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)
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)
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 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)
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)
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 Don Ingalls and Gene Roddenberry
Only two more episodes after this and we are done with the first season! I’ll write up a Season 1 review for next weekend and we will tackle the 2nd season after that.
Ok…this is one of the unpopular episodes of Star Trek. It’s not one of the better ones but I find it interesting…but saying that…it’s hard to get a handle on exactly what is going on. This is the first episode where even Spock has more questions in his answers than answers. The funny thing is…the next episode coming up is maybe the best in the entire series.
Robert Brown does a good job of performing the rather maniacal Lazarus…an interesting biblical allusion, but a bit difficult to interpret the meaning given the character. The cinematography and the script impose limitations that inhibit dramatic development.
The known universe is, apparently, about to be destroyed by a malevolent humanoid from a parallel universe of antimatter. If antimatter meets matter…the results will be catastrophic. Lazarus has been chasing this being for years to exact revenge for the destruction of his world. The Enterprise crew is stymied and confused (as well as us the viewers), until the identity of the would-be destroyer is revealed.
In closing… this is some hard-core science fiction with a wonderful mystery setup. The script hints at the possibility of an invasion from the antimatter universe and/or the destruction of all existence due to the collision of both. The execution, however, leaves much to be desired. It could have been so much better…maybe in a movie format or with a much better script.
In other words…you will do better seeing this episode than reading about it. That doesn’t mean everything will make sense…at the end of the episode I saw what was going on but it’s like describing a train wreck getting to that point.
From IMDB
This is the first time that live two-way communication with Starfleet Command is depicted. In previous episodes, communication with Starfleet Command was through delayed radio messages.
John Drew Barrymore (Drew’s dad) was originally cast as Lazarus, but failed to show up for shooting and had to be replaced by Robert Brown, causing the episode to go two days over schedule. Star Trek’s producers subsequently filed and won a grievance with the Screen Actors Guild, which suspended Barrymore’s SAG membership for 6 months.
Along with Star Trek: Friday’s Child (1967), this is one of the only two episodes where outdoor planet scenes were filmed both on Desilu Stage 10 and on location (both times at Vasquez Rocks). Originally, all planet-side scenes were scheduled to be filmed on location, but due to the turmoil during production, director Gerd Oswald couldn’t finish shooting at Vasquez. Matt Jefferies and the art department prepared a spot on Stage 10 which could accomodate the missing “alternate universe” sequence.
At the 50th anniversary “Star Trek” convention in Las Vegas in August 2016, fans voted this the ninth worst episode of the “Star Trek” franchise.
Depending on which version of this episode you watch, the closing stills change. The original syndicated version and the VHS version show the still as the Enterprise leaving the Earth-like planet from Star Trek: Miri (1966). However, the Sci-fi Channel and DVD version show the still as just a blue planet, possibly Rigel 12 from Star Trek: Mudd’s Women (1966) or Starbase 11 from Star Trek: Court Martial (1967).
Actor Eddie Paskey appeared in 59 episodes of the original Star Trek series, 50 of them playing Lt. Leslie – a character name that came from William Shatner himself inserting the first name of his eldest daughter Leslie Carol Shatner into the show – but only in ‘The Alternative Factor’ does Eddie’s role as Lt. Leslie ever appear in closing credits, and when it does – in contrast to the spelling by which it has become widely known and accepted – it is spelled ‘Lesley’. Also, this was the second episode in which Leslie was seen in the command chair.
James Doohan and George Takei do not appear in this episode. For unknown reasons, Scotty and Sulu were substituted in the roles of engineer and helmsman by Charlene Masters and Mr. Leslie, respectively.
The visual of the iron-silica planet from orbit is reused footage previously representing Alfa 177 in Star Trek: The Enemy Within (1966) and M-113 in Star Trek: The Man Trap (1966). This planet effect was reused again as Argus X in Star Trek: Obsession (1967) and Ardana in Star Trek: The Cloud Minders (1969).
When Lazarus sabotages the Engineering Panel to create an overload, and eventually steal several dilithium crystals, the electrical plugs he switches around are actually Dual Binding Post Plugs (banana plugs), very common when this show was made in the 1960s and still in use in 2021.
A still image in the closing credits of Star Trek: The Squire of Gothos (1967) shows the corridor between universes set unaltered by the effects and double exposure. Titled at a 45 degree angle, William Shatner stands ankle deep in smoke in a near pose of the crucifixion, falling back into a purple corridor, where an orange line draws the horizon to a vanishing point.
Although this episode isn’t the best of the series, it does serve as the springboard for other plot lines concerning parallel or alternative universes as well as time travel. These subjects would be expanded upon through the original series seasons as well as in sequel television and film productions.
Summary
While mapping the uninhabited planet below, the Enterprise – indeed the entire galaxy – is affected by a powerful force after which a single human, Lazarus, is found on the planet. He claims to be after an evil creature who destroyed his entire civilization, but Spock can identify no other creature on the planet. Lazarus is in fact a time traveler who has been battling an alternate version of himself from an alternate universe. When Lazarus’ opponent steals the ship’s dilithium crystals, solving the mystery becomes a matter of life and death for Kirk and the crew.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock Robert Brown … Lazarus DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy Janet MacLachlan … Lt. Charlene Masters Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Richard Derr … Barstow Arch Whiting … Assistant Engineer Christian Patrick … Transporter Chief Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Vince Cadiente … Security Guard (uncredited) Bill Catching … Anti-Matter Lazarus Being #2 (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Crewman (uncredited) Carey Foster … Enterprise crewmember (uncredited) Tom Lupo … Security Guard (uncredited) Ron Veto … Security Guard (uncredited) Al Wyatt Sr. … Anti-Matter Lazarus Being #1 (uncredited)
I first heard the Turtles with the single that I got from a cousin. The single was Eleanor… I fell for them at that moment. After I got to know them better…I found out they didn’t take themselves seriously and had some good pop songs.
This was written and originally recorded by Bob Dylan, who released the song on his 1964 album Another Side Of Bob Dylan. Smart performers started to pick up that this Bob guy could write accessible songs for the public. Add a Rickenbacker or a jangly guitar and whala you have folk rock.
The band was formed by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan. They were saxophone players who did whatever was trendy in order to make a living as musicians. They were also in the choir together in high school.
They were in an instrumental band but with the Beatles and the British invasion, they soon switched to a rock and roll band with Howard Kaylan as lead singer.
This was their debut single and what a single it was for them. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100 and #3 in Canada in 1965. It was on their debut album with the same name. The album didn’t do as well…it peaked at #98 on the Billboard Album Charts.
The Turtles were more of a singles band but did release some interesting ones at the end of their career. One of them was called The Turtles Present The Battle of the Bands. It was a concept album where they pretended to be different bands for each song. I’ve always liked that idea.
After they broke up Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan became Flo and Eddie.
