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by James A. Lely
Creative Education
Published by Creative Education, 123 South Broad Street, Mankato, Minnesota 56001.
Copyright c1979 by Creative Education. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States.
Cover photo: Globe Photos
Library of Congress Number: 79-52892 ISBN: 0-87191-718-1
Star Trek is one of the most popular and inspiring television shows ever aired. At its peak, Star Trek received 10,000 fan letters a week. The letters came from teenage kids dreaming of becoming astronauts as well as doctors of astrophysics and medicine.
In August 1975, 15,000 Star Trek fans, or Trekkies, attended a three-day convention in Chicago. A Chicago Star Trek Club sponsored the event and charged $20 admission.
The Trekkies looked like everyone else-unless they were dressed like Klingons or Hortas. They ranged in age from 6 to 60. They shared a love for Star Trek, for its actors, and for the concept of exploring a vast universe.
Trekkies love to collect gadgets and tokens of their favorite show. At the Chicago convention, there were enough Star Trek gadgets to satisfy everyone's collecting urge. They offered tee shirts, posters, buttons, and Spock ears. There were huge rooms full of people dressed like Romulans or Tribbles or Hortas or like the ship's crew members. There was a Captain Kirk look-alike contest. The entire convention cost over $100,000. That included the full-size model of the U.S.S. Enterprise which was on display.
The lead actors and actresses came to the convention. Also many of the production crew, astronaut James McDivitt, and UFO expert James Allen Hynek attended.
Walking through the convention, one would hear: "Who are the inhabitants of Elba II?" (Answer: "Inmates at an intergalactic asylum for the criminally insane.") "What is Kevin Riley's middle name, and what is his favorite song?" (Thomas. The song: 'I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen'.")
When not at conventions, Trekkies exchange more than one hundred privately published magazines devoted to the series and its characters. They can shop for the latest in phasers at the Federation Trading Post, which is a Star Trek memorabilia shop in Manhattan.
The New York Star Trek convention in January 1976, attracted a fantastic crowd of 50,000. Many more were left outside of the convention hotel, which was filled to capacity.
A hot seller at this convention was the Star Trek Star Fleet technical manual. The manual contained detailed drawings of Star Trek equipment and vehicles. Another book sold at the convention was Star Trek Lives by Lichtenberg, Marshak, and Winston which is the story of the Trekkies themselves. Model kits of the ship were popular, too.
The reasons for the huge and long-lasting success of Star Trek are these: the writer Gene Roddenberry, his excellent production staff, and a top-rate cast of actors.
Gene Roddenberry began writing television scripts while he was a sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department. He sold many stories to Dragnet and to Four Star Theatre. He later left the force and focused his writing talents and interest in science fiction on developing the best TV space series for M-G-M. At that time, he wrote and produced a series called The Lieutenant. When M-G-M feared the series wouldn't be renewed for another season, Roddenberry began to change his space series idea into something he could sell.
Roddenberry wanted several things from Star Trek. He wanted a believable and adventurous science fiction series which would draw a large audience every week. He wanted a show which would contain his beliefs and hopes for the future. At the time, the networks hesitated to air any program containing views on economics, sex, war, or racial struggle.
Roddenberry thought of a way to get around this problem. He put his opinions into the mouths of either aliens or humans of the future. The idea worked, and every Star Trek episode has a moral or some observations on human problems.
M-G-M didn't buy Roddenberry's idea, but Desilu Studio, which was desperate for any series, accepted the challenge. The pilot show, title "The Cage," was presented to NBC at a cost of over $600,000.
The budget for the second pilot was under $300,000. Roddenberry offered NBC three scripts: "Omega Glory," "Mudd's Women," and "Where No Man Has Gone Before." They selected "Where No Man Has Gone Before," and filming began July 5, 1965. The rejected scripts were later used in the series.
During all of this time, Gene Roddenberry had been meeting with his production crew on every aspect of Star Trek. By the time they were ready to begin filming, an entire universe had been created.
All the members of the crew had to agree on certain things. These details included: the assigned mission of the Enterprise, what the ship and the sickbay looked like, and how the subspace radio worked. They had to decide on whether or not the ship would ever land on a planet, what types of people the ship would visit, what conclusions humans had reached about war and aggression. The list went on and on.
