John Black concurred, “Yeh. I was not gutless. I was ready for him. And I said, ‘What the hell did you do to my script?’ And he said, ‘I made it better.’” (17)
Black told how he said, “For God’s sake, Gene, I can maybe -- maybe! -- understand it for somebody who doesn’t know the show. But I’m the Story Executive. I work here. I know the show. And you know I know it.” (17-4)
Black remembered, “He gave me a ‘that’s the way it is and screw you’ smile. Then he said he had a phone call he had to make to the network and he had a couple meetings that afternoon with Lucille Ball or somebody, and he said we’d talk about it another time. But that time never came about.” (17)
“Well, there was a lot that had to change in that one,” Roddenberry said in 1982 to this author. “This episode was going to lock in many character traits that would then come back in other episodes. You have to take extra care with a story like that. You know, these types of shows are going to be more important to the overall series because of what they tell us about our people -- our primary characters. So you have to get it right. Normally, I’d give written notes or we’d sit down and talk about it. Then more notes for the next draft, and so on. But with that script, I remember getting into the rewriting early. With a member of the staff, you may be able to take some shortcuts.” (145-12)
Black felt Roddenberry’s shortcut was disrespectful. He said, “I wasn’t going to go for this. Solow came down, because he had heard what happened with Roddenberry. He said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, ‘I think it stinks.’ First of all, it’s illegal. The Writers Guild does not permit the script to be rewritten by a staff member before the writer gets to do a second draft. So I should have been able to do first draft, second draft, and polish. And that’s what I did -- went back to work on it and ignored Gene’s rewrite.” (17)
Black’s rewrite was dated June 20, 1966 draft. In the teaser for the new version, McCoy and Scott stay on the ship and Joe Tormolen makes the trip to the frigid scientific station on Psi 2000. The contamination now happens there, much as in the filmed episode, sans the melodramatic tag line about it being like nothing they’ve dealt with before.
Black, in accordance with his position as executive story editor, did his own polish, turned it in at the end of the day on June 23, mimeographed and distributed it to the staff the following day, Friday, June 24. Just as with the Yellow Cover drafts of “The Enemy Within” and “The Man Trap,” it did not make it to NBC.
Roddenberry put his imprint on the script before circulating it to cast, crew, studio and the network. He later said, “That was a hell of a premise, but the script wasn’t utilizing the characters to the degree that it could; taking full advantage of the inherent drama of seeing our people subjected to this condition. The rewriting took care of that. But I don’t remember having a lot of time on that one. That script, as I recall, was very last minute. We needed the changes fast [sic!].... I don’t think any writer is completely receptive to being rewritten. I’ve been on the other side of it and can certainly understand.” (145-12)
Black has said many times that he was never a fan of Roddenberry’s dialogue, believing it to lack subtlety. George Clayton Johnson echoed Black’s feelings, saying of Roddenberry, “I thought that what he was doing to the work was, by and large, dumb. When I saw him doing to it John D.F.’s script, I said, ‘I liked it better before you started fucking with it.’” (93-2)
An examination of the June 23/24 draft (Black’s last) and the June 28, July 1 and July 5 drafts (Roddenberry’s rewrites) does reveal some ham-fisted changes in dialogue, but there are also many positive additions to the script.
In the June 23/24 draft, it is Lt. Farrell, from “Mudd’s Women” and “The Enemy Within,” played by Black’s friend Jim Goodwin, who takes over engineering and shuts down the engines. There is no Lt. Riley and therefore no “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen.” Black had Farrell sing “Danny Boy.”
In John Black’s final script polish, Spock’s meltdown had been moved from the ship’s corridor to the briefing room, but there is no big moment between him and Kirk, no slapping Spock and no Spock backhanding Kirk and sending him reeling across the table. Nor does Kirk confess to loving the ship and understanding why it is called “she.” His memorable line, “Never lose you,” spoken to the Enterprise is in Black’s last draft, but doesn’t appear until the end of the story, on the bridge, as the ship escapes danger.
