Pioneers of Television (2008–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - Science Fiction - full transcript
This episode looks at the development of the science fiction genre on US television in the 1950's and 1960's. Gene Roddenberry had long been working as writer in television but realized that the industry was not prepared to deal with major social issues such as race relations, drug addiction and war. By setting his stories in a fictional future, he was able to do that and thus Star Trek (1966) was born. Somewhat surprisingly, its greatest competition came from Lost in Space (1965) produced by Irwin Allen who was also responsible for The Time Tunnel (1966) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964). The classic series Twilight Zone (1959) set a very high bar that the others had to follow.
Narrator: THE PIONEERS
OF SCIENCE-FICTION TELEVISION
DIDN'T JUST INVENT A GENRE,
THEY TAUGHT US SOMETHING
ABOUT OURSELVES...
AND THEY GAVE US A GREAT RIDE.
HOW WONDERFUL, MY GOD...
THREE YEARS, 40 YEARS AGO,
THEY STILL TALK ABOUT
THE CHARACTER, MY GOD!
SO I CHANGED THE READING,
AND I SAID, "FASCINATING."
AND THAT, I THINK,
WAS WHERE WE REALLY FOUND
THE SPARK OF THE CHARACTER.
Woman: HAVE THESE
PLASTIC ROCKS LAND...
THAT WAS FUN TO ME!
THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, I WAS A KID.
I, HONESTLY,
I NEVER HAD A BAD DAY
GOING TO WORK ON THAT SHOW.
Woman: HE WANTED TO SPEAK
FROM A VOICE
OF MEN AND WOMEN AS EQUALS.
I THOUGHT WE HAD SOME
EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD STUFF ON,
AND IN THE FEW YEARS
THAT HAVE PASSED
SINCE "TWILIGHT ZONE"
WAS ON,
THERE HAS APPEARED ANOTHER WHOLE
NEW GENERATION,
ANOTHER BODY OF MARVELOUS
SCIENCE-FICTION.
Narrator: THEY ARE...
THE PIONEERS OF TELEVISION.
Rod Serling:
YOU UNLOCK THIS DOOR
WITH THE KEY OF IMAGINATION.
WARNING! WARNING!
Narrator: THEY TOOK US TO WORLDS
WE COULD ONLY IMAGINE.
"STAR TREK" POSITS THAT
IN 300 OR 400 YEARS
LIFE WILL BE WONDERFUL.
Narrator: THEY CREATED
THE CHARACTERS WE LOVED...
AND THE ONES WE LOVED TO HATE.
GO THROUGH THEM CAREFULLY
AND ERASE ALL REFERENCES
TO ME.
I WANT NO PART OF THIS
DEHUMANIZED LIE DISPENSER.
FASCINATING.
I WAS AROUND ENOUGH TO KNOW
WHAT I HAD TO DO TO PROTECT,
SORT OF, MY TERRITORY,
AND TO GIVE THIS CHARACTER
A CHANCE TO BREATHE.
Narrator: THEY GAVE US AN ESCAPE
WHEN WE NEEDED IT MOST.
IT WAS A PERFECT TIME FOR A SHOW
LIKE "LOST IN SPACE."
AND THE KIDS LOVED IT.
Woman: BUT IT IS HARD TO KEEP
A STRAIGHT FACE WHEN
YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PIECE
OF CELERY THAT'S TALKING TO YOU.
SLANDEROUS ATTACKS
ON THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
TONIGHT'S STORY ON
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
IS SOMEWHAT UNIQUE
AND CALLS FOR
A DIFFERENT KIND
OF INTRODUCTION.
Narrator: THEY FOUGHT TO
MOLD ENTERTAINMENT
INTO SOMETHING WITH MEANING.
WE SHOWED EFFORT CONSTANTLY.
I THINK AT TIMES WE SHOWED
INGENUITY AND CREATIVITY.
I DON'T THINK WE BORROWED
FROM ANYONE.
I THINK "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
IS THE BEST TELEVISION SERIES
THAT WAS EVER PRODUCED.
Serling: HE'S SIX YEARS OLD
WITH A CUTE LITTLE-BOY FACE
AND BLUE, GUILELESS EYES.
BUT WHEN THOSE EYES LOOK AT YOU,
YOU'D BETTER START THINKING
HAPPY THOUGHTS...
BECAUSE THE MIND BEHIND THEM
IS ABSOLUTELY IN CHARGE.
Mumy: I WORKED ON THE EYE THING.
WHEN ANTHONY DOES SOMETHING,
IT'S LIKE A...
GENE RODDENBERRY WAS A COMPLEX,
INCREDIBLE MAN.
HE WAS KIND OF DOING
A SELLING JOB...
THIS IS THE WAY
IT'S GOING TO LOOK
AND THIS IS THE WAY
THE SETS ARE BEING BUILT,
AND THESE ARE THE PROPS,
THESE ARE THE COSTUMES...
OH, AND BY THE WAY, YOU'LL BE
WEARING POINTED EARS.
I DON'T WANT HER HERE!
Narrator: SOMETIMES,
THEY GAVE US A SCARE.
I DON'T WANT HER HERE!
PEOPLE, I THINK,
LOVE TO BE AFRAID.
THEY LIKE WEIRD STUFF
WHERE THEY CAN BE SCARED.
Narrator: AND SOMETIMES,
IT WAS ALL IN GOOD FUN.
YOU'D HAVE THIS
COOL-LOOKING ALIEN HEAD,
AND THEN THEY'D JUST PUT A BLACK
SHEET OVER THE GUY!
AND YOU'D GO TO A GUY
IN A BLACK SHEET WITH, LIKE,
LITTLE GLOVES ON.
Shatner: THE GUY WHO WOULD
WEAR A RED SHIRT
IN BEING BEAMED DOWN...
DEAD.
YOU KNEW HIS CAREER
IN THAT SHOW IS OVER.
Narrator: LATE 1954.
A LOS ANGELES MOTORCYCLE COP
IS DESPERATE.
THIS IS THE DAY HE WILL MAKE
A RASH DECISION...
A CHOICE THAT WILL END
HIS POLICE CAREER.
Narrator:
AFTER LEARNING WHERE
THE MOST POWERFUL
HOLLYWOOD AGENTS MEET,
HE HUNTS THEM DOWN.
THIS POLICEMAN
HAS ALWAYS DREAMED OF BECOMING
A TELEVISION WRITER,
BUT NO AGENT
WILL READ HIS SCRIPTS.
Narrator:
TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT...
HE WILL DEMAND TO BE READ.
WITHIN HOURS,
ONE OF HOLLYWOOD'S TOP AGENTS
SIGNED THE POLICEMAN
TO A CONTRACT,
AND SO BEGAN
THE TELEVISION CAREER
OF GENE RODDENBERRY,
MOTORCYCLE COP,
AND THE MAN WHO CREATED
"STAR TREK."
AT LEAST, THAT'S HOW
GENE RODDENBERRY
TELLS THE STORY.
HE WAS, AFTER ALL, ONE OF
TELEVISION'S GREAT STORYTELLERS.
ONCE GENE RODDENBERRY
LANDED AN AGENT,
HE WORKED STEADILY,
CHURNING OUT FREELANCE SCRIPTS
FOR SHOWS LIKE
"DR. KILDARE," "HIGHWAY PATROL,"
AND "WAGON TRAIN."
BUT HE WASN'T HAPPY.
RODDENBERRY WANTED
HIS OWN SERIES,
WHERE HE COULD ESCAPE
THE TIRED OLD TV FORMULAS.
HEY, CHARLIE, HOW LONG YOU
GONNA WEAR THAT DERBY?
WELL, FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE,
IF IT'S ANY CONCERN OF YOURS...
IT MAKES ME LOOK
DISTINGUISHED!
DON'T IT?
Narrator: IN 1963,
GENE RODDENBERRY GOT HIS CHANCE,
A BREAKTHROUGH IDEA CALLED
"THE LIEUTENANT."
ON "THE LIEUTENANT" YOU SAW
WHERE GENE WAS COMING FROM.
BUT I THOUGHT AFTER A FEW YEARS,
A PERSON WOULD START TO GROW
A LITTLE.
EVERYBODY'S GOT A RIGHT TO
SETTLE SCORES BUT US!
IS THAT IT?
I'M NOBODY'S UNCLE TOM, NORMA.
I'M A MAN... I'VE GOT A RIGHT TO
FEEL AND ACT LIKE A MAN!
WELL, IF JUMPING SOMEBODY
IS ALL IT TAKES,
THEN WHY DON'T YOU TRADE THAT
NICE UNIFORM IN
FOR A FUNNY WHITE SHEET
WITH A POINTED CAP
AND A BURNING CROSS?!
IT COULD HAVE BEEN
ANY TWO LIEUTENANTS,
BUT HE MADE ONE BLACK
AND ONE WHITE.
HE WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT
THE HUMAN CONDITION,
AND HE WAS ADAMANT ABOUT THIS.
Narrator: THE NETWORK THOUGHT
RACE WAS TOO HOT A TOPIC
IN THE EARLY 1960s
AND FOUGHT RODDENBERRY
OVER NEARLY EVERY EPISODE.
INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED,
HE LET THE SERIES DIE,
REALIZING THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY
TO EXPLORE IMPORTANT ISSUES
ON TELEVISION...
RODDENBERRY WOULD HAVE TO LOCATE
HIS NEXT SERIES
IN THE FUTURE.
YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME
TO BELIEVE THAT!
I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE.
STAY WHERE YOU ARE.
Narrator:
SCIENCE-FICTION STORIES
WEREN'T EXACTLY NEW
IN THE MID-1960s.
COUNTLESS LOW-BUDGET MOVIES
PROVIDED ENTERTAINMENT FOR KIDS
AND WORK FOR ACTORS...
LIKE PETER GRAVES.
THERE WAS A HUGE AUDIENCE
FOR THEM.
THEY LIKED TO SEE GRASSHOPPERS
CLIMBING UP CHICAGO
AND STRANGE CREATURES
TAKING OVER THE WORLD...
AND THEN IF THEY SAID THAT
IN 70 MINUTES
I COULD BEAT THEM ALL,
I WAS FOR THAT...
AND IT WAS A WAY TO PAY THE RENT
AND BUY THE GROCERIES.
