These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One

by Cushman, Marc

  ASSESSMENT

  Lifting a page from Jonathan Swift, Star Trek once again snuck a hot political debate onto prime time television by disguising the intent, changing the names and shifting the time period. Substitute the planet Organia for the divided nation of Vietnam, the Federation for the United States, and the Klingon Empire for Red China and its allies, North Vietnam and North Korea, and you can see Gene Coon’s agenda for this topical material.

  The problems are slight:

  - There are a few questionable performances by minor characters, and a few awkwardly staged sequences -- but nothing out of the norm for a 1960s one-hour TV show shot in six days;

  - We are again asked to accept the troublesome tendency of science fiction of this era to present stories on other worlds where everyone, planet natives as well as invaders, speak English, even when not in the presence of those who normally communicate in that language;

  - And, for the benefit of the story, Kirk is portrayed as overtly macho and too quick to jump into a shoving match with the Klingons. Normally, the Captain is of a cooler head than this, and smarter.

  While not a perfect episode, there are many special moments. The Klingons are first introduced here. Kor, portrayed by John Colicos, is a treasure. Coon did well in creating a worthy adversary for Kirk, as Paul Schneider had with the Romulan Commander in “Balance of Terror.” Kor is not a one-dimensional character. His reaction to the news that he has the Captain of the Enterprise as a prisoner is delightful. It is clear Kor truly admires Kirk and craves his opponent’s admiration in return. Beyond this, he is sad knowing that he must have Kirk executed in such an “inglorious” manner. He also detests having to order the killing of thousands of Organians. Of this, Coon wrote:

  The Klingon commander is sitting at his desk, hands over his face. He is, at this moment, an unhappy man. The fact is, he does not relish butchering unarmed civilians. He is a soldier, and a good one. He sits quietly, brooding.

  Also effective: the eeriness, enhanced by the score, whenever members of this arrested civilization do something unexpected and profound, such as when Trefayne instinctively knows eight space ships have taken orbit around the planet, or that hundreds of armed men have appeared outside the gates of the city. Also, the clever surprise ending, that no one has died and the Organians are not as they appear. The best is saved for last: Kirk’s realization that he’s being a true horse’s ass, catching himself making the very same argument as his sworn enemy -- to be free to wage war.

  “Errand of Mercy” is a very worthwhile trek, even with a few bumps in the road.

  THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

  Script Timeline:

  Gene Coon’s story outline, ST #45: mid December 1966.

  Coon’s 1st Draft teleplay: Late December 1966.

  Coon’s 2nd Draft script (Mimeo Department “Yellow Cover 1st Draft” teleplay):

  January 3, 1967.

  Coon’s Final Draft teleplay: January 6, 1967.

  Coon’s Revised Final Draft teleplay: January 23, 1967.

  Additional page revisions by Coon: January 26, 1967.

  The title comes courtesy of Charles Dickens. A line from The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby reads, “It is an errand of mercy that brings me here. Pray, let me discharge it.”

  The quote applies to the writing of the story and script as much as to its theme. This was the 45th story assignment of the year. More assignments had been given out for Star Trek, and, therefore, more money spent developing stories than on any other series from this time. And too many of these treatments, outlines, and teleplays were not working out. It was not ego that prompted Gene Coon to stop rewriting scripts begun by others and, instead, with plenty of coffee and, according to secretary Ande Richardson-Kindryd, a few amphetamines, dash off three of his own (“Arena,” “The Devil in the Dark” and, now, “Errand of Mercy”). Robert Justman was rightfully hollering for scripts that were ready to produce -- in six days, for $185,000. Of the assignments given out, of the stories and scripts in development, Coon had nothing remotely close to being ready to offer Justman. And so, on the very day he finished writing “The Devil in the Dark,” Coon rolled a fresh sheet of paper into his typewriter, lit another cigarette, and began his third original Star Trek script.

  “Errand of Mercy” sped through the process of story outline -- only one draft in the final week of December, 1966 -- to, days later, a First Draft script, then, mere days later, a Second Draft script.

