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TOS episode #19 - Arena
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Krel, I think your absolutely right about the slow-moving Gorn, and I never thought of any of those reasons before.

Pow, I'm with you concerning the idea that the older shows could be updated for the new generation, as well as for those of us who don't just watch these series to get a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgia because we saw them as kids.

We're more interested in enjoying intelligent science fiction stories with impressive special effects that are as good as the stories they serve.

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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As great as we remember this episode to be...It was still a "man in a suit". Todays special effects and CGI enhancements could add a level of reality that was beyond the capabilities of the 60's technologies.

Still...The story and acting etc. allow us to overlook the obvious defects just as we view the original Godzilla, Them, and the pantheon of the 50's-60's beasties and get emotionaly envolved in the sheer wonder of the story!

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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fun Facts about "Arena" } This episode would be the first to introduce the photon torpedoes.

The sound effect of the photon torpedoes came from George Pal's classic sci~fi film of the 50s "War of the Worlds."

Six years after the shooting of "Arena" the State of California purchased Vasquez Rocks from owner Ralph Helfer. Helfer also was the owner of Africa USA where the earlier episode of "Shore Leave'' was partly filmed.

Vasquez Rocks was made a public park by CA.

The Federation Outpost of Cestus III (originally constructed for the 50s television show "Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers") was torn down due to fears that the structure could pose a threat to park visitors.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I predict that in the not-to-distant future we'll have "virtual tours" of places where movies were shot — even when the locations no long exist in the form which was used by the movies and TV shows.

"Guests" will wear VR googles and stroll around in realistic recreations of places where the filming took place. Then they can flip a switch and the location will suddenly look exactly like a scene in the movie or TV series, complete with the actors performing right in front of them.

Imagine standing "inside" the scenes in Forbidden Planet at the landing site, under the ship, watching the actors say those familiar lines . . . with the studio lights overhead and the film crew located over on the side where the camera is positioned.

Come to think of it, that would sort of spoil the scene by showing all the stuff that isn't supposed to be visible to the camera. The illusion created by the set and the cyclorama would be ruined! Shocked

I guess this concept needs a bit of rethinking. Rolling Eyes

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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd love to be able to tour actual film locations and sets via VR goggles, Bud.

I'm fascinated with movie sets. Particularly exterior sets constructed for a film or TV show.

Some of the stunning ones are the sets created for Cleopatra (1960), Fall of the Roman Empire,55 Days in Peking.

These outdoor sets were enormous and beautifully detailed.

Sad to see studios demolish these awesome looking structures right after shooting on 'em is completed. Be nifty to see other film or TV productions be able to utilize the buildings.

Imagine if Irwin Allen had such locations to film his Time Tunnel TV show on? Doug & Tony are hurled into ancient Rome. And the stars could shoot right on the Roman Forum sets from either Cleopatra or Fall of the Roman Empire?

Problem: These film productions are often based in other countries. So while a movie production could possibly arrange to travel to another country, television productions that are based in the US or Canada would not be able to travel like that.

TV shows have neither the budget nor shooting schedule to allow such lavish things.

The other issue is that film producers.studios don't want anyone else using their majestic sets. So they demolish them when they're done with thier film.

The producer of 1959s Ben~Hur was asked why he did not leave the incredible sets standing for other productions to utilize? He replied that with Ben~Hur they put together a serious, well written & expensive movie. He didn't want to see a bunch of inferior, cheesy films get a hold of their fantastic sets for lousy films.

I get that.


Last edited by Pow on Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tony and Doug tumble into another time corridor this time where they meet Judah Ben-Hur but hey, wait!!! There's no sets anywhere left? Irwin says lets do another alien show and keep the dimwits happy instead!
JB
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Metrons were named after "Metatron," an angel in Judaism. In Greek, the word translated to "instrument of change."

Cestus III, the Federation outpost, derives from the Latin word Cestus which was a type of boxing glove worn by gladiators when battling in the arena.

Scientific adviser Kellam de Forest addressed writer of "Arena" Gene Coon's scene where the Enterprise & Gorn star ships travelling at warp speed are suddenly stopped in space by the Metrons.

Such a stop would cause both vessels to disintegrate. Crew members would continue to travel at light speed right through the hull.

I have to mention once again my admiration for Gene Roddenberry for consulting with scientific organizations and individuals in order to make the scientific issues on ST as accurate as possible.