Howard Kaylan: “When the Turtles first signed our original recording agreements with the tiny label that would become White Whale, we were all under the legal age of 18. Needless to say, the contracts required our parents’ approval. This was all done before a judge in the county of Los Angeles who reviewed the paperwork about to be executed and told our parents that, “If you let your sons sign these papers, the court won’t be responsible for the outcome. These are the worst contracts that I have ever seen.” We didn’t care. We wanted to make records and damn the consequences. So we signed. And our parents co-signed. And the judge had been right. It took many years and many thousands of dollars to win back our money and our self-respect. But, in the meantime, we had a record deal.
We had originally intended to break up our band, the Crossfires, on one particular evening in 1965, while playing our usual Friday night gig at the a teen club in Redondo Beach, California called the Revelaire. On my way upstairs with our resignation, two shady-looking entrepreneurs stopped me and asked if we were interested in making a record. They loved the way we sounded doing a cover of the new Byrds single (our guitarist had gone out and bought a 12-string guitar earlier that week) and thought that doing folk-rock was the key to our future.
It fell upon me to find the tunes to record. The Crossfires had been a surf band in high school, but together with a friend of ours, Betty McCarty, we had also done some folk singing as The Crosswind Singers. In fact, we opened a concert at Westchester High that starred the folk duo Joe and Eddie (a foreshadowing of things to come, many years before the names Flo and Eddie were to become our nom de plumes). I found Dylan’s ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’ on an album and, being blissfully unaware that anyone else had ever recorded it, thought that it would make a great rock song. So I literally ‘lifted’ the Zombies’ approach to pop – a soft Colin Blunstone-like minor verse bursting into a four-four major chorus a-la ‘She’s Not There.’
It Ain’t Me Babe
Go away from my window
Leave at your own chosen speed
I’m not the one you want, babe
I’m not the one you need
You say you’re lookin’ for someone
Who’s never weak but always strong
To protect you and defend you
Whether you are right or wrong
Someone to open each and every door
But it ain’t me, babe
A-no, no, no it ain’t me, babe
Well, it ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe
Go lightly from the ledge, babe
Go lightly on the ground
I’m not the one you want, babe
I’ll only lead you down
You say you’re lookin’ for someone
Who’ll promise never to part
Someone to close his eyes to you
Someone to close his heart
Someone who will die for you and more
But it ain’t me, babe
A-no, no, no it ain’t me, babe
Well, it ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe
No it ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe
I said a-no, no, no, it ain’t me, babe
I said a-no, no, no, it ain’t me, babe
I said a-no, no, no, it ain’t me, babe
I said a-no, no, no, it ain’t me, babe
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 L. Coon and Gene Roddenberry
This episode introduces one of the most famous enemies of anyone in TV or movies. The Klingons are up there with the Daleks and Storm Troopers.
The Enterprise must beat the Klingons to a planet that is of significant strategic importance between the Klingon Empire and the Federation’s realm of control. This planet is known as Organia and appears to be technologically inferior to humans and Klingons alike. Kirk pleads with its council to side with the Federation in an imminent war with the Klingons in order to avoid occupation but the Organians seem unperturbed by any of this.
The Organians can be super annoying at times. We all want peace but they refused to put up any defense at all against the coming Klingons. They gave a vibe of “everything will be alright” and didn’t seem concerned about anything really. At first, I thought they were way too naive. It’s great being peaceful but not defending yourself did not make sense. There is a surprise at the end and we find out that the Organians are not what they seem.
Kirk never even tries to understand the Organians… he assumes he’s so far above them that they can’t even understand the trouble they find themselves in.
This episode serves as a very good introduction to the Klingons. We get to know what they are all about…we also see the similarities between them and Starfleet. At the end of the episode, Kirk looks back and realizes he’s not the biggest fish in the pond like he originally presumed. A fun episode made all the more memorable by John Calicos as the merciless Klingon Kor, the actor makes a truly great villain.
SPOILERS
The Organians then reveal themselves to be highly-evolved incorporeal beings composed of pure energy. They put a stop to the coming war by making their weapons useless. They left Kirk and Kor to ponder what might have been (a disappointed Kor says that war between them ‘would have been glorious’).
From IMDB:
Introduces the Klingon Empire. Klingons were named after Gene Roddenberry’s friend, Bob Clingan.
John Colicos intended to reprise the role of Captain Kor in a later episode Star Trek: Day of the Dove (1968), but scheduling conflicts with Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) prevented this. The role of Captain Kang (Michael Ansara) was written to take the place of Kor, and the performances of both actors were so excellent that they became equally legendary.
The Klingon Lieutenant played by Victor Lundin walks into the room ahead of John Colicos (Kor), making him the first Klingon to appear on screen in any Trek production, although, in a prior scene, several Klingons are seen walking through the village.
The baldric that Kor wore was reused for Worf during the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). When it was exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution as part of a Star Trek retrospective in the 1990s, the material could clearly be seen to be burlap sacking, painted gold. The same exhibit showed that the buckles of the Klingon belts were pieces of bubble pack, with the bubbles painted silver to resemble metal studs.
In the original broadcast, we never saw visuals of the Klingon vessels either on the view screen or on exterior shots, just explosions on the view screen where the Klingon vessels were supposed to be. In the “Remastered” release (2006), new shots of the D7 Klingon Battle Cruisers, designed and built by art director Walter M. Jefferies, were digitally inserted into various shots, providing new visuals of the Klingon ships that were not present before. Due to this addition, this would now officially make this the first episode of the series to feature the D7s. Originally, the D7s did not appear until the Third Season of the series and the original first episodes to feature them were Star Trek: The Enterprise Incident (1968) and Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius (1968), which were aired in reverse order from when they were filmed.
The entrance of the Klingon headquarters is the same building as the main gate to the Organian village, filmed from a longer distance and different angles.
This is the first episode in which Sulu is shown sitting in the command chair, although he had previously commanded the bridge from the helm position in Star Trek: Arena (1967). Scott, who doesn’t appear in this episode, had commanded the Enterprise in the absence of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: A Taste of Armageddon (1967), in which Sulu didn’t appear. The second season would establish Scott as senior to Sulu in the command structure.
This is the last episode in which the term “Vulcanian” is used to refer to Vulcans. Both “Vulcanian” and “Vulcan” are used at different points in the episode: Kor uses “Vulcanian” and the Klingon lieutenant uses “Vulcan”, both in reference to Spock.
An audio clip of Spock’s line about “pure energy” was used by the band Information Society in their song Information Society: What’s on Your Mind? (Pure Energy) (1988). The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and Leonard Nimoy was given a “Special Thanks” in the song’s credits.
Popularly known as “The Vietnam Story”, for its obvious allusions to Vietnam and its abuse by the colonial powers.
The set where Kirk and Spock shoot the two Klingons is the same set used in Star Trek: The Cage (1966) where Captain Pike kills the giant warrior with a spear.
One of only a few episodes where a blue-shirted crewman is seen at helm.