With his rewrite, Roddenberry reconsidered his objection to director Marc Daniels wanting to show Spock’s blood as green. For the first time in the series, mention is made of the “green ice water” running through Spock’s veins. And, yes, that unsubtle line about “like nothing we’ve dealt with before” was added to close out the teaser.
Another change involved the role of Nurse Ducheau, added to the script by Black both to assist McCoy in sickbay and to be one of the many conduits for spreading the disease. Roddenberry changed the name to the not-so-subtle angelic-sounding Christine Chapel and made much more of the character, with clear intent of casting Majel Barrett in the role.
Regarding this, Robert Justman and Herb Solow, from Inside Star Trek: the Real Story, wrote:
[Gene] adapted the Nichelle Nichols non-recurring role manifestation [when he] created Nurse Christine Chapel. As Executive Producer, Gene would see to it that this “necessary” character would definitely recur. And since NBC hadn’t liked the dark-haired Majel in the first pilot, the “series Majel” would be a blonde -- as if no one at NBC would notice. But they did.
While it can easily be argued that not all of the changes made to Black’s script were for the better, Roddenberry’s handling of “The Naked Time” helped to elevate an extremely good story and script to one which can be considered epic. Regardless, irreparable damage between producer and associate producer had occurred.
Mary Black said, “I think because we were so sour that mostly we it would have been so much better if ‘that line’ had been left in, or if ‘that visual’ had been left in, or ‘where the hell did that line come from?,’ like George calling Nichelle a ‘fair maiden’ and her saying, ‘Sorry, neither,’ which was put in by Gene Roddenberry afterwards. We were not good sports, and there’s no point in pretending otherwise. We were gnashing our teeth.” (17a)
Pre-Production
(no director prep days provided)
In May, Roddenberry had announced that he’d hired nine directors -- Joseph Sargent, Harvey Hart, Leo Penn, Marc Daniels, Bernard L. Kowalsky, Lawrence Dobkin, Vincent McEveety, James Goldstone, and Tom Gries, respectively, and they would direct the first nine episodes. It was now Kowalsky’s turn.
Bernard Kowalsky was in great demand. He had served as producer for two popular series -- Dick Powel Presents and Rawhide -- and had just produced the pilot for Rat Patrol. Kowalsky was also a prolific director, and made points with Roddenberry when he directed the former’s script for the premiere episode of the 1957 TV western Boots and Saddles.
With Star Trek falling behind schedule, the dates planned for “The Naked Time” now conflicted with the many other jobs Kowalsky had committed to, as the busy director juggled assignments on The Monroes, Mission: Impossible, and Gunsmoke. Frantic phone calls were made but no other director capable of taking on a challenging show like Star Trek was available on such short notice. So Marc Daniels was tapped to direct back-to-back episodes.
“I did two shows in a row, once,” Daniels said. “It was craziness, but I did it. You usually get one day of preparation for every day that you shoot. And you had to spend those six days in preparation trying to solve these problems. You couldn’t wait until you got to the set, starting to shoot, and say, ‘Oh, gee, how are we going to do this?’ because you’d never have gotten it done.” (44-3)
In an amazing feat, Daniels prepared “The Naked Time” while filming “The Man Trap.” Considering the anxiety the former script caused for some cast members, the calm and encouraging Daniels was the perfect choice.
/>
Bruce Hyde, in the role of Kevin Riley, was 24. He had been appearing before the camera for only one year, with a guest spot on The Trials of O’Brien and a minor and brief recurring role in a few episodes of Dr. Kildare. Desilu had cast Hyde in a pilot film called Dilby and wanted to keep him close by in case the series was picked up. Star Trek casting director Joe D’Agosta was asked to find Hyde work. Marc Daniels approved.
Bruce Hyde recalled, “I had worked with Marc a year or so previously in a summer tour of a play by William Brown called Linda Stone Is Brutal. We had a great time with that tour, and Marc was very much a warm father figure to the young people in the cast. I loved Marc and having him as the director was a gift.” (88-4)
Stewart Moss as Joe Tormolen (Unaired film trim courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Hyde would return for a prominent role in “The Conscience of the King” a few episodes down the line. But “The Naked Time,” with Riley’s maddening rendition of “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen,” is Bruce Hyde’s true shining moment.
