I agree there: a rich and powerful target like NBC, with lawyers already on retainer, will have no hesitancy to stand and fight some little litigant who has no real case.Yeah, I don't think Gene would win against NBC's lawyers.![]()
I agree there: a rich and powerful target like NBC, with lawyers already on retainer, will have no hesitancy to stand and fight some little litigant who has no real case.Yeah, I don't think Gene would win against NBC's lawyers.![]()
Emily Litella was about 10 years removed from this era of SNL. Emily Litella was a character of Gilda Radner's from the original cast era of 1975-1980. This sketch aired on December 20th, 1986, as Star Trek IV was in theaters.Oh! As Emily Litella, also of that SNL era, would say, "never mind!"![]()
I've never heard this idea that TV shows aren't allowed to mention episode titles from other TV shows, and I don't think there's a shred of truth to this. I can't imagine how you'd go about enforcing such a rule, anyway. I'd imagine that you'd need a trademark on each individual episode title in a series to even begin to have a case for infringement, and that's not something studios are going to bother doing, especially when many television shows don't even show the episode titles onscreen.It's just about exposure to legal risk; I'm still surprised that the skit used the actual titles.
Exactly. The basic rule of parody is that once is okay, but if it crosses the line into multiple uses, it's infringement. The cartoonist Dave Sim did a parody of the Marvel Comics character Wolverine in his self-published comic Cerebus that he called Wolveroach, which was fine, but when Sim featured Wolveroach on three Cerebus covers in a row, Marvel sent him a Cease & Desist letter.Even if there was some weird rule against name-checking an episode it wouldn't matter anyway as SNL is parody or satire, they use real world trademarks all the time including names, logos, uniforms, slogans, etc.
There's also a 1972 Columbo episode titled "Dagger of the Mind." There, of course, both shows were borrowing from William ShakespeareTrue, and for example, in less than a year, Batman and TOS had episodes with "A Piece of the Action" as their titles. It just happens from time to time.
And even then, they still name-check Paramount+, Star Trek, Starfleet Academy, and used a commercially available Enterprise to make their ship. Because they can.But when they did another Star Trek type sketch in 2021, they went even further from the TOS look, probably because there was no reason to get that close.
There was a thing with a bank in the last few years where SNL ended up replacing their logo (after the inititial live show) presumably because the bank didn't like having their name used for a sketch where it didn't need to be their bank.BTW, the last time I can remember SNL even having a hint of a lawsuit directed towards them (excepting thin-skinned blowhard politicians on Twitter who object to any parodies or imitations of them) was seven years ago when they did a fake ad for Safelite Autoglass
Huh. I hadn't heard about that, since I typically watch the show live or the day after, and that alteration was likely done sometime after that.There was a thing with a bank in the last few years where SNL ended up replacing their logo (after the inititial live show) presumably because the bank didn't like having their name used for a sketch where it didn't need to be their bank.
Edit: It was Chase Bank. I went looking for stuff on the bank sketch and funnily enough Captain Disillusion did a thing on it just one week ago.
Luckily, I am not him.That Captain Disillusion video is horrible, BTW.
Space: 1999 had an episode called "The Immunity Syndrome," I think knowingly named after the Star Trek for some reason.There's also a 1972 Columbo episode titled "Dagger of the Mind." There, of course, both shows were borrowing from William Shakespeare.
I never thought you were.Luckily, I am not him.![]()
Yep. And I can remember without checking that the second part was titled "Batman's Satisfaction." The second title would usually refer to the villain's defeat in some way.But there's no way Batman was thinking about Trek when they named "A Piece of the Action." Their titles were crafted as rhyming couplets when the show was airing twice a week.
In 1986 did people even know production number?Took me a moment, but my first thought was that this post was in relation to:
So anyhoo, what @Greg Cox had said makes the most sense - episode number* rather than episode name as it's fewer syllables to spit out.
* Having even more fun, is the number pertaining to when the episode was produced or aired?![]()
But there's no way Batman was thinking about Trek when they named "A Piece of the Action." Their titles were crafted as rhyming couplets when the show was airing twice a week.
Bjo Trimble's Star Trek Concordance and Allan Asherman's The Star Trek Compendium had both come out by then, so possibly. But the episode numbers given in the SNL "Get a Life!" sketch had no relevance to the real production or airdate numbers of TOS. Just think of them as a shorthand code for "These are really obsessive fans."In 1986 did people even know production number?
They got close to the TOS Bridge and uniforms in the SNL sketch where John Belushi played Captain Kirk as the NBC execs. came out to cancel the show....BTW, SNL varies how close they get when they parody Star Trek directly. When Chris Pine hosted seven years ago, they duplicated the TOS uniforms pretty closely but didn't bother making the bridge look very much like the show. But when they did another Star Trek type sketch in 2021, they got even further away from the TOS look, probably because there was no reason to get that close.
Not as much as you might remember. It had the Captain's chair in the center, and consoles encircling it, but it was basically a simplified version of the TOS bridge, since the final gag of the sketch hadThey got close to the TOS Bridge and uniforms in the SNL sketch where John Belushi played Captain Kirk as the NBC execs. came out to cancel the show.
The Trek concordance makes that a very distinct possibility.In 1986 did people even know production number?
Yeah, in my memory it was much more accurate than the reality. Perhaps aided by it being on broadcast TV on an average sized set. (as were the Star Trek episodes I watched).Not as much as you might remember. It had the Captain's chair in the center, and consoles encircling it, but it was basically a simplified version of the TOS bridge, since the final gag of the sketch had
them taking apart the set because NBC had canceled Star Trek.
Any one with Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey could contend for that status. And they both played TOS characters flawlessly. Hartman's McCoy had me on the floor before I found out his real name.The Shatner episode, BTW, would be my pick for the best ever episode of SNL.
I bought every ST book there was in those days, and production order came my way in The Star Trek Compendium (1981) by Allan Asherman. He got the filming dates from buying a vast number of 35mm workprint clippings from Lincoln Enterprises. They included clapboard shots. I think that was our first look at production order, to be followed later by the numbered VHS tapes Paramount put out.The Trek concordance makes that a very distinct possibility.
In early October 1979, a station in my market picked up syndicated Star Trek reruns after an absence of three years. This station aired them in production order later popularized by the Compendium and the VHS releases.After the Compendium established the production numbers, Paramount tended to syndicate them in that order from 1982 on. HEROES AND ICONS still follows the Concordance order.