D.C. Fontana thought the Klingons were made the regular adversaries of the series because they didn’t need any special (and expensive) make-up like the Romulans, whom she thought to be much more interesting.
In the script, the Klingons were described simply as “Oriental, hard-faced.”
The scene where Kirk and Spock stun the guards and break into the Klingon headquarters was filmed at sunlight using a “day-for-night” filter.
Kor was also set to appear in Star Trek: Day of the Dove (1968) and Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967), but John Colicos was unavailable and other Klingon characters were written in. A script was written for Kor for the fourth season, but the show was cancelled after the third season, and he never got his chance to appear again. (Kor did appear in Star Trek: The Animated Series: The Time Trap (1973), but was voiced by James Doohan.) Colicos was also the person who gave the Klingons their dark-skinned, mustached look. He said he was going for the “Genghis Khan” look. Makeup artist Fred B. Phillips agreed on it, and conceived the Klingons in this fashion. He did eventually reprise his role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Blood Oath (1994), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Sword of Kahless (1995), and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Once More Unto the Breach (1998).
Kor makes appearances in quite a number of Star Trek novels including “The Tears of the Singers”, in which he allies with Kirk first against human criminals and then against a mutiny aboard his own ship. John Colicos reprised the role of a now-elderly Kor in a few episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).
John Colicos (Kor) would go on to play another iconic villain in a space opera television show: Lord Baltar in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978).
The shot of Enterprise hit by magnetic pulses was a stock shot of energy bolts hitting the ship, the corresponding live-action sequences used a buzzing electric effect that would be reused for the Klingon Bird-of-Prey firing effect in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). The shot of Enterprise firing was also a re-use. This time the white bolts shot out of the ship are said to be phasers, even though in other appearances the same effect represents photon torpedoes. The script specified that the battle should be depicted using stock footage from Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966) and Star Trek: Arena (1967).
John Colicos was director John Newland’s first and immediate choice for the role of Kor. He got the script only two hours before flying to Los Angeles from Toronto, and read it on the plane.
A comic book published by IDW Comics in April 2007, “Against Their Nature”, told this story from the Klingon point of view.
The episode title comes from “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby” by Charles Dickens: “It is an errand of mercy which brings me here. Pray, let me discharge it.” Nearly 40 years later, a passage from Nicholas Nickleby was discussed in a subplot of Star Trek: Enterprise: Cold Station 12 (2004).
The Organian ‘fortress’ that is observed in the distance and remarked on by Spock (and later established as the Klingon occupation force base of operations) is the Citadelle Laferrière, a famous Haitian landmark on Bonnet à l’Evêque mountain near Nord, Haiti.
Summary
With the breakdown of peace negotiations, the Federation finds itself at war with the Klingon Empire. The Enterprise is ordered to the planet Organia in order to ensure that the Klingons are prevented from using the planet as a base. They arrive to find a peace-loving population who seem to know little of war or violence and don’t see a threat, even after the Klingons arrive in force on the planet. While Kirk and the Klingon commander Kor jockey for position, the Organians refuse to support either side and both commanders soon learn that the Organians have a good reason not to fear or support either of them.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock John Abbott … Ayelborne John Colicos … Kor George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Peter Brocco … Claymare Victor Lundin … Lieutenant David Hillary Hughes … Trefayne Walt Davis … Klingon Soldier George Sawaya … Second Soldier Bobby Bass … Klingon Guard (uncredited) Bill Blackburn … Organian villager (uncredited) John Blower … Organian Villager (uncredited) Gary Combs … Klingon Guard (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Brent / Organian villager (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited) Basil Poledouris … Klingon (uncredited) Paul Power … Elder (uncredited) Ron Veto … Harrison / Organian villager (uncredited)
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 L. Coon and Gene Roddenberry
William Shatner’s father died during the making of this episode. Please check the IMDB notes below about that.
This is the fourth excellent episode in a row. I’ve seen a video of a 1990s Star Trek convention of Leonard Nimoy saying this episode’s closing banter between Spock and Kirk was one of his favorite scenes to perform. He noted, “It was a wonderful moment which defined the relationship and defined the whole Spock character’s existence and his attitude about himself.”
I like the fact that the episode is not about one specific character but evolves around the trio handling an alien problem. Also, it’s nice to see an episode that doesn’t only happen on the Enterprise.
The Enterprise arrives at a mining colony on Janus VI in order to kill a beast called the Horta, which has been killing miners, jeopardizing the exportation of the ever-important pergium (an element for energy). As the miners continue drilling deeper, it seems to be upsetting the monster more and more. Spock soon discerns that the monster is silicon-based, not the type of life form that the crew is familiar with.
In the beginning, everyone hates the Horta… they fear it and loathe it. But Spock’s mind meld and Kirk’s understanding soon changes this tune for everyone. People are often afraid of what they don’t understand. This episode reveals to us that, if we hope to find peace with what we don’t understand or take issue with, the first step is communication.
There is not much action in this one but a compelling episode and is a very good first-season episode. During the episode, Kirk wanted the creature killed but Spock wanted it alive. Spock augured to no avail but things started to change once he met the Horta.
Just a quick note on a director. Ralph Senensky was told he was going to direct this episode and was sent the script but then told it would be another episode…yesterday’s This Side of Paradise.
The reason I mention this is that Ralph has a great site where he talks about all of the different Star Trek and other TV shows (including the Twilight Zone and Waltons) he directed. If you have time check it out…he is 99 years old but still posts on his site.
From IMDB:
In his book “Star Trek Memories”, William Shatner identified this as his favourite episode, because his father died during filming and Leonard Nimoy’s delivery of the mind meld lines made him laugh. He thought it was “exciting, thought-provoking and intelligent, it contained all of the ingredients that made up our very best Star Treks.”
Janos Prohaska, the creator of the Horta costume, actually wore it into Gene L. Coon’s office, as if to say “Look what I designed”. Coon said “That’s great! What is it?”, and Prohaska said “I don’t know. It can be whatever you want.” Coon replied “I’ll write a script around it”, and he wrote this episode in four days so the costume could be used.
Arthur C. Clarke once remarked, in 1995, that of the Original Series, the only episode he could recall was this one, stating that “It impressed me because it presented the idea, unusual in science fiction then and now, that something weird, and even dangerous, need not be malevolent. That is a lesson that many of today’s politicians have yet to learn.”
When William Shatner, on the set, got the call from his mother informing him about his father’s death, the crew was ready to shut down production, but he insisted on continuing. During the rest of the day, Shatner took comfort in Leonard Nimoy, and cinematographer Gerald Perry Finnerman, whose father had died on a movie set less than seven years before.
William Shatner was in Florida for his father’s funeral while nearly all of Spock’s “mind meld” scene with the Horta was shot. His screen double is shown from behind in several of the shots and all of Kirk’s “reaction” shots were made after he returned.
