (uncredited) Carey Loftin … Truck Driver (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited) Eleanore Vogel … Onlooker on Street (uncredited) Max Wagner … Man in Mission (uncredited)
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