These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One

by Cushman, Marc

  Andrea Dromm was the young, pretty model hired to play Yeoman Smith. The 23-year-old was brand new on the scene in Hollywood but had achieved national recognition as a top New York model with a pair of successful TV and print ad campaigns. She was the perky stewardess in a 1963 National Airlines commercial who exclaimed, “Is that any way to run an airline? You bet it is!” The following year, as a Clairol girl, she appeared in their “Summer Blonde” TV spots. Her contract for the pilot was for $450, covering four days work.

  Andrea Dromm with Shatner (NBC publicity still; courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  Lloyd Haynes, 31, an African-American making his television debut, played Communications Officer Lt. Alden. He was present on the bridge, but little more. Roddenberry expected the character could become worthy of attention if and when there was a series. For now, Haynes had a couple lines of dialogue and a half-dozen “reaction shots.” For this he was paid $400.

  Rounding out the cast, Roddenberry and Peeples had written in two new characters, both having the potential of becoming recurring roles. One was the ship’s engineer.

  James Doohan in NBC Publicity photo for second pilot (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  James Doohan, 35, with over 100 TV and film credits, first journeyed into science fiction in 1952 for an episode of Tales of Tomorrow. In 1953 Doohan spent a TV season playing Phil Mitchell on a cheapie syndicated serial Space Command, and made appearances on The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and two episodes of the brand new Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It was James Goldstone’s idea to bring Doohan in for a reading.

  “I was asked to come and read one Saturday morning,” Doohan said in 1968, for fanzine Inside Star Trek, issue 5. “I had met the director of the pilot about ten days before and I had done some accents for him. I didn’t get that job, but he wanted me to read for the Star Trek people. So I sat down there and did about five or six different accents.”

  Doohan recalled how Roddenberry had asked him which accent he thought best fit the part of engineer. “Well, if you want an engineer,” Doohan responded, “it had better be a Scotsman, because, in my experience, Scotsmen are the best. They’ve invented so many things, especially to do with ships.” (52-1)

  Roddenberry agreed to Doohan’s choice for the accent. He even allowed Doohan to name his character -- Montgomery Scott. Doohan’s agent named his price -- $750.

  In Hollywood, when it rains it pours. Days later, Doohan was offered regular work back at Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, this time to play the Chief of the Seaview (replacing character actor Henry Kulky, who passed away toward the end of the first season). But, having just committed to a long-shot called Star Trek, Doohan had to say no to producer Irwin Allen.

  Nimoy with Takei for NBC publicity photo taken for the second pilot (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  The other new character added into the script: astrophysicist, Sulu.

  George Takei, 28, began his life as an actor when he answered an ad to do the English dubbing for several characters in a Japanese movie being prepared for U.S. release. It was called Gigantis: the Fire Monster. The following year, he repeated the task for Rodan: the Flying Monster.

  “I was kind of lucky,” Takei said in 1968, for Inside Star Trek, # 8. “Many people complain about being of minority groups and so forth. But I think the very fact that I have this face opened a lot of doors for me at a time when it wouldn’t have opened for other people.”

  Among the ethnic types Takei was cast for: parts on Hawaiian Eye, I Spy and “Made in Japan,” for Playhouse 90.

  Takei remembered his first meeting at Star Trek vividly. All he knew then was that a producer from Desilu had called his agent about the casting of a pilot. He showed up at the production offices and was greeted by Dorothy Fontana, who he remembered as having a “soft, welcoming smile,” which he much appreciated. Takei, you see, was nervous. Although he had been keeping busy as a guest actor, this was the first time he had been considered for a recurring role in a series.

  Takei’s first impression of Roddenberry: “A large, genial man who rose up from behind a desk and came forward to greet me with the affability of a country squire.... I instantly liked this man. He was unlike any other producer I had ever met -- spontaneous, unaffected.” (171-4)

  Takei was also immediately taken with Roddenberry’s vision for Star Trek, saying, “In his disarmingly amiable way, he had me dazzled. I was swept away, not just by the images, but by his soaring ideals.” (171-4)

  For his new job soaring through the stars, Takei received $375. Cast and crew were now ready to go “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

  Production Diary

  Filmed July 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 & 29 (½ day), 1965 (Planned as a 7 day production; took 8 ½ days; total cost $355,000).

