NBC was so nervous about Spock's satanic look that his eyes were rounded and his eyebrows curved in a promotional brochure. Image source: StarTrek.com.
Previously on The Written Trek …
In February 1966, NBC notified Desilu that the network would buy the show. Roddenberry had about six months to start producing weekly episodes. “Where No Man Has Gone Before” would air as the third episode, on September 22, 1966, with a few editing changes. It bought the production team some time. Waste not.
After the second pilot sold and Star Trek went to series, the NBC sales department prepared an “advance information” brochure for affiliates to help them understand the series. A copy is available on The Invisible Agent blog. Fearing that the network and its sponsors would be targeted by religious zealots because of Spock's vaguely satanic appearance, the sales department airbrushed Spock's ears and eyebrows to make him appear more human. Even though Gene Roddenberry had convinced the network to let him keep Spock, the implication was to downplay his presence, at least for now.
Producing a pilot is child's play compared to a series. A pilot is just one episode. Now NBC wanted a minimum of thirteen episodes, with production starting in June.
We wrote in earlier blog articles about the budgets for the two pilots. “The Cage” was budgeted at $451,503 but ended up costing $615,751. “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was budgeted at $215,644, but ended up costing $354,974. For the series, Star Trek was budgeted for $180,000 per episode, with a guaranteed thirteen-episode minimum from NBC, or about a half-season. Yes, the sets had been built, costumes had been sewn, and visual effects had been filmed. But those were for one-shot pilots. Now Roddenberry and his production team had to reproduce the quality of those pilots for a weekly series.
More of everything was needed. More producers. More actors. More writers. More effects. Why, we might even boldly go on location. There's a weird-looking geological formation in the Antelope Valley called Vasquez Rocks we might want to use some day. All within budget.
The sets were at Desilu's Culver City lot. The Enterprise bridge and other sets had to be disassembled and moved to the Desilu Hollywood lot, adjacent to the Paramount Pictures lot on Melrose Avenue near Gower Street. In upcoming months, Paramount would be sold to Gulf+Western, which in 1967 would buy out Desilu to combine the two lots into Paramount Television. Star Trek would ride the wave, one small starship caught in a typhoon of corporate acquisitions.
Perhaps the genius of this time was that Roddenberry chose to hire not simply television writers, but experienced literary science fiction writers. If they had TV experience, great. Most did not. They were great idea people, but many were inexperienced with TV story structure and budgets. Gene updated his “Star Trek Is …” outline into an interim document he could give to prospective directors and writers to help them understand his fledgling universe.
David Alexander's Star Trek Creator, the authorized Roddenberry biography, gives some insight into this ever-evolving “Writer-Director Information Guide.” This second version was first issued March 15, 1966, but would be appended many times in upcoming months.
Concerned about plagiarism lawsuits, Roddenberry on March 22 wrote to Desilu executive Bernie Weitzman that, “Obviously, we intend to purchase SF originals wherever they are usable and ride herd on our writers in this area as much as we can …” but warned that “sf is a very strange breed of cat” so the studio should be prepared for plagiarism charges.
An example of a purchased story is the first season episode “Arena” which was based on a 1944 short story by Fredric Brown that was published in the October 1944 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. We'll revisit the original story and its Star Trek adaptation later in our blog series.
Roddenberry used the Guide to flesh out his cast of characters for his writers. The Guide was supplemented by additional memos and revisions in the months ahead; as writers submitted early drafts of their scripts, Roddenberry realized he needed to clarify certain character traits.
Of particular interest is that the “Captain's Yeoman” was initially envisioned as a more prominent character than she eventually became. The character's name changed again. In the first pilot, she was J.M. Colt. In the second pilot, she was Yeoman Smith, played by a different actor. For the series, she became Janice Rand, portrayed by Grace Lee Whitney.
Kirk, Spock, and Janice Rand in an early publicity photo. Image source: Starfleet.ca website.