At that time, few if any, sf TV shows had scientific advisers involved with their shows. SF films weren't much better.

I don't believe luminary Rod Serling had science advisers on his terrific Twilight Zone series. Nor did The Outer Limits which was another intelligently done series.

Irwin Allen's series were always as much fantasy as sf. So he never cared about scientific accuracy in the first place.
And that has hurt and dated his various sf TV series.

Writer Gene Coon came up with the term Federation for the many planets, including earth, that were all in an alliance for this episode.

Carole Shelyne who played the alien Metron was a regular on the music entertainment TV show "Shindig!", and later was in the recurring role of Fanny on "Here Come the Brides" TV series.

Wah Chang who was the creator of the monsters on "The Outer Limits," designed the Gorn bodysuit.

Stuntman Bobby Clark was able to convince Gene Roddenberry that a stuntman should don the alien Gorn suit instead of an actor.

An actor would have become quickly worn out wearing the suit in the scorching heat out at Vasquez Rocks.

They needed someone who could rough it out on location, someone with the stamina and ability to go without water for a time.

Stuntman Gary Combs wore the Gorn suit for the majority of the shoot, stuntman Bill Blackburn wore it for some pickup shots.

Production on "Arena" commenced on November 8, 1966.

Actor Sean Kenney who played Lt. DePaul recalled the problem he had manning the helm station on the bridge of the Enterprise.

When he pressed the buttons on his helm console, they would become so hot that his fingers would end up sticking to the melting plastic of the buttons.

This was in the days before low-voltage bulbs according to Kenney. He would refrain from yelling out in pain in order to finish the scene. He would then pull his fingers back as rapidly as possible and hope that the camera didn't pick it up.

The cast and crew found that it was actually chilly out on location at Vasquez Rocks in November when they filmed.

Shatner wore thermal underwear under his Star Fleet uniform. If you look closely you can see the sleeves of his long-johns peeking through his uniform.

The stuntmen wearing the Gorn bodysuit did not find it cool on location at all.

They wore a wetsuit under the Gorn suit, and the Gorn suit was about four inches of rubber on top of the wetsuit.

Add to that they were filming on location from sunup until sundown, the stuntmen were boiling.

Six years after "Arena," the State of California acquired Vasquez Rocks from owner Ralph Helfer and designated it as a public park.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The colored buttons on the Enterprise bridge were made from colored resin that was cast from silicone ice cube trays. These trays are now collectors items, much in demand by ST prop replica builders.

I'll have to check, I think I have a photo of the Gorn costume without the tunic. Both the front and back of the costume is riddled with ventilation holes that the tunic covered.

David.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 9:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Gorn may have been able to move about quite easily in their own atmosphere and gravity and only had trouble in the one created for the asteroid! Kirk too was finding things a little heavy and looked like he was out of puff for the most part! Both characters had things going for them, the Gorn had his strength while Kirk had his intelligence and wits! It proves how good this episode was by the amount of references and copying that's been done from it even though it too is not really an original story!
JB
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nitpicker's Guide

When Captain Kirk disappears from the bridge of the Enterprise courtesy of the mighty Metrons, Uhura screams. Why? She did not scream when the same thing happened to Kirk on the previous episode "The Squire of Gothos."

Once the Gorn gets Kirk in a bear hug why doesn't the giant reptile bite Kirk. The Gorn has some pretty nasty looking teeth on him.

Looking for Kirk, the Gorn captain walks out onto a dirt road. A road? Who built this road on a barren planet and why did they do so?

My 2 cents. When the Enterprise approaches Cestus III and goes into orbit around the planet they are totally unaware of the savage Gorn attack on the colony.

If the Gorn can so thoroughly fool the sensors on the Enterprise that all is well on the planet then the Federation of Planets & Starfleet should be tremendously impressed with this Gorn technology.

Apparently the Gorn have a way to holographically cover up the ruins of the colony, dead bodies, radiation from Gorn weapons used in the destruction of the colony and any other disturbances created by the Gorn attack which evaded the scanners of one of the finest star ships known.

Doggone awesome tech there Gorns. The FOP doesn't have anything like it.

Interesting that articles mention the scorching heat of Vasquez Rocks during the shooting of "Arena."

It was shot there in November! You'd think even California would be cooling down by then.

As already noted: the colony set for this episode was originally a military fort constructed for the TV show "Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers.

