Notes re. The City On The Edge Of Forever....
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
Fascinating! It's hard to believe that such material would survive, but it would seem so and I certainly have no reason to doubt you. However, I will stick to my position that no one at this point and time can be trusted to be telling the whole "truth". As I mentioned there has to be a Rashoman type of effect at work after all these years. TV script writing is an inherently messy process and sorting out which is the hero or the victim in the eternal pissing match between Ellison and GR strikes me as an amusing, but ultimately futile exercise.
You can use use the finding aid to see what else has survived in the UCLA collection: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf5z09n9vr/
They also have the Robert Justman papers: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf038n99s7/
From my experience, the finding aids of both are up to date and reflect the material that is currently available in them. Of course, they are both missing plenty of material that we know about, and likely much that we don't.
They also have the Robert Justman papers: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf038n99s7/
From my experience, the finding aids of both are up to date and reflect the material that is currently available in them. Of course, they are both missing plenty of material that we know about, and likely much that we don't.
As to snarky memos - remember these are two guys who'd been working together a while and probably liked to kid around. It's not like Justman was a low-level minion sending a wise-ass memo to a big-wig CEO; it was two work-friends having the written equivalent of a meeting, goofing around a little.
It actually doesn't take long for this sort of goofing around to start. If you sense other people get your sense of humor, it can happen almost right away.
Heck we do it at work, even in emails between lowly me and the VP of human resources - we've been friends for 20 years.
The worst thing is when you try to kid with someone at work, and he flat-ass doesn't get that you're joking. You can use a funny voice, say something completely absurd, and some guys will stop dead and think there's a problem. 
These guys are drones.
These guys are drones.
The worst thing is when you try to kid with someone at work, and he flat-ass doesn't get that you're joking. You can use a funny voice, say something completely absurd, and some guys will stop dead and think there's a problem.
I worked for a guy who reminded of Dilbert's pointy haired boss.
^Dilbert is a documentary of my office. It's depressing. I have actually read thru a Dilbert collection book and ended up anxious and depressed.
Well Retail is a documentary of my days working retail...
www.retailcomic.com
Back to the topic!
It was established way back in The Making of Star Trek that GR tried to keep things light as possible within the constraints of the pressure making the show. The small practical jokes like putting a fully made up Ted Cassidy -as - Ruk in Gene's office to meet an unsuspecting salesman, the small after work parties (which was a Desilu tradition anyways), the memos with the sarcastic edge to them. It's all part of relieving the pressure a little.
Favorite Justman memo of all:
TO: All Concerned
FROM: R Justman
SUBJECT: TUESDAY
I plan on being extremely mean today.
There's a reason the Trek bloopers are some of the best of all time....
It was established way back in The Making of Star Trek that GR tried to keep things light as possible within the constraints of the pressure making the show. The small practical jokes like putting a fully made up Ted Cassidy -as - Ruk in Gene's office to meet an unsuspecting salesman, the small after work parties (which was a Desilu tradition anyways), the memos with the sarcastic edge to them. It's all part of relieving the pressure a little.
Favorite Justman memo of all:
TO: All Concerned
FROM: R Justman
SUBJECT: TUESDAY
I plan on being extremely mean today.
There's a reason the Trek bloopers are some of the best of all time....
I don't think that's true. We now know from the TOS soundtarck boxed set that it was the only episode in which the score was recorded in full stereo. This suggests that it was identified right from the get-go as a classic, and deserved special care. I don't know why they would do this unless they thought maybe there'd be a soundtrack album, since TV was mono until the 80s.
It's also true that when people are passionate about something, they fight over it, not so much because they have to hate each other (although it can bleed over into that) but because they know their finger is on something awesome. The strength of this episode, despite every beef Justman highlights in his memo, was classic Greek drama in which the lead actor has to stand by and allow the love of his life to die. Heavy sh*t for 1960s TV. Edith Keeler getting hit by the car is that classic TV moment that will live forever, seconded with Kirk's tagline "let's get the hell out of here" which was the antithesis of the happy-ending bottle episode. They knew it would be one of the best episodes, regardless of the script revisions.
City was something like his ninth or tenth script for TV, and he had done lots of script re-writes as well. He wasn't inexperienced in the field.
Well he did want to put his Cordwainer name on it, which is mentioned in the Inside Star Trek book.
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