These Are The Voyages, Volumes 2 and 3 of the volumes covering the 1970s.

[pfontaine2]

I just receive volumes 2 and 3 of Marc Cushman's These Are The Voyages books that cover the 1970s. Volume 2 covers the lead up to the Phase II TV show and Volume 3 covers The Motion Picture. I know his books are controversial but I've really enjoyed his in-depth approach to each episode and project that Gene Roddenberry was involved in.

I just now gave them both books a very quick look. While nearly all the images are things I've seen before, both books look very interesting. These two books were originally intended as 1 volume but needed to be split due to page count. As a result, Volume 2 is slightly less thick than the other books in the series at 650 pages and Volume 3 is quite thin in comparison at 460 pages (it looks to be half the thickness of earlier books in the series).

Both volumes discuss fandom, merchandising and other elements in addition to actual production. Volume 2 also covers science fiction in the 1970s, content that might be considered filler but could provide interesting context for the direction that Phase II eventually took.

I can't say much more than this but am anxious to start reading these tonight after work!

 

[Maab]

Do we finally have a (public) detailed synopsis of "The God Thing"? Can't wait to know how Kirk eneded up fighting against three naked girls.

 

[pfontaine2]

Sorry to say, I've been so busy this past week I've barely had a chance to get into it. There's not much information about The God Thing that isn't already available online someplace but it's nice to have it all compiled into one document. There's more information regarding the Philip Kaufman directed Trek film being prepped around 1976 which I'm finding very interesting.

 

[Maurice]

Do we finally have a (public) detailed synopsis of "The God Thing"? Can't wait to know how Kirk eneded up fighting against three naked girls.

Four nearly naked ones.

 

[Lord Garth]

Sorry to say, I've been so busy this past week I've barely had a chance to get into it. There's not much information about The God Thing that isn't already available online someplace but it's nice to have it all compiled into one document. There's more information regarding the Philip Kaufman directed Trek film being prepped around 1976 which I'm finding very interesting.

I think I'd prefer to never read a script for The God Thing. Whatever it actually is, it's not going to live up to whatever image I've built up in my head. There's a mystique surrounding the story that would be shattered if I ever read it.

 

[Maab]

Four nearly naked ones.

C'mon Maurice I gave you "Robot's Return" in exchange for nothing. Don't you think it's time to get even?

 

[Maab]

There's more information regarding the Philip Kaufman directed Trek film being prepped around 1976 which I'm finding very interesting.

Well, a detailed synopsis of Kaufman treatment is available on Memory Alpha. It would be interesting to read something about the final Bryant/Scott script which seem to be lost.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Well, a detailed synopsis of Kaufman treatment is available on Memory Alpha. It would be interesting to read something about the final Bryant/Scott script which seem to be lost.

Cushman quotes from it, presenting a lengthy excerpt of the opening page or two. So, either he had access to a copy, or he did some creative writing.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I finished Volume 2 a couple days ago. Some interesting stuff, but not a lot we didn’t already know.

It would profit from extensive editing. I was screaming inside long before he wrapped up his chapter on “Spectre,” which drags on for something like 60 pages. Yeah, 20 pages could’ve easily covered EVERYTHING we needed to know about that astonishingly awful turkey. Which Cushman, seemingly, thinks is pretty damn good!

 

[Maurice]

C'mon Maurice I gave you "Robot's Return" in exchange for nothing. Don't you think it's time to get even?

I thought I sent ya something! My bad. I think I knew something I can send you (some things I have read only in archives)!

 

[Maurice]

Cushman quotes from it, presenting a lengthy excerpt of the opening page or two. So, either he had access to a copy, or he did some creative writing.

How much does he summarize the Scott Bryant "Titans" screenplay? There was some question how much of such a thing was even completed.

 

[Maab]

I think I knew something I can send you!

OK, you know what I'm interested in.

 

[Daddy Todd]

How much does he summarize the Scott Bryant "Titans" screenplay? There was some question how much of such a thing was even completed.

Well, the chapter on Scott/Bryant's work is about 35 pages. He covers a couple of treatments from the point of view of Roddenberry's notes (probably because he doesn't have permission to reprint the actual treatments.) He does mostly the same with their first draft screenplay.

So, I felt like I got a pretty good taste of the "flavor" of their work, but not all the plot specifics. Still, it's more than I can recall ever seeing before.

 

[pfontaine2]

Also, Cushman mentions a number of times that since he's working directly the the Roddenberry archives, he doesn't have access to various scripts that Roddenberry didn't bother to keep. However, like Daddy Todd mentions directly above, Cushman is reprinting Roddenberry's memos regarding these scripts because these were retained in the archive.

 

[Indysolo]

 

[Harvey]

Well, the chapter on Scott/Bryant's work is about 35 pages. He covers a couple of treatments from the point of view of Roddenberry's notes (probably because he doesn't have permission to reprint the actual treatments.) He does mostly the same with their first draft screenplay.

Not getting permission never stopped him before. The Roddenberry archive must be missing those drafts, leading him to reconstruct what he could using the surviving notes.

It would profit from extensive editing. I was screaming inside long before he wrapped up his chapter on “Spectre,” which drags on for something like 60 pages. Yeah, 20 pages could’ve easily covered EVERYTHING we needed to know about that astonishingly awful turkey. Which Cushman, seemingly, thinks is pretty damn good!

I’m shocked, SHOCKED to learn these books are bloated and suffer from the lack of an editor.

Then again, if he cut the material down to two or even just one volume, he couldn’t sell as many books...

 

[Daddy Todd]

I’m shocked, SHOCKED to learn these books are bloated and suffer from the lack of an editor.

Volume 3 has a chapter on the reactions to the movie. More than 70 pages reprinting reviews from what seems like every newspaper in the USA and Canada.

I can’t even.

 

[Harvey]

Volume 3 has a chapter on the reactions to the movie. More than 70 pages reprinting reviews from what seems like every newspaper in the USA and Canada.

I can’t even.

Look, that deluxe Newspapers.com subscription isn't going to pay for itself.

Let me just drop this quote from Cushman's mailing list right here...

Marc Cushman’s fifth volume in the award-winning These Are the Voyages series was also planned for publishing in late 2019. Mr. Cushman delivered his manuscript in August and worked with our editors and illustrators throughout that month and into early October. Word from our editing team is that this is an extraordinary work. It is certainly epic – the current edited, illustrated draft is over 800 pages! However, the wait will be just a little longer. Mr. Cushman has requested time to do one more pass with our editors to make certain the book is as lean and mean as possible.

 

[Indysolo]

Volume 3 has a chapter on the reactions to the movie. More than 70 pages reprinting reviews from what seems like every newspaper in the USA and Canada.

I can’t even.

Do you think he got permission to reprint those reviews?

 

[Daddy Todd]

Do you think he got permission to reprint those reviews?

How would one even go about that? 3/4 of those newspapers are probably defunct, and half the reviewers are surely dead. I’m guessing he didn’t even try, on the twin assumptions that his wholesale plagiarism falls under “fair use”, and that there’s nobody around to litigate the copyrights anyway.

If he had permission, there’d be a lengthy section of the book thanking the rights-owners for permission. Care to guess if there is such a section?