Misconceptions about TOS

[Joel_Kirk]

I do think there was a similar thread months or years back, but I wanted to start one that maybe lists the misconceptions, either by fans, casual viewers, or non-fans - about TOS.

• The supposed 'first interracial kiss' obviously is one, especially since interracial kisses - scripted - were done before 'that episode' in other shows and even in TOS itself. It's just that America has a certain fetish about race when it involves black individuals.
  
• Another misconception is Kirk hitting on every woman or having relationships with many women. One comment I've heard over the years is that Kirk 'slept with a green woman' in the show, which he never did. In reality, he certainly has the same amount of attention towards women as any man would. A very good example is him being professional with the very lovely Marla McGivers and even Uhura. (What's interesting is that the Abramsverse actually plays on that misconception and actually does have Kirk hit on a lot of women, and even use his position as leverage).
  
• Yet another, is the death of the redshirts. Now, while the 'redshirts' are usually the security guards who face danger first....we've also seen many other 'shirts' get taken down as well.
  
• "Beam me up, Scotty" was a line that was never said, but was on bumper stickers and used by those casual or non-fans.

Anymore?

 

[Warped9]

You hit on some big ones.

Another (in my view) is in regard to Shatner's speech pattern. It's been exaggerrated and caricatured over the years to the point of ridiculousness. He rarely spoke that way and it's more apparent in some third season episodes.

If you really want to hear deliberate speech pauses watch John Banner as Sargeant Shultz on Hogan's Heroes at times.

The idea of the show being deliberate camp. No, the show was never intended that way and still doesn't work that way except in the more deliberate comedy oriented episodes, particularly "I, Mudd" and "A Piece Of The Action."

 

[telerites]

Not sure if a misconception but at least when I was watching (early 70s) that it was just a kid's show and while I was a youngster at the time. I certainly didn't appreciate the social relevance of most episodes.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

The idea of the show being deliberate camp. No, the show was never intended that way and still doesn't work that way except in the more deliberate comedy oriented episodes, particularly "I, Mudd" and "A Piece Of The Action."

I never got camp from the original. Camp is intentional, and Trek was hardly doing camp. It can be argued there is a certain amount of kitsch in the show because it looked nothing like anything else on TV then (or now).

 

[telerites]

The idea of the show being deliberate camp. No, the show was never intended that way and still doesn't work that way except in the more deliberate comedy oriented episodes, particularly "I, Mudd" and "A Piece Of The Action."

I never got camp from the original. Camp is intentional, and Trek was hardly doing camp. It can be argued there is a certain amount of kitsch in the show because it looked nothing like anything else on TV then (or now).

I agree - I never got camp out of it like "Batman" or what "Lost in Space" became.

I thought the episodes like "I, Mudd," "A Piece Of The Action," and "The Trouble with Tribbles"infused comedic elements which I personally liked and wished there were more episodes like those.

 

[Warped9]

Not sure if a misconception but at least when I was watching (early 70s) that it was just a kid's show and while I was a youngster at the time. I certainly didn't appreciate the social relevance of most episodes.

Back in the day things that delved into the fantastic were often viewed as mostly kid's fare. A show like Lost In Space underlined that sentiment and anything that looked remotely like that could easily be labeled the same. A lot of the B sci-fi films of the '50s as well as the seriels like Flash Gordon from earlier really cemented that idea in the broader public consciousness.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Not sure if a misconception but at least when I was watching (early 70s) that it was just a kid's show and while I was a youngster at the time. I certainly didn't appreciate the social relevance of most episodes.

Back in the day things that delved into the fantastic were often viewed as mostly kid's fare. A show like Lost In Space underlined that sentiment and anything that looked remotely like that could easily be labeled the same. A lot of the B sci-fi films of the '50s as well as the seriels like Flash Gordon from earlier really cemented that idea in the broader public consciousness.