Narrator: FOR HIS NEW
TELEVISION SERIES,
GENE RODDENBERRY AIMED TO MOVE
THE SCIENCE-FICTION GENRE
IN AN ENTIRELY
DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
HE DIDN'T WANT MONSTERS
OR GIANT GRASSHOPPERS.
INSTEAD, RODDENBERRY WAS
DEVELOPING A SHOW
THAT EXPLORED IDEAS
AND VALUES.
THE SHOW VALUED EDUCATION,
IT VALUED TEAMWORK,
IT VALUED LOYALTY.
IT WAS FORWARD-LOOKING, ALWAYS,
JUST BY ITS VERY NATURE,
AND I THINK
THOSE THINGS APPEALED.
Narrator: BY 1964,
RODDENBERRY'S IDEA
WAS READY TO PITCH
TO A NETWORK.
HE CALLED IT "STAR TREK."
IT NEVER OCCURRED TO HIM
THAT THIS WAS VISIONARY
OR ANYTHING... IT IS JUST...
HE FELT IF HE WROTE IT
AND HE COULD GET IT OUT THERE,
THEN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL
SAY, "OH, YES, THAT'S RIGHT!"
Narrator: CBS SHOWED INTEREST
IN "STAR TREK,"
BUT EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT
AN OUTER SPACE SHOW
MIGHT BE TOO EXPENSIVE
TO PRODUCE.
RODDENBERRY RESPONDED WITH
AN IMPRESSIVE LIST
OF INNOVATIVE
COST-SAVING IDEAS,
BUT CBS WOULDN'T COMMIT.
THEN RODDENBERRY LEARNED
CBS's SECRET...
THE NETWORK WAS USING HIM,
FISHING FOR IDEAS
BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAD
A SPACE SHOW IN THE WORKS...
A SERIES CALLED
"LOST IN SPACE."
YOU SURE ARE
ACTING FUNNY...
DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
DANGER!
WHAT KIND OF DANGER?
Narrator: BY THE EARLY FALL
OF 1965,
THE "STAR TREK" PROPOSAL
WAS FLOUNDERING,
BUT "LOST IN SPACE"
WAS NOW ON THE AIR
AND A BIG HIT.
THE SERIES CREATOR
WOULD GO ON TO BECOME
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
SCIENCE-FICTION PRODUCER
OF THE DECADE...
A MAN NAMED IRWIN ALLEN.
HE WAS CRAZY, I MEAN, HE WAS...
HE WAS, YOU KNOW...
BUT OFTEN CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE.
Narrator: THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF
GENE RODDENBERRY,
IRWIN ALLEN WASN'T INTERESTED IN
POLITICAL ISSUES
OR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
INSTEAD, HIS SIGNATURE WAS
ACTION, EXCITEMENT.
YOU DON'T KNOW THAT
YOU CAN REMOVE THEM
FROM THEIR PRESENT
TIME ZONE!
YOU MIGHT JUST
KILL THEM YOURSELF.
WELL, WHAT'S OUR CHOICE,
GENERAL?
TO LET THEM DIE
WITH THAT SHIP?
HE GENERATED ENERGY ON THE SET
IN A RATHER UNUSUAL WAY.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE ELSE
DO IT LIKE THIS,
BUT HE WOULD SIT ON TOP OF
A VERY TALL LADDER.
AND HE TOOK A HAMMER
AND THIS WASTE PAPER BASKET,
AND EVERY TIME
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO...
WE WERE ON A GIMBAL... AND
EVERY TIME WE WERE SUPPOSED TO
GO FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER,
HE WOULD HIT THE HAMMER
ONTO THE WASTE PAPER BASKET,
AND WE WOULD ALL MOVE ONE WAY
AND THEN THE OTHER.
AND HE WOULD TAKE A HAMMER
AND A STEEL...
OR, PROBABLY, TIN PAIL...
AND GO...
ON THE INSIDE.
AND HE SAID, "KEEP IT UP,
KEEP IT UP!
I WANT THAT KIND OF ENERGY,
COME ON, COME ON!
OKAY... ACTION!"
AND YOU WERE LIKE THIS!
AND HE LOVED IT
MORE THAN ANYONE.
I'M SURPRISED HE DIDN'T HAVE
A GUN, YOU KNOW, TO SHOOT OFF.
Narrator: AS A BOY, IRWIN ALLEN
LOVED ROLLER COASTERS...
THE EXCITEMENT, THE FEAR,
THE SPEED.
AND HE MOLDED HIS TV SERIES
IN MUCH THE SAME WAY.
THEY WERE FAST, SIMPLE,
AND FUN...
WITH A DOSE OF FRIGHT.
I THINK HE HAD A VISION OF
THE SHOW BEING COLORFUL,
BEING, YOU KNOW,
KIND OF ECCENTRIC,
HAVING THESE MONSTERS,
BREAKING NEW GROUND,
HAVING LOTS AND LOTS OF ROCKS
AND METEORS FALLING
AND LASER GUNS...
AND THAT WAS HIS VISION,
MORE LIKE A COMIC BOOK.
DANGER! WARNING!
Narrator: AS "LOST IN SPACE"
GAINED AN AUDIENCE IN 1965,
"STAR TREK" SEEMED STUCK IN
THE STARTING GATE.
NBC EXECUTIVES
COMMISSIONED A "STAR TREK"
PILOT,
BUT THEY DIDN'T LIKE WHAT
RODDENBERRY DELIVERED.
THE PILOT WAS THOUGHT-PROVOKING,
BUT LACKED EXCITEMENT.
NBC WANTED MORE ACTION.
BUT THEY SAID TO RODDENBERRY,
"IT'S A VERY INTERESTING
PREMISE,
LET'S DO ANOTHER PILOT."
I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THAT
BEFORE OR SINCE.
Narrator: BY NOW,
THE STAR OF THE FIRST PILOT,
JEFF HUNTER,
WAS UNAVAILABLE.
AND SO GENE RODDENBERRY
TURNED TO HIS NEXT CHOICE
TO CAPTAIN THE ENTERPRISE,
JACK LORD.
BUT LORD AND RODDENBERRY
COULDN'T AGREE TO A CONTRACT,
SO JACK LORD MOVED ON,
TO "HAWAII FIVE-O."
AND GENE RODDENBERRY MOVED ON
TO WILLIAM SHATNER.
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,
SHATNER PUT HIS UNIQUE MARK
ON THE "STAR TREK" UNIVERSE.
SO I SAW THE PILOT,
AND THE MISTAKE THEY MADE,
I FELT,
WAS THAT, YOU KNOW,
THE CAPTAIN SAT THERE AND SAID,
"TURN LEFT," YOU KNOW,
OR "STARBOARD,"
OR, YOU KNOW, "FIRE THE GUNS,"
AS THOUGH IT WERE MOMENTOUS,
WHEREAS IT BECOMES MORE FUN
IF IT'S IMMEDIATE...
"OH, MY GOD," YOU KNOW, "LET'S
GET OUT OF HERE... TURN LEFT!"
AND I SUGGESTED THAT,
AND THEY SORT OF BOUGHT IT
AND THE SECOND PILOT BECAME
A LIGHTER VEHICLE.
Narrator: SATISFIED WITH
THE SECOND PILOT,
NBC PICKED UP "STAR TREK,"
AND THE SERIES PREMIERED
IN THE FALL OF 1966.
"STAR TREK" WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING
THAT HAD COME BEFORE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, A NETWORK
DRAMA WAS TALKING ABOUT
ISSUES OF RACE, GENDER, WAR,
EVEN DRUG ABUSE
AND NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION...
ALL CLOAKED IN
A SCIENCE-FICTION ADVENTURE.
I FINALLY WENT TO GENE'S OFFICE
ONE DAY,
MAYBE AFTER ABOUT
THE FIFTH EPISODE,
AND I SAID, "GENE RODDENBERRY,
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING."
AND HE SAID, "WHAT, NICHELLE?"
AND I SAID, "YOU ARE WRITING
MORALITY PLAYS."
AND GENE LOOKED AT ME
AND HE SAID,
"SHH! THEY HAVEN'T
FIGURED IT OUT YET."
Narrator: BY THE END OF 1966,
"STAR TREK" HAD
STAKED ITS TERRITORY
AS THE SCIENCE-FICTION SHOW WITH
SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY.
"LOST IN SPACE," IN CONTRAST,
HAD TAKEN A SHARP TURN
IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION...
WHAT HAD STARTED AS
AN ADVENTURE SHOW
WAS NOW TRANSFORMING ITSELF
INTO SOMETHING MORE CAMPY.
THE REASON WAS COMPETITION.
"LOST IN SPACE"
WAS SCHEDULED OPPOSITE
THE BIGGEST TV PHENOMENON
OF THE MID-1960s,
A BLOCKBUSTER SHOW
CALLED "BATMAN."
HOW MANY ACTORS ARE
FORTUNATE ENOUGH, LUCKY ENOUGH,
TO CREATE A CHARACTER THAT
BECOMES PART OF POPULAR CULTURE?
ICONIC, YOU KNOW...
NOT MANY OF US ARE.
SO I AM GRATEFUL, YOU KNOW,
THAT IT HIT LIKE THAT.
Narrator: "BATMAN" WAS SUCH
A BIG HIT,
"LOST IN SPACE" TRIED TO
MIMIC ITS STYLE,
WITH BRIGHT OUTFITS,
OVER-THE-TOP ACTION,
OUTRAGEOUS BAD GUYS.
THE NETWORK HAS TO BE GOING TO
IRWIN ALLEN,
"HEY, EVERYBODY IS DIGGING
THIS 'BATMAN' THING...
MAKE YOUR SPACE SHOW
A LITTLE MORE FUN, RIGHT?"
West: I THINK ANY COPY
IS FLATTERING IN A SENSE,
BUT IF IT AIN'T BROKE,
DON'T FIX IT.
AND MAYBE THEY WERE TRYING TO
FIX IT TOO RADICALLY.
Narrator: WHILE "BATMAN"
WAS KNOWN FOR
ITS RANGE OF ICONIC VILLAINS,
"LOST IN SPACE"
HAD BEEN DEVELOPING
ONE OF TV'S MOST-FLAMBOYANT
TROUBLEMAKERS...
DR. ZACHARY SMITH,
PLAYED BY JONATHAN HARRIS.
