What if TOS Season 1 was filmed in Black and White?
- Thread starter TheSubCommander
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Also, the age-old story is that Spock was originally going to have a red complexion, but that make-up made him look dark-skinned when viewed in b&w. When they were picking out the colors of everything, if it didn't look good in b&w they nixed it.
Survive? It would still depend on audience response.. The 1st seasons of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea & Lost in Space were in B&W, both--renewed for additional (color) seasons, so it is possible ST would fare at least as well as the other sci-fi series.
The only problem is perception of concept. By that I mean Star Trek--from the start--was such a daring, big gamble...so image conscious that color was a necessity. Voyage and Lost in Space were broad, imaginative sci-fi adventures, but their overall approach and design was not as dependent on the power of color.
If you have ever watched the partial B&W print of "The Cage," you would see how much visual information--designed to exploit color--is lost. While one might argue that the B&W pilot can be fairly judged, since most ST fans were well familiar with the color scenes used in "The Menagerie," I think the comparison presses the idea of ST being best served by color.
I watched Trek reruns through most of the 70s on a 19" b&w portable similar to this one, on a rolling stand. This explains why all of my Trek models were painted to match the box art, and not the actual colors.
The color console in the living room was monopolized by my dad. Being the oldest of the kids, I was usually lucky enough to get the prime spot on the floor in front of the tv. In that case, I was the designated "remote control."
The color console in the living room was monopolized by my dad. Being the oldest of the kids, I was usually lucky enough to get the prime spot on the floor in front of the tv. In that case, I was the designated "remote control."
BTW thanks for using the spelling "gray", rather than "grey".
Don't mention it!
It's not easy being gray.
Our color set bought in 1965 started acting up about 5 years later and we never got it repaired. Apparently the blue gun went out, because everything was mostly red with some green, even if it was broadcast in black and white. I think we went back to the old B&W Admiral 19" portable.
Hard for me to imagine it as B/W. I was only 3 when it came out but in the 70s syndication I was hooked. Not sure how much b/w would have made me not want to watch at that time. I admit liking shows like Lost in Space and Wild Wild West in their b/w runs but that is more because the stories are grittier and honestly better.
I think he meant the b/w episodes of LOST IN SPACE were better than the color ones, not that they were better than Trek.
I grew up watching TOS in black and white, since my family was way behind the curve in getting color TV (I don't think we got one until 1980 or so). The only times I ever saw it in color were at a friend's house or on vacation, and it was striking when I did see it in color. Seeing "The Immunity Syndrome" in color for the first time on a hotel TV was a revelation.
I grew up with b/w too. I don't remember being struck by its color. I remember being surprised at the end of commercials trying to get you to mail or call to buy something and those final screens with information were all colorful. I had just never thought of that.
I hope you're right, because I would agree with that up to a point. I started getting disappointed with Lost in Space around the 13th episode, when stories started focusing more on Smith. I was mostly watching for the hardware anyway, and especially liked when it appeared that the Jupiter 2 filming miniature showed up as a set prop in an episode. I still watched the show when I could though, but it aired on a church night. I liked their serial-style "To be continued next week" cliffhangers.
Occasionally I still watch TOS season one episodes in black and white. Shut off the color, it's possible. 
It holds up very well in that format and makes it seem a lot more Twilight Zoney. I'm not sure that carries over well with the later season episodes, but for at least the first half of season one it does.
It holds up very well in that format and makes it seem a lot more Twilight Zoney. I'm not sure that carries over well with the later season episodes, but for at least the first half of season one it does.
This makes a lot of sense to me. The sets are very grey, the costumes aren't as bright, and even the ship is a less bright (without the glowing nacelle caps). "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is similarly muted.
Once Jerry Finnerman came onboard and starting splashing color on all the sets, the brighter costumes were introduced, etc., the show really went from being in color to being in color.
Back before home video was common, some fans would record the soundtracks of episodes on audio tape. Once, in high school, I came upon a group of students listening to a cassette recording of a TOS episode. To my embarrassment, it took me a while to figure out that it was "Miri." But then, I hate that episode, so I didn't watch it that often.
(Doctor Who fans in the UK did the same thing, which proved invaluable when many early episodes were erased by the BBC. There are a number of stories that only survive through their soundtracks as recorded by fans.)
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