Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That's funny because I just watched the series pilot on Netflicks last week, not starring Will Shatner, (and the other characters, including Spock were definitely not fleshed out lol) just because I was a big sci-fi nerd but a very young kid at the time so didn't remember that episode.
I am too young too remember the first couple of seasons but think I was pretty well hooked by 1968.
Its telling that Gene put a proficent female officer in as second in command, and wanted alien faces mixed in the crew because it was supposed to be about the future. But CBS couldn't cope with Number One (later Mrs. Roddenberry) and they nearly wrote out Spock. CBS was astonished when they started getting mounds of letters about this alien they didn't want on the show.... compared to things like lost in Space it was the closest to real science fiction in any series except twilight zone.
I don't think the first pilot was ever shown in its entirity on tv, but was shown widly at conventions and released on video tape.
It was actually not popular at all in it's original run, except for a very loyal niche audience (who managed to just barely get it renewed for a 3rd season via I think a letter campaign). It lasted for half a 3rd season before finally being cancelled due to low ratings.
It's popularity came in reruns.
Thanks for the info...I guess because I liked it I thought it was popular at the time...
Thanks for the info...I guess because I liked it I thought it was popular at the time...
The letter campaign was a large surprise to CBS and I don't know if there had ever been one like that before. I do remember writing several hadfulls of them myself. When we did the Save Jericho campaign,we literally did most of the discussion and planning on the CBS message board but back in trek's time the letter campaign was entirely word of mouth. Bjo did a great job of getting the information into the right places so it was passed on.
It's true that then the show wasn't hugely popular but the third season despite such 'classics' as Spock's Brain did give enough episodes to go into syndication. At one time the local station was running two different tracks of star trek episodes, one late afternoon and one later in the evening and I watched both. To this day I still remember a lot of the words to the episodes I liked the best.
Back in the year 1966 where were you when the TV show Star Trek showed up? What were you doing and do you have any memories of when Star Trek Was on?
I wasn't even born when Star Trek started, but I do have memories because my dad used to watch it all. the. time. I'm guessing maybe they were re-runs? I don't know, but my dad watched Star Trek and Dr. Who, religiously. No one else would watch those shows with him, and I felt sorry for him, so I would watch old school Dr. Who and old school Star Trek.
I actually started to like both, and it cracks me up when some teeny bop tries to tell me I don't "really understand" Dr. Who or Star Trek. Please, kid, I watched the originals...tell me again how I don't "understand" any of the references simply because you don't know them.
I wasn't even born when Star Trek started, but I do have memories because my dad used to watch it all. the. time. I'm guessing maybe they were re-runs? I don't know, but my dad watched Star Trek and Dr. Who, religiously. No one else would watch those shows with him, and I felt sorry for him, so I would watch old school Dr. Who and old school Star Trek.
I actually started to like both, and it cracks me up when some teeny bop tries to tell me I don't "really understand" Dr. Who or Star Trek. Please, kid, I watched the originals...tell me again how I don't "understand" any of the references simply because you don't know them.
I used to watch the early Doctors on pbs, which ran a couple of hours of it every Saturday. I do love the most recent Doctor... (please please please bring back Tenant....) but I LOVED the Doctor in all his versions. And even the bad fx and carboard cybermen. It wasn't about the aliens and the things which happen, but about the characters. I think today with the nicer fx, it still holds up since its one of the best written show on TV.
Way back then they didn't have the money for good fx, and so they used cardboard but they knew it wasn't about that.
It's interesting that Star Trek tos actually spurred on some of the technology. Since there wasn't time to do the movie version and take three months to get a shot, they used the Ray Harrihausen school and experimented.
I was your dad, except I found the other people around me hiding in the living room and fandom is still my chosen family.
Its telling that Gene put a proficent female officer in as second in command, and wanted alien faces mixed in the crew because it was supposed to be about the future. But CBS couldn't cope with Number One (later Mrs. Roddenberry) and they nearly wrote out Spock. CBS was astonished when they started getting mounds of letters about this alien they didn't want on the show.... compared to things like lost in Space it was the closest to real science fiction in any series except twilight zone.
