Trek guest actors in maybe surprising roles

[The Old Mixer]

Harry Townes as an ex-Confederate officer trying to revive the Confederacy as a secret society of Laandru worshipers on the Branded episode "The Golden Fleece."

I'm planning to watch Branded Season 2 next spring/summer, so you're like totally spoiling me.

 

[Forbin]

Sorry! Here's more S2 spoilage: Morgan Woodward as one of three crazy wolf-hunting brothers (which includes Bruce Dern) in "The Wolfers."

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Sorry! Here's more S2 spoilage: Morgan Woodward as one of three crazy wolf-hunting brothers (which includes Bruce Dern) in "The Wolfers."

I'm kind of surprised that Bruce Dern never made an appearance in Star Trek. He would have made a good crazed Starfleet officer.

 

[Henoch]

I see Bruce Dern as the soul survivor of a Gorn attack, seeking revenge at all costs. Just as Kirk is about to let the Gorns off the hook to avoid a war, Dern commandeers the forward phaser control room and fires on the Gorns, destroying them. What a dilemma? Dern is arrested and the Federation may be at war in the near future...

 

[J.T.B.]

Sorry! Here's more S2 spoilage: Morgan Woodward as one of three crazy wolf-hunting brothers (which includes Bruce Dern) in "The Wolfers."

Now that's a pairing!

 

[Forbin]

Derrn would have made a good Lazarus.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

The last shot is him just wandering off to continue his quest.
Honestly, I don't think the show was very good. A LOT of standard action/chase scenes, a few 'meaningful' episodes where we're told that hippies are really good people at heart, and Native Americans deserve fair treatment, even if the main one is played by a Sicilian (Sal Mineo) (seriously). His immortal blood was mainly a McGuffin, and only played a real role in 3 or 4 episodes where he used it to heal people. Oh, and the opening title sequence is unbearable - two full minutes, half of which is Paul Frees narrating the premise, half of which is chase scenes with music mixed so sharp it literally hurt my ears. I'm glad I finally saw it, but I have no need to see it again.

The Immortal is based on a novel about the search for an immortal man thorough a few decades (his blood-which he donated to get some wine-helped rejuvenate somebody, so everybody wants him for what he's got in his veins.) The only problem is, the guy is homeless, and is completly off the grid, so finding him is a big chore, and as stated above, it takes about a century and a half to do so. This novel would've made a great TV miniseries, or a movie; instead, it got turned into this pile of poop (interesting that one of the OTA retro channels is playing this show instead of SyFy, which played it briefly back in the early '90's; it seems amazing that these channels are taking up showing short-lived shows like these [but if they can show The Immortal, Lotsa Luck, Good Morning World, and a few others, why not also play Slattery's People, East Side/West Side, Breaking Point, Coronet Blue, and He & She?]) The novel's author summed up why the show was crap; instead of running from Braddock and then eventually Maitland, Ben Richards and his wife should've just lost themselves and proceed to produce a lot of children, who will ensure that their good fortune will become the good fortune of the human race eventually.

Would anyone other than J.T.B. or Forbin care to demonstrate their Steve McGarrett-like detective skills in identifying this Trek actress while she's made up as Pele, Goddess of Fire?
View attachment 16803

Does she also sing the song 'Fire' by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown in this episode, too?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Decades is playing a 1972 episode of Dick Cavett with Charles and Jill.

Does she also sing the song 'Fire' by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown in this episode, too?

Alas, no.

 

[johnnybear]

It's weird to see Morgan Woodward without his customary white hair (and the shock of his white skin) the only other time I've seen him with brown hair was in The Horse Race from Planet of The Apes!
JB

 

[Nerys Myk]

6-year-old Pam Ferdin in the Branded Christmas Carol episode "A Proud Town."

Her sad face is a classic.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Lesley Ann Warren is not singing "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"...

(Mission: Impossible, "Flip Side," Sept. 26, 1970)

ETA: Just caught Barbara Babcock and Sabrina Scharf in the same episode of Hogan's Heroes ("The Experts," Sept. 27, 1970).

 

[Forbin]

The DVD episodes of Branded are clearly edited-for-TV versions at 22 minutes, with inexplicable awkward jump-cuts. In "Barbed Wire" a range war is brewing between cattle barons, and a few minutes before the end, Lief Ericson suddenly has a daughter pop into being (dialog makes it clear she was supposed to have been introduced earlier) to interfere. My confusion was put on hold when I saw it was my all-time favorite Trek girl, Sherry Jackson.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I loved how the same actors kept coming back each year in US TV shows, it was hilarious!

It's interesting to see how different shows approach reusing guest actors. Some shows, like Law and Order or Columbo, would do it all the time (Columbo busted Robert Culp and Jack Cassidy for murder three times apiece on the 70s series, and they were different characters each time). Other shows, like Homicide: Life on the Street (one of my all-time favorites), would never bring back an actor as a different character, so as to not detract from the reality of the series.

^Moreover, in the 1988 Mission: Impossible revival's remake of "The Killer" (its series premiere), the Robert Conrad character was played by John DeLancie. Plus "Miri" guest star Phil Morris (Greg Morris's son) was a series regular (as Barney's son).

One of my favorite podcasts, The Weekly Planet, took an amusing look at that episode during the leadup to the last Mission: Impossible movie. You can check it out here:

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[The Old Mixer]

Well, there they go again...

Hawaii Five-O, "The Second Shot" (Sept. 30, 1970). The man behind the gun this time is Eric Braeden, FWIW.

 

[J.T.B.]

Well, there they go again...
View attachment 17968
Hawaii Five-O, "The Second Shot" (Sept. 30, 1970). The man behind the gun this time is Eric Braeden, FWIW.

A revolver-specific silencer, with a notch cut out for the ejector rod! How does the thing attach, set screws?

It would be great if some show would have the gunman fire the "silenced" revolver and then grab his ears in pain.

 

[The Old Mixer]

A revolver-specific silencer, with a notch cut out for the ejector rod! How does the thing attach, set screws?

I was wondering about that. Just went back and checked, they showed him pushing it onto the barrel with no screwing...like it clicked into place. They must be importing these things from Q Branch.

 

[Forbin]

Louise Sorrel favored with many closeups by a wise director, as Moffat's old flame from Dunkirk, in The Rat Patrol episode "The Fatal Reunion Raid."

 

[johnnybear]

Did Gary Raymond not dance with Louise in this episode like Shatner and later on have some embarrassing stories to tell or be related to the fans by other actors and crew as well?
JB

 

[johnnybear]

Lawrence Dobkin, Kim Darby and Bill Quinn in The Streets of San Francisco pilot! (1972)
JB

 

[Forbin]

I don't think they danced, just had coffee, and rolled in the hay.