ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

TOS episode 35 - The Doomsday Machine
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Star Trek on Television
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 9:52 pm    Post subject: TOS episode 35 - The Doomsday Machine Reply with quote

TDM is one of my favorite episode from TOS. It was the very first one that I thought of when I read that they were remastering all the episodes from TOS with brand new sophisticated CGI.

And while it remains a fascinating episode, I have come to the conclusion after reading other fans comments that Commodore Decker was hands down one of the worst commanders of a star ship.

1.) The Constellation encounters TDM as it is slicing & dicing up whole planets and ingesting 'em. TDM is humongous & according to the sensor readings it has an impenerable neutronium hull.
So Decker attacks it?

It devours planets! Just what is your little bitty ship going to do against it?

Zippo.

2.) Phasers cannot put a ding let alone a dent in the hull, but Decker never reports that he fired on TDM with Photon Torpedoes. Probably wouldn't have made any difference but why not try everything in his arsenal?

3.) So, witnessing that TDM gobbles up planets, he orders his crew to evacuate the stricken Constellation after it is fired on by TDM to, wait for it, beam down to a planet? They saw that it devours planets, so why would they think that transporting down to one would be the safest place to be?

Turns out it wasn't. Bye bye 400 people.

4.) Kirk beams over to the now wrecked Constellation with a team. Scotty and his 3 engineers restore some power to the impulse engines as well as recharging a Phaser bank for the Constellation.

Bur Decker was ready to abandon his ship. He had a full engineering staff at hand & none of 'em could figure out how to restore (somewhat) their star ship?

5.) Kirk asks Matt Decker what exactly attacked the Constellation? Matt replies he doesn't know. Mr. Spock, after reading the Constellation's record tapes, reports to Kirk that it was ''essentially a robot."

Why wouldn't Decker know this fact? I know, he's in a state of shock, but it seems that a highly trained Starfleet officer would hold it together long enough to at least impart this bit of information.

His Science Officer must have run a sensor sweep when they first discovered TDM.

Decker makes Col. Klink look like a military genius by comparison.

But I still get a kick out of this episode & the remastering on it is superb.


Last edited by Pow on Sun Jul 16, 2023 11:05 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Pow, you certainly won't get any arguments out of me on this one! Confused

In fact, I don't even like William Windom's performance. He not only made bad decisions, he acts so totally whipped by the experience he ends up practically bawling like a baby! And how come he looks like he hadn't shaved in a week? Rolling Eyes

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnnybear
Mission Specialist


Joined: 15 Jun 2016
Posts: 442

PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Doomsday Machine was one episode of Trek that I never used to like due to the fact that there are no planets in it, but after a rewatch as a teenager back in 1979 it soon became one of my favorite episodes, and that music blows me away every time!
JB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"The Doomsday Machine" Trivia.

SF writer Norman Spinrad's early title for this episode was "The Planet Eater." TDM is a much better title.

Gene Roddenberry implored Spinrad to please come up with a script that would allow the episode to be filmed on the standing sets because money was tight.

Star Trek:TOS show producer Robert Justman was not awed by Spinrad's concept and felt it would be something that Irwin Allen's "Lost In Space" might put on their show.

Show writer & story editor Gene Coon told NBC that feature film actor Robert Ryan had expressed an interest in appearing on ST:TOS. Coon felt that the Commodore Matt Decker would be an ideal role on the series for Ryan.

Norman Spinrad admitted that the concept for his TDM script was Herman Melville's classic novel "Moby Dick."

ST: TOS script writer D.C. Fontana liked Spinrad's concept overall but did have one quibble with it. She felt that the Doomsday Machine displayed no intelligence and therefore would not truly prove to be a serious adversary for Captain Kirk & Mr.Spock & the crew of the Enterprise. Brains over brawn.

Initially TDM was going to be an organic living creature.

In early drafts of the script Matt Decker did not die.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 4:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Great post! There are so many great revelations in your description of the story's development!

