Fontana said, “We loved it – Janos got up and turned to us as we stood in the street – and the Horta was born.” (64-4b)
Interviewed in the late 1960s, Coon, said, “I fell in love with it, [then] put a hold on the delightful glob and sat down and wrote ‘The Devil in the Dark’ in four days.”
Knowing Coon, the script probably was written in four days. But even a producer for Star Trek had to play by the rules and work within the system. A treatment came first.
Roddenberry remembered the origin of “The Devil in the Dark” -- or, at least, the part about the egg -- differently. “Let me tell you about ‘The Devil in the Dark’,” he said. “[Gene Coon] had written an episode that had a planet in it where miners were mining things, and [he] had created something that I didn’t like. It was a story of them discovering large nodules, and [he] just made them valuable, because they had some chemical composition or something we needed.... It was basically a story of... greed.... And I said, ‘Gene, I don’t like your story.... I would like the story much better if these nodules were created by creatures, and they were eggs.’... And he said, ‘Jesus, Gene, that’s a marvelous idea!’“ (145-2)
One thing certainly different in the first story outline as opposed to the episode was its beginning. The Enterprise does not respond to an emergency call from the miners on Janus VI but, instead, limps its way to the mineral-rich planet, damaged by a meteor storm and needing materials to make repairs (a plot device not dissimilar to that used in “Mudd’s Women” and, more recently, in the early drafts of “A Taste of Armageddon”). Upon arriving at Janus VI, Kirk discovers there is no salvation for him and the Enterprise; the mining operation has been shut down, due to the attacks of the Horta. The stakes for Kirk, therefore, are greater, and much more personal.
Robert Justman kept his memo to Coon short but, even when writing to the show’s lead producer, this associate producer was determined to point out the problem areas. He wrote:
I find a few similarities to “Mudd’s Women” in this show, especially in the beginning. I am sure that there is no problem taking care of this minor thing (that’s a joke)…. For what it’s worth, we have established the fact that our phaser pistols can zap into nothingness non-life forms, such as cabinets, rocks, machinery and budgets. Therefore, there may be some slight problem explaining why phasers can’t take care of silicon-based forms…. I find it slightly hard to believe that the Enterprise carries about a supply of ready-mixed concrete, but I could believe that they would send down a hundred-weight of human gall stones. (RJ26)
Otherwise, Justman was very enthusiastic regarding Coon’s “latest creation,” and wrote, “Am very pleased. Please write the screenplay quickly.” (RJ26)
Still waiting for a shootable draft of Harlan Ellison’s “The City on the Edge of Forever,” Barry Trivers’ “Portrait of Black & White,” and Paul Schneider’s “Tomorrow the Universe,” or any draft at all of Theodore Sturgeon’s “Amok Time,” all in various stages of development (or non-development), Justman was desperate for something/anything to schedule for production.
Coon, needing NBC approval before advancing to screenplay, chose to take one more day and revise his outline first. Regarding the set-up for the story, which Coon rather fancied as-is, he ignored Justman’s note and left it for Stan Robertson to accept or reject.
Upon reading the revised outline, Robertson echoed Justman’s thinking, saying:
Excellent story, Gene, however... I think we should find a different opening since this one is somewhat similar to the others we have had. Other than that, the remainder of the story is totally different than anything we have had to date. Good luck on the script. (SR26)
It was everything Robertson had been asking for -- a planet show, with a monster, and a message. And now, pleasing Robertson even more, the story would begin on a planet and not with a shot of the Enterprise -- a device the NBC man argued was becoming redundant. This, in fact, was only the second story to begin away from the Enterprise (the other being “The Conscience of the King”).
Coon begrudgingly jettisoned the idea of the Enterprise damaged in a meteor storm and needing repair. The urgency now had to do with the “pergium” mined on Janus VI desperately needed on a dozen other planets to maintain life support systems.