In "The Cage," the Captain's name was Robert April. Second-in-command was a woman referred to as "Number One." Spock was portrayed as emotional-not story, but not what he is today. As Roddenberry's conception of Star Trek developed, these and other details were changed, rearranged, or dropped. All scripts and concepts were submitted to research companies and to noted scientists. These experts made sure that Star Trek would do what Roddenberry wanted: to make the show believable.
Making the show believable became the real struggle. Yet Gene Roddenberry carefully guided his production staff as the developed his ideas into phasers and bridges and Vulcans and library computers. And together Roddenberry and staff made the show believable.
Making the show believable became the real struggle.
Even the actors, who could all see that the bridge of the Enterprise was just a stage set, believed in the reality of Star Trek. One time, a new director ordered Sulu, the helmsman, to push a certain switch in order to activate the viewing screen. Sulu refused, saying that if he pushed that button the ship would blow up. In an early episode, that was what would have happened--that switch was used to instruct the computer to begin self-destruct procedures.
All of the actors tried to remember to do things the same way week after week. If the transporter worked one week by moving the slide levers down, then up, that's how they insisted on doing it every time.
These details made the show believable and dramatic. And with thousands of reruns showing now, it's good that there weren't many mistakes made. Trekkies always notice things like that.
Everyone involved in the show's production learned to pay strict attention to detail. The writers carried around thick manuals describing the limits of the Enterprise and the rules of the Star Trek universe. The directors were told that it takes six seconds to transport a landing party, and that a Vulcan can't smile. New actors were cautioned to treat the Captain with respect. A costume designer could never allow zippers or pockets to show, since these would probably be obsolete in the Star Trek setting. The lighting crew knew that the little red light next to the elevator was on only when the Enterprise was in a state of alert. These details were all decided upon only after the production staff worked many 18-hour days.
Star Trek's art director, Walter (Matt) Jeffries, went to a new planet every week. He designed everything seen on the planet, from house to castle, fireplace, or stream. He read the manuscript for a week's episode and then drew pictures of his concept of the planet. After his plan was approved and built, the set decorator, John Dwyer, took over. He gave the sets a finished, authentic look.
Jeffries created several permanent sets for Star Trek. Among these are the bridge, the elevator, corridors, transporter room, sickbay, Captain's quarters, and more. These were extremely expensive to build. On the $60,000 bridge, for example, all of the controls produced either sound or light when used. Automatic doors, however, were operated by a concealed stagehand.
Irving Feinberg, the prop master, located all the items handled or referred to in an episode. These included such things as weapons, pens, chessmen, silverware, and tricorders. If he couldn't find something, Jimmy Rugg, the special effects man, created it for him.
Rugg and Jeffries worked together to create the special effects now common to Star Trek. They made working models of a moving Tribble, a beeping communicator, a flashing phaser, and a robot. When they created McCoy's operating instruments, they made them whir when a button was pressed.
Bill Theiss, the costume designer, worked closely with Fred Philips, the makeup artist who created Spock's ears. They made sure the green on an alien's face went with the purple of his cape. They created the monsters and the beauties.
Their responsibilities never ended. Every day, all costumes had to be sent out to be cleaned, repaired if necessary, and placed in the actors' dressing rooms in time for the early call. Mr. Spock had to be re-created each morning, as did all special-effect aliens and the ordinary crew.
After filming a show, another crew edited it. Sound was added for effects, "optics," such as the shimmery transporter effect, were put in place and the music track added.
The music for Star Trek was not simple. A bit of theme music was composed for each regular member of the crew, and it was played every time he or she appeared on the screen.
The jobs of the producers, directors, and production crew have always been taken for granted by Star Trek audiences. For them, the show is about real people in real situations which are unfamiliar to the twentieth century. Their firm belief that the U.S.S. Enterprise is real rewards the struggles of several gifted actors and actresses.