HE STARTED BUILDING
THIS CHARACTER
THAT WAS REALLY VERY EASY
TO WRITE FOR, EASY TO PRESENT,
EASY TO MAKE IN...
MAKE THE SORT OF SILLY,
TONGUE-IN-CHEEK STYLE
THAT "BATMAN" WAS REPRESENTING.
NOW, NOW, MAJOR, LET'S NOT BE
HASTY WITH OUR SUSPICIONS.
OUR REAL CONCERN SHOULD LIE WITH
THAT UNFORTUNATE GENTLEMAN...
DOWN THERE.
Narrator: ORIGINALLY,
ZACHARY SMITH
WAS A STANDARD VILLAIN...
A TEMPORARY ROLE THAT MIGHT BE
GONE AFTER A FEW EPISODES.
DETERMINED TO EXTEND HIS STAY,
JONATHAN HARRIS BEGAN
REWRITING HIS LINES
AND REDEFINING HIS CHARACTER.
I'D MEMORIZED THE SCRIPT,
AND BEFORE WE'D SHOOT ANY SCENE,
JONATHAN WOULD,
"BILLY-PERSON,
COME IN TO MY DRESSING ROOM,
WE ARE GOING OVER THE SCENE."
AND, LIKE, I KNEW WHAT I WAS
GOING TO SAY, AND THEN,
YOU KNOW,
HE WOULD SIT THERE AND SAY,
"NOW, YOU CAN SEE IT'S NOT AS IT
WAS ON THE PAGE... LET'S GO."
HE WAS VERY SMART IN THAT WAY,
BECAUSE JONATHAN, I KNEW,
WOULD SIT UP EVERY NIGHT
AND WRITE HIS DIALOGUE.
THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THE FACT
THAT HE PLAYED IT HUGE...
I MEAN, THERE'S NO DOUBT
ABOUT THAT.
YOU CAN BE A SUBTLE ACTOR,
OR YOU GO, "DEAR! WILLIAM,
SAVE ME! OH, THE PAIN," RIGHT?
I MEAN, YOU CAN BE THAT,
AND THAT'S WHAT HE WAS.
OH, HOW COULD THIS
HAPPEN TO ME?
DOOMED TO DEVIL'S ISLAND!
THE PAIN, THE PAIN!
ONE DAY IRWIN ALLEN CAME DOWN
TO THE SET AND SAID, "YOU!"
AND JONATHAN WENT, "YES?"
AND IRWIN SAID,
"I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING."
JONATHAN WAS LIKE, "MM."
AND IRWIN SAID, "DO MORE!"
Narrator:
HARRIS HAD A LONG RESUME
ON BROADWAY AND IN MOVIES,
BUT "LOST IN SPACE" WOULD BE HIS
TOUR DE FORCE...
AND HE KNEW IT.
HE WAS A TRUE ACTOR.
THIS IS A LITTLE MAN
FROM THE BRONX,
SO POOR THAT HIS MOTHER
AND FATHER
RENTED HIS BED OUT TO PEOPLE
WHEN HE WAS A CHILD
AND HE SLEPT ON
THE DINING ROOM TABLE.
AND HE USED TO GO TO THE THEATER
IN NEW YORK
AND SNEAK IN DURING INTERMISSION
WHEN YOU COULD KIND OF GET INTO
A PLAY AFTERWARDS
AND JUST DREAM OF BECOMING
A STAGE ACTOR.
AND HE REINVENTED HIMSELF
TO ACHIEVE THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S GREAT,
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
I CAN'T TELL YOU
HOW GOOD IT IS TO BE HOME!
Narrator: AS HARRIS' PROFILE
GREW ON "LOST IN SPACE,"
THE ENSEMBLE CAST
FADED INTO THE BACKGROUND.
BY THE SECOND SEASON,
MOST OF THE OTHER ACTORS
HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO.
A SIMILAR PATTERN WAS UNFOLDING
AT "STAR TREK."
ANY NUMBER OF CHARACTERS MIGHT
HAVE BECOME MAJOR PLAYERS
IN THE "STAR TREK" UNIVERSE,
BUT BY 1967, IT WAS CLEAR
JUST TWO ACTORS WOULD FORM
THE NUCLEUS OF MOST STORIES...
WILLIAM SHATNER'S CHARISMATIC
"CAPTAIN KIRK"
AND LEONARD NIMOY'S LOGICAL
"MR. SPOCK."
Nimoy: BUT WHAT HAPPENED
WAS THAT
WHEN THE SHOW WENT ON THE AIR,
THE SPOCK CHARACTER SORT OF
BROKE OUT,
AND IT TOOK SOME TIME...
PSYCHOLOGICALLY, EMOTIONALLY,
CREATIVELY...
TO WORK OUT THE PROPER BALANCE.
AND BILL AND I WERE VERY
COMPETITIVE WITH EACH OTHER,
VERY COMPETITIVE.
Narrator: WILLIAM SHATNER'S
COMPETITIVE NATURE
DIDN'T ORIGINATE ON "STAR TREK."
HE ALREADY HAD A LONG HISTORY
AS ONE OF THE INDUSTRY'S
HARDEST-WORKING PERFORMERS,
DATING ALL THE WAY BACK TO
HIS VERY FIRST ACTING JOBS
ON LOCAL TV...
IN CANADA.
Man: CAMERA ONE, ZOOM IN
ON SHATNER, CLOSE-UP.
Narrator: IN 1954,
THE TORONTO, CANADA,
VERSION OF "HOWDY DOODY"
ADDED A NEW CHARACTER...
"RANGER BOB,"
PLAYED BY A 23-YEAR-OLD
WILLIAM SHATNER.
Shatner: I'VE HEARD MANY TIMES
THAT I DID HOWDY DOODY,
BUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE
IS WIPED OUT OF MY HEAD.
SO IF I WERE ON A STAND
WITH A HAND ON THE BIBLE,
I'D SAY, "WELL, NO, I'VE NEVER
DONE 'HOWDY DOODY,""
BUT APPARENTLY I DID.
Narrator: SOON SHATNER
WAS IN NEW YORK,
GAINING NOTORIETY FROM A NUMBER
OF LIVE TELEVISION PERFORMANCES
IN TV'S GOLDEN ERA.
ACTING FOR LIVE TV WAS A GREAT
TRAINING GROUND FOR ACTORS...
THERE WAS NO STOPPING,
NO SECOND TAKES,
AND THE ENORMOUS STUDIO CAMERAS
SEEMED ALMOST ALIVE.
LENSES THAT BIG
AND A GUY BEHIND IT,
AND IT'S ON ROLLERS, YOU KNOW,
AND HE'S PUSHING THIS THING
AROUND.
AND THE TUBES
WHICH THEY WERE USING THEN
WERE SO HOT, THEY NEEDED FANS
TO BLOW AWAY THE HOT AIR,
TO KEEP THEM COOL.
SO THIS ANIMAL
WOULD MOVE AROUND
SOMEWHAT STEALTHILY
AND MAKE LITTLE COOING SOUNDS,
LIKE...
AND FINALLY IT ENDS
ABOUT LIKE THIS,
AND YOU'RE IN CLOSE-UP.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING PAST IT
IN CLOSE-UP,
AND THIS THING IS
RIGHT IN YOUR FACE.
BUT IT'S LIKE A LOVED ONE
SAYING,
"OH, BILLY,
HOW NICE YOU LOOK TODAY,"
AND SO IT'S
A LOVING, FRIENDLY...
OR IT'S AN ANIMAL
ABOUT TO DESTROY YOU.
Narrator:
BY THE EARLY '60s,
WILLIAM SHATNER
WAS IN HOLLYWOOD,
APPEARING IN A LONG STRING OF
TELEVISION GUEST ROLES.
TURIN'S AN ENGINEER,
NOT A FIGHTER.
LET ME SHOW YOU.
OH, NOW, MY LORD,
YOU SHOULDN'T...
Narrator: HE WAS A HOT YOUNG
ACTOR ON THE RISE...
NOT UNLIKE HIS COHORTS,
CLINT EASTWOOD OR STEVE McQUEEN.
SO LANDING WILLIAM SHATNER AS
THE CAPTAIN OF THE ENTERPRISE
WAS SOMETHING OF A COUP
FOR GENE RODDENBERRY.
BILL SHATNER WAS HIRED
AS THE STAR OF "STAR TREK,"
AND WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT.
HE WAS THE CAPTAIN...
NOT ONLY IN COMMAND OF THE SHIP,
BUT HE WAS HIRED AS "THE NAME."
HE HAD SOME REPUTATION,
HE HAD SOME BACKGROUND.
Narrator: AS THE LEADING ACTOR
ON "STAR TREK,"
WILLIAM SHATNER DIDN'T MISS
AN OPPORTUNITY
TO EXPAND HIS CHARACTER...
TO FIGHT FOR HIS VISION OF
JAMES T. KIRK.
SO THE ONLY ONE WHO IS
VALIDATING THE CHARACTER MOSTLY
IS THE ACTOR.
SO YEAH, IT'S, IN MY OPINION,
REQUISITE TO MAKE A FUSS,
UP TO A CERTAIN POINT,
ABOUT RETAINING
THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE CHARACTER.
Narrator:
DESPITE SHATNER'S EFFORTS,
IT WASN'T CAPTAIN KIRK
WHO WAS THE BREAKOUT CHARACTER
ON "STAR TREK"...
IT WAS MR. SPOCK.
THROUGHOUT THE 1950s,
LEONARD NIMOY PLAYED
A WIDE RANGE OF CRIMINALS,
ETHNIC CHARACTERS,
AND EVEN A LOW-BUDGET
SPACE ALIEN.
HOW ABOUT
THE OTHERS?
I THINK THEY'RE
ALL DEAD.
YOU'RE IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE
YOURSELF.
TAKE IT EASY, AND I'LL
CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE.
NO! FIRST YOU MUST
STOP THE BOMB.
Nimoy: I ACTED IN ONE CALLED
"ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE,"
AND, YES, I WAS
ONE OF THE ZOMBIES.
Narrator: WHEN IT CAME TIME
TO CAST "STAR TREK'S"
VULCAN CHARACTER,
CREATOR GENE RODDENBERRY
THOUGHT THE NATURAL CHOICE
TO PLAY MR. SPOCK...
WAS MARTIN LANDAU.
Landau:
I TURNED DOWN "STAR TREK."
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TORTUROUS.
