Star Trek: Phase II (the original)

[Pauln6]

I just pulled my copy of Star Trek Magazine from Dec. 2001, the TMP issue. It features an interview with Collins about the movie. The third paragraph starts: "In 1978, Stephen probably wouldn't have been interested in taking a regular role in a TV series. He was gathering a lot of attention and everyone agreed he was destined for a career in the movies."

Collins heard about the part from his agent and was convinced to go in to audition. Collins wasn't a Star Trek fan and wasn't particularly interested, but his agent convinced him that a part in the Trek movie couldn't possibly hurt him. If it was a hit, then he was in a hit movie and boosted his profile. If it flopped, no one would blame him. Collins also said that he thought the fact that he wasn't a Trek fan worked in his favor, because he wasn't as nervous as some of the other actors auditioning for the part. I'm sure the prospect of working with Robert Wise was also appealing.

Collins did do some TV jobs before Seventh Heaven, though: He heard about TMP while he was guest starring on Charlie's Angels.

I think Tales of the Gold Monkey kicked off with movie production values and Raiders of the Lost Ark had been popular. That might have swung it for Collins in 1981.

 

[BillJ]

In one episode, a Cadet Decker was paged to the Ready Room on the Discovery intercom. It's been suggested that this is the same Decker in TMP.

 

[Nightowl1701]

Collins would almost certainly not have played Decker on Star Trek II ("Phase" was dropped early one) since he was the one lead not cast for the TV show and cast by Wise for TMP.

From what I recall in Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories, they weren't having much luck finding a Decker prior to Wise coming onboard. The actors testing for the role were all low-talent drug-addled 'jackalopes.' (I guess Dirk Benedict and Richard Hatch had already been snapped up for Battlestar Galactica, or they'd have been likely contenders!) Odds are they'd have gone for the first guy who could give even a half-decent line reading if Wise hadn't brought them Collins.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

When I look at the video, I can't get past Xon's hair. If his hair is going to be that long and that bushy, why are his ears showing? Because he's a character whose ears are specifically for show.

If an actor can't even be styled in a way that makes sense, and he looks like a showboat walking in the door, then you've got an authenticity problem. Nimoy looked like a "real" fictional person; this guy looked like a fake one. Maybe it was just that it was test footage, and they would have cut his hair if the show got made.

 

[pfontaine2]

When I look at the video, I can't get past Xon's hair. If his hair is going to be that long and that bushy, why are his ears showing? Because he's a character whose ears are specifically for show.

If an actor can't even be styled in a way that makes sense, and he looks like a showboat walking in the door, then you've got an authenticity problem. Nimoy looked like a real fictional person; this guy looked like a fake one.

Since this footage was essentially a "screen test" and not footage from a filmed episode, I always assumed that Gautreaux was allowed to keep his natural hair but styled in such a way that we could see the ear prosthetic.

Another possible justification for his look is that the Phase II pilot script portrays Xon arriving on the Enterprise looking unkempt and smelly after spending time meditating in the desert. By the time he arrives for duty on the bridge, he's cleaned up and in uniform. Perhaps this screen test served multiple purposes, allowing the producers to see how Gautreaux looked in uniform with both his long-haired "arrival" look and with the ear prosthetic as well. Just a speculation.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The Star Trek Phase II - The Lost Series is a good book. Lots of copies still out there, I bought a near mint one several years ago for under $10.

 

[uniderth]

In one episode, a Cadet Decker was paged to the Ready Room on the Discovery intercom. It's been suggested that this is the same Decker in TMP.

Well he couldn't be the same one in TMP now could he. Perhaps from the Discovery version of TMP, but not the TMP we actually have right now.

 

[Commishsleer]

Since this footage was essentially a "screen test" and not footage from a filmed episode, I always assumed that Gautreaux was allowed to keep his natural hair but styled in such a way that we could see the ear prosthetic.

Another possible justification for his look is that the Phase II pilot script portrays Xon arriving on the Enterprise looking unkempt and smelly after spending time meditating in the desert. By the time he arrives for duty on the bridge, he's cleaned up and in uniform. Perhaps this screen test served multiple purposes, allowing the producers to see how Gautreaux looked in uniform with both his long-haired "arrival" look and with the ear prosthetic as well. Just a speculation.

