Category: Culture

Star Trek – The Trouble With Tribbles

★★★★★ December 29, 1967 Season 2 Episode 15

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 David Gerrold

This could be the most famous episode of Star Trek…the one most known. A well-earned 5 Star episode for this one. They did something that the Twilight Zone never managed to do…to make a classic episode funny…and this one is. 

The Enterprise responds to a priority one distress call on a space station but Kirk is far from impressed when he learns that the call was signaled by The Under Secretary for Agriculture Baris to guard some storage compartments of a new wheat hybrid. Reluctantly, Kirk agrees but only assigns two guards, giving his other available staff shore leave on the station.

The importance of the grain is brought home to him though when Starfleet commands him into action and the Klingons turn up on the station for “shore leave”. With all these pressures on him, peddler Cyrano Jones selling a strangely enchanting creature called a Tribble doesn’t even show up on his radar. Stanley Adams does a great job playing Cyrano Jones.

Tribble

 

These Tribbles are adorable. There is only one problem with these furry creatures. They are born pregnant so you will never have just one. They soon fill the space station and soon The Enterprise. Everyone who sees them likes them…except for one race…and that would be The Klingons. 

I have one request…WATCH the episode. I don’t want to write anymore and give anything else away. Some Star Trek fans say the episode is too lightweight…I disagree…it’s very entertaining and it’s nothing wrong with having an entertaining light episode. If I had to rank episodes…I would rank this 2nd behind The City On The Edge Of Tomorrow. 

Deep Space 9 did an episode built around this episode. They go back in time and see Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise when this happens. Check that one out…the effects are great…they put this crew with the Enterprise crew and it looks great. 

From IMDB:

The scene in which Kirk is buried in an avalanche of tribbles took eight takes to get right. The tribbles were thrown into the hatch by members of the production crew. The crew members were not sure when to stop because they were unable to see the scene. This is why additional tribbles keep falling on Kirk one by one. William Shatner can be seen looking perplexed as to why more tribbles keep falling on him.

To create the one tribble moving on its own, the prop supervisor bought a battery powered toy dog and stripped it down to the mechanical works. Once recovered with fur including the toy legs, the prop moved on camera along the railing on the Enterprise bridge without wires or external assistance. The toy was so noisy all the dialogue in the scene had to be looped with ADR (re-recorded after shooting).

Tribbles have made subsequent appearances in numerous different versions of Star Trek, including important plot focuses in Star Trek: The Animated Series: More Tribbles, More Troubles (1973) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996), and cameo appearances in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and even Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) and Star Trek: Discovery (2017).

The noises that the tribbles make were a combination of dove coos, screech owl cries and air escaping from balloons.

During the famous “bar fight”, careful observers will note that while tables are broken, all the chairs remain intact. The tables were studio property: the chairs were rented, and if damaged would have to be paid for.

William Shatner recalled the great enjoyment all the cast had filming this episode. He noted, “The trouble we had with ‘Tribbles’ was [to] keep your straight face. It was just a lot of fun.”

Writer David Gerrold tried to pitch a sequel to this episode during the third season. But producer Fred Freiberger rejected it because he did not like the comedic tone of this episode. Gerrold’s idea eventually became an animated spin-off, Star Trek: The Animated Series: More Tribbles, More Troubles (1973).

When Dr. McCoy figures out that the Tribbles are in a perpetual state of being pregnant, this marks one of the very first instances on American TV of the use of that word. Just 15 years earlier, Desilu Productions, the original company behind “Star Trek”, was forbidden from using that word during I Love Lucy: Lucy Is Enceinte (1952), so the word “expecting” was used instead.

The pile of Tribbles near the end was actually created by gluing Tribble props around a large wire frame which William Shatner then stood in the middle of to give the illusion of mass numbers. In reality, there were only five hundred Tribbles made. This is obvious when you look at how the Tribbles are piled up, and none have landed on the floor at Spock’s feet.

James Doohan insisted on doing his own stunts in the barroom brawl.

In some scenes (and if you watch in high definition), a coffee stain is clearly visible on Spock’s velour shirt. Leonard Nimoy spilled his cup of coffee during lunch and there were no other costumes available for him.

William Campbell (Koloth) recalled that, after this episode was aired, his neighbour’s son consequently addressed his wife as “Mrs. Klingon”.

George Takei does not appear in this episode. For much of the second season, he was filming The Green Berets (1968). Many scenes written for Sulu were switched over to Chekov.

According to David Gerrold’s ‘The World of Star Trek’, Tribbles would be around the set for some time afterward, allowing for occurrences such as what was mentioned earlier or popping up in various other places as well for some months after the production of the episode.

This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation at the 1968 Science Fiction Convention.

According to Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda’s text commentary on this episode for the second season DVD set, the last fresh footage of the Enterprise was done for this episode. In every episode to follow, the shots of the ship were all stock footage.

The inspiration for the design of the tribbles came from a fluffy keyring.

At 37:10, you can get a rare glimpse of James Doohan’s missing finger as Scotty brings in an armful of Tribbies. Doohan lost it when he was wounded fighting with the Canadian forces on D-Day June 6, 1944.

The line in which Spock says that Kirk heard what Baris said, but could not believe his ears, was lifted directly from a Mad Magazine spoof of Star Trek (titled Star Blecch) that had just been published.

Captain Koloth pronounces his race, “Clingans”. As in Wilbur Clingan, Gene Roddenberry’s inspiration for the Klingons.

William Schallert appeared at one of the earliest Star Trek conventions, finding it rewarding and also confusing. Schallert recalled encountering many fans in person, who would react by calling and addressing him as Nilz Barris, and at the time he had completely forgotten the name of the character he played.

This is the first time in the series the Klingon language is mentioned. It is called “Klingonese” in the script and the DVD-subtitles. However, because actor Michael Pataki began to laugh at the end of the word, and cut himself off before finishing his consonants, the word is heard as “Klingonee”. It is spelled “Klingoni” in the Netflix subtitles.

In his first meeting with the Klingon commander, Koloth cites authority to shore leave rights as authorized by the Organian Treaty. This occurred in Star Trek: Errand of Mercy (1967) when the Organians prevented a war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Treaty of Organia dictates interactions between the two sides to prevent another chance of war.

The bar set, including the bartender’s costume, is recycled from Star Trek: Court Martial (1967), with slight modifications, mostly in decoration.

Writer David Gerrold intended to play the crewman who is with Scott and Chekov when the barroom brawl breaks out, but the role went to stuntman Paul Baxley instead.

Despite this episode’s popularity, producer Robert H. Justman wrote in his book “Inside Star Trek: The Real Story” that he never liked this episode. Justman felt that the humor was too over-the-top and the show became a parody of itself.

Initially Leonard Nimoy was not a fan of the episode as he felt it to be frivolous. Its deepening reputation as one of the classics of The Original Series as the years went on helped him change his mind.

In David Gerrold’s book “The Trouble with Tribbles”, he quoted a memo he wrote when the show was being prepared suggesting that the character of Cyrano Jones be changed from an unscrupulous trader to an old man who was too befuddled to realize what he was doing by importing Tribbles into a space station and on a star ship. “What a role for Boris Karloff,” Gerrold wrote in his memo. In the book, Gerrold expressed regret he didn’t pursue this idea further because it would have gotten the legendary Karloff onto Star Trek.

William Campbell makes his second appearance as an alien. His first was as Trelane in “The Squire of Gothos”, and this role as the Klingon Captain Koloth. The role of Koloth was intended as a recurring character, but the next time a Klingon was needed, Campbell was unavailable and a different character and actor was cast.

The storyline greatly resembles one subplot in ‘The Rolling Stones’, a 1952 novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Gene Roddenberry and Heinlein made an undisclosed copyright agreement before The Trouble With Tribbles aired. Heinlein conceded to David Gerrold that both he and Gerrold possibly “owed something to Ellis Parker Butler”, author of the short story ‘Pigs is Pigs’ (According to Bjo Trimble, this episode is based upon said short story, ‘Pigs Is Pigs’, although Gerrold’s first-hand account only acknowledges the similarities but does not specifically cite the short story as “the basis” for this episode, and, as the author, he should know). See also Star Trek: Charlie X (1966) and Star Trek: Operation — Annihilate! (1967), which have strong Heinlein similarities.

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.

The producers of the Remastered Edition insist to everyone that all shots of the station and ships are brand-new and not reused from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996) as had been rumored. Comparisons reveal that no space shots were reused.

William Campbell returned to the role of Koloth 27 years later in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Blood Oath (1994).

Spock’s estimate of the tribble population (1,771,561) is mathematically accurate, given the explanation: “That’s assuming one tribble, multiplying with an average litter of 10, producing a new generation every 12 hours over a period of three days.” The population growth, counting by 12-hour intervals, would go from 1 tribble to 11; 121; 1,331; 14,641; 161,051; 1,771,561. It also assumes that tribbles have a life expectancy of at least 3 days, which is possible but not certain; a relatively short life expectancy would tally with their high metabolism, growth rate, and “multiplicative proclivities.”

On the DVD commentary for Star Trek: The Animated Series: More Tribbles, More Troubles (1973), David Gerrold, shares a story of meeting a fan visiting the Filmation Associates facility who strongly urged him to write a sequel to the original Trouble with Tribbles. He said despite telling the fan three times he had already done so and it “was in production,” the fan continued to pitch his ideas for the sequel. After the animated sequel aired, he got a letter forwarded by NBC, from that same fan, saying he wasn’t asking for money only “asking for some of the credit.” Gerrold wrote back to him, telling him “asking for half the credit is asking for half the money,” and telling the fan that he didn’t hear him say he had already written it. He explained further to the fan that this is the reason why people in the industry, especially writers, try to avoid talking to fans and amateurs because if anything even just similar is later produced, it would be deemed as “stolen.”

In the bar set, recycled from Star Trek: Court Martial (1967), many tribbles were made out of carpet as background. Most visible versions were made from off-cuts from fur garments, as revealed in the book to accompany episode. The tribbles that move had mechanical toys placed inside them.

When Kirk remarks to both Uhura and Chekov that they didn’t waste any time taking shore leave, Uhura replies, “And how often do I take shore leave?” Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966), another episode with a comedic tone, premiered exactly one year earlier. Although Uhura was in that episode, she spent it, at least onscreen, aboard the Enterprise instead of the amusement planet where some of the other crewmembers were taking shore leave.

Summary

Having received a Priority One distress call from an outlying space station, the Enterprise arrives to find they have been summoned there by a Federation commissioner merely to protect a shipment of seeds meant to sow wheat on Sherman’s planet. The planet is also coveted by the Klingons, who are taking shore leave at the station. The trouble arises with tribbles – small furry creatures that seem to multiply without end. However, their fortuitous presence reveals both a problem with the wheat and a traitor on the space station.

CAST

William Shatner…James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy…Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley…Dr. McCoy
William Schallert…Nilz Baris
William Campbell…Koloth
Stanley Adams…Cyrano Jones
Whit Bissell…Lurry
James Doohan…Scott
Nichelle Nichols…Uhura
Michael Pataki…Korax
Ed Reimers…Admiral Fitzpatrick
Walter Koenig…Chekov
Charlie Brill…Arne Darvin
Paul Baxley…Freeman
David L. Ross…Guard
Guy Raymond…K-7 Bartender

My Favorite 20th Century James Bond Movies…

I love James Bond movies. I’ve watched a few of the new ones, but they mostly miss an essential ingredient of why I like James Bond. The gadgets…I love the gadgets and they are few and far between in the new movies…so my favorites will be the 20th-century movies. I have watched the new ones…but not enough to rank them. I do like them like Skyfall and others. I just know the older ones better…and would that surprise any of my readers? Plus…to me…Sean Connery has never been topped.

