ALL SCI-FI

[Gord Green]

Alas, the market for Saturday cartoon pre-teen product has passed into the mists of the past! Animation using CGI has moved forward by great leaps...BUT the actual use of the technology has not come to be!

Imagine.... The current development of CGI ANIMATION applied to...STAR TREK...CAPTAIN FUTURE..CAPTAIN POWER. andeven JOHNNY QUEST! Instead we get a lot of "educational" crap (that lacks any real educational value!)!

Maybe we could write to the networks encouraging better Saturday scheduling.

Just imagine...an animated FORBIDDEN PLANET series using state of the art animation in stories written by the best of today's writers! Maybe Bud Brewster could get a story or two green lighted!

I'd watch it!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Gord, I'd love to write stories for a Forbidden Planet series about the missions of a United Planets Cruisers after the C-57-D arrived back on Earth.

I'll post some ideas I have in the new forum, Threads about Imaginary Sequels & Alternate Plotlines
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Star Trek: The Animated Series Tie-Ins to Star Trek: The Original Series.

"One Of Our Planets Is Missing" September 22, 1973. Written by Marc Daniels.

Marc Daniels directed 15 episodes of ST: TOS.

The governor of the Federation planet Mantilles is retired Starfleet Commodore Bob Wesley. Wesley was the commodore of the Federation starship Lexington on ST: TOS episode "The Ultimate Computer."

[Pow]

Star Trek: The Animated Series episodes that Tie-In to Star Trek: The Original Series.

"More Tribbles, More Troubles" October 6, 1976, written by David Gerrold.

This animated episode is an out-and-out sequel to the live action series episode "The Trouble With Tribbles.

Fortunately it has the same writer for the animated episode as the live action one. David Gerrold does a splendid job creating a sequel to his original story.

The Tribbles, Cyrano Jones, Klingon Captain Koloth are in both versions. Stanley Adams who played Jones on the live action episode even returns to voice the animated Jones. Jones is even wearing the same outfit in this sequel as he did on the live series.
What more could you ask for?

The Enterprise is escorting two unmanned drones to Sherman's Planet, which is the same planet mentioned (but never seen) in the live action episode. Nor in this animated one.

The Klingon starship design is the exact same one from the live series.

[Pow]

Star Trek: TAS & Star Trek: TOS Tie-Ins.

"The Survivor" October 13, 1973.

This episode shows a confrontation between the Enterprise and the Romulans.

As I noted earlier in a review of this fine episode, the Romulan starships are the same as the Klingon starships. It was established in "The Enterprise Incident" that the Romulans were now using ships of Klingon design. So, yeah, there is a precedent from the live action show for having the Romulan Hegemony utilizing Klingon Empire designed starships.

The story goes that the model of the Romulan ship created for "Balance Of Terror" had either been lost, seriously damaged, or stolen. Not having it available for "The Enterprise Incident" episode, in addition to the third season's slashed budget, caused the production to have to get creative. Solution: use the Klingon ship design as a Romulan vessel and explain it away as the Federation of Planets two primary adversaries now working in unison.
Makes sense given the circumstances of having no Romulan ship around, and no money to construct a brans new one.

The thing is that sense this Star Trek TV series was animated, why not either draw the old Romulan style spaceship, or even create a brand new one? All you needed was pen and paper. I assume that they simply reused Klingon ship stock footage for the same reason the original series did. It saved on the budget.

[Pow]

ST: TAS & ST: TOS Tie-ins:

"The Infinite Vulcan" October 20, 1973. Written by Walter Koenig.

Besides this episode being scripted by Walter "Chekov" Koenig, Walter refers to the Eugenics Wars mentioned in "Space Seed."

[Pow]

ST: TAS & ST: TOS Tie-Ins:

"Once Upon A Planet" November 3, 1973.

On this episode the starship Enterprise and its crew revisit the planet from the live action episode "Shore Leave."

Alice & the White Rabbit from the Alice In Wonderland Lewis Carroll novel are encountered again, just like in the live action iteration.

There is a grave & headstone marking the burial site of the Keeper on this planet, who was living during the "Shore Leave" episode.

