The Terratin Incident: Who ARE These Guys??

[WRStone]

So I'm re-watching TAS, if for no other reason than I can now take screencaps and put together those huge panoramas and vistas they had every episode.

And I'm watching "The Terratin Incident" when I see this:

Note the guys in theStarfleet uniforms -- particularly the one on the left who's been drawn wearing glasses.

To be honest, I'm pretty sure that the two guys on the left, at least, are real human beings drawn Filmation-style. They might all be real human beings and the entire shot some kind of in-joke. But that dude with the moustache and glasses is a dead give-away.

So the question becomes: who are these guys? Does anyone have a clue?

Dakota Smith

 

[FormerLurker]

I'm only guessing but the writers, maybe?

 

[Ziz]

Maybe the animators stuck themselves in there since they most likely wouldn't know what the writers looked like.

 

[Christopher]

"The Terratin Incident" had only one writer, Paul Schneider (author of "Balance of Terror" and "The Squire of Gothos"). More likely they're caricatures of Filmation production staffers. I'm pretty sure none of them are Lou Scheimer, Norm Prescott, or Hal Sutherland, who can be seen here: http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/Bgd.html Maybe they're self-portraits of the animators.

 

[SchwEnt]

It's not that odd, is it?

So Filmation needed some background crewmembers, essentially a few human stand-ins. As they had no trouble using stock footage or recycling material, so perhaps they used "generic human figures" from any of their other series libraries.

And if they WERE drawn especially for this eps, no doubt some inside joke about drawing the writers or friends or someone from real life. ST's had inside jokes for years.

They're just regular guys. Not like they're wearing bell-bottoms or disco shirts.
The mustache is no big deal, that's been seen in ST lots of times.
And the eyeglasses, well...they were good enough for Kirk in TWOK.

So what's the big deal about these fellows again?

 

[Christopher]

^Does there have to be a big deal for someone to be curious? The original poster didn't claim there was anything bizarre or wrong about it, just expressed curiosity about it.

 

[Therin of Andor]

There is a story about this guy:

When David Gerrold wrote "The Trouble With Tribbles" (TOS), he wrote himself a role (Ensign Freeman, base on his own real surname, Friedman) in hope that he might fluke it for an onscreen cameo.

When he wrote "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (TAS), he jokingly added a script suggestion that a certain unnamed ensign resembled the script's screenwriter, and the Filmation animators granted his wish!

But when Alan Dean Foster was novelizing the episode, he had an opportunity to comment on Gerrold's joke... and called the character Ensign... Hacker.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

I was aware of the in-joke about David Gerrold in "More Tribbles, More Troubles." But I wouldn't be surprised about more of them throughout the series. There were a couple shots in "Beyond the Farthest Star" that looked like Walter Koenig in a red uniform instead of Arex. As for the guy with the glasses in the shot above from "The Terratin Incident," does anyone else think that he looks a little like Robert Justman??

 

[Therin of Andor]

There were a couple shots in "Beyond the Farthest Star" that looked like Walter Koenig in a red uniform instead of Arex.

Yep. Before the final casting budget came down, supposedly Chekov was going to be there - and interestingly, Chekov was Security Chief in both "Phase II" and ST:TMP. They'd even made him a red shirt for "Phase II", several of which ended up as Orkan costumes in "Mork and Mindy". The test footage (with a Koenig face cameo) was incorporated in that early episode.

Then the casting budget meant that only Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley - with Doohan and Barrett doubling for Sulu's and Uhura's voices - could participate. Nimoy insisted the budget needed to be expanded to permit the cast to include Takei and Nicholls, and used a bit of muscle to get his way. They compensated Koenig by paying him from a different pot of money... as a writer.

 

[seigezunt]

does anyone else think that he looks a little like Robert Justman??

I was thinking that...

 

[TIN_MAN]

These guys on the left are Herb Hazelton (w/glasses), Bob Kline and George Jenson respectively, three guys from the layout dept. According to an ancient fansine called "the collector", at least I think that's what it was called? (The cover is now missing from my dilapidated copy).

 

[FormerLurker]

That seems pretty definitive to me. Unless someone can disprove/prove something else, I'd say we have our answer.

 

[Sycho Nosk]

they have been putting doppelgangers of me in star trek for years... come to think of it they never paid me for likeness rites........

 

[T'Girl]

`

A marine corps drill instructor would tear this guy to pieces.

 

[Nerys Myk]

`

A marine corps drill instructor would tear this guy to pieces.

Thats why he joined Starfleet.

 

[NiteTrek]

Note the guys in theStarfleet uniforms -- particularly the one on the left who's been drawn wearing glasses.

So the question becomes: who are these guys? Does anyone have a clue?

I think it's obvious the guy on the left is the token "gay" crewmember.

 

[T'Girl]

^ Bitch

 

[Timo]

I totally agree. It's so blatantly obvious.

...Uh, whose left?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Redfern]

Poor ol' Gerrald looks like Gilligan! Speaking of which, Filmation adapted "Gilligan's Island", not once, but twice!

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Christopher]

^Well, the second time, it was Gilligan's Planet. Yes, really.