ALL SCI-FI

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Unused transporter effect.



I wonder why it wasn't used?
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

[orzel-w]

I'll take a shot at a guess: It didn't look so swell on a b/w TV (if it is, in fact, an authentic unused effect).
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WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

[Pow]

For me the outline for the humans used here has a kinda cartoony, Hanna-Barbera effect that I do not care for.

[Bud Brewster]

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Right. And they look like they're under water, blowing bubbles!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

I expect it was a lot more labor intensive as well than the final version used. The efx team probably said, "Tell me we're not gonna do this every time somebody beams down!"
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Rocky Jones]

Speaking of black and white, you remind me that I first saw the original version of The Cage (not the 2-part wrapped version) in black and white 16mm shown by none other than Gene Roddenberry himself. In the mid '70s I had a job that involved driving around Ft. Worth, Texas and often could flex my schedule. I heard on the radio that Gene was doing a free lecture at Texas Christian University (just down the street from my apartment then). It was starting in like 30 minutes. I wrapped up whatever I was doing, shot over there and caught the whole thing. There was a huge crowd. He did a nice long talk and answered a lot of questions. He showed both the Cage and the well known blooper reel (first time I saw that, too).

Ah, the days of being a young man about town...

[Robert (Butch) Day]

It's strange that it is called a "blooper" reel.

It is more commonly known as the "goodie" reel.
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Rocky Jones]

"Goodie reel" must be more of an industry insider term. I've never heard it used in that way. I think "blooper reel" would be the most common use by lay persons. "Blooper reel" gets 701K Google results and "goodie reel" gets only 232K.

[orzel-w]

I've also heard the term "gag reel". This term or "goodie reel" more appropriately describe the content of the Star Trek original series items, which were not strictly bloopers. Some of the footage was just regular scenes manipulated in printing, editing, or overdubbing to turn them into humorous variations of the original.

Seems that the existence of the gag reel(s) (for any TV series) came into popular awareness with the resurgence of Star Trek (TOS) in syndication. I attended the Equicon ST conventions in Los Angeles in the early-to-mid 1970s, where the gag reel was making a big splash. It was a compilation of the three end-of-season gag reels that were made up for the season wrap-up cast parties. The gag reels were never intended for public consumption, and therefore were not "G-rated". "Word on the street" at the time was that Leonard Nimoy had objected to the reel being shown in public for that reason. (He confirmed this at one of his appearance lectures that I attended.)
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...or not...

WayneO
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[orzel-w]

[orzel-w]

This post follows from a discussion started in the ST "The Man Trap" episode thread regarding the recycling of the older laser pistol weapon. However, my comments following pertain to the original design seen in "The Cage"/"The Menagerie".

In "The Man Trap" thread I commented about the overdesign of the pistol's handgrip and trigger. To me, the designer sacrificed aesthetics and ergonomics for the sake of making the grip look more "spacey" (no relation to Kevin).



My idea of a more practical and ergonomic grip/trigger arrangement would be like this:



(I tried it with a grip and trigger copied from a Walther P38 ─ a la Man From UNCLE ─ but that looked like a cloning experiment gone wrong. So I backed off to this simpler design.)
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

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Great job, Wayne!

Seems like it would need a trigger guard. What do you think?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

I wonder if the rather unusual shape of the grip was dictated by Gene Roddenberry's requirement that the LASER balance upright on it's grip?

I read on a site once that the pistols were originally to be clear, like the communicators. The author claimed that he saw one of the surviving LASERS, and the paint was off the base of the grip, showing components buried in the prop. The props were made out of clear plastic, so it kind of makes sense when you look at the communicator, but he is the only person I have ever read saying that.

As a kid, I always thought that the LASER looked like the Flying Saucer Gun I had as a kid. You know the ones that fired the big, three-blade propeller that you would windup on the front. That could be one reason why the design was rejected.

David.

[orzel-w]