This episode was the first time McCoy used the phrase, “I’m a doctor, not a (blank)” when Kirk asks him to help the Horta, finishing the line as, “I’m a doctor, not a brick layer!” An earlier version of this phrase is used in “The Corbomite Maneuver,” when McCoy says, “What am I, a doctor or a moon-shuttle conductor?”
Gene Roddenberry was impressed with the way this episode explains the behaviour of a Star Trek “monster,” citing the instalment as “a classic example of doing this right” as well as “one of our most popular episodes.” He went on to say, “The Horta suddenly became understandable [….] It wasn’t just a monster-it was someone. And the audience could put themselves in the place of the Horta… identify… feel! That’s what drama is all about. And that’s it’s importance, too… if you can learn to feel for a Horta, you may also be learning to understand and feel for other Humans of different colours, ways, and beliefs.”
In a book about Star Trek, it was reported that after William Shatner returned from the funeral, to put everyone at ease, as he was trying to do his lines following Mr. Spock’s mind meld with the Horta and his cry of “AHH! PAIN! PAIN! PAIN!”, Leonard Nimoy just spoke the words, so Shatner told him to do it again with feeling. When “Spock” again said “AHH! PAIN! PAIN! PAIN! ” Shatner yelled out, “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE GET THIS VULCAN AN ASPIRIN!”
“No Kill I” was the name of a Star Trek-themed punk rock band.
This episode includes only one actress, who appears for a few seconds and has no lines. This is the only episode with no female speaking parts.
The unbroken Horta eggs were toy bouncing balls painted gold.
NBC announced that Star Trek would be renewed for a second season next fall, during the closing credits of this episode on 9 March 1967.
This is the only episode in the original series in which the distinction is drawn between “phaser one” and “phaser two.”
This episode marks the first and only time an episode begins without the Enterprise or its crew being involved in the teaser scenes before the main credits.
Gene L. Coon’s original script featured a different material as the base of the Horta, but researcher Kellam de Forest changed it to silicon, as the original choice seemed to be even theoretically impossible.
Actor Barry Russo, appearing as Lt. Commander Giotto, also appears in Star Trek: The Ultimate Computer (1968) as the character Commodore Robert Wesley.
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) novel “Devil in the Sky” is a sequel of sorts to this episode.
This episode was originally scheduled to be filmed before Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967), with Ralph Senensky assigned to direct it, but during pre-production the two episodes and the directors were switched because Gene L. Coon thought “Devil” would be a tough assignment to first-time Trek director Senensky.
The clubs used by some of the Janus VI colonists during their hunt for the Horta appear to be of the same design used by Kirk during his fight with Spock in the transporter room in Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967).
Summary
The Enterprise travels to the planet Janus 6 to assist the mining colony there. Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to the planet where Chief Engineer Vanderberg tells of a creature loose in the mine tunnels killing some of his men. The monster seems to appear out nowhere then disappears just as quickly. Finding that the creature, known as a Horta, lives in a newly opened part of the underground mining complex, Spock uses the Vulcan mind meld to determine why it is killing the miners.
Here are some CGI effects they have made into this episode
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy Ken Lynch … Vanderberg James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott Brad Weston … Appel Biff Elliot … Schmitter George Allen … Engineer #1 (as George E. Allen) Jon Cavett … Guard Barry Russo … Giotto Lee Allen … Janus IV Miner (uncredited) Tom Anfinsen … Civilian Engineer (uncredited) Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Lt. Osborne (uncredited) Dick Dial … Sam (uncredited) Robert Hitchcock … Miner (uncredited) Bob Hoy … Horta (uncredited) Monty O’Grady … Miner (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited) Janos Prohaska … Horta (uncredited) Al Roberts … Roberts (uncredited) Ron Veto … Security Guard (uncredited)
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 D.C. Fontana, Jerry Sohl and Gene Roddenberry
This one is one of my favorite episodes. It has humor and a good story. It is a great Spock episode. Spock…is actually happy through this episode but you do feel bad for him at the end.
It begins as a mystery on a very peaceful planet, where settlers were meant to begin an agricultural colony several years ago. Kirk tries to unravel the mystery presented before him…the colonists should all be dead by this point due to what are known as “Berthold Rays” and all animals have died off…but the colonists? They are beyond healthy…even growing things back like an appendix that was taken out years before.
Everyone on the planet is beyond happy. The crew cannot figure out how these people are still even alive…much less so happy. The writing for this one I really enjoyed. Kirk asked Spock what the odds were that anyone was still alive while they were traveling there…Spock said “absolutely none” so imagine their surprise when they saw the people walking about.
They find out soon what is keeping these people alive and happy. The spores from a type of plant/flower that sprays them out. It not only makes people happy but also keeps them healthy and safe from the Berthold Rays.
To see Spock happy is odd in itself but to see him in love is sensory overload. After the spores from the flowers get into Spock…he is a new man Vulcan. A sample of the dialog between Spock and Kirk amuses me.
Capt. Kirk: We’re evacuating all colonists to Starbase 27.
Spock: No, I don’t think so.
Capt. Kirk: You don’t think so, WHAT?
Spock: I don’t think so, SIR.
For once in his life…Spock is happy. I found myself rooting against Kirk in this one just to let Spock be. I knew of course everything would go back to the way it was…but it was nice seeing that.
What is really sad is the following exchange between Kirk and Spock after everyone was on the Enterprise…
Capt. Kirk: We haven’t heard much from you about Omicron Ceti III, Mr. Spock.
Spock: I have little to say about it, captain. Except that… for the first time in my life… I was happy.
What I get from this episode and please comment if you think I’m right or wrong but Spock…does have feelings underneath but he keeps them at bay. The spores brought them out into the open.
Oh…can I have some of those flowers?
From IMDB:
The spores, in the early drafts, were a communal intelligence; when someone was possessed by them, that individual was granted telepathic abilities to link up with other possessed minds. The abilities of the spores to restore health were complete enough to enable them to return the dead to life. The antidotes for the spores were either the possession of a certain blood type or the introduction of alcohol into the affected person. Originally, Kirk leaped onto Spock and forced liquor down his throat to restore him to normal. This was presumably deemed unrealistic for various reasons. Kirk would not be strong enough to force alcohol no Spock. Even if he did, Spock could just spit it out because the alcohol would probably have to enter the bloodstream to have an effect. It is established in various stories that, while Vulcans will occasionally drink alcohol, it doesn’t affect (intoxicate) them the same way it does human. (On the other hand, in the novelisation of ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’, Spock states that the sugar sucrose, in the candies that Kirk bought to get change for the bus, has the same effect on Vulcans as ethanol does on humans.) In a surprise ending, the spores were revealed to be benevolent, conscious entities who never intended to act against anyone’s will.
Spock hints that, contrary to the common misconception that Vulcans have only one name, he has more than one name, like most humans, but when asked, all he says about it is: “You couldn’t pronounce it.”