I MEAN, I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY
DIED PLAYING THAT ROLE.
I MEAN, EVEN THE THOUGHT OF IT
NOW UPSETS ME.
IT WAS THE ANTITHESIS
OF WHY I BECAME AN ACTOR.
I MEAN, TO PLAY A CHARACTER
THAT LENNY WAS BETTER SUITED
FOR, FRANKLY.
HE'S A GUY
WHO TALKS IN A MONOTONE,
WHO NEVER GETS EXCITED,
NEVER HAS ANY GUILT,
NEVER HAS ANY FEAR,
NEVER IS AFFECTED
ON A VISCERAL LEVEL...
WHO WANTS TO DO THAT?
Narrator: WITH LANDAU
OUT OF THE PICTURE,
GENE RODDENBERRY INVITED
LEONARD NIMOY TO THE SET
AND WORKED HARD TO CONVINCE HIM
TO TAKE THE JOB.
HE WAS KIND OF DOING
A SELLING JOB...
THIS IS THE WAY
IT'S GOING TO LOOK
AND THIS IS THE WAY
THE SETS ARE BEING BUILT
AND THESE ARE THE PROPS,
THESE ARE THE COSTUMES...
OH, AND, BY THE WAY, YOU'LL BE
WEARING POINTED EARS.
Narrator: CREATING REALISTIC
POINTED EARS
WAS A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE.
A MAKEUP MAN FROM
LUCILLE BALL'S SHOW
WAS RECRUITED TO DO
THE FIRST PROTOTYPES.
HE DID
A VERY CRUDE PASTE-UP
OF PAPER MACHE KIND OF MATERIAL
ON THE TOPS OF MY EARS.
IT LOOKED PRETTY BAD.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT,
THE MAN WHO WAS HEAD...
RUNNING DESILU AT THE TIME...
STUCK HIS HEAD IN
TO SEE HOW WE WERE PROCEEDING,
AND I HEARD THE FIRST OF
THE VERY BAD EAR JOKES...
HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE...
SO RODDENBERRY WAS WITH HIM,
HE SAID, "GENE THIS POOR MAN
NEEDS SOME HELP."
I THOUGHT, "OH, GOD, I DON'T
REALLY NEED TO HEAR..."
YOU KNOW, I'M STEPPING
INTO A KIND OF SCARY TERRITORY
WITH THIS CHARACTER
WITH THE MAKEUP AND ALL.
Narrator: AFTER THE EARS
WERE PERFECTED,
LEONARD NIMOY FACED
AN EVEN BIGGER CHALLENGE...
COMING TO GRIPS WITH TV'S
MOST UNUSUAL CHARACTER.
IN THE TWO "STAR TREK" PILOTS
AND THE FIRST EPISODE,
NIMOY PLAYED SPOCK WITH A WIDE
RANGE OF HUMAN-LIKE EMOTION.
SPOCK HERE...
THIS IS ALL SOME SORT OF TRAP.
WE'VE LOST THE CAPTAIN.
DO YOU READ?
Narrator: IT WASN'T UNTIL
THE SECOND EPISODE
THAT EVERYTHING CLICKED.
THE KEY SCENE WAS A TENSE MOMENT
ON THE BRIDGE
WHEN THE ENTERPRISE
SEEMED UNDER ATTACK.
CAPTAIN, SOMETHING
HAS GRABBED US, HARD!
AND SPOCK WAS GIVEN
ONE... ONE...
NOT A LINE, BUT A WORD TO SAY,
AND THE WORD WAS "FASCINATING."
AND I GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE
EXCITEMENT OF THE WHOLE THING,
AND I SAID "FASCINATING!"
AND THE DIRECTOR,
TO HIS GREAT CREDIT, SAID,
"DO IT AS A SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY
RATHER THAN GET EXCITED...
RATHER THAN BEING CAUGHT UP
IN THE DRAMA OF IT,
PLAY THE CURIOSITY OF IT."
SO I CHANGED THE READING
AND I SAID, "FASCINATING."
FASCINATING.
Nimoy: AND THAT, I THINK,
WAS WHERE WE REALLY FOUND
THE SPARK OF THE CHARACTER.
Narrator: "STAR TREK" SOON HIT
ITS STRIDE,
WITH COMPELLING CHARACTERS,
SOPHISTICATED STORYLINES,
AND A UNIQUELY OPTIMISTIC VIEW
OF THE FUTURE.
BUT AUDIENCES DIDN'T NOTICE...
AT LEAST NOT ACCORDING TO
THE CRUDE RATINGS SYSTEM
OF THE ERA.
NBC PRESSED GENE RODDENBERRY
TO MAKE "STAR TREK"
MORE LIKE "LOST IN SPACE."
MORE MONSTERS,
FEWER STATEMENTS.
FROM A RATINGS PERSPECTIVE,
IT WAS HARD TO ARGUE,
BECAUSE "LOST IN SPACE" PRODUCER
IRWIN ALLEN
SEEMED TO HAVE THE MAGIC TOUCH.
BY EARLY 1967,
IRWIN ALLEN WAS RIDING HIGH.
ADDING COLOR AND CAMPINESS TO
"LOST IN SPACE"
HAD BOOSTED THE SERIES' RATINGS,
AND "LOST IN SPACE"
WASN'T ALLEN'S ONLY BIG HIT.
HE'S WAS ALSO THE CREATOR OF
"VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE SEA,"
NOW IN ITS THIRD SEASON.
PLUS, "LAND OF THE GIANTS" WAS
ON IRWIN ALLEN'S DRAWING BOARD.
AND ALLEN HAD JUST LAUNCHED
THE MOST EXPENSIVE
SCIENCE-FICTION SHOW EVER,
"TIME TUNNEL."
Announcer: TWO AMERICAN
SCIENTISTS ARE LOST
IN THE SWIRLING MAZE
OF PAST AND FUTURE AGES,
DURING THE FIRST EXPERIMENTS
ON AMERICA'S
GREATEST AND MOST
SECRET PROJECT...
"THE TIME TUNNEL."
Meriwether:
IT WAS MASSIVE.
IT WAS MASSIVE,
AND THEN WHEN
I SAW IT ON AIR...
THE TUNNEL'S
GONE BLANK!
WELL, WHEREVER HE AND DOUG
ARE NOW,
AT LEAST THEY'RE TOGETHER.
Meriwether: ALL THE ART WORK
THAT WAS DONE
AFTER WE WERE GONE.
IT WAS AMAZING.
Mumy: IRWIN HAD A GREAT ABILITY
FOR ASSEMBLING THESE TEAMS
AND MAKING REALLY GOOD PILOTS,
PILOTS THAT SOLD.
HE WAS GOOD AT THAT, BUT HE WAS
INCREDIBLY BUDGET CONSCIOUS
AND I WAS GOING TO SAY "CHEAP,"
BUT I DON'T KNOW
IF HE WAS CHEAP,
BUT HE WAS VERY BUDGET
CONSCIOUS.
AND ONCE THOSE SHOWS GOT
ON THE AIR,
THEY REALLY WENT INTO LIKE
AN AUTOPILOT KIND OF MODE.
AND I THINK HE WAS...
CHEAP.
Narrator: ALLEN'S LEGENDARY
FRUGALITY MEANT
RE-USING MONSTERS.
A CREATURE THAT WOULD ATTACK
ONE WEEK
ON "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE SEA"
MIGHT SHOW UP A FEW WEEKS LATER
ON "LOST IN SPACE."
HIS MONSTERS WERE
RECYCLED.
I CAN ABSOLUTELY TELL YOU
WITHOUT EXAGGERATING
THERE WOULD BE
SOME POOR STUNTMAN GUY
IN A WET SUIT THAT WAS
GREEN...
WITH BUG EYES ON HIM.
THEY WOULD LEAVE OUR SHOW.
THEY WOULD GO TO "VOYAGE
TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA,"
"LAND OF THE GIANTS."
AND THEY WOULD WALK HIM
INTO STAGE 10
AND THEY WOULD SPRAY-PAINT HIM
ORANGE...
MAYBE THEY WOULD PUT HAIR DYE,
DYE THEM RED OR SOMETHING
LIKE THAT, BUT...
OFTEN WE'D GO,
"HEY, THAT MONSTER WAS
ON OUR SHOW LAST WEEK."
YOU KNOW, IT HAD ONE EYE,
NOW IT HAD THREE.
Narrator: IRWIN ALLEN'S
FORMULAIC
MONSTER-OF-THE-WEEK SHOWS
GOT GOOD RATINGS
FOR BOTH CBS AND ABC.
EXECUTIVES AT NBC WANTED
THE SAME
FOR THEIR SCIENCE-FICTION
SHOW... "STAR TREK."
BUT CREATOR GENE RODDENBERRY
WASN'T INTERESTED
IN ADDING MORE
MONSTERS.
HE SAW "STAR TREK" AS A VEHICLE
TO INFLUENCE SOCIAL CHANGE...
AND IN 1960s AMERICA, FEW TOPICS
SEEMED MORE IMPORTANT
THAN RACIAL EQUALITY
AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
ISSUES THAT TV IGNORED.
BUT GENE RODDENBERRY
WASN'T AFRAID.
FOR TWO DECADES,
AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN
WERE ALLOWED ONLY ONE ROLE
ON TELEVISION... THE SERVANT.
LIEUTENANT UHURA,
TAKE OVER NAVIGATION.
Narrator:
THE BREAKTHROUGH CAME
WHEN NICHELLE NICHOLS WAS CAST
AS LIEUTENANT UHURA,
FOURTH IN COMMAND
ON THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE.
BUT UHURA WAS SOON WRITTEN OUT
OF STORYLINES...
AS OTHER CHARACTERS BECAME
MORE DOMINANT.
FRUSTRATED, NICHOLS WROTE
A LETTER OF RESIGNATION.
WITHIN HOURS, A CERTAIN
DEDICATED FAN REQUESTED
A SPECIAL MEETING.
Nichols: AND I STOOD UP TO TURN
AROUND AND MEET THE TREKKIE.
AND THERE IS THIS MAN...
BIGGER-THAN-LIFE HUMAN BEING...
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING.
Nichols: HE SAYS,
"I AM THE TREKKIE."
HE SAYS, "I AM THE BIGGEST
TREKKIE ON THE PLANET
AND I AM LIEUTENANT UHURA'S
MOST ARDENT FAN."
