"Shore Leave", to go all out with elaborate creations taken from the crew's thoughts.
Thought exercise: One TOS episode with an unlimited budget?
- Thread starter Ragitsu
- Start date
Honestly, it's pretty exceptional that TOS didn't recycle many elements from other science fiction productions, outside of a few of Janos Prohaska's creature suits from The Outer Limits. Imagine if we saw the uniforms from Forbidden Planet reused the way they were in so many other movies in the 50s or 60s. Or if Robby the Robot turned up the way he did on Lost in Space.
The Jupiter 2 freezing tubes were used in "The Empath"
https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/3x12hd/theempathhd0434.jpg
Lost in Space had been canceled, and the pieces were obviously out for rent, either by Fox, or whatever prop house Fox sold them to.
I'm glad Robby didn't make it into the show. The TOS design philosophy was that robots were either levitating mechanical boxes (Nomad, Flint's M-4), or else they were androids that you couldn't tell from people.
Robby is a whole different vibe. His locomotion is too primitive and clunky to fit in. Unless...
What if "The Return of the Archons" had Robby as the Lawgivers? Create the impression that there are a bunch of him, using the one robot suit. He's clunky because Landru designed him eons ago. That almost works!
Thanks. I figured that someone would have an example of prop recycling that I'd forgotten. And since it's from one of my least favorite episodes that I hardly ever rewatch, it's no wonder I forgot.
Yeah, Robby was just a whole different aesthetic that wouldn't have meshed too well with Walter Jefferies' designs, IMO. (And to clarify, I love Robby's design, too. But it's different from the TOS look.)
Along those lines, I've always felt that Lazarus' Jetsons style space ship in "The Alternative Factor" looked like they brought it in from Lost in Space or some other Irwin Allen show. It's just too 1950s for Star Trek.
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Those were kind of a special case, as the costumes came with the performer. Prohaska made his own creature costumes, and most were repeatedly altered or redesigned over the years to fit new roles.
I think they finally went out of business within the last few years, but for a long time there was one warehouse near the intersection of Sunset & Santa Monica that owned and rented out to studios most of the science-fiction-y props (computer blinkenlight consoles, etc.) which tended to turn up over and over in TV shows and movies. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they had been the ones who acquired the "freezing tube" props and made them available to other productions.
Yeah, Modern Props, although I don't know if they went all the way back to the 1960s.
https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/modern_props_consoles.htm
They may not have, but if not, they managed to acquire the inventory of the prop house who did.
In "City on the Edge of Forever", I don't think a New York location shoot would have made much difference. It's just a neighborhood. Using someplace as recognizable as Times Square or Central Park would have been a distraction. But with more time and money, the Guardian could have been a lot more impressive.
Hm. I see Kathrine Hepburn as a lot more able to play a smug, confident Vulcan than Audrey Hepburn could.
A damn good pick.
waaaaiiiitttt! What! I did not know this!
didn’t Shatner essentially do that for Star Trek v? Instead of hippies taking over the ship it’s Spock’s brother (ish) and his religious zealots looking for a mythical planet.
It used the standard Starfleet shuttlecraft seat, though.
Yes, which even (by reports) Roddenberry questioned, since initially Kirk and crew were to find the literal devil. Roddenberry had one draft for Phase 2/TMP that was called "The God Thing" which dealt with similar themes and wasn't really accepted by the studio.
Roddenberry would hate any story that implied God(s) was something real instead of insane, a child, or an insane child.
No doubt the "white plastic patio chair" of its time. Every galactic bulk-warehouse distributor has them in stock.It used the standard Starfleet shuttlecraft seat, though.
I agree with the general consensus that most episodes are fine as they are- good writing trumps realistic effects etc.
that being said...
This is the only suggestion so far that I agree with. It's a fun silly episode that relies on spectacle more than plot- why not go all out with the spectacle (within the range of 1960s special effects). Have Kirk fight a Harry Hausen skeleton army. Bones manifests an all-out Berkleyesque song and dance number. Add in some weird alien monsters. The possibilities are endless.
I also think 'The Cloud Minders' could be an option. It's an excellent episode with beautiful visuals (and some flaws), but the story has potential to be retold on a grander and more lavish scale, where we see more of the cloud city, flesh out the worldbuilding etc. The premise and episode feel very classic scifi and like it could hold up as a feature length epic.
that being said...
This is the only suggestion so far that I agree with. It's a fun silly episode that relies on spectacle more than plot- why not go all out with the spectacle (within the range of 1960s special effects). Have Kirk fight a Harry Hausen skeleton army. Bones manifests an all-out Berkleyesque song and dance number. Add in some weird alien monsters. The possibilities are endless.
I also think 'The Cloud Minders' could be an option. It's an excellent episode with beautiful visuals (and some flaws), but the story has potential to be retold on a grander and more lavish scale, where we see more of the cloud city, flesh out the worldbuilding etc. The premise and episode feel very classic scifi and like it could hold up as a feature length epic.
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