I thought I read somewhere (probably on this very site) that Majel admitted to deliberately sabotaaaging (as Shatner would say) Gautreaux's look or screen test so the producers would try to work more on getting Nimoy back.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

If an actor can't even be styled in a way that makes sense, and he looks like a showboat walking in the door, then you've got an authenticity problem. Nimoy looked like a "real" fictional person; this guy looked like a fake one. Maybe it was just that it was test footage, and they would have cut his hair if the show got made.

If I'm a regularly auditioning actor with long hair, I'm not cutting it for a part until I definitely know that I've got the job. Why spend months growing it out again if you don't have to?

Persis Khambatta didn't have to shave her head until she was in pre-production for the movie. Why should it be any different for Gautreaux? He cut his hair for the small consolation part of Commander Branch, so I'm sure he would've cut it for Xon if he needed to. They obviously didn't go to the time and expense of making ear molds for him either, because it was just a screen test. It wasn't for public viewing. It was shot to get a general idea of Gautreaux's look and acting ability. And I'm sure it got the job done.

Check out the 1972 pilot episode of M*A*S*H sometime. It takes place in 1950, and all of the actors have their shaggy 1972 hair. They weren't cutting it until they knew for sure that the show sold and they had at least 13 weeks of employment.

 

[johnnybear]

David Gautreux seems to have a less than thrilling career on the television as well! Being in ST:TMP and T J Hooker are the biggest things he's done and yet he's famous for a show that he never appeared in and was never developed and a character he never played! Go beat that!
JB

 

[Maurice]

David Gautreux seems to have a less than thrilling career on the television as well! Being in ST:TMP and T J Hooker are the biggest things he's done and yet he's famous for a show that he never appeared in and was never developed and a character he never played! Go beat that!
JB

I would hardly call being known by a small segment of a hardcore fanbase of a franchise as being "famous".

 

[F. King Daniel]

God, I hope not. There's already a silliness to how many TOS elements are in the show.

I think you kinda need to embrace that, cos they're not gonna let up.

 

[Harvey]

I think Tales of the Gold Monkey kicked off with movie production values and Raiders of the Lost Ark had been popular. That might have swung it for Collins in 1981.

Plus, it was a starring role, not a supporting part destined to be overshadowed by the original Star Trek cast week-to-week.

 

[Lance]

One thing I find fascinating that we only get from contemporary set construction photos and not from the film footage released is just how much it looked aesthetically like an updated TOS. The corridor sets, for example, were virtual replicas of the TOS corridors but simply made smaller and tighter, as per Roddenberry's belief that the originals probably were a little bit too roomy for a ship like this. One feels it would have felt more realistically like a refit of the original ship. When the movie came along the choice was made to basically restructure everything, including the corridors.

 

[Lance]

Re: Xon's long hair, the script suggests he arrives on the Enterprise looking dishevled and shabby, but makes a point of saying when he arrives on the bridge in the next scene he's cleaned up with regulation haircut, so my assumption is his hair would be much more Spock-like.

 

[Maurice]

One thing I find fascinating that we only get from contemporary set construction photos and not from the film footage released is just how much it looked aesthetically like an updated TOS. The corridor sets, for example, were virtual replicas of the TOS corridors but simply made smaller and tighter, as per Roddenberry's belief that the originals probably were a little bit too roomy for a ship like this. One feels it would have felt more realistically like a refit of the original ship. When the movie came along the choice was made to basically restructure everything, including the corridors.

The corridors were 8' wide, just like TOS.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Being in ST:TMP and T J Hooker are the biggest things he's done and yet he's famous for a show that he never appeared in and was never developed and a character he never played! Go beat that!

Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best are both most known for leaving the Beatles before they got famous.

Done.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

The corridors were 8' wide, just like TOS.

You mean the P-II version, right?

The TMP corridors were a fancier design, and obviously intended to look good on the big screen, which I suppose meant better materials and finer finishes. But they were actually built right inside the existing Phase II corridors when Paramount made the post-Star Wars decision for a feature film. They saved time and money by not tearing down that portion of the Phase II sets, and it was a major reason for the TMP corridors looking narrower. Also the tight passageways looked cool.

 

[Maurice]

The quote I was replying to was referring the Star Trek II TV sets, so yes.

 

[F. King Daniel]

When we invent Rick & Morty's multiverse TV, one of the first shows I'm tracking down is Star Trek II.