HE WENT ON TO SAY
HOW IMPORTANT "STAR TREK" WAS,
THAT IMAGES ON TELEVISION
PERMEATE THE CULTURE
EITHER FOR THE GOOD
OR FOR THE BAD,
AND THIS IS
FOR THE HIGHEST GOOD.
HE SAID, "YOU CANNOT ABDICATE
YOUR POSITION.
YOU ARE CHANGING THE MINDS
OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD,
BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THROUGH YOU, WE SEE OURSELVES,
WHAT CAN BE,
WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR,
WHAT WE ARE MARCHING FOR."
Narrator: NICHOLS RETURNED
TO "STAR TREK,"
A SINGULAR ROLE MODEL
FOR THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS WHO
HAD NEVER BEFORE
SEEN A WOMAN OF COLOR IN
A POSITION OF POWER.
TRANSPORTER ROOM,
ENERGIZE.
TWO YEARS LATER, NICHOLS BROKE
ANOTHER CULTURAL BARRIER
WHEN A "STAR TREK" EPISODE
INCLUDED
TV's FIRST INTERRACIAL KISS.
OH, MY GOD, A WHITE GUY'S
KISSING A BLACK GIRL ON CAMERA,
WOW.
Narrator: IN THE EPISODE
"PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN,"
THE CREW ENCOUNTERS A PLANET
RESEMBLING ANCIENT GREECE.
THE POWERFUL ALIENS THEN FORCE
KIRK AND UHURA TO KISS.
I'M SO FRIGHTENED,
CAPTAIN.
BUT IT ALMOST DIDN'T HAPPEN.
AFTER THE FIRST TAKE,
THE EPISODE'S DIRECTOR REALIZED
JUST HOW CONTROVERSIAL THIS KISS
MIGHT BECOME.
CUT! CUT!
NBC EXECUTIVES WERE SUMMONED
TO THE SET.
THEY DEMANDED THE SCENE BE
RE-SHOT WITHOUT THE KISS.
WILLIAM SHATNER
WAS FURIOUS,
BUT NOT BECAUSE
OF ANY RACIAL ACTIVISM.
HE JUST THOUGHT CAPTAIN KIRK
WOULD NEVER RESIST
A PRETTY WOMAN.
Shatner: I MEAN SHE IS
BEAUTIFUL.
SO IT WASN'T VERY HARD TO WORK
UP ENTHUSIASM TO KISS HER.
Narrator: NBC WASN'T PERSUADED
BY SHATNER'S ARGUMENT
AND A NEW VERSION OF THE SCENE
WAS FILMED WITHOUT THE KISS.
BUT WILLIAM SHATNER STILL GOT
HIS WAY...
BY SECRETLY RUINING
THE NEW SHOT.
AND BILL LEANS ME DOWN
LIKE THIS,
AND HE COMES AROUND AND HE LOOKS
UP INTO THE CAMERA
BEFORE THEY COULD CUT...
AND THE DIRECTOR
NEVER EVEN SAW IT...
HE DOESN'T KISS ME,
HE'S NOT EVEN CLOSE.
AND HE LOOKS UP INTO THE CAMERA
AND HE CROSSED HIS EYES.
Narrator: WITH THE ALTERNATIVE
VERSION RUINED,
THERE WAS NO CHOICE BUT TO AIR
THE SCENE WITH THE KISS.
BY SHEER FORCE OF WILL,
WILLIAM SHATNER HAD AGAIN
PROTECTED HIS VISION OF ONE OF
TV'S MOST ICONIC CHARACTERS...
WHO DID THAT?
Narrator: JAMES T. KIRK.
I DID.
HE WAS, UH...
HANDSOME AND ATHLETIC
AND SMART
AND A LEADER
AND INTELLIGENT AND FUNNY
AND HAD LOTS OF WOMEN
TRAILING HIM
AND MEN LOVED HIM AND...
IT WAS SORT OF ME.
Narrator: AS GENE RODDENBERRY'S
"STAR TREK"
TACKLED THE BIGGEST ISSUES
OF THE DAY...
IRWIN ALLEN'S "LOST IN SPACE"
WAS CREATING, PERHAPS,
THE MOST INSIPID
AND BIZARRE EPISODE
IN TELEVISION HISTORY...
CALLED "THE GREAT VEGETABLE
REBELLION."
WILL YOU KINDLY TELL
THIS CREATURE
TO STOP NIBBLING
AT ME?
IT JARS ME
TO MY VERY ROOTS.
Mumy: IT'S INCREDIBLY BAD.
I MEAN, THERE ISN'T
A SINGLE SCENE
IN THAT... WHATEVER IT IS...
50 MINUTES OF TELEVISION
THAT ISN'T SO OVER THE TOP
AND SO RIDICULOUS AND SO
NONSENSICAL AND SO INSANE.
BUT IT IS HARD TO KEEP
A STRAIGHT FACE
WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PIECE
OF CELERY
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TALKING
TO YOU.
"THE GREAT VEGETABLE REBELLION."
WELL...
I REMEMBER MARK GODDARD SAYING,
"SEVEN YEARS, SEVEN YEARS
OF STANISLAVSKI,
SEVEN YEARS OF METHOD ACTING
AND I'M TALKING TO A CARROT?"
YOU MUST BE GETTING
AWFULLY TIRED
OF PLAYING THIS GAME
WITH US.
TIRED?
I'VE BARELY STARTED.
YOU'LL MAKE A POWERFUL-
LOOKING TEAKWOOD TREE.
YOU'RE FORGETTING HUMAN
RESISTANCE
AND YOU CAN'T STOP THAT
UNLESS YOU KILL US.
IF YOU KILL US, THEN YOU
CAN'T CHANGE US, CAN YOU?
YOU MEAN YOU'D RATHER DIE
THAN BE A TREE?
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SHOW,
THERE ARE TIMES
WHEN WE'RE BITING OUR LIPS
FROM LAUGHING.
I MEAN, TRYING NOT TO LAUGH,
YOU KNOW?
LIKE THIS, AND TRYING TO SAY
THE LINE AND LISTENING...
"OH, YEAH, REALLY, WELL..."
AND WE'RE BITING OUR LIPS
SO THAT WE'RE NOT BREAKING UP
AND IRWIN DOESN'T COME DOWN
AND SAY,
"TIME IS MONEY, TIME IS MONEY."
I MEAN REALLY,
TALKING TO A CARROT.
Creature: MOISTURE! MOISTURE!
Narrator:
"THE GREAT VEGETABLE REBELLION"
ILLUSTRATED THE TENDENCY OF
"LOST IN SPACE"
TO AIM AT YOUNGER CHILDREN.
FIRE!
WHILE "STAR TREK" WAS SEEN
AS THE MORE SERIOUS
SCIENCE-FICTION SERIES,
NOT EVERY EPISODE MET THAT GOAL.
"STAR TREK"... WE DISCUSSED IT
EARLIER PRIVATELY...
I THOUGHT WAS
A VERY INCONSISTENT SHOW,
WHICH AT TIMES SPARKLED WITH
TRUE INGENUITY
AND PURE
SCIENCE-FICTION APPROACHES
AND OTHER TIMES
WAS MORE CARNIVAL-LIKE
AND VERY MUCH MORE THE CREATURE
OF TELEVISION
THAN THE CREATURE OF
A LEGITIMATE LITERARY FORM.
Narrator: YEARS BEFORE
"STAR TREK" OR "LOST IN SPACE,"
ANOTHER LANDMARK
SCIENCE-FICTION SERIES
TOOK A VERY DIFFERENT PATH...
MORE DEEPLY ROOTED
IN THE LITERARY TRADITION
OF THE SHORT STORY.
A SERIES CREATED BY
ROD SERLING.
YOUNG ROD SERLING WAS SOMETHING
OF A PRANKSTER.
HE'D GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO
SHOCK HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
SERLING'S FAVORITE PART WAS
THE SURPRISE AT THE END...
THAT NO ONE SAW COMING.
IT WOULD BECOME HIS TRADEMARK...
AT THE FAMILY CABIN...
AND LATER,
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
Narrator: FROM THE VERY
BEGINNING, ROD SERLING
UNDERSTOOD THAT AUDIENCES
LIKED TO BE JOLTED,
SCARED, ASTONISHED.
NO ONE ON TELEVISION
DID IT BETTER.
TELEVISION'S GOLDEN AGE WAS
A GREAT TIME TO BE A WRITER.
IN THE ERA BEFORE VIDEOTAPE,
EVERYTHING WAS LIVE...
AND THAT MEANT
A NEW ORIGINAL PLAY...
CREATED JUST FOR
TELEVISION...
HAD TO BE PRESENTED
EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
THE NETWORKS WERE HUNGRY
FOR TALENT...
AND ROD SERLING HAD IT.
Narrator: SERLING'S TELEPLAYS
WERE QUICKLY SEEN
AS SOME OF TV'S FINEST...
WINNING HIM EMMY'S FOR
"REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT"
AND "PATTERNS."
I HAVE NO INTEREST WHATEVER
IN THE PHILLIPS MATTER.
WHAT WAS THAT?
I'M TELLING YOU THAT I DON'T
WANT THE JOB.
I'M THROUGH, I'M QUITTING,
I RESIGN AS OF NOW.
WHY?
BECAUSE I HATE YOUR GUTS.
I'M NOT A NICE HUMAN BEING.
WHAT ELSE?
YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FREAK!
YOU'D DRIVE YOUR PEOPLE
INTO PEAK EFFICIENCY
IF THEY CAN MAKE IT
OR A GRAVE IF THEY CAN'T!
Narrator: BUT AS TELEVISION GREW
FROM A NOVELTY
INTO A BUSINESS, SPONSORS BEGAN
TO DEMAND REWRITES
OF SERLING'S SCRIPTS,
REDLINING STORYLINES THEY
THOUGHT MIGHT BE CONTROVERSIAL,
EVEN CHANGING THE ETHNICITY OF
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS.
SERLING SOON CAME TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT GENE RODDENBERRY
WOULD LEARN A FEW YEARS LATER...
THE ONLY WAY TO TELL STORIES OF
SUBSTANCE ON TELEVISION
WAS TO SEVER THE CONNECTION
TO THE FAMILIAR,
TO SET YOUR TALES
IN AN ALTERNATE WORLD.
