Fact-Checking Inside Star Trek: The Real Story
- Thread starter Harvey
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But I don't see how that addresses the question of putting a creator credit in the main titles themselves.
But then, as Harvey replied to my comment on his site, maybe the Act 1 titles and the main titles were considered equivalent. After all, there were a number of shows in the period that incorporated the episode credits into their main title sequences directly. I think The Man from UNCLE did, for one.
I don't know what you mean by that. Where they appear is exactly what I'm talking about -- the difference between the main title sequence and the start of Act 1. Maybe that's a blurred distinction these days, where so many shows skip the main titles altogether or save the cast credits for the start of Act 1, but for most of TV history, it was standard to have an optional teaser/cold open, then a main title sequence, then a commercial break, then the start of the first act. So at least from the viewer's perspective, there was a much clearer distinction back then between the main title credits (usually just the regular cast) and the Act 1 credits (usually including guest cast, producer, writer, and director). Maybe there is no contractual difference between the two; after all, they both count as "above the line" credit that comes with residual payments for reruns and video releases. But there was certainly a perceptual difference between them at the time of TOS.
The facts support this. The first two shows had a "created by" credit but no writer or director credits in act 1. There was an objection. Then in seasons 2 and 3 the writer and director credits were moved to act 1 and the "created by" credit was moved back to the main titles.
It was even said that additional footage would be needed at the start of act 1 to allow for the additional credits, which is why it couldn't be done in season 1, since the series was well into production by the time the credit changes were being addressed.
Guilds can be very specific. The DGA fined Lucasfilm (George Lucas) for not crediting Irvin Kershner at the start of The Empire Strikes Back. It was okay for Lucas not to get a credit at the beginning of Star Wars because it had the "Lucasfilm" logo at the front. Lucas paid the fine and quit the DGA. Richard Marquand was not a DGA director and was hired for ROTJ.
Neil
It was even said that additional footage would be needed at the start of act 1 to allow for the additional credits, which is why it couldn't be done in season 1, since the series was well into production by the time the credit changes were being addressed.
Guilds can be very specific. The DGA fined Lucasfilm (George Lucas) for not crediting Irvin Kershner at the start of The Empire Strikes Back. It was okay for Lucas not to get a credit at the beginning of Star Wars because it had the "Lucasfilm" logo at the front. Lucas paid the fine and quit the DGA. Richard Marquand was not a DGA director and was hired for ROTJ.
Neil
How times have changed. In the '60s, and sometimes in the '70s or even the '80s, they'd usually go to great lengths to avoid dialogue during the Act 1 opening credits. These days, though, the credits routinely run underneath dialogue, often for several minutes. I guess there are several reasons for this. One, there are so many more above-the-line credits now, so they just take too long. Two, there are so many more commercials per hour, so shows don't have time to waste on delayed openings. And three, the credits are generally shown in much smaller type, since TVs have much higher resolution, and thus they don't intrude on the action as much.
Still, I feel it's led to a fundamental change -- back then, it was expected that people would read the credits, but these days, they're pretty much designed to be ignored. I kind of miss the days when acknowledging the key creators and/or guest stars in an episode was treated as more of a big announcement.
That's another practice that's changed over time, since these days it's pretty standard for films to put all their credits at the end. Some films don't even show their titles at the beginning. In fact, it's been a pretty complete inversion, since in the early days of film, they showed all the credits at the beginning, except maybe for a cast list at the end. There, again, it's probably due to the increased number of credits and the increased impatience of the audience to get to the story. Still, I like a good main title sequence in a movie, and I like it that they seem to be making something of a comeback.
I am stealing this quote for Facebook.
The discussion of TV credits intrigues me a bit... Who decides on where in the show & how long the credits should run these days? The showrunner? Is any of that determined by the various guilds? "[X]'s credit must appear onscreen in a 40-point font for no fewer than 2 seconds!"
Basically, I guess I'm wondering if this stuff is formally standardized or if it's more determined by trends than anything else. Anyone know for sure?
Basically, I guess I'm wondering if this stuff is formally standardized or if it's more determined by trends than anything else. Anyone know for sure?
On a related topic, if the (series) credits for the re-edited broadcast version of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" were done after "The Man Trap" why isn't there any Shatner narration ("Space, the final frontier") or the sound of the Enterprise "swoosh" before the beginning credits?
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That's a good question. After all, the original pilot version of WNMHGB had a totally different main title sequence and theme, so they had to replace it anyway. So why not use the narration?
It's hard to say if that is an accurate representation of the original broadcast. The soundtracks have been changed so many times that you would have to go back to the original audio elements to know for sure if the episode always presented the theme music without Shatner's narration.
The syndication prints had altered titles. The only way to be sure would be to get the original DMEs (Dialogue/Music/Effects) for the shows. I had one ("Plato's Stepchildren") when I was working on the box set.
Neil
Neil
I've been saying this for years. I don't remember ever not hearing narration. But I was also 11. (I also never noticed that there was different title music for early / late season 1 either, so what do I know?)
I just can't figure out how the narration-less WNMHGB makes any sense. It wasn't the first episode aired, it was never even considered for the first one to air. Did they just edit it all together first because it was already done and then say "Hey! For the other ones lets have Kirk talk"? Very strange...
So why were the 1970s syndication prints missing it? Odd.
I certainly do. It's also mentioned in this Wikipedia article:
Re-edited for time and then aired, the second pilot episode returned to the original theme and in only the first several episodes, sans all vocals, was a concerto-like solo of an electric violin playing the melodic line. Also the very well known overdubbing by William Shatner was not present in this aired second pilot; it was music only for "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
The author of this piece assumes that it was done for the initial broadcast version, but otherwise describes what I saw in syndication.
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