[Bud Brewster]

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I'm delight to hear that Walter Koenig is writing screenplays and did one for TAS!

As for the Shore Leave sequel, that TOS episode is begging for one. The Federation would be interested in the technology used to created the "vacation area", and it would be a popular vacation spot for many species.

A Thought: Imagine a Klingon crew stumbling onto the Shore Leave planet. Now THAT'S a story I'd love to write!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Since the budget did not allow for Walter to join the cast as his Chekov character, it was nifty that he was able to write a script for the series. Unfortunately it isn't one of the better episodes.

Koenig did attempt to include Chekov in the story and asked if he could do so as well as voice him, but was told there was no budget to allow the character to appear.

[Pow]

ST: TAS & ST: TOS Tie-Ins:

"Mudd's Passion" November 10, 1973.

Con man Harry Mudd returns for this animated episode. Harry was introduced on the first season episode "Mudd's Women." He would return on the second season episode "I, Mudd."
I never cared for either of those episodes, but I would take the second season episode over the first season onw with Harry. It was nice that Roger C. Carmel was able to reprise his role from the live action series and provide his voice for Harry on the animated show.

[tmlindsey]

[Bud Brewster]

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By gum, that made an interesting thought pop right into my head, Tim!

If the Krell were galactic explorers on a vast scale, with a large number colony worlds, it stands to reason that they would have dealings with other intelligent species. Perhaps the Krell shared some of their technology with the friendliest of these races.

Suppose the Krell shared the technology that made turning "energy-into-matter" possible, to be used by their allies to create food and objects these races needed.

They would NOT, of course, provide them with a Krell "wish fulfillment machine" simply because they had not completed it themselves yet, nor would the other alien species have the level of intelligence to use it.

But the race who built the vacation site on the shore leave planet would use the Krell "replicator" to produce the miracles we see in the TOS episode.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

ST: TOS & ST: TAS Tie-Ins.

"The Time Trap." November 24, 1973.

In this episode the Enterprise is attacked by Klingon star ships. The ships are the same design as the one on the original show.

In charge of the lead Klingon vessel is Commander Kor. Kor was the very first Klingon to ever be shown on the original show in the episode "Errand of Mercy" with the superb actor John Collicos in the role.
The Enterprise & Kor's ship are drawn into a region of space that traps any starships that encounter it. On the episode we see some of the species that are trapped as ones we saw on the live action series. Humans, Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons, Tellarites, Gorn, Orion, and Andorian.

[Pow]

"The Pirates of Orion," September 7, 1974.

The Orion pirates are seen on the live action episode "Journey to Babel."

On the animated episode here, the Federation starship Potemkin is referred to. On the live action series we saw the Potemkin on "The Ultimate Computer."

"The Practical Joker," September 21, 1974.

On this episode the Enterprise encounters Romulans. Romulans made their very first appearance on the live action episode "Balance of Terror," & would be seen again on "The Enterprise Incident."

As I've noted before, what seemed a missed opportunity to me by the animated series was the design of the starships used by the Romulans. On the live action episode we see the Romulans are using Klingon designed spacecraft. The behind the scenes reason was a budgetary one. It seems that the Romulan spaceship model constructed for the "Balance of Terror" episode had been either damaged, lost, or stolen. Not having it available forced the script writer to establish that the Romulans & Klingons had an alliance and that the Romulans were now operating Klingon ships. After all, the producers still had the Klingon ship model in tact and readily available for the live action episode. Building a new Romulan ship would have been considered too expensive.

So I well understand the reasoning behind the use of the Klingon ship model for the Romulans on the live action episode. What I don't understand is why didn't the producers have the animators draw up a Romulan ship for this animated episode? All they needed were pen & ink. They could either draw the Romulan ship as it first looked on Balance, or created a brand new design. Instead, the episode uses Klingon ships once again as Romulan vessels.

I suppose that could have been the animated show's way of saving on the budget. Simply reuse stock footage of the Klingon starships from "The Time Trap" episode for this Romulan episode. Still it is disappointing in that regard.

[Bud Brewster]