STAR TREK Original series question…101

[joker-scar]

So I like Trek but not a TREKKER in any regard. I’ve read an auto-bio on the Shat but never read the I AM NOT (or… IS) SPOCK book by Nimoy. I’m re-watching season 1 and watching the Billy Blackburns home movies and hes sayin how the Shat got along with everyone. Nimoy by way of interviews has displayed his strong friendship with him over the years. But I also remember all those (rumors?) how some of the cast , dislike… may be a strong word, but had issues with the Shat. Anyone out there have the real scoop?
Are the Nimoy books worth reading? Which one or both?

 

[feek61]

In short during the filming of TOS; most of the actors disliked Shatner and felt that he dismissed them and would often have their scenes cut while trying to expand his own (after all; he WAS the star). Even Nimoy and Shatner had issues but became close way after the series completed filming. Most of the rest of the cast still hate Shatner.

 

[Jeyl]

Watch Star Trek V: The Final Frontier written and directed by William Shatner.

This is how William Shatner treats the regular cast members in the film he has control over.

Sulu and Chekov get lost in the woods.
Scotty can't keep the Enterprise working.
Uhura is a big flirt who will fan dance naked in the desert in front of potential killers.
Also, everyone but Spock and McCoy mutinies against Kirk after having a therapy session with Sybok. You might think it's mind control, but no. It's just removing a painful memory. That's it. No deception, no deeper understanding towards Sybok's goals. All it takes is just one bad memory to be erased and you can convince anyone to do anything.

Contrast that with the previous film, Star Trek IV, where every crew member got to have a moment in the spot light and actually contribute to something meaningful.

And if you think Star Trek VI's continuity error involving the Excelsior having the equipment to monitor gaseous spacial anomalies all of a sudden being on the Enterprise is just a writing slip up, you'd be wrong to. Shatner did NOT want Sulu to come in and save the day, which is why the Excelsior's appearance in the final battle is quite pointless.

 

[Mola Rob]

I look at it this way, none of us were on the set of the original series or the movies so everything we hear is subject to a lack of objectivity, the whims of human nature, or over interpretation by crazy fans.

I watch what's on the screen and try to enjoy it.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

To be completely fair George has an extra special chip on his shoulder anyway.

But ya, Shatner is all about Shatner. Some people can get past that (Nimoy), others can't.

 

[Jeyl]

I watch what's on the screen and try to enjoy it.

For me, it wasn't a case of "I know what went on behind the scenes and now I hate it". It was "Why is this so bad?" and figuring it out after the fact. And it's pretty obvious where the blame can be placed on since both Nimoy and Shatner's names are attached to their film's credits. Again, Star Trek IV might not be considered one of the best Treks, but it was the best for a lot of it's characters. Star Trek V is the worst for.. well, everything. Shatner literally wrote and directed Kirk as the only competent Captain in all of Starfleet while everyone else was a danger to themselves and others.

Even Futurama made fun of this fact with both Nimoy and Shatner playing their own parts.

Nimoy: You have to respect your actors. When I directed Star Trek IV I got a magnificent performance out of Bill because I respected him so much.
Shatner: And when I directed Star Trek V, I got a magnificent performance out of me because I respected me so much.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

ST IV definitely is a better film than ST V. I do enjoy both though.

ST V just has some WTF moments as Jeyl said. Uhura dancing (a scene she says she loved IIRC, but that doesn't make it any better), Scotty playing a moron (my biggest problem), etc...

On the other hand it has a few scenes that I think rival the most powerful of any Trek film. The scene with McCoy and his father is intense and the whole thought of "we need our pain" is a great one to explore.

It's campy, which definitely hurts it, and of the TOS films it's my least favourite. Under a better director it could have been one of the best.

 

[tgreco]

ST IV definitely is a better film than ST V. I do enjoy both though.

ST V just has some WTF moments as Jeyl said. Uhura dancing (a scene she says she loved IIRC, but that doesn't make it any better), Scotty playing a moron (my biggest problem), etc...

On the other hand it has a few scenes that I think rival the most powerful of any Trek film. The scene with McCoy and his father is intense and the whole thought of "we need our pain" is a great one to explore.

It's campy, which definitely hurts it, and of the TOS films it's my least favourite. Under a better director it could have been one of the best.

I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment. It's kind of like Flash Gordon, in that it bounces between beautifully directed and written moments, and total camp.

 

[Treadwell]

I don't think there were a lot of arguments on the set...just building resentment that the supporting cast let out years later.

Shatner's version is that he was always thinking about the show, and when he suggested cutting a line he viewed as extraneous (or giving it to Kirk), he simply didn't consider another actor was looking forward to performing it. Which I can kinda understand, but if the show=Kirk=Shatner, then intentionally or not it was self-serving.

I like that in STII, when Kirk turns to Spock to order him to scan Reliant, he is already doing it. Best of both worlds--Kirk/Shatner got to have the idea, but the other character shows he knows his job, thank you.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I like that in STII, when Kirk turns to Spock to order him to scan Reliant, he is already doing it. Best of both worlds--Kirk/Shatner got to have the idea, but the other character shows he knows his job, thank you.

Great point and perfect example. :thumbsup

 

[RonH]

If you want an insider's view, read Herbert Solow and Robert Justman's Inside Star Trek. Shatner and Nimoy were battling over who was the star (Nimoy claiming he was due to his amount of fan mail), and they forced Roddenberry to choose Kirk since he was the Captain. Also, Shatner was visiting script writers at home offering to 'help' them with scripts. He was actually taking lines from the other actors and giving them to himself for more screen time and elevate his character over the others. Probably the worst example is That Which Survives, where Sulu is rendered a helpless school marm to Kirk's wagon master who has all the answers, while Spock and everyone else are thrown across the galaxy to get them out of the main story.