AND SO ROD SERLING CREATED
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE."
Serling:
THAT'S THE SIGNPOST UP AHEAD.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
I WOULD TRY TO CHOOSE
THOSE STORIES THAT,
THOUGH EVEN SCIENCE-FICTION
IN GENRE, WOULD BE TELLABLE
IN TERMS OF THE MOST ACCEPTABLE
HUMAN TERMS THAT WE NOW KNOW.
I WOULD PROBABLY SHY AWAY FROM
THE YEAR 2500.
I WOULD MUCH RATHER DEAL
IN 1998.
IN THOSE DAYS
A VISIONARY WHO FOUGHT FOR
CONTROL OF HIS PROJECT
GOT IT SOMETIMES.
THE BEAUTY OF THE WHOLE
SCIENCE-FICTION GENRE WAS
THAT SO MUCH OF IT HAD BEEN
UNTOUCHED.
IT HAD BEEN REPRODUCED IN
PRINTED FORM
OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUT IT
NEVER HAD BEEN DONE ON CAMERA.
SO WE HAD ALMOST A GOLD MINE
OF UNUSED MATERIAL
THAT WE COULD OPERATE FROM.
Narrator: "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
WAS AN ANTHOLOGY,
MEANING EVERY EPISODE HAD
DIFFERENT CHARACTERS
AND A UNIQUE SETTING.
OVER FIVE YEARS,
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
BROUGHT AMERICA 152
ONE-OF-A-KIND TALES...
THOUGHT-PROVOKING SHORT STORIES.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR FAVORITE.
IS SOMETHING WRONG?
NO, I THOUGHT I SAW
SOMETHING OUT THERE.
Narrator: AMONG THE SERIES'
MOST FAMOUS
AND ENDURING EPISODES WAS
"NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET."
WILLIAM SHATNER PLAYS
A NERVOUS FLYER
AND THE ONLY PASSENGER WHO SEES
A STRANGE CREATURE
SABOTAGING THE FLIGHT.
OH, THE ONE WITH
WILLIAM SHATNER,
WITH THE MONSTER ON THE WING.
I MEAN, DO YOU EVER LOOK OUT
AN AIRPLANE WINDOW
AND THINK ABOUT THAT?
I HAVE FOR YEARS.
THAT MADE SUCH AN IMPRESSION
ON ME.
STRANGELY, IT SEEMS TO HAVE
TOUCHED A NERVE.
THAT NERVE OF,
"WHAT IS THIS BOX DOING
UP IN THE AIR?"
AND MAYBE THERE ARE LITTLE
GREMLINS.
SO IT TOUCHES A UNIVERSAL FEAR,
I THINK.
BUT IT'S GOOD THAT YOU'RE
MAKING IT SNOW, ANTHONY.
IT'S REAL GOOD.
AND TOMORROW...
TOMORROW'S GOING TO BE
A REAL GOOD DAY!
Narrator: IN THE EPISODE
"IT'S A GOOD LIFE,"
BILLY MUMY
PORTRAYS ANTHONY...
A YOUNG BOY
WITH INFINITE POWERS,
ABLE TO CREATE OR DESTROY
ANYTHING AND ANYONE
WITH JUST A LOOK.
HE'S BOTH INNOCENT...
AND TERRIBLE.
WHEN HE USED HIS POWERS,
HIS EYES GOT BIG.
AND I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT UNTIL
MANY DECADES LATER
THAT ALSO HIS NOSTRILS FLARED.
BUT IT'S TRUE.
WHEN ANTHONY DOES SOMETHING,
IT'S LIKE...
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THAT.
WOULD SOMEBODY TAKE A LAMP
OR A BOTTLE OR SOMETHING
AND END THIS?!
YOU'RE A BAD MAN!
YOU'RE A VERY BAD MAN!
AND YOU KEEP THINKING
BAD THOUGHTS ABOUT ME.
AAAH!
AAAAH!
Narrator: OF THE MORE THAN
90 "TWILIGHT ZONE" SCRIPTS
THAT ROD SERLING WROTE HIMSELF,
THIS EPISODE
WAS HIS PERSONAL FAVORITE.
Serling: AN ADAPTATION
OF MINE...
A VERY FREE, LOOSE ADAPTATION...
OF A SHORT STORY
CALLED "TIME ENOUGH AT LAST,"
ABOUT A MYOPIC BANK TELLER,
WHO, AT THE END OF THE WORLD,
BREAKS HIS GLASSES,
JUST WHEN HE'S ABLE TO READ ALL
THAT HE'S EVER WANTED TO READ,
WHICH WAS
SHEER, PURE, BEAUTIFUL IRONY.
THAT'S NOT FAIR.
THAT'S NOT FAIR AT ALL.
THERE WAS TIME NOW.
THERE WAS ALL THE TIME
I NEEDED.
THAT'S NOT FAIR.
Narrator: SERLING ENCOURAGED
THE BEST SCIENCE-FICTION WRITERS
OF THE ERA TO CONTRIBUTE SCRIPTS
TO "THE TWILIGHT ZONE."
RICHARD MATHESON'S
"THE INVADERS"
WAS SERLING'S FAVORITE
FROM AN OUTSIDE WRITER.
"THE INVADERS"
WITH AGNES MOOREHEAD,
WHICH WAS, IN A SENSE,
PURE SCIENCE-FICTION
WITH A VERY
O'HENRY-ISH TWIST.
THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO LIVES
IN THE HOUSE,
A WOMAN WHO'S BEEN ALONE
FOR MANY YEARS.
A STRONG, SIMPLE WOMAN WHOSE
ONLY PROBLEM
UP UNTIL THIS MOMENT
HAS BEEN
THAT OF ACQUIRING ENOUGH
FOOD TO EAT.
A WOMAN ABOUT TO FACE
TERROR,
WHICH IS EVEN NOW COMING
AT HER
FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
ALL THESE LITTLE
TINY PEOPLE CAME OUT
AND THEY WERE LIKE
OUTER SPACE PEOPLE.
AND THEY WERE POKING HER WITH
KNIVES AND STUFF, AND SHE WAS
TRYING TO GET RID OF THEM AND
SWEEP THEM AWAY AND EVERYTHING,
AND THEN YOU FIND OUT SHE WAS
THE MONSTER
AND THEY WERE FROM
THE UNITED STATES.
Man: THE SHIP'S DESTROYED
AN INCREDIBLE RACE
OF GIANTS HERE.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS
SUCH A FABULOUS ONE.
I LOVED IT, AND SHE
NEVER SPOKE IN THE ENTIRE THING.
IT WAS, YOU KNOW, GRUNTING
AND GROANING AND CARRYING ON.
Narrator: THE INVADERS EPISODE
REVEALED A CHALLENGE
SERLING FACED EVERY WEEK...
CREATING QUALITY SCIENCE-FICTION
ON A MEAGER BUDGET.
Serling: THIS DESPERATELY
REQUIRED 8-INCH LITTLE MEN
TO WALK ACROSS THE FLOOR
OF A ROOM.
ALL WE COULD USE... BECAUSE WE
COULDN'T AFFORD OPTICALS
AND WE COULDN'T AFFORD MONTAGE
EFFECTS...
WERE LITTLE
WIND-UP RUBBER MEN,
AND THEY WALKED PRECISELY LIKE
LITTLE WIND-UP RUBBER MEN.
I THOUGHT IT TOTALLY DESTROYED
THE ILLUSION
AND POINTED OUT TO ME
THE DESPERATE BUILT-IN PROBLEMS
OF DOING PROPER SCIENCE-FICTION
ON TELEVISION.
ANN!
Narrator: TELEVISION'S RIGID
PARAMETERS LED TO A FALLOUT
BETWEEN SERLING AND SCIENCE-
FICTION ICON RAY BRADBURY...
WHO WROTE AN EPISODE CALLED
"I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC,"
STARRING A YOUNG
VERONICA CARTWRIGHT.
DON'T CRY,
DON'T CRY!
Veronica: IT WAS VERY COOL.
WHO KNEW?
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING
TO END UP BEING AS POPULAR
AS IT WAS, YOU KNOW,
IN YEARS LATER.
GRANDMA! GRANDMA!
YOU'RE ALIVE!
ALIVE!
Narrator: IN THE EPISODE,
CARTWRIGHT PORTRAYS A GIRL
WHOSE
MOTHER HAS PASSED AWAY
AND MUST NOW ACCEPT
HER NEW CAREGIVER...
A LIFELIKE ROBOT GRANDMOTHER.
YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY?
I CAN'T, I WON'T.
YOU'LL NEVER DIE?
NEVER!
OH, GRANDMA.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH
THE EPISODE REMAINS
AN ENDURING FAN FAVORITE,
SERLING CUT A SCENE
CITING A LACK OF MONEY.
BRADBURY WAS FURIOUS.
THE TWO ICONS,
ONCE GOOD FRIENDS,
NEVER WORKED TOGETHER AGAIN.
OVER TIME, THE GRIND OF
WEEKLY TELEVISION
TOOK ITS
TOLL ON ROD SERLING.
THE MEDDLING OF NETWORK
EXECUTIVES AND SPONSORS
WAS ESPECIALLY TRYING.
BY 1964, THE FREE REIN
SERLING ENJOYED
IN THE SHOW'S EARLY YEARS
WAS A DISTANT MEMORY...
REPLACED BY A STIFLING
BUREAUCRACY.
Landau: THERE WAS A CHANGE
BETWEEN THE SHOW I DID IN 1959
AND THE SHOW I DID IN 1964...
IN HIM.
HE WAS VERY DISILLUSIONED WITH
THE AD AGENCIES AND THE CENSORS,
AND THE PEOPLE TELLING HIM,
"THAT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA."
I THINK AT THE MOMENT IT IS
BEING STULTIFIED
BY THE CURRENT DESPERATE
ECONOMICS
OF OUR PLACE OUT THERE.
THAT THEY'RE BEING TERRIBLY
TIMOROUS
IN ALL NEW AREAS OF
STORYTELLING...
ONLY BECAUSE IT COSTS A BUCK.
Narrator: AFTER FIVE YEARS,
ROD SERLING HAD ENOUGH
AND THE "TWILIGHT ZONE"
LEFT THE AIR IN 1964.
SERLING WENT ON TO WRITE
"PLANET OF THE APES"
AND THEN RETURNED TO TELEVISION
IN 1969 WITH "NIGHT GALLERY."