The empty shot of the bridge, before the turbolift opens to admit Kirk, was the best available piece of film for Star Trek: The Next Generation: Relics (1992) to reuse as the holosimulation of the NCC-1701 bridge. The short snippet of film was “looped” several times and bluescreened in behind James Doohan and Patrick Stewart’s scenes. Using the stock footage in this way eliminated the need to completely rebuild the bridge – they only built a short section of the computer stations, the door alcove, and the command stations for the TNG-era actors to sit at.
In a blooper, Leonard Nimoy flubs his line about the plants acting as a repository for thousands of spores. Instead, he says the plants act as a “suppository.” The crew cracks up, as does Nimoy, who caps the fun by putting a Tootsie Pop in his mouth.
Frank Overton died shortly after completing this episode.
This is the first episode in which Spock is shown to have superhuman strength.
The title refers to ‘This Side of Paradise’ the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
At a one man show in Orlando, Florida, Leonard Nimoy said it was hard doing love scenes with Jill Ireland with her husband Charles Bronson watching off stage. However, she was in the process of divorcing David McCallum when the episode was shot. It’s possible Bronson may have visited the set, but they didn’t marry until the following year.
In the script, Kirk first spots Spock and Leila kissing passionately by the stream. There is no scene of Spock hanging off the tree limb. That facet of the episode may have been made up on the spot. Indeed, director Ralph Senensky came up with the idea of Spock hanging from the tree on location, when he found the tree and the spot closely to Bronson Canyon. Originally the scene was to be shot on a clearing. Evidence taken from a deleted scene, of Spock and Leila’s presence near the stream, appears in the episode’s preview trailer.
Ralph Senensky originally wanted to film the Kirk versus Spock fight scene from a wider angle, so the stunt doubles wouldn’t be so obvious, but the transporter room set was too small to achieve this.
According to director Ralph Senensky, the original schedule was that the first three of the six shooting days were to be spent on location, shooting at the Golden Oak Ranch (also known as the Disney Ranch), then the remaining three days indoors, filming the Enterprise scenes. However, after two days of shooting outdoors, Jill Ireland fell ill and couldn’t appear on the set. It was in question if she had measles or not. Senensky decided to film all the farm scenes which didn’t contain Leila’s character and then return to the studio for Enterprise interiors in the remaining of the day, and hope for the actress’ return. Ireland appeared the following day, as it turned out that she did not have measles. However, the crew couldn’t return to Disney Ranch as it was already booked for another production. They decided to film the remaining scenes at Bronson Canyon.
D.C. Fontana very much liked the finished episode. She recalled, “It worked out very well because the actors were brilliant for me, and had a very good director, and you know, I really like it.”
This is listed as one of the “Ten Essential Episodes” of TOS in the 2008 reference book “Star Trek 101” by Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann.
Some of Spock’s family background is fleshed out in the episode with references to his half-human heritage. The episode also first reveals that Spock’s father is an Ambassador, which would be depicted in later stories. Spock’s mother is said to be a teacher, but there would be no further details or depictions of her career. However, Spock’s mother and father are also referred to in the past tense, indicating they may not be alive (which is disproved when they appear in Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967)).
Gerald Fried’s score from Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966) is heavily featured in this episode, most notably the “Ruth theme”, successfully accompanying the lost love between Spock and Leila.
One of the basic aspects that D.C. Fontana immediately changed was Jerry Sohl’s original conception of the spore plants residing in a cave. Thus, to avoid the danger of the plants, the crew merely had to avoid the cave. Fontana put the plants everywhere around the planet, and later the Enterprise to make them a real menace.
In Jerry Sohl’s original draft (first titled “Power Play”, then “The Way of The Spores”), it was Lt. Sulu who was infected by the spores and was able to fall in love with Leila. Displeased with D.C. Fontana’s rewrite, Sohl was credited under the pseudonym Nathan Butler.
Stuntman Bobby Bass, whose character tried to break up the fight between the two officers, had his only lines of dialogue in the series here.
The buildings seen in the teaser, the first scene after and the scene in which DeSalle shows McCoy the Spores are at a different location than the buildings seen in the rest of the episode. The green farm structures were located at the Disney Ranch. The concept of Sandoval’s people refusing modern technology was intended to justify the late-19th century Americano style of the ranch.
The script featured characters named Lieutenant Timothy Fletcher and Crewman Dimont as members of the landing party. When Michael Barrier and Grant Woods were cast in these roles, the names were changed to DeSalle and Kelowitz respectively, to appear constant with the two actors’ previous appearances on the series.
According to D.C. Fontana, the episode had to be seriously rewritten because Jerry Sohl had not quite gotten it right. Gene Roddenberry told her, “If you can rewrite this script, you can be my story editor.” She thought about it and eventually realized that the story wasn’t really about Sulu, but about Mr. Spock. Leonard Nimoy, who was initially taken aback when he was told that they were working on a love story for Spock, later felt that the episode turned out to be a lovely story.
The food processors in the transporter room, placed there so Kyle could provide chicken soup for the air sergeant in Star Trek: Tomorrow Is Yesterday (1967), disappeared from the room by the end of the first season. In this episode, an enraged Spock destroys one of them.
Admiral Komack is mentioned in this episode; he is seen in Star Trek: Amok Time (1967). The character was named for James Komack, director of Star Trek: A Piece of the Action (1968).
Upon arrival, Sulu and another crewman inspect the colony for “whatever doesn’t look right.” Sulu says, “When it comes to farms, I wouldn’t know what looked right or wrong if it were two feet from me.” As he says this, the alien plant carrying the hypnotic spores is roughly two feet from him.
Ralph Senensky recalled that directing the episode “really proved to be very, very, very well worthwhile doing. Leonard Nimoy and Jill Ireland were wonderful, as was the whole cast.”
Many fans have noted that this planet would have been perfect for the agrarian-minded hippies in Star Trek: The Way to Eden (1969).
Summary
The Enterprise is ordered to clean up the aftermath of a doomed colony on Omicron Ceti III, a planet under constant irradiation from deadly Berthold Rays. Upon arrival, however, the colonists aren’t only alive but in perfect health, with no desire to leave their new world. They are in fact under the influence of plant spores which not only keep them in good and improved health but simultaneously keep them in a placid state of happiness and contentment. Mr Spock reacquaints with Leila Kalomi, an old friend who had been (and still is) in love with him. She leads Spock into being affected by the spores, and he is thereafter, for the first time, able to express love for her in return. Eventually the entire ship’s crew is affected, leaving Kirk alone to wonder how he can possibly rescue them from perpetual bliss.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock Jill Ireland … Leila Kalomi Frank Overton … Elias Sandoval DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy Grant Woods … Kelowitz George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Michael Barrier … DeSalle Dick Scotter … Painter Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie Bobby Bass … Lieutenant (uncredited) Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Brent / Vinci (uncredited) Walker Edmiston … Transporter Chief (voice) (uncredited) Carey Foster … Enterprise crewmember (uncredited) John Lindesmith … Engineer (uncredited) Jeannie Malone … Yeoman / Omicron Colonist (uncredited) Sean Morgan … Engineer (uncredited) Fred Shue … Crewman (uncredited) Ron Veto … Kelowitz’s Opponent (uncredited)
On March 9th of this year Dave at A Sound Day published this post I wrote for his Turntable Talk series. Dave stated:Let’s look at an artist whose debut really impressed you. It can be one that just knocked you out first time you heard it when it was brand new, or one you went back & discovered later.
