These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One
Page 54
One week after this, with the airing of “The Enemy Within,” A.C. Nielsen reported that Star Trek tied My Three Sons for the top spot between 8:30 and 9 p.m. on Thursday. With the attempted rape of Yeoman Rand by Captain Kirk, and the arrival of Breakfast at Tiffany’s on CBS, the numbers dropped for the second half hour.
In its sixth ratings week, Star Trek was again looking strong according to Nielsen. “Mudd’s Women” topped the 8:30 p.m. competition, which included The Dating Game, brought in by ABC to replace the underachieving Tammy Grimes Show. Trek had 31.4% of the TVs in use, leaving 28.8% for My Three Sons and 28.6% for The Dating Game. At 9 p.m., Star Trek tied The CBS Thursday Night Movie, up to a 31.5% share, besting Bewitched, which drew 30.1%.
Star Trek’s victory was all the more impressive when considering the “help” it was given, with the lead-in of Daniel Boone and the back-end support of The Hero. On this week, typical of most weeks, Daniel Boone attracted a 14.4 rating for the network, which Star Trek then increased to a solid 19. Once Trek cleared the air, The Hero allowed those audience numbers to dwindle to a 10.9. Weeks earlier, with the Trendex report ranking the Top 90 series over a two-week period, Daniel Boone’s averages had it placed at number 57. Star Trek came in at 33. The Hero, in Nielsen’s Bottom 10, was a grim 81. Another much-ballyhooed NBC show -- The Dean Martin Show -- was coming in at number 48. Star Trek, NBC’s biggest Thursday night performer, had succeeded on its own.
Within days after the airing of “Mudd’s Women,” NBC made its decision. Star Trek, Daniel Boone and The Dean Martin Show were picked up for the remainder of the season. The Hero was cancelled. (It would vanish in eight weeks, replaced by a revival of an old NBC hit: Dragnet.) For the cast and crew of Star Trek, the success in the ratings race meant the race to produce the next batch of episodes was back in high gear.
20
Episode 12: THE CONSCIENCE OF THE KING
Written by Barry Trivers
(with Gene L. Coon, uncredited)
Directed by Gerd Oswald
Arnold Moss and Barbara Anderson, NBC publicity photo (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
NBC press release, November 15, 1966:
The USS Enterprise provides passage for a stranded troupe of Shakespearean actors, one of whom plots the murder of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), in “The Conscience of the King” on the NBC Television Network colorcast of Star Trek on Dec. 8.... Although Kirk suspects that actor Anton Karidian (Arnold Moss) is actually a former notorious rebel leader, long-sought by authorities but now believed dead, there is insufficient proof to make an arrest. Meanwhile, Karidian’s beautiful actress-daughter Lenore (Barbara Anderson) offers a special performance of Hamlet aboard ship as an expression of gratitude for being rescued. Kirk agrees, unaware he is setting the stage for a tragedy not in the script.
With the recent murder of Kirk’s friend, Dr. Thomas Leighton, the Captain is one of only two surviving witnesses who might be able to identify the long-missing fugitive, Kodos the Executioner, who was responsible for the slaughter of 4,000 people. The other is Enterprise crewman Lt. Kevin Riley, and an attempt has now been made on his life.
This story has a unique hook: Shakespeare in space. The theme is one of vengeance, guilt, and self-punishment. Like the plays of Shakespeare, this is Man versus Himself every bit as much as it is Man versus Man.
SOUND BITES
- Dr. McCoy: “What if you decide he is Kodos? What then? Do you play God; carry his head through the corridors in triumph? That won’t bring back the dead, Jim!” Kirk: “No. But they may rest easier.”
- Lenore: “There is a stain of cruelty on your shining armor, Captain. You could have spared him.... You are like your ship. Powerful, and not human. There is no mercy in you.” Kirk: “If he is Kodos, then I have already shown him more mercy than he deserves. If he isn’t... then we’ll put you ashore at Benicia... with no harm done.” Lenore: “Who are you to say what harm is done?” Kirk: “Who do I have to be?”
- Kirk: “What were you 20 years ago?” Karidian: “Younger, captain. Much younger…. Blood thins. The body fails. One is eventually grateful for a failing memory.”