I’m not going into big detail…but what I remember the most about them.

What are your favorites?

10. Live and Let Die (1974) 

This was Roger Moore’s debut in the role. It does have a Blaxploitation movie feel to it because of when it was made…and a killer theme song. I love the speedboat chases of this one.

9. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

This is one that Connery came back after being absent in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Not as good as his 1960’s Bond films but as always…a fun movie to watch.

8. Thunderball (1965)

Not as good as the top 3 of this list but the lavish sets work. I also love the Astin Martin with the bullet shield. The jetpack is pretty cool also.

7. The Living Daylights (1987)

Timothy Dalton played Bond in an intense way and it worked. I like Dalton’s Bond. He was a little more serious and it worked great.

6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

George Lazenby’s one-shot at James Bond was great. I’m sure his agent was fired after telling him one was enough…he would be typecast. What a dumb decision that was! Good one where James Bond gets married.

5. You Only Live Twice (1967)

I loved the small one-man helicopter named “Little Nellie” in this one. Connery was a badass in this one. I also like the giant lair of Blofeld.

4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

For me, this was Roger Moore’s best Bond movie. You see a young Barbara Bach who would marry Ringo Starr a little later on. The opening squence may be my favorite of any of them.

3. From Russia With Love (1963)

This one could have been number 1 easily also with me. The top 3 are hard to beat. This one is a little longer but never gets boring.

2. Goldfinger (1964)

Goldfinger is usually on top of every list I’ve seen and it could have been on this one also but Ursula Andress tipped the scales for…

1. Dr. No (1962)

In 1962…I can’t imagine the impact Ursula Andress walking out of the water must have had on audiences. It is burned into my brain. I would love to live where Doctor No did.

Star Trek – Wolf In The Fold

★★★★ December 22, 1967 Season 2 Episode 14

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 Robert Bloch

This episode put some of the spotlight on Scotty. Scotty was key to the Enterprise’s survival. Kirk knew just how much he could push the limits of the Enterprise with Scotty at his disposal. You could say in many ways he was just as important as Spock, Kirk, or Bones with his jobs. Without Scotty performing miracles on the engines…they could not travel. 

Star Trek - Wolf in the Fold b

In this episode, Scotty’s integrity is put on the line. He takes a walk with a space belly dancer and suddenly finds himself over her dead body with a knife. Is Scotty the culprit? Is Scotty in fact the criminal which the Argelians seek? And then when trying to track his last 24 hours…a crew member running tests on Scotty is found…you guessed it…dead with Scotty right beside her again.

We then have a trial that uncovers an entity that has been masquerading as Hengist feeding on fear. I have to wonder if Stephen King was influenced by this episode somewhere. The novel IT has a monster (Pennywise) that feeds on fear…with many similarities with this episode. 

A good mystery episode with Jack The Ripper being brought up. When the first woman was killed you saw a lot of fog like in London in the Ripper’s time. Jack The Ripper had been dead for hundreds of years…it couldn’t be him right?

From IMDB:

For most of Star Trek, James Doohan (“Scotty”) hides his right hand, which was missing the middle finger due to a WWII D-Day injury. While being questioned with his hand resting on the lie detector scanner, his fingers are hidden by being curled around the edge of the plate. During a close-up shot of the machine reacting to an intentional lie being told, a five-digit hand spread across the plate is seen – that of a stunt double. Doohan later wrote about it in his autobiography and said this was one of his favorite episodes.

This episode was made around the time that Leonard Nimoy earned an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Mr Spock. William Shatner has admitted that this put his nose out of joint considerably, leading to tensions between the two actors, so this episode was a conscious effort on the part of the writers to sideline Nimoy and give Shatner center stage. (After the series finished, these animosities were put aside and the two remained lifelong friends up until a few years before Nimoy died in 2015.)

Robert Bloch originally wrote that Kirk, Scotty, and Bones having drinks which had colored layers. Their moods would change as they drank each layer. This idea was dropped as being too complicated of a special effect. Network censors were concerned that it would appear that they were using drugs. The producers argued against this but were unable to use the drinks anyway.

This is one of the very few episodes of the second season to feature music composed by Alexander Courage (mainly because of the feud between Courage and Gene Roddenberry, and his resulting withdrawal from the series).

A large number of costumes in the Argelius bar scene are reused from previous episodes. Some of the extras in the bar are wearing turtleneck uniforms from Star Trek: The Cage (1966) and Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966). Two extras in the bar (one of them later seen on the foggy street) are wearing the silver cadet uniforms made for the Finnegan character from Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966). Also, one bar patron (played by regular background performer Joseph Paz) is wearing Commissioner Ferris’ costume from Star Trek: The Galileo Seven (1967), and another is wearing a colonist jumpsuit recycled from Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967).

According to Tanya Lemani, the makeup for Kara was initially much more elaborate. Lemani recalled, “They sent me to the makeup department because they wanted to do something extravagant with my look. The first day, they put feathers of different colours all over my face – on my eyelashes, my eyelids, my nose. Then they took me to the director, Joe Pevney, and he said, ‘No. No. Less!’ The makeup people kept trying to match his vision for four days, with less and less feathers and fewer colours each time, but Joe kept saying, ‘No.’ Finally, on the fifth day, I came in with no makeup and he said, ‘That’s it. That’s what I want to see – her face.” Lemani did her own belly dance choreography for the scene, but due to censorship concerns, had to cover her navel with a jewelled flower.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation: Relics (1992), an older Scotty remembers the events of “Wolf in the Fold” as “a wee bit of trouble.”

Clocking in at approximately 15 minutes and 30 seconds, the courtroom hearing that constitutes virtually the third act of the episode appears to be the longest uninterrupted scene, confined to a single setting, in the original series.

This is the first episode of the second season to completely utilize stock music, largely from Gerald Fried’s scores for Star Trek: Catspaw (1967) and Star Trek: Friday’s Child (1967). Fried’s Finnegan jig from Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966) can also be heard.

This is the first time where Scott’s first name is given as Montgomery. It is next spoken in Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968) where he introduces himself to Marvick.

In the late 1980s, the pop band Information Society sampled Scotty’s line, “Let’s go see”, in their song “Walking Away”.

A few months after Wolf in the Fold was broadcast, guest star John Fiedler took on the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968). He was to reprise the role on several occasions, making it one of his most enduring roles.

This is one of two TOS episodes that prominently feature Scott. The other episode is Star Trek: The Lights of Zetar (1969).

Uhura and Chekov do not appear in this episode.

Robert Bloch’s third and final contribution to the series.

This takes place in 2267.

On the 1993 album “Zoo Rave, Vol 2”, the house/techno/rave artist John Greczula (aka Texas Audio) sampled Kirk’s lines, “You were a musician at the cafe. You played for the murdered girl”, and Tark’s responses, “Since she was a little girl she danced for me” and “The man who did it must be found”, in his rave song, “Mystery Cafe.”

William Shatner and Joseph Bernard previously appeared together in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961).

Kara’s dance music was from the pilot show “The Cage”, when Vina is dancing as an Orion slave girl in the cabaret scene.

James Doohan, who was single at the time, stated in his autobiography that he dated Tanya Lemani (Kara) a few times after filming for this episode wrapped.

Summary

While on shore leave on the planet Argelius II with Dr. McCoy and Captain Kirk, Chief Engineer Scott finds himself accused of murdering an exotic dancer he met in a nightclub. He has no recollection of the incident but is found standing over the girl with a bloody knife in his hand. For Mr. Hengist, the chief administrator, the case is cut and dried, but Jaris, the planet’s leader, suggests that his wife chair a séance to identify the killer. Tragedy strikes again, still pointing to Mr. Scott as the culprit. Kirk suggests they retire to the Enterprise where they can use its computers to determine if Scott is lying and who the real culprit may be.

CAST

William Shatner…Capt. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy…Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley…Dr. McCoy
John Fiedler…Hengist
Charles Macauley…Jaris
Pilar Seurat…Sybo
James Doohan…Scott
George Takei…Sulu
Charles Dierkop…Morla
Joseph Bernard…Tark
Tania Lemani…Kara
John Winston…Transporter Chief
Virginia Aldridge…Karen Tracy
Judy McConnell…Yeoman Tankris
Judi Sherven…Nurse
Majel Barrett…Computer Voice
William Blackburn…Hadley
Marlys Burdette…Serving Girl #1
John Fiedler…Redjac (voice)
Steve Hershon…operations officer
Suzanne Lodge…Serving Girl #3
Eddie Paskey…Leslie
Gary Wright…Starfleet cadet

Santana – Black Magic Woman ….Under The Covers Tuesday

This song was not written by guitarist Carlos Santana but by the great guitarist for Fleetwood Mac. No not Lindsey Buckingham or Bob Welch…but the great blues guitarist Peter Green. I have to admit I like both versions about the same. Two legendary guitar players make this song come alive. I always thought Santana wrote it until a few years ago.

This song was Santana’s first single from their second album Abraxas. The album was released in 1970. It was a year after their acclaimed appearance at Woodstock. That performance launched Santana into national fame. When Carlos Santana played Woodstock, he had yet not released an album.  He was one of the most unknown artists.  Basically, his manager, Bill Graham, forced the band’s way onto the bill.  A couple of weeks later, riding the great press from his Woodstock performance, Santana released “Black Magic Woman” and the rest is history.

Peter Green made friends with an occult group that dabbled in black magic. In turn, they turned Green on to acid which untimely destroyed him. He left Fleetwood Mac a couple of years after that. Green was probably happy that Santana covered this song. Green was convinced to give all of his money away. The royalties from this song helped him later on to live. He ended up taking jobs wherever he could find work, including one as a grave digger.

Fleetwood Mac’s version peaked at #37 in the UK charts in 1968. It was a non-album single. It later appeared on the band’s 1969 compilation album, The Pious Bird of Good Omen. Fleetwood Mac played the song on their last tour with Stevie Nicks singing it from a woman’s point of view. It just didn’t have the power that the original band did.

Santana’s version peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100 and #4 in Canada in 1970-71.

Christine McVie: “Something snapped in him, he dropped this fatal tab of acid and withdrew. He still has this amazing power, but it’s negative. You don’t want him around. We’ve all cried a lot of tears over Peter. We’ve all spent so much time and energy talking him into more positive channels. He’ll just sit there and laugh. ‘FUCK IT . . .’”

Santana: “I used to go to see the original Fleetwood Mac, and they used to kill me, just knock me out, to me, they were the best blues band.”

Mick Fleetwood: “Three minutes of sustain/reverb guitar with two exquisite solos from Peter.”

Santana AND Green

Black Magic Woman

Got a black magic woman
Got a black magic woman
I’ve got a black magic woman
Got me so blind I can’t see
That she’s a black magic woman
She’s trying to make a devil out of me

Don’t turn your back on me, baby
Don’t turn your back on me, baby
Yes, don’t turn your back on me, baby
Stop messing ’round with your tricks
Don’t turn your back on me, baby
You just might pick up my magic sticks

You got your spell on me, baby
You got your spell on me, baby
Yes, you got your spell on me, baby
Turnin’ my heart into stone
I need you so bad
Magic woman I can’t leave you alone

Star Trek – Obsession

★★★★ December 15, 1967 Season 2 Episode 13

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 Art Wallace

As a young officer on the USS Farragut James T. Kirk encountered a strange creature and was lucky to live to tell the tale. Reminding him of that fact is a new crew member assigned to the Enterprise, the son of the late commander of the Farragut played by Stephen Brooks. It’s with some mixed emotions that William Shatner deals with Brooks.

