Would TOS been different if Yeoman Smith over Yeoman Rand?

[telerites]

Ok - not a major character but what do you think?

I just re-watched "Where No Man Has Gone Before," and was curious. I noticed this write-up on Memory Alpha and it appears Andrea Dromm had the chance to remain but chose a role in "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming".

With Grace Lee Whitney's addiction problems and having to leave the show, what do you think - thinking about the episodes where Rand more of larger role like Charlie X, The Enemy Within, Miri, and so on.

 

[Melakon]

No. Dromm makes no impression as Smith, Whitney was an older and more experienced actress. Her problems on the show weren't simply due to addiction, but of an incident at the studio.

 

[Marsden]

Smith barely had a chance to do anything, Yeoman Colt would have been better. And what Melekon said.


I thought the addiction problems began after being fired in such a way and were promoted after the fact as why she was fired. You know, like why the network couldn't have a female second in command.

They sure didn't fire Leonard Nimoy because of his addiction problems. Of course I'm not saying they should have, nor am I saying Grace Whitney was as good and actor as Nimoy, either.

 

[telerites]

My apologies if I misspoke about the reason for Whitney not returning. Should have not even put that as the point was the comparison and I thought about adding Yeoman Colt but since she didn't make the series after the pilot, did not.

I know Smith had a non-role in "Where No Man.." but considering if that character were given the same breadth as Rand in her more prominent roles.

 

[Melakon]

Considering that Dromm only has three credits at IMDB, Star Trek is only one of two reasons anyone remembers her.

 

[Marsden]

No problem, I remember thinking that was true. There may be some truth to it, but it's seems like the full truth of the reason.


So more to your question, would it have been different. I think yes, different and not in a good. Maybe she was a better actress than they gave her a chance to be but I still think that Whitney did a good job with her role.

 

[Melakon]

Grace didn't play Rand as an airhead. She was pretty sly.

The Man Trap-- Rand with Sulu's lunch tray.
Crewman: Hey, Janice. Is that for me?
Janice: Don't you wish it was?

 

[Harvey]

Dromm was dropped from the show after the second pilot, it wasn't her choice.

Whitney was the better actor. They made the right call.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I like the use of Smith in Star Trek Continues, she's a good character there and is played well, but I'm not disappointed that we didn't have her after WNMHGB on TOS.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Well, we will never know how the Smith character would have been fleshed out if she was used in the regular series. To that end, its a bit unfair to compare her to GLW's Rand, since she had more time to develop her character in scripts that gave her more to do / introduce her romantic feelings for Kirk.

 

[Captain Rob]

I'd still prefer Yeoman Barrows.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Dromm was dropped from the show after the second pilot, it wasn't her choice.

Whitney was the better actor. They made the right call.

According to Ms. Dromm herself (in an interview collected for a 2003 book), she chose not to sign a six-month option with the series in order to accept work on her first feature film (the aforementioned "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming"). So when NBC approved the series, she was off in production of the movie and officially unavailable.

It was Laurel Goodwin (Yeoman Colt) who was dropped from the show despite agreeing to a six-month option. If Andrea Dromm had signed the option and didn't get the film role, then she might've continued on the series (a la George Takei) or get dropped in favor of a new actress (a la Lloyd Haynes).

 

[Harvey]

Dromm was dropped from the show after the second pilot, it wasn't her choice.

Whitney was the better actor. They made the right call.

According to Ms. Dromm herself (in an interview collected for a 2003 book), she chose not to sign a six-month option with the series in order to accept work on her first feature film (the aforementioned "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming"). So when NBC approved the series, she was off in production of the movie and officially unavailable.

It was Laurel Goodwin (Yeoman Colt) who was dropped from the show despite agreeing to a six-month option. If Andrea Dromm had signed the option and didn't get the film role, then she might've continued on the series (a la George Takei) or get dropped in favor of a new actress (a la Lloyd Haynes).

I've read that interview. Her recollection doesn't match the archival record:
http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2014/01/drive-in-dream-girls-star-treks-first.html?m=1

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'd still prefer Yeoman Barrows.

Hell yeah!

 

[Drone]

I think Colt would have been a worthy choice. Young, eager, and idealistic, I can see her being effective in a variety of situations. Action, romance, and a trusted friend to various crew members. I'm not sure she would have been very effective as a foil in humorous situations, but overall I think she could have worked well. However, I can appreciate some folks feeling that the character needed to have been someone easily perceived as being more mature.

Wikipedia cites Ms. Goodwin as having become involved in home nursing after she quit acting. Interesting.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Aren't they all the same character with different names? Obviously the actor will make a difference as will the writing. I was under the impression the character wasn't working out and that contributed to Whitney's dismissal.

 

[Warped9]

The role of Yeoman simply wasn't pivotal enough no matter who played her. Set aside GLW's difficulties and you still have the fact the character wasn't meaningful enough to keep shoehorning her in.

The path they took with having different actresses come in for different characters was not only more cost effective but also helped foster the sense of a lot of different people being aboard the ship.

 

[Christopher Miles]

Harvey-

An aside- Being a noob here on TrekBBS, I'd decided to peruse a few old threads, (so I wouldn't post anything which had already been hashed out)- In the process, I saw links to your Star Trek Fact Check blog and decided to read a few posts.

Many many many minutes (hours?) later -

I simply wanted to say-

Thanks for the amazing/detailed work. Wow.

Wish you'd written the TOS behind the scenes production book(s) instead of whats-his-name.

Many Deserved Kudos to you.

 

[Tim Thomason]

I've read that interview. Her recollection doesn't match the archival record:
http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2014/01/drive-in-dream-girls-star-treks-first.html?m=1

Many Deserved Kudos to you.

Agreed. I stand corrected. Now I feel bad.

 

[Harvey]

No reason to feel bad -- and thank you!

I haven't posted any new material in a while, but several things are in the works.