ASSESSMENT
This is an episode of firsts and lasts. It’s Yeoman Janice Rand’s last appearance; it gives us the first mention of the shuttlecraft (and the observation deck that overlooks the flight deck); and we get our first and only explanation of the mood lighting on the Enterprise, designed to simulate day and night. It is also both the first and last time music was provided by composer Joseph Mullendore.
“The Conscience of the King” is an atypical Star Trek. Anyone looking for a fast-paced story with action, chills and out-of-this-world gadgetry will be disappointed. NBC certainly was. Others will find it to have profound depth and purpose.
The title is from Hamlet: “The play’s the thing,” Shakespeare wrote, “wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” The script parallels Shakespeare’s play in many ways: a leader struggles with his conscience; he is at risk of having his crimes exposed; and he has a daughter who goes mad with guilt.
In the teaser, the Karidian Company performs a scene from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Karidian, as Macbeth, murders King Duncan and utters, “Will all Neptune’s great ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” The role of the actor playing this tragic character of literature is a tragic character himself. He hides behind roles that force him to act out his anguish, and this goes to the heart of Shakespeare’s writing -- characters engaged in obsessive self-examination. In this regard, Karidian is not alone. Tom Leighton, a witness to the 20- year-old slaughter on Tarsus IV, lives with the lingering images that haunt him. Leighton’s wife Martha says, “He really died the first day those players arrived. Memory killed him, Jim. Do you suppose that survivors ever really recover from a tragedy?”
Kirk, like Captain Horatio Hornblower, is also prone to deep self-examination, but prefers to bury his suffering in the past. Early in the story, he tells Tom Leighton, “Kodos is dead. I’m satisfied with that. You’ve never let it out of your mind. Now it’s become an obsession. It’s over. Leave it that way. He’s dead.”
Despite his own advice, Kirk finds himself alone in the briefing room, revisiting a dark moment in his past with the help of the computer. Even before his friend is murdered, Kirk has begun his witch hunt.
Of her recently deceased husband, Martha Leighton says, “Twenty years and he still had nightmares -- I’d wake him and he’d tell me that he still heard the screams of the innocent -- the silence of the executed. Every dawn is a funeral. That’s what killed my husband.”
To create a parallel, writer Barry Trivers deliberately set the holocaust on Tarsus IV 20 years in Kirk’s past; it was 20 years prior to this production when trials were conducted in Germany on charges of horrific crimes against humanity. Scores of Nazi officers took flight to avoid prosecution; there was even question as to whether Hitler had actually died. As “The Conscience of the King” was written and filmed, the scars from 20 years prior were still very much on the surface for all who witnessed the madness of the Nazi regime.
“The Conscience of the King” is purposeful drama with multiple levels of conflict for our protagonist -- Kirk – squared off against Leighton, against Karidian, against Lenore, against Spock and McCoy, against Riley, against himself. The episode may lack action, but the story does not lack conflict.
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Script Timeline
Barry Trivers’ story outline, ST #17: April 5, 1966.
Trivers’ revised story outlines, gratis: April 13, 1966.
Trivers’ 2nd Revised Story Outline, gratis: April 18, 1966.
Trivers’ 1st Draft teleplay: May 9, 1966.
Trivers’ Revised 1st Draft teleplay, gratis: May 12, 1966.
Trivers’ 2nd Draft teleplay: June 8, 1966.
Trivers’ Rev. 2nd Draft teleplay, gratis: July 11, 1966.
Steven Carabatsos script polish (Mimeo Depart. Yellow Cover 1st Draft):
Gene Coon’s rewrite (Final Draft teleplay): August 23, 1966.
Additional page revisions by Coon: August 25 & 30, 1966.
Coon’s second rewrite (Rev. Final Draft teleplay): September 8, 1966.
Additional page revisions by Coon: Sept. 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20 & 22, 1966.
Barry Trivers, an admirer of William Shakespeare and sensitive to the pain of those who witnessed the holocaust, was 59. He wrote the screenplays to nearly 40 movies from 1931 to 1951, most notably The Flying Tigers, starring John Wayne. Turning to television in the 1950s, Trivers frequently provided scripts for series as diverse as The Millionaire, Have Gun - Will Travel, and Combat! And Trivers had a commanding presence at the Writers Guild of America, where, in 1961, he shared responsibilities as Vice President with Christopher Knopf (another writer Roddenberry had his eye on for Star Trek). Like Roddenberry, John D.F. Black, and Knopf, Trivers had been the recipient of a WGA award. His came in 1962 for an episode of The Naked City with another title borrowed from Shakespeare: “The Fault in Our Stars.”
