Last week I posted some of my thoughts on These Are the Voyages, Vol.2 by Marc Cushman. Having just finished the book, I thought I should continue with some more information other than what William Shatner was doing to maintain his image onthe show. The second season was actually a very interesting one. Gene Coon was on board to produce most of the shows until stepping down near the end, three comedies were produced thanks to him, and George Takei missed out on some juicy parts by taking a role in a John Wayne movie.
One of the most interesting things to me about this book series is how a script was developed, first from an idea, then to an outline, the first draft script, and several drafts later to a finished product. It is reported that George Takei was a little upset when Walter Koenig joined the cast, because he was afraid it would take lines away from his character. And that it did. But more than that, it took away entire roles. There were many scripts that had Sulu listed for certain things. For instance, he was supposed to be in the landing parties in “Who Mourns For Adonais” and “The Apple”. When he had taken time away to film The Green Berets, he missed out on others, such as “The Trouble With Tribbles” and “The Gamesters of Triskelion”. Takei did not return to the series until “Return to Tomorrow”, with no big parts for him the rest of that season.
Having read the first two volumes of this series, I also understand what a great influence Gene Coon had. Apparently, he was the only one on the production staff who had a sense of humor, except for Script Consultant D. C. Fontana. He was responsible for the comedy of “I, Mudd” and “The Trouble With Tribbles.” All the cast, except for Leonard Nimoy, loved what he was doing with the humor, but theirs weren’t the votes that counted. Gene Roddenberry was involved in another project at the time these were produced and was none too happy when he returned. Coon’s resignation as producer was at least partially due to these artistic differences. Still, he was brought back to rewrite “A Piece of the Action,” and I, for one, am glad he was. It’s one of my favorite episodes. After Coon resigned, Fontana was left to supply the comedic elements, but there would be no more all-out comedies.
There’s more, much more to be garnered from this book, so if you’re a Star Trek fan, I would definitely recommend getting a copy for yourself. I’ll report on Volume 3 soon with more Star Trek tidbits.