questions about Star Trek scripts

[Extrocomp]

I've decided to post this here, since scripts sort of maybe almost count as literature.

While there are some Star Trek scripts for sale on eBay and Amazon, they are much less common than other books and many scripts are not listed at all. Does anyone know high the print run is for scripts? Is it different for first drafts and final drafts? The scripts that I've been able to read are all missing copyright notices, which suggests they were never meant to be released to the public. So how did so many of them get into circulation? I've heard about a company called Lincoln Enterprises that sold scripts in the 60s and 70s, but I don't know where the later scripts came from.

 

[tomswift2002]

Lincoln Enterprises is actually the Roddenberry company, and I believe that they have had the rights to sell copies since the 60's.

Otherwise the only other official source that I know of are the 2 "Star Trek Scriptbooks", one having all the Q scripts from TNG, DS9 and Voyager (except "Q2", which aired about a year after the book was out). The second one focused on Seven of Nine.

Then in 1999 Simon & Schuster Interactive released the TNG & DS9 Companion CD-ROM's that contained the first draft scripts for all the episodes and allowed people to print them off.

Also around the same time, "Star Trek Phase II" by Judith & Garfied Reeves-Stevens was published and contained the original Phase II Scripts for what became "Star Trek The Motion Picture" and TNG's "The Devil's Due".

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Lincoln Enterprises was active through at least the late 1990s, with Majel presiding over the Lincoln table at most major conventions practically until her death, and I have no reason to believe it is not still active. I personally have a TNG Writers' Technical Manual, a DS9 script, and several TNG scripts, including an autographed ("Jim, it's only a dream -- Brannon Braga") copy of "Phantasms."

 

[Dayton Ward]

Lincoln Enterprises morphed over time into what is now Roddenberry.com. They used to offer scripts for the TV shows for sale directly off their website (including some fancy-dancy versions that went for something like $20 a pop). Now, however, it appears they only have the scripts for the first ten movies.

https://shop.roddenberry.com/collections/comics-print/scripts

 

[Tenacity]

Does anyone know high the print run is for scripts?

For the original scripts from the show there would have been one for each of the actors with speaking roles, plus the director and a few more for other behind the camera production people.

I would imagine the scripts assigned to a particular actor (their name on it) would be more valuable than a simple print out. Actor's scripts might have hand written notes in the margins.

 

[Extrocomp]

According to Memory Alpha's Lincoln Enterprises article, Star Trek scripts had a print run that was far beyond the requirements needed by production staff, so that Lincoln Enterprises could make a business selling them. I don't know if that applies to the first drafts or just the final drafts. I also don't know if Lincoln Enterprises continued making new copies of old scripts after the shows ended.

 

[feek61]

They started in the beginning of the series printing around 130 copies. I have read that as the series went on the print order increased.

 

[Christopher]

I also don't know if Lincoln Enterprises continued making new copies of old scripts after the shows ended.

They must have, since they were still selling script copies well into the '80s or '90s.

 

[Extrocomp]

I wonder why they're only selling the scripts for the first 10 movies now. If they're allowed to make new copies of TV scripts, then they should never run out of stock.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I wonder why they're only selling the scripts for the first 10 movies now. If they're allowed to make new copies of TV scripts, then they should never run out of stock.

Lincoln Enterprises was a sketchy operation -- it was set up as a way for Roddenberry to profit on Star Trek without getting entangled in his divorce from his first wife -- and selling scripts was perhaps one the sketchiest things they did. The problem with selling scripts as they did is that they had no right to do so; various Writers Guild agreements reserved that right to the writers themselves. Essentially, then, Lincoln was selling something that someone else had the exclusive right to sell, and then pocketing the money that was never theirs to begin with. Eventually, the WGA and Lincoln came to an agreement over selling scripts and cutting the original writers in. It's possible that agreement has expired, which is why they're no longer selling the scripts.

 

[Therin of Andor]

There was an official series of "Premiere" script books in 1994 for ST II, III, IV, V and VI, with textured red covers and diecut holes in the front, allowing the movie poster art to show through. Edited by John H. Richardson. TMP wasn't able to be included because these books came out during one of the court challenges to the Roddenberry Estate.
http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/MSL.php

Roddenberry.com was supposed to be releasing all the TV scripts as bound print-on-demand Cafe Press books for the 40th anniversary. I only got the first one, for "The Cage", which had "Captain Winter" throughout, rather than April or Pike. I had assumed more came out, but perhaps not?
http://movieweb.com/star-trek-original-tv-scripts-to-be-published/

 

[Daddy Todd]

Roddenberry.com was supposed to be releasing all the TV scripts as bound print-on-demand Cafe Press books for the 40th anniversary. I only got the first one, for "The Cage", which had "Captain Winter" throughout, rather than April or Pike. I had assumed more came out, but perhaps not?
http://movieweb.com/star-trek-original-tv-scripts-to-be-published/

They did indeed come out. I bought the whole series (I was buying the Babylon 5 script books at the time, so it was pretty easy to justify the TOS series.) I was hoping they'd do the TAS scripts as well, but I don't think they ever did.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I was hoping they'd do the TAS scripts as well, but I don't think they ever did.