Warren Stevens who was a co-star on that series would guest star on ST: TOS on the episode "By Any Other Name" where he played the alien leader Rojan who was the leader of the Kelvans.
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
By the way, I tried to add this post to the Trek BBS website in their TOS forum and got smacked down within minutes by the site administrator, who admonished me for violating copyright laws by posting the story, and who said it was inappropriate for me to "promote my own message board" by mentioning that we had over a dozen posts of Starlog and Cinefantastique articles which the members of their board were invited to enjoy without even having to join All Sci-Fi.

The only other reply I got was from a member who commented on the Boris painting by saying, "Nice homoerotic artwork." Rolling Eyes

I wonder, just how are illustrations of a single nude man "homoerotic"? Some people have really dirty minds!

Pow wrote:
The tunic uniform worn by the Gorn is equally unimpressive looking. Like something a jungle native might wear.

I thought it looked more like a 1960s go-go dancer's dress.

Pow wrote:
The Metrons clearly inform Kirk & the Gorn that the communication devices are to enable the human and the alien to be able to speak to one another & understand each other's language.

So why does Kirk also treat it as if it is a recording machine to put down his thoughts?

It's in the dialogue. The Metron voice says: "You will be provided with a recording-translating device, in hopes that a chronicle of this contest will serve to dissuade others of your kind from entering our system, but you will not be permitted to communicate with your ship. You will each be totally alone."

Pow wrote:
Scientific adviser Kellam de Forest addressed writer of "Arena" Gene Coon's scene where the Enterprise & Gorn star ships travelling at warp speed are suddenly stopped in space by the Metrons.

Such a stop would cause both vessels to disintegrate. Crew members would continue to travel at light speed right through the hull.

It was established early on that starships have inertial damping fields that neutralize the effects of acceleration/deceleration. Otherwise, the crew would be smeared into jelly whenever the ship made a rapid change of direction or speed.

Pow wrote:
Interesting that articles mention the scorching heat of Vasquez Rocks during the shooting of "Arena."

It was shot there in November! You'd think even California would be cooling down by then.

The Vasquez Rocks location looks like a desert, so uninformed writers just assumed the place was searing hot during filming. That's what happens when you don't bother to do your homework.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
I wonder, just how are illustrations of a single nude man "homoerotic"? Some people have really dirty minds!

I was also puzzled by that strange "anti-artwork" and homophobic comment. Does that individual also object to the paintings by Frank Frazetta like this one?


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~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
________________________________

~ William Shatner currently suffers from tinnitus due to an improperly timed special effects explosion on the set of this episode. Both Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley reportedly suffered from tinnitus as well during the remainder of their lives.

Note from me: I looked up tinnitus and found this.
_____________________________________________

Tinnitus is when you experience ringing or other noises in one or both of your ears. The noise you hear when you have tinnitus isn't caused by an external sound, and other people usually can't hear it. Tinnitus is a common problem. It affects about 15% to 20% of people, and is especially common in older adults.

Most people who have tinnitus have subjective tinnitus, or tinnitus that only you can hear. The noises of tinnitus may vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal, and you may hear it in one or both ears.

In some cases, the sound can be so loud it interferes with your ability to concentrate or hear external sound. Tinnitus may be present all the time, or it may come and go.
_____________________________________________

God Lord, I would go insane if I had that condition! I love listening to movies, TV shows, and music on my headphones. If I had to deal with a constant ringing noise, it would spoil one the greatest pleasures of my life. Sad

~ The recording device the Metron's supply to Kirk and the Gorn was actually just a silver finish (or painted) electric hair clipper with the guard removed.

Note from me: I've always thought it looked like a hair clipper but I never knew for sure.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Jun 29, 2021 9:09 am; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 12:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
~ The recording device the Metron's supply to Kirk and the Gorn was actually just a silver finish (or painted) electric hair clipper with the guard removed.

Note from me: I've always thought it looked like a hair clipper but I never knew for sure.

Okay, I'm going to call shenanigans on this one. Clippers are not just a straight tube. This is because people have to use them all day, so they have a streamlined shape. I think it's more likely something the prop department threw together out of some pipe, or tubing.

But here is the photo I forgot to look for.



David.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In James Blish's version of the story in Star Trek II the Gorn does mention that the only edible thing on the asteroid is Kirk himself! Whether that was part of the original script, I'd doubt it, as the story was about a challenge between two space empires refereed by a superior Godlike race! The thought of Kirk being torn apart as a source of food was definitely not the theme of the series up until that point!
JB
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