  Monday, July 19, 1965. The day the second pilot began filming, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones was the most played song on U.S. radio stations. The Mary Poppins soundtrack had top spot on the LP charts. The week’s highest rated TV show aired the night before -- Bonanza on NBC. And Gene Roddenberry received two telegrams. The first was from Robert Butler, director of “The Cage,” reading, “Good luck today. I hope all goes well... and it sells.” The second, from Oscar Katz and Herb Solow, read, “Do us a favor and make it good this time.”

  July 20, 1965, Day 2 of filming, and the first day Shatner sat in the command chair, for Scene 104, Take 1 (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  Filming began at 8 a.m. on Stage 15 at Desilu Culver City, the same stage where Enterprise sets had been shot for “The Cage.” The actors, of course, arrived much earlier, for makeup, breakfast and rehearsal. Shatner’s call time was 6:30 a.m. Nimoy had to be there by six for his ear-job. And this is how it would be every day the Star Trek series was filmed.

  Day 2. The new Captain … between takes (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  First up were scenes in the rec room, where Kirk and Spock play a game of three-dimensional chess and give a little back-story on the pointed-eared half-human. Next, while the rec room was being transformed into the briefing room, the company moved to the corridors for all the scripted scenes in these areas. Transporter room sequences followed, including beaming a drugged Gary Mitchell down to Delta Vega. Shooting then moved to the transformed briefing room where Kirk holds a meeting with staff heads and argues the fate of Mitchell with Spock. It had been a productive day. At 6:55 p.m., the camera stopped rolling and the cast was released to have their makeup removed and turn in their wardrobe, while the production crew “wrapped” the set.

  Day 2, Tuesday, July 20: Shooting began in the turbolift elevator, moving onto the bridge. All of Day 3 and part of Day 4 were spent here on what was certainly one of the most spectacular sets in 1960s TV.

  In the latter half of Day 4 and for the first half of Day 5 the action moved to sickbay, where the world gets its first glimpse of an ebook (as Gary Mitchell reads from a video screen), then to Stage 17 for the “Int. Delta Vega Control Room” set.

  With production already starting to fall behind, the company was struck by an attack of “killer bees.”

  High above the actors, among the seldom-used catwalks of the ancient soundstage, a colony of wasps had nested in the eaves. The hot lights irritated the temperamental insects, causing them to swarm. Shatner was stung first, on the eyelid. The area around his eye swelled to “softball-sized proportions.” Fortunately, this was Friday; he had until Monday for the swelling to subside. Makeup hid the rest.

  Still photographer shot taken of Shatner with Andrea Dromm from the wasp infested catwalks (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  It was reported Sally Kellerman was also hit, but not in her face. “Luckily, all her shots that day were done standing,” Justman quipped. “Even though the sting must have hurt, to her credit, she never complained -- not even when she sat down.” (94-8)

  On Day 6, Monday, July 26, the wasps were gone but another “casualty” would strike the Delta Vega control room set with the strangulation of
Lt. Kelso. Paul Carr, playing Kelso, said, “I was very angry that I was going to be killed. I wanted to be on that show... there was that wonderful feeling that I was on a winner. I really liked it.” (30)

  With makeup covering Shatner’s swollen eyelid, the company moved onto the “Int. Delta Vega Security Area” set. For the first scene, as Mitchell threatens Kirk and Spock from inside his cell, standing beside them is the yet-to-be-named character played by Eddie Paskey. It was the first of 59 Star Trek appearances for Paskey, who served as Shatner’s stand-in for the lighting set-ups, making him one of only five cast members (along with Shatner, Nimoy, Doohan and Takei) to go from pilot to series.