Roddenberry was still the sole producer when the concept for this story was pitched and developed. Trivers stumbled at his first written attempt. His treatment from April 5, 1966, told us that the slaughter Kirk witnessed as a boy took place on Earth, which had been invaded by “an army of marauders” who “pillaged, burned, and murdered, waging Hitlerian war and, like Hitler, almost conquered the Earth.” Trivers wrote how these marauders led by Karidian conducted “a program of extermination” and that one of the first victims was “Area Commander Kirk, Governor of a Province” -- James Kirk’s father.
Roddenberry in no way wanted to depict such a bleak future for Earth. Nor did he want the parallel between Karidian and his forces to be so dead on with that of Hitler and his Nazi regime. Trivers was asked to reinvent his story.
The freebie revised story outline arrived on April 13. This time Trivers established the theme in the first sentence, writing, “Our story deals with the question: When does the search for Justice become a drive for Vengeance?” The back-story now had Kirk, as a boy, living with his father who headed up a research expedition at an Earth colony on an alien world. The colony is captured by “a group of revolutionaries led by Kodos.” Again, Kirk’s father is among those killed.
Bob Justman wrote to Roddenberry:
There is a good story here, but it seems to take too long to get to it.... Throughout the whole story, I feel that we should be extremely careful in handling Kirk. His obsession with regard to Karidian has all the overtones of a personal vendetta. To an extent this vendetta damages his personal fitness for command and must be carefully examined. (RJ12-1)
One day later, Roddenberry wrote to both Justman and John D.F. Black, saying:
Mister Spock -- playing a solemn kind of Horatio -- warns against rashness in making any kind of charge unless Kirk is sure. But Kirk -- a kind of Hamlet -- is intent on learning the truth and punishing the villain. In other words, play the Hamlet theme with the exception that our Captain has not the Hamlet melancholia and vacillation. He must remain a man of strength and action.... Kirk is suddenly aware of the fact the ship is large and lonely for him -- he is a man who must, by position, have few friends and who must walk alone in many places. There should be at least one attempt on his life -- one that comes very close to succeeding. (GR12-1)
Roddenberry immediately vetoed the idea of Kirk witnessing the death of his own father, telling Black and Justman:
The writer will be asked to eliminate the past murder of Captain James Kirk’s father, substitute instead the murder of a very close friend, co-officer, or perhaps the killing of a beloved starship commander under whom Kirk earlier served.... But… not tying us down to an aspect of Kirk’s close family past, creating something which may hem us in later. (GR12-1)
Trivers made the necessary changes, again at no charge, and turned in a second revised story outline on April 18. Roddenberry felt it was good enough to send to NBC. Stan Robertson, speaking for the network, responded:
It would seem that this is an excellent piece for the writer to get his teeth into. This is a fine vehicle to further establish the character of Kirk, to show a deepening insight into both his human and heroic makeup. Also, for our other principal, Mr. Spock -- a man of cold reason, logic, and without emotion. The “chemistry” between the two, both men respecting and liking each other genuinely in a strong fashion, but neither really able to understand the other during the times of great stress. (SR12-1)
It was an idea from Stan Robertson that led to the attempted murder of Lt. Kevin Riley. Trivers had written in his outline that a crewmember was murdered. Robertson suggested:
The death of the technician seems rather needless. You might consider the attempted murder of a person “mistaken” for Kirk…. Kirk’s suspicion of the father could be made even more concrete by this act and his belief that there is a killer on the Starship.