Alexander cites an April 14 memo in which Roddenberry suggests that the “Captain's Yeoman” carry some sort of recording device “via which she can take log entries from the Captain at any time …” This idea evolved into the tricorder, which Roddenberry described as “an electronic recorder-photographer, an instrument of the future whereby wherever the Captain is, can make log reports or records of any kind or type, which later are fed into the ship's computer system as a part of the Captain's regular log.“
The captain's log was about to become a Star Trek staple. In a May 2 memo, Roddenberry amended the Guide again, detailing the script format he wanted. The teaser (the scene before the opening credits) should open with the captain's log. “Captain Kirk's Voice Over opens the show, briefly setting where we are and what's going on.” While “not mandatory,” Roddenberry preferred that each of the four acts begin with a log update. “Not only does it give Star Trek a 'trade mark,' but also helps us get past exposition fast and into dramatic action.”
The yeoman character diminished over time, with Grace Lee Whitney eventually leaving the show. Perhaps Roddenberry realized that the captain was perfectly capable of recording his own logs, thank you very much. so the yeoman was no longer needed. Whitney's departure and the elimination of the yeoman character will be discussed in a future blog entry.
Spock also needed a lot of clarification, not only for the writers but also for Leonard Nimoy. In the teaser for “The Corbomite Maneuver,” the first episode to be filmed, Spock still barks orders like a British naval officer, just as he did in the second pilot. Nimoy wrote in his autobiography, I Am Spock, that he viewed “Corbomite” as “a crossover episode, where I was still learning to play the role. At some moments I grasped it; at others, I didn't.”
But he also cited this episode as the first time he had a “revelation of sorts” about how to play Spock. There's a scene where the bridge crew gawk with trepidation at the alien ship Fesarius on the view screen. The script gave Spock one line to say. But Nimoy didn't have a handle on how to say it. Director Joe Sargent advised, “When you deliver your line, be cool and curious, a scientist.”
And that's how Leonard Nimoy's Spock said on screen for the first time the word, “Fascinating.”
Perhaps more than any other character on the show, Spock would significantly evolve not only over the three years of the series, but through the animated series into the six original-cast Star Trek films, a guest appearance on The Next Generation, and even two supporting roles in the “Kelvin timeline” movies of the early 21st Century.
Fascinating.
Roddenberry sent out another memo on May 2 detailing Spock's character. His mother was human. His father was not. Depending on the source you look at, the father's race was “a native of another planet,” Vulcan, or Vulcanian. The NBC sales brochure said that Spock was Vulcanian, from the planet Vulcanis! Roddenberry wrote that Spock was “biologically emotionally, and even intellectually a 'half-breed.'” (The term was not considered offensive at the time.) Spock was “a devout vegetarian,” a trait that seemes to have been all but forgotten in future incarnations.
In our earlier blog articles, we discussed how both pilots took an interest in mental powers, and speculated whether or not Roddenberry believed such things exist. In any case, Gene wrote in this memo that, “Hypnotism is an everyday tool on Spock's home planet … It forms a part of their economic, social, and sex life.” In fact, Gene wrote that hypnosis was needed “as a part of the sex act …” Um, okay. But Roddenberry did write that Spock should use these abilities rarely, maybe recognizing that it could become an easy-out for a writer who's written himself into a corner.
Roddenberry also foresaw a unique relationship between Spock and Rand, who had “a motherly instinct for lonely men” which might explain her character in the episode “Charlie X.” More about that when we reach that episode. In any case, this “motherly” trait would be reflected in several early episodes where Rand nurtures Kirk in times of stress.
“The Corbomite Maneuver” was written by Jerry Sohl, an experienced television writer and science fiction novelist, the perfect résumé for Roddenberry. Sohl had already written for speculative fiction shows such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Several of Sohl's works can be found on Internet Archive, such as The Altered Ego written in 1955.
A draft version of this episode's script is available on the UK-based TV Writing website. It's entitled, “Second Revised Final Draft May 20, 1966.” According to the Memory Alpha website, a few minor revisions were made after this draft, then filming began four days later on May 24, 1966.
