Why did GR name Spock, "Spock"?

[Christopher]

You guys are really overthinking this. The rodent/lemur thing is just a description from a first-draft story outline, not a finished text or a technical dissertation. It's just to give a rough visual idea of the sort of thing he was tentatively thinking about. Heck, he probably knew he'd be unlikely to have the budget to actually film the thing. But that's what you do in a first draft. You let your imagination run wild at the start, and then, later, you apply realistic limits (whether conceptual or budgetary) and pare it down to what you can practically film.

 

[plynch]

W're arguing about imaginary lemur-like beings from the mind of Gene Roddenberry. I'm just saying.

 

[scotpens]

. . . The rodent/lemur thing is just a description from a first-draft story outline . . . Heck, he probably knew he'd be unlikely to have the budget to actually film the thing. But that's what you do in a first draft.

Right. Like super-intelligent, telepathic aliens that resemble giant crabs! In 1964, such creatures could have been created with a combination of stop-motion animation and puppetry, but would have been way beyond the budget of a TV pilot.

 

[Christopher]

But like I said, the standard practice is to write the initial draft without worrying about budget, just go all-out with your imagination, and trim it down later. Because if you start out trying to minimize the cost, you may leave out a good idea that could've been affordable after all. Better to start with too much and keep what you can. Besides, it gives you options. It might turn out that the crab creatures are affordable after all if you drop the lemur people and reduce the number of crash-survivor extras; but on the other hand, in revisions you might discover that the lemur people are emerging as the real heart of the story, so you pay for the FX photography to pull them off and replace the crab creatures with normal-looking actors wearing vaguely crab-themed costumes. (Don't take the specifics of that too literally; I'm just using them as examples of the process.)

And I think that if they had stuck with the crab-creature idea, it would've more likely been pulled off by stuntmen in suits. Janos Prohaska would've probably played the Keeper.

 

[Lieut. Arex]

W're arguing about imaginary lemur-like beings from the mind of Gene Roddenberry. I'm just saying.

Mongoose-like. Let's keep it straight, okay?

 

[Shatnertage]

For example, here's an excerpt from the original story outline for “The Cage,” describing one species glimpsed by then-named Captain April in the zoo where he's held captive:

. . . mongoose-like rodents, but clothed and weaponed like a feudal civilization, complete with a tiny castle, moat, ramparts, etc. It's night; oil lamps can be seen burning through the tiny toy-sized windows. This last civilization April himself has seen — the intelligent Lemur-life of a Class M planet in the Arcturus system.

I just can't get over the giggle factor. A doll house for intelligent lemurs? I love it.

In fact, I have a new location.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

"Lemuria" would be shorter, dude.

 

[Shatnertage]

^ Hey, that's a pretty good Sun Ra song.

 

[Nardpuncher]

You guys are really overthinking this.

"We're through the looking glass here people!"

 

[scotpens]

And I think that if they had stuck with the crab-creature idea, it would've more likely been pulled off by stuntmen in suits. Janos Prohaska would've probably played the Keeper.

Crab people, crab people, crab people, crab people . . .

 

[plynch]

Except the Shat would be complaining that his budget was cut. IF NOT he could have filmed his crab-creatures the way God intended and SAVED STAR TREK V which was FINE OTHERWISE.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Remember that G.R. wasn't really a science-fiction writer, let alone a scientist. For example, here's an excerpt from the original story outline for “The Cage,” describing one species glimpsed by then-named Captain April in the zoo where he's held captive:

. . . mongoose-like rodents, but clothed and weaponed like a feudal civilization, complete with a tiny castle, moat, ramparts, etc. It's night; oil lamps can be seen burning through the tiny toy-sized windows. This last civilization April himself has seen — the intelligent Lemur-life of a Class M planet in the Arcturus system.

Um, okay. Aside from the giggle factor, are these creatures supposed to be mongooses, rodents, or lemurs? Those are three entirely different orders of mammals -- none of which would be capable of building castles or any other artifacts, since they all lack a fully opposable thumb.

The Ferengi?

 

[Christopher]

Except the Shat would be complaining that his budget was cut. IF NOT he could have filmed his crab-creatures the way God intended and SAVED STAR TREK V which was FINE OTHERWISE.

Err, if we're talking about hypothetical alternative paths "The Cage" might have taken, then it would've been Jeffrey Hunter or one of the other actors initially considered for "Captain April" (the character's name before it was changed to Pike at the last minute). I'm fairly sure that Shatner was never considered for the first pilot.

 

[mb22]

Prior to being changed to Pike at the last minute, the captain's name was James winter.
http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/thecage.htm

 

[Robert D. Robot]

In that earlier version Captain James Winter wished to be called "Loretta" and wanted to have babies....
(Hmmm.... I actually might have this confused with some other character.....)

 

[plynch]

In that earlier version Captain James Winter wished to be called "Loretta" and wanted to have babies....
(Hmmm.... I actually might have this confused with some other character.....)

I am quite certain Loretta Winter was never considered for the first pilot . . .

 

[Christopher]

Interesting that Roddenberry chose James, then switched to Christopher, then went back to James again.

 

[Maurice]

^^ OK, whatever. They still don't have thumbs.

My point was that, regardless of G.R.'s talent as a writer, his knowledge of real science was rather limited.

A creature that looks a lot like a mongoose but has opposable thumbs would be "mongoose-like". Would you say a Kzinti isn't cat-like?

 

[sevenstars]

^Wow: I had no idea there was a Kzin-Star Trek connection.

 

[Christopher]

^Wow: I had no idea there was a Kzin-Star Trek connection.

Larry Niven adapted his Known Space novella "The Soft Weapon" into the animated Star Trek episode "The Slaver Weapon."