Various episodes in the series have plot lines that are so implausible or unrealistic as to be embarrassing when viewed in unkind company ("The Squire of Gothos", "Who Mourns for Adonais", "Floating Space Lincoln"). Occasional episodes have individual scenes that are terribly embarrassing ("And the Children Shall Lead", "Plato's Stepchildren").

There used to be a big misconception out there that Star Trek was "about" those silly plot ideas. I think The Wrath of Khan went a long way toward making ST respectable among non-fans. That was a turning point in the broader public perception.

 

[OpenMaw]

Hey, hey hey hey...! ...I will not have have anyone besmirch Squire of Gothos in my company!

 

[BillJ]

There used to be a big misconception out there that Star Trek was "about" those silly plot ideas. I think The Wrath of Khan went a long way toward making ST respectable among non-fans. That was a turning point in the broader public perception.

I would think all those people watching in syndication in the 1970's is the turning point. Without them, there is no movie franchise to begin with. Many, many people were watching those "silly plot ideas" over and over and over again.

 

[Warped9]

There used to be a big misconception out there that Star Trek was "about" those silly plot ideas. I think The Wrath of Khan went a long way toward making ST respectable among non-fans. That was a turning point in the broader public perception.

I would think all those people watching in syndication in the 1970's is the turning point. Without them, there is no movie franchise to begin with. Many, many people were watching those "silly plot ideas" over and over and over again.

Agreed. There were people taking notice during the original run, but evermore people got exposed to the show on the '70s and that's where the respectability really started to take root I think.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

There used to be a big misconception out there that Star Trek was "about" those silly plot ideas. I think The Wrath of Khan went a long way toward making ST respectable among non-fans. That was a turning point in the broader public perception.

I would think all those people watching in syndication in the 1970's is the turning point. Without them, there is no movie franchise to begin with. Many, many people were watching those "silly plot ideas" over and over and over again.

Agreed. There were people taking notice during the original run, but evermore people got exposed to the show on the '70s and that's where the respectability really started to take root I think.

Here's how I remember the 1970s and early 80s. A core audience of ST fans had memorized the episodes in syndication and were widely looked down upon as silly fans.

There were additional viewers who liked ST more casually: they hastened to deny being "Trekkies" but didn't trash the show.

Beyond those two groups, the general public thought Star Trek was a joke. Then when the movies got going, a shift in national opinion began and Star Trek became respectable, or nearly so, and you weren't mocked anymore as long as you weren't walking around in a Starfleet uniform or something.

The most I can say is, maybe that third group, the general public, is exaggerated in my mind and I didn't know how many people were with me. But it didn't seem like that at the time, I'm telling you.

 

[BillJ]

The most I can say is, maybe that third group, the general public, is exaggerated in my mind and I didn't know how many people were with me. But it didn't seem like that at the time, I'm telling you.

It just seems unlikely Paramount would spend as much money as they did on Phase II/The Motion Picture if the stigma was that big.

 

[Warped9]

I remember talking to a variety of people in the late '70s and early '80s where I really became aware of general opinions about the show. For everyone I met who didn't pay much attention to the show (beyond general awareness of its exiatence) I met someone who thought it was something worthy of note.

And we only have to take note of how many people in notable and professional fields were inspired by the show during those early days to see it was respected.

If anything TWOK might mark where the general media starting to take note of the widespread appeal of TOS even after so many years since its production. But the audience respect was already there.

 

[Hypaspist]

- Kirk is a hair on fire, balls to the wall kind of renegade with a shallow character. It kind of ties him with being too much of a player. I think the biggest mis-step in the show that led to this was when they got rid of the Janice Rand character. She was originally a kind of star crossed lover of Kirk, being enlisted and not having an overt relationship. The way they embraced in Balance of Terror explained all of that with mere imagery.

- Spock is a typical Vulcan. I always got the impression that he was a lot like Worf in that he emphasized his alien-ness for personal reasons. This idea seems to be supported by the films but negated by TNG era Vulcans.

