TOS Director Tells All

[ZapBrannigan]

In case it isn't universally known around here, I want to recommend Ralph Senensky's online memoir of his experiences directing STAR TREK.

He directed six and a half TOS episodes, plus eps of a slew of other series. I just checked back for the first time in a while, and he has finally written up "Return to Tomorrow."

I don't think I 'm allowed to post links yet. So it's at senensky dot com (no www).

 

[Winterwind]

Thanks for posting. A very good read indeed. Such a shame, the way he was treated when sacked from "The Tholian Web".

 

[Dale Sams]

I can't get enough of the behinds the scene stuff.

This as good a place to ask as any....who determines the musical cues? or if brand new music can be produced for an ep?

 

[1001001]

Here is a link for you:

http://senensky.com/table-of-contents/

Interesting stuff.



ETA: I checked the FAQ and it doesn't say anything about links (that I could find, anyway). Did you try and post a link and it didn't work?

 

[lurok]

Thanks for link. Interesting reading as he did several of my favorite episodes, including both Diana Muldaur ones.

 

[Winterwind]

Interestingly I turned on Space just now and they're showing "The Tholian Web".

 

[bbailey861]

I can't get enough of the behinds the scene stuff.

This is exactly how I feel.
Thanks for posting this link. I see a long, very enjoyable period of my life reading all these.

 

[Melakon]

Thanks for the link. "Obsession" is one of my favorites, but it's sad learning the fate of Stephen Brooks.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I can't get enough of the behinds the scene stuff.

This as good a place to ask as any....who determines the musical cues? or if brand new music can be produced for an ep?

From what I understand, the music and dubbing management responsibilities were Bob Justman's. It was probably easy in the beginning of the season: "The first 5 or 6 episodes need music." After that, some shows seemed to get new music based on the type of episode, such as "this episode is unique and deserves a new score," which is something I could have sworn I read to that effect regarding "Plato's Stepchildren" in one of the books.

As for tracking, the music editor (Jim Henrikson for one) would most likely be in charge of selecting library cues for tracking.

 

[Christopher]

If you're interested in TOS music, there's a wealth of discussion of it in this thread about the recently released box set containing literally all the music from TOS. Or if you're interested enough to invest $225 plus shipping, you can buy the set yourself and read its extensive notes.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

ETA: I checked the FAQ and it doesn't say anything about links (that I could find, anyway). Did you try and post a link and it didn't work?

I didn't actually try to post the link. I was just under the impression I can't yet. Can't have an avatar, can't use the nice washroom, can't park near the building...

 

[ZapBrannigan]

If you're interested in TOS music, there's a wealth of discussion of it in this thread about the recently released box set containing literally all the music from TOS. Or if you're interested enough to invest $225 plus shipping, you can buy the set yourself and read its extensive notes.

Like my multi-bboard pal Ssosmcin, I'm as much a film music fan as a STAR TREK fan, and I bought the box set. It's a big investment, strictly for those of us who really love the episode scores. But if that's you, you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

 

[Melakon]

ETA: I checked the FAQ and it doesn't say anything about links (that I could find, anyway). Did you try and post a link and it didn't work?

I didn't actually try to post the link. I was just under the impression I can't yet. Can't have an avatar, can't use the nice washroom, can't park near the building...

I was under the same impression when I joined, Zap, in November. I was wanting to enter an avatar contest, though wasn't sure if I could post image links, but was assured I could, and it was so. It takes two weeks from your join date to get an avatar as long as you have at least 50 posts. I got the 50 posts soon enough, but still had to wait out the 2 weeks for the avatar.

 

[plynch]

Dangit, you all are making me close to buying the set. I SO applaud LaLa and the producers -- no begrudging them their income. It's just that I know I would listen once or twice just to hear all the cues, and then I've got a dust catcher on the shelf like all my other CDs. But it's so tempting.

 

[Gary7]

Great stuff, thanks for posting Zap. I just read through two of his entries and it's so cool to hear about these behind-the-scenes moments.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Great stuff, thanks for posting Zap. I just read through two of his entries and it's so cool to hear about these behind-the-scenes moments.

Thanks!

And here's another thing. "Is There in Truth no Beauty?" guest star Diana Muldaur gave her recollection of that episode, which adds something to what Senensky is telling us:

http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-diana-muldaur-part-1

No two viewpoints are the same. If we could get enough of them to talk about filming the same episode, it would be like that many blind men feeling an elephant.

 

[EnsignHarper]

One should not forget to real ALL of Mr. Senensky's recollections. I just finished going through THE WALTONS, and it is all interesting stuff.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I just read all of his Courtship of Eddie's Father posts - a show I have no real interest in - and it was really enlightening. It made me want to watch the show for the first times since I was a wee lad .

 

[EnsignHarper]

If you ask him a question nicely, or make a nice comment, he seems to reply pretty quick!