What if Klingons had been a one-shot?
- Thread starter LMFAOschwarz
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Funny, when Gerrold first drafted "Fuzzies" (at least the way he tells it), the grain was to have been sabotaged by a rival business. He was told in no uncertain terms "No! Big business is not to be depicted in a bad light." Which supposedly led to the idea of using Klingons. Boy, has popular entertainment ever changed! You can't get away from the cliche of corporations pulling dirty tricks!
When did that philosophy change, anyway?
Sincerely,
Bill
When did that philosophy change, anyway?
Sincerely,
Bill
Just guessing, but it might've had something to do with the move away from shows having single primary sponsors, in favor of the modern system of having multiple sponsors buy ad time on each show. That way you don't have to worry so much about offending any one sponsor and have others to fall back on, so maybe that's part of why censorship based on corporate interests diminished after the '60s.
I've read some real horror stories about how extreme the sponsor control of content was back then, like a show where a reference to a character having a glass of water had to be changed because the beverage company sponsoring the show saw it as promoting the competition.
The shift away from single to multiple sponsors had already happened by the time Star Trek was on the air, though. Indeed, Star Trek itself had multiple sponsors.
It's worth pointing out that not long after Network television sponsorship changed, the major studios started to get bought up by large, diversified, and international conglomerates. 'The Trouble with Tribbles' was being made around the time Lucy was looking to close the deal with Paramount, which was itself owned by Gulf+Western. That may be coincidental, but it's worth pointing out, I think.
I think my favorite is the (early) episode of The Twilight Zone that had British sailors drinking coffee instead of tea during World War II, because Westinghouse (IIRC) was the show's sponsor.
For what it's worth, according to the version of The Trouble With Tribbles: The Making Of that David Gerrold has (had?) available for download as PDF from his site, he doesn't appear to claim that his proposal made Klingons a recurring species. On page 100 it goes like this:
Gerrold does, on page 276, say that Roddenberry had been thinking that Kirk needed a recurring Klingon counterpart and that Koloth was lined up for the part, but since William Campbell was unavailable next time a Klingon was needed that went by the wayside. Certainly there's logic in having a recurring Klingon to go up against Kirk, and Koloth would have done quite well, but whether Roddenberry was really thinking that or whether he was saying something very pleasant for Gerrold (and, I suppose, Campbell) to hear is beyond what I believe can be learned from his text.
^What you quote there is verbatim from the 1973 print edition, although there it's on page 83.
As for recurring Klingon characters, I believe "Day of the Dove" was written for Kor, but Colicos was unavailable.
As for recurring Klingon characters, I believe "Day of the Dove" was written for Kor, but Colicos was unavailable.
I always understood Kor was initially wanted for "The Trouble With Tribbles" but Colicos was unavailable so they cast William Campbell and created Koloth.
Overall I think it worked out better by having different characters rather than seeing the same one repeatedly. Otherwise it would have made deep space seem somehow smaller.
I gotta admit, though, that TTWT might have been interesting with Kor. I never cared for Campbell's portrayal of Koloth.
Overall I think it worked out better by having different characters rather than seeing the same one repeatedly. Otherwise it would have made deep space seem somehow smaller.
I gotta admit, though, that TTWT might have been interesting with Kor. I never cared for Campbell's portrayal of Koloth.
The original D7 was indeed a spectacular and inspired piece of design in its own right. MJ completely avoided something that could have looked throwaway. It's amazing really considering the ship appeared but three times and all in TOS' third season ("Elaan Of Troyius," "Day Of The Dove" and "The Enterprise Incident."). It would reappear again a few times in TAS.
It was something that managed to look menacing as well as beautiful all at the same time. I think the D7 and the TMP K'tinga version are far superior designs to the movie and TNG era Klingon BoP as well as the subsequent TNG era Klingon designs.
The original Romulan warship from "Balance Of Terror" is also a nice design, but it doesn't resonate the same way. Mind you it serves its purpose in being something that definitely looks less adanced than the Enterprise design. But it wouldn't be until TNG that the Romulans would get an inspired design of their own.
It was something that managed to look menacing as well as beautiful all at the same time. I think the D7 and the TMP K'tinga version are far superior designs to the movie and TNG era Klingon BoP as well as the subsequent TNG era Klingon designs.
The original Romulan warship from "Balance Of Terror" is also a nice design, but it doesn't resonate the same way. Mind you it serves its purpose in being something that definitely looks less adanced than the Enterprise design. But it wouldn't be until TNG that the Romulans would get an inspired design of their own.
Indeed. It has a grace and efficiency that the later designs lack.
What's interesting about that design is the behind-the-scenes thinking that it was meant to be based on reverse-engineered or pirated Starfleet technology, hence the similar saucer shape and nacelles.
We get little of that in the televised episode, but it is mentioned more prominantly in James Blish's adaptation of the story. It gives me something of an idea of an older Earth or Starfleet design that the Romulans could have tried to adapt or reverse engineer.
Let's also remember that the Romulan warbird was crafted by Wah Chang rather than Jefferies, so it would naturally have a different design motif.
On a rather unrelated note, Chang designed the communicator and the tricorder, but Jefferies conceived the production era phasers, both the "pocket" unit and its larger pistol type amplifier.
Sincerely,
Bill
On a rather unrelated note, Chang designed the communicator and the tricorder, but Jefferies conceived the production era phasers, both the "pocket" unit and its larger pistol type amplifier.
Sincerely,
Bill
Not forgotten and it is noteworthy particularly for bringing more diversity to the series' designs. Wah Chang's Romulan Warship really workd for something that looks somewhat more utilitarian overall. MJ's D7 manages to convey something of the Klingon character that isn't readily apparent in the way they're usually depicted. This something I felt got lost in the TNG era particularly with the Vor'Cha battle cruiser design which looks much more industrial like.
But that's the point -- it intentionally has a similar design because the idea was that Romulans were copying or stealing Starfleet technology. So it's also a saucer-and-nacelles configuration with a raised module atop the saucer, and the nacelles are cylinders with domes on the front; although that's combined with an avian body-and-wings configuration to fit the "Bird of Prey" motif.
Well, it was TUC which gave us a Klingon (Chang) quoting Shakespeare back at us "in the original Klingon", kind of pulling a Chekov from the Original Series (TM). I've always wondered if that was the choice of the writers, director, or Christopher Plummer? Does anyone know? It certainly added some depth to the characterization of Klingons. It made me wonder if that was the sort of in-joke that Klingons made at humans' expense when there were none around. That kind of sounds like a cold-war type artifact, doesn't it? Making fun of the "other" side's art?
Or maybe the Klingons had Chekov's quarters bugged for decades, and thought it would be creepy to reveal that at the dinner table.
Christopher Lloyd's Kruge was one of the most animated and emotive Klingons we saw. I generally liked his performance.
The biggest problem with Koloth for me was they never really explained to my satisfaction HOW he was able to blend in with humans. Like "Enterprise" or not, but I think it bears mentioning that the explanation they gave for the disappearing and reappearing Klingon ridges was quite brilliant and entertaining at the same time. It also offers a reaching-forward explanation for Koloth that, without the 3-parter, we don't have, canonically-speaking.
Just my 2 cents.
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