Were "view-masters" in common usage in the 1960s? Why where there so many of them on the original series? Why did Spock have to stand up and look into one to get basic information when he had plenty of display screens near him. They even had those odd hand held versions...why?
What's with all the "view masters"
- Thread starter Gotham Central
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Also: rudimentary 3D
Exactly. The most likely answer to any question about television or film is "money." Having a character look at a display on a viewscreen requires a costly special effect. Having him look into a hooded viewer and describe what he sees requires only the cost of a light bulb inside the viewer.
Pretty frakkin' smart, ya ask me.
Plus, it lets the audience imagine a little bit, even if they don't know they are. I - as a seven year old viewing the original syndication run - wanted REALLY badly to know/see what Spock saw. It was visceral if illogical.
Nimoy was cast in the role due to his transparent nictitating membrane that protects his eyes from harsh light.
Mmmmmmm.... If Spock was watching View-Masters every episode, how come he was caught by surprise by "The Omega Glory" or "Mr Spock's Time Trek" ("Yesteryear"), or the returns of V'ger and Khan?
http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2007/07/deja-view-master-ive-long-wanted-to-do.html
Working in film or television means having blinding stage lights shining in your face for several hours a day on a daily basis. That little bulb inside the hooded viewer was probably gentle in comparison.
Knowing the cast and crew's propensity for practical jokes, I wonder how often the "view-master" was a target. I would have put all kinds of things in there.
Exactly!
I've always thought that the bridge of the Romulan ship in "Balance Of Terror" was one of the most clever things that Jefferies ever did on the series. Built within the budget of a single episode, he leveraged the lack of money and resources into the creation of a stylish, claustrophic set - and there's not a visible instrument or display on the set! Just a few guys staring into Spock-type viewers at light bulbs.
This may be apocrophyl, but I believe I read that one of the reasons the most famous red-shirt of them all, Eddie Paskey, stopped working on the show in third season, was because the stage lights were giving him debilitating migraines.
As a sufferer of migraines myself, I can empathize with that.
Hah! I should've expected that. You made me chuckle, for sure.
Nimoy was cast in the role due to his transparent nictitating membrane that protects his eyes from harsh light.
You speak the truth. Then perhaps the question should be asked: did Nimoy prefer to spend a couple of takes gazing into the viewer? Sounds like it may be the lesser of two evils, after all.
The first thirty times i saw the infamous ST bloopers, they were of such poor quality that it took a much cleaner print, and a 31st viewing, before I realised that Spock (from "The Naked Now") is "watching" Vina as an Orion (from "The Menagerie") in his little hooded viewer - and getting sweaty palms from doing so.
Ah, and you've reminded me! I once wrote and directed a Star Trek fanfilm called "Perfect Botch", in which a dating gameshow sent Spock and T'Pring on their free honeymoon. We had our "Spock" on the beach, reading a book called "Logic Made Less Simple", but - unseen by the audience - the book opened out to a full-frontal nude male centerfold, and our poor straight actor had to pretend he was reading a logic text for the camera.
Don't be silly Therin. Those only exist in OUR reality. Star Trek is real ELSEWHERE, where Earth HAD no View Master sets based on Star Trek.
They did have some really good Galaxy Quest ones, tho'.
Didn't they have viewmasters until Nero went back in time and changed the timeline? But maybe that wasn't the prime timeline we know and love. The viewmasters on the Kelvin look different, after all . . . .
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