As for the song, even though it is revered as an Irish ballad, it was actually written in America by an American, named Thomas P. Westendorf. Being 91 years old, the song was in the public domain and Star Trek did not have to pay to use it.
Stewart Moss, at 28, was cast as Joe Tormolen, the careless crewman with the itchy nose. With a background on the stage, Moss had been working in TV for a few years with guest spots on Perry Mason, Twelve O’clock High and multiple episodes of Hogan’s Heroes.
Moss said, “Joe [D’Agosta] was a personal friend. He called and told me he was casting a new TV ‘sf’ series which hadn't aired yet and there was a part in an upcoming show that I was right for. He mentioned the cast, and I was a big ‘sf’ fan at the time -- I had read everything Heinlein and Sturgeon and Asimov had written and so I said ‘yes.’” (122-3)
Moss was among good company on the Star Trek set. He said, “I met Bill Shatner in ’63 or ’64. He had acted in a film short for a director, Richard Colla, who was my roommate at Yale Drama School. Colla invited Bill and his wife and myself and a date to his home for dinner with him and his wife -- a sort of wrap party. I remember Bill as affable, charming and self-deprecating... and he was married to a gorgeous woman aptly named Gloria. I did a two-part Bonanza with DeForest Kelley in late ’64. It was a two-week shoot and I got to know De after he approached me and asked if I was a stage actor. He gave me a few tips on hitting marks and ‘think it, don't just do it,’ which were much appreciated. He was my favorite of all the ST regulars. Leonard I knew from casting calls. Quiet, withdrawn, odd.” (122-3)
As for the familiar faces, the ever-present Eddie Paskey takes over the helm when Sulu abandons it. Frank Di Vinci takes over the navigation station after Riley exits. And Ron Veto helps a recovered Sulu from his bed in Sickbay.
Production Diary
Filmed June 30 (¼ day) and July 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 11 (1/2 day), 1966
(Planned as 6 day production, took only 5 ¾ days; total cost: $174,269).
Day 2. “Ice Station Star Trek” … on planet Psi 2000 (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Thursday, June 30, 1966. “Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra was at the top of the pops pushing the Beatles’ “Paperback Writer” down a notch to second place. Two big films out were writer/director/star Carl Reiner’s The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming and Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen. You could see either for a buck. The median price for a new home was $14,000. The average annual wage was $7,000. And a true classic was about to begin shooting on the Star Trek stages.
Production was actually beginning a day early. Daniels had finished “The Man Trap” over three hours ahead of schedule and so, instead of waiting until 8 a.m. the next morning, he broke ground on “The Naked Time” at 3 p.m. on this Thursday. Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley, holdovers from “The Man Trap,” were already there; guest performers Majel Barrett and Steward Moss had been called in with the hopes of an early start. Then the scenes with Joe Tormolen in sickbay were filmed.
Moss recalled, “When I read the script, I thought, ‘This is going to be a challenge.’ I knew it was moralistic to a degree. It was a message show. But it was in the context of a spaceship and the quest -- it was almost Homeric. And Star Trek wrote for actors. You would carry on for three or four pages. You would have something to do and a place to go, and there was an emotional arc. And that is why I was very much attracted to that particular script and that show. With Star Trek, you knew you had a part. It was a lot more fun for actors.” (122-3)
Day 2. On Friday, the first official day of production, the company began working on Stage 10, filming the episode’s teaser on the “Observation Station” set. Nimoy and Moss were the only actors needed, surrounded by mannequins filling in for the frozen station personnel.
Moss recalled, “I questioned Marc Daniels about whether a Star Fleet officer who probably had at least a PhD in engineering would be stupid enough to take his glove off in that situation. He said, “Of course not. But if you don't do it, we don't have a show.” (122-3)
So Moss took off his glove.
At 11:15 a.m., cast and crew moved back to Stage 9 for more work in sickbay. Filming stopped at 6:45 p.m., nearly eleven hours after it had begun.
