Richard Arnold?

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I've only seen him on convention stages, and while I've been to a convention since Gene died, I haven't since Majel died. My impression was that he was just a guy sent out to talk to convention audiences about new projects.

As to the situation that existed during his era, though, we must consider Gene Roddenberry's point of view:

At the time, there were TOS theatrical films being produced, and TNG was still in production, as an open-ended series, with plans to eventually promote or retire Picard, and make Riker the captain. ST books were being written and published at a rate of one or two per month, but ST was still first, last, and always a television series. In addition, quality on TAS was spotty at best, and there were more than a few episodes that made the worst of the third season of TOS seem like Shakespeare. In general, it was (and is) far easier on the TNG screenwriters to ignore TAS and all of the novels and short stories, than to potentially set up a "tail wagging the dog" situation.

Then, too, even though there were a few really good novels of that era that were, nonetheless, shameless Mary-Sues (think Diane Carey) and hardcore-Libertarian political screeds (again, think Diane Carey), allowing that sort of thing to continue would have only encouraged publication of the other 99% of Mary-Sues.

 

[Therin of Andor]

How long did she have a parking space on the studio lot after GR passed?

Well Susan was fired (and locked out) of her office the day after Gene died. If she somehow was able to retain a parking spot... well, good on her. She stopped working at Paramount immediately, so why would she need to keep going there, unless to meet friends at the commissary? Maybe she picked up some temp work there, but I don't recall that she did.

I've known Susan since 1983 and, while she was certainly a feisty person, all of my dealings with her were extremely cordial. We also had hosted her in Sydney and Brisbane at at least three conventions.

I'm guessing you had some run-ins with her? I can see how some people would simply butt heads with each other.

 

[Therin of Andor]

My impression was that he was just a guy sent out to talk to convention audiences about new projects..

Richard Arnold wasn't "sent out". That's the publicists' job. For example, Eddie Egan did many conventions presenting a promotional slideshow on ST III throughout late '83 and early '84.

Conventions invite RA to conventions, but he does bring official Paramount Publicity slides, and he still has access to Roddenberry Estate slides as well.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

That's the publicists' job.

At the time, that's more-or-less what he appeared to be, at least at the conventions where I saw him.

Then again, I was never very active on the ST convention circuit. I typically only going to Creation's Disneyland Hotel and Pasadena Center events (and I think one at a hotel near LAX). Oh, and something called "Space Con 4" at the L.A. Convention Center, in my early teens, and also a free show at a local shopping mall, where I got to see Stephen Goldin and Kathleen Sky, almost got to see Alan Dean Foster, and bought my copy of Foster's The Tar-Aiym Krang. So I make no claim to be particularly hip about Arnold, only to give my own impressions, based on rather limited exposure.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Do I remember something somewhere on here, perhaps the last time this was bought up, that people were falling over each other (presumably metaphorically speaking) to hand RA his pink slip?

 

[Captain Robert April]

I suspect there was a degree of just-cant-wait until Roddenberry died so they could clear out some of his hangers-on, although I think in Susan's case, that had more to do with Majel's wishes.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Do I remember something somewhere on here, perhaps the last time this was bought up, that people were falling over each other (presumably metaphorically speaking) to hand RA his pink slip?

Keith DeCandido said that was the story he'd heard, yes.

It's one of those things that, if it's not true, it just sounds so good that it should be true.

 

[Therin of Andor]

It's one of those things that, if it's not true, it just sounds so good that it should be true.

AFAIK, Susan Sackett and her writing partner, Fred Bronson (TAS's John Culver), were in Gene's office watching the final cut of a TNG episode they'd written when the news of GR's death came through. They left, and when Susan arrived the next day, the ST Office door locks had been changed and Security assisted her to remove her personal belongings. She was only permitted to take property upon which her name was inscribed. She had to leave behind her personal, mint condition, collection of Bantam ST novels, upon which she'd worked, vetting the manuscripts, because she'd not added her name (wanting to keep them in mint condition).