The monster is an intelligent gas, made of an element that’s not supposed to exist naturally, and that’s able to transform itself as a means of camouflage.

Star Trek – Obsession (Review) | the m0vie blog

Complicating things is the fact that the Enterprise is on a critical rescue mission already when Shatner commits his vessel to fight the creature. Something that for once Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley are in agreement on (they agree he shouldn’t fight it) and question Shatner’s judgment. As the title suggests…he is obsessing over this creature instead of the critical mission the Enterprise is on. 

This is a good episode although there was no prior hint that Kirk was the sort of man who would be recklessly obsessive yet here we are expected to believe that he would abandon an urgent mission without even contacting Star Fleet about the entity. All in all we learn more of Kirk’s character in this one. 

Ralph Senensky’s direction keeps this classic Shatner episode tight, exciting, and well-shot. 

From IMDB:

The ship which Kirk served on for his first deep space mission is disclosed to be the USS Farragut, and was named after David Glasgow Farragut, a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice-admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy and is credited for uttering the phrase, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”*, disregarding all danger while charging into enemy waters off the Alabama Coast. -This is an abridged version. He said “Damn the torpedoes. Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead. Jouett, full speed.”*

Second episode in a row in which Captain Kirk’s capacity of command is questioned.

This episode establishes the fact that Vulcan blood is copper-based, unlike human blood which is iron-based.

Only time in the series where phasers are said to have a disruptor setting.

“Obsession” is a “startrekified” version of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a seminal American novel first published in 1851. Captain Kirk of the Enterprise is Captain Ahab of the Pequod and the Gaseous Creature is the White Whale.

The only episode to have a security guard as the central story.

The unseen ship, the USS Yorktown, recalls the name of the ship in Gene Roddenberry’s original story concept he pitched to the networks in 1964, the SS Yorktown commanded by Robert April. The concept evolved to the USS Enterprise commanded by Christopher Pike in Star Trek: The Cage (1966), then James T. Kirk.

Filming took place during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Director Ralph Senensky was an observant Jew and left the set at sundown. Producer John Meredyth Lucas took his place. Lucas went on to officially direct three episodes of this series.

In an effect unique in the series, the phaser beam that Garrovick fires at the creature is outlined with a dark border.

Dikironium, of which the cloud creature is made, is an element with symbol Dk, has an atomic number of 112, and an atomic weight of 300. It was first discovered on the planet Vulcan. Element 112 was not discovered/produce until 1996 and was named Copernicium. Its atomic weight (technically, atomic mass) is 285.

This takes place in 2268.

In the medical records library between Spock and McCoy, there is a large object which looks like a vertical DVD rack. The same large object was in Harry Mudd’s laboratory in Star Trek: I, Mudd (1967).

Vocalization in the opening theme song is less prominent behind the instrumental than previously since vocalization began in Season 2.

Hikaru Sulu does not appear in this episode.

Director Ralph Senensky has said, having worked with actor Stephen Brooks on many previous occasions and liked him, that he specifically asked for Stephen Brooks for this show.

Summary

Captain Kirk is haunted by a creature from his past when conducting a mining survey on a planet. He first encountered it as a lieutenant aboard the U.S.S. Farragut and blames himself for freezing in a moment of crisis, causing the death of many crewmen. The creature is a cloud-like, gaseous being that lives on the red blood cells found in humans. Obsessed by his desire for revenge and to erase the memory of 11 years ago, he pursues the creature relentlessly, putting in jeopardy an assignment to collect essential medical supplies.

CAST

William Shatner…Capt. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy…Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley…Dr. McCoy
Stephen Brooks…Ensign Garrovick
James Doohan…Scott
Nichelle Nichols…Uhura
Jerry Ayres…Rizzo
Majel Barrett…Nurse Chapel
Walter Koenig…Chekov
William Blackburn…Hadley
John Blower…Swenson
Frank da Vinci…Vinci
Steve Hershon…operations officer
Jeannie Malone…Yeoman
Eddie Paskey…Leslie
Basil Poledouris…Bardoli

Star Trek – The Deadly Years

★★★★1/2 December 8, 1967 Season 2 Episode 12

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 David P. Harmon

Another favorite of mine in the 2nd season. Some of the crew starts growing old…really quick. 

When an away team goes for a routine visit to a scientific outpost they are shocked to discover the personnel are dead or dying, apparently of old age, despite none of them being old.

Star Trek – The Deadly Years B

Back on the Enterprise, it isn’t long before members of the away team, with the exception of Chekov, start aging. At first, the signs are subtle; Kirk gives the same order twice and instructs Uhura to contact Star Fleet using a code that has already been cracked by the Romulans. It isn’t long before more obvious signs of aging show and if they don’t discover the cause and a remedy quickly most of the senior staff will be dead within days.

As time progresses Kirk’s ability to command comes into question and Commodore Stocker, who was being transported to a nearby star base, assumes command despite never serving on a starship before. This almost leads to disaster when he orders the Enterprise to head directly to the star base even though that course takes them through the Romulan neutral zone.

After that, the Romulans of course are after The Enterprise. With Kirk and Spock old…it doesn’t look like they will get out of this trouble with the Romulans. 

Here is a comparison of William Shatner…a Hollywood 80-year-old or so…and the real Shatner around 80-85 years old at the time of the picture. 

William Shatner old and old

From IMDB:

The cast wore oversized versions of their costumes as their characters aged in order to give the impression that they were shrinking.

William Shatner resisted looking too old as Captain Kirk aged. This is why at first the aging Kirk’s hairline is receding but later his hair is more full.

Having been born on July 16, 1882, Felix Locher (Robert Johnson) is the earliest born actor to appear in any “Star Trek” episode or film, at 85 years of age.

Kirk’s age (34) is established in this episode. William Shatner was 36.

Around this mid-season shoot, rumors started to circulate that Star Trek was going to be canceled. One of the show’s most ardent fans, Bjo Trimble, created a mailing list, urging everyone on it to write to the network pleading for the show’s survival. The ploy worked.

In “The World of Star Trek”, William Shatner relates that he endured an excruciating make-up session for this episode – all for nothing, because the shooting day was just about to end. The producers caught his exasperation in an infamous blooper, wherein he declares, “Robert H. Justman, I’m going home now, after spending three hours putting this [expletive deleted] make-up back on – and it’s your fault!”

Kirk reuses the scam involving the “corbomite” device, which he first described in Star Trek: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966). Although Chekov was not on the bridge on that occasion, he obviously heard the story from someone, as he and Sulu exchange knowing looks when Kirk mentions the word.

According to Walter Koenig, a close-up shot of his eyes was filmed as Chekov sees the dead body. Unfortunately, Koenig kept blinking during the shot and it took fifteen takes to get it right. However, the shot was deleted from the episode.

Lieutenant Uhura was originally supposed to be one of the landing party that starts to age but Gene Roddenberry refused to allow this on the grounds that it would make her unattractive. In Star Trek: And the Children Shall Lead (1968), Uhura had a rapid-aging scene.

This is the first time McCoy is aged using makeup in order to look much older than he is. The second time is in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint (1987). Both versions look very similar.

Each crew member displays different symptoms of aging: Captain Kirk suffers from short-term memory loss and arthritis, Spock becomes hypersensitive to temperature changes, McCoy becomes more moody and irritable, Galway suffers from hearing loss, and Scotty finds that he is always tired.

Normally, make-up artist Fred B. Phillips would have been given a month to come up with the latex prosthetics to age his cast. Instead, he was given 10 days. Philips was able to get round the problem by drafting a whole troupe of make-up artists to assist him.

William Shatner reportedly threatened producer Robert H. Justman with bodily harm after enduring the three hour old-age makeup process for no reason. “Who’s afraid of such a wrinkled, feeble old coot!” scoffed Justman. Nevertheless, Justman kept his office door locked until shooting was finished.

When Spock questions Uhura during the competency hearing, he twice clearly refers to Uhura’s having signed her initials (note the plural) on a document. Lt. Uhura was never given a first name during the entire run of the series, which at the time lead some to believe she may have only had the single name “Uhura”. However, this episode established that, due to having more than one initial, she must also have had a name other than “Uhura”.

Dr. Wallace’s costume was made from drapes.

In the first scene, the landing party beams down to the planet surface in front of two buildings. The first one has a curved exterior with alternating raised light blue panels and sunken white panels with no “ribs”, but the second one has a similar curved exterior with “ribs” clearly protruding from the roof. This second building is a repurposing of the structure used as the home for Zefram Cochran in Star Trek: Metamorphosis (1967).

McCoy’s Southern dialect grows noticeably thicker as he ages.

The last shot of the episode is reused from Star Trek: Amok Time (1967). Note the wig there on Chekov, which he didn’t have on for the entire episode.

The proximity of the Gamma Hydra sector to the Romulan Neutral Zone is repeated in the opening scene of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), when the Enterprise supposedly violates the zone while patrolling near the sector. However, in the movie it’s the Klingons who attack.

If one goes by production order, this is the first episode in which Vulcans are mentioned to have a longer lifespan than humans. If one goes by airdate order, that title goes to Star Trek: Journey to Babel (1967).

The end credits include a make-up test shot of Bill Blackburn as a Tellarite.

Except for Checkov, the pronounced aging effects of each of the landing party are as follows: McCoy – Crankiness, somewhat difficulty enunciating words. Kirk – Memory loss, arthritis, stiffness. Scotty – Fatigue. (Duaring the competency hearing he just sits quietly and withdrawn.) Galway – Hearing loss, fast metabolism caused rapid aging and death. Spock – Sensitivity to cold, easily fatigued, failing eyesight, difficulty concentrating.

Areel Shaw’s line from Star Trek: Court Martial (1967) about how long it has been since she’s seen Kirk is recycled by Janet Wallace in this segment.

Kirk’s return to normal age was filmed differently from the version seen in the aired show. It was originally planned to have him take the antidote and, accompanied by a still-aged Spock, return to normal slowly on his way to the bridge. For unknown reasons, this scene was eliminated and just his lower body was filmed showing him writhing after the antidote was administered.

Summary

Rapid aging afflicts all six colonists on Gamma Hydra IV and five members of Kirk’s six-man landing party – all but Chekov. With the Neutral Zone so close, suspicion falls on the Romulans testing a new weapon, but is it? With time running out, answers are elusive. As Kirk’s memory progressively deteriorates, regulations necessitate a competency hearing no one wants – the outcome of which may eventually lead the Enterprise to its destruction with all aboard.

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy
James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott
Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
Majel Barrett … Nurse Christine Chapel
Charles Drake – Commodore Stocker
Carolyn Nelson – Yeoman Atkins
Sarah Marshall – Dr. Janet Wallace
Laura Wood – Elaine Johnson
Felix Maurice Locher – Robert Johnson
Beverly Washburn – Lt. Arlene Galway
Roger Holloway – Lt. Lemli
Eddie Paskey – Lt. Leslie
Frank Da Vinci – Lt. Brent

Band – King Harvest  (Has Surely Come) ….Canadian Week

Power Pop Friday will be back next week. Thank you for tuning in this week as we talked about these great Canadian artists…I’ve had a blast with them. There is one band that I didn’t get to cover because I ran out of days…well actually more…but Blue Rodeo will be coming up soon on a Friday. 