A three-day holiday weekend followed, with production resuming on Tuesday, still in sickbay, followed by a move to the transporter room and the recreation room, respectively. Stewart Moss had scenes on all three sets. He said, “Marc [Daniels] was one of those directors that I always liked, the type who doesn’t pretend to know more than he knows. He gave me very little direction and, in my recollection, did not over-direct anybody in terms of their acting. He left you alone. I did go to him and I said, ‘Listen, this prose is a little purple [exaggerated],’ and he said, ‘Stewart, just do what you’re doing; it’s very honest.’” (122-3)
Of the commotion in the recreation room, Moss said, “I killed myself with a butter knife. I think I was the only actor in the history of television who had died that way.” (122-1)
Immediately following the stabbing, cast and crew moved to the bridge to shoot numerous sequences. Moss recalled, “My whole impression of it -- and maybe this was because of Marc [Daniels] -- was that you get on the set, you light it, you do it and you’re done. Marc knew what he wanted and he was fast. After the scene where I’m struggling with the other two and fall on the knife, I remember lying on the floor, and I don’t think I had even had a chance to get up yet, and he said, ‘Cut! Gentleman, we’re on the wrong set.’ And they’re all gone. And I thought, ‘Well, I guess I did alright.” (122-3)
All of Day 4 and most of Day 5 were spent on the bridge. Eddie Paskey, whose character Lt. Leslie took over for Sulu at the helm, only to have to be relieved when he too is infected by the disease, was given his first speaking part in Star Trek. He recalled, “I was to become, basically, kind of drunk, because the disease had infected me. Well, I was so nervous, I couldn’t remember my lines. So Marc Daniels wrote them down in grease pencil on the top of the glass covering the helm. But, as they tried to get the shot, I became more and more nervous, and I got to the last line and I froze. And Lenny [Nimoy] reached over, hit a button on the helm and said the line for me. And a couple seconds later, Marc says, ‘Cut, print!’ And there was no condemnation of it; I was still accepted, I was still one of the guys; I just had a bad day. This is what made that Star Trek crew who they were. They were there to help each other.” (135-2)
The next scene featured Sulu charging the bridge with a fencing foil. Paskey, sitting in Sulu’s seat at the helm during the scene, said, “Rehearsal was just great, no problems. But when the director called ‘Action!,’ George came out of that damn elevator like he was shot from a cannon and started wielding that sword, and Bill backs up and says, ‘Jesus Christ, George, you’re going to kill me with that damn thing.’ And he almost did.” (135-2)
Takei running amok (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Marc Daniels said, �
�I had to really physically restrain him. He got so excited that I was scared to death he was going to stab somebody -not purposely, but he was getting too close. I took the sword away from him and had the end of it dulled down. George has a lot of enthusiasm.” (44- 3)
Shatner also had an opinion about -- and a memento from -- that performance: “George had always had a sword fighting fantasy. In shooting this sequence, he saw his dream about to come true. He attacked the scene -- and me -- with such gusto that I have a very small scar to prove what a wonderful swordsman he was.” (156-8)
Takei denied that he was behaving in anything other than a professional way. What Daniels, Paskey, Shatner and the others saw, according to him, was his commitment to the character -- a performance.
After getting the last bridge shot, the company followed the bare-chested Sulu to the ship’s corridors... for more sword play and “acting.”
Filming didn’t stop on Day 5 until 7:30 p.m. It had been a 13 to 14 hour work day for all involved.
Director Daniels helps Bruce Hyde loosen up (Courtesy of Bruce Hyde)
On Friday, July 8, filming moved to the engineering set. Bruce Hyde recalled, “In those days I was a pretty uptight guy. And I played very tense, nervous characters.... I was used to acting on stage -- that’s what I did most -- and when you did comedy on stage, you got laughs. And I remember the whole experience [of making ‘The Naked Time’] being somewhat uncomfortable.... All the time I was doing that stuff in [Engineering], when I was singing and walking around and leaning on things, they would just ask me to improvise that, and I wasn’t very loose.... I was doing all that stuff and nobody was laughing, and you can’t tell if you’re bombing or you’re doing it right.” (88-3)
These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One Page 36
