Props Re-used

[Captain Robert April]

In space, no one wants to hear their booze bottles shattering on the deck.

 

[Rulius]

Where did you find the bottles at?

 

[FalTorPan]

GSchnitzer, you wouldn't by chance be a fan of John Carpenter's Dark Star, would you? There's a prop in that film that I've been trying to identify. It's the wall-mounted control panel in the ship's elevator. Most of the props and costume pieces were made from found items, and the elevator control panel is obviously one such item, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it's made from.

This YouTube video includes the elevator scene from the film. The control panel is visible from 0:48 through 3:22. It can be seen in close-ups between 1:46 and 1:48, 2:22 through 2:27, and especially from 2:56 through 3:01.

Although the device is mounted on a wall, it's clearly meant to be used horizontally on a tabletop or the floor. The device was originally red, as can be seen around time 2:47, and it was painted silver. The device has five rows of ten buttons. When a button is pushed, a tile pops up from just behind the button. The upper edge of the top surface has an empty space that probably featured a label before the device was repurposed as a prop. To the left of the label area are raised, molded letters which read "PUSH BUTTON." There are probably raised, molded letters to the right of the label area, but it's difficult to know for certain.

Each of the 50 buttons has a numbered label. Because the prop appears to have been painted, it's likely that the labels were added on after painting. I don't know what the original labels might have looked like.

The device probably a kid's game or something similar. A lot of people think it's "Guess Who," but it isn't, because it has too many buttons, and the pop-up tiles are too small.

Any idea what it is? Thanks in advance!

I'm the biggest Dark Star fan there is. (Well, except maybe for you.) I believe I still have my Corporal Boiler costume hanging in my closet. I even got to hold Greg Jein's model of the Dark Star years ago.

I know the pushbutton control panel you mean. ("Good for you! You've decided to clean the elevator!") I have no idea what it is. But now that you've raised the question, I'll see what I can discover for you.

Talby Lives!

GSchnitzer, have you had a chance to research the Dark Star elevator control panel? I was away on my honeymoon until yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to pester you about it until now.

 

[shantke]

Have you done anything with or about the "clipboard" device that Kirk is always signing that rand carries?

 

[GSchnitzer]

Have you done anything with or about the "clipboard" device that Kirk is always signing that rand carries?

I'll have a clipboard-thing in my hands soon. I'll write it up once I get one in my hot little hands.

@FalTorPan: I haven't looked into the Dark Star elevator panel. I'm just too busy. It'll probably be more of a passive "I'll keep my eyes open" search rather than an active "let me start making calls" search.

 

[GSchnitzer]

One of the more uninspired props on The Original Series was seen in the episode “Court Martial.” Dr. McCoy uses this device called a “white sound device” to mask out individual’s heartbeats so that the ship’s internal auditory sensors can’t “hear” the heartbeat. Here’s a close-up of the device from when Captain Kirk holds it up to display to the court which has convened on the bridge:

You can see that it is little more than a “highball” microphone. Dr. McCoy even uses the microphone’s slider on/off switch to activate the device to mask out individual’s heart sounds.

Although “Court Martial” was the first appearance of this device, it did have other appearances—generally in the background. It always appeared in the context of being a medical or surgical instrument in Sick Bay. The device must have some kind of important medical use that perhaps we don’t fully understand from our limited vantage point here in the 21st century. It’s clearly present at many of Dr. McCoy’s surgeries, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a surgeon would emergently need to mask the sound of a patient’s heartbeat during a surgery--so maybe there’s more to this instrument than meets the eye.

At any rate, here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray during an operation on Khan in “Space Seed:”

…and a bit later in the episode:

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray during an operation on Mister Spock’s back in “Operation—Annihilate!:”

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray during an operation on the Mirror Universe’s Mister Spock’s in “Mirror, Mirror:”

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray being carried into Sick Bay in “The Deadly Years:”

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray during the operation on Ambassador Sarek in “Journey to Babel:”

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray in “Day of the Dove:”

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray next to Ambassador Petri in “Elaan of Troyius:”

Here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray next to Captain Kirk in “The Enterprise Incident:”

In a remarkably similar screen shot, here it is lying on a surgical instrument tray next to Mister Spock in “Spock’s Brain:”

And, of course, we get a look at this device in the old book “The Making of Star Trek” by Stephen Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry.