The Band is my favorite Canadian export. Well, I will say Canadian although one member…Levon Helm was from Arkansas but the rest are Canadians. CB mentioned this song not long ago so I used it after listening to it again. It is quite a complex song. I can’t believe I’ve never posted it but better late than never.

The Band was so rootsy… They had it all – rawness, competence, sublimity, experience, originality, and roots. The five different instruments were not five different instruments…they were one. In the liner notes to one of their greatest hits it states… the music is unusually complex, making use of odd verse patterns and tricky rhythmic suspensions and modifying the natural sounds of instruments for various calculated effects. But because of the way the record sounds, none of this calls attention to itself…it sounds effortless.

Robertson said he’d been immersed in the novels of John Steinbeck at this time. I’ve read where The Grapes of Wrath is a big influence on this song. Rock critic Greil Marcus has written that King Harvest might be the finest song that Robertson has ever written. The song is told from the point of view of a poverty-stricken farmer- detailing everything that has happened to his farm- then a union organizer appears and makes promises that things will soon improve.

Richard Manuel is the singer of King Harvest. King Harvest is a great finishing track to one of the greatest albums ever made. The album was their second album called The Band (The Brown Album). The album peaked at #2 in Canada, #9 on the Billboard 100 in 1970. This is their highest-charting album in their home country.

The song is credited solely to guitarist Robbie Robertson, although drummer-singer Levon Helm claimed that “King Harvest” was a group effort. It’s been covered by Blue Rodeo, Bruce Hornsby, and many more.

Robbie Robertson: “It’s just a kind of character study in a time period. At the beginning, when the unions came in, they were a saving grace, a way of fighting the big money people, and they affected everybody from the people that worked in the big cities all the way around to the farm people. It’s ironic now, because now so much of it is like gangsters, assassinations, power, greed, insanity. I just thought it was incredible how it started and how it ended up.”

Robbie Robertson: In the story to me, it’s another piece I remember from my youth, that people looking forward, people out there in the country somewhere, in a place … we all know it, may have been there, may have not … but there’s a lot of people that the idea of come Autumn, come Fall, that’s when life begins. It is not the Springtime where we kinda think it begins. It is the Fall, because the harvests come in.

Levon Helm: Some of the lyrics came out of a discussion we had one night about the times we’d seen and all had in common. It was an expression of feeling that came from five people. The group wanted to do one song that took in everything we could muster about life at that moment in time. It was the last thing we cut in California, and it was that magical feeling of ‘King Harvest’ that pulled us through. It was like, there, that’s The Band.

King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

Corn in the fields
Listen to the rice when the wind blows ‘cross the water
King Harvest has surely come

I work for the union ’cause she’s so good to me
And I’m bound to come out on top
That’s where she said I should be
I will hear every word the boss may say
For he’s the one who hands me down my pay
Looks like this time I’m gonna get to stay
I’m a union man, now, all the way

The smell of the leaves
From the magnolia trees in the meadow
King Harvest has surely come

Dry summer, then comes fall
Which I depend on most of all
Hey, rainmaker, can’t you hear the call?
Please let these crops grow tall

Long enough I’ve been up on Skid Row
And it’s plain to see, I’ve nothing to show
I’m glad to pay those union dues
Just don’t judge me by my shoes

Scarecrow and a yellow moon
And pretty soon a carnival on the edge of town
King Harvest has surely come

Last year, this time, wasn’t no joke
My whole barn went up in smoke
Our horse Jethro, well he went mad
And I can’t remember things bein’ that bad

Then there comes a man with a paper and a pen
Tellin’ us our hard times are about to end
And then, if they don’t give us what we like
He said, “men, that’s when you gotta go on strike”

Corn in the fields
Listen to the rice when the wind blows ‘cross the water
King Harvest has surely come

Star Trek – Friday’s Child

★★★ December 1, 1967 Season 2 Episode 11

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 D.C. Fontana

The main thing I noticed when I watched this episode is Julie Newmar as Eleen. I never missed her on Batman. 

Julie Newmar

Once again the crew of the Enterprise are in negotiations for an alien planet’s mineral rights… McCoy has been there before and cautions the captain about the importance of not breaching local etiquette; infringements can mean death. These aliens, the Capellans are intelligent but not advanced; fighting with swords and throwing weapons. The landing party, consisting of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and security are shocked to discover a Klingon is already there; leading to the red-shirt drawing his weapon and being killed.

The leader of the Capellans is keen to negotiate but his underling thinks they should deal with the Klingons as they offer military items and fights for the leadership. With the old leader dead his pregnant wife is expected to die but McCoy attempts to save her and the away team flees to the hills with her. Here Kirk and Spock must prepare to fight without use of their phasers while McCoy helps deliver the baby. Meanwhile, the Enterprise, commanded by Scotty, has been called away by a distress call, apparently from a freighter under attack from Klingons.

It was a strong episode for Scotty.  Faced with the decision to rescue the crew that was on the planet from Capella or answer a distress call from an unarmed freighter, Scotty stays consistent with Federation duty and leaves orbit to help the ship under attack. Turns out it was a Klingon ruse, but no harm was done. Doctor McCoy also has some good scenes with Eleen and her new born baby. 

Not one of my favorites but a decent episode. 

From IMDB:

This is the only episode in which Uhura and Sulu call Scotty by his nickname. Otherwise, they call him “Mr. Scott”.

For his first four appearances in the series, including this episode, Walter Koenig wore a The Monkees (1965)-style wig, which he absolutely detested. In one interview, he made joking and uncomplimentary references to that wig.

The actors playing Capellan warriors were given elevated shoes to make them appear like giants. Maab’s high headgear served the same purpose.

Third time Bones uses the saying “I’m a doctor, not a …” (In this case, escalator)

Lots of dialogue looping was used in this episode because of the outdoor setting. Some of the dubbing was crammed together, nearly on top of other lines.

When Chekhov is scanning the Klingons, he uses the term vessel as opposed to his normal “wessel.”

Temperatures reached 110 degrees in the Vazquez Rocks filming location, making it quite uncomfortable for the actors in the Capellan costumes. This location was also a setting for Star Trek: Arena (1967), Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966) and Star Trek: The Alternative Factor (1967).

This is the first episode where all seven “classic” crew members (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov) appear in the same scene, in the teaser, discussing the background for the Capellans, although Sulu is seen only on a view screen reporting from the bridge. The other six are all in the same briefing room together. The six also appear in the same scene together at the very end on the bridge, and Sulu is still absent, although the right arm of a helmsman that should be him is seen at the right edge of the screen.

In D.C. Fontana’s original script, Eleen sacrificed her child for her own life. But Gene Roddenberry objected to this and changed the ending. Eleen was originally written to be a stronger character who rebels against the male-dominated Capellan society but this was also changed.

In the footage seen in the briefing room of Dr. McCoy’s previous visit to Capella IV, he is seen wearing his present day Enterprise tunic, rather than a Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966) era tunic, which would have been appropriate for that time period. However, it can also be seen that the tunic’s sleeves show a lieutenant’s stripes, whereas McCoy’s present rank is lieutenant commander, as often indicated by his sleeves. This is consistent with his visit to Capella having taken place in a previous time period.

Eleen’s baby, Leonard James Akaar, would make numerous appearances decades later as a high-ranking Starfleet officer in many Star Trek novels from the Original Series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) relaunch novels, and the Star Trek Titan series. In the latter, he holds the rank of Admiral.

The remastered version of this episode included new shots of the Enterprise herself. Several new, more realistic views of Capella IV from space were inserted into the episode. Other changes include cleaned-up mattes of the viewscreen during the briefing room scene, a more realistic sensor readout on the bridge, a corrected insert shot while Chekov is working the controls at the science station, updated phaser effects, and the establishment of the Klingon ship on screen as a D7-class.

Contained in Dr. McCoy’s emergency medical field kit, Magnesite-nitron tablets when crushed provide emergency illumination and heat through a bright flame. The tablets also could be used for ignition of a larger fire, heating of food, or sterilization of water.

The name of Tige Andrews’s character Kras is never spoken. He is only called “Klingon”.

This is the first episode that inn which makes the dubious claim of something being invented in Russia. In this case, he claims that the old Earth saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”, was invented in Russia. In fact, the earliest occurrence of the phrase, as listed in the OED, dates back over 300 years and comes from Italy.

When Scotty is in command of the ship, they receive a distress call from a Federation freighter, the S.S. Deirdre. Deirdre is the name of James Doohan’s second daughter.

A sequence in the blooper reel shows William Shatner entering the tent too quickly when Tige Andrews is looking for his weapon and exclaiming, “Oh, shit!”

Phaser One almost has enough power to explode rocks, as seen when the Klingon hits the one Spock is sheltered behind.

(at around 40 mins) This episode marks the first time Sulu’s attack scanner is shown deploying from underneath the helm console when Scotty orders “Battle Stations”.

In production order, this is only the second episode to feature Klingons; interestingly, the Klingon make-up design is different from their first appearance in “Errand of Mercy”; in the latter, their complexions were dark and swarthy, with stereotypical “Asian” facial hair. Kras, the Klingon in this episode, is bearded, but without the dark makeup and “Ming the Merciless” facial hair.

Capella, the planet where the action occurs, has the same name after a form of singing. Upon receiving the script, associate and supervising producer Robert H. Justman shouted, “Ah Capella!” (as in ‘acapella’) and burst into song, to much laughter. Although the pun story is probably true, it is more likely that the planet, Capella IV, is the fourth planet of one of the four stars in the Capella system. In reality, Capella is the name given to the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, and is also known as Alpha Aurigae. Its name is the diminutive of the Latin noun “capra” (“she-goat” or “nanny-goat”), hence “little she-goat”. The system’s four stars are in two binary pairs, and none of them have shown any evidence of containing exoplanets.

This is the second and final episode where Spock is knocked out in a fight (the first being Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967), though in that case it was the mirror Spock who was incapacitated). In this one, a Capellan hits him with a sword while he and Kirk protect Eleen.

Summary

The Federation is in competition with the Klingons for an alliance with the inhabitants of Capella IV. The Capellans are a warrior tribe and there is dissension among them as to who to sign the mining rights treaty with. McCoy is familiar with their customs having once spent several months there. When a Capellan, who clearly favors the Klingons, stages a coup, Kirk, Spock and McCoy flee with the now dead leader’s wife, who is about to give birth. Meanwhile, the Enterprise receives a distress call from a Federation vessel under attack and, with Scotty in command, leaves orbit.

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. McCoy
Julie Newmar … Eleen
Tige Andrews … Kras
Michael Dante … Maab
James Doohan … Scott
George Takei … Sulu
Nichelle Nichols … Uhura
Cal Bolder … Keel
Ben Gage … Akaar
Walter Koenig … Chekov
Kirk Raymond … Duur (as Kirk Raymone)
Bob Bralver … Grant (as Robert Bralver)
Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited)
Vic Christy … Capellan (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci … Capellan Warrior (uncredited)
Walker Edmiston … SS Dierdre (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)

Gordon Lightfoot – Early Morning Rain …. Canadian Week

Robbie Robertson: “a cultural treasure of the Canadian nation.”

From now until Friday it’s going to be Canadian Week…with all Canadian artists. Two of which I’ve never posted on before and one at the very end…were all Canadian except a certain southern drummer. I hope you will join me this week whether you are Canadian or not…there will be some great artists.

I grew up with Lightfoot’s songs. He was one of the very few respected artists my sister liked so I was hearing his songs when I was around 5 or 6. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is still a go-to song for me. From Sundown to If You Could Read My Mind and all the ones in between. This particular song is such a perfectly written number. I first heard this by Elvis Presley when I was a kid.

