New Book about TOS: These Are The Voyages

[feek61]

I received an advance copy of the book today and I must say that it is amazing!! If you are interested in the production of the original series; this book is a "must have" book. There are at least 15-20 pages devoted to each episode plus a bunch of other behind the scenes informational chapters in the book. As someone who has read every book about the original series multiple times; I am blown away. I was skeptical when I first heard about this book because it sounded too good to be true and because I am myself a tenacious researcher. I feared it would be another book that only touched the surface of the series that I love; I was wrong. Believe the hype; this IS the TOS Bible!

Order it here: http://jbmj-book-store.myshopify.com/products/these-are-the-voyages-tos-season-one-hardbound-edition

 

[Warped9]

Man, I really want this book. I'm thinking of saying "to hell with it" and pop for the inflated shipping. I don't buy much collectible stuff anyway.

 

[Indysolo]

I'm waiting for all three to be released. Maybe by then there will be a Kindle version, too.

 

[controlfreak]

I just had a Trek-Gasm!! Must own this book.

 

[Maurice]

I'd be curious if the book discusses why in The Galileo Seven they cut out the ape men's faces and why they superimposed the fog over the body with the spear in it. Any notes about that?

 

[Warped9]

Hiding the apeman's face could simply be a measure to hide the fact that said faces weren't very convincing on camera. A picture of that face has been floating around for many years and it makes Balok and the Gorn look like brilliant craftsmanship in comparison. Hiding the body with fog---well in those days you wouldn't dare show anything too graphic with a dead body particularly if it has a spear protruding from it.

 

[22 Stars]

Ordered and got a confirmation of shipment. Now to find time to read it and build my 1/350 TOS Enterprise!

 

[CrazyMatt]

Ordered and got a confirmation of shipment. Now to find time to read it and build my 1/350 TOS Enterprise!

Ditto, except I'm off to build my 1/1400 scale Galaxy-class USS Magellan.

 

[feek61]

I'd be curious if the book discusses why in The Galileo Seven they cut out the ape men's faces and why they superimposed the fog over the body with the spear in it. Any notes about that?

Yes it talks about both of these things. The ape mans face was not shown because of the NBC censors; they felt it was too gross and would shock viewers. The same with the fake fog. Originally the scene showed a body with a spear sticking out of the back but NBC would have no part of that so fog was superimposed over that part to hide it from the viewers.

 

[Warped9]

I'd be curious if the book discusses why in The Galileo Seven they cut out the ape men's faces and why they superimposed the fog over the body with the spear in it. Any notes about that?

Yes it talks about both of this things. The ape mans face was not shown because of the NBC censors; they felt it was too gross and would shock viewers. The same with the fake fog. Originally the scene showed a body with a spear sticking out of the back but NBC would have no part of that so fog was superimposed over that part to hide that part from the viewers.

If viewers watching television in those days ever got a fast-forward glimpse of what's allowed to be shown today (particularly on specialty cable channels) quite a few of them would likely be very shocked.

 

[mb22]

Yes it talks about both of this things. The ape mans face was not shown because of the NBC censors; they felt it was too gross and would shock viewers.

Is that apeman really much more gross than the fanged monster in "The Menagerie" (not the Kalar warrior; the creature that the Keeper briefly "transforms" into), or the Salt Vampire from "Man Trap" or more "shocking" than the faceless crewwoman in "Charlie X"? What about all the monsters from The Outer Limits (from which the Menagerie monster was adapted)?

 

[Warped9]

Yes it talks about both of this things. The ape mans face was not shown because of the NBC censors; they felt it was too gross and would shock viewers.

Is that apeman really much more gross than the fanged monster in "The Menagerie" (not the Kalar warrior; the creature that the Keeper briefly "transforms" into), or the Salt Vampire from "Man Trap" or more "shocking" than the faceless crewwoman in "Charlie X"? What about all the monsters from The Outer Limits (from which the Menagerie monster was adapted)?

Don't try to make any sense of it. Not long before TOS you weren't even allowed to bare a belly button on television because it was thought too titillating.

 

[Ssosmcin]

And Barbara Eden never was permitted to show hers during the 5 seasons of I Dream of Jeannie, which ended in 1970. Even after other navels were exposed. In episodes folmed on Hawaii, the beach was filled with bikini clad young ladies. Barbara Eden had to wear a one-piece. Go figure.

 

[Richard Baker]

IIRC in the book 'The Making of Star Trek' they mentioned that the NBC censors would also not let you show the underside of a boob. You could bear the top almost down to the nipple, but never show the underside. The writer remarked 'perhaps they thought moss grew there'
I remember how shocking some original Trek was back then- 'The Lights of Zeta' had faces shifting colors while making haunting echo/croaking sounds, my mother freaked out about me watching that...
Now you have people torn in half on laxative commercials- oh what a brave new world we live in!

 

[mb22]

Shatner's navel was exposed in the 1966 first season "Charlie X" and "What Are Little Girls Made Of". Nichols’ (in “Mirror Mirror”) and other female stars weren’t seen until the 1967 second season.

 

[Maurice]

I'd be curious if the book discusses why in The Galileo Seven they cut out the ape men's faces and why they superimposed the fog over the body with the spear in it. Any notes about that?

Yes it talks about both of these things. The ape mans face was not shown because of the NBC censors; they felt it was too gross and would shock viewers. The same with the fake fog. Originally the scene showed a body with a spear sticking out of the back but NBC would have no part of that so fog was superimposed over that part to hide it from the viewers.

That's what I suspected.

 

[CrazyMatt]

Due to his untimely early death in 1973, one of the big holes in TOS production history documentation has always been specific episodic contributions, thoughts, ideas, etc. of Gene Coon. Compared with Roddenberry, Justman, Solow, et al., who were around for years to give detailed interviews (or write books) detailing their contributions, Coon's impacts have often been couched in more general terms. Did this book provide insights that give the reader a (hopefully much) better idea of his true value to this thing we all know and love?

 

[Myko]

I read the reviews on the site and broke down and ordered the book. Thankfully the dollar isn't what it used to be so it didn't turn out to be that much money. Hopefully I won't have to pay customs (yeah, right).

 

[feek61]

I have read over 300 pages of this book (and I'm only about half-way through, woohoo!!) and by far it is the best book on the making of TOS I have ever read . . . and I have read them all many times. The amount of research that has gone into this book is unparalleled and is so interesting to read. Much of the content is from the actual memos from the time of production and interviews and at this point; this is good as we are ever going to get. Very good detail. I have found just a few typo's here and there (Comm officer in WNMHGB listed as "Alder" instead of "Alden") but by far this book is the best on the making of the series. I can't wait for Volumes 2 & 3. My only complaint; I wish the photos were in color.

 

[trevanian]

The Gene Coon aspect is what is of most interest to me as well.