For example, I'd never have thought about the possibility that the Doomsday Machine might have displayed intelligence! But it didn't really need it, because it's mission was relatively simple. Admittedly a "smart" Doomsday Machine would have a more formidable foe. Shocked

I can understand Robert Justman's feeling that the concept was too similar to the typically witless Lost in Space stuff, but the way it was presented in the Star Trek episode made it work beautifully.

I'm not convinced that Robert Ryan would have made a better Decker than William Windom (who didn't impress me very much) but it's an interesting notion.

Norman Spinrad's admission that the episode was inspired Herman Melville's classic novel "Moby Dick" is undeniable! The story is a beautiful retelling of that that classic.

I'm glad the made this change —

"Initially TDM was going to be an organic living creature."

— because the similarity to the Berserker series by Fred Saberhagen lends credence to the concept of a "doomday machine" which a living creature version would not have.

This possibility —

"In early drafts of the script Matt Decker did not die."

— would have robbed the episode of it's most dramatic aspect and removed the major connection to Moby Dick. Sad

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some More TDM Trivia.

The title for this episode came from an idea by Herman Khan who was a political military strategist for the RAND Corporation.

It was Khan's intention that the USSR would know that the US had the ability for a second strike in the event of any destructive attack that Russia could launch first.

No matter how thorough an attack that the Soviets could do against America it was vital that the USSR realize that the United States would still be able to do a full retaliation back at the USSR.

Director Stanley Kubrick would use Khan as one of the models for Dr. Strangelove in his classic comedy-apocalyptic film of the same name.

Elizabeth Rogers played the Bridge communications officer Lt. Palmer who sat in for Uhura on this episode. Rogers did the voice of the Companion alien entity on the episode "Metamorphosis."

Richard Compton who played engineer Washburn would go on to become a director, writer and producer.

Some of his genre TV credits were Sliders, Babylon 5, The X-Files, and ST:TNG.

He would marry actress Veronica Cartwright who was a cast member for several seasons on TV's Daniel Boone. Veronica was one of the doomed crew members on Ridley Scott's classic sf film Alien

Veronica's younger sister is actress Angela Cartwright who was a cast member on Make Room For Daddy starring Danny Thomas. She was Penny Robinson on Lost In Space and one of the Von Trapp children in the movie musical The Sound Of Music.

TDM was the first appearance of Captain Kirk's green wraparound tunic (that Bud so admires).

The idea behind the tunic was to put attention on Kirk by having him wear a different style uniform top from the rest of the cast.

TDM writer observed that William Shatner was hell bent on being the star of the show. Shatner was paranoid that Leonard Nimoy would steal scenes from him (WS). Spinrad did not feel Nimoy would ever purposely upstage anyone else. Leonard was protective of his Mr. Spock character but that was all.

To that end Shatner's contract had a provision that none of the cast would ever have more lines than Shatner on the episodes.

I always liked Shatner's acting but felt that he was a putz of a human being with the way he mistreated people.

William Windom (Commodore Decker) professed that in the scenes where Decker is seated in the command chair on the Bridge and fiddling with data cartridges was indeed an homage to Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart did the same thing with a pair of ball bearings in the classic film The Caine Mutiny.

Cinema Research Corporation was the FX house to work on TDM.

Author Norman Spinrad was underwhelmed by the Doomsday Machine prop.

Spinrad's concept for the planet killer early on was something that was part-machine and part-being.

So the windsock looking Doomsday machine was a disappointment to him.

I always liked it because it truly looked alien in origin and not like something that could have belonged to the Federation of Planets.

The music for this episode is superb and adds to the adventure, danger and suspense.

SF writer David Gerrold who wrote The Trouble With Tribbles opined that TDM was one of the finest episodes ever done for ST:TOS.


Last edited by Pow on Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Thanks, Pow! Fascinating info.

I found a twenty-three minute documentary about this episode which features several on-screen interviews by some of the very people you named in your post! Very Happy


Star Trek, "The Doomsday Machine" Revealed (concept demo special edition)


_________

_________________
____________
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 Sat Aug 08, 2020 4:05 pm; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnnybear
Mission Specialist


Joined: 15 Jun 2016
Posts: 442

PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting fact: Commodore Decker's first name was originally Brand!
JB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From Phil Farrand's book The Nitpickers Guide For Classic Star Trek.