- Gene Roddenberry came up with everything. Really it was a collaborative effort that made the franchise what it was. Without Koon and DC Fontana, a lot of what we know would never have existed. Same thing for Jeffries, the actors themselves, and other writers with extensive Sci Fi writing backgrounds. Roddenberry had the initial spark and got the show going, but he was just one of the factors that got it all started.

 

[Melakon]

When those yellow diamond "Baby On Board" signs were popular in the 80s, I had one saying "Beam Me Up Scotty".

 

[Warped9]

- Kirk is a hair on fire, balls to the wall kind of renegade with a shallow character. It kind of ties him with being too much of a player. I think the biggest mis-step in the show that led to this was when they got rid of the Janice Rand character. She was originally a kind of star crossed lover of Kirk, being enlisted and not having an overt relationship. The way they embraced in Balance of Terror explained all of that with mere imagery.

This is a huge misconception played up even moreso by the JJtrek films.

- Gene Roddenberry came up with everything. Really it was a collaborative effort that made the franchise what it was.

True. GR did lay the groundwork and did indeed help guide the show along as it developed, but he certainly didn't think of everything.

 

[BillJ]

- Kirk is a hair on fire, balls to the wall kind of renegade with a shallow character. It kind of ties him with being too much of a player. I think the biggest mis-step in the show that led to this was when they got rid of the Janice Rand character. She was originally a kind of star crossed lover of Kirk, being enlisted and not having an overt relationship. The way they embraced in Balance of Terror explained all of that with mere imagery.

This is a huge misconception played up even moreso by the JJtrek films.

Which was started with Star Trek II/III.

 

[Warped9]

- Kirk is a hair on fire, balls to the wall kind of renegade with a shallow character. It kind of ties him with being too much of a player. I think the biggest mis-step in the show that led to this was when they got rid of the Janice Rand character. She was originally a kind of star crossed lover of Kirk, being enlisted and not having an overt relationship. The way they embraced in Balance of Terror explained all of that with mere imagery.

This is a huge misconception played up even moreso by the JJtrek films.

Which was started with Star Trek II/III.

Yep, the films began to drift from what had been established in TOS. By TUC they even openly play up the cliches and caricatures.

It can be a sobering experience to watch the films--original and JJ--then watch TOS to see how it was in its prime.

 

[Hypaspist]

Which was started with Star Trek II/III.

I think 2 established that he had a bit of a rebellious flair, especially in his youth. 3 was the most renegade he ever was and it was for a good reason, plus it had serious repercussions. I can't think of any time in real history when a flag officer has been demoted back to Colonel/Captain or whatever. That's literally reversing a presidential decision.

I wouldn't want that one action to make the character constantly portrayed that way. If they had the new Chekov like he was in the movie, he'd be a useless idiot. I like that they took the best things about his character and ran with it in the new movies. In the originals, his whole character was basically that he was Russian, and that's it. Making him a kind of technological prodigy was a good move. To be honest, Chekov, Uhura, and even Scotty were never really given a chance to show why they were so special in the old movies. Scotty was more of a soldier, not really a genius engineer.

 

[Lance]

- Gene Roddenberry came up with everything. Really it was a collaborative effort that made the franchise what it was. Without Koon and DC Fontana, a lot of what we know would never have existed. Same thing for Jeffries, the actors themselves, and other writers with extensive Sci Fi writing backgrounds. Roddenberry had the initial spark and got the show going, but he was just one of the factors that got it all started.

To take this one further, something which often annoys me is how this gets applied to the conception of TNG. For example, people will talk generally about "Roddenberry wanting a Klingon on the crew to show how things had changed since TOS" or what-not, but the fact is that Roddenberry HATED the idea of Worf, he didn't want old aliens from the Original Series at all. It was Bob Justman who conceived the idea of a 'Klingon Marine' being integrated into the cast. And yet, Justman gets overlooked, because it's easier for lazy journalists to just claim Roddenberry did everything.