I remember when these first aired... I didn't catch all of them, and managed to record only a handful.
This material is simply terrific. I think it was the first time Nimoy, Shatner, and others gave such indepth details about the show in a professionally screened format. The Sci-Fi Channel did a terrific job. The graphics are really good. The filming stage was wonderfully lit, with various Star Trek original props and set pieces arranged around it.
It's amazing to see some of the interviews they captured. Certainly, Grace Lee Whitney gets a lot of face time she probably wouldn't get anywhere else, and a chance to plug her book that "tells all."
But what really surprised me was Harlan Ellison. There's a segment where he gets all caught up on Joan Collins. Apparently Joan's memory of Star Trek is fraught with a grave error--she recalls having been Hitler's girlfriend in the episode, to the point of having stated this in a few autobiographical books she wrote. Well, Harlan is just beside himself about it even to the point of wishing he could rip her throat out. Pretty funny that this was captured... I mean, his anger was a bit over the top... I guess because it was his original story and Joan was distorting it.
Anyway, it would have been so great if this material could have been sold to Paramount, to be incorporated in the DVD sets as an option... kind of like the commentary option you see available with some DVD sets. At various points the Sci-Fi Channel extra bits would appear, if the option was turned on.
I have to believe that the Sci-Fi Channel archive has all of these preserved, just waiting...
Anyway, many thanks to you for providing them to us, James. Even in VHS quality, they're great to see.
I guess I thought SciFi would always be a bastion for classic sci-fi TV, and uncut TOS (plus intros) would be its flagship. Dopey me. Now I wish I had all the celebrity intros for the classic SF shows SciFi ran back when it was a classier outfit.