Once on board the ruined USS Constellation, Scotty suggests that the landing party go immediately to Auxiliary Control (the Bridge has been destroyed) to seek information on what happened to the star ship.

Kirk is in the lead and almost walks past the AC. Why wouldn't a captain of the same class of star ship as the Constellation not know precisely where the AC is located?

Mr. Spock informs Dr. McCoy that the doctor cannot medically declare that Commodore Matt Decker is unfit for duty unless he has completed a thorough examination of Decker and has documentation to support his diagnoses.

In the episode "Court Martial" it is stated that Dr.McCoy is a specialist in space psychology. Decker is clearly distraught, in shock, and behaving irrationally. Would not the visual assessment of a highly trained medical doctor be adequate under the circumstances?

Does it really make sense that Starfleet would require a complete examination in the midst of a crisis in order to relieve a commander from duty when he poses a danger to a star ship?

It is truly amazing that the builders of the planet killer went to all the trouble of having a ''neutronium'' hull and never anticipate someone might fly a bomb down its gigantic maw.

While the planet killer does indeed have a powerful energy beam to slice and dice anything; how come it doesn't utilize it to destroy any threats to its massive opening?

Equipment Oddities: Why do Dr.McCoy and Commodore Decker step out of the Auxiliary Control in order to beam back to the Enterprise?
They both should easily be able to beamed out from AC.

Answer: It saves the production $$$ if they do not show the Transporter dematerialization visual effect.

The simple solution would have been for the camera to pan away from McCoy & Decker and onto Kirk & Scotty with the sound effect for the their transportation being heard in the background as Kirk & Scotty talk.

What ease it is for Decker to swipe a shuttlecraft and exit the Hanger Bay. No alarms, no one there to ask if he had authorization, no mention that he overrode or jammed the security system.

Cool looking emblem design on Decker's tunic for his vessel. I always call it the Starfleet pretzel.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Jun 26, 2021 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

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

~ This is James Doohan's favorite episode for its highlighting of the engineering aspects of the Star Trek world.

Note from me: As a matter of fact, I like that aspect as well.

~ Director Marc Daniels finished this episode in five days instead of the usual schedule of six. Daniels made a bet with the producers that he could finish the episode in five days. When he succeeded, he got a $500 bonus.

Note from me: I wonder if he shared the money with all the folks he worked extra hard to wrap up the production early. Confused

~ This episode marks the first time Scotty is heard cursing in Gaelic. He later utters the same expletive in Star Trek: The Original Series: I, Mudd (1967) and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

Note from me: I wonder what the exact Gaelic words were and what they meant.

~ According to William Windom, he had Decker compulsively twiddle with cassette cartridges in his hand as an homage to Humphrey Bogart, who did the same thing with ball-bearings as Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny (1954).

Note from me: Windom's emulation of Bogart was very accurate. However, Bogart was an incompetent captain who faced a court martial, and Windom's performance seemed to indicate that he was poor excuse for a captain as well.

That aspect of the story has always bothered me. Kirk made Windom look bad by being so calm and intelligent.

This next item is related to the one above.

~ According to William Windom, he did not enjoy working on the show. He said that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were not getting along at the time which made the set's atmosphere tense.

He also said that he felt that the episode was silly so he purposely overacted. It was not until many years later that he realized that his character was a reference to Captain Ahab from Herman Melville's "Moby Dick".


Note from me: He overacted on purpose . . . because he thought the episode was silly? Shocked

Too bad they didn't get Gregory Peck to play Decker.

~ Norman Spinrad was displeased with the model used for the planet killer. As he told Allen Asherman in The Star Trek Interview Book, he envisioned a doomsday machine bristling with all sorts of evil-looking weapons. For budgetary reasons, the actual Doomsday Machine model was made by dipping a windsock in cement.

Note from me: Yes indeed, the prop of the Doomday machine is (along with Windom's deliberate "scene chewing") both weak aspects of this great story.

The picture below is what the prop should have looked like . . . but of course, that would have been way too expensive.






