These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One

by Cushman, Marc

  For this new ending, however, it is Kirk and McCoy alone who beam over to Balok’s ship to make the discovery. There was no Lt. Bailey subplot at this stage.

  Matt Jefferies, reading the outlines with an eye toward set construction and seeing the ship’s interior described as both spacious and very alien, shot Roddenberry a note warning that “several weeks may be required” to design and build such a set. (MJ2)

  Bill Theiss, looking the outlines over with a different eye -- toward costuming needs -- was immediately struck by another problem. Balok -- the real Balok -- is seen on the Enterprise viewing screen delivering his threats... or, at least, his head and shoulders are seen. Later, we meet and see all of him, with the hope for a surprise reveal that he is actually quite a tiny fellow. Hearing that they were thinking of hiring a child to play this part, Theiss wrote Roddenberry:

  One of the main characteristics of a child in relation to an adult is the head of a child is proportionally larger in relation to the body, e.g., the width of the shoulders. If Balok is indeed played by a child actor... and if you show any of the neck and shoulders in the scene [on the Enterprise viewing screen], you run the risk of tipping the hat that he is indeed smaller than the average human. (BT2)

  Star Trek had a good staff. And they had many unique problems to solve.

  Sohl delivered his first draft teleplay on April 21. Justman, still uncharacteristically happy, wrote:

  I am quite pleased with this screenplay. Although the amount and type of post-production opticals contained within the body of the script are almost staggering, the show itself would seem to be economically feasible…. On Page 5 I don’t think it’s necessary for us to have the device of the brash young officer who has been taking everybody on board the ship with the old shell game. I think that Kirk can develop his own bluffing maneuver with the previous spark triggering him. Later on in Act II, I think that when the Enterprise is touched by the strong sensor beams, instead of the ship plummeting into a vortex, we could have it suddenly come to a dead stop. This would save us some very expensive miniature shooting. (RJ2-2)

  After reading the memo from Bill Theiss, Justman suggested Balok be played by “a midget or dwarf,” not a child. Having read Matt Jefferies memo about the interior of Balok’s ship, he made the suggestion that it should be scaled down and kept on Stage 9, perhaps as a redress of the Enterprise briefing room. To sell this idea, he wrote:

  Having a set this size would tend to make the small size of Balok all the more impressive.... I am tempted to consider this show as either our first or second to be produced. I am beginning to feel a little better. (RJ2-2)

  With the staff notes in hand, Sohl did his obligatory rewrite, turning in his 2nd Draft on April 29. Proving to be a team player, he agreed to wait on receiving his final paycheck until after NBC’s reaction to the script was known.

  Stan Robertson was not as pleased as Robert Justman had been. He wrote to John D.F. Black:

  Generally, this script lacks interest, enthusiasm and suspense until we are so far along in it that it is doubtful if we will be able to hold our audience that long. It seems as though the writer has unsuccessfully come to grips with what appears to be, at this point, one of the major obstacles which our writers must overcome -- the utilization of the “gadgets” of our series without making the “things” more predominate than the basic story we are telling. (ST2-2)

  Robertson also suggested a solution regarding the casting of Balok and how not to “tip the hat” as to his true size. He wrote:

  As to the “problem” of using the small actor to portray Balok... you might consider using the physical features of a large actor... when he is shown on screen. However, when we actually meet him in person, at this time we could see that he is a “Michael Dunn” type person. (ST2-2)

  The Oscar-nominated actor Michael Dunn would later appear in Star Trek (“Plato’s Stepchildren”), but Sohl took Robertson’s suggestion in a different direction. With his final script polish -- a free rewrite -- from May 3, Balok now had a frightening “puppet” avatar whose image would be seen on the Enterprise’s viewing screen.