Full page black-and-white photo. Photo credit: Photo Trends [Familiar publicity photo of Kirk with phase and Spock with communicator behind a rock, in front of what looks like the shuttle]
Serial number SC 937-0176 CEC. Starship Commander. Holder of Prentaries Ribbon of Commendation; Grankite Order of Tactic, Class of Excellence; Palm Leaf of Axanar Peace Mission; Medal of Honor; Star Fleet Citation of Gallantry; Silver Palm with Cluster; Karagite Order of Heroism. Born in Iowa to become Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, in command of a 430-member crew charting new space territory in the name of the United Federation of Planets. A lonely man, James T. Kirk.
Kirk entered the Space Academy at 17 and twenty years later was the youngest man to be named Starship Command Captain. He graduated in the top 5 percent of his class. His body is totally coordinated, his mind is razor sharp, his character is noble.
At 34, Captain Kirk has two friends: First Officer Spock and Chief Medical Officer McCoy. He can unbend to them, can tell them his worries and pressures and joys, but to the others he remains aloof and respectful. He is a hero to his crew.
Kirk absorbs all kinds of information rapidly. As fast as he can absorb it, though, more is coming from all stations of the ship. He listens to the opinions of his crew, judges the facts, and then decides firmly.
James T. Kirk has had several major romantic affairs in his life, but he remains single. Kirk has completely ruled out the possibility of an on-ship romantic relationship. His responsibilities take his entire attention. Dividing it could mean the destruction of the Enterprise and all aboard. On occasion, the Captain's duties bring him into contact with a beautiful alien, and he always proves himself to be an able diplomat in these situations.
Fencing matches in the gym and regular exercise keep Kirk in top physical condition. He needs to be in top shape for his rigorous work on the ship and for the hand-to-hand combat he sometimes engages in on hostile planets. He plays three-dimensional chess with Spock and he reads to keep his wits sharp.
Because the Enterprise is in distant, unfamiliar sections of the galaxy, Kirk has to rely on his own judgment in almost all situations. He is obedient to his superiors but puts his crew's welfare above everything else. In one episode of Star Trek, Kirk delayed an urgent diplomatic meeting so that Spock could return to Vulcan for the mating season. If Spock failed to get to Vulcan in time, he would die. In these cases, Kirk always chooses to put his crew's needs first.
William Shatner plays the Captain. He was born in Canada and began his drama education at McGill University. While there, he acted in school productions and played in summer stock every year. After college, he worked with the National Repertory Theater of Ottawa. Following that, he was accepted by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ottawa as an understudy. He started there as an extra and left having co-starred in several productions and having been selected "Most Promising Actor."
Shatner wrote a TV play and then starred in it when it was produced in Toronto. He dreamed of becoming a great actor like Sir Lawrence Olivier. He met his future wife, Gloria Rand, during rehearsals for his play. While on their honeymoon in Scotland, he starred in Henry V in the Edinburgh Festival.
The Shatners moved to New York where he was busy acting for many television productions. There, he also starred in a Broadway hit, The World of Suzie Wong.
Hollywood became their next home, Shatner began acting in television, including many Westerns-which were new experiences to the Shakespearean actor. William Shatner's acceptance of the lead role in Star Trek proved to be a major asset to the series.
Shatner spent much time studying each Star Trek script to make sure he interpreted the part as the writer intended. He made suggestions to the director on how his character should work with others, suggestions to the costume director on how an alien might look, and suggestions to special effects people on how to make the show more believable. The production crew took his ideas seriously, because William Shatner was not only a star, he was the Captain.
The planet Vulcan is hot and dry, has a thin atmosphere, and very little water. Vulcans have large, pointed ears designed to better capture the weak sound waves of such a planet. The Vulcan pulse is 242 beats per minute because of their large arteries. However, their blood pressure is similar to humans. Their blood is green; their heart sits where a human has a liver. Vulcans can sense everything better than humans and have complete control over their physical pain. Furthermore, although at great personal cost, a Vulcan can read the thoughts and emotions of others.
Long ago, the planet Vulcan was torn by wars. As a result, the following generations taught their children that any display of emotion was forbidden and that killing was unthinkable. The Vulcans turned to logic and calm discussion in order to deal with each other and with the galaxy.
Self-defense is practiced by the use of a nerve pinch which instantly and neatly renders an opponent unconscious. Vulcans will not kill animals to eat, and they tend to eat only the lowest form of plant life.