Narrator: IN 1975, AT AGE 50,
ROD SERLING PASSED AWAY,
LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY
OF THE BEST-WRITTEN SHOW
IN TV HISTORY...
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE."
THE PIONEERS OF
SCIENCE-FICTION TELEVISION
DIDN'T JUST INVENT A GENRE,
THEY TAUGHT US SOMETHING
ABOUT OURSELVES...
AND THEY GAVE US A GREAT RIDE.
THE CORE OF A SUCCESSFUL
TELEVISION SHOW...
IT'S THE RELATIONSHIPS.
HERE COMES THE OPPORTUNITY
TO PUT ON
SUPERHERO OUTFITS, TO LITERALLY
CARRY A LASER GUN,
AND TO USE IT?
WHO WOULDN'T HAVE LOVED THAT?
I HONESTLY, I NEVER HAD A BAD
DAY GOING TO WORK ON THAT SHOW.
TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION,
TO MAKE A REAL CONTRIBUTION
TO THE SHOW, THAT'S WHAT
MY GOAL WAS EVERY DAY.
I WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL
FOR THE EXPERIENCE...
NOT JUST THE JOB,
BUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE
AND TO DISCOVER
A LOT MORE THAN
I THOUGHT I KNEW.
BILL AND I, AND MARTA ALSO,
WERE ABLE TO VISIT NASA
ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND WE HAD EVERYONE COME UP
TO US AND TELL US
THAT WE WERE THE REASON
THAT THEY HAD GOTTEN INVOLVED
IN THE SPACE PROGRAM.
THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT BUILD
THE ENDEAVOUR.
SCIENTISTS ARE COMING UP TO US
AND SAYING,
"WE LOVED LOST IN SPACE.
YOU INSPIRED US TO GO
INTO SCIENCE."
AND THEY'RE LOOKING
AT US,
THESE, YOU KNOW,
ROBINSON KIDS,
AND SAYING, "YOU ARE THE ONE
THAT MADE ME GET INTO
THE SPACE PROGRAM."
IT WAS MIND-BOGGLING.
HOW WONDERFUL, MY GOD.
THREE YEARS, 40 YEARS AGO,
AND THEY STILL TALK ABOUT
THE CHARACTER... MY GOD.
I THINK "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
IS THE BEST TELEVISION SERIES
THAT WAS EVER PRODUCED,
AND I WAS LUCKY TO BE
A PART OF IT.
WE CAN'T WAIT FOR
THE NEXT EPISODE.
I MEAN IT'S GREAT.
TV'S GREAT.
Narrator: IN RECENT YEARS,
DOZENS OF QUALITY
SCIENCE-FICTION SERIES
HAVE BEEN EMBRACED
BY MILLIONS...
BUT THEY ALL OWE A DEBT
TO THE SHOWS THAT SET
THE STANDARD...
CREATED BY
THE PIONEERS OF TELEVISION.
FOR MORE INSIDER FEATURES
ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE TV STARS,
STORIES YOU WON'T HEAR
ANYWHERE ELSE,
OF SCIENCE-FICTION TELEVISION
DIDN'T JUST INVENT A GENRE,
THEY TAUGHT US SOMETHING
ABOUT OURSELVES...
AND THEY GAVE US A GREAT RIDE.
HOW WONDERFUL, MY GOD...
THREE YEARS, 40 YEARS AGO,
THEY STILL TALK ABOUT
THE CHARACTER, MY GOD!
SO I CHANGED THE READING,
AND I SAID, "FASCINATING."
AND THAT, I THINK,
WAS WHERE WE REALLY FOUND
THE SPARK OF THE CHARACTER.
Woman: HAVE THESE
PLASTIC ROCKS LAND...
THAT WAS FUN TO ME!
THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, I WAS A KID.
I, HONESTLY,
I NEVER HAD A BAD DAY
GOING TO WORK ON THAT SHOW.
Woman: HE WANTED TO SPEAK
FROM A VOICE
OF MEN AND WOMEN AS EQUALS.
I THOUGHT WE HAD SOME
EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD STUFF ON,
AND IN THE FEW YEARS
THAT HAVE PASSED
SINCE "TWILIGHT ZONE"
WAS ON,
THERE HAS APPEARED ANOTHER WHOLE
NEW GENERATION,
ANOTHER BODY OF MARVELOUS
SCIENCE-FICTION.
Narrator: THEY ARE...
THE PIONEERS OF TELEVISION.
Rod Serling:
YOU UNLOCK THIS DOOR
WITH THE KEY OF IMAGINATION.
WARNING! WARNING!
Narrator: THEY TOOK US TO WORLDS
WE COULD ONLY IMAGINE.
"STAR TREK" POSITS THAT
IN 300 OR 400 YEARS
LIFE WILL BE WONDERFUL.
Narrator: THEY CREATED
THE CHARACTERS WE LOVED...
AND THE ONES WE LOVED TO HATE.
GO THROUGH THEM CAREFULLY
AND ERASE ALL REFERENCES
TO ME.
I WANT NO PART OF THIS
DEHUMANIZED LIE DISPENSER.
FASCINATING.
I WAS AROUND ENOUGH TO KNOW
WHAT I HAD TO DO TO PROTECT,
SORT OF, MY TERRITORY,
AND TO GIVE THIS CHARACTER
A CHANCE TO BREATHE.
Narrator: THEY GAVE US AN ESCAPE
WHEN WE NEEDED IT MOST.
IT WAS A PERFECT TIME FOR A SHOW
LIKE "LOST IN SPACE."
AND THE KIDS LOVED IT.
Woman: BUT IT IS HARD TO KEEP
A STRAIGHT FACE WHEN
YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PIECE
OF CELERY THAT'S TALKING TO YOU.
SLANDEROUS ATTACKS
ON THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
TONIGHT'S STORY ON
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
IS SOMEWHAT UNIQUE
AND CALLS FOR
A DIFFERENT KIND
OF INTRODUCTION.
Narrator: THEY FOUGHT TO
MOLD ENTERTAINMENT
INTO SOMETHING WITH MEANING.
WE SHOWED EFFORT CONSTANTLY.
I THINK AT TIMES WE SHOWED
INGENUITY AND CREATIVITY.
I DON'T THINK WE BORROWED
FROM ANYONE.
I THINK "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
IS THE BEST TELEVISION SERIES
THAT WAS EVER PRODUCED.
Serling: HE'S SIX YEARS OLD
WITH A CUTE LITTLE-BOY FACE
AND BLUE, GUILELESS EYES.
BUT WHEN THOSE EYES LOOK AT YOU,
YOU'D BETTER START THINKING
HAPPY THOUGHTS...
BECAUSE THE MIND BEHIND THEM
IS ABSOLUTELY IN CHARGE.
Mumy: I WORKED ON THE EYE THING.
WHEN ANTHONY DOES SOMETHING,
IT'S LIKE A...
GENE RODDENBERRY WAS A COMPLEX,
INCREDIBLE MAN.
HE WAS KIND OF DOING
A SELLING JOB...
THIS IS THE WAY
IT'S GOING TO LOOK
AND THIS IS THE WAY
THE SETS ARE BEING BUILT,
AND THESE ARE THE PROPS,
THESE ARE THE COSTUMES...
OH, AND BY THE WAY, YOU'LL BE
WEARING POINTED EARS.
I DON'T WANT HER HERE!
Narrator: SOMETIMES,
THEY GAVE US A SCARE.
I DON'T WANT HER HERE!
PEOPLE, I THINK,
LOVE TO BE AFRAID.
THEY LIKE WEIRD STUFF
WHERE THEY CAN BE SCARED.
Narrator: AND SOMETIMES,
IT WAS ALL IN GOOD FUN.
YOU'D HAVE THIS
COOL-LOOKING ALIEN HEAD,
AND THEN THEY'D JUST PUT A BLACK
SHEET OVER THE GUY!
AND YOU'D GO TO A GUY
IN A BLACK SHEET WITH, LIKE,
LITTLE GLOVES ON.
Shatner: THE GUY WHO WOULD
WEAR A RED SHIRT
IN BEING BEAMED DOWN...
DEAD.
YOU KNEW HIS CAREER
IN THAT SHOW IS OVER.
Narrator: LATE 1954.
A LOS ANGELES MOTORCYCLE COP
IS DESPERATE.
THIS IS THE DAY HE WILL MAKE
A RASH DECISION...
A CHOICE THAT WILL END
HIS POLICE CAREER.
Narrator:
AFTER LEARNING WHERE
THE MOST POWERFUL
HOLLYWOOD AGENTS MEET,
HE HUNTS THEM DOWN.
THIS POLICEMAN
HAS ALWAYS DREAMED OF BECOMING
A TELEVISION WRITER,
BUT NO AGENT
WILL READ HIS SCRIPTS.
Narrator:
TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT...
HE WILL DEMAND TO BE READ.
WITHIN HOURS,
ONE OF HOLLYWOOD'S TOP AGENTS
SIGNED THE POLICEMAN
TO A CONTRACT,
AND SO BEGAN
THE TELEVISION CAREER
OF GENE RODDENBERRY,
MOTORCYCLE COP,
AND THE MAN WHO CREATED
"STAR TREK."
AT LEAST, THAT'S HOW
GENE RODDENBERRY
TELLS THE STORY.
HE WAS, AFTER ALL, ONE OF
TELEVISION'S GREAT STORYTELLERS.
ONCE GENE RODDENBERRY
LANDED AN AGENT,
HE WORKED STEADILY,
CHURNING OUT FREELANCE SCRIPTS
FOR SHOWS LIKE
"DR. KILDARE," "HIGHWAY PATROL,"
AND "WAGON TRAIN."
BUT HE WASN'T HAPPY.
RODDENBERRY WANTED
HIS OWN SERIES,
WHERE HE COULD ESCAPE
THE TIRED OLD TV FORMULAS.
HEY, CHARLIE, HOW LONG YOU
GONNA WEAR THAT DERBY?
WELL, FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE,
IF IT'S ANY CONCERN OF YOURS...
IT MAKES ME LOOK
DISTINGUISHED!
DON'T IT?
Narrator: IN 1963,
GENE RODDENBERRY GOT HIS CHANCE,
A BREAKTHROUGH IDEA CALLED
"THE LIEUTENANT."