RA was also locked out, but... Paramount wanted to use his Trek knowledge to sort out what was owned by whom. When I was in LA in the December, for DeForest Kelley's Star Ceremony on the Walk of Fame, I rendezvoused with Susan at the public barricades but, ironically, RA was on the business side of the barricades. He'd been assisting Paramount with official guest lists, trivia quotes for the ceremony, etc. So, he was kept on for several weeks after GR's death, and his Archive duties were eventually assumed by his assistant, Guy Vardaman.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

See, you just have to go and ruin a perfectly good urban legend for the rest of us.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I have to question what a "Star Trek archivist" actually does. It sounds like nonsense.

 

[Stevil2001]

I have to question what a "Star Trek archivist" actually does. It sounds like nonsense.

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Memory_Alpha:Archivists

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

It's one of those things that, if it's not true, it just sounds so good that it should be true.

And you would be the expert on such things.

(couldn't resist)

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'm guessing you had some run-ins with her?

I never had to bother with her, thank god.

Forty-five minutes.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I have to question what a "Star Trek archivist" actually does. It sounds like nonsense.

Well, I'm a school librarian, but I also look after physical archives from the history of our school. I don't have to, but people often ask me to find stuff, with curly, urgent questions coming, from both within and without the school. It's in my own interest to store and catalogue this random material so I don't have to reinvent the wheel with every search. These requests always have impossible deadlines, but I also must complete my regular duties without interruption.

They created a title for Richard's position at Paramount, but someone at Paramount has to be able to identify all actors appearing in all production stills, dating back to the early 60s and, more than that, someone who can go through the uncatalogued archives and find the exact still (or footage to create a still) of all episodes and movies to fulfill requests by licensees and journalists for actors, characters, aliens, props, sets, etc. And do it fast! And to mark pics of the Enterprise so they don't get printed upside down (often ignored).

RA also vetted all incoming scripts, tie-in manuscripts, writing responses in Gene-speak as to GR's oppositions, vetted Paramount publicity blurbs for accuracy, catalogued production slides, identified stored costumes with previous actors who wore them (many TOS items were unlabeled), wrote regular columns for the Official Fan Club magazine, and was official guide for the Star Trek sets. Despite being a "closed set", there were visitors almost every day.

I reckon there were many more duties. The position was created for him, but he would have picked all those yukky, little, fiddly duties no one else ever wanted to deal with.

 

[JD]

Does anyone do that stuff now? Or is that pretty much all just done via websites like Memory Alpha?

 

[F. King Daniel]

Thanks for the heads-up, Therin.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Does anyone do that stuff now? Or is that pretty much all just done via websites like Memory Alpha?

AFAIK, tie-in proposals and manuscripts are scrutinized by John Van Citters and his team at CBS Consumer Products. All licensees are supposed to get their toy, apparel, game, poster, etc, approved as well, but yeah, it would be someone at the studio whose job description included keeping records and answering queries. Someone has to stop the toy companies putting JJ's Uhura dolls into a blue uniform, etc. IIRC, Paramount entrusted their right to vetting to CBS. JJ's people also seem to have someone on staff to archive stuff.

They may use Memory Alpha or Beta. (Certainly, some novel introductions have said so.) Even I have been approached to consult. I exchanged numerous emails back and forth with Manny Jesus, of Art Asylum, when he was sculpting Playmate's 4.5" Andorian, 12" Andorian (and a Tellarite that never went past the design phase). He found me via Google. I've also been a beta reader for one ST novel, and I know several writers have referenced my ST websites while researching their books, esp. Andorians in "Andor: Pradigm", TAS stuff in the "Crucible" trilogy and TMP aliens in "Ex Machina". If the people writing the Bantam novels ever asked for the kind of detail the more recent books have had access to, people would have laughed hysterically.

As I said before, some licensees hire Richard Arnold, by short term contract, to help them get their item satisfying the CBS criteria, and ensuring a hasty journey through the approval process.

 

[SicOne]

Before this thread, I knew who Richard Arnold was but not exactly WHAT he did nor how pervasive his influence was. It was interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at how far-reaching it was.

Everyone, thanks for the education.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Before this thread, I knew who Richard Arnold was but not exactly WHAT he did nor how pervasive his influence was. It was interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at how far-reaching it was.

Even a lowly bellhop can aim for the stars!