'Star Trek' began filming 50 years ago

[Machiavelli]

Rich Trenholm
CNET
November 27, 2014

Fifty years ago this Thanksgiving the crew of the starship Enterprise walked in front of cameras for the first time and began filming on a new sci-fi show that would make television history: "Star Trek". But the results of the day's filming weren't seen in their intended form for more than 20 years -- and the legendary show nearly didn't make it to the screen at all.

The brainchild of former bomber pilot and police officer turned television writer Gene Roddenberry, "Star Trek" was planned to be a utopian sci-fi show featuring a diverse crew exploring the galaxy. It began with the filming of a pilot episode on 27 November 1964 at the Desilu Productions studios (now known as Culver Studios) in Culver City, California. The shoot took a couple of weeks, with postproduction work running until 18 January 1965.

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[240B]

The link is not working for me. It takes me to CNET asking if I want to become a member. I got rickrolled.
 
Anyway, the rumor goes that Lucille Ball (of Desilu productions) thought from the name "Star Trek", that it would be a show about following Hollywood Stars around.
 
When she saw it, she was unable to comprehend it. It confused her. And that is one of the reasons the show was cancelled prematurely.

[Machiavelli]

The link is not working for me. It takes me to CNET asking if I want to become a member. I got rickrolled.

It worked for me, but try it again:

http://www.cnet.com/news/star-trek-began-filming-50-years-ago-today/

[240B]

It does not work in IE, but worked fine Chrome. I don't know. But I did manage to bring it up in Chrome, so I have it now.

[Machiavelli]

... the rumor goes that Lucille Ball (of Desilu productions) thought from the name "Star Trek", that it would be a show about following Hollywood Stars around.
 
When she saw it, she was unable to comprehend it. It confused her. And that is one of the reasons the show was cancelled prematurely.

I never heard that. I always heard that it was cancelled by bad ratings, due to several problems.

[240B]

It's a Star Trek trivia factoid. It was on one of the many documentaries about the making and history of 'Star Trek', Shatner, and Nimoy. I do not remember which one.
 
I am sort of a Trekker and have watched them all. Also, word goes, that interracial kiss did not help either. It upset a lot of people at the time, both Black and White.
 
The show was ahead of its time.

[kevindavis007]

I never heard that. I always heard that it was cancelled by bad ratings, due to several problems.

I think the last season of Star Trek was a pity season.. The story line was not just the same.. Especially the episode about Spock's brain.

[kevindavis007]

It's a Star Trek trivia factoid. It was on one of the many documentaries about the making and history of 'Star Trek', Shatner, and Nimoy. I do not remember which one.
 
I am sort of a Trekker and have watched them all. Also, word goes, that interracial kiss did not help either. It upset a lot of people at the time, both Black and White.
 
The show was ahead of its time.

It was.. I also saw stories in how Gene was horn dog..

[SPQR]

I have met William Shatner and John De Lancie

[Machiavelli]

I think the last season of Star Trek was a pity season.. The story line was not just the same.. Especially the episode about Spock's brain.

I agree.

[musiclady]

I'm old.........

[mystery-ak]

I'm old.........

...me too!

[SPQR]

I have met William Shatner and John De Lancie

When I spoke to William Shatner about Chris Pine being Captain Kirk he liked him very much and J.J. Abrams made a very good choice. He also gave high marks of the U.S.S. Enterprise 2.0

[SPQR]

I never heard that. I always heard that it was cancelled by bad ratings, due to several problems.

It was due to  Fred Freiberger. He destroyed the show. Freiberger also destroyed the second season of Space:1999 when he took over Sylvia Anderson's position. He will go down in the annals of Sci-Fi history of destroying two really good science fiction shows

[kevindavis007]

It was due to  Fred Freiberger. He destroyed the show. Freiberger also destroyed the second season of Space:1999 when he took over Sylvia Anderson's position. He will go down in the annals of Sci-Fi history of destroying two really good science fiction shows

Who is Fred Freiberger?

[Machiavelli]

Who is Fred Freiberger?

Producing Star Trek

Freiberger had been interviewed as a possible producer for Star Trek before it entered production in 1966, but had left the selection process due to a planned trip. In 1968, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, as a result of creative differences with broadcaster NBC, resigned as showrunner. Freiberger was again contacted and hired as producer for the series' third season. He assumed this role with a reduced budget that made the series more difficult to produce, as well as a new "Friday night death slot" that resulted in a further decline in viewing ratings for what was already a low-rated program. Many Star Trek fans have since criticised Freiberger for being the cause of this decline, but actress Nichelle Nichols (who played Uhura) has written in his defense. Nichols argues that the result of NBC's considerable budget cutbacks to the third season of Star Trek, in an environment of rising production costs and escalating actors' salaries, meant that:

you saw fewer outdoor location shots, for example. Top writers, top guest stars, top anything you needed was harder to come by. Thus, Star Trek's demise became a self-fulfilling prophecy. And I can assure you, that is exactly as it was meant to be ... In the third season [the] new producer Fred Freiberger did everything he could to shore up the show. I know that some fans hold him responsible for the show's decline, but that is not fair. Star Trek was in a disintegrating orbit before Fred came aboard. That we were able to do even what we did is a miracle and a credit to him. One day Fred and I had an exchange, and he snapped at me. Even then, though, I knew he wasn't angry with me but with his unenviable situation. He was a producer who had nothing to produce with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Freiberger#Producing_Star_Trek

[SPQR]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Freiberger#Producing_Star_Trek

Everything sci fi show Fred touches it always ends up cancelled.

Freiberger has a dubious reputation in science-fiction fandom, mostly due to his involvement in the final seasons of Star Trek, Space: 1999, The Six Million Dollar Man and the cartoon series Josie and the Pussycats, all of which were cancelled under his watch. This has resulted in Freiberger being given the nickname "The Series Killer" in some circles although both Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner have refused to assign any blame to Freiberger for the poorly received third season of Star Trek. Martin Landau, however, blamed Freiberger for the changes and drop in quality of the second season of Space: 1999 and was quoted as saying "I'm not going out on a limb for this show because I'm not in accord with what you're (Freiberger) doing as a result ... I don't think I even want to do the promos — I don't want to push the show any more as I have in the past. It's not my idea of what the show should be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Freiberger

[kevindavis007]

Everything sci fi show Fred touches it always ends up cancelled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Freiberger

So basically he when was brought on, either show was about to be cancelled or he destroys the show.. I think Nichols and Shatner maybe right about him when it came to Star Trek.. I think everyone knew that 3rd season was going to be last regardless who produced the show.

[SPQR]

So basically he when was brought on, either show was about to be cancelled or he destroys the show.. I think Nichols and Shatner maybe right about him when it came to Star Trek.. I think everyone knew that 3rd season was going to be last regardless who produced the show.

Star Trek needed writers like Harlan Ellison. Ellison wrote the classic episode "City on the Edge of Forever" on Star Trek. Ellison was also one of the writers of Babylon 5.I do think that Fred is a series killer. You have to see season one of Space:1999 and season two of Space:1999 and they were so different. He purged most of the original cast from the first season and the ideas of the first season.