Coon wrote his first and second draft teleplays in December, within days of one another. There was a secret behind his speed at the typewriter. Coon’s secretary, Ande Richardson-Kindryd, said, “He liked amphetamines. And that really contributed to him grinding his teeth and being grim-looking. He was under a lot of pressure a lot of the time. But that was how he was able to write “The Devil in the Dark” so fast.” (144a)
With such an urgent need for a new script to go before the cameras, Coon’s first draft of “Devil,” dated December 19, was immediately bound in yellow covers and designated as the staff-generated First Draft teleplay, even though no one else on the staff -- neither Roddenberry nor Fontana -- had laid a typewriter key on it.
Something different in this version, as opposed to the final shooting script, is that the Horta steals a “control rod” from the reactor, not a “circulating pump.” Coon had done his homework in learning that a control rod was, and still is, used in a nuclear reactor to control the rate of fission of uranium and plutonium, thereby preventing a power generator from becoming a nuclear bomb. In this draft of the script, the theft of the control rod by the Horta creates an immediate danger of an explosion that will kill all the humans on the planet and leave the Enterprise crew nowhere to escape to once the damaged ship is unable to maintain a safe orbit. Coon’s ticking clock was a loud one.
De Forest Research, however, had issues with the plot contrivances. Among the coverage notes sent to Coon by Joan Pearce at De forest Research:
If the Horta is intelligent and understands the operation of the reactor, it seems unlikely that she would steal a [control] rod, thereby risking an explosion which might kill her and destroy many eggs. It would be more likely that she would shut down the reactor and then steal a part, thereby making the environment unlivable for the humans without endangering herself or the eggs. (KDF26)
Pearce was right and Coon’s next draft changed the control rod to a circulation pump. In doing so, the ticking clock was somewhat muted. And the change did nothing to help with the problem as to why neither the miners nor the Enterprise have no replacement parts for the reactor. The explanation that the fission reactor is 20 years old, therefore too much of an antique to repair, seems foolish. It was a contrivance that served the story, but made no real sense -- something seldom seen in Star Trek.
Also from Joan Pearce:
There have been serious scientific investigations of the possibility of intelligent life based on a silicon chemical cycle. Silicon is one element capable of building the complicated molecules necessary for life processes. But silicon-based life could only develop and be sustained under conditions of extreme heat -- perhaps an environment comparable to that prevailing on the planet Mercury. It could not possibly exist in the oxygen atmosphere. In the presence of oxygen, the silicon compounds would undergo spontaneous chemical transformation -- that is, they would burn. (KDF26)
Coon did not have the luxury of time to completely rethink his story or put it through a major overhaul. Justman was standing on his desk, waiting for a shooting draft. So he instigated a compromise -- he added in a few lines of dialogue. McCoy says, “Silicon based life is physiologically almost impossible. Especially in an oxygen atmosphere.” Spock retorts, “May I point out, doctor, the atmosphere in these caverns is artificially created to support our form of life. It may be the creature can exist for brief periods in such an atmosphere before retreating to its own environment.” McCoy -- speaking on behalf of Joan Pearce and de Forest Research -- says, “I still think you’re imagining things.” Kirk -- making Gene Coon’s argument to Pearce -- interjects, “You may be right, Bones. But it’s something to go on.”
Believability factor aside, Ge
ne Coon, with his first two scripts (the other being “Arena”) had redefined the Starship Enterprise’s mission. Herb Solow said, “Star Trek was a series that dealt with non-human characters [being] treated as human beings. At first, before we hired Gene Coon, we did have episodes where, when we landed on a planet, if Captain Kirk didn’t like the people, he’d shoot them. Coon came in and said, ‘Hold it. Why do we do that? Why don’t we go in and find out what they want, why they’re there? Maybe they have the right to be there and we don’t.’... I really think that doing that was an amazing approach to television, back then, in the mid ‘60s. And I think the audience found it.” (161-4)
In this respect, “The Devil in the Dark” demonstrates how Coon would have handled “The Man Trap,” another story about “the last of its kind.” In the latter, Kirk is determined to destroy the monster. In “Devil,” Kirk cools down faster and seems more interested in discovering why this “creature” has been killing.
