Fact-Checking Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

[Christopher]

^Heck, one of my DS9 pitches had a resemblance to "Empok Nor." I'm sure a lot of other people's did too. "The crew encounters a threat on an exact duplicate of their own ship/station" is probably the gist of thousands of pitches, since it's an obvious way to save money.

 

[Harvey]

I should have at least one piece of original content up this month, but until then, a re-posting of a new outline review from Orion Press.

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/12/unseen-trek-for-they-shall-inherit-by.html

This one is Jerome Bixby's "For They Shall Inherit," an early version of "Day of the Dove" (it also shares story elements with Bixby's "By Any Other Name").

 

[Warped9]

Aspects of that outline remind me of the Bantam Books novel Planet Of Judgement by Joe Haldeman. In that story humans and Klingons are tested by an alien race to see who would be best suited to fight off an alien invasion. That's what I remember of it anyway.

 

[Christopher]

I should have at least one piece of original content up this month, but until then, a re-posting of a new outline review from Orion Press.

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/12/unseen-trek-for-they-shall-inherit-by.html

This one is Jerome Bixby's "For They Shall Inherit," an early version of "Day of the Dove" (it also shares story elements with Bixby's "By Any Other Name").

Was it from before or after "By Any Other Name"? It looks like Bixby cannibalized parts of it for both episodes -- and a good thing, too, since those are both classics while this one feels cliched and awkward.

Aspects of that outline remind me of the Bantam Books novel Planet Of Judgement by Joe Haldeman. In that story humans and Klingons are tested by an alien race to see who would be best suited to fight off an alien invasion. That's what I remember of it anyway.

There were no Klingons in Planet of Judgment. The Enterprise crew were tested to see if they could stand up to the invaders, but they weren't competing with anyone else for the job.

 

[Harvey]

I tend to think it was probably written after 'By Any Other Name,' but it has no date on it, so it's hard to say. I'm hoping further research will uncover the answer, but for now, I don't have one.

 

[Warped9]

Aspects of that outline remind me of the Bantam Books novel Planet Of Judgement by Joe Haldeman. In that story humans and Klingons are tested by an alien race to see who would be best suited to fight off an alien invasion. That's what I remember of it anyway.

There were no Klingons in Planet of Judgment. The Enterprise crew were tested to see if they could stand up to the invaders, but they weren't competing with anyone else for the job.

Well it has been forty years since I read the book.

 

[Christopher]

^It's worth rereading. It's my second-favorite of Bantam's Trek novels, after Gerrold's The Galactic Whirlpool.

 

[AtoZ]

Apologies, but how many of the proposed Star Trek II series from the 70's stories' ended-up being recycled for TNG?

 

[Warped9]

Apologies, but how many of the proposed Star Trek II series from the 70's stories' ended-up being recycled for TNG?

I know of at least one: "The Child." The part adapted for Deanna Troi was originally written for Ilia.

 

[Christopher]

"Devil's Due" was also a Phase II outline reworked for TNG.

 

[Warped9]

"Devil's Due" was also a Phase II outline reworked for TNG.

Oops! I forgot that one.

Funny, but I keep thinking of that one being done as a TOS episode with Elizabeth Montgomery. That could have been fun.



Of course, I'm sure Bill Theiss would have come up with a more eye catching outfit.

 

[trevanian]

"Devil's Due" was also a Phase II outline reworked for TNG.

Oops! I forgot that one.

Funny, but I keep thinking of that one being done as a TOS episode with Elizabeth Montgomery. That could have been fun.



Of course, I'm sure Bill Theiss would have come up with a more eye catching outfit.

Try finding pics of Samantha's sister or cousin Serena - those outfits were as I recall more Theiss like (or at least more groovy 60s like.)

 

[Commishsleer]

^It's worth rereading. It's my second-favorite of Bantam's Trek novels, after Gerrold's The Galactic Whirlpool.

Its one of my favourites too.
Its one of the (early) novels that gets the Kirk and Spock relationship right but also gives the other crewman and officers and even guest civilians something significant to do.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Of course, I'm sure Bill Theiss would have come up with a more eye catching outfit.

Liz Montgomery wearing Theiss? Excuse me, I have to go daydream for a while.

 

[Harvey]

Another Orion Press re-post today; this time, it's Robert Sheckley's first stab at an outline for Star Trek, which he never titled.

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/12/unseen-trek-untitled-by-robert-sheckley_7.html

I'm working on some original content again (at last!). A short piece about Star Trek and NASA should be done at some point, along with the next part of the writing of 'A Private Little War,' and some thoughts on the "revised and expanded" edition of These Are The Voyages.

 

[Warped9]

Yep, definitely elements of "The Man Trap" as well as "The Survivor" in that. There's also something of that DS9 episode where some entity gets into the computer and basically acts like a puppy wanting attention.

 

[Christopher]

It's an interesting outline with some clever ideas. I like the twist at the end, that just because an organism has superior abilities, that doesn't make it a superior intelligence. This could've made a good story, with some refinements.

It's also interesting to see that SF writers like Sheckley were being solicited so early in the creative process.

I'm unclear on whether the paragraph beginning "First, get rid of the anthropologist" is part of Sheckley's note or part of Dave's commentary. The font suggests the latter, but it reads more like the former.

 

[Harvey]

Those are Dave's comments; I've added a section break to make it clear.

 

[Warped9]

It's science fiction. So substitute anthropologist with xenobiologist or (more retro) astrobiologist. Mind you it won't be any easier on your typing fingers.

 

[Christopher]

Of course there would be an actual character name if it had gone to script.

But I like the idea that since the ship's purpose is scientific, that means the chief scientist gets to override the captain. It certainly would've made for some interesting changes if that had been the case.