With network approval, Trivers went to work on his teleplay. He delivered the first draft on May 9. Robert Justman checked in later that day, writing to John Black:
I would like to state that I am about as close to being thrilled as I could ever be upon reading a first draft screenplay. (RJ12-2)
Of course, the script still had a long ways to go. More notes from all involved, funneled through and interpreted by Roddenberry, went to Trivers, to which he reluctantly yielded on numerous points. His free rewrite -- a Revised First Draft -- was dated May 12. John D.F. Black was first to respond, telling Roddenberry:
Barry still labors under the false conviction that his original version of the script was a highly acceptable job.... However, he also bought your approach and explanation as to the reasons for changes in the story, structure, etc. (JDFB12-1)
More changes led to what Trivers thought would be his final handling of the script -the official 2nd Draft of June 8. The attempt on Kirk’s life that Roddenberry wanted was here but, as Trivers envisioned it, the threat came from a bomb planted in the Captain’s quarters which, if triggered, would destroy the entire ship. Of this, Justman wrote to Black:
I am completely befuddled by the explosion sequence.... I just don’t get it. I understand the need for creating further hazard for Captain Kirk, but I don’t believe that this is the way to get it.... If it would blow the ship up, it certainly isn’t a good way to silence Captain Kirk. Well, yes, it is a good way to silence Captain Kirk, but it is also a good way to silence everyone else on board, including the person who planted the device in the first place. (RJ12-3)
Justman was sadly amused at how Trivers had Kirk run from his room, “screaming” to crew members in the corridor, “Fire in the hole [sic]!” Of this, he commented:
The correct term is “Fire in the hold.” Also, this line should be read by Captain Horatio Hornblower instead of Captain James Kirk…. Okay, so maybe I can believe that Lenore can gather like a cat and grab a phaser from a Guard’s belt. But you don’t think that Kirk is plenty stupid to advance on Lenore, knowing that she is psycho and wants to kill him anyhow? Also, why the hell does she shoot her father? (RJ12-3)
Justman also questioned whether there was truly a need for Yeoman Janice Rand in this story. From what he was reading, he felt there was not.
Later that day, Roddenberry dictated a letter to Barry Trivers. He began:
It is good to get an honest rewrite. By that I mean, one doesn’t necessarily have to agree with everything -- there can still be suggestions and comments for the polish, but it is refreshing to read a rewrite which is the author’s full effort with no hanging back or dogging it. You don’t shortchange, my friend... All in all, it begins to feel like a most exciting episode, even a memorable one. (GR12-2)
Déjà vu. The wording rings of Roddenberry’s letter to Adrian Spies concerning needing yet another polish on the “Miri” script. That letter, in fact, was written only one day before this new one. Roddenberry was fishing from a different water hole, but for the sa
me catch -- a free rewrite. He saw this script -- draft number three -- as representing a good starting point. In his 12-page memo, he asked for many changes in the areas of story, structure, characterization and dialogue. In other words, everything.
Roddenberry’s main concern, as far as characterization was concerned, involved Mr. Spock. He told Trivers:
Mr. Spock, frankly, has been a problem to all of us. We find ourselves blessed with one of the finest actors in town in Leonard Nimoy, and with a strange half-alien character who very well could be the hit of the year -- and yet we all keep missing on him, somehow. Only lately, working with him on stage and after hours in the office, have we begun to get a hint of where we should be going.... He pretends not to feel; is revolted by displays of emotion. We’re finding our key in the word “pretend.” Just as the Captain, in order to keep him identifiable and believable, where you must constantly give us the man peeking out from behind the image of the commander, we must have the half-human aspect of Spock constantly peeking out from behind his chosen image of imperturbable logic. (GR12-2)
Roddenberry disagreed with Justman about Janice Rand being unimportant to the story. But he did agree that she was under-utilized. While he was pleased that Trivers had Rand interrupt Kirk and Lenore Karidian as they seem to be heading toward romance on the observation deck, he saw potential to create additional conflict by having Rand on the bridge when Lenore first calls on Kirk in hopes of securing passage for the Shakespearian troupe. He told Trivers:
Would also suggest we might introduce Yeoman Janice Rand somewhere during this. She’s too valuable and interesting a character, her womanly attitude about another woman -- however skillfully Janice hides them as she plays the cool, unemotional yeoman -- are too interesting to lose here. (GR12-2)
Trivers had added a plot point for this third version of the script whereby Kirk is not the only member of the Enterprise crew to have witnessed the executions conducted by Kodos. Lt. Daiken (later to be changed to Lt. Riley) was also a witness and an attempt is made to murder him while he is working the nightshift in engineering. As written here, however, Daiken is not alone but is with another crewman -- named Jeff -- who leaves the room briefly then returns to find Daiken has been poisoned. Roddenberry told Trivers: