Improve the Third Season

[Jonas Grumby]

ssosmcin wrote:

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You mean ask him to not take a contract job at Universal? Because that's the only reason he couldn't use his real name in any third season Trek episode, or put any significant time into Trek scripts.

Ah, I didn't know about that contract conflict. I had just figured "Lee Cronin" was Coon's version of Harlan Ellison's "Cordwainer Bird."

That being the case, though, maybe it was his not being able to "put any significant time into Trek scripts" that accounts for "Spock's Brain."

[ssosmcin]

Spock's Brain is a workable premise and some rewriting could have saved it. Rather than remove his actual brain, his intellect could have been stolen, sealed in a portable receptacle, leaving the physical brain behind (like Star Trek III and his Katra). Then figuring out how to return his intelligence would be the issue and no real super-surgery would be required. Keep zombie Spock on the ship until necessary. Or have Kara just take his entire body (lock Spock and barrel) and then remove his intelligence on the planet. They find Spock, but the shock ending of the act is that he is mindless. Turn the women into more intelligent people who desperately needed Spock's mind to save their fragmented civilization and this may have been a real winner. None of these changes would have cost more money and might have even led to a great season opener.

[Harvey]

ssosmcin wrote:

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Arthur Singer was going to be hired anyway. According to his book, Bob Justman had him at the top of the list for third season Story Editor.

Interesting. Thanks for the correction. No matter how many times I read that book there's always a piece of information or two that slips from my memory.

[ssosmcin]

I reread it all the time, usually over meals. I also pick up more stuff each time, it's a hell of a reference. It really puts the third season ito perspective and hopefully lifts a little of the dark cloud off Fred Freiberger. For all his faults as a producer, I think he did the best he could.

[Harvey]

I think Freiberger made some mistakes, but he's been unfairly demonized. It's too bad he couldn't contribute to the book, though. Since Herb Solow left near the end of season two, and Bob Justman left half-way through the third season, the picture of that last year it presents isn't as detailed as the book's description of seasons 1 and 2 (as well as both pilots).

[AtoZ]

The 3rd season wasn't nearly as bad as some have made out. To me it easily - EASILY - beats out some of the other spin of series, let alone the vast majority of whats on TV today.

That all aside, my "improvements" may be akin to splitting hairs:

- have Shatner return to his shorter, better kept season one haircut

- that they never would have made Plato's Stepchildren

- that the money saved from not having made Plato's Stepchildren could have been used to create a few key, truly Romulan ship interior sets for The Enterprise Incident

- that they would have replaced The Mark of Gideon with a follow-up to The Enterprise Incident, this time reusing those newly made Romulan ship interior sets and giving us something more interesting AND plausible

- keep Scotty fully in character for The Lights of Zetar, yet tweak the story so that it has both depth and character development

- have a more realistic and better time lead-in to McCoy's health resolution on For the World is Hollow....and maybe make his separation from his new wife (a Rocket Lady) a little more realistic

- find a way to keep Eddie Paskey on the show, maybe kill him off in Wink of an Eye instead of/or as Compton, and bring him back again a week or two later.

[Harvey]

I thought Paskey retired from the show because of health problems?

It was during the third year of the series that Eddie decided it was time to retire from Star Trek. He had been having cluster headaches that were further aggravated by the set lighting. In a scene in which he received a "Spock pinch" and was thrown against a railing, he felt his back go out. At this point, Eddie knew he could no longer handle the job's activities.

Link.

[ssosmcin]

Harvey wrote:

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I think Freiberger made some mistakes, but he's been unfairly demonized. It's too bad he couldn't contribute to the book, though. Since Herb Solow left near the end of season two, and Bob Justman left half-way through the third season, the picture of that last year it presents isn't as detailed as the book's description of seasons 1 and 2 (as well as both pilots).

I agree, I would have loved to have read his detailed insight on doin gthe series. Would have also loved to have met the man. By all accounts, whatever one thought of him on the job, he was a hell of a nice guy.

[ssosmcin]

AtoZ wrote:

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- that they never would have made Plato's Stepchildren

- that the money saved from not having made Plato's Stepchildren could have been used to create a few key, truly Romulan ship interior sets for The Enterprise Incident

But what would have relpaced the episode they never made? Now they'd be one short. They had an episode commitment to keep and something has to fill the whole in the schedule.

[Warped9]

From my revisit:

Warped9 wrote:

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In the end Season 3 isn't as bad as what seems to be the generally held perspective. At least half of the episodes are respectable and if you include the watchable ones as well that's three quarters of the season is at least acceptable. That is still a damned good batting average...

It's also interesting that Season 3's budget constraints didn't really make itself apparent as often as might be believed. Even under budgetary constraints quite a few episodes still put on a good show. And there was sufficiently abundant creativity and resourcefulness apparent throughout much of the season.

Where Season 3 fell down was in terms of careless thinking and careless execution. Things went south when ideas weren't thought through enough and the general execution felt rushed just to get the show in the can. A little more attention and overall polish could have gone a long way.

[gottacook]

AtoZ wrote:

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- have Shatner return to his shorter, better kept season one haircut...

But 1968 was not 1966. The actors in virtually any TV series that encompassed both years would have longer hair in 1968. Neither Shatner nor the behind-the-scenes staff would have seen anything wrong with Kirk having longer hair too; note also that the one "futuristic" element of the men's hairstyles on the show (the pointed sideburns) also became longer and bushier in the third season. At least Spock's hair wasn't longer...

[Anji]

The only thing that really bugs me about the Freiberger years is there was too much damn sex. Everybody was kissing everybody else! It was the same thing he did to Space:1999 which would've been a lot better if the women were actual characters and not somebody's girlfriend.

"Turnabout Intruder" did not portray women in an accurate light (to put it kindly) and I almost gave up on Star Trek after watching that one.

[AtoZ]

Harvey wrote:

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I thought Paskey retired from the show because of health problems?

Link.

Of course, you are right, but I simply had to post it. It was a happier Star Trek for me seeing Eddie lurking about in the background.

[AtoZ]

ssosmcin wrote:

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But what would have relpaced the episode they never made? Now they'd be one short. They had an episode commitment to keep and something has to fill the whole in the schedule.

No doubt they would have been one short, and for that alone my vision comes off as imperfect, but where that episode is concerned.....I always feel like I need to apologize for it.

[AtoZ]

gottacook wrote:

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But 1968 was not 1966. The actors in virtually any TV series that encompassed both years would have longer hair in 1968. Neither Shatner nor the behind-the-scenes staff would have seen anything wrong with Kirk having longer hair too; note also that the one "futuristic" element of the men's hairstyles on the show (the pointed sideburns) also became longer and bushier in the third season. At least Spock's hair wasn't longer...

Of course, you are correct.

Hey, the glass is of course half full. At least he didn't do a "Robert Reed".