Gordon Lightfoot - Early Morning Rain

Bob Dylan covered this song on his Self Portrait album and it helped Gordon’s career. So many have covered this song. Here is a link to the second-hand songs website if you want to see them all.  Elvis Presley, Dylan, Jerry Reed, Steve Forbert, Jerry Lee Lewis, Peter Paul and Mary, and a TON more. You know you have written a great song when you have those quality artists covering it.

It didn’t chart for Lightfoot but other artists took the song to the charts. According to Wiki… Ian and Sylvia #1 on the Canada AC Charts in 1965, Peter, Paul, and Mary #39 in Canada and #91 on the Billboard 100, George Hamilton IV #9 on the Billboard Country Charts in 1971, Oliver #28 in the Billboard AC Charts in 1971, Paul Weller #40 in the UK in 2005… even the Grateful Dead covered this song.

Gordon died on May 1, 2023. The music world lost a huge legend with Gordon Lightfoot. It’s hard to put into words how great of a songwriter the man was.

Gordon Lightfoot on Bob Dylan recording this song:  “I was totally blown away that he would record one of my songs in the first place. It helped my career – I’d not had a hit single myself at that point. His cover was a linchpin in that whole process because it made people in the industry aware that I was producing good songs.”

Robbie Robertson: “a cultural treasure of the Canadian nation.”

Bob Dylan: “I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever. “

Bob Dylan: Lightfoot died “without ever having made a bad song”

Early Morning Rain

In the early mornin’ rain
With a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I’m a long ways from home
And I missed my loved one so
In the early mornin’ rain
With no place to go

Out on runway number nine
Big seven o seven set to go
Well I’m stuck here on the grass
With a pain that ever grows
Where the liquor tasted good
And all the women all were fast
There, there she goes my friend
She’s rolling down at last

Hear the mighty engines roar
See the silver wing on high
She’s away and westward bound
For above the clouds she’ll fly
Where the mornin’ rain don’t fall
And the sun always shines
She’ll be flying over my home
In about three hours time

This ol’ airport’s got me down
It’s no damn good to me
And I’m stuck here on the ground
As cold and drunk as I can be
Can’t jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin’ rain
Can’t jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin’ rain

Star Trek –  Journey To Babel

★★★★ 1/2  November 17, 1967 Season 2 Episode 10

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 D.C. Fontana

An episode I’ve always liked a lot. We meet Spock’s parents in this one. The actress that played his mom was Jayne Wyatt. To show you how bizarre this show was in the 1960s…Wyatt never watched the show before and after she read the script…she thought it was a comedy. That is until she got on set and saw how everyone took the show so seriously. 

I think it’s this episode, more than any other, in which Spock’s lonely place in the Trek universe is spelled out. We, as the audience, had already gathered as much during the past forty or so episodes, but here, Spock’s mother, the ideal choice to voice such concerns out loud, makes apparent the pain Spock has endured during his life – in terms we had only guessed at earlier.

Star Trek -  Journey To Babel

She had known since he was a little boy that he belongs in neither the human nor the Vulcan worlds and, as a mother, she had no choice but to feel his pain, that ultimate form of alienation – but, as a human, her feelings are much more obvious to us. Nimoy gives another subtly excellent performance; his demeanor is slightly different when speaking with his mother about ‘the situation’ between himself and his father. Despite the Vulcan reserve, you sense his discomfort and sadness.

The personal story is played out as part of a larger plot element involving diplomatic negotiations among ambassadors on board the Enterprise headed toward the planetoid Babel. Competing interests among the representatives threaten (and eventually lead to) hostilities, as the impending conference will decide whether planets of the Coridan System will become part of the Federation. If that wasn’t enough going on, a third party is presented as a foil in order to profit from the dissension…but the story centers around the Vulcans and their relationship. 

While describing this episode I realized what a deep episode this is. There’s a lot of plot to it and a lot of new alien species and characters. The introduction of Spock’s parents was interesting and I really enjoy the dynamic that Spock has with his mother especially. While the politics of the Federation is the focal point of this episode, it really focuses more on Spock’s relationship with his parents.

From IMDB:

For two weeks after the airing of this episode, Mark Lenard received more fan mail than Leonard Nimoy.

In the first episode to feature Spock’s parents, actors Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt asked Leonard Nimoy for advice on how the two of them could display their affection for one another in a subtle way since the Vulcans supress their emotion. Since it was Nimoy who had devised the Vulcan neck pinch and the Vulcan salute, Nimoy suggested they touch and stroke each others hand by the index and middle finger.

Gene Roddenberry wrote the scene in which Amanda tells Kirk of the rift between Spock and Sarek. Writer D.C. Fontana felt that it would be inappropriate for her to discuss this with someone she had just met. But Roddenberry wanted Kirk to be more involved with the story.

This episode introduces the Andorians and the Tellarites. Later episodes established that, along with Humans and Vulcans, they are two of the four founding members of the United Federation of Planets.

Actor John Wheeler, in character as Gav, had so much trouble seeing through the prosthetics over his eyes that he was forced to raise his head to see his castmates. This added to the early mythos that all Tellarites were arrogant as well as belligerent and aggressive.

Jane Wyatt would only play Spock’s mother one more time, in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). In Star Trek: The Animated Series: Yesteryear (1973), to save costs, Majel Barrett voiced the role. Mark Lenard, however, reprised his role of Sarek in the animated series and again in the films Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), as well as the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes Star Trek: The Next Generation: Sarek (1990) and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Unification I (1991).

Writer D.C. Fontana chose the name “Amanda” for Spock’s mother because it means “worthy of love” in Latin.

Mark Lenard had also been a potential candidate for the recasting of Spock if Leonard Nimoy were to quit the series.

Though they play father and son, Mark Lenard was 42 years old at the time and Leonard Nimoy was 36.

Jane Wyatt has said that some years after “Journey to Babel” first aired, while waiting in an airport she heard someone cry out the name Amanda. Wyatt said that at first she had no idea it was a fan trying to get her attention, as she had completely forgotten the name of the character she had played.

The original script called for an establishment shot of the city Sarek and his party travelled from. However, painting a matte to depict the city became budget prohibitive. Likewise, Sarek was initially to be beamed aboard the Enterprise, but use of existing shuttle craft stock footage was cheaper than employing Transporter effects.

Amanda’s description of Spock being bullied by other children for his human heritage was later shown in animated form in Star Trek: The Animated Series: Yesteryear (1973), and in live action form in the movie Star Trek (2009).

In the original draft script, there was a banquet scene featuring the three main diplomats: Sarek (the Vulcan), Shras (the Andorian), and Gav (the old Tellarite). When this scene was scrapped, the dialog was inserted into the final version of the buffet scene. Other dialog was scrapped that would have indicated that Sarek was an engineer before he became a diplomat, and that he was the son of the famous Vulcan diplomat Shaleris.

As a tribute to her long and distinguished career, Jane Wyatt is called “Miss Jane Wyatt” in the closing credits.

In the remastered version, the Enterprise shuttlebay and landing sequence was completely redone digitally, featuring a number of background actors visible within the viewing galleries. Also revamped were shots of Vulcan (now more closely resembling its appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise) and the battle between the Enterprise and the Orion ship, now featuring a more identifiable design.

The Andorians cock their heads for better visual acuity. According to Star Trek lore, the Andorian antennae are sensitive light beyond the normal human spectrum. Thus, Andorian vision is literally quadroscopic.

Before he was cast as Sarek, Mark Lenard played the first major Romulan character seen on Star Trek, the Romulan Commander in Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966).

Scotty does not appear in this episode. Other characters refer to him as being nearby, but he never has to appear on-camera.

D.C. Fontana had become curious about past references to Spock’s background, and was inspired to more fully flesh them out. In particular, Fontana was inspired by information Spock had revealed about his parents in Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967). Fontana also felt such an episode would be an interesting way to reflect issues relating to the Generation Gap.

Many of the costumes worn by extras in the hallway and reception room scenes were recycled from several first season episodes, including the outfits worn by Galactic High Commissioner Ferris in Star Trek: The Galileo Seven (1967) and by Lazarus in Star Trek: The Alternative Factor (1967).

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.

Russ Peek, who plays one of Sarek’s aides, also appeared as mirror Spock’s Vulcan bodyguard in Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967).

The Orion ship was recycled as the missile in Star Trek: Patterns of Force (1968), although this has been changed in the remastered version of the latter.

If one goes by airing order, this is the first episode in which Vulcans are mentioned to have a longer lifespan than humans. If one goes by production order, that title goes to Star Trek: The Deadly Years (1967).

The matte shot of Uhura appearing on the screen in engineering is one of the smallest mattes ever used in the series, until the view discs in Star Trek: All Our Yesterdays (1969).

Star Trek: Metamorphosis (1967) starring Elinor Donahue and Journey to Babel starring Jane Wyatt aired back-to-back. Both actresses had been regular cast members on Father Knows Best (1954), where Donahue played Wyatt’s daughter.

The Tantalus field controls used in Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967) can be seen behind McCoy while Amanda is inquiring about Sarek’s condition.

The noise of the coded message sent by Thelev is also used in Star Trek: Miri (1966).

Bill Blackburn, in an unused make-up scheme for the Tellarites from a make-up test, can be seen in the end credits of Star Trek: The Deadly Years (1967) and Star Trek: A Private Little War (1968).

Mark Lenard, who played the 102-year-old Sarek, was 42 at the time of filming.

Summary

The Enterprise is transporting several diplomatic delegations to a conference on Babel regarding the future of the mineral-rich planet Coridan. Among the passengers are Spock’s parents, Ambassador Sarek and Amanda. There is obviously a chill between father and son owing to Spock’s choice of pursuing a career in Starfleet. Unknown to Spock or his mother is the fact that Sarek is seriously ill. There is also much tension among the delegations and a spy on board is transmitting coded messages to a ship that attacks the Enterprise. With Captain Kirk wounded in an earlier knife attack, Spock is in temporary command just as his father needs a transfusion that only he can provide.

 

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. McCoy
Jane Wyatt … Amanda (as Miss Jane Wyatt)
Mark Lenard … Sarek
Nichelle Nichols … Uhura
William O’Connell … Thelev
Majel Barrett … Nurse Chapel
Walter Koenig … Chekov
John Wheeler … Gav
James X. Mitchell … Josephs
Reggie Nalder … Shras
Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited)
John Blower … Babel Conference Attendee (uncredited)
Jerry Catron … Montgomery (uncredited)
Billy Curtis … Small Copper-Skinned Ambassador (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci … Vulcan Aide (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone … Purple-Skinned Delegate (uncredited)
Jerry Maren … Small Copper-Skinned Ambassador (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)
Russ Peek … Sarek’s 2nd Vulcan Aide (uncredited)
Kai J. Wong … Doctor (uncredited)

Allman Brothers – It’s Not My Cross To Bear

In 1969 Duane Allman hand-picked the members he wanted in his band. The first member he picked was drummer Johnny Lee Johnson…better known as Jaimoe or Jai Johanny Johanson. He then looked at a band called “The 2nd Coming” and he got members guitarist Dickey Betts and bassist Berry Oakley out of that band and continued. He also picked another drummer named Butch Trucks out of the band The 31st of February.

Duane wanted the best band possible. People were confused that he wanted two drummers and a guitar player who could play almost better than him. He didn’t care about that as much at all…as long as it sounded good. Dickey Betts was not the easiest person to get along with but he respected Duane so much that they never had any problems. They spurred each other live to go further.

