ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's a few more fine examples of Pow's dedication to researching interesting facts about TV series he admires. Then he presents them for our enjoyment — with several personal observations thrown, in free of charge!

A simple "thank you" to posts like these would be the least we could do. But then, Pow deserves more than that, right?

Right!
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Mission: Impossible (1966 - 1973)

The decreasing of Steven Hill's role as M:I team leader Dan Briggs was due to Hill's ongoing clashes with the network, as well as M:I creator Bruce Geller.

Among actors Hill was considered an incredible actor.

Lee Strasberg, founder of the prestigious Actor's Studio school in NYC referred to Steven as one of America's finest actors.

M:I co~star Martin Landau said that "there were two young actors dominating the scene when I first started acting and they were Marlon Brando & Steven Hill."

According to Landau, Hill's work was nuts, volatile, mad and exciting.

Hill's fiery reputation concerned CBS when it came to casting Steven.

By 1965 Hill was a devout Orthodox Jew. Hill's contract specified that he must be able to attend prayer services which required him to leave the M:I set before sundown every Friday.

He also would not work on Jewish holidays.

These stipulations did not prove to be an issue during the filming of the M:I pilot. In time it would cause major headaches for the production.

As the series began its weekly shooting it became evident that they would often have to film until midnight on Friday.

Hill had to leave every Friday in the afternoon in order to make it to services. This could result in him having to walk right out in the middle of a key scene that was being shot.

Hill could also be unpredictable during filming. Dust could float down from a rafter and he would go ballistic and retreat to his dressing room refusing to come back out.

Unfortunately this all culminated with both CBS & Geller having to fire Steven.

Martin Landau always felt there was a certain self-destructive part to Steven. He said that when Hill was on top of his game there was no better actor alive.

However, Steven could also self-sabotage himself.

That is why you see episodes where Hill is only in 'em at the beginning and then disappears for the rest of the story Bud.

His admirable devotion to his faith and his intense but recalcitrant nature would sadly end his time on M:I after the first season.

To this day there remain fans of the show that believe that Peter Graves character of Jim Phelps was always the M:I team leader for all seven of the show's seasons.

The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier by Patrick J. White[/size]
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TNG episode #13 - Datalore

"Datalore" Trivia.

As already noted, the original plan was to have a female, non~lookalike android love interest for Data in this episode.

She was programmed to go into dangerous situations and repair them.

"Apocalypse Anon" was the original title for this episode.

This episode would be the final writer credit for Gene Roddenberry before his passing on October 24, 1991.

Brent Spiner convinced the producers and director Rob Bowman that it would make a more intriguing episode by changing the female android to Data's brother Lore.

In the original concept for Data it was to have been an unknown alien race that constructed he & Lore.

Later on that idea was altered to have Data & Lore created by genius human scientist & cybernetics expert Dr. Noonian Soong.

Data's positronic brain was an homage to the legendary s~f writer Isaac Asimov.

We learn that Data spent four years at Starfleet Academy, three years as ensign, and ten or twelve years in the lieutenant grades.

Data & Lore were portrayed by four different actors including Brent Spiner.

Andrew Probert created the concept drawings for the Crystalline Entity. He found that the model makers did not adhere to his design and came up with something totally different.

First time we see Data's quarters on board the Enterprise-D. Later episodes would show a much different looking quarters for Data.

I always preferred the idea that Data & Lore were created by aliens instead of a human being.

The concept first surfaced with Gene Roddenberry's TV-movie/pilot "The Questor Tapes." In that made-for-television movie, the android known as Questor had been created by an alien civilization.

Somehow, Data, for me, seemed to be so technically advanced that I had a hard time buying that a lone human being could build such a sophisticated artificial intelligence.

I know, if they had star ships, warp drive, and transporters systems then they surely could create a lifelike humanoid.

It seems to me that creating such a human-like A.I. would be more complex & arduous to pull off even in that era. [/size]
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TOS season 3 episode 21 - The Cloud Minders

Writer David Gerrold had the miners in his script for this episode referred to as 'Mannies" for manual laborers.

In the script there were two leaders that the Mannies were torn between. One leader was a peace advocate like Dr. Martin Luther King; the other leader was urged a violent revolution.

In DG's script the planet's surface was a harsh environment.

The air was denser, the pressure was higher, and there was noxious gas.

As previously noted before, Kirk, Spock, Dr.McCoy and Uhura were traveling in a shuttlecraft when they were downed by a missile from the Mannies who then take the star ship crew hostage.

They were in desperate need for dilithium crystals for the Enterprise and the planet Ardana is a huge supplier of the crystals.
So the gas zenite plot replaced the crystals as a plot device.

Uhura was injured in the shuttle crash which necessitated her being taken to a Mannie hospital.

Upon seeing the awful conditions at the hospital, Kirk becomes appalled and decides that he must force the Mannies and the sky dwellers to sit down together in order to begin negotiations to improve the Mannies lives.

At the conclusion of the episode Kirk pats himself on the back that the two opposing sides on Ardala are now headed in a more positive direction.

McCoy then comments "Yes, but how many children will die in the meantime?"

Gerrold wanted to leave both Kirk and the viewers uneasy.

None of this would fly with the producers who insisted on the cliche happy ending. The drastic revisions to DG's script left him unhappy as he felt his original story was more complex and had shades of gray to it.

DG's inspiration for the episode was the wealthy people of Beverly Hills who had their houses cleaned, gardens tended, trash taken out by the poor.

Others have thought that Fritz Lang's 1927 s-f classic film "Metropolis" might have also been an inspiration.

Fans found the scene where Mr.Spock discusses Vulcan mating rituals with Ardala resident Droxine inconsistent with the Vulcan culture.

In the episode "Amok Time" Spock tells Kirk that the Vulcan mating ritual is one that is intensely private. It is not ever discussed with non-Vulcans.

Actor Jeff Corey who portrayed Plasus leader of the Sky City was a highly respected actor & teacher.

Jeff was blacklisted for refusing to name alleged communists in the entertainment industry for the House Un-American Activities Committee.

In order to make a living he taught acting to many including Leonard Nimoy.

Look closely and you will see that the Stratos guards weapon is the same one used by the Scalosian's in the episode "Wink of an Eye."

Star Trek: Enterprise Executive Producer Manny Coto said that if ST:E had gone to a fourth season that he wanted to do a prequel episode about Stratos.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)