On the other hand, the idea that the Doomsday Machine had one gigantic, planet-eaten weapon that looked like huge mouth worked well in the story's dramatic climax.

On that note, here's a related item.

~ This is the most effects-heavy episode of the second season. When the series was digitally remastered for its 2007 DVD release, the upgrade required nearly 200 new effects shots.

Note from me: The folks who did the enhanced FX did a wonderful job of making the cone-shaped Doomsday Machine look better — without making it completely different, like the magnificent John Berkey painting above.

~ Besides the Constellation and the Enterprise, The other Constitution class ships seen in the original series are: Hood, Potemkin, Excalibur, Lexington, Defiant, and the Exeter.

Note from me: Good grief, one of the starships was named after Jeff Morrow's character in This Island Earth! Shocked

I'm glad they didn't name one after Lance Fuller's character, Brack . . . although that would make a GREAT Vulcan name! Very Happy

~ This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, at the 1968 World Science Fiction Convention

Note from me: Ah Hell, I missed it by one year! Shocked

I spent a weekend in 1967 at the Statler Hilton Hotel in New York with two fiends while I — just a red-neck teenager from Atlanta, Jar-jaw — stumbled around in wide-wondered and met people like Frank Frazetta, Hal Foster, Roy Krinkle, and Bernie Wrightson (who was two months younger than me) when he stepped up and introduced himself to Frazetta while I was standing right next to Frank, getting his autograph!

By the time The Doomsday Machine aired on October 20, 1967 I was in Amarillo, TX, enjoying my fun-filled basic training in the U.S. Air Force before eventually shipping out for 13 months in South Korea.

I didn't' get back to the states as a civilian until October 7, 1971 — at which time I began watching Star Trek reruns in my swingin' bachelor apartment on the 12" Magnavox TV I'd owned for six years.






But I still adored this wonderful series, despite being four years behind the rest of world in getting to watch it! Cool

~ Although considered to be a classic episode by fans and critics alike, story editor D.C. Fontana named this as her least favorite episode.

Note from me: To quote Spock, "Fascinating."

Why did Miss Fontana NOT like it? Which episodes did she like better, and . . . what reasons would she give for her opinions? Confused

~ Writer Norman Spinrad recycled a short story of his called "The Planet Eater" which had been roundly rejected by publishing houses, despite being heavily influenced by "Moby Dick". He was able to convince Gene Roddenberry that it would make a viable subject for an episode.

Note from me: Congratulations to Mr. Spinrad! I'd love to read his short story, but I'd urge him to change the title. Frankly, The Planet Eater sucks . . . Rolling Eyes

This next item is related . . . and very interesting! Very Happy

~ Norman Spinrad has expressed disappointment that the actor whom he envisioned playing Decker — Robert Ryan — was not cast. Ryan was a fan of the series and wanted to do the episode. Scheduling conflicts prevented this, so William Windom was cast.

Note from me: Robert Ryan as Decker! That would be perfect. Very Happy

I'm a huge fan of that great actor. Unlike Windom. he would NOT have thought the episode was "silly" like Windom did, nor would he have overacted like a neurotic old man, the way Windom did.

~ The year this episode was filmed, AMT produced the first Enterprise model kits. One such kit was used to make the model used for the destroyed Constellation. The decals for the ship's registration numbers are just a rearranged version of "1701." The model does not have the details of the regular Enterprise miniatures.

Note from me: Hey, I owned one of those models! Shocked

Unlike Trekriffic, I was a lazy model maker. I just glued the pieces together and slapped on the decals. Since I was not a big fan of the Enterprise design back then, I didn't even display the model in my room!

I stuck it on the shelf of my closet, and I don't even remember what happened to it after I got out of the Air Force. Sad

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the Sci Fi Freak Site by Britisher Darren Humphries on which he reviews SF films and TV series.

The Doomsday Machine is a lesson in sustained tension. The face-off between Enterprise & Constellation star ships and the planet killer is consistently exciting, even edge of the seat stuff, whilst the battle of wills between Mr. Spock & Commodore Decker adds even more tension to the situation.

