ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

A:E served as both the final episode for ST:TOS's second season finale, as well as a backdoor pilot for its own weekly series.

Fans are split regarding the episode. Some feel that the production attempted to serve two masters & failed badly.
Others recognize the inherent awkwardness of A:E in ST history. Yet, they also see the fantastic potential in a A:E TV show.

[Gord Green]

Some trivia from IDMb on ST:AE --



-"Assignment: Earth" was written to introduce a hoped-for spin-off series of the same name which never materialised. The series would have featured Robert Lansing as Gary Seven, Barbara Babcock as Isis, and Teri Garr as Roberta Lincoln. In the new series, the intrepid trio would have worked to make sure humanity achieved the destiny glimpsed via the Star Trek (1966) characters and Seven's mysterious extraterrestrial information.



-Spock mentions all the events which are to occur on that date the Enterprise travelled back in time to the 20th century and met Gary Seven. Among the events mentioned was an important political assassination. As it turned out, there were ultimately two important political assassinations in 1968: just six days after this episode aired on March 29, 1968, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, and two months later, on June 6, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was killed in Los Angeles, California on the night that he won the California Democratic presidential primary.

-Teri Garr had such an unpleasant time filming this episode she refused to ever talk about Star Trek again.




-The script called for Isis, when in cat form, to make various cat sounds on cue (meows, purrs, growls, etc.) Since finding appropriate real cat sounds for the soundtrack proved problematic, the director discovered that Barbara Babcock, who was hired to do the voice of the Beta 5 computer, could vocalise convincing cat sounds, Barbara was called upon to vocalise Isis' cat sounds as well.



-The original draft script was not a Star Trek project. Gary Seven was an Earthman from the future who had been sent back in time to combat the Omegans, an evil alien people who'd mastered time travel. When ASSIGNMENT EARTH didn't sell as a separate television series, the concept was rewritten into the STAR TREK format.

-While at the launch base and showing his ID to the security person, Mr. Seven shows a National Security Agency credential card. The NSA was one of the worst kept government secrets, but was not publicly acknowledged until nearly 25 years after this episode originally aired.



-This is the only episode of Star Trek (1966) in which a guest star is listed after the opening credits rather than in the end credits: "Guest Star Robert Lansing as Mister Seven" is displayed when the character is first shown in the transporter chamber.



-Barbara Babcock supplied the voice of the Beta-5 computer, as well as the cat Isis' vocalisations. However, Victoria Vetri, Playboy Playmate of 1968, portrayed Isis in human form.



-Victoria Vetri's navel is visible, despite the folklore that broadcast standards censors prohibited showing the navel. Had the series gone into production, it's not known whether Vetri would have been available for the spin-off.




-Captain Kirk's comment - "I'm sure they'll have many interesting adventures together" - refers to the "Assignment: Earth" series that never materialized. Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln would have been up against aliens called the Omegans who had mastered time travel, and they would work to make sure mankind achieved the glorious destiny that Gary Seven's alien masters intended it should. To this end, Gary Seven's office computer would have had the ability to turn back time and cancel out any damage that had been done by the Omegans in their attempts to alter Earth's history.

[Gord Green]

This was a very interesting story line. I always thought that Irwin Allen's 1968 pilot for The Man from the 25th Century was similar in plot although not in detail.



James Darren starred as a man from the 25th century transported to 60's Earth to prepare it for invasion by a race of big headed aliens..



The pilot proposal can be seen on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOUF8NuIK0w&t=43s

[Pow]

Gary's Beta 5 computer panel was also the M-5 computer on the excellent episode ''The Ultimate Computer.''

It later showed up as a time machine, the Atavachron, on the episode ''All Our Yesterdays.''

Always liked Gary's multi-purpose Servo device. Some folks compare it to Dr. Who's Sonic Screwdriver.

[johnnybear]

Isis was not Victoria Vetri! I've spoken to the lady in question a few years back and she has confirmed to me that that ain't her!
JB

[Bud Brewster]

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Maybe she wasn't telling the truth! You know how catty some women can be!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[johnnybear]

Well she's in the klink at the moment for the attempted murder of her husband I believe! I got to talk with her through FB arranged by her friend of hers but I couldn't get in touch with her later on for some strange reason but she did say it wasn't her and it doesn't look like her one bit, Bud!
JB

[Bud Brewster]

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Easy there, Ensign Bear! I was just making a cat joke!

I'm not the one who said she was played by Victoria Vetri, that was Gord's statement, and I agree that Miss Vetri doesn't look much like the cat lady — at least not based on her blond, bikini appearance in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.

However, both Wikipedia and IMDB list Victoria Vetri as "Isis in human form". And her IMDB photo does seem to bear a resemblance to the sultry Miss Kitty!



As for her statement concerning the Isis role, in view of her legal problems at the moment, perhaps her attorney told her to deny everything, no matter what she was asked! :
_________________
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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]

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Oh, right! Drat!

Somebody should invent colored contact lenses!
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

I'm sure Victoria was grateful that all she had to do was sit there, look sexy, and purr.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Cat eye contacts.




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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.

[mach7]

IMDB lists Vetri as the human Isis.

I've always liked this episode, even though its kind of rough around the edges.

Not too long ago, after watching AE again I found myself in NYC with an afternoon free.

So I went looking for Gary Seven's apartment.

811 east 68th St



I don't know what was there in 1968, but its a hospital now.

[johnnybear]

Hey no probs, Bud! The lady herself knows whether she was in Trek or not surely. Mach7, I like that picture of Terri Garr though!!! What a babe! She has matured well!
JB