  Bob Justman told Coon:

  Perhaps we could clean up Kirk’s orders to the Enterprise to skedaddle without waiting for him and Spock. Certainly, Kirk and Spock could be beamed up instantaneously upon receipt of news that the Enterprise is getting under attack; so, therefore, we need some other reason for them to remain behind. I certainly don’t think that we should go for the excuse of a malfunction in the Transporter mechanism…. Why can’t Kirk and Spock set their Phasers on heavy stun force in Scene 90? They could then dispose of the guards by tying them up and gagging them. Kirk seems much too bloodthirsty for my taste in this show anyhow. I feel that Kirk should never say “we cannot afford to fight fair”. He should say “we must always try to fight fair”…. Is it absolutely necessary that the Organians change into “pure energy… far too bright to be stared at”? If it is necessary, then please ring me up, as I have a suggestion as to how to achieve this Effect. (RJ27)

  The Final Draft script came three days after that, on January 6. And then Coon stopped writing, for a week, anyway -- long enough to allow NBC time to respond.

  Stan Robertson, at the network, was ecstatic. This was another action-adventure story that mostly took place on a planet and away from the confines of, as Robertson described it, the four walls of the Enterprise. Beyond this, the story had a message, but was not preachy. And production would clearly require both outdoor locations and a sizable cast -- so much so that many of the Star Trek stand-ins played their usual crewmen roles as well as appearing as either villagers or Klingons.

  Coon’s quick rewrite, factoring in the feedback from his colleagues, de Forest Research, and NBC -- his Revised Final Draft -- was finished on January 23, while Gene Roddenberry was out of the office and checked into the hospital. This time it wasn’t exhaustion, at least as explained to Daily Variety for the trade’s January 25 edition. Roddenberry claimed to have come down with rare illness -- silicosis. The trade explained, “A collector of precious stones, he was working on an opal, somehow absorbed silicote in the process. Back in his office, Roddenberry says this is the first case of silicosis since 1912.”

  Mary Black said, “Gene was too macho to wear a mask when he cut those stones – the former cop and all -- so he had been breathing all that stuff in. We had left the show by that time, but we heard about it. It seemed quite serious for a while there.” (17a)

  For his latest rewrite of “Errand of Mercy,” Coon had been listening to Robert Justman, to the pleas and even threats regarding too many optical effects in the scripts. There were few in this one. The attack on the Enterprise from a Klingon scout ship was underplayed and written with an eye toward economy. Coon did not call for any shots showing the Enterprise being hit by the Klingon weapon blasts. Instead, he conveyed the hits the ship took by the shaking of the bridge. It was only after the budget projections came in low that the post house handling the effects was given instructions to visualize the attack. As for the Enterprise returning fire, the script reads, “ENTERPRISE FIRING PHASERS (STOCK) -- from ‘Balance of Terror.’” And, regarding the phasers hitting their mark, Coon wrote, “ANGLE ON VIEWING SCREEN (STOCK) -- ‘Balance of Terror’; as our phaser blasts explode among the stars.” All other images of the Enterprise could, and would, be made up of stock shots. Only Kirk and Spock are shown beaming down and only from the “materialization” end. The transporter room is never even seen. And the Klingons are not seen materializing on Organia -- we hear about that through dialogue. We see no Klingon ships. And, for the finale, when two -- and only two
-- of the Organians are seen changing from human form to “pure thought ... or energy,” Coon wrote in suggestions as to how the effect could be handled without the expenditure of too much money (see Production Diary).

  Other examples of an eye toward economy in Coon’s script: McCoy is absent (the third and final time he was not present in the series). Scott misses out, too. We see little of the interior of the Enterprise (only the bridge, making room on Stage 9 for half the sets depicting the interior of rooms on Organia). And, counting his pennies, or lack of them, Coon wrote the village to match a standing outdoor set at Desilu 40 Acres.

  Many extras were needed, and costumes, and animals, but the cost-cutting measures already implemented by Coon in his money-conscious screenplay allowed “Errand of Mercy” to be one of the less costly episodes of the season. NBC was getting what it wanted and Desilu’s bank wasn’t breaking as a result.

