Fat of 25 proposed episode titles in the Compendium

[erastus25]

Questions about 25 proposed episode titles in the Compendium

I recently purchased a copy of the first edition of the Asherman compendium, and it has some pretty interesting information not included in the most recent edition. If you can get a hold of a copy, I recommend it for any true TOS junkie. It's pretty rare though.

Anyway, my question is this: Asherman mentions that Roddenberry's first series proposal draft listed 25 potential episode titles and an "accompan[ying] short synopsis" for each. Asherman explains that several of these episodes would eventually become TOS episodes as listed below:

1. The Next Cage - Elements were included in The Cage
2. The Day Charlie Became God - Early draft of Charlie X
3. President Capone - known by us as A Piece of the Action
4. Mirror - Became...Mirror, Mirror.
5. The Women - Now known as Mudd's Women
6. A Matter of Choice - Elements used in The Cage
7. The Coming - Elements included in Bread and Circuses (presumably The Coming refers to "The Son" references in BaC).
8. Mr. Socrates - Also part of the inspiration for Bread and Circuses.
9. The Man Trap - Interestingly became Shore Leave and not...The Man Trap.
10. 100 A.B. - The Omega Glory; A.B.: After the Bomb.

Asherman comments that the following three episodes were similar to ideas used in future Sci-Fi. endeavors:
11. To Skin a Tyrannosaurus - similar to the Space:1999 episode "Full Circle" in which "Moonbase Alpha personnel reverted (for a temporary period) to cavemen." Also sounds vaguely reminiscent of TNG's Genesis!
12. Infection - A female crew member is impregnated by alien larvae. Asherman notes that this idea is used in the movie Alien, among other places. I also wonder if it eventually became the Phase II/TNG episode The Child. If so, would this episode have the longest time between treatment and actual production?
13. The Pet Shop - Women are masters of men and treat them as pets. Asherman mentions that Roddenberry adopted this idea for his 1974 pilot "Planet Earth". Could this also have become The Lorelei Signal from TAS?
14. The Stranger - An intelligence smuggles itself aboard the Enterprise. (Possibly this became The Man Trap or TAS episode The Survivor?)

Episode titles with no details of the synopses given:
15. The Perfect World
16. Camelot Revisited
17. Kentucky, Kentucky
18. The Trader
19. A Question of Cannibalism
20. Torx
21. Kongo
22. The Venus Planet
23. The Perfect World
24. Reason
25. Reason II

Does anyone know anything else about these synopses, especially the unused one?

Does anyone know if my speculation about a few of them listed above is at all accurate? Asherman's descriptions are so limited that it's tough to tell if I'm just seeing resemblances because they are basic sci-fi concepts or if they were actually recycled to later scripts.

Better yet...does anyone have a copy of the series proposal draft that the episode proposals are listed in?

Also, please note that I checked Sir Rhosis' superb site outlining unused scripts and couldn't find any references to the undetailed episodes listed.

 

[Timewalker]

Anyway, my question is this: Asherman mentions that Roddenberry's first series proposal draft listed 25 potential episode titles and an "accompan[ying] short synopsis" for each. Asherman explains that several of these episodes would eventually become TOS episodes as listed below:

1. The Next Cage - Elements were included in The Cage
2. The Day Charlie Became God - Early draft of Charlie X
3. President Capone - known by us as A Piece of the Action
4. Mirror - Became...Mirror, Mirror.
5. The Women - Now known as Mudd's Women
6. A Matter of Choice - Elements used in The Cage
7. The Coming - Elements included in Bread and Circuses (presumably The Coming refers to "The Son" references in BaC).
8. Mr. Socrates - Also part of the inspiration for Bread and Circuses.
9. The Man Trap - Interestingly became Shore Leave and not...The Man Trap.
10. 100 A.B. - The Omega Glory; A.B.: After the Bomb.

13. The Pet Shop - Women are masters of men and treat them as pets. Asherman mentions that Roddenberry adopted this idea for his 1974 pilot "Planet Earth". Could this also have become The Lorelei Signal from TAS?
14. The Stranger - An intelligence smuggles itself aboard the Enterprise. (Possibly this became The Man Trap or TAS episode The Survivor?)

Episode titles with no details of the synopses given:
15. The Perfect World
16. Camelot Revisited
17. Kentucky, Kentucky
18. The Trader
19. A Question of Cannibalism
20. Torx
21. Kongo
22. The Venus Planet
23. The Perfect World
24. Reason
25. Reason II

I don't have any concrete information, but I will offer a few speculations:

#13 could also match up with Spock's Brain -- the women were also dominant in that one.