David Gerrold, whose script “The Trouble with Tribbles” was filmed in Season Two, said, “I would have to point to ‘The Devil in the Dark’ as being the best episode Gene L. Coon ever wrote, because it really gets to the heart of what Star Trek was. Here you have a menace, but once you understand what the creature is and why it’s doing what it does, it’s not really a menace at all. We end up learning more about appropriate behavior for ourselves out of learning to be compassionate, tolerant, understanding. To me, in many ways, Gene L. Coon was the heart and soul of Star Trek.” (73-4)
Roddenberry liked “Devil in the Dark” enough to want some credit, too, saying, “Gene Coon and I, we thought on the same lines, constantly, and that was all part of the Star Trek tradition of our attitude toward other races. Up until that time, we hadn’t really decided what our point of view on other races would be.... [That episode] laid out the whole rule of treatment of others. This was really putting together a series, and beginning to state what the series was.” (145-2)
Coon handled his own rewriting, creating a Final Draft screenplay on December 22, followed by various page revisions on December 28 and January 6, and even on January 16, the day filming began. A final set of revised pages came on January 18, when the production schedule would be rocked by the death of William Shatner’s father. Scenes originally written for the briefing room on the Enterprise had to be changed to work in Vandenberg’s office on Janus VI, in the interest of saving time.
Fontana confirmed that “The Devil in the Dark” was a rare case at Star Trek where the writer credited on the screen was actually the only one to work on the script. “Nobody touched that one,” she said. “I had no input on it whatsoever. It was Gene Coon all the way. If he conferred with Roddenberry about it, I don’t know about it. Gene just did that, and I thought it was a great script.” (64-3)
Classic episode status notwithstanding, the script actually reads better than the episode plays. Some elements which could have been very effective were either not filmed or not included in the final edit. In the script, it is clear that the Horta is watching the humans, especially Kirk and Spock. It recognizes Kirk is in command by the way he points and speaks to the other humans who nod and appear to comply with his wishes. The Horta, therefore, targets Kirk and arranges for the cave-in that forces the leader of the humans into a showdown. Also made clear in the script, the creature quickly learns that Spock’s tricorder is not its friend, and that the device can somehow detect when it is hiding nearby. When the creature hears the tricorder sound, it scurries away. The only story element of this type that made it into the episode was when the Horta, after being injured, knows the phaser is its enemy and cowers each time Kirk points the weapon in its direction. But in the filmed episode, it is not made clear why the Horta does not flee at this moment. The script, however, tells us explicitly: “The Horta holds its ground, facing Kirk and his phaser, risking further injury and perhaps death, to protect its eggs.”
Pre-Production
December 27-30, 1966 & January 3-4, 1967 (total 6 days prep).
“The Devil in the Dark” was supposed to be episode 25, followed on the production schedule by “This Side of Paradise.” And that’s how it has been listed in perhaps every published or posted account, as well as in the home video/DVD sequencing. The official records say differently. Matt Jefferies needed more time to design the special sets required, while Coon and Justman needed more time too, to make a switch in directors.
“The first script I was sent was ‘The Devil in the Dark,’“ said Ralph Senensky. “I went back to Iowa for Christmas and, while I was there, they sent me out ‘This Side of Paradise.’ At the time I was very disappointed because I liked ‘The Devil in the Dark’ better.” (155-3)
Senensky was a newcomer to Star Trek and, as “Devil” entered into its planning stages, Coon and Justman got nervous. Joseph Pevney, they believed, was far better suited for the ambitious production.
Ken Lynch as Chief Engineer Vandenberg (Unaired film frame courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Pevney kept getting tough assignments. The results here, as with Pevney’s previous assignment, “A Taste of Armageddon,” are mixed. There are nice touches, like the shots of the Horta sliding through tunnels, leaving behind a cloud of steam from the corrosive elements. Other moments, including some questionable acting choices, the lighting and photography of the matte paintings, the set design, costuming, and even the geography of the holes made by the Horta, all things in which a director gives input, could and should have been better.
Ken Lynch, 46, was Chief Engineer Vandenberg. He worked prolifically in TV and films throughout the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, with more than 200 appearances. Described as “the perfect Irish cop,” he often played the role, including recurring roles on four different series: The Plainclothesman from 1949, Checkmate from 1961, Arrest & Trial from 1964, and Honey West from 1966, the latter filming at the same time as this episode.