  Paskey recalled, “Greg Peters remembered me from The Lucy Show, where I had done some bit parts, and a few other Desilu things, and he got me onto the second pilot. It was just a non-speaking role, nothing major, but I walked onto the set and there was Paul Fix, an old fixture in TV. And Gary Lockwood, who’d just had a series. And William Shatner, of course, I recognized. So it was kinda neat, me being a real novice and I’m on the same set with these people. And there was this little thing going on because Sally Kellerman wasn’t wearing a bra under her uniform, and it was pretty apparent. I remember someone from the network was there, frowning about that. But this was well into the production, too late to really do anything about it, so they finally decided to let it go and we got the shot.” (135-2)

  Later that day, the company had a brief stay on the “Ext. Planet & Lithium Plant Beam Down Area.” In post-production, this would serve as a matte shot to be combined with Albert Whitlock’s impressive painting of the futuristically eerie Lithium Cracking Station on Delta Vega.

  Whitlock, 50, had started in the 1930s, working for Alfred Hitchcock, and stayed with him for the rest of the director’s films, providing matte paintings, creating miniatures and designing special effects. He also worked extensively for Disney. Whitlock and his eightman team were responsible for all of Star Trek’s matte paintings, including the fortress on Rigel VII, as seen in “The Cage.”

  With Day 7 came additional shots in the maximum security area as Elizabeth Dehner transforms from human to godlike and Kirk and Spock are zapped unconscious.

  This was Kellerman’s first day wearing the silver contact lenses. Lockwood had already worn them for days and his eyes were suffering. Today, with computer generated imaging (CGI), turning eyes to silver is child’s play, but 1965 was a different story. Robert Justman had found only a handful of optometry suppliers still making old fashioned sclera lenses (which covered the entire exposed eyeball) and none of these corporate firms were willing to create the silver lenses needed for Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman. Should something go wrong, a lawsuit could follow. However, one of the contact lens makers did give Justman the name of a competitor -- an independent lens maker who was cantankerous enough to consider the job. Justman remembered John Roberts as a “gruff” old-school pro who liked a challenge. Roberts’ solution was to crumple tinfoil and laminate it between two layers of lenses. A small pinprick in the foil would allow the actors to see. That was the theory, anyway.

  Gary Lockwood enduring the silver contact lenses (Lincoln Enterprises film trim, courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  The lenses were thick. Keeping them in the eyes for long amounts of time caused heat to build up, creating immense discomfort for the person wearing them. Sally Kellerman managed fairly well, having worn regular contact lenses for years and only wearing the specialty lenses for two days. Lockwood was a different story.

  “Gary couldn’t stand it,” Kellerman said. “He’d have them in for one second and he’d scream ‘Get these lenses out of my eyes!’” (97-1)

  Lockwood said, “It was the most miserable six days of my life. I’m not exaggerating. I couldn’t wear those silver lenses very long. After five or six minutes, I’d say, ‘You have to take them out!’ And I’m kind of a tough cowboy guy, but my eyes just become so irritated after a period of time. It was the worst.” (109-3)

  Beyond the discomfort, the lenses were hard to see through. Lockwood admitted, “I was almost a little embarrassed, because I never saw any of what we were doing. I mean, I had these eye lenses in, and I did everything by rote. And I thought, ‘How is this going to come out?’” (109-3)

  A widely shared bit of Star Trek lore claims Lockwood could only see who was standing before him by tilting his head back and looking down his nose, and that this pose inadvertently added to the godlike presence of his character. It did add to the character, but Lockwood told this author it had nothing to do with the lenses.

  “Tilting my head was a selection that I made to show arrogance,” he said. “Think about it. You want to show arrogance, you don’t bow your head; you raise your head up. There’s certain things a human being recognizes in other human beings that influence what we think of them. That posture implies a sense of superiority; arrogance.” (109-3)

  Later on Day 7, only Shatner, Kellerman and a suffering Lockwood were needed as the company moved onto the massive Ext. Planet set, with Ext. Planet Locales 1, 2 and 3. Since this was filmed at the spacious Culver City facility and not in Hollywood where the remainder of the series was shot, Delta Vega’s surface has a more impressive scale than the worlds the Enterprise would visit in the future. The soundstage, built in the era of Hollywood’s silent pictures, was immense.