IIRC, as part of the promotions leading up to "The Roddenberry Vault", an unfilmed TAS script was posted to the site.

 

[Extrocomp]

I'm becoming interested in collecting scripts, but I can't seem to find much information about them anywhere. Does anyone know where I can find a list of Lincoln Enterprises' old catalogs? I want to find out which scripts have been sold to the public and which haven't, so I'll know how much there is to collect.

I've learned that Lincoln Enterprises started selling TOS scripts in 1969. Their Catalog 1 offered TOS Season 1 scripts (final drafts), TOS Season 2 scripts (final drafts) and TOS Seasons 3 scripts (first drafts and final drafts).

I've also learned that they started selling TAS scripts in 1974. Their Catalog 5 offered all TAS scripts (first drafts and final drafts).

Does anyone know in what year they started selling Phase II, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT scripts?
And is it possible to tell the different between real scripts and bootlegs?

 

[Extrocomp]

Well, I'm 48 and regularly received all the Lincoln Enterprises catalogues from 1980 onwards and I never saw "Phase II" scripts (apart from "In Thy Image", of course) listed for purchase.

I found this post in an old thread. Do you still have those catalogues, Therin?

 

[Therin of Andor]

I found this post in an old thread. Do you still have those catalogues, Therin?

Sadly no. I did buy up someone's second hand one a few years ago. It's... somewhere.

Here's the ad for Lincoln Enterprise's tribbles...


Tribbles from Lincoln Enterprises catalogue, 1981 by Ian McLean, on Flickr

Does anyone know in what year they started selling Phase II, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT scripts?
And is it possible to tell the different between real scripts and bootlegs?

I know that Lincoln Enterprises sold a "subscription service" for the set of all Season 1 TNG scripts: mine arrived in Australia all at once, complete with a canvas US mailbag! This wasn't that long after the season ended. (Note the Seal of the United Federation of Planets, from the "Peel-Off Graphics Book" by Lee Cole, on my front door.)


Lincoln Enterprises sent me a sack of scripts by Ian McLean, on Flickr

Not long after this, the Writers' Guild made some kind of investigation into the missing royalties for all the scriptwriters, and there were no more TNG scripts. I doubt that any other TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT scripts were ever sold by Lincoln. When then evolved into Roddenberry.com, it may have been different.

 

[Extrocomp]

I sent a message to Roddenberry.com and they replied "we don’t have exact dates on what was released then but we used to offer up all the scripts within each of the Star Trek series".

 

[Therin of Andor]

I sent a message to Roddenberry.com and they replied "we don’t have exact dates on what was released then but we used to offer up all the scripts within each of the Star Trek series".

Definitely by 1982, Lincoln's catalogues featured scripts for "The Cage", TOS, TAS, "Genesis II", "Planet Earth", "Spectre", "Kung Fu" (a negotiated license with the "Kung Fu" series owners), and even "Pretty Maids All in a Row". Also the 22 storyboards for TAS.

I recall them adding "In Thy Image" and TMP's shooting script, and then ST II (I think) in the early 80s. And, as mentioned above, Season One of TNG scripts were offered in 1988, and were typically sent out as each episode aired. I never saw "Phase II" scripts listed, but am assured that they were offered in the late 70s. Bootlegs of some of the selected "Phase II" scripts were offered by New Eye Studio in the 80s, and their catalogues mentioned a deal whereby fans supplying TV scripts not already on their list could be bartered for others in their unofficial pages (you had to request the available script list separately).

As for telling the difference between bootlegs and studio-used scripts, I believe the Lincoln scripts were printed on the same or similar machine to the originals, essentially official overruns (for TNG), I understand. The New Eye Studio bootlegs were obvious copies of originals, but probably the only source after Lincoln dropped the "Phase II" scripts.

I have held an actual script from "Encounter at Farpoint" in 1988 and it had the rainbow coloured pages typical of motion pictures (and as described for TMP in Susan Sackett's "Making of..." book), but all the scripts sold by Lincoln always had white internal pages. I also bought an authentic DS9 script - direct from the set of "Shadowplay", and signed by the actors - in a charity auction - but it was all white internal pages, much to my disappointment. It hadn't yet aired on TV, so I had a few weeks of bliss knowing a bit about DS9 before other fans. I later secured Susan Sackett's personal copy of "The Child" (TNG), and its internal pages are white, too.

 

[Christopher]

even the "Pretty Maids All in a Row" telemovie.

That was a theatrical feature film -- the only one Gene Roddenberry ever produced besides ST:TMP. After all, it was an R-rated dark sex comedy with a significant amount of nudity, the sort of thing that would never have been allowed on TV.

 

[Therin of Andor]

After all, it was an R-rated dark sex comedy with a significant amount of nudity, the sort of thing that would never have been allowed on TV.

Hehehehe. We got it on TV Down Under, I think with all the naughty bits intact. Our TV soap opera, "Number 96", did much more risque stuff in 1972-77, in prime time!