  Three days after turning in his Revised Final Draft -- which was only the third draft of the script -- and on the day Pre-Production began, Coon delivered a handful of page revisions. Among other things, to make it possible to use the effects from “Balance of Terror,” he changed Kirk’s line about firing phasers to add that they should be set for wide dispersal, allowing the phasers to resemble photon torpedoes and erupt in space as they had in the episode from which these photographic effects were harvested from.

  Few writers could churn out material as fast or as well as Gene Coon. Regarding his invention of Star Trek’s new villains, Dorothy Fontana revealed, “Gene Coon came up with the Klingons, though we never liked the name. We said, ‘Gene, can’t you come up with a different name than Klingon? We hate it.’ It was odd sounding. You know, Kling-on -- as in clinging.” (64-2)

  There was no time to come up with something different. And time has since proven the name to be just fine.

  Fontana, nonetheless, still amused, added, “Once we asked him, ‘Where do Klingons come from? What’s the name of their planet?’ He said [laughing], ‘Kling.’” (64-2)

  What is quick and easy to write, however, is not always as quick and easy to make. Or, at least, so the pre-production phase revealed.

  Pre-Production

  January 16-20 & 23-25, 1967 (total 8 days prep).

  Nearly every episode of the original Star Trek took six days to prepare, sometimes less. “Errand of Mercy” took eight. There were many new challenges here, including the hiring of a first time Star Trek director.

  Joseph Pevney was the obvious choice to handle an action piece like “Errand of Mercy” but, while this episode was in its pre-production phase, Pevney was busy directing “The Devil in the Dark.” Gene Coon had someone else in mind, someone he felt whose name would bring celebrity value to Star Trek.

  John Newland hosting One Step Beyond (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  John Newland had started his entertainment career as an actor. In 1950, before stepping behind the camera, he served as a regular cast member on One Man’s Family, a primetime soap on NBC. Two years later, Newland received an Emmy nomination as Best Actor for his recurring work on Robert Montgomery Presents. It was there he first tried his hand at directing. He again served double duty, as an actor/director, on more than a dozen episodes of The Loretta Young Show. In 1959, he began a three-year stint directing and hosting Alcoa Presents, a dramatic anthology series involving allegedly true stories of the supernatural. Initially named after its original sponsor, the series later became known as One Step Beyond.

  Because of One Step Beyond, Newland had achieved celebrity status which brought further prestige to Star Trek. To baby boomers and sci-fi enthusiasts, Newland was thought of as the other Rod Serling. One Step Beyond actually beat The Twilight Zone to the airwaves by one year and Serling patterned his on-camera introductions after those by Newland.

  Newland said, “I knew Rod... and he was a real supporter. He called me up and asked me to meet him for drinks. Well, once we were at the bar, Serling told me he was going to be producing and writing an anthology series of his own. He assured me that The Twilight Zone was going to be pure fantasy, with no discussion of proof or psychic powers.... [He did this] because he was a class act. He just wanted to let me know in person that he wasn’t going to rip us off.” (125-2)

  Newland had worked with William Shatner before, giving him direction in “The Promise,” an episode of One Step Beyond. He said of Shatner, “He’s a charming actor, and a hard-working actor. I thought he was adorable, and he has been an excellent friend of mine.” (125-2)

  But Newland didn’t know Star Trek. And, being a star director, he was provided with more prep time than the series’ budget normally allowed for.

  The first chore was casting. Because of the nature of the script, and the introduction of the Klingons, this was a longer and more involved process than usual.

  As makeup artist Fred Phillips later recalled, “I had never heard of a Klingon before. And nothing in the script that I read told me what it was.” (142-1)

  Coon merely described them as hard-looking Asian-types. Fortunately, the actor hired to play the head Klingon had some ideas of his own.