I don't think the first pilot was ever shown in its entirity on tv, but was shown widly at conventions and released on video tape.
I do believe the first pilot, called "The Cage", was interleaved with new scenes to create the two-parter called "The Menagerie." It was episodes 12 and 13 of the first season, and it showed Number One (played by Majel Barrett) in command of Enterprise, and trying to rescue Captain Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter) from captivity. There, Mr. Spock wasn't nearly as well-barbered, and he was quite a bit louder and more, um, emotional.
Last edited by Nighteyes; 08-27-2014 at 12:46 PM..
I do believe the first pilot, called "The Cage", was interleaved with new scenes to create the two-parter called "The Menagerie." It was episodes 12 and 13 of the first season, and it showed Number One (played by Majel Barrett) in command of Enterprise, and trying to rescue Captain Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter) from captivity. There, Mr. Spock wasn't nearly as well-barbered, and he was quite a bit louder and more, um, emotional.
The Cage was only about twenty years ahead of its time. The network was very shocked. All the little ladies out in the hinterlands would be offenced by a bossy female first officer. Men would be offended for other reasons. Spock looked 'devilish' and they almost stopped Gene from putting him in the revised pilot. He wasn't even supposed to be a major character except after the first showing bags of letters about him poured in.
The Cage is truely a wonderful piece of science fiction, right up there with the best of Twilight Zone and the best of Outer Limits. The idea of being made captive of your own dreams is a very meaningful story too. I don't think anything in the serires every quite made it to that level. But networks knew the family, mom and pop and the kids, largely working class and middle class who wanted to see hope and feel good were there bread and butter. I love Tos, but I wish it had had a little harder edge. The episode where Kirk and Spock are trapped in the Romulan invasion and decide they'll have to train the locals to fight, even if it wipes out their culture, was one of the harder edged ones. And the story of the planet where they'd solved warfare by not destroying the buildings and letting the culture live, but having the people who would have died walk in execution chambers has reached cultural status. Mention the neutron bomb and that's the first thing thats brought up.
Imagine today, and the Cage is made. The fx would be flashier, but they were quite good to begin with. It *would* go just as it is. The strong female type would fit right in. Imagine trying to do 'The Closer' back in the sixties and you'd have shock waves, today its normal. And the theme would be quite current.
If you can find it there IS a release of the first pilot by itself. You can't really appreciate it without seeing it as it was meant, with all the stripped footage restored.
It's interesting that as star trek fan fiction followed almost immediately after the show, you saw characters like Uhura being much more than someone who opened hailing frequenceis, and the harder edge of some of the broadcast version was often the norm. When pressed, they females were treated as soldiers by fans. The networks were afraid of turning off the I Love Lucy generation, but the one that grew up with little Ricky loved that vision.
It's interesting that even with westerns then, when you read about how risky life was in those places, the tv versions often just seem too 'safe' now. But it was at the cusp of a new generation who hadn't grown up in real hurt and war expressing their wishes.
If TOS first showed today, it would be a much different show, some things more in line with what was lost and some lost from what worked.
At least green orian slave women would stay green.
I remember watching that first broadcast episode of "Star Trek" ("Man Trap" aka "The Salt Vampire"). All of my third-grade buddies were looking forward to it and we weren't disappointed. I still remember how creeped out I was at the real appearance of the salt vampire when it was revealed at the end of the show. Watched it through its initial run and as often as I could on re-runs.
I didn't watch any of the subsequent "Star Trek" series because I didn't want to have to make the comparison to the original that I liked so much.
It's interesting that even with westerns then, when you read about how risky life was in those places, the tv versions often just seem too 'safe' now.
I don't wish to divert this thread off-topic, but the first "truly authentic" western I ever saw was the 1972 movie called The Culpepper Cattle Company. Even then it was far too "safe." If you've seen it recently you know what I mean. If you haven't seen it, please do so -- and then compare it to Lonesome Dove.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