The Perfect World: possibly This Side of Paradise, The Way to Eden, The Paradise Syndrome

Kentucky, Kentucky: possibly This Side of Paradise (I'm thinking of McCoy and his fondness for mint juleps and other exotic alcoholic drinks)

The Trader: probably refers to one of the Harry Mudd episodes

A Question of Cannibalism: maybe The Enemy Within (Sulu did ask for a long rope and a pot of hot coffee... )

Kongo: I recall this on the list of potential starship names in The Making of Star Trek (by Gene Roddenberry). Maybe one of the episodes dealing with another specific starship (ie. Constellation, Intrepid, Defiant, etc.)?

The Venus Planet: since it wasn't commonly known back in the '60s what kind of planet Venus really is, it can't refer to The Savage Curtain. So maybe it's yet another reference to Mudd's Women (ie. the Venus drug).

 

[M'Sharak]

It may be Sir Rhosis who either posted or posted a link to a very similar list quite recently. He would probably be the best person here to ask about any or all of these.

Edit:

I believe this is it (from his web pages.)

 

[JNG]

Erasustus25,

I have a PDF of the original Trek pitch which contains plot summaries for the episode titles you listed there (e.g. Kongo, which is about white slavery). PM me an email address and I will send you the PDF. It's an interesting read!

 

[Sir Rhosis]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I've never put anything up on "Unseen Elements" about the short premises because most never went beyond that stage.

The document that JNG mentions above is called Star Trek is, and is online.

Go to this excellent page, and find the link to it partway down.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/misc/trek_history.htm

Sir Rhosis

 

[Timewalker]

Erasustus25,

I have a PDF of the original Trek pitch which contains plot summaries for the episode titles you listed there (e.g. Kongo, which is about white slavery). PM me an email address and I will send you the PDF. It's an interesting read!

Ooh, is that the one David Gerrold talked about, where the black people were the dominant ones and the white people were the slaves? He said he'd thought of that story as a way to feature McCoy and Uhura.

 

[erastus25]

First off...sorry about the funny title for this thread - I have no idea what I was thinking. I guess that's why one shouldn't log on to TrekBBS while drunk.

Erasustus25,

I have a PDF of the original Trek pitch which contains plot summaries for the episode titles you listed there (e.g. Kongo, which is about white slavery). PM me an email address and I will send you the PDF. It's an interesting read!

Thank you for the offer! But since it's online I can just look at it there.

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I've never put anything up on "Unseen Elements" about the short premises because most never went beyond that stage.

The document that JNG mentions above is called Star Trek is, and is online.

Go to this excellent page, and find the link to it partway down.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/misc/trek_history.htm

Sir Rhosis

Wow! I've been to that website several times and never noticed it. Thank you so much for the heads up!

PS: I love that people on this board can answer pretty much any ST question within 24 hours. It's awesome. I dream of the day I'll stump everyone.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Re: Questions about 25 proposed episode titles in the Compendium

8. Mr. Socrates - Also part of the inspiration for Bread and Circuses.

Or "Requiem for Methuselah"?

9. The Man Trap - Interestingly became Shore Leave and not...The Man Trap.

Because "The Man Trap" was originally called "The Unreal McCoy", of course.

11. To Skin a Tyrannosaurus - sounds vaguely reminiscent of TNG's Genesis!

And Phase II's "The Savage Syndrome", where they similarly devolve to primitives roaming the corridors, and separate into hunting groups by their uniform colours.

 

[Timewalker]

Re: Questions about 25 proposed episode titles in the Compendium

8. Mr. Socrates - Also part of the inspiration for Bread and Circuses.

Or "Requiem for Methuselah"?

According to one of the links provided earlier in this thread, it's "Plato's Stepchildren."

11. To Skin a Tyrannosaurus - sounds vaguely reminiscent of TNG's Genesis!

Sounds like "Arena" to me.

 

[gastrof]

Re: Questions about 25 proposed episode titles in the Compendium

11. To Skin a Tyrannosaurus - sounds vaguely reminiscent of TNG's Genesis!

Sounds like "Arena" to me.

Not when you consider the text you edited out-
"...similar to the Space:1999 episode "Full Circle" in which "Moonbase Alpha personnel reverted (for a temporary period) to cavemen..."

 

[EEE]

Re: Questions about 25 proposed episode titles in the Compendium

11. To Skin a Tyrannosaurus - sounds vaguely reminiscent of TNG's Genesis!

And Phase II's "The Savage Syndrome", where they similarly devolve to primitives roaming the corridors, and separate into hunting groups by their uniform colours.

That reminds me of the filming of the original Planet of the Apes. Seems that between takes and at lunch, the people in three types of ape makeup found themselves segregating into groups by ape species/makeup... the actors in chimp makeup hung out with the other actors in chimp makeup between takes, gorillas with gorillas, etc. Many commented that it was never planned nor noticed until later. Seems that the TOS crew wouldn't have to devolve all the way to primitives to be realistic!

 

[ToddPence]

"The Perfect World" sounds like the springboard for "The Return of the Archons".