The Vulcan best known to the twentieth-century human race is Mr. Spock, Science Officer and second-in-command of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He holds the rank of Commander.
Spock-he had no other name-is the son of a very unusual couple. Sarek, a Vulcan diplomat and physicist, middle-aged now at 102 years old, and Amanda, a school teacher from Earth, married and shocked everyone with this unheard-of Vulcan-human match.
Sarek expected Spock to become a Vulcan scientist and was extremely offended when Spock decided to join the Space Service. Only years later did father and son meet again when a disastrous event showed Sarek that Spock was like a man without a country. He was neither a cool Vulcan nor a warm human, but an outcast, a half-breed. He was doomed to live being misunderstood by everyone.
The Science Officer has been assigned to the Enterprise for the last thirteen years, the recent four serving under Captain Kirk.
The two are close friends, but Spock would be quick to point out that it is only logical to approve of Kirk because of the Captain's great abilities. Spock and McCoy, on the other hand, look at each other with suspicion. Spock thinks that McCoy is not much more advanced than a witch doctor. McCoy is convinced that Spock is simply a useful walking computer.
Spock is important to the smooth working of the Enterprise. He usually joins the Captain in landing parties, quickly analyzes the situation and reads details of the planet off the tricorder. At his post on the bridge, operating the library computer, Spock is at the nerve center of the ship. In a flash, he can tell Captain Kirk the identity and makeup of an approaching hostile ship, or how long they have before their deflector shield will disintegrate. The crew relies on Spock for much more than they admit. They admire an respect Spock but never treat him in a casual fashion.
For recreation, Spock plays a Vulcan harp and sometimes a game of chess with the computer or Kirk. He also spends free time doing all kinds of original research.
Spock is important to the smooth working of the Enterprise.
Leonard Nimoy plays Mr. Spock and, as a result, he is in constant pain. His real ears are taped to the sides of his head and are covered by the rubber ears of the Vulcan. Every time he moves or talks, his ears complain loudly and tell him to go back to other acting roles.
Nimoy objected to the ears at first. He said that they would make Spock look ridiculous, which would also be bad for Nimoy's career. Furthermore, he thought that Spock should be developed into a cold, logical scientist instead of the more passionate character originally created in the early scripts. Gene Roddenberry calmed Nimoy down and promised him that Spock would be taken seriously. As it turned out, Nimoy is taken very seriously. He has been asked to speak to groups of scientists about the engineering features of a star ship, or to address NASA about problems of space communication. He still has difficulty convincing audiences that he is anyone other than Spock.
Nimoy is mainly responsible for creating the Spock we know today. Early on, he realized that Spock appeals to the audience not because he is logical and collected, but because he is cold only on the surface and is full of controlled emotions underneath. That conflict makes Spock an interesting character.
The training which allows Leonard Nimoy to perform so well began when he was 8 years old. At the Elizabeth Peabody Playhouse in Boston, he played the male lead in Hansel and Gretel. He continued to perform at the Playhouse until he was 20. He met Sandra Zober at the Pasadena Playhouse, where they were both acting students, and married her in 1954. Soon after they were married, Nimoy was drafted and assigned to Fort McPherson Special Services where he spent eighteen months working on GI shows.
After his military experience, Nimoy continued to study and teach acting. He appeared in many television shows and in a couple of movies, The Balcony and Seven Days in May.
After Star Trek, Nimoy played for two years on Mission Impossible. He has most recently been seen performing on Broadway in the play, Equus. He and his family live in Manhattan.
The Chief Medical Officer hates the transporter. He does not like to be beamed somewhere like a simple radio message. The Chief Medical Officer believes that a little suffering now and then builds character. He is suspicious of drugs and computers because they weaken men, he says, by making them rely on something outside of themselves.
As the Senior Ship's Surgeon of the U.S.S. Enterprise, he is counselor to the crew and guardian of the Captain. His chief duty is to constantly monitor Kirk's physical, emotional, and mental health. If he spots a problem too great to be corrected, he has the power and the obligation to relieve the Captain of his duties. The Chief Medical Officer knows everything about the Captain. Dr. "Bones" McCoy likes what he knows, and he and Kirk are close friends.