It’s visible in a Third Season publicity photo:

(It’s a little hard to see hiding behind the scalpels and medical scanner.)

Here are some shots of my vintage-era highball microphone—tricked out to look like Dr. McCoy’s device.

You can see that the equatorial band has been painted that ubiquitous Starfleet red-orange.

You can see the on/off slider switch on the side.

You can see that the bottom where the microphone cord usually comes out has had the microphone cord removed and the bottom has been sealed off with a little spinning propeller-like gizmo. (Dr. McCoy rotates this thing a full turn fore each person whose heartbeat he masks. So it would seem to be some kind of “reset” knob.)

Slideshow is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10901121@N06/sets/72157617183068016/show/

 

[Nerys Myk]

I didn't know Scarlett Johansson did Star Trek.

 

[One of None]

I didn't know Scarlett Johansson did Star Trek.

Her name is Joan Webster. I did not see her even listed on the episode at IMDB.

 

[Nerys Myk]

She is attractive.

 

[GSchnitzer]

I didn't know Scarlett Johansson did Star Trek.

Her name is Joan Webster. I did not see her even listed on the episode at IMDB.

Her appearance in "Space Seed" is not listed in the IMDB because she's not credited in "Space Seed." She appears to have landed the role largely because she has measurements close enough to Majel Barrett's so that she could fit in the costume Majel had already worn twice--in "The Naked Time" and "What Are Little Girls Made of?"

Joan Webster's is one of the few appearances of someone other than Majel to wear the blue-collar uniform--and one of the few appearances of someone wearing one of the two styles of "red cross" medical patches.

 

[Albertese]

I didn't know Scarlett Johansson did Star Trek.

She's cute ... but not Scarlett Johansson cute.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I didn't know Scarlett Johansson did Star Trek.

She's cute ... but not Scarlett Johansson cute.

Reminds me of Scarlett in her younger days, before she became more glamorous

 

[erastus25]

I just rewatched Tomorrow is Yesterday and noticed that the flashlight Kirk carries isn't a regular flashflight, but rather a small metallic thing. Anyone have any info on it?

 

[TIN_MAN]

^^I know if you look closely, you can see the power cable running up Kirks sleeve!

 

[GSchnitzer]

I just rewatched Tomorrow is Yesterday and noticed that the flashlight Kirk carries isn't a regular flashflight, but rather a small metallic thing. Anyone have any info on it?

I'm still researching what the prop was originally so I can locate one. Speculation is that it was a battery-powered bicycle headlight. (The bullet shape is kind of unusual.)

You can see the flashlight ins "Space Seed:"

See it again in "The Doomsday Machine:"

Ensign Chekov holds it in "Who Mourns for Adonais?:"

Mister Spock uses it in "This Side of Paradise:"

Kirk uses one in "Tomorrow Is Yesterday:"

Other than knowing where it was used, I don't have much information about it. Stay tuned.

 

[Brian]

I've always loved that cast iron wheel under the Communications console in "This Side of Paradise"!

 

[Gary7]

I've always loved that cast iron wheel under the Communications console in "This Side of Paradise"!

Also the raw metal frame bars of the set revealed. But yeah, that iron wheel looks seriously out of place.

 

[gaghyogi49]

Watching the first Season of TOS-R on Blu-ray is cool. I suddenly noticed all the props you pointed out in your articles, which made me realize, how much more can be found in those episodes, even after multiple viewing. I'm sure there'll be some more treasures and appearances of props found thanks to the HD release.

 

[erastus25]

I just rewatched Tomorrow is Yesterday and noticed that the flashlight Kirk carries isn't a regular flashflight, but rather a small metallic thing. Anyone have any info on it?

I'm still researching what the prop was originally so I can locate one. Speculation is that it was a battery-powered bicycle headlight. (The bullet shape is kind of unusual.)

FWIW, I think you're right about it being a bicycle headlight. I have a similarly shaped one on my bike right now, actually, and have used it as a flashlight, coincidentally.

 

[Ronald Held]

More, more, more info on these props!