I went through some debut albums before I came to this. I already wrote up Big Star’s debut for another blogger but the other that came to mind was The Cars. For me, that was their best album although they had some great albums later. I then thought of Jimi’s debut…and that was that. There is more than one version of Jimi Hendrix’s debut album released. I will go by the one I first owned when I was around 11…the US version.
I think about 1967 and what people must have thought when they heard this strange new artist. It must have sounded like an alien coming down from another planet. Being at the ripe old age of 4 months old…I don’t quite remember it. His guitar playing was first felt by other guitarists. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, and the other huge guitarists back at that time. They were shocked when they saw him perform on stage. He was “found” by Animals bassist turned manager Chas Chandler in New York. He took Jimi to England and formed a band around him…it didn’t take long after that.
Jimi’s debut album was released on May 12, 1967. The tracklist is incredible. A lineup of songs that still get played over 50 years later on the radio. To make it even stronger…Hendrix wrote all of the songs but one…Hey Joe, his breakout hit in the UK.
The album had many now-rock classics. They were not rock songs easily accessible to the audience as other performers. He mixed experimental technics along with well-written and performed songs. Before Zeppelin came along, Hendrix gave rock its sonic boom. The album peaked at #5 on The Billboard Album Charts, #15 in Canada, and #2 on the UK Charts in 1967.
I’ve never heard a guitar player take the guitar to a far-off place like Hendrix. It wasn’t just his playing which was some of the best…it was his vision and the sounds he got out of the guitar that was so amazing. Every guitar player that came after him would get unfairly compared. He wasn’t just a guitar player though…he was a singer/songwriter who created 3 classic rock albums that still are revered. He was the complete package…not a traditional voice, but he got his point across and wrote his songs to fit him…and it worked.
He also evidently had a huge backlog of recordings and live concerts that keep being released. The man must have recorded in his sleep.
The “new” Jimi Hendrix tag has been unfairly placed on many guitar players. From Stevie Ray Vaughn to Eddie Van Halen, many more faded out. Hendrix would mess with this guitar…changing pickups and recording techniques. He had a sound all his own…when you hear a Hendrix record you know it’s him by just his guitar playing. Now when I listen to him…I hear the guitar players that followed…from the finger tap from Eddie to the straight-in-your-face riffs of Stevie Ray Vaughn…Jimi had done it all before.
Like Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen…they would let themselves go on stage. They would take it as far as they could and if they messed up…they messed up but the fans got to see an electrifying performance. When Joplin and Hendrix left us…they left a huge hole in rock performers and when both were peaking in making albums. Both Hendrix and Joplin left and their last studio albums peaked at #1. Jimi’s came two years before his death and Janis just a few days after she passed.
Dave is closing out Beatles Week in style with a George Harrison masterpiece.
Dave grew up in Canada, now resides in Texas and has been passionate about music for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately, a brief foray into buying keyboards during his high school years didn’t equate to making music people were passionate about doing anything with but avoiding! He writes a daily music blog, A Sound Day, looking at memorable music events from album releases to artist birthdays to important concerts and more. You can find Dave at https://soundday.wordpress.com.
Thanks Max, for inviting me to take part in this! And a good topic too.
When asked to write about a Beatles song, I didn’t take long to make my pick. There’s just something about “Something” that moves me like no other…Beatles track. Yet getting to that point has been a long road. Maybe a long and winding one, even.
A little back history about myself. I was born in the ’60s but by the time I was cognizant of it really, let alone had my own little transistor radio to listen to it, The Beatles were done. Wings or solo Ringo, John or George were more relevant to me at the time. But my mom and older brother liked the Beatles and in fact, one of my early memories was hearing Sgt .Pepper Lonely Heart’s Club Band on our big old console in the living room, liking the music and loving the colorful cover. As a kid, I liked the simple pop hooks of Ringo and Paul, post-Beatles, songs like “You’re Sixteen”, “Helen Wheels” and “My Love.” I knew a lot of Beatles songs, either from AM radio or my family playing them on the stereo, and liked quite a lot of it but it was hard for me to grasp how influential or flat out great they had been.
As I hit my teens, was buying my own records and listening to FM radio, my appreciation of them grew. I had a used copy of Revolver, though I can’t remember why I specifically bought that one. A good album, absolutely, but never my favorite of theirs. I probably found it cheap in a used store or flea market. Around that time, I was growing to favor John. “Norwegian Wood “ and “Dear Prudence” were high on my list of Beatles songs and by the time I was getting to like his solo work as much as say, Paul’s 1980 rolled around and well, I think we all know what the end of that story was. As was the case with most people, my estimation of him rose rapidly and I listened to his work more, began to love songs like “Mind Games” and “#9 Dream” that I’d missed, or nearly so when they had first come out. I loved his work for peace and outspokenness and was oblivious to the shortcomings in his character. All the while though, George was just on the periphery of my musical awareness. Sure, “My Sweet Lord” was nice, and I was one of the minority who in ’79 bought and loved the “Blow Away” single, but he was really the “quiet Beatle” to me. Nearly invisible. Really, the thing I might have been most impressed with at that point was his work funding Monty Python films, since like most boys hitting puberty, I laughed my head off at things like the “Lumberjack Song” and killer rabbits.
That changed a little in ’88 when he had his comeback album, Cloud Nine. By that time too, the Beatles were finally putting out CDs of their old catalog and I’d decided, hey, they had a lot of good tunes, I should be getting some in my collection. I bought several of the ’60s works on CD and really that’s where my true appreciation for them began. That and noticing a good portion of the bands I thought were really good at the time – say Crowded House, Aztec Camera, Squeeze for instance – were almost universally described as “Beatle-esque.”
Anyhow, then and still to this day, Sgt. Pepper... has been my favorite Beatles work, but it is a close contest. Not surprisingly then, for years if anyone asked me for my favorite Beatles song, it was “A Day in the Life”. A song like no other, with its time changes, Paul and John changing off vocals, that almighty, seemingly endless piano chord to end it, the bizarre lyrics that actually made some sense when you read of their inspirations. It still is a great song and high on my list.
But just as the Beatles changed and matured during their career, so too have I. And as the band matured, George started to take his place at the front. He brought a new sense of spirituality, and experimentalism to them, opened them up to what we’d now call “World Music”, the sounds of the Far East. Being able to incorporate that into a pop-rock setting was revolutionary and quite a challenge I’m sure. But it worked! And as I matured, I grew more and more appreciative of George’s songwriting as well as his quiet sense of peacefulness. “Something” is the epitome of that to me. And to his ex-bandmates it would seem.
