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The Original Series Ended 46 Years Ago-June 3, 1969
StarTrek.com staff

"Turnabout Intruder," to be honest, isn't necessarily an episode to be celebrated. Far from the finest hour of Star Trek: The Original Series, it's little more than yet another a mad scientist tale. However, it holds one particular distinction, which is why we're going to share some details, facts and figures about "Turnabout Intruder," and that distinction is this: it aired on June 3, 1969, 46 years ago today, and turned out to be the last-ever TOS episode.

Gene Roddenberry wrote the story outline for "Turnabout Intruder"... way back in April of 1968.

Herbert Wallerstein directed "Turnabout Intruder" after having previously put the cast and crew through their paces for "The Tholian Web," "That Which Survives" and "Whom Gods Destroy." Sadly, Wallerstein died in 1985 at the age of 59, having been beaten to death by his housekeeper, who claimed she was defending herself.

Roger Holloway played Lemli, which is memorable for a couple of reasons. First, he'd played the Starfleet crewman many times before... but without a character name or any dialogue. He uttered two words in the series finale and received the name Lemli. William Shatner's licence plate at the time read LEMLI -- a mix of his daughters' names: Leslie, Melanie and Lisabeth -- and to this day his production company is called Lemli Productions.

Nichelle Nichols does not appear in the episode.
BDT: the little five characters did not have contracts that they would appear in all episodes.

Jeffrey Hunter, the original choice for captain of the Enterprise, who beamed away from Star Trek after shooting "The Cage," died on May 27, 1969, a week before "Turnabout Intruder" premiered. Just imagine how different Star Trek might have been if he'd continued to play Captain Pike. Would there ever have been TOS movies or spinoffs?

The very last day of filming was January 9, 1969.

"Turnabout Intruder" was supposed to air on March 28, 1969. However, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower had died, prompting NBC to bump the episode... to June.

Captain Picard, in the Next Generation episode "Legacy," notes that the Enterprise is bypassing an archeological survey on Camus II, precisely where the action in "Turnabout Intruder" commences. That was TNG's tip of the cap to TOS, as it marked the 80th episode of TNG, surpassing TOS, which ended after 79 episodes.

Sandra Smith, who played Dr. Janice Lester and also Captain Kirk in the episode, will turn 75 years old later this month, on June 27.

LINK:
http://www.startrek.com/article/the-original-series-ended-46-years-ago-today

Pow · Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 12:15 pm Post subject:

Shatner has made a fine captain on the show & in the films but I always felt Jeff Hunter would have done an equally good job,too.

He is one of my favorite actors & appears in classics like The Searchers & King of Kings.
Sadly,he died far too soon.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 12:50 pm Post subject:

Have you ever seen a quirky little sword-and-sandal epic called "Princess of the Nile", with Hunter and the gorgeous Debra Paget? Michael Rennie is the bad guy. It's finally available on DVD. If you're a Hunter fan, you'll love it!

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

Pow · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:06 am Post subject:

Interesting, did not recall Eisenhower's death affecting the broadcast of the last episode of ST.

I always rated the 3 seasons of the show as follows: 1. Very good episodes for the most part. 2. Hit & miss eps. They gave us Amok Time, Journey To Babel, The Doomsday Machine,The Ultimate Computer. However, they also gave us mediocre stuff such as Friday's Child.
Season 3 was the worst. I skip thess eps & have only watched them due to the remastered FX in order to see how they look.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 1:38 pm Post subject:

The over-all track record for season 3 is not as good as 1 and 2, but it still has some very fine episodes, so I wouldn't dismiss it completely. Consider these examples of the better stories from season 3.

The Cloud Minders - A floating city in the sky, with inhabitants who don't treat the mine workers below very well. Evil or Very Mad

Wink of an Eye - The super-zippy people who take over the Enterprise and make buzzing sounds when they're near by. Confused

The Tholian Web - Those little ships that can do what Spider-Man can, while Kirk fades in and out while wearing a very cool spacesuit. Cool

For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky - McCoy is dying from a dread disease, but he meets a real honey who lives inside a hollow asteroid. Wink

The Paradise Syndrome - Kirk goes Native American and falls in love with Pocahontas while the Enterprise plays chicken with an approaching asteroid that will make Custer's Last Stand seem like a backyard cookout! Shocked

The Ultimate Computer - The one where a computer takes over Jim's job, and he has to do that thing he's famous for -- talk it to death like he's done with several other pesky mechanisms. Rolling Eyes

-- and last but not least --

The Enterprise Incident - Spock charms a sexy Romulan commander, Kirk get's to dress up like a sexy Romulan officer, and Scotty gets to play around with a sexy Romulan device that I'm sure he put on his Christmas list as soon as soon as they escaped from danger. Very Happy

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

Pow · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 5:18 pm Post subject:

The Ultimate Computer was a second season episode, Bud, not a third.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:12 pm Post subject:

Oops. Sorry. I was using the Netflix guide (they stream it) and I scrolled backwards too far from the last episode until I got into season 2 by mistake.

Okay, how 'bout this one -- the episode before the very last one?

All Our Yesterdays - Kirk, Spock, and McCoy get sent to another time period in the history of a planet whose star is going nova in a few hours, and they have to get back before the ship must leave orbit. Mariette Hartley gets the hots for Spock -- and he gets 'em right back for her because he starts regressing to a more savage nature due to the time travel he's experienced.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:24 pm Post subject:

Now you're talking:Mariette Hartly in a cave bikini. Wink

Krel · Guest

Don't forget the Librarian, Mr. Atoz, whose name is a joke. Atoz, or A-To-Z.

David.

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1876