TOS minus COON

[RobertScorpio]

I wonder, in hindsight, how good would TOS have been if Gene Coon hadn't been there? No Klingons? no Prime Directive? In fact most of what I like about the show is definately from the COON side of the house...

So, for you TOS experts; What did COON add to the show? And what did he not add to show. And do you think TOS would have been as good as it was with out him??? What was his thoughts on the GUARDIAN OF FOREVER?

(I wonder if Harlan Ellison will charge me for even mentioning the Guardian in my post!!)

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Maurice]

^^^He won't/can't charge you, but he'd be justified in smacking you for being so ridiculous.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

^^^He won't/can't charge you, but he'd be justified in smacking you for being so ridiculous.

I don't think that at this point in his life Ellison much likes standing in lines.

 

[CoveTom]

Why exactly are we being so snarky in this thread?

 

[QuasarVM]

No Coon/No Fontana = No Star Trek.

At least not as we know it.

<<< I will forever be grateful to Coon for writing Spock's Brain!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Why exactly are we being so snarky in this thread?

Trying to live up to the tone set by the OP.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Could you imagine being Mr. Ellison and having all these lap-dogs trying to hump your leg??? geeeee.....(and I am aiming my remark at Ellisons own whacko website)

Rob

 

[RobertScorpio]

No Coon/No Fontana = No Star Trek.

At least not as we know it.

<<< I will forever be grateful to Coon for writing Spock's Brain!

The more I think about it, the more I think you are right. I guess we'll never know. But Coon did seem to very important back in TREKs formative years...

Rob

 

[RobertScorpio]

Double post..sorry

 

[controlfreak]

I think people who wonder what TOS would have been like without Gene Coon need look no further than the first 16 episodes of Star Trek. Those shows were a little darker, a little headier, with more of a Twilight Zone kind of tone and flavor.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I think people who wonder what TOS would have been like without Gene Coon need look no further than the first 16 episodes of Star Trek. Those shows were a little darker, a little headier, with more of a Twilight Zone kind of tone and flavor.

I'll keep that in mind. I am going to start rewatching TREK soon from the start in preperation for the movie. Does this mean these are his episodes, or was he not involved with them yet?

Rob

 

[QuasarVM]

I think people who wonder what TOS would have been like without Gene Coon need look no further than the first 16 episodes of Star Trek. Those shows were a little darker, a little headier, with more of a Twilight Zone kind of tone and flavor.

You may be right about that...

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Could you imagine being Mr. Ellison and having all these lap-dogs trying to hump your leg??? geeeee.....(and I am aiming my remark at Ellisons own whacko website)

Rob

And not so subtly at those who may be in agreement with Mr. Ellison in terms of his current legalities; more like a brick through a glass window. By putting it in a parenthetical, you make the supposed aim of your "remark" an after thought so as to deflect any possible backlash from your snarky comment.

 

[Kelso]

IMOSHO, Star Trek was better before Gene Coon came along.


Oh, and my sig. seems appropriate for this thread.

 

[RobertScorpio]

IMOSHO, Star Trek was better before Gene Coon came along.


Oh, and my sig. seems appropriate for this thread.

Your siganture would be more pinpoint had Harlan not stepped on many toes in the past. But he has, and has for quite sometime. You can not out run the past. I have met the man and found him quite piffy. And I have been around long enough, and at enough TREK conventions and COMIC CONS ( I live in San Diego) to know that he isn't liked by everyone. Facts are facts...it is what it is.

Rob

 

[trevanian]

I think people who wonder what TOS would have been like without Gene Coon need look no further than the first 16 episodes of Star Trek. Those shows were a little darker, a little headier, with more of a Twilight Zone kind of tone and flavor.

Would not have sustained. Once GR alienates his staff (starting with JDFBlack), he has nobody to fall back on and the product goes to hell or stays the same instead of developing. They might have gotten something with Fontana alone, but Coon is the key to the thing developing in a way that has long-lasting effect - mainly the characterizations and bringing more than lip service to the humanist viewpoint.

No Coon, no trek phenomena at all, not ever, cuz TOS wouldn't have lasted long enough to go into syndication, and folks probably wouldn't have seen it again till scifi channel started up (assuming that a scifi channel WOULD have started up in that timeline, that is.)

 

[trevanian]

I think people who wonder what TOS would have been like without Gene Coon need look no further than the first 16 episodes of Star Trek. Those shows were a little darker, a little headier, with more of a Twilight Zone kind of tone and flavor.

I'll keep that in mind. I am going to start rewatching TREK soon from the start in preperation for the movie. Does this mean these are his episodes, or was he not involved with them yet?

Rob

He came on in fall of 1966, when Freiberger told GR he wouldn't be available for awhile. So Coon's responsibility starts about halfway through season 1 (after some gems like CHARLIE X and BALANCE OF TERROR, but before Spock and McCoy really started relating in something other than a superficial manner.)

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Your siganture[sic] would be more pinpoint[sic] had Harlan not stepped on many toes in the past.

Aw, did Ellison hurt your feelings?

Kelso's signature is dead on. The clumsy sniping in your first post reflects very poorly on your immaturity and really is not observant of Ellison's temperment, character or behavior (extravagant as it may sometimes be). Evidently you considered it a clever and funny aside, illustrating a significant contrast between you and Ellison: he's a talented, skillful and witty writer; you are none of those.

 

[trevanian]

RobScorp,
Far be it from me to ever knock Ellison (I seem to spend a lot of time defending him, eve if he doesn't need defending), but don't lose too much sleep over the above post -- all ya gotta do is consider the source.

 

[Maurice]

And if there was no Coon, there's nothing to say they wouldn't have landed a producer even better than him. It's just as likely an outcome as them finding someone worse than him. We can speculate all we like, but there's really no way of knowing. In any case, the odds are likely the show would have been somewhat different, but given it was not a ratings hit in the first place, it might have lasted just as long. Whether or not it would've become the phenomenon it did is anyone's guess.