A Serialized TOS....

[Harvey]

But what would have been nice if they had made references to past episodes or events the audience had seen.

When I re-watched some of the series a year ago, I was surprised by how many times they actually DID reference past episodes. Sam Kirk, for example, may have never been seen before he died in "Operation: Annihilate!" but he was mentioned by Kirk in "What are Little Girls Made Of?" Likewise, the Organian Peace Treaty from "Errand of Mercy" is continuously referenced whenever the Klingons re-appear. There are a number of other examples, too. Not as many as in later Trek series, but more than you'd expect -- more than I had expected, anyway.

 

[Gojira]

But what would have been nice if they had made references to past episodes or events the audience had seen.

When I re-watched some of the series a year ago, I was surprised by how many times they actually DID reference past episodes. Sam Kirk, for example, may have never been seen before he died in "Operation: Annihilate!" but he was mentioned by Kirk in "What are Little Girls Made Of?" Likewise, the Organian Peace Treaty from "Errand of Mercy" is continuously referenced whenever the Klingons re-appear. There are a number of other examples, too. Not as many as in later Trek series, but more than you'd expect -- more than I had expected, anyway.

I'll have to look for them more. But yeah I do wish there were more like they would later develop in other Trek series.

 

[Redfern]

...a more believable explanation for curing Spock's blindness than the infamous Vulcan eye-lid.

I realize the following is veering a tad from the topic, but I just gotta' "vent" about this situation. It was such a "rabbit outa' the hat" scenario with no preparation. It's things like that that have made laypersons look down on science fiction and other related genres for so long. I know people like to joke about the james Bond films, particularly the "gadgets" Q has developed for 007, but that's at least one thing done correctly from a dramatic POV. He didn't simply pull these things out of thin air, we are prepared for their eventual use. The mystery come from "when" and "how" Bond would use them.

Anyway, back to Spock's blindness and "magical" recovery. This dramatic cheat could have been avoided with just a hint of editing early in the story. Remember when the one-man ship plummets into the Denevan sun? The bridge crew watch in horror at the screen as the star fills the screen, listening to the person elate in his release from the parasites, only to die seconds later. We see Kirk and others squint their eyes in pain at the light the screen is emitting. (Uhura? Mind turning down the brightness on the TV? ) We should have presented Spock staring steadfast at the main viewer without flinching. We don't even have to have Kirk or anyone else comment upon it. Then...when Spock reappaers at the end of the episode with his sight restored and casually mentions the "inner eyelid", Kirk can make the connection, saying something akin to, "So that's why you could stare at the viewer without blinking!"

Think about it, just one or two extra shots of Nimoy during the "sun dive" and an extra line for Shatner (which I'm sure he would have craved) at the end. Dramatic cheat and deceitful sympathy resolved.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[evilnate]

But what would have been nice if they had made references to past episodes or events the audience had seen.

When I re-watched some of the series a year ago, I was surprised by how many times they actually DID reference past episodes. Sam Kirk, for example, may have never been seen before he died in "Operation: Annihilate!" but he was mentioned by Kirk in "What are Little Girls Made Of?" Likewise, the Organian Peace Treaty from "Errand of Mercy" is continuously referenced whenever the Klingons re-appear. There are a number of other examples, too. Not as many as in later Trek series, but more than you'd expect -- more than I had expected, anyway.

"By Any Other Name" also has the Galactic Barrier from "Where No Man Has Gone Before", and Kirk references Spock's ability to project his mental telepathy from an earlier episode. Even mentions the planet from that episode, if I remember correctly!

EDIT: I looked it up, and Kirk mentions Eminiar VII from "A Taste of Armageddon".

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

"the Deadly Years" references "The Corbomite Maneuver" with the "corbomite device."

 

[Harvey]

"Turnabout Intruder" makes reference to several past episodes as well, although it gets the General Order from "The Menagerie" wrong, IIRC.

 

[A beaker full of death]

Aside from the fact that it simply wasn't done back then (which is one reason it has so much repeat watchability -- I really enjoyed DS9 but see no point in catching a random episode) -- each episode told a story. It had a dramatic structure. It thus avoided falling into soap opera territory, where events are relayed but there is no overarching plot. Without a cohesive plot, what's the point?

 

[exalted one]

An obvious (but really poor) choice would have been the continuing adventures of Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln.

It's funny: that ep was originally intended to "lead into" a spin-off series on that....

Incidentally, the whole Gary Seven premise feels a lot like American response to Doctor Who - complete with Seven being the protector of Earth against an alien threat. I wonder whether it is just a coincidence.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Probably NOT a coincidence. Gary Seven has his own Companion and a Sonic Screwdriver. I've figured for years that this was a typically derivative work from GR.

 

[Forbin]

Good lord, you're right - I'd never noticed!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Probably NOT a coincidence. Gary Seven has his own Companion and a Sonic Screwdriver. I've figured for years that this was a typically derivative work from GR.

Well the sonic first shows up on in Fury of the Deep broadcast 16 March to 20 April 1968. Assignment Earth was first broadcast March 29, 1968, So I think that both the Doctor and Gary Seven used "magic wands" is coincidence.

I do have to wonder if Doctor Who was known in the US in the late Sixties. And if not, was there a way Roddenberry might have seen the show. IIRC the show didn't offically reach the US till the 1970s.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

I seem to recall seeing some sort of Peter Cushing as Dr. Who movie in the mid sixties at the Cobb Center theater. Don't know how well it was seen. Of course, I also saw "Santa Claus vs the Martians," "First Spaceship on Venus" and even "Crack in the World" there.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Well the sonic first shows up on in Fury of the Deep broadcast 16 March to 20 April 1968. Assignment Earth was first broadcast March 29, 1968, So I think that both the Doctor and Gary Seven used "magic wands" is coincidence.