The second page lists the cast. It's interesting that, after Kirk and Spock are listed, “Yeoman Janice Rand” is third, ahead of regulars McCoy, Sulu, Scott, and Uhura. The navigator, Lt. Bailey, has a full name — “Dave Bailey.”
In our look at “Where No Man Has Gone Before," we noted that the unaired version of that pilot contained clips that were unused when the episode was converted for broadcast. The ending credits don't give the names of the supporting characters, only their job titles, although Sulu and Scott are named in the episode. In the script for “The Corbomite Maneuver,” James Doohan's character is listed as “Scott (Engineering Officer).” Sulu is just “Sulu” with no job title. Nichelle Nichols' character is listed as “Uhura (Communications Officer).” Kirk, Rand, and Doctor McCoy received first names. The others would would come later, sometimes much later.
The original epilogue and closing credits for “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Several supporting characters do not have names, only job titles. Video source: Tales from SYL Ranch DARKROOM YouTube channel.
As he did with Majel Barrett, Roddenberry also had an affair with Nichelle Nichols. The romance began after her appearance on The Lieutenant. In her autobiography, Beyond Uhura, Nichelle wrote that Gene told her about his plans for Star Trek; if it went to series, “I think there will be something important in it for you.” Nichols clarified that “our relationship was over long before Star Trek began,” and that no one at the show knew about the past romance other than Majel. The studio and network already were uncomfortable with Gene's relationship with Majel; an affair with another female cast member wouldn't help. The bond between Majel and Nichelle would have its own symbolism when Majel returned to the series in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” More about that in a future blog entry.
Sohl's teaser page opens with a quote. This is the only time I've seen a TV script open with a quote that's not part of the script. It reads:
“Whereso'er I turn my view,
All is strange, yet nothing new.”
(Samuel Johnson)
When the episode aired, the teaser opened with a camera shot looking down from overhead at the bridge. This wasn't in the script, at least in Sohl's May 20 version. Whomever came up with this idea was genius, because it established for the first-time viewer the bridge layout. We've seen the two pilots, but the NBC audience has not. In the end, it would have been director Joe Sargent's call, so I'll give him credit for it.
The teaser shot establishing the bridge layout. This angle was rarely used in future episodes.
Kirk isn't here. We see the command chair is empty. Spock is in charge, ordering that photographs be taken of this section of the galaxy they're exploring.
Uhura is at Communications. Although we see a background character wearing a red shirt (for the first time), Uhura is wearing gold, not the red with which we'll later become accustomed. Although this was the first episode filmed, it was the tenth to air. One has to wonder if audiences wondered why Uhura had changed her uniform red to gold for the week.
Another noticeable costume difference is that Uhura, Rand, in fact all female crew members are wearing short skirts. The trousers worn by women in the first two pilots are gone. By the mid-1960s, miniskirts had become a fashion trend, first in the United Kingdom and then later in the United States. One can speculate that's why female cast members wore short skirts, but more likely it's because Roddenberry and the network wanted the show to appeal to the young male demographic who were the core of science fiction fandom. Scantily clad women were a staple of “sci-fi” magazines for decades. Women were still sex objects in the 23rd Century, at least so far as 1960s Star Trek was concerned.
Back to our story … The ship encounters a mysterious revolving luminescent cube, later determined to be a buoy. Kirk is summoned to the bridge, then we fade to the opening credits. For the first time, audiences hear what was to become perhaps the most famous opening narrative in television history:
Space . . . the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, its five-year mission:
. . . to explore strange new worlds . . .
. . . to seek out new life and new civilizations . . .
. . . to boldly go where no man has gone before.
The narrative helped to explain to novice audiences what the show was about. Considering both studio and network executives struggled with understanding the two pilots, it's understandable that the powers-that-be would fret that viewers might not “grok” it.
As discussed in our October 17, 2024 blog entry, the credit for this narrative belongs to several people.
According to Bob Justman and Herb Solow in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, associate producer John D.F. Black came up with “Space, the final frontier.” “Where no man has gone before” was lifted from the second pilot's title, written by Samuel Peeples. The final version emerged from a series of memos exchanged in early August 1966 between Roddenberry, Justman, and Black. It was recorded by William Shatner on August 10, 1966, about a month before the first aired episode.
