Hey, I never noticed that before....

That shot right there really drives home how inefficient the railings on the bridge were (for the original series, anyway). Clearly they were made so that actors in the "pit" area could comfortably spread their arms upon them (for dramatic posing). But they were useless from a real life perspective, an outright "kneecapping" hazard for anybody standing upon the upper ring.
Were the rails more for the pit and to keep people from tripping in to it. You know, the whole "the most dangerous falls are from an inch or more (See also, the "Fatal Half Inch" work place safety video)?

Beyond a purely cinematic aspect in the real world, I've often wondered what the "in universe" reason was for the "pit". True, it looks cool and a StarFleet bridge just seems "off" without it, but what's the function "in story"?
It's probably meant as a control aspect and promote situational awareness for starship captains. No one can immediately run up and assault the captain (easily, any way), and those approaching in the pit would give ample warning prior to entering that zone.
 
“Alternative Factor”

When Kirk and the boys first find Lazarus’ time capsule thingy, there’s a shadow of a tree and a large, unnatural rectangle on the ship. I can only assume it’s one of the mirrors that the production crew used to focus sunlight on the scene being filmed…

alternative-factor-br-063.jpg


…like the mirrors used to film this scene from Friday’s Child.

tos-behind-the-scenes-126.jpg
 
That shot right there really drives home how inefficient the railings on the bridge were (for the original series, anyway). Clearly they were made so that actors in the "pit" area could comfortably spread their arms upon them (for dramatic posing). But they were useless from a real life perspective, an outright "kneecapping" hazard for anybody standing upon the upper ring.

Beyond a purely cinematic aspect in the real world, I've often wondered what the "in universe" reason was for the "pit". True, it looks cool and a StarFleet bridge just seems "off" without it, but what's the function "in story"?
Actors on the upper ring could comfortably sit on the railing for dramatic discussions:
bMo8duh.jpg

I just noticed that the side of of Spock's station is painted grey in the lower left. :)
 
That shot right there really drives home how inefficient the railings on the bridge were (for the original series, anyway). Clearly they were made so that actors in the "pit" area could comfortably spread their arms upon them (for dramatic posing). But they were useless from a real life perspective, an outright "kneecapping" hazard for anybody standing upon the upper ring.

Definitely should have had more than one rung. Perhaps something like this from the side:

=====|
|=====

A lower bar for command well-dwellers to lean on, an upper bar for the crew on the level above.
 
“Alternative Factor”

When Kirk and the boys first find Lazarus’ time capsule thingy, there’s a shadow of a tree and a large, unnatural rectangle on the ship. I can only assume it’s one of the mirrors that the production crew used to focus sunlight on the scene being filmed…

alternative-factor-br-063.jpg


…like the mirrors used to film this scene from Friday’s Child.

tos-behind-the-scenes-126.jpg
Very cool. Had not seen that bts before. Thank you for sharing
 
the-apple-br-483.jpg


“The Apple”

Just an observation about this goofy script and it’s misinterpretation of Kirk’s character :

While Kirk and friends are sitting around stuffing their faces, Yeoman Landon tries several times to get Kirk interested in the Enterprise, which is facing destruction. Kirk gets irritated and shows no interest except in the food, then he starts a weird conversation about reproduction. This doesn’t sound like the Kirk we know and love. Maybe Kirk got klonked on the head by Akuta during the commercial break. :shrug:
 
“The Apple”

Just an observation about this goofy script and it’s misinterpretation of Kirk’s character :

While Kirk and friends are sitting around stuffing their faces, Yeoman Landon tries several times to get Kirk interested in the Enterprise, which is facing destruction. Kirk gets irritated and shows no interest except in the food, then he starts a weird conversation about reproduction. This doesn’t sound like the Kirk we know and love. Maybe Kirk got klonked on the head by Akuta during the commercial break. :shrug:
Speaking of "The Apple," I'll bet TAS based The Lorelei Signal's principal babe on a frame or two of Celeste Yarnall. They used TOS fx clips to make tracings of the Enterprise. Why not look to that bag of Lincoln Enterprises film clips to draw any difficult subject:



Of course, they would change her likeness enough to keep her off the scent. And it turned out pretty well.
 
Speaking of "The Apple," I'll bet TAS based The Lorelei Signal's principal babe on a frame or two of Celeste Yarnall. They used TOS fx clips to make tracings of the Enterprise. Why not look to that bag of Lincoln Enterprises film clips to draw any difficult subject:



Of course, they would change her likeness enough to keep her off the scent. And it turned out pretty well.

Good eye, Zap. I found another one: the girl on the far left looks like a film clip tracing of Susan Oliver (Vina) in "The Menagerie":
 
‘The Mark of Gideon’

I’ve seen this episode at least 10,000 times. Yes, I noticed that there are a lot of bald heads on the Gideon Council, but I never really gave it much thought.

Hodin has a full head of hair, but the other three don’t. Why would Fred Phillips go to all that trouble to put skull caps on those dudes, especially with the slashed 3rd season budget?

Come to think of it, all the average people shown on Gideon wear full leotards with hoodies. Maybe they’re all bald. :shrug:

mark-of-gideon-br-399.jpg
 
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Come to think of it, all the average people shown on Gideon wear full leotards with hoodies. Maybe they’re all bald. :shrug:
Good catch:
Hair requires resources like water and shampoo which are in short supply due to the overpopulation. Only the rich/elite of the society can afford hair. This is evident with one of higher council members (indicated by more brown hexagons) supporting a mustache while the lesser brown hexagon members are completely hairless. The council head, Ambassador Hodin supports full head hair and beard/mustache facial hair. Also, Odona has long hair since she is the daughter of Hodin. I suppose that all common women are bald and wear hoodies to hide their baldness. Maybe the planet has a lice problem due to the overpopulation, too. :rofl:
 
Throwing stars????
Sure pick the one that didn't :lol:. Many, but apparently not all, martial arts weapons supposedly originated as farming tools. The reason, as the legend goes, was that the Japanese government banned Okinawan peasants from owning weapons, so they had to improvise. A quick Googling comes up with a few well-known examples:

Now that it's mentioned, I can easily see the lirpa starting out as some sort of reaping tool, with the hammer end used for pounding grain.
 
‘The Mark of Gideon’
Why would Fred Phillips go to all that trouble to put skull caps on those dudes, especially with the slashed 3rd season budget?
mark-of-gideon-br-399.jpg

I thought about that too, and my answer is right at this link:
 
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