Fact-Checking Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

[publiusr]

When was The Ship Who Sang written? Before or after this episode? It was sometime in 1969 IIRC.I wonder if Spock's Brain could have been an influence. Strong females, a rocket like ION ship, etc.

 

[Maurice]

When was The Ship Who Sang written? Before or after this episode? It was sometime in 1969 IIRC.I wonder if Spock's Brain could have been an influence. Strong females, a rocket like ION ship, etc.

The answer about The Ship Who Sang.

 

[Warped9]

I answered this when I first looked it up for confirmation. The original story The Ship Who Sang was written in 1961.

 

[Harvey]

As for the cheesy title, I always figured it was a take on "Donovan's Brain." Maybe it was meant to be changed later, but not all of Star Trek's titles were amazing.

That's possible. de Forest Research advised the production to change the title on two occasions (the first is quoted below) because of the similarity, but 'Spock's Brain' ultimately stayed.

TITLE – As indicated by writer, recommend title change be considered. One of the ‘classic’ science fiction films is Donovan’s Brain, produced in 1953 from a novel by Curt Siodmak. This film details the keeping alive of the brain of a scientist who has been accidentally killed.

And, hey, just for fun, from the same report:

PREMISE – The basic premise of this story, namely that a human brain is vastly more efficient than a computer complex for organizing and maintaining the life support systems of this underground settlement, is untenable even by present day computer technology. It is now evident that computers that think as humans think can be built given sufficient funds. Suggest the need for the brain might be effectively used to indicate a failure or ‘short circuit’ in the technological development of the planet.

(It should be noted that notes like this broadly criticizing the premise or even suggesting a title change are very rare in the de Forest Research reports for the series).

 

[Christopher]

PREMISE – The basic premise of this story, namely that a human brain is vastly more efficient than a computer complex for organizing and maintaining the life support systems of this underground settlement, is untenable even by present day computer technology. It is now evident that computers that think as humans think can be built given sufficient funds. Suggest the need for the brain might be effectively used to indicate a failure or ‘short circuit’ in the technological development of the planet.

Good grief, de Forest Research was really, really overoptimistic about computer technology. The best computers we have today pale next to the complexity of the human brain.

 

[Harvey]

Well, it was the 1960s, a rather optimistic decade in respect to certain beliefs about where technology was going. I mean, the producers of Star Trek projected it as believably happening only 200 years in the future (although the series was understandably vague about pinning down an exact number).

 

[Harvey]

A less serious post this week (and one which I just discovered doesn't uncover much -- oh well) about Shatner's weight problems during the series and the production's response:

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-slim-jim-problem.html

 

[Maurice]

A less serious post this week (and one which I just discovered doesn't uncover much -- oh well) about Shatner's weight problems during the series and the production's response:

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-slim-jim-problem.html

There are some typos in the entry. Are they <sic>?

"...Bill is as rapacious an animal as any other leading many in a series..."
"...as the simple plain lines of our basic costume render most unflattering any extra poundage around the waste."

 

[Harvey]

One was my typo; the other was from the original. Fixed.

 

[davejames]

I thought the explanation Cushman had in his book made a lot of sense. That between having to spend all his time learning lines, and the stress of his marriage and home life falling apart, he just didn't have the time or motivation to focus on exercising and keeping the weight off as much.

Well, that and he clearly likes to eat.

Actually when it comes to the third season, I thought what was more unflattering with his appearance was the shaggier 60s hair and the flat looking toupee he wore that lacked the blonde highlights from before.

 

[Harvey]

Short post this week, a memo which posters here might be familiar with:

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/casting-ideas-for-star-treks-first-pilot.html

Still working on my review of These Are The Voyages, which will hopefully be done by this weekend, but you never know. I head back to Los Angeles at the end of next week, so expect a hiatus coming up, although I will do my best to write some content ahead of time and schedule it while I'm moving, looking for work, etc.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Wow, I wish I was as "fat" as Shatner was at that age.

 

[Praetor]

Great update, Harvey! A few names I haven't seen there.

Skip Homeier as Kirk? Might have worked.

Rex Holman would've made a good Vulcan, but not Spock.

Losira or Nancy Crater as Number One? Fascinating.

 

[Warped9]

I don't recall seeing Jeanne Bal outside of TOS, but Lee Meriwether would have killed it as Number One if NBC had bought the series from "The Cage."

 

[Praetor]

Agreed. She was quite the babe, too.

 

[Green Shirt]

Wow, I wish I was as "fat" as Shatner was at that age.

I supposed the definition of "fat" has changed over the years. Or has the increase in obesity made it less noticeable or objectionable?

 

[Praetor]

Eh, I'd say it's gone both ways.

Leading actors (or people who wanted to be leading actors) were always expected to be in tiptop shape, moreso than the average population. Nowadways, if anything, the obesity is probably more prevalent among the average populcate, and leading actors are expected to be even thinner.

 

[Christopher]

I supposed the definition of "fat" has changed over the years.

Has it really? If anything, it's gotten even worse, at least for women. An average, fit female physique is considered overweight by the standards of Hollywood and fashion magazines.

 

[trevanian]

There's still a huge double standard at work. Nathan Fillion is on his way to Riker-like bloat-sizing on CASTLE, but there's no way his co-star could keep working if anything like that befell her.

One more reason to like British programming is that to no small degree, the females actually look normal in size, which, assuming you're not playing a contemporary movie star or an anorexic or an anorexic-wannabe, actually makes sense.

If you can find pictures of Christina Hendricks from before MAD MEN but after FIREFLY, you'll see she was on a short-lived series that had her dieted down to ridiculous proportions, given her endowments. It's a grand fluke she wound up on a show that lets her celebrate nature instead of try to disavow it.

 

[Harvey]

As mentioned in this thread, I am moving to LA, so my blog will be on hiatus for a bit while I do that (and look for a job). I take off Thursday night, and won't be around a computer much for a few weeks after that.

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-temporary-hiatus.html

The good news is that I've written some content and scheduled it to post ahead of time. If people have other things that they want me to write about (and I'll be in LA, so getting to the files at UCLA and elsewhere will be easier) leave a comment here or on my blog about it, and I'll try and get to them.