  In all, Jerry Sohl did three drafts of his screenplay. He later said, “Bob Justman and Gene Roddenberry and I went over ‘The Corbomite Maneuver’ with a fine-tooth comb to determine whether or not the things that were in it were things that we really wanted to use from that point on.” (160-3)

  Not all felt the teeth of the comb were fine enough. Sohl’s last handling of the script is a somewhat disappointing read. The plot points are all there but the “character” of the filmed episode -- the diverse personalities and conflicts, and dialogue that feels both natural and alternates between clever and edgy -- is not yet in place. Also absent: Spock’s speculation that the cube they have encountered is “flypaper”; his suggestion that Bailey consider having his adrenal gland removed; that Spock thinks Balok, in some ways, resembles his father, and Scott’s reaction to this.

  Also missing, McCoy talking to himself about how he would start talking to himself if he jumped every time a light flashed on and off; Janice Rand heating up coffee by zapping it with a phaser; the dietary salad of “green leafs” that McCoy has her bring to Kirk, irritating the Captain so. Even pivotal moments such as Kirk’s realization that this is not a game of chess but one of poker, and Bailey’s meltdown on the bridge, are nowhere in sight.

  Bailey still doesn’t make the trip to Balok’s ship (the Fesarius) and he is not the navigation officer. Instead, he sits at the communications station -- which means there is no Uhura. It was Gene Roddenberry’s series of rewrites, beginning with the May 9 Final Draft, which brought much of the life and conflict into “The Corbomite Maneuver,” as well as the character of Uhura.

  “Of course there was much rewriting,” Roddenberry said in a conversation with this author in 1982. “There was very little to go by at this point for our writers, other than the pilots, and much was changing. But Jerry brought in a wonderful story and premise. With something like this, a producer can immediately see the potentials with establishing the characteristics of the series’ regulars. Much like in a wartime movie about a submarine being pursued and depth charges dropped, these men are trapped together; looking to the captain to make the right choices, certain that this is the end. You can build on that.” (145)

  The next look NBC got of the script was with Roddenberry’s May 12 revised final draft. Stan Robertson immediately saw the difference and wrote back:

  The humanitarian qualities and character development in this draft are excellent. Kirk grows more and more and becomes a more believable and “live” person through his relationship with the young officer, Bailey, Dr. McCoy and Balok. Sulu’s character begins to grow also, and we get a closer insight into Spock. (ST2-3)

  Beyond this, Robertson still had reservations. This was the first “bottle show,” with nearly the entire plot playing out on board the Enterprise. The story took the time needed to bring the Enterprise to life for anyone watching for the first time -- and this wasn’t what Robertson wanted to see. His letter continued:

  Although there is a very decided improvement in this draft... on paper, at least, our story still seems to drag somewhat.... We realize that in a series of this nature it is most important to give reality and believability to the tools we must live with. However, except for “science fiction buffs” in our audience, which it is logical to assume will be in the minority, the broad segment of our viewers will be attracted to our stories by the action-adventure and dramatic qualities they contain. Technical data or details should, we would think, never interfere with or replace any of the above mentioned ingredients. (ST2-3)

  Roddenberry wanted to play it slow, following Kirk from room to room, down corridors and up and down in an elevator to establish the immense scope of the Enterprise so that it could be better appreciated later when this giant Earth vessel is dwarfed by the much bigger alien ship. He also wanted to establish the characters, the chain of command, and the science as
to what does work, what doesn’t work, and why. In a different and more innocent time when audiences weren’t well versed in science fiction, he believed it was important to establish a feeling of the world of Star Trek.

  Stan Robertson either possessed the impatience of the average American of 40 years hence, or had a premonition as to how that impatience would manifest itself in the TV audience of his distant tomorrows. His opinions would influence the further development of Star Trek -- whether for good or bad depends on one’s tastes.

  In an attempt to appease Robertson, Roddenberry tinkered with the script further, creating a 2nd Revised Final Draft on May 20, with additional page revisions on May 23 and 25, immediately following something seldom done in the making of dramatic episodic TV -a full day of rehearsing.

  Pre-Production

  May 16-20, 1966 and, for rehearsal, May 23, 1966 (6 days prep).

  Joseph Sargent was hired to direct. At 41, he was well regarded in both television and on the stage. Typical of many of the trade reviews given for his TV assignments, Daily Variety said of a 1964 episode of Kentucky Jones:

  Direction by Joseph Sargent has real quality, with a keen eye for the values contained in the script, and is equally fine in his delineation of characters.