 

[division 6]

I picked up the 6 movie BluRay set a few weeks ago.
In the bonus material where they intervene the actors, directors, producers you get a pretty good look at what kind of self centered person Shat is.


p.s. TREKKERs are the johnny-come-lately's that showed up in the TNG era.

 

[rodneyfaile]

There are only two Star Trek Movies, The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country.

 

[Vermithrax 4]

I remember at Big-E Con in Virginia Beach in the mid-90s James Doohan openly expressed his distain for Shatner, saying what a self-centered egomaniac he was. I actually heard that with my own ears so that's all I can comment on on this subject.

 

[Laspector]

In response to the OP's question--I have never read I AM NOT SPOCK but I have read I AM SPOCK and I thought it was pretty good.

 

[Jeyl]

The scene with McCoy and his father is intense and the whole thought of "we need our pain" is a great one to explore.

It is a great one to explore, it's just a pity that it's all build up for Kirk to be the almighty and declare that he needs his pain for no other reason other than He's Jame's T. J. Hooker dangit!

What makes the whole McCoy/Father thing sad is that there are perfect moments in the movie where the story could have properly built-up to McCoy's painful memory. For example, the camp fire scene where Bones continues to be annoyed by Kirk's antics.

McCoy: You really **** me off, Jim. Human life is far too precious to risk on crazy stunts!

Bones doesn't like seeing people needlessly risking their lives, and with the story of his father's passing we could have actually understood why he feels that way. His relationship with his father was so loving and great that the idea of losing him the way he did never crossed his mind. But when David contracted a disease to which there was no cure, Bones let one of the most important people in his life go. But it didn't end for McCoy there when a cure was found a week later. Now Bones is haunted with the thought that if he had only hung on to his Father for just a week more, told him to endure it for just a little longer, his father could have recovered. And before you go into the "I'm sure that was Shatner's intent all along!", listen to his commentary track first. Or better yet, don't listen to his commentary track and know that during the scene with McCoy's father, all Shatner had to say about it was when it's time to pull the plug, you pull the plug. Again, Shatner has this great character defining moment for McCoy, and just sweeps it under the rug so only his character can profit from it.

 

[Mola Rob]

It's really a shame that there is animosity. I think it is indicative of bad decisions made from the start that led to smaller roles for the supporting cast. If someone behind the scenes had shown some backbone when Shatner's and Nimoy's egos started getting out of hand it probably would have turned out better in the long run.

On the subject of Trek V, the supporting cast of TOS and the movies were always made to look less than perfect and and given small inconsequential lines, not just in Trek V. Trek V was bad for a number of reasons not just that.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

And before you go into the "I'm sure that was Shatner's intent all along!"

Wasn't going to. We already agree on this one:

It's campy, which definitely hurts it, and of the TOS films it's my least favourite. Under a better director it could have been one of the best.

 

[CaptainDave1701]

I grew up with the show and for me being the HUGE fan of TOS that I am I had to realize over years that the actors in the show were just that...actors.
They were paid to work on a TV show just like I get paid to do what I do to earn a living. I can honestly say that I wish that everyone at my workplace loved to work with each other and always got along but they don't. I would imagine the same went on the set of Star Trek. At the end of the pay period they got paid to do their job and that was it and they were probably just to happy to be employed and on television. Who knew that the show would explode in syndication and take off not to mention the conventions to follow.
I have always wondered where the cast's careers would have gone if anywhere if it were not for the three season the show was originally on the air. Shatner starred in a TV western that in his opinion was to be a big hit and it was not. As for the othere who knows.
Anyway, that is just my thoughts on this. Just watch the show and enjoy it as it is wonderful. Keep On Trekkin......
Dave

 

[Riceball]

I grew up with the show and for me being the HUGE fan of TOS that I am I had to realize over years that the actors in the show were just that...actors.
They were paid to work on a TV show just like I get paid to do what I do to earn a living. I can honestly say that I wish that everyone at my workplace loved to work with each other and always got along but they don't. I would imagine the same went on the set of Star Trek. At the end of the pay period they got paid to do their job and that was it and they were probably just to happy to be employed and on television. Who knew that the show would explode in syndication and take off not to mention the conventions to follow.
I have always wondered where the cast's careers would have gone if anywhere if it were not for the three season the show was originally on the air. Shatner starred in a TV western that in his opinion was to be a big hit and it was not. As for the othere who knows.
Anyway, that is just my thoughts on this. Just watch the show and enjoy it as it is wonderful. Keep On Trekkin......
Dave

It didn't help things much that Shatner pretty much threw all of the rest of the cast under the bus pretty much every chance he got it seems. Imagine if you're at work and one person in your office is always taking all of the plum assignments from everyone else in an attempt at making them look good and minimize the role of you and your other co-workers? This is what we're talking about here, not just a bit of inter-office squabbling.

As far as where their careers go, none of the cast had a whole lot of success for quite a few years after Star Trek ended though some, namely the big 3 had a successful acting career before Star Trek. Both Nimoy and Kelley seemed to pretty much retire some time after Trek ended although Nimoy did go on to guest star as Spock on TNG. I don't think that Shatner enjoyed much success in acting after Trek ended until around the 80s and he did T.J. Hooker along with writing novels. George Takei appeared in a few movies here and there and the rest didn't seem to do much although (Walter) Koenig did have a recurring role on B5. So given that, I'm not sure that Star Trek helped all of their acting careers that much, what it did do was give them fame & recognition beyond what they probably would have gotten had they not been on Star Trek. More than likely they would have all been forgotten even if some might have been or continued to be successful actors had Star Trek not happened.