Actually, I just Googled it:

It is possible that the screwdriver had appeared before Fury from the Deep without the Doctor referring to it by that name: the prop used there appears to be one used by the Doctor in many earlier stories, including the First Doctor's sabotage of Dalek equipment as early as the second serial.

And Kirk uses one himself in "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" to break into the film room.

 

[Rush Limborg]

All right, new direction:

Anyone feel that a one-shot character (read: a character who only appeared in one ep) had a lot of potential for growth and development--but due to their death, their staying on their planet, or just the realities of stand-alone episodes, never appeared again?

If so...which "one-shots" whould you have wanted to see have "character arcs", and how?

 

[Wingsley]

Dr. Simon van Gelder ("Dagger of the Mind") could appear in a follow-up investigation story of what "Dr. Adams" was doing at the Tantalus Colony.

I think it would be interesting to see Starfleet's flag officers more in-depth. Maybe we could see Commodore Stone ("Court Martial") or Commodore Mendez ("The Menagerie") return. Both were very interesting guest characters. I always wanted to see Kirk receive top-secret orders in person from Admiral Komack ("Amok Time") in some Cold War-style drama.

Perhaps the most compelling guest character in TOS was Captain Pike. It would be absolutely fascinating to see prequel stories of Pike commanding the pre-"Where No Man..." Enterprise, handing it off to Kirk. It would also be fascinating to see more "Cage" era stories with the "Cage" crew still in place, Pike, younger Spock, and Number One included. I would love to see that era fleshed out more.

It would also be great to see what happened to Number One after Talos. Did she continue her career in the Star Service? Did she eventually command a starship or space station of her own? Would it be great to see a Commodore Hudec (Majel Roddenberry's maiden name) in command of a K-class starbase out on the frontier, working with Captain Kirk and other starships to solve a problem?

I would also love to see Yeoman Colt's character developed more. Maybe she went on to become a command master chief on some assignment like Cestus III, would up getting caught in a battle or some other disruption, and had to take charge and put out fires before the Enterprise could rescue her crew. It would be great to show her looking around the TOS-era Enterprise, recalling her days aboard, with Dr. McCoy or Yeoman Rand or, maybe ironically, Nurse Chapel.

One pseudo-character from TOS that TAS revisited was the Guardian of Forever. During the DS9 years, I once wondered if it could be possible for Sisko to visit the "City on the Edge of Forever", looking much as it did in TOS, and traveling through time to avert a recent disaster involving the Borg and/or Dominion.

Another compelling character, seen in only one ep, was T'Pau of Vulcan. There's an under-utilized gold mine!

I also mentioned other possibilities upthread. For some perverse reason, probably no good, I would love to see Proconsul Claudius Marcus assassinated.

 

[ToddPence]

All right, new direction:

Anyone feel that a one-shot character (read: a character who only appeared in one ep) had a lot of potential for growth and development--but due to their death, their staying on their planet, or just the realities of stand-alone episodes, never appeared again?

If so...which "one-shots" whould you have wanted to see have "character arcs", and how?

Ensign Garrovick from "Obsession"

 

[Rush Limborg]

^Absolutely.

Frankly, the interaction between him and Kirk reads like the "intro" to a new recurring secondary for DS9. They had such excellent cameraderie.

 

[GNDN]

And Kirk uses one himself in "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" to break into the film room.

"Tomorrow is Yesterday" was originally written as a direct continuation of "The Naked Time" with the time-warp backwards at the end of the former being that which sends the Enterprise back to 1960's Earth. Would've caused "The Naked Time" to end on a relative cliff-hangar somewhat reminiscent (or prescient) of ENT's "Zero Hour" (sorry all! )

 

[Botany Bay]

Actually, TOS producer Bob Justman (who came up with the story idea for Tomorrow Is Yesterday) shot this one down as just a myth.

At a convention I was at, he said that there is no way they could have pulled off a two-parter, particularly in the first season, when it was a constant race just to get anything to air each week. The uncertainty surrounding how long each episode's opticals would take to prepare ruled out any kind of story arcs.

 

[GNDN]

Actually, TOS producer Bob Justman (who came up with the story idea for Tomorrow Is Yesterday) shot this one down as just a myth.

At a convention I was at, he said that there is no way they could have pulled off a two-parter, particularly in the first season, when it was a constant race just to get anything to air each week. The uncertainty surrounding how long each episode's opticals would take to prepare ruled out any kind of story arcs.

The draft for The Naked Time, PART I may suggest otherwise. The 'myth' seems to exist because at one time it was written or proposed that way. Who's to say when in the planning process it was decided not to use "Tomorrow is Yesterday" as a continuation.

D.C. Fontana wrote the story based on Justman's one page synopsis, which does not preclude borrowing the time trip backwards from the end of "The Naked Time". I'm sure the decision was based on exactly what Bob said, considering also that the time-travel would only have been used as a link between two separate stories.

I haven't read Justman's story synopsis, but seeing as how the episode starts with the Enterprise in the past with little attention as to how it got there, Fontana may have looked upon the other time travel story in development as a perfect springboard, until the realities of production convinced her that the stories should remain independent of each other.

The finished episode works perfectly well as is, of course. Many enjoy the idea that the story starts in a completely atypical manner, not even properly revealing itself to be Star Trek until the end of the teaser. The surprise to the audience with the reveal of the displaced Enterprise is quite effective as is.