Never-before-seen 'Star Trek' pilot found
November 15, 2009 5:09 AM   Subscribe

Star Trek fans know that there was a second, unaired pilot episode of Where No Man has Gone Before. That version has been found by a collector in Germany, and is going to be released.
posted by pjern (30 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
This episode is apparently the actual version shown to NBC execs, that resulted in the greenlight for the original series.
posted by pjern at 5:10 AM on November 15, 2009


I thought that I knew everything you could know about the original series, but I don't remember this. Interesting.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:11 AM on November 15, 2009


I'm pretty sure this was a plot from a later episode. There is a transporter malfunction and Kirk goes into the future to go back in time to become the star of a pilot in an alternative universe. Or something like that.
posted by twoleftfeet at 5:24 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


Fascinating
posted by Fupped Duck at 5:30 AM on November 15, 2009 [8 favorites]


Groovy news! (That rumbling sound you hear is the aftershock from a worldwide simultaneous nerdgasm.)
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:07 AM on November 15, 2009


Ah, Paul Fix, the Pete Best of Star Trek.
posted by condour75 at 6:20 AM on November 15, 2009 [3 favorites]


What are "1970s-style act breaks"?
posted by Harry at 6:25 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


Offhand, I'd guess it's probably codespeak for 'fewer commercials'.
posted by Malor at 6:28 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


IIRC, the original ST episodes were more like a play, with each of (3?) parts getting a chapter heading.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:40 AM on November 15, 2009


What are "1970s-style act breaks"?

A few shows back in the 60's and 70's (well, really, ever since TV drama began) featured relatively pretentious "Act 1", "Act 2", etc. titling. It was sort of a "Hey! This is serious drama!" conceit. And, yeah, it was possible due to far fewer commercial breaks than we see today. FAR fewer.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:41 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


Likely there were fewer commercials, but that phrase "70s-style act breaks" brings to mind things like Quinn Martin’s The Invaders with its 'Act One'; 'Act Two' style of presentation.
posted by pinkbuttonanus at 6:42 AM on November 15, 2009


Not seen before is quite an exaggeration. The pilot was cut down a bit and used as the third episode. This YouTube clip supposedly contains the missing pieces.

What are "1970s-style act breaks"?

Probably a reference to the "Quinn Martin format" that was quite popular at the time: "prologue featuring a stern-voice narrator to establish the premise and introduce the cast for that episode; explicitly announced Acts I, II, III, and IV; and an epilogue, again featuring the narrator."
posted by effbot at 6:42 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


yeah. this really isn't a new pilot. it's a different edit of one that all fans have seen before.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:59 AM on November 15, 2009


yeah. this really isn't a new pilot. it's a different edit of one that all fans have seen before.

Mm-hm. Nothing new to see here, kids, except maybe the different version of the opening monologue.
posted by briank at 7:29 AM on November 15, 2009


nerdgasm.
posted by HumanComplex at 7:39 AM on November 15, 2009


Ah, but it does take me back...
I remember waiting for each new episode.
It took less than 45 years to find this.
Now, kindly get off my lawn.</small?
posted by Drasher at 8:02 AM on November 15, 2009


We are leaving that vast cloud of stars and planets which we call our galaxy. Behind us, Earth, Mars, Venus, even our sun...are specks of dust.
posted by Kirklander at 8:17 AM on November 15, 2009


I love the fact that no one is ever where they are supposed to be. Whenever the ship goes on alert we see the corridors filled with people scrambling to get to their stations.
posted by Gungho at 8:31 AM on November 15, 2009 [6 favorites]


Also of note is that this is a Desilu production. Lucy had to create her own production company when the networks were afraid to air I Love Lucy because they were concerned that the audiences wouldn't like her being married to a Cuban. Likewise the networks were concerned that no one would like this Bonanza in space.
posted by Gungho at 8:34 AM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


Yeah, nothing really interesting here, just a slightly different cut with different titles and voice-over. It was a much bigger deal when the original cut of "The Cage", the first pilot, was restored.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:50 AM on November 15, 2009


I look forward to seeing more of Sally Kellerman before she began her long, tragic slide into madness.

Wait, you're saying she's not mad? Then what the hell happened to her?
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:01 AM on November 15, 2009


1970s-style act breaks? Star Trek was filmed in the 60s! They really were from the future!
posted by kirkaracha at 1:50 PM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]


Star Trek continues to really, really live long and prosper.
posted by bearwife at 3:48 PM on November 15, 2009


We are leaving that vast cloud of stars and planets which we call our galaxy. Behind us, Earth, Mars, Venus, even our sun...are specks of dust.

I'm this guy standing on a planet
Really I'm just a speck
Compared with a star, the planet is just another speck
To think about all of this
To think about the vast emptiness of space
There's billions and billions of stars
Billions and billions of specks

posted by bwg at 4:01 PM on November 15, 2009


I love the fact that no one is ever where they are supposed to be. Whenever the ship goes on alert we see the corridors filled with people scrambling to get to their stations.

People gotta take a dump sometime, even in space.
posted by bwg at 4:51 PM on November 15, 2009


Likewise the networks were concerned that no one would like this Bonanza in space.

Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't the networks initially right?
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 5:12 PM on November 15, 2009


I would love to take a dump in space sometime.
posted by Eideteker at 9:40 PM on November 15, 2009


"Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't the networks initially right?"

It's debatable. Viewer projections weren't as sophisticated at the time as they are now and the demographic that was watching was underrepresented in models.
posted by Mitheral at 4:40 PM on November 16, 2009


Yes, they were right, and once again DesiLu stepped up and practically forced the network to keep the show on.
posted by Gungho at 5:21 AM on November 17, 2009


I love the fact that no one is ever where they are supposed to be. Whenever the ship goes on alert we see the corridors filled with people scrambling to get to their stations.

Aren't they going to battle stations? It's like the WWI/II-era "air raid warden" thing. You have a regular job and a battle job. When the siren goes, you drop your street-cleaning hat and run to man your gun.
posted by DU at 7:01 AM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]


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