Act One begins with the first captain's log and stardate. Here's how it appeared in Sohl's second revised draft:
Captain's log, at Star Date 1512 point 2, on our third day of star mapping, an unexplained cubicle object blocked our vessel's path. On the bridge, Mister Spock immediately ordered general alert. My location, sick bay, quarterly physical check.
It's not quite what would later become familiar to us, in particular the use of past tense to describe events that have already happened.
Desilu executive Herb Solow wrote in Inside Star Trek that the stardate concept originated from a recommendation he made to Roddenberry:
The voyages of the Enterprise have already taken place; all Star Trek adventures are already history. The captain is setting up and recounting the particular adventure. He clues in the viewer very quickly as to what is going on and where, so we don't have page after page of boring exposition.
As for the number, the stardates would make little sense once episodes aired out of production order. Roddenberry later rationalized this by noting that travel at relativistic speeds, and in particular beyond the speed of light, meant our starship might be experiencing a different time than elsewhere. An adequate rhetorical fig leaf.
You'll also note that, in this episode, for the first time all male officers have pointed sideburns. That came from a May 1966 Roddenberry memo in response to concerns that actors would have contemporary haircuts. The pointed sideburns were to suggest a future style. Roddenberry wrote, “This is mandatory for all actors appearing in our show.”
In the sickbay, Kirk has his shirt off for the first (and most certainly not the last) time. We meet Dr. Leonard McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley, the actor Roddenberry wanted all along for the ship's doctor.
For the first time, McCoy uses the rhetorical device of self-comparison, which was to become another Star Trek trope. McCoy says, “What am I, a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?” In Sohl's May 20 draft, the line ended, “… or a trolley car conductor?”
Kirk summons “department heads” to the bridge, as he did in the second pilot. This is the first time McCoy is on the bridge, a pattern that conveniently allows him to kibbitz in this and future episodes, invited or not.
After destroying the cube, Kirk orders drills and retires to his quarters. For the first time, and most certainly not the last, McCoy tags along. We see a scene reminiscent of “The Cage,” when Dr. Boyce counseled Captain Pike. In this scene, as in the first pilot, the doctor pours the drink. (Unlike Phil Boyce, Bones doesn't clarify if it's alcoholic.) Rand arrives to serve a salad; Kirk complains about being assigned “a female yeoman,” as did Pike in the first pilot.
When the Fesarius arrives, Kirk identifies his vessel as “the United Earth Ship Enterprise.” Neither the Federation nor Starfleet as terms yet exist. Balok says he's with “the First Federation.” Ted Cassidy, who played the butler Lurch on the recently-cancelled The Addams Family, provided the voice of Balok. Spock comments that Balok is “reminiscent of my father.”
In the second pilot, an episode the audience has yet to see, Kirk defeated Spock at 3D chess. Spock talks of checkmate, but Kirk decides instead to play poker. He bluffs Balok by claiming that the Enterprise is comprised of a substance called corbomite that will reflect back energy on its attacker. This establishes for the viewer a core trait of Kirk — he'll bluff you, he'll take risks.
In the end, Balok's pilot vessel fails and issues a distress call. Kirk orders the Enterprise to respond. He tells a doubting McCoy:
What's the mission of this vessel, Doctor? To seek out and contact alien life, and an opportunity to demonstrate what our high-sounding words mean.
Kirk tells the viewers what the show is about — if they tune in next week.
It's been said that Star Trek is about “making friends of enemies.” In this episode, the first to be filmed, we're given a script that establishes that theme.
Making friends of enemies.
Sources:
David Alexander, Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry (New York: ROC Books, 1994)
Leonard Nimoy, I Am Spock (New York: Hyperion, 1995)
Nichelle Nichols, Beyond Uhura (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1994)
Herbert F. Solow and Robert H. Justman, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (New York: Pocket Books, 1996)
Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, The Making of Star Trek (New York: Ballantine Books, 1968, Sixth Printing, July 1970)