  John Colicos – the prototype Klingon (Unaired film trim courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  John Colicos was recommended by Newland, who had worked with the actor on an episode of One Step Beyond and wanted him to play Kor, the Klingon commander. Colicos said, “We devised the makeup right there and then. [Fred Philips] said, ‘What do you want to look like?’ I saw the script as a futuristic Russia and America at loggerheads over this peaceful little planet, so I said, ‘Let’s go back in the past and think Genghis Khan, because Kor is a military commander, ready to take over the entire universe with his hordes.’ My hair happened to be very short and combed forward, so I said, ‘Spray my hair, kink it up a bit and give me a vaguely Asian/Tartar appearance. Let’s go for the brown-green makeup so I’m slightly not of this world,’ and within two hours, this thing emerged and that was it.” (33-1)

  John Abbott, at 61, played Ayelborne, the leader of the Organian Council. He had over 100 acting credits in film and television. One year before this, he and Roger C. Carmel (Harry Mudd) were the prominent guest actors on “The Barter,” an episode of I Spy. Between that time and this, Abbott was the featured guest player in “The Dream Merchant” on Lost in Space.

  Peter Brocco, playing Claymare, Ayelborne’s right hand man -- and he does sit to Ayelborne’s right -- had over 200 credits in film and TV, which also included a recent episode of Lost In Space (he was the alien leader in that series episode “The Deadly Games of Gamma 6”). Brocco had also worked with Leonard Nimoy before, in The Outer Limits.

  Victor Lundin, the Klingon Lieutenant, was no stranger to science fiction -- or to cult TV series of the 1960s. Of the former, he received second billing in Byron Haskin’s 1964 cult classic Robinson Crusoe on Mars, as Friday, as well as appearances on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and The Time Tunnel. With “Errand of Mercy,” he was the first Klingon to be seen on Star Trek. Lundin had also been in the running to be the first Vulcan. He said, “I had been called in when they were casting the role of Mr. Spock. I understood that it was between me, Leonard Nimoy and another actor as a distant third. Byron Haskin, who had directed Robinson Crusoe on Mars was working on Star Trek, and he tried to get me cast as Spock. But Gene Roddenberry and Nimoy had known each other since the 1950s, and Nimoy got the role.” (109a)

  Production Diary

  Filmed January 26, 27, 30, 31 and February 1, & 2, 1967

  (6 day production; cost: $175,527).

  Principal photography began Thursday, January 26, 1967. This is the week that a fire in Apollo 1 resulted in the deaths of three astronauts -- Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward Higgins White, and Roger Chaffee. A treaty banning the use of military weapons in space was signed. The two big movies across America were Hotel, starring Rod Taylor, and A Fistful of Dollars, the first of Clint Eastwood’s hit “spaghetti westerns.” The new No. 2 song on radio stations, under The Monkees’
“I’m a Believer,” was “Tell It Like It Is” by Aaron Neville. There was no change on the best-selling record album lists – it was still The Monkees, followed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass with S.R.O. (“Standing Room Only”), as it had been for weeks. Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee of The Avengers looked good on the cover of TV Guide. And a Chicago blizzard, dropping a record 23 inches of snow, caused 800 buses and 50,000 automobiles to be abandoned, claiming 26 lives. The weather in Los Angeles, however, was sunny and fair, making it possible for this episode to have a day of exterior production.

  Filming began on Stage 9, for the scenes on the bridge that open and close the episode, plus the ones where Sulu takes command and, for the first time in the series, sits in the captain’s chair.

  John Newland with Shatner at Desilu 40 Acres (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  Because many of the starship sets had been collapsed and pushed aside for “Devil in the Dark” and were not needed here, the interior of the dungeon on Organia, the hallways just outside, and the Council Chambers, were built on Stage 9. After finishing filming the bridge, Newland and company moved onto these new -- and temporary -- sets.

  Meanwhile, in the precious few areas of Stage 10 not filled with sand, dirt and rock, Matt Jefferies and his crew were busy building Kor’s office and the main corridors of the citadel.

  Script Supervisor George A. Rutter in foreground, right, while at 40 Acres (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)

  Newland stepped into overtime on this first day, but wrapped in time to allow cast and crew to make it home for the 8:30 p.m. broadcast of “Tomorrow Is Yesterday,” the 20th episode to air. According to A.C. Nielsen, Star Trek placed second during its first half-hour, then rose to first position from 9 to 9:30 p.m., with 32.2% of the television viewing audience tuning-in.