The Doomsday Machine is implacable, invincible and utterly alien. This is an exceptional action-oriented episode.

Sidebar: Darren provides a on the nose review for this wonderful episode.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
scotpens
Starship Captain


Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 871
Location: The Left Coast

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 1:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy

~ This episode marks the first time Scotty is heard cursing in Gaelic. He later utters the same expletive in Star Trek: The Original Series: I, Mudd (1967) and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

Note from me: I wonder what the exact Gaelic words were and what they meant.

A number of internet sources say Scotty's expletive was "Borgas frat!" -- which means nothing in Gaelic (or any other language). It's something James Doohan made up on the spot.

Quote:
~ Norman Spinrad was displeased with the model used for the planet killer. As he told Allen Asherman in The Star Trek Interview Book, he envisioned a doomsday machine bristling with all sorts of evil-looking weapons. For budgetary reasons, the actual Doomsday Machine model was made by dipping a windsock in cement.

That's an oft-repeated myth and it's patently ridiculous. If you dip a windsock in cement and let it harden, what you end up with looks nothing like the Doomsday Machine!

Here's a photo of the original Doomsday Machine miniature. It appears to have been made by wrapping and Scotch-taping sheets of wrinkled cellophane around a wooden or fiberglass cone that was roughly hollowed out inside.




Quote:
Note from me: Yes indeed, the prop of the Doomday machine is (along with Windom's deliberate "scene chewing") both weak aspects of this great story.

. . . The folks who did the enhanced FX did a wonderful job of making the cone-shaped Doomsday Machine look better — without making it completely different, like the magnificent John Berkey painting above.

As usual, we disagree. I like the look of the original Doomsday Machine. It appears to be the product of a truly alien technology. The CGI planet-killer looks cartoonish because it doesn’t have quite the same eerie translucence as the original.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So returning to my post as to why Commodore Decker is one of the worst star ship commanders ever.

What he could have done instead.

The Constellation comes upon the planet killer as it's in the midst of slicing up planets and consuming 'em for fuel.

Decker realizes that this astonishingly immense machine possesses powers and abilities far beyond his teeny-tiny star ship's capabilities. Scans reveal it consists of a hull made of 100% pure neutronium. Therefore, photon torpedoes and phasers are like spitballs against a battleship.

He has his science officer run full scans on this alien construct in order to obtain as much critical intell on it as possible while still keeping the Constellation at as safe a distance from it as he can. This will prove to be invaluable information for deactivating or destroying the planet killer.

Then Decker orders his ship out of the area at full warp speed so it can alert Starfleet of this highly dangerous situation.

However, the doomsday machine gets off a blast at the retreating Federation star ship. It severely damages the warp engines rendering them inactive.

Decker finds that his engineering team are unable to reactivate the engines.

Decker orders all crew members to the saucer section of the vessel where they separate from the main body.

Later on, the Enterprise comes upon the saucer section of the Constellation. Decker and his crew show Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock all of the pertinent intelligence they obtained from their scans of the planet killer.

The two crews work successfully together by rigging the Constellation to enter the enormous maw of the planet killer and have its engines explode from within the gigantic machine.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2022 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

That, sir, is a much better story! Very Happy

And it supports the idea that starship captains are intelligent men who are trained to deal with a crisis.

Concerning the saucer section separation, I presume you mean that both the saucer section and the rest of the ship are both sent into the planet killer to destroy it. After all, the photon torpedoes are fired from the saucer section (so they would have been to sent inside the doomsday machine), and the warp core with its antimatter are in the engineering section, so it would have to go in, too.

Here's a suggestion.

As appealing as the idea of the saucer separation is, it's not a critical element of your improved version of the plot. Therefore, since it involves a special effect the producers of TOS never chose to do, you could simply have the Constellation crew stay about the intact-but-disabled ship until they abandon it and go aboard the Enterprise.

Then the Constellation could be programed to kamikaze the Doomsday Machine.

But the ship's computer malfunctions, so Decker and Kirk are beamed aboard to manually steer it towards the Doomday machine. They plan to beam out at the last moment (as in the existing episode), but . . .