  By Day 8, Goldstone and company were shooting beyond the schedule, spending Desilu money which had not been earmarked for this venture, and it was now apparent filming would roll into a ninth day of production. This alone could provide enough reason for the old guard at the studio to override Lucille Ball and refuse the series, even if the network wanted it. Therefore, the shooting pace was increased to an unheard of 30 camera set-ups for the day. Justman recalled, “It was astounding to move so quickly. But we had to do it because Desilu was a cheap outfit. I remember we were going crazy trying to finish.” (94-4)

  NBC publicity photo taken on Day 8 of production (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  The previous seven days, production began at 8 a.m. and wrapped between 6:30 and 7:10 p.m.. At 7:10 on the eighth day the end was nowhere in sight. The big climactic fight between Kirk and Mitchell was only at the halfway mark. Shatner and Lockwood made a good show of it. Stuntman Hal Needham stood in for Lockwood during the more elaborate punches, falls, and throws. Paul Baxley, who would work often for Star Trek, did the same for Shatner.

  The fight, despite instruction to the contrary from NBC’s Donald Bay, was brutal. Sand and Styrofoam got kicked around to the point where it covered the dolly tracks laid out for the camera, causing further delays. Goldstone remembered, “We had a 40-or-50-foot dolly shot, and we only had one [stage hand] walking in front of the dolly, sweeping the Styrofoam out from under the wheels. But he could only get one side or the other.” (75-2)

  Some say the man with the broom suddenly had a helper -- Lucille Ball. As the stunned crew watched Lucy sweeping, she finally broke the silence and said, “What do I have to do to get you to finish?!” (94-8)

  Whether the Lucy story was true of not, it is a fact that the camera rolled until 9:37 p.m.. By the time makeup had been removed, costumes sent to the cleaners and the stage wrapped, it was past 10. Most involved had just put in a 17-hour day.

  Day 9, Thursday, July 29, 1965. With no actors needed, Goldstone and the production unit returned for “camera tie-down shots” on the bridge, the transporter room, sickbay, the Delta Vega central control room and various Ext. Planet locales. These shots were to be used in conjunction with the camera footage that included the actors, getting materialized, dematerialized or zapped, by the optical effects team.

  At 4:17 p.m., the director finally called out, “That’s a wrap,” meaning the crew was free to continue working, wrapping up the wires and securing the set.

  Post-Production

  Delivered to editing July 30, 1965. Music Score recorded November 29, 1965.

  Cleared post / shipped to NBC: January, 1966.

/>   The pilot was far from being finished. The studio’s anxiety increased over the time Roddenberry and his post-production team took to film the photographic effects, create matte shots, then edit and score the film -- a staggering five months.

  Alexander Courage, who wrote and conducted the score for “The Cage,” returned to perform the same duties here. He explained the genesis for the theme music, saying, “I based the [theme] on an old Hebridean tune from the outer islands of Scotland. I wanted something that had a long, long feel to it, and I wanted to put it over a fast-moving accompaniment to get the adventure and the speed and so forth. There was an old song called ‘Beyond the Blue Horizon’ -- they used to play a double-time accompaniment to it, while this thing was singing over the top, so that’s what I really wanted to do. I wanted to make all of the scales go way out, and I wanted the intervals to be long, and I wanted to have a kind of exotic feel to it.” (37-4)

  Jack Cookerly, a musician who contributed to the recording sessions, said, “I developed the first electronic guitar [special electronic effects], of all things. Nobody knew what it was but Sandy had heard it and I’d shown him some of the things it could do so he wanted to use it on the score, and that gave it a quite different sound. You have six synthesizers, one for each string, and you can make various different sounds on any string -you can have the string tone or something like a trumpet or a flute or make it play an octave higher and it could make some strange sounds that you can’t make on a keyboard.” (35a)

  Regarding the “sonar pings” heard at the outset of the main titles, an early version of the synthesizer was used. Cookerly called it his “magic box.” He said, “I made it out of a Hammond organ, took it all apart, and then it had all new parts in it and made all kinds of strange sounds. It was almost a mechanical sound, almost sound effects, and Sandy Courage wrote something, and the instrument had a melodic purpose in the score but as it changed it became more like a sound effect.” (35a)