Fact-Checking Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Harvey, Jun 7, 2013.

  1. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    When was The Ship Who Sang written? Before or after this episode? It was sometime in 1969 IIRC.I wonder if Spock's Brain could have been an influence. Strong females, a rocket like ION ship, etc.
     
  2. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    The answer about The Ship Who Sang.
     
  3. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    I answered this when I first looked it up for confirmation. The original story The Ship Who Sang was written in 1961.
     
  4. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    That's possible. de Forest Research advised the production to change the title on two occasions (the first is quoted below) because of the similarity, but 'Spock's Brain' ultimately stayed.

    And, hey, just for fun, from the same report:

    (It should be noted that notes like this broadly criticizing the premise or even suggesting a title change are very rare in the de Forest Research reports for the series).
     
  5. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Good grief, de Forest Research was really, really overoptimistic about computer technology. The best computers we have today pale next to the complexity of the human brain.
     
  6. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    Well, it was the 1960s, a rather optimistic decade in respect to certain beliefs about where technology was going. I mean, the producers of Star Trek projected it as believably happening only 200 years in the future (although the series was understandably vague about pinning down an exact number).
     
  7. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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  8. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    There are some typos in the entry. Are they <sic>?

    "...Bill is as rapacious an animal as any other leading many in a series..."
    "...as the simple plain lines of our basic costume render most unflattering any extra poundage around the waste."
     
  9. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    One was my typo; the other was from the original. Fixed.
     
  10. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I thought the explanation Cushman had in his book made a lot of sense. That between having to spend all his time learning lines, and the stress of his marriage and home life falling apart, he just didn't have the time or motivation to focus on exercising and keeping the weight off as much.

    Well, that and he clearly likes to eat. :p

    Actually when it comes to the third season, I thought what was more unflattering with his appearance was the shaggier 60s hair and the flat looking toupee he wore that lacked the blonde highlights from before.
     
  11. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    Short post this week, a memo which posters here might be familiar with:

    http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/casting-ideas-for-star-treks-first-pilot.html

    Still working on my review of These Are The Voyages, which will hopefully be done by this weekend, but you never know. I head back to Los Angeles at the end of next week, so expect a hiatus coming up, although I will do my best to write some content ahead of time and schedule it while I'm moving, looking for work, etc.
     
  12. Ssosmcin

    Ssosmcin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Wow, I wish I was as "fat" as Shatner was at that age.
     
  13. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The fine line between continuity and fanwank.
    Great update, Harvey! A few names I haven't seen there.

    Skip Homeier as Kirk? Might have worked.

    Rex Holman would've made a good Vulcan, but not Spock.

    Losira or Nancy Crater as Number One? Fascinating.
     
  14. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    I don't recall seeing Jeanne Bal outside of TOS, but Lee Meriwether would have killed it as Number One if NBC had bought the series from "The Cage."
     
  15. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The fine line between continuity and fanwank.
    Agreed. She was quite the babe, too.
     
  16. Green Shirt

    Green Shirt Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I supposed the definition of "fat" has changed over the years. Or has the increase in obesity made it less noticeable or objectionable?
     
  17. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Eh, I'd say it's gone both ways.

    Leading actors (or people who wanted to be leading actors) were always expected to be in tiptop shape, moreso than the average population. Nowadways, if anything, the obesity is probably more prevalent among the average populcate, and leading actors are expected to be even thinner.
     
  18. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Has it really? If anything, it's gotten even worse, at least for women. An average, fit female physique is considered overweight by the standards of Hollywood and fashion magazines.
     
  19. trevanian

    trevanian Rear Admiral

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    There's still a huge double standard at work. Nathan Fillion is on his way to Riker-like bloat-sizing on CASTLE, but there's no way his co-star could keep working if anything like that befell her.

    One more reason to like British programming is that to no small degree, the females actually look normal in size, which, assuming you're not playing a contemporary movie star or an anorexic or an anorexic-wannabe, actually makes sense.

    If you can find pictures of Christina Hendricks from before MAD MEN but after FIREFLY, you'll see she was on a short-lived series that had her dieted down to ridiculous proportions, given her endowments. It's a grand fluke she wound up on a show that lets her celebrate nature instead of try to disavow it.
     
  20. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    As mentioned in this thread, I am moving to LA, so my blog will be on hiatus for a bit while I do that (and look for a job). I take off Thursday night, and won't be around a computer much for a few weeks after that.

    http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-temporary-hiatus.html

    The good news is that I've written some content and scheduled it to post ahead of time. If people have other things that they want me to write about (and I'll be in LA, so getting to the files at UCLA and elsewhere will be easier) leave a comment here or on my blog about it, and I'll try and get to them.