Dr. McCoy was born 45 years ago in Georgia. As a child, he always wanted to be a doctor, and later trained for general practice. After his divorce, McCoy took intensive courses in Space Medicine and then volunteered for Star Fleet. He wanted to try to outrun his memories.
"Bones" is loved and respected by the crew of the Enterprise. Despite his sharp criticism of any signs of character weakness, they know that he will listen sympathetically to their problems. They know that he will have the right words to ease their pain. Dr. McCoy has a cynical outlook toward his fellow man and the crazy things they do. He seems to be unable to believe that anyone is what he appears to be. He is sure that every ambassador who comes to the ship bearing gifts is hiding a knife up his sleeve.
His gruff manner, however, is a bluff to hide his large love for people. The Chief Medical Officer would hate to appear soft. What would Mr. Spock say?
Dr. McCoy's gruff manner is a bluff.
The real McCoy is actor De Forest Kelley who was born in Georgia. His Baptist minister father would have been shocked to think that his son would eventually be traveling so far from home. In fact, when Kelley was 18 and decided to move from Atlanta to California, his father raged about the dangers of the West.
Mrs. Kelley was more understanding, and encouraged young De Forest to go where his talents led. Little did she know that they led to a medical job in the stars.
Kelley moved to Long Beach, California, an brought his Atlanta singing experience to a radio show put on by the Long Beach Theater Group.
To earn more money while performing, Kelley became an elevator operator. After the war, during which Kelley acted in GI training films, he moved to New York and acted both on the stage and on television. Later, he returned to California an started playing the sinister and crafty roles for which he became known.
He played in many television shows besides Gunsmoke, Rawhide, and Bonanza.
He appeared in several movies, such as Warlock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Where Love Has Gone, and Raintree County.
Kelley feels that he and McCoy are similar in nature. Many of McCoy's opinions reflect Kelley's contributions to the character of the Chief Medical Officer. However, Kelley enjoys a better personal life than McCoy: in 1945 he married Carolyn Dowling, with whom he was acting at the Long Beach Theater Group. They live in Sherman Oaks, California.
He's not at all fat, but his body weighs 190,000 tons. His short legs can move at Warp Factor Eight. He inhales, and over 400 men and women breathe fresh air. He is Engineering Officer Montgomery Scott, and although he's human he considers himself one with his ship.
Scott knows more about space engineering than anyone else anywhere. His books are the latest word in understanding the most complicated machines. He knows at just what instant a ship will break apart in hyperspace and which ship circuits can be rerouted to strengthen the deflector shield. The Captain only steers the Enterprise; Scotty is the force which keeps everything moving.
The Engineering Officer is fiercely protective of his ship's safety. Just when he thinks that he has given the Captain all the power available, he gets a call for more. Scott can only shrug, complain that they'll blow up, and then miraculously finds the extra edge they need. He is proud that it is he who makes their mission possible. From his private area in the Engineering Section, he commands the large crew needed to keep everything operating at peak performance. There is much mutual admiration between the Captain, the Science Officer, and the Engineering Officer.
Scott is third-in-command on the ship and takes part in nearly all major decisions and landings. He is an engineering genius, and more than once he has made star-age miracles happen using only nuts and bolts. For recreation, he stays around his department to experiment and play with his machines.
Scotty comes from Scotland and from a family history of adventure. His ancestors were active in all kinds of expeditions from early seafaring to Moon exploration. He has family back on Earth but left them in horde to go where no man has gone before. His closest friend is his drinking companion, Dr. McCoy. They are very much alike and share the same view of the world.
James Doohan, who plays Scotty, comes from Vancouver, British Columbia, where he was a well-known radio performer. He taught acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York until 1953, when he returned to Canada until 1961. At that time, he moved to California and made hundreds of television appearances. He has played in many movies both in Hollywood and in Canada.
Doohan now lives with his wife in Hollywood, where he pursues his vigorous acting career and his many outdoor hobbies and sports.
Full page black-and-white photo. Photo credit: Photo Trends [Familiar publicity photo of Kirk and Spock and a partially visible McCoy on the transporter pads]
Trekkie Trivia
Answers to Trekkie Trivia
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