Barry Russo as Chief Giotto. Brad Weston is to his left (Unaired film frame courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Barry Russo, here as Security Chief Giotto, had acted in a 1958 episode of Have Gun - Will Travel written by Gene Roddenberry. Often billed as John Duke, he was a prominent guest player in dozens of TV series including The Outer Limits. For two seasons, just prior to Star Trek, he was a regular in a soap called The Young Marrieds. Russo, whose performance is spot-on, returned to play Commodore Robert Wesley in “The Ultimate Computer.”
Brad Weston, cast as Appel, the only miner to see the creature and live, had also acted in a Have Gun - Will Travel written by Roddenberry. It was one of his many appearances on that series. He was also often seen in 77 Sunset Strip and The Virginian.
Roddenberry took notice of Appel and sent a memo to Joe D’Agosta, saying:
In “The Devil in the Dark” I saw a young “Fess Parker” type character; I think his name was Weston... who was sort of a second in command of the miners... with the heavy set of hair. I’m interested in him; can we talk about his background and ability? (GR26-2)
Roddenberry was already thinking about adding a younger male actor to the regular cast in the hopes of strengthening Star Trek’s teen appeal. Weston, in time, would be supplanted by Walter Koenig and his portrayal of Ensign Pavel Chekov.
Bill Elliot, as Schmitter, “burned to a crisp” in the teaser, was 43 and had acted in Roddenberry’s The Lieutenant. He often appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents and, from the same time period as “The Devil in the Dark,” Mission: Impossible.
Production Diary
Filmed January 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24 & 25, 1967
(Planned as 6 day production; ran one day over; total cost: $188,439)
Principal photography began on Monday, January 16, 1967, the day after the first Super Bowl, where the Green Bay Packers, led by quarterback Bart Starr, beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. Later in the evening, on the Ed Sullivan Show, Mick Jagger infuriated Sullivan when he reneged on a deal to substitute the line in the title of the band’s new single from “Let’s Spend the Ni
ght Together” to “let’s spend some time together.” As a result, even though the program commanded 44.5% of the total television audience while The Rolling Stones performed, the bad boy rock’n’rollers were banned from further appearances on Sullivan’s “really big show.” In the movie houses, The Sand Pebbles, starring Steve McQueen, was top film. The Monkees still held the top-selling album in the record stores, as well as the song being played the most on U.S. radio stations, with “I’m a Believer.”
Unaired film trim showing the caverns built into Stage 10. Note the smooth floors, to become an issue between Roddenberry and Coon (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Filming for “The Devil in the Dark” began on Stage 10, which had been dressed at great expense to be a maze of caverns, augmented with tube-like tunnels made by the Horta. This gave “Devil in the Dark” a unique look. It also gave the production company many problems with which to contend.
Joseph Pevney said, “The primary problem was photographing the Horta. We had to put a glistening on it, a kind of sheen, to make it stand away from the walls, because everything was the same color. Then, we exaggerated its motion as it moved so that the audience would be sure to see it.” (141-1)
Despite this, Pevney was off to a good start, staying on schedule Monday, as well as Tuesday, still among the tunnels, although finishing late each night. On Tuesday he filmed until 7:38 p.m.
Day 3, Wednesday, January 18. Filming continued at a brisk pace during the morning hours, but was suddenly interrupted by sad news. William Shatner received a phone call on the set from his mother -- his father had died unexpectedly while in Florida.
Leonard Nimoy recalled, “The producers told him to go ahead and leave, that they were making immediate arrangements to get him on the plane. But Bill just shook his head and gritted his teeth and said, ‘No, we’re right in the middle of a scene and I’m going to finish it before I walk off the set.’ De Kelley and I both said, ‘It’s okay, just leave, Bill. Just go.’ But Bill was determined to finish the scene, though the tension on the set was almost unbearable as we all helplessly watched him struggle to get it done. It was a tough, emotional afternoon; there was really nothing we could do for him except remain close by.” (128-3)
These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One Page 90