  That same year, for his Los Angeles stage production of The Bald Soprano, the trade said:

  [With] Joseph Sargent’s sensitive but free-flowing direction, the overall production is superb. Sargent paces his collection of stalwart performers to draw ethereal projections but still maintain a basic reality that gives them credulity.

  On the little screen, among his many credits, Sargent had directed 14 episodes of Lassie, 11 for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and seven for Gunsmoke. He also had experience with William Shatner, giving him direction in an episode of The Fugitive. In Sargent’s future, the 1967 pilot episode for The Invaders, the Hugo nominated 1970 sci-fi film, Colossus: The Forbin Project, the critically acclaimed 1974 big screen feature The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and both an Emmy and a Director’s Guild of America (DGA) Award for “The Marcus-Nelson Murders,” the 1972 pilot for Kojak.

  John D.F.Black recalled, “I knew Joe from Novak, and I called him. I said, ‘Joe, it’s the first episode, it’s important, we need you.’ And that’s all you had to say to Joe, that you needed him. He called his agent who called us and said, ‘Okay, you got him.’” (17)

  Of his introduction to Star Trek, Sargent said, “I read the script and it was fascinating. And I saw where Gene was going with the concept of it, which was to do with making some social commentary on what was going on in the world. It was something to identify with if you certainly went past all the razzmatazz and discovered that contemporary issues were coming sneakily at you from different angles.” (151)

  Sargent made a significant contribution to Star Trek -- it was his idea to put a black woman on the bridge as the communications officer. Even though Lloyd Haynes, an African-American who would later be the star of TV’s Room 222, had sat at that station in the second pilot, the script described the new character as white and male.

  “I suddenly became conscious of the fact that we had a good representation -- a good diversity in virtually all ethnic areas -- except black people,” Sargent said. “There wasn’t a black actor in the group and I gingerly, and obsessively, approached Gene. And he immediately agreed that there had to be a Black on the bridge.” (151)

  Nichelle Nichols between takes during briefing room scene on Day 6 of production (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  When Sargent made the suggestion, Joe D’Agosta remembered, “I said to Gene, ‘What about Nichelle?’ He said, ‘Yeah, let’s get her.’ There was no hesitation; no question at all.” (43-4)

  Nichelle Nichols, 31, was a fairly new face in TV. On stage, Nichols was a dancer and singer and had appeared in Porgy and Bess. Joe D’Agosta was responsible for her television acting debut, for the racially-charged episode of The Lieutenant that ruffled the NBC peacock’s feathers so badly and contributed to the cancellation of the series. He recalled, “I had seen Nichelle and a fella named Don Marshall do a scene in an acting class that I was in, so I brought them in for an audition. They didn’t have SAG cards; they had never done film or television. But they soon would get them, because we hired them on the spot for the lead in that episode.” (43)

  Roddenberry and D’Agosta were both impressed by Nichols’ performance on The Lieutenant. D’Agosta did not know that Roddenberry and Nichols had had an affair; he merely recalled her as cooperative, reliable and talented. To Roddenberry’s credit, he was determined not to allow his past relationship with Nichols influence the casting decision; he left that up to Sargent.

  Nichols was on a tour of European nightclubs when she received an urgent message from her agent saying to return home immediately, that an audition had been arranged and she was being considered for a series that would commence production in one week. Nichols hurriedly flew back to Los Angeles and drove herself to Desilu for an interview with the unnamed producer of something called Star Trek. She didn’t discover her former lover was involved until she walked into the production office. Joseph Sargent was there, as were Bob Justman, Joe D’Agosta and Eddie Milkis. And then she saw Roddenberry. Nichols remembered saying, “Why, Mr. R, what are you doing here?” and that Roddenberry answered with a grin, “Oh, I’ve got a little something to do with this.” (127-2)

  Nichols had three competitors for the role. Mittie Lawrence and Ena Hartman were early in their TV and film careers and happy to take the consolation prize – appearing in the background, one as “Crew Woman,” the other as “Crew Woman #2.” The third candidate was Gloria Calomee, who turned down the offer for a “walk on,” but did well for herself in the 1960s and 1970s on TV. Nichols was the standout in Sargent eyes. He said, “When she read and showed the kind of class that I was looking for, it all came together.” (151)

  The communications officer’s name came about when Roddenberry and Sargent noticed a book Nichols was reading while sitting in the waiting room. It was about a real life African woman named “Uhuru,” translating to “freedom.” Roddenberry liked the idea but felt the name would be easier to pronounce if given an “a” at the end instead of the “u,” and Uhura was born. It was Roddenberry’s third rewrite, dated May 20, 1966, just four days before the start of principal photography, which had the first reference to the character.

  While given no guarantee as to how many episodes she would appear in, Nichols was paid well for her time -- $1,000 flat rate per episode. Within a few weeks, Desilu would be rethinking this deal (see Pre-Production, “Mudd’s Women”).

  Anthony Call as Mister Bailey (Lincoln Enterprises film trim courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  As for the pivotal role of Junior Navigations Officer Dave Bailey, six young actors were considered. One, Bruce Mars, was also put in the background of this episode, as “Crew Man #1.” He’d get more out of his audition than that, returning in a few months to play a substantial guest role as the rascally Finnegan in “Shore Leave.” Also in consideration for Bailey was Stewart Moss. Joe D’Agosta saved him for the plum role as Joe Tormolen, the crewman with the itchy nose and sweaty hands who kills himself with a butter knife in “The Naked Time.”

  Anthony “Tony” Call was the winner. He had appeared on an episode of Jeffrey Hunter’s series Temple Houston, as well as The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space and Combat! He was 25.

  Walker Edmiston, who worked for decades in television and film providing hundreds of voices for cartoons and TV commercials, was the voice of the childlike Balok. In Los Angeles, Edmiston had his own self-titled Saturday morning kiddie show.

  Clint Howard in his second series with co-star, the bear, from Gentle Ben (Ivan Tors Productions, 1967)

  Bill Blackburn at navigation station (left), where he would sit for many of his 59 appearances (Unaired film trim courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  Ted Cassidy -- Lurch from The Addams Family -provided the voice of Balok’s ominous alter ego. Wh
at we saw on camera -- that face that not even a mother could love -- was designed by Wah Chang.

  Clint Howard, as little Balok, was seven. He already had many TV and film credits, including appearances on The Andy Griffith Show as Opie Taylor’s friend Leon (Ronny Howard -- “Opie” -- was Clint’s real-life big brother) and as a cast member for one season on the series The Baileys of Balboa. A starring role in TV’s Gentle Ben, under a bear and Dennis Weaver, was still two years away.

  The bridge stations were manned by many soon-to-be-familiar faces on Star Trek.

  William Blackburn, with light brown hair and wearing gold, made his first of 59 appearances. He was the lighting stand-in for DeForest Kelley.

  Frank De Vinci, with dark hair and a blue top, has his first of 44. He stood in for Leonard Nimoy as the sets were lit. It was decided early on that sprinkling in familiar faces among the crewmen would help to maintain believability, and these three, being needed on set every day, were the obvious choices.

  Eddie Paskey, William Shatner’s stand-in for lighting set-ups, returned for his second of 59 appearances. He’s the one with brown hair and wearing a red uniform top.

  Paskey recalled, “Greg Peters, the series’ A.D., called and asked if I wanted to be on the show as Bill’s stand-in, and I said ‘Yeah!’ I’d only been in the business for maybe a year, but I had seen some of what stand-ins did and I thought, ‘Jeez, you know, this would be kinda fun.’ Plus it was a steady income, with my wife and I raising two kids at the time. On the very first show we did, which was ‘The Corbomite Maneuver,’ Greg told me, ‘I want you to get up there in that seat,’ which was the seat on the bridge that became mine -- Scotty’s engineering area. They got me a red shirt like the Engineering crew wore, which stood out pretty good, and Greg says, ‘That’s going to be your spot.’ So Greg was the instigator of me being in almost every show, because I was always sitting there at the console, at that station.” (135-2)