They needed a singer and Duane automatically thought of this brother Gregg. Gregg was living in LA at this point with Jackson Browne sharing an apartment. He told Gregg to come to Macon Georgia with this band. Gregg came armed with songs and walked into the door. He heard the band and didn’t know if he was good enough to do it. The big brother Duane jumped on Gregg and told him not to embarrass him and get behind the keyboards and do his thing. Gregg as always listened to Duane and of course, he fit perfectly. Duane knew exactly what he was doing.

On a side note…the band had a keyboard player named Reese Wynans. Reese knew his stint with the band was done with Gregg joining. They already had two guitarists and two drummers…they didn’t need another keyboard player with Gregg joining. Duane helped him get some studio work and hooked him up with other musicians. Reese’s career was only starting. Later on, Reese joined Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in 1985, playing keyboards on Soul to Soul and In Step. He performed live with the group until Stevie’s death in 1990.

Allman Brothers - It's Not My Cross To Bear B

He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1992, Reese has played keyboards for a number of country artists including Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and Hank Williams Jr. He has also played for blues artists Buddy Guy, John Mayall, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Colin James, Ana Popovic, Dudley Taft, Eli Cook, and Los Lonely Boys. I personally met Reese at my guitar tech’s business… a great guy. 

The Allman Brothers toured relentlessly through 1969-1971 playing at clubs and also doing free shows in the park in what town they were at…the same thing that The Grateful Dead did also. Money wasn’t the thing…they built a grass roots following and they were probably more popular in New York than anywhere else.

This song was on their debut album The Allman Brothers Band released in 1969. The album was hailed by critics but it didn’t sell but 35,000 copies at the time. When you look at the album now…it’s full of songs that would be their bedrock for years. Whipping Post, Dreams, and Trouble No More to name but a few.

Gregg Allman was the main songwriter in the band at first. Dicky Betts would soon start writing more around the second album. Allman wrote this about a girlfriend and wrote a song called Blackhearted Woman about that same girlfriend. They recorded the album in two weeks total…played it and mixed it.

They would release their second album the following year. That album did a little better but it still didn’t take off despite having many songs (Midnight Rider, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, and more) that would make them famous later. It was in 1971 when they released At Fillmore East that all the years of touring paid off. It was a massive hit peaking at #13 and they were set up for a great career. Up until then, the record company had been advancing them money since 1969 and that album paid everything off. They finally had money coming in and the ability to get what they wanted.

Then on October 29, 1971, Duane Allman was killed on a motorcycle in Macon Georgia. They thought about breaking up but they stayed together and had a huge career with albums Eat A Peach (which Duane is on a few tracks) and the massive Brothers and Sisters. Around a year later…their bassist Berry Oakley died on a motorcycle within a few blocks of where Duane crashed.

When punk came in the late seventies they struggled because no one wanted blues jams anymore even if the musicianship was top notch and it was. That is something about the punk and New Wave movement I didn’t like. Some bands like this who were musically superior got swept away for a while.

Classic radio started to get popular and all of these bands that were ignored during punk and new wave were sought after again. In the late eighties, Gregg had a huge hit with I’m No Angel and the band reformed and played until Oct. 28, 2014 when they officially retired as a band.

I truly think they had more talent in that band than most of their peers. I have to add that I think Gregg could be the best white blues singer of his era.

It’s Not My Cross To Bear

Yeah, yeah, yeah

I have not come, yeah
To testify
About our bad, bad misfortune
And I ain’t here a wond’rin’ why
But I’ll live on and I’ll be strong
‘Cause it just ain’t my cross to bear

I sat down and wrote you a long letter
It was just the other day
Said, sure as the sunrise, baby
Tomorrow I’ll be up and on my way
But I’ll live on
And I’ll be strong
‘Cause it just ain’t my cross to bear
Oh no

Oh, but I’ll live on and I’ll be strong
‘Cause it just ain’t my cross to bear
Yes now baby

But in the end, baby
Long towards the end of your road
Don’t reach out for me, babe
‘Cause I’m not gonna carry your load
But I’ll live on and I’ll be strong
‘Cause it just ain’t my cross to bear
Yeah, yeah
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah

Star Trek – Metamorphosis

★★★★★ November 10, 1967 Season 2 Episode 9

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 Gene L. Coon

One of my top episodes of Star Trek. This one was directed by Ralph Senensky. I’ve mentioned Ralph before… he will be 100 years old on May 1st of this year. He has a website and still posts about his adventures in directing many episodes of Star Trek and so many other shows including The Twilight Zone, The Waltons, Mission Impossible, and too many to mention. Please visit his site…he has a lot of fun stories about each episode he directed. 

This one has everything you could want from a Star Trek episode. Great acting, writing, and even romance. 

Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy are traveling with Commissioner Hedford, trying to get her back to the Enterprise so that they can hopefully cure her of a rare and deadly disease that she has. They are pulled down to a planet. They meet Zefram Cochrane, who supposedly died 150 years ago.

Star Trek - Metamorphosis B

He tells them that he had been out in space because he had gotten old and his wish was to die in space. However, he and his ship had been brought down to the planet just as they were. An alien entity he calls the companion was responsible for this as well as for rejuvenating him and making him back to around the age of 35. This companion has been able to keep him healthy, well, and at the same age for all these years.

They find a way to have a direct conversation with the companion. Spock is wanting to spend time asking the companion questions so that they can learn more about it. It is a very different species and part of their mission is to find new species and learn about them. I concur with Spock on this. Of course, because they made an error when writing this and made it so that the companion cannot heal the commissioner, Kirk stops Spock from asking the questions, pointing out that they need to hurry and try to get the companion to let them go so that they can get to the Enterprise, hopefully in time, to heal the commissioner.

Strong performances from Glenn Corbett and Elinor Donahue help raise this episode to classic status. A touching love story between a man isolated on a planet by himself, and a caring, alien life form he refers to as ” the Companion” is a thoughtful and moving story.

From IMDB:

A few scenes featuring Elinor Donahue had to be re-shot, because the original film negatives were damaged and couldn’t be used. Portions of the planet set had to be rebuilt, since other episodes were shot there by that time, using different sets. Meanwhile, Donahue got pneumonia and lost ten pounds. To hide this, they put Hedford’s scarf around her neck and upper body. However, her weight loss is still visible on her face. The re-shots were not directed by Ralph Senensky.

This is the first story to feature Zefram Cochrane, inventor of warp drive technology and an important figure in Federation history. He would later re-appear in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Enterprise: Broken Bow, Part 1 (2001), played by James Cromwell.

A view of the starship from dead center in front of the saucer section is used only in this episode.

This is the only episode in the first two seasons in which Captain Kirk is not on the Enterprise at any time during the plot. Likewise, the Enterprise does not appear until twenty-seven minutes into the episode. In four third season shows, Kirk also spends the entire episode off-ship: Star Trek: The Paradise Syndrome (1968), Star Trek: Plato’s Stepchildren (1968), Star Trek: Whom Gods Destroy (1969), and Star Trek: All Our Yesterdays (1969).

The scenes of Cochrane communicating with the Companion were all shot at one time. The set was then completely redone with his house added for all of the sequences with Kirk and company. The inconsistencies between the two versions of the same set can be seen in alien trees that are near Cochrane in one view and absent in the next.

To give an illusion of open space to a confined stage set, wide angle lenses were used. Although Glenn Corbett appears to be hundreds of yards away when he first runs toward the shuttle, he is much closer. Strategically placed rocks also allowed the camera to be very far away without seeing the edges of the set.

In the first draft, the Enterprise is temporarily commanded by Sulu, and the helmsman is an officer with an African background, named Lieutenant Ackrumba. The character later appeared in the novel “Mission to Horatius” by Mack Reynolds.

In the first draft script, Scotty is also on board the shuttlecraft (here called the Edison) with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Hedford. It was originally he who was to encounter the Companion while attempting to repair the shuttlecraft.

In a rare effect, slowly moving “clouds” were blown in from hidden vents, adding a touch of reality to the usually static planet set. This was also used in Star Trek: Obsession (1967).

George Takei disappears from the cast for the next 9 episodes after this one as he was off filming The Green Berets (1968) at the time.

Elinor Donahue recalled about this episode, “I remember watching it at home. And I am quite often nervous about watching something I’m in because there is nothing you can do about it once it’s out there. But I was very pleased with it; very happy.”

This was George Duning’s first Star Trek score, the strength of which got him rehired for many more assignments, including Star Trek: Patterns of Force (1968), Star Trek: Return to Tomorrow (1968), Star Trek: And the Children Shall Lead (1968), Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968), and Star Trek: The Empath (1968). Portions of the score were reheard throughout the season, but the love themes were reused only once more, in Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion (1968).

Ralph Senensky named this episode as his favorite among those he directed. Senensky recalled, praising the work of Gene L. Coon, “I just thought the script was absolutely wonderful. As I remember Gene, he was the least author-y type of person. He just didn’t seem like an author. He didn’t present that kind of sensitivity that his writing had expressed. It was just a deep, deep script and scene after scene had so many angles to come at it from. It was a complex script.”

The sparkling effects of the Companion would be reused in Star Trek: The Apple (1967) when the Enterprise fires phasers at Vaal, and again in Star Trek: Obsession (1967) inside of the deadly vampire cloud.

All the footage of the shuttlecraft in outer space was reused from Star Trek: The Galileo Seven (1967), some with the Companion animation added in post-production.

Technically, Zefram Cochran is 237 years old (87 plus the 150 years the Companion kept him young.)

When Kirk asks Cochrane for his first name, he replies, “Zefram”. Kirk then asks him if he is from Alpha Centauri and the inventor of the “space warp”. Cochrane then confirms he is. Yet in the movie Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Zefram Cochrane is from Earth. However, having invented the warp drive, it is conceivable that he went there and took up residence. It is possible he left to “die in space” from there. Therefore, he could be described as “from Alpha Centauri.”

A Gold Key Comics comic book was released as a sequel to this episode, #49: “A Warp in Space”.

The original voice of the Companion was too emotionless and robotic, and all of her dialog had to be re-recorded by another actress (apparently Elizabeth Rogers).

The Companion was designed by Richard Edlund at Westheimer photographic effects company.

Summary

While transporting ailing Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford to the Enterprise aboard a shuttlecraft, Captain Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy encounter a gaseous creature that forcibly takes them to a planet with only one human inhabitant. The man turns out to be Zephram Cochrane, the inventor of the warp drive who supposedly died 150 years ago at the ripe old age of 87. The creature, whom he calls the Companion, found and brought him to the planet where it rejuvenated him and kept him alive. They can communicate but only on a non-verbal, empathic level, (which unintentionally lead to the shuttlecraft’s abduction when the man conveyed to it his loneliness). As Commissioner Hedford’s condition rapidly deteriorates, they need to free themselves to get her back to the Enterprise before it’s too late.

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. McCoy
Glenn Corbett … Zefram Cochrane
Elinor Donahue … Nancy Hedford
James Doohan … Scott
George Takei … Sulu
Nichelle Nichols … Uhura
Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited)
Lisabeth Hush … The Companion (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)

Beatles – Good Morning Good Morning

Somebody needs to know the time, glad that I’m here
Watching the skirts you start to flirt now you’re in gear

I was 10 when I bought Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band…10 years after it was released. It came with the same cutouts as it did in 1967. I remember taking hours and looking over the album cover. You would find faces you didn’t see before and I remember spotting Stuart Sutcliffe, the former Beatles bassist and the man who was most responsible for coming up with the band’s name.

Here is Stuart (left) on the cover and the picture they took it from. 