Early on, George was a guitarist and nothing much more to them. Maybe his first hint of potential greatness was on Rubber Soul when he wrote and sang “If I needed someone.” A pretty good song, and presumably John and Paul agreed since they let him put three onto the next record, Revolver, including “Taxman”, one of their many “hits” that never hit the charts because it wasn’t out as a single. A decent little snarky rock tune but probably not on anyone’s list of “best ever.” The first real taste of his brilliance was still a couple of years away, and their self-titled double album. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was to me the standout on the album and really showed his talent as a songwriter…not to mention nearly got Eric Clapton in the band. Let It Be was recorded next (but released last) and though he did “For You Blue” on it, as we saw in Get Back, he was distant from the band by then and briefly quit. It was becoming clear he’d outgrown the limitations he felt were imposed on him by the two main men who clearly wanted most of the spotlight.
Which leads us to Abbey Road. Their swansong, even if it did arrive in stores months before Let it Be. I gather by then they knew it was time to call it a day but leave fans with one more worth remembering. And they did just that. In particular George. He contributed – i’ll say it – the two best songs on it, “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something.”
Here Comes the Sun” is a pretty incredible, happy-sounding song in which he introduced a synthesizer to the band and wrote a tune in seemingly impossible time signatures (changing rapidly from 4/4 to 11/8 to 7/8 and so on). It ranks high on my Beatles list too, but the crowning achievement was “Something.”
Pattie Boyd must have been “something” too. We know he wrote the song for her, his wife, and a couple of years later, his buddy Eric Clapton wrote “Layla” for her. In time he won her away from Harrison, and somehow they all remained friends. George was more tolerant than I would have been, I can tell you that. Maybe all the time with the Indian gurus really made him a better person.
Anyway, to me, “Something” is just about a perfect pop song. It’s beautifully written and immaculately played, and the lyrics are outstanding. If you’ve never been so in love, in the beginning, that the lines don’t make sense, well, I hope you’ll experience that head over heels feeling, combined with just a touch of anxiety over fear of losing it (“you’re asking me will my love grow/I don’t know/ I DON’T KNOW”). George demonstrates his love for Pattie and his slide guitar prowess all the while Ringo drums along exquisitely. The more I listen to Starr, the more I appreciate his talent. He plays for the song, not to take over the song. Then there are the under-stated strings, completing the song nicely. I think George Martin’s introducing strings to middle-era Beatles songs was one of the more under-rated things about them; how many rock & roll bands before 1965 would have thought to bring in violins and cellos? Now, it’s commonplace. There’s not really a point wrong with “Something” and it does it all in barely three minutes. Each time I listen to it, I seem to pick up on some tiny new detail I’d missed before that makes me appreciate it more.
Of course, my opinion was backed by many others. Frank Sinatra began singing it in his shows right away and called it “the greatest love song of the past 50 years”… and he knew a thing of two about love songs! (Unfortunately, he mistakenly told his audiences Lennon & McCartney wrote it.) Later Elton John would say it was “one of the best love songs ever –ever – written…it’s the song I’ve been chasing for the last 35 years!” And Ringo piped in that it and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” were “two of the finest love songs ever written” and put Harrison on a par with John and Paul. Critics tended to agree. The NME in Britain called it a “real quality hunk of pop” while Rolling Stone applauded its “excellent drum work, dead catchy guitar line, perfectly subdued stings and an unusually nice melody.” Add in great vocals and there’s not much missing there.
Happily, it was eaten up by the fans. It came out with “Come Together” as a single, but in most lands was considered the A-side. It hit #1 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and of course the U.S. where it became their 18th #1 song…which happened to surpass the number Elvis Presley had. However, it was the first #1 song credited to George…not surprising because somehow, it was the first Beatles single he wrote or sang! And that’s saying “something” – when a guy can create songs this good and somehow be seen by the band as a third-stringer… wow. No wonder we’re still talking about them a half century later.
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 Robert Hamner, Gene L. Coon, and Gene Roddenberry
Imagine living somewhere where there has been a war going on for 500 years. Now along with that…no bombs drop and nothing physically is destroyed. There is a catch though…all the battles are simulated and whatever is hit in the simulations…those people in that area have to go and get exterminated…yes walk into a machine that kills them. They keep up with the numbers with both sides…if the numbers get skewed…the other side will attack with real bombs.
They do this to lessen the impact of war on the world…but if they don’t have to face the daily destruction…will they ever stop?
Enterprise visits a planet on a diplomatic mission. A clever concept on how a different society may wage their wars: totally by computers. In their supposed enlightened method, the buildings and their culture continue – the populace obediently reports to disintegration chambers to fulfill an agreement with the enemy planet after each computerized attack.
Kirk is fairly no-nonsense and aggressive in his dealings with the people of Eminiar VII and this is entertaining to watch. Scotty has his first opportunity to shine in command of Enterprise and does so with several memorable moments, such as standing up to the hideously annoying Ambassador Fox and admirably handling the threat from Anan 7.
There is one question I get from this. The one rule that the Enterprise has is to not interfere. I think how Kirk defies the Prime Directive’s rule that they must not interfere could be a divisive topic of debate for viewers. If he doesn’t interfere millions could continue to kill themselves, but is he really permitted to do so?
This is an intelligent and philosophical episode on warfare and on how human beings seek to sanitize horror and the need for peace. This episode makes you think.
From IMDB:
Crewman DePaul is played by Sean Kenney, who portrayed the injured Captain Pike in Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part I (1966)/ Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part II (1966).
Scotty’s refusal to lower the shields against orders is based on an actual story from James Doohan’s military service. As a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Artillery, he was threatened with court martial for real for saying “No sir, I will not,” to a visiting colonel when he realized a training exercise order would entail blowing the heads off some of his own men. Fortunately, his immediate superiors backed him up and, like his fictional character, he was eventually promoted to captain.
According to David Gerrold, the computer tallies of war dead in this episode was a statement about Vietnam War deaths that began to be registered on nightly newscasts in 1967.
In his memoir, “Beam Me Up, Scotty,” James Doohan described Gene Lyons (Ambassador Robert Fox), as being “out of his element” and “completely discombobulated” during filming. He added that it took Lyons many takes to get his lines right, and that they finally “went to having him speak off-screen.” Doohan speculates that Lyons, who was an experienced actor, may have been thrown off by the science fiction element, as such shows were relatively rare at the time.
Another beautiful matte painting was created for this episode by Albert Whitlock. Unfortunately, it is the last painting in the series into which live actors were inserted. This matte of the Eminiar city was re-used as the backdrop of Scalos in the third season episode Star Trek: Wink of an Eye (1968).
