Production Order VS. Broadcast Order

Well if that's the case, why didn't they at least explain why the shuttle couldn't be used for a rescue? You don't need a set or miniature to make reference to it in the script. We were led to believe that the transporter was the only way to or from the surface.

-Troy

 

The hangar bay door opener had seized up, and wouldn't be fixed until Tuesday.

 

Because they didn't know that devoted fans would be spending decades dissecting and analyzing every line in every episode of their show. And because continuity wasn't a priority back then; if anything, the producers of dramatic television shows tended to go for an anthology flavor even in shows with continuing casts. They didn't foreshadow future episodes or worry about overall consistency, because this was before large-scale syndication of reruns, before home video, before the Internet. An episode ran once or twice and then it was gone. So each episode was written and shot on the basis of what worked best for the episode itself, period, regardless of external considerations. And for "The Enemy Within," it worked better if the transporter was the only way to rescue the landing party. A reference to a shuttle wouldn't have served any story purpose as far as the episode itself was concerned; it would've only been a way of laying continuity groundwork for later episodes. But that just wasn't the way '60s TV producers thought.

 

I get your point. Having been a kid when the show first aired, I can't recall my initial impressions of how the series developed. Without the benefit of 40+ years of series knowledge, first timers would not have even had a concept of a shuttle, or shuttle bay, since this hadn't been introduced yet. They could have just as likely thought those big doors at the rear were for periodic waste dumps. This is if they were even recognized as "doors".

More than likely, most people had an "Oh, that's what that is" moment watching the shuttle take off for the first time in "The Galileo 7".

-Troy

 

That's not entirely true. When Desi Arnaz decided to film episodes of "I Love Lucy" instead of doing kinescopes, he created the rerun market. It wasn't long afterward that producers discovered that the real money in television was in selling rerun packages to independent stations, once they got the network off their backs.

Why do you think the Enterprise was on a five year mission? Because five seasons meant you were a shoe-in for a syndication deal.

 

^No way. Bugs is far too smart to favor broadcast order.

 

ROTFLMAO

 

You're right, but by the time this exchange is over, he'll BE for production order!

 

Daffy's for ProDUCKtion order

 

I generally prefer production order except in cases where episodes were intentionally aired in a different order than filmed (as opposed to just being shuffled around by the network/station involved).

For example, "Unification, Part II" was filmed before "Unification, Part I" to accommodate Leonard Nimoy's schedule. Well, obviously, production order won't work in that case. But, generally, I think it's the best choice.

 

Until it turns out it's really Elmer order...

 

Thats how we watched them in the 70s.

 

I was reading this thread and I gotta say, I'm extremely grateful for it! I plan on watching all of TOS in about a month or so for my thread. I simply copied from the DVDs, but this thread has changed that for me! So thanks guys, I'll be going in production order!

 

...Of course, it makes so much more sense in STARDATE order.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Riiiiiiiight....

 

Production order, no doubt about it!

 

Alphabetical order!

Eh, maybe not.

 

Those 40 DVD cases take up a big chunk of real estate on my DVD shelves, but that's a big reason I'm hanging onto them. I wish there was some sort of legal way to rip my DVDs into an iTunes-like program so I could put them stardate order too. Also would be nice for weaving together TNG, DS9 and VOY eps and movies in some sort of proper order.

 

Just a tiny nuance here: The production number doesn't track perfectly with the filming order.