Stuart Sutcliffe on Sgt Pepper

The Cutout page that came with Sgt Pepper. 

Sgt Pepper Cutouts

The song started out with a rooster crowing and ends with a chicken clucking. Good Morning Good Morning was inspired by a Corn Flake commercial. Lennon would always leave the TV on and sometimes with the volume turned down. He saw an ad for Corn Flakes and the song came to him. “Good Morning Good Morning…the best to you each morning.” I’ll have the video at the bottom of the post.

As a youngster, I enjoyed this song and Lovely Rita. The only song that was hard for me to grasp on the album was Within You Without You…because it was so different. In time, it became one of my favorites on the album.

I love the horns in this song and McCartneys stinging guitar solo in this one. Ringo’s drumming also stands out on this track…the sound and the playing are outstanding. His cymbols sound like a steam engine with the compression they ran on them.

This song is one of the most technically challenging songs they wrote. It was highly aggressive and complex, with a loud french horn, animal noises, pounding drums, strong vocals, and a large amount of intricate strumming guitars. The time signature to this song is all over the place…3/4, 5/4, 4/4, 12/8… but the song doesn’t sound forced or disjointed. This track is an example of how great Ringo is as a drummer. This and his work on A Day In The Life. He had to play in many different styles because John, Paul, and George wrote so many different styles of songs.

One of the most interesting things about the song is the end of it. Various animal sounds are put together but they had a purpose. The animal sounds were dubbed in from a sound effects disc. They were arranged in order of creatures capable of eating or chasing the one before, at Lennon’s request. And at the very end…was a very cool effect. A clucking chicken suddenly turns into a guitar lick when it melts into Sgt Pepper’s Reprise.

Six brass players were involved in this session, three saxophonists, two trombonists, and one French horn player. George Martin was excellent at mixing horns with Beatle songs. Got To Get You Into My Life is another example of that. They are not regulated to the background like other songs. They are upfront and have a fat sound to them.

This song was also the first song The Beatles ever licensed, while they were together, to be used in a show. It was in the last Monkees episode (“The Frodis Caper”) which was totally surreal…not like the formula driven episodes of the first season. It was kinda like The Simpsons meet Green Acres.

John Lennon: “I often sit at the piano, working at songs, with the telly on low in the background, if I’m a bit low and not getting much done, then the words on the telly come through. That’s when I heard ‘Good morning, good morning.’ It was a corn flakes advertisement. I was never proud of it. I just knocked it off to do a song.”

Paul McCartney: “John was feeling trapped in suburbia and was going through some problems with Cynthia, it was about his boring life at the time. There’s a reference in the lyrics to ‘nothing to do’ and ‘meet the wife’; there was an afternoon TV soap called ‘Meet The Wife’ that John watched, he was that bored, but I think he was also starting to get alarm bells and so ‘Good morning, good morning.’”

Micky Dolenz (drummer for the Monkees): “And I’ll never forget it.  John Lennon looks up at me and says, ‘Hey Monkee Man!…You want to hear what we’re working on?’…And he points up to George Martin and I remember this so clearly…He’s wearing a three-piece suit…and he pushes a button on a four-track tape recorder and I hear the tracks to ‘Good Morning Good Morning.’…And then we sit around and then I remember some guy with a white coat and tie came in with tea…’Tea time, eh!’ And we sat around a little table and had really God-awful tea. And then everybody sat around and then we were chatting – ‘What’s it like, The Monkees?,’ me again trying to be so cool. And then I think it was John that went, ‘Right lads, down in the mines.’ And they went back to work.” .

Sgt Pepper

Just in case you wanted to know who was who on the cover. 

Sgt Pepper Cover who is who

This is the commercial that inspired John Lennon

I couldn’t find a version of Good Morning Good Morning going into the Sgt Pepper Reprise. You have to listen to the end of Good Morning and the beginning of the Reprise to hear it. The album of course plays them together…there is no space between the songs. 

Good Morning Good Morning

Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in
Nothing to say but what a day how’s your boy been
Nothing to do it’s up to you
I’ve got nothing to say but it’s okay
Good morning, good morning

Going to work don’t want to go feeling low down
Heading for home you start to roam then you’re in town
Everybody knows there’s nothing doing
Everything is closed it’s like a ruin
Everyone you see is half asleep
And you’re on your own you’re in the street
Good morning, good morning

After a while you start to smile now you feel cool
Then you decide to take a walk by the old school
Nothing has changed it’s still the same
I’ve got nothing to say but it’s okay
Good morning, good morning

People running round it’s five o’clock
Everywhere in town is getting dark
Everyone you see is full of life
It’s time for tea and meet the wife
Somebody needs to know the time, glad that I’m here
Watching the skirts you start to flirt now you’re in gear
Go to a show you hope she goes
I’ve got nothing to say but it’s okay
Good morning, good morning

cat, dogs barking, horses, sheep, lions, elephants, a fox being chased by dogs with hunters’ horns being blown, then a cow and finally a hen.

Star Trek – I, Mudd

★★★1/2 November 3, 1967 Season 2 Episode 8

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, Stephen Kandel, and David Gerrold

It’s a comic turn for guest star Roger C. Carmel. This was Carmel’s second appearance as Harry Mudd, a futuristic enterprising con man and he thinks he’s found heaven. I think this sequel was better than the one that Carmel did originally, Mudd’s Women. 

Star Trek - I Mudd B

 In an attempt to get revenge on the Enterprise, he plans on having a planet of robots take the entire crew prisoner in order to serve them–whether they want it or not. The robots feel that the human race is very chaotic and must have the robots run their lives for their own good (they might just be on to something here). So, thousands of robots are ready, willing, and able to cater to humans’ every need. That reminds me of computers and cell phones. 

Star Trek - I Mudd C

My favorite scene was with Chekov. Chekov contemplates being with two such androids as he realizes they were programmed by a man as depraved as Mudd. The look on his face is priceless. 

The resolution here is a bit corny (plus it was used before) but the concepts brought up are undeniably fascinating and really do the Mudd character justice. The entire crew has to act illogically and even Spock joins in on the fun. 

It’s not a great episode but is a humorous one. Like I said before…I do think it’s much better than the first one with the Mudd character. The ending is poetic justice also with Mudd. 

Gene Roddenberry really liked the character. Carmel was slated to reprise his role as Harry Mudd in a first-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but died before filming started. He was in the 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series in the episode of Mudd’s Passion. The animated series of Star Trek with the original cast is worth tracking down! 

The character Harry Mudd returned to Star Trek Discovery played by Rainn Wilson from The Office. He was in two episodes in the first season…the 1st Choose Your Pain (2017) and Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad (2017). He also appeared as Mudd again in “The Escape Artist” in Star Trek Short Treks released in 2019. 

Rainn Wilson: I read about it in the paper that they were going to reboot Star Trek at CBS/Paramount. Bryan Fuller was the original creator [of Star Trek: Discovery] and I met with Bryan and some other folks. I said, “Hey, just so you know, I want to throw my hat in the ring.” I love Star Trek. I’d love to be a part of this somehow. I don’t know what that looks like. I’m not sure I want to move to Toronto for years. I’m not sure I want to sit in a chair and get makeup put on for two hours every morning. Because that’s brutal, what Doug [Jones] does, but it’s amazing. And then I didn’t hear anything and things came and went, and up and down. And and then, fortunately, they gave a call, “What about Harry Mudd?” It was fantasic!

From IMDB:

During the filming, casting director Joseph D’Agosta was in a panic because he needed at least two female identical twins and couldn’t find any suitable for the show. Then one night while driving home he saw Alyce Andrece and Rhae Andrece walking down a street. D’Agosta literally pulled up beside them, jumped out of his car and told them that they were going to be on television! (In some tellings of the story Gene Rodenberry is substituted for D’Agosta, but Steven Whitfield’s “The Making Of Star Trek” confirms it was D’Agosta.)

A third-season appearance of Harry Mudd was planned but axed due to the producers’ desire to move away from comedy episodes. However, Roger C. Carmel would reprise the role of Mudd as a cartoon voice in Star Trek: The Animated Series: Mudd’s Passion (1973). Mudd was considered for a return during the Star Trek movies in the 1980s, but Carmel’s failing health nixed that.

This was Roger C. Carmel’s favorite Star Trek episode.

With the exception of those actors who played members of the Enterprise crew, Roger C. Carmel was the only actor to play the same character in more than one episode of Star Trek the Original Series.

According to Walter Koenig, NBC considered making a Harry Mudd spin-off show after the success of “I, Mudd.” They assigned Gene Roddenberry to develop the idea, but being busy with Star Trek and other projects, he didn’t have time for it, and the series was never conceived.

David Gerrold did an uncredited rewrite on this episode. One of the significant changes he made, at Gene L. Coon’s request, was to get the crew on to the planet by the end of the first act. Other notable contributions were the gag of the five hundred identical female robots, and more material relating to Stella. Coon offered to submit the script for arbitration so that Gerrold would receive credit and residuals. However, Gerrold declined as he felt it would be stealing from Stephen Kandel, who had created Harry Mudd.

Using identical twins for each android “series” aided the photographic-effects budget for the episode. With imaginative use of twins and split screens, as many as six of one model were shown at once, while two of the same model required nothing but an additional costume. This ultimately gave the illusion of a planet of thousands of androids.

This episode marks George Takei’s last appearance in the series until Star Trek: Return to Tomorrow (1968). During his nine episode absence, Takei was on the East Coast filming The Green Berets (1968).

The first draft of the script devoted more attention to Norman’s act of diverting the Enterprise to Mudd, with the crew only arriving at the end of the second act. After an examination revealed Norman as an android, Scotty expressed an urge to take Norman apart – quickly adding that it was “nothing personal.” Norman understood.

While searching for identical twins to play androids, casting director Joseph D’Agosta found two young girls (apparently prostitutes) walking on Hollywood Boulevard with their pet wild cat, Marlon. He brought the two girls to meet producer Gene L. Coon and associate producer Robert H. Justman. While they inspected the girls (who were ultimately deemed unsuitable for the role), Coon had to hold Marlon, which consequently scratched him with its claws and tore his entire shirt.

At approximately 5 minutes and 35 seconds, this episode’s teaser is the longest in the original series.

As a result of its unusual use of several pairs of twins, this episode was featured in an article in TV Guide for the week it aired.

The piece of equipment found in Norman’s lab and workshop would be recycled for future episodes, appearing in the corridors of the Enterprise. Parts of the device that contained the nanopulse laser were later seen in Dr. McCoy’s lab.

The body suits worn by the male androids were later reused on Bele and Lokai in Star Trek: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (1969).

The Maisie series and the Barbara series androids are wearing costumes left over from Star Trek: Mudd’s Women (1966), worn by Karen Steele and Maggie Thrett respectively.

Although ‘I, Claudius’ may be an inspiration for the title, a more likely source is Isaac Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’.

The title, referring to the absurd “king” of the robots, spoofs the 1934 Robert Graves historical novel “I, Claudius,” about the fourth emperor of the Roman Empire, who ruled between Caligula and Nero.

The Trudy series android is wearing a costume worn by an Argelian woman in Star Trek: Wolf in the Fold (1967).

Stella Mudd is wearing a dress (with slight modifications), which was seen on Martha Leighton in Star Trek: The Conscience of the King (1966).

Near the end, Dr. McCoy says, “It’s worked so far, but we’re not out yet.” This line was sampled on the song “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” on Information Society’s titular 1988 album.