Hey, I don't know how this should finish! Shocked

The scene of Kirk beaming out at the last second is too good to change, and the idea of a brave, noble, and intelligent Decker choosing to stay aboard and make sure the ship destroys the Doomsday Machine would put the icing of the cake of your improved version of this episode!

So, what do you think would be best, Mike? Confused

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2022 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bruce, your ending would have worked beautifully. It would include the tragic but brave sacrifice by Commodore Decker. I realize that his death as done on the original episode gave Kirk the idea of how to destroy the planet killer.

So Decker's death counted for something. However, I always felt badly that of, and in itself, his death inside the shuttlecraft he piloted into the planet killer didn't count for anything other than inspiring Kirk. I know, I know, it did lead to a solution to the destruction & saving of billions of lives, but poor Decker never realized it...at least in this life.

Interestingly, in the adaptation by James Blish in his book on the TV episodes of ST: TOS, he writes that Decker actually survives and decides to retire based upon the numerous poor decisions he made in this situation.

James Blish: The planet-killer is destroyed and Kirk & Decker are on the bridge of the Enterprise.
Deceker: My last command, but you were right, Captain Kirk. My apologies for usurping your command.

Kirk: You acted to save Federation lives and property, as I did.

Decker: But the Constellation is nevertheless my last command. I cannot forget that my first attempt to attack that thing cost four hundred lives---men who trusted me---and that I had the bad judgement to try it again with your men's lives. When a man stops learning he's no longer fit to command.

Kirk: That is a judgement upon yourself that only you can make. My opinion is that it is a wise and responsible judgement. But it is only an opinion.

One can only imagine how Decker will live with himself for the rest of his life and the hell he will face in the aftermath. The intense debriefing he will receive from Starfleet Command when he returns home and perhaps punishment. The media coverage and criticisms, books about his failure, classes taught at Starfleet Academy about the Constellation disaster, the families of those who died under his command. You wonder if he will be able to survive it all?

Another part of the Blish book not included in the episode is a line by Mr. Spock after a sensor scan of the planet-killer.
Spock: No evidence of life aboard. Which is not surprising, since isotope dating indicates that it is at least three billion years old.

A pity to have left out this line as it certainly was a dramatic one considering the age of the machine. Some civilization was capable of constructing just such an astonishing weapon billions of years before there even was a Federation of Planets.

The Blish novel also refers to Decker as Brand, not Brad. I don't know if that was the intended name for Decker in early drafts of the script for the episode, or a mistake on someone's part?

I included the saucer separation becuase I always enjoyed the effect on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Bruce, knowing full well the special effects artists could not execute such a complex scene on the show back then. The fact that the saucer does separate from the main body was a part of Roddenberry's concept back at that time, they just couldn't pull it off then.

I've always wondered if there was a way though to do this even at that time?

If the effects team had enough time and $$$ could they have managed such a feat? Then again, was the model of the Enterprise even built to have the saucer easily detach by the model makers, or was it fastened tight to the rest of the vessel knowing they'd never have to actually execute a saucer separation?

I wondered if the legendary FX artist Derek Meddings would have been able to make the saucer separate?

Meddings worked on a number of the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson SF puppet TV shows, their live action SF series UFO, feature film Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. Later on he worked on a number of the James Bond films.

Derek and his talented team designed a number of model vehicles that could disconnect from one another.

Spaceship Fireball XL5's nose cone, Fireball Junior, separated. Other examples were the pods for Thunderbird #2 on Theunderbirds. On UFO we saw the submarine Skydiver's front section, a jet aircraft called Sky One, disconnect from the sub---undersea no less---and rise out of the ocean to soar in the sky.

Also on UFO there was the Lunar Transport. It left the Earth to fly high into the atmosphere, once there the Lunar Lander would disengage from the transport and fly to the Moon Base.

I realize that these models were different from the one for the Enterprise. Still, I can't wonder if Derek & his people could have made it happen for ST:TOS?

Naturally, he would also require the time and $$$ to film the effect.

What can I say, I've always gotten a huge kick out of vehicles capable of separating.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Star Trek on Television All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group