First episode to establish the United Federation of Planets as the principal service which the Enterprise operated under. In previous episodes, vague and often conflicting references were made to this service. Such references included “Space Command”, “Space Central”, the “Star Service”, and “United Earth Space Probe Agency” (the latter even abbreviated as UESPA, pronounced by Captain Kirk as “you-spah” in Star Trek: Charlie X (1966)). UESPA would later go on to be the principal service which the Enterprise NX-01 operated under on Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), which is set in a time when the Federation had not been firmly established.
Summary
On a mission to establish diplomatic relations at Star Cluster NGC321, Kirk and Spock beam down to planet Eminiar 7 to learn that its inhabitants have been at war with a neighboring planet for over 500 years. They can find no damage nor evidence of destruction but soon learn that their war is essentially a war game, where each planet attacks the other in a computer simulation with the tabulated victims voluntarily surrendering themselves for execution after the fact. When the Enterprise becomes a victim in the computer simulation and is ordered destroyed, Kirk decides it’s time to show them exactly what war means.
CAST
William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock David Opatoshu … Anan 7 Gene Lyons … Ambassador Fox DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott Barbara Babcock … Mea 3 Miko Mayama … Tamula David L. Ross … Galloway Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Sean Kenney … DePaul Robert Sampson … Sar 6y: David Armstrong … Eminiar Guard (uncredited) Buzz Barbee … Ambassador Fox’s Aide (uncredited) Majel Barrett … Enterprise Computer (voice) (uncredited) John Blower … Eminian Secretary (uncredited) John Burnside … Eminiar Guard (uncredited) Dick Cherney … Council Member (uncredited) Frank da Vinci … Eminiar Guard (uncredited) Jeannie Malone … Yeoman (uncredited) Alan Marston … Council Member (uncredited) Monty O’Grady … Council Member (uncredited) Eddie Paskey … Eminiar Guard (uncredited) Al Roberts … Council Member (uncredited) Ron Veto … Eminiar Guard (uncredited)
I was really happy when I asked Halffastcycling to do this and he accepted. I really appreciate his comments on songs that not everyone is going to know like Little Feat and other bands that didn’t live in the top 20. So thank you and go visit his site!
He started the blog halffastcycling.club to chronicle a coast-to-coast bike trip. Recently retired from a series of careers (in co-ops, plumbing, and health care), I spend my time riding my bike (once across the continent wasn’t enough so I quit working to do it again), paddling, writing about bikes and whatever pops into my head, and sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair. I’m old enough that I remember this music when it was new, not from oldies stations. The first hit records I remember hearing were by Little Richard (78 RPM). (I have older siblings.) My intro to live music (besides high school dances) was through BB King (followed quickly by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Bonnie Raitt, Pete Seeger, and the Grateful Dead, among others). I wrote a high school term paper on the Beatles (after reading the new Hunter Davies bio in 1968) and got a D.
Beatlemania
It was the 1963-64 school year and the fifth grade talent show was fast approaching. Being only a spectator was not an option. Everyone had to have an act, a talent to display.
My friend Max at Powerpop has declared “Beatles Week” and invited others to write about “a favorite Beatle song”. (In another part of the same post he invites folks to write about “their favorite Beatles song”, an important distinction in my eyes. Who can have a single favorite from their catalog? I’ve written about the my problem of declaring favorites before.)
A classmate approached me about joining an act with a couple of friends. When I asked about the act he was very secretive. He couldn’t tell me what the act was until I agreed to be in it. Once he told me, I couldn’t back out. Note I called him a “classmate”, not a “friend”. I didn’t trust him enough to go along blindly with this. Besides, I already had my act together. What was my act? I have no idea. What was their act? That still sticks in my mind 60 years later.
Four guys took the stage. Each had a rag mop on his head, dyed black and trimmed just so. Three of them held brooms – no mere air guitar for them. The fourth was, of course, Ringo. They lip-synched to “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. It wasn’t my favorite Beatles song even then. I bought the single of “She Loves You” but I didn’t buy “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. It seemed like the sort of song that reinforced parental stereotypes about pop music (and “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” didn’t?) with its simplistic lyrics about holding hands.
Four guys took the stage. Each had a rag mop on his head, dyed black and trimmed just so. Three of them held brooms – no mere air guitar for them. The fourth was, of course, Ringo. They lip-synched to “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. It wasn’t my favorite Beatles song even then. I bought the single of “She Loves You” but I didn’t buy “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. It seemed like the sort of song that reinforced parental stereotypes about pop music (and “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” didn’t?) with its simplistic lyrics about holding hands.
(Image from WebRestaurantStore)
On February 9, 1964, the US saw The Beatles in person for the first time, on The Ed Sullivan Show. Those of us in the know had seen them a month before on grainy, low fidelity video on Jack Paar.
They had appeared in an NBC News story on November 18, 1963. The news was more about Beatlemania than about the music, though they did acknowledge that The Beatles wrote some of their own songs. Early coverage of the band was more from a sense of amusement at the phenomenon of those crazy teenagers than it was about the music.
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” was not received with universal acclaim in the US. “Esquire‘s music critic David Newman wrote, ‘Terrible awful. …It’s the bunk. The Beatles are indistinguishable from a hundred other similar loud and twanging rock-and-roll groups. They aren’t talented singers (as Elvis was), they aren’t fun (as Elvis was), they aren’t anything.’[34]”
On the other hand, it did reach #1 in most western countries (stalling at #6 in Belgium and Finland). In the US it was replaced at #1 by “She Loves You”. In the UK, the order was reversed. It was subsequently released in German as “Komm, gib mir diene Hand” – that version also received US airplay.
Contrast Newman with Rob Sheffield’s assessment in the Rolling Stone Album Guide (40 years later): “Just check out ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ which explodes out of the speakers with the most passionate singing, drumming, lyrics, guitars, and girl-crazy howls ever – it’s no insult to the Beatles to say they never topped this song because nobody else has either … It’s the most joyous three minutes in the history of human noise.[40]”
So what made them such a big deal? We were used to “singing groups” lip-synching their latest single on American Bandstand, complete with orchestration and fadeout. These were actual musicians. They played and sang at the same time. Of course, they weren’t the first, but it was still somewhat unusual in the pop music world. And they wrote their own songs. Sure, they covered American R&B (“Twist and Shout”, “Roll Over Beethoven”) and even show tunes (“A Taste of Honey”, “Til There Was You”) but the list of hit songs (and great songs) they wrote is too long to recount here. Some singers can produce great harmonies in a studio with multiple takes and overdubs, but The Beatles sounded great live in an era without monitors (and with fans screaming loudly enough that they might not have heard themselves even with monitors).
I went to a summer camp that had a carnival with games. One game involved headphones through which a few notes of a Beatles tune were played. Your challenge was speed in identifying the song. How many notes did you need? Hw quickly could you answer? With what other band would you play that game?
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” is far from the best Beatles song, it’s not my favorite Beatles song, and it wasn’t even the first Beatles song. But it was the only one that dominated the fifth grade talent show at Winnequah School and made 4 boys instantly popular. I was not one of them.
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