Although there are 500 Alice models, we only see fifteen or sixteen. In order of appearance, they are: 1, 2, 66, 99, 19, 263, 118, 322, 471, 210, 27, 11, 3, 73 and 500. The number of the Alice that throws Scott into Kirk’s group is too far away to read (although it does seem to be a double-digit figure.)

The Annabelle series android is wearing the costume originally worn by Marlys Burdette in Star Trek: Wolf in the Fold (1967).

This takes place in 2268.

In his review of this episode in ‘The Star Trek Compendium’, author Allen Asherman states that many of the actors had great difficulty keeping their composure while filming. However, actor Richard Tatro (Norman) had successfully performed his scenes without ever breaking character.

Roger C. Carmel would later voice the G1 Decepticon Stunticon leader Motormaster in the animated series ‘The Transformers’ (1984.)

Summary

When an android takes control of the Enterprise, Kirk and his crew spend four days traveling at warp speed to an uncharted planet. When they beam down they find none other that Harry Mudd, the apparent ruler of the planet made up entirely of androids. It turns out there is one major problem with Harry’s idyllic existence: the androids who serve him hand and foot simply won’t allow him to leave. Kirk and Spock devise a way to disable the androids but have their own special plans for Harry.

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy
Roger C. Carmel … Harry Mudd
Richard Tatro … Norman
Alyce Andrece … Alice #1 through 250
Rhae Andrece … Alice #251 through 500
James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott
Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig … Ensign Pavel Chekov
Kay Elliot … Stella Mudd
Mike Howden … Lt. Rowe
Michael Zaslow … Jordan
Bobby Bass … Android (uncredited)
Bill Blackburn … Android (uncredited)
Marlys Burdette … Female Android (uncredited)
Roger Holloway … Lt. Lemli (uncredited)
Ted LeGarde … Herman Series (uncredited)
Tom LeGarde … Herman Series (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone … Yeoman (uncredited)
Bob Orrison … 1st Engineer (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)
Colleen Thornton … Barbara Series (uncredited)
Maureen Thornton … Barbara Series (uncredited)
Starr Wilson … Maisie Series (uncredited)
Tamara Wilson … Maisie Series (uncredited)

Star Trek – Catspaw

★★★ November 3, 1967 Season 2 Episode 7

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, Robert Bloch, and D.C. Fontana

A black cat, witches, fog, and a spooky castle.

I saw this in a comment elsewhere and it’s true. If you understand the premise of this episode, that the black cat, witches, zombies skeletons, magic, etc. were derived from the aliens’ mistaken interpretation of human nightmares, rather than human reality, then, this episode does make sense.

This 1967 Halloween episode is not just about Trick or Treat – It’s about the clash of two cultures that meet in passing.  It’s about how badly things can go wrong when communication is set aside to make room for personal wants and desires that can become greed.

Star Trek - Catspaw

There is truly a great line in this episode. When the crew faces the 3 witches from Macbeth. When the witches are done reciting their lines, Kirk says to Spock, “Spock . . . comment.”
“Very bad poetry, Captain,” Spock replies to Kirk’s obvious annoyance. I loved that. 

20 Most Cringeworthy Classic Star Trek Moments – Page 8

When they beam down, they see thick fog, 3 witches, an eerie castle, and a black cat entering the castle. They meet Korob and Sylvia, end up in a dungeon, and find that Scotty and Sulu are in a trance of sorts and obeying the will of the two sorcerers.

The sorcerers use their magic against the Enterprise, Bones ends up in a trance-like state while Kirk and Spock try to figure out a way to beat the sorcerers and save their ship and crew. Sylvia becomes very cruel and disputes with Korob. Korob decides to help Kirk and his crew because he feels that Sylvia is going way too far.

This episode is Star Trek Halloween special basically… The crew land on a weird foggy world complete with monsters…

From IMDB:

The voices of the little creatures in the final scene are the sounds made by newly-hatched alligators calling for their mother.

A detailed metal prop miniature of the Enterprise was created for this episode, then laminated in lucite as one of Korob’s tricks. The miniature was donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by Gene Roddenberry.

First appearance of Pavel Chekov, though not the first one broadcast. That honor goes to Star Trek: Amok Time (1967). Notice that Walter Koenig was still growing his hair out and therefore had to wear a rather unconvincing wig.

The title of this episode, “Catspaw”, is a term that describes a person used by another as a dupe. As McCoy points out, Scott and Sulu are used as catspaws to lure more crewmen down.

Fittingly, the episode was first aired during the week of Halloween.

James Doohan (Scotty) lost his right middle finger during World War II. Most of his scenes are shot to hide it; however, it is very noticeable here. When Scotty is holding a phaser pistol on Kirk and Spock, only two fingers are holding the butt of the phaser.

Scotty’s only dialogue is the statement, “Everything’s vanished”. Sulu doesn’t speak at all; he simply nods “yes” and “no” when queried by Kirk, and later cries “aha!” before engaging Kirk in hand-to-hand combat.

This is the first episode to feature all 7 of the “classic” cast members who would be brought back for future big screen adventures: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov, although they do not all appear in the same scene together.

 The three witches seen towards the start of the episode were intended to be shown as floating severed heads. Hence the reaction from the landing party at their appearance. The characters wore black turtlenecks against a black backdrop, with light shining directly up into the face. Unfortunately, the effect did not work and the turtlenecks worn by the actors can clearly be seen. Even in the remastered version of the episode, this oversight is still present.

Theodore Marcuse (Korob) died in a car accident one month after “Catspaw” aired.

Korob and Sylvia refer to their leaders as the Old Ones, and imply that they are close by. Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft referred to the inhuman gods in his short stories as Old Ones; their being “nearby” was standard fare in his writings. Episode author Robert Bloch was a friend and disciple of Lovecraft. A similar reference occurs in Bloch’s Star Trek: What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966).

The ornithoid lifeforms were marionettes composed of blue fluff, pipe cleaners, crab pincers, and other materials. The marionettes were operated with thick, black threads that were clearly visible; most of this was corrected in the remastered version of the episode.

When Gene Roddenberry originally outlined the chain of command, Lt Uhura was fourth in command. One of the reasons Dr Martin Luther King Jr convinced her to continue in the role (which she was considering quitting) was that he thought it was progress for a black woman to have such a prominent role for that time, although he was probably unaware that she was to be fourth in command. In the original script, Lt Uhura was to be in command when Kirk, Spock and Scott were all on any planet, but NBC was against having a female in charge of the Enterprise.

The Three Witches are iconic characters from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a play which inspired frequent allusions throughout this series.

The role of Crewman Jackson was played by regular Trek stuntman Jay Jones. Jones is credited as “Jimmy Jones”, whom some sources believed was Jones’ brother. However, in a 1996 retrospective interview, Jay claimed he played Jackson, as his first assignment on Star Trek, and makes no mention of a brother named Jimmy being involved on the show.

First time Assistant Chief Engineer, Lt. DeSalle was in command of Enterprise. Captain Kirk and second-in-command Mr. Spock beamed down on the planet Pyrus VII to rescue third-in-command Chief Engineer Scotty and fourth-in-command helmsman Sulu, leaving the command to Lt. DeSalle. Lt. DeSalle became fifth officer in charge of Enterprise command. Also, this was the third and last appearance of Lt. DeSalle in the show. He had appeared previously in Star Trek: The Squire of Gothos (1967) and Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967).

 First episode produced for the second season.

This is the first episode in which a scope can be seen at the engineering station on the bridge. The science station scope was slightly altered for this episode; it is of a lighter color than the science scope used in episodes of the first season and has a circular control added to its left side. This dial control, as first seen in this episode, would remain throughout Seasons 2 and 3.

Robert Bloch based this episode very loosely on his own short story “Broomstick Ride”. Bloch also wrote Star Trek: What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966) In both episodes, the “Old Ones” figure into the guest characters’ backstories.

One of the cat’s roars was recycled as the trademark growl for Bowser in various games such as Mario Party (1998) and Mario Golf (1999).

The short scene of crewmen in turtleneck uniforms walking in a corridor during red alert is stock footage from Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966). This marks the last time that these uniforms are worn by Enterprise crewmembers.

This is Sulu’s only non-speaking appearance in the entire series.

This episode marks several changes to the episode credits. From this point on, the episode titles and end credits are in the same typeface as the main title of the series. Directors and writers are credited at the beginning of Act One instead of the end of the last act. DeForest Kelley’s name is added to the opening credits. Also, Gene Roddenberry is credited as series creator in the opening credits.

Several bloopers from this episode can be found in the second season blooper reel.

The robe worn by Theodore Marcuse as “Korob” was previously worn by Bob Denver as “Fairy Godfather” in a dream sequence in Gilligan’s Island: Lovey’s Secret Admirer (1967) ten months before. So either the Trek Wardrobe Department borrowed it, even though the shows were produced by different studios, or they loved the design so much they copied it.

In this episode, DeSalle wears a red engineering tunic, unlike the gold command tunic he wore in Star Trek: The Squire of Gothos (1967) and Star Trek: This Side of Paradise (1967). The character started out as a navigator in the former, then served as a science officer in the latter, ending up as an engineer here.

The blue planet used in this episode as Pyris VII (albeit a darker blue, to illustrate the spookiness of the planet) was reused in subsequent episodes, representing Argelius II in Star Trek: Wolf in the Fold (1967), Sigma Iotia II in Star Trek: A Piece of the Action (1968), Troyius in Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius (1968) and Scalos in Star Trek: Wink of an Eye (1968) which were all lighter blue.

‘Catspaw’ introduces two plot elements that were revisited in stories later in season 2. First, Star Trek: By Any Other Name (1968) explored the theme of extra-galactic aliens taking human form and then becoming inundated with human sensations. Second, Star Trek: Assignment: Earth (1968) revolved around an eccentric man with uncommon powers, who is accompanied by an apparently intelligent black cat which later turns into a black-haired woman.

Body Count: 3, and he isn’t wearing a red shirt, it’s yellow. Given that Scotty, Sulu, and Jackson all beamed down to the planet and that only Jackson was killed, it is unusual that Jackson wasn’t a red shirt, as a red shirt’s life expectancy is typically shorter than a crewman’s who is a gold or blue shirt. The other 2 casualties were not Enterprise crew members at all.

This was the first of two times that Captain Kirk and Spock were cornered by a giant cat. The second was in Star Trek: The Animated Series: Once Upon a Planet (1973).

Spock’s reference to the witches’ “very bad poetry” echoes his earlier remarks about the Air Force’s “poor photography” in Star Trek: Tomorrow Is Yesterday (1967).

 Summary

When Captain Kirk and his landing party arrive on Pyrus VII, they are met by eerie mists, a dark castle, wailing witches, zombies and a black cat. They soon learn that they are under the influence of a wizard, Korob, who tries to bend them to his will. They also soon learn that the black cat they saw is more than she appears and is in fact a powerful witch in her right. This beautiful witch, Sylvia, who wears a diamond pendant on her black dress, explains that they are explorers from another galaxy; however, Kirk and Spock must find a means to escape their grasp before they return to the Enterprise.

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy
Antoinette Bower … Sylvia
Theodore Marcuse … Korob (as Theo Marcuse)
James Doohan … Lieutenant Commander Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott
George Takei … Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
Nichelle Nichols … Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
Walter Koenig … Ensign Pavel Chekov
Michael Barrier … DeSalle (as Mike Barrier)
John Winston … Lieutenant Kyle
Rhodie Cogan … First Witch
Gail Bonney … Second Witch
Maryesther Denver … Third Witch
Jay D. Jones … Crewman Jackson (as Jimmy Jones)
Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone … Yeoman (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)