ON "THE LIEUTENANT" YOU SAW
WHERE GENE WAS COMING FROM.
BUT I THOUGHT AFTER A FEW YEARS,
A PERSON WOULD START TO GROW
A LITTLE.
EVERYBODY'S GOT A RIGHT TO
SETTLE SCORES BUT US!
IS THAT IT?
I'M NOBODY'S UNCLE TOM, NORMA.
I'M A MAN... I'VE GOT A RIGHT TO
FEEL AND ACT LIKE A MAN!
WELL, IF JUMPING SOMEBODY
IS ALL IT TAKES,
THEN WHY DON'T YOU TRADE THAT
NICE UNIFORM IN
FOR A FUNNY WHITE SHEET
WITH A POINTED CAP
AND A BURNING CROSS?!
IT COULD HAVE BEEN
ANY TWO LIEUTENANTS,
BUT HE MADE ONE BLACK
AND ONE WHITE.
HE WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT
THE HUMAN CONDITION,
AND HE WAS ADAMANT ABOUT THIS.
Narrator: THE NETWORK THOUGHT
RACE WAS TOO HOT A TOPIC
IN THE EARLY 1960s
AND FOUGHT RODDENBERRY
OVER NEARLY EVERY EPISODE.
INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED,
HE LET THE SERIES DIE,
REALIZING THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY
TO EXPLORE IMPORTANT ISSUES
ON TELEVISION...
RODDENBERRY WOULD HAVE TO LOCATE
HIS NEXT SERIES
IN THE FUTURE.
YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME
TO BELIEVE THAT!
I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE.
STAY WHERE YOU ARE.
Narrator:
SCIENCE-FICTION STORIES
WEREN'T EXACTLY NEW
IN THE MID-1960s.
COUNTLESS LOW-BUDGET MOVIES
PROVIDED ENTERTAINMENT FOR KIDS
AND WORK FOR ACTORS...
LIKE PETER GRAVES.
THERE WAS A HUGE AUDIENCE
FOR THEM.
THEY LIKED TO SEE GRASSHOPPERS
CLIMBING UP CHICAGO
AND STRANGE CREATURES
TAKING OVER THE WORLD...
AND THEN IF THEY SAID THAT
IN 70 MINUTES
I COULD BEAT THEM ALL,
I WAS FOR THAT...
AND IT WAS A WAY TO PAY THE RENT
AND BUY THE GROCERIES.
Narrator: FOR HIS NEW
TELEVISION SERIES,
GENE RODDENBERRY AIMED TO MOVE
THE SCIENCE-FICTION GENRE
IN AN ENTIRELY
DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
HE DIDN'T WANT MONSTERS
OR GIANT GRASSHOPPERS.
INSTEAD, RODDENBERRY WAS
DEVELOPING A SHOW
THAT EXPLORED IDEAS
AND VALUES.
THE SHOW VALUED EDUCATION,
IT VALUED TEAMWORK,
IT VALUED LOYALTY.
IT WAS FORWARD-LOOKING, ALWAYS,
JUST BY ITS VERY NATURE,
AND I THINK
THOSE THINGS APPEALED.
Narrator: BY 1964,
RODDENBERRY'S IDEA
WAS READY TO PITCH
TO A NETWORK.
HE CALLED IT "STAR TREK."
IT NEVER OCCURRED TO HIM
THAT THIS WAS VISIONARY
OR ANYTHING... IT IS JUST...
HE FELT IF HE WROTE IT
AND HE COULD GET IT OUT THERE,
THEN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL
SAY, "OH, YES, THAT'S RIGHT!"
Narrator: CBS SHOWED INTEREST
IN "STAR TREK,"
BUT EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT
AN OUTER SPACE SHOW
MIGHT BE TOO EXPENSIVE
TO PRODUCE.
RODDENBERRY RESPONDED WITH
AN IMPRESSIVE LIST
OF INNOVATIVE
COST-SAVING IDEAS,
BUT CBS WOULDN'T COMMIT.
THEN RODDENBERRY LEARNED
CBS's SECRET...
THE NETWORK WAS USING HIM,
FISHING FOR IDEAS
BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAD
A SPACE SHOW IN THE WORKS...
A SERIES CALLED
"LOST IN SPACE."
YOU SURE ARE
ACTING FUNNY...
DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
DANGER!
WHAT KIND OF DANGER?
Narrator: BY THE EARLY FALL
OF 1965,
THE "STAR TREK" PROPOSAL
WAS FLOUNDERING,
BUT "LOST IN SPACE"
WAS NOW ON THE AIR
AND A BIG HIT.
THE SERIES CREATOR
WOULD GO ON TO BECOME
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
SCIENCE-FICTION PRODUCER
OF THE DECADE...
A MAN NAMED IRWIN ALLEN.
HE WAS CRAZY, I MEAN, HE WAS...
HE WAS, YOU KNOW...
BUT OFTEN CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE.
Narrator: THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF
GENE RODDENBERRY,
IRWIN ALLEN WASN'T INTERESTED IN
POLITICAL ISSUES
OR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
INSTEAD, HIS SIGNATURE WAS
ACTION, EXCITEMENT.
YOU DON'T KNOW THAT
YOU CAN REMOVE THEM
FROM THEIR PRESENT
TIME ZONE!
YOU MIGHT JUST
KILL THEM YOURSELF.
WELL, WHAT'S OUR CHOICE,
GENERAL?
TO LET THEM DIE
WITH THAT SHIP?
HE GENERATED ENERGY ON THE SET
IN A RATHER UNUSUAL WAY.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE ELSE
DO IT LIKE THIS,
BUT HE WOULD SIT ON TOP OF
A VERY TALL LADDER.
AND HE TOOK A HAMMER
AND THIS WASTE PAPER BASKET,
AND EVERY TIME
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO...
WE WERE ON A GIMBAL... AND
EVERY TIME WE WERE SUPPOSED TO
GO FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER,
HE WOULD HIT THE HAMMER
ONTO THE WASTE PAPER BASKET,
AND WE WOULD ALL MOVE ONE WAY
AND THEN THE OTHER.
AND HE WOULD TAKE A HAMMER
AND A STEEL...
OR, PROBABLY, TIN PAIL...
AND GO...
ON THE INSIDE.
AND HE SAID, "KEEP IT UP,
KEEP IT UP!
I WANT THAT KIND OF ENERGY,
COME ON, COME ON!
OKAY... ACTION!"
AND YOU WERE LIKE THIS!
AND HE LOVED IT
MORE THAN ANYONE.
I'M SURPRISED HE DIDN'T HAVE
A GUN, YOU KNOW, TO SHOOT OFF.
Narrator: AS A BOY, IRWIN ALLEN
LOVED ROLLER COASTERS...
THE EXCITEMENT, THE FEAR,
THE SPEED.
AND HE MOLDED HIS TV SERIES
IN MUCH THE SAME WAY.
THEY WERE FAST, SIMPLE,
AND FUN...
WITH A DOSE OF FRIGHT.
I THINK HE HAD A VISION OF
THE SHOW BEING COLORFUL,
BEING, YOU KNOW,
KIND OF ECCENTRIC,
HAVING THESE MONSTERS,
BREAKING NEW GROUND,
HAVING LOTS AND LOTS OF ROCKS
AND METEORS FALLING
AND LASER GUNS...
AND THAT WAS HIS VISION,
MORE LIKE A COMIC BOOK.
DANGER! WARNING!
Narrator: AS "LOST IN SPACE"
GAINED AN AUDIENCE IN 1965,
"STAR TREK" SEEMED STUCK IN
THE STARTING GATE.
NBC EXECUTIVES
COMMISSIONED A "STAR TREK"
PILOT,
BUT THEY DIDN'T LIKE WHAT
RODDENBERRY DELIVERED.
THE PILOT WAS THOUGHT-PROVOKING,
BUT LACKED EXCITEMENT.
NBC WANTED MORE ACTION.
BUT THEY SAID TO RODDENBERRY,
"IT'S A VERY INTERESTING
PREMISE,
LET'S DO ANOTHER PILOT."
I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THAT
BEFORE OR SINCE.
Narrator: BY NOW,
THE STAR OF THE FIRST PILOT,
JEFF HUNTER,
WAS UNAVAILABLE.
AND SO GENE RODDENBERRY
TURNED TO HIS NEXT CHOICE
TO CAPTAIN THE ENTERPRISE,
JACK LORD.
BUT LORD AND RODDENBERRY
COULDN'T AGREE TO A CONTRACT,
SO JACK LORD MOVED ON,
TO "HAWAII FIVE-O."
AND GENE RODDENBERRY MOVED ON
TO WILLIAM SHATNER.
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,
SHATNER PUT HIS UNIQUE MARK
ON THE "STAR TREK" UNIVERSE.
SO I SAW THE PILOT,
AND THE MISTAKE THEY MADE,
I FELT,
WAS THAT, YOU KNOW,
THE CAPTAIN SAT THERE AND SAID,
"TURN LEFT," YOU KNOW,
OR "STARBOARD,"
OR, YOU KNOW, "FIRE THE GUNS,"
AS THOUGH IT WERE MOMENTOUS,
WHEREAS IT BECOMES MORE FUN
IF IT'S IMMEDIATE...
"OH, MY GOD," YOU KNOW, "LET'S
GET OUT OF HERE... TURN LEFT!"
AND I SUGGESTED THAT,
AND THEY SORT OF BOUGHT IT
AND THE SECOND PILOT BECAME
A LIGHTER VEHICLE.
Narrator: SATISFIED WITH
THE SECOND PILOT,
NBC PICKED UP "STAR TREK,"
AND THE SERIES PREMIERED
IN THE FALL OF 1966.
"STAR TREK" WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING
THAT HAD COME BEFORE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, A NETWORK
DRAMA WAS TALKING ABOUT
ISSUES OF RACE, GENDER, WAR,
EVEN DRUG ABUSE
AND NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION...
ALL CLOAKED IN
A SCIENCE-FICTION ADVENTURE.
I FINALLY WENT TO GENE'S OFFICE
ONE DAY,
MAYBE AFTER ABOUT
THE FIFTH EPISODE,
AND I SAID, "GENE RODDENBERRY,
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING."
AND HE SAID, "WHAT, NICHELLE?"
AND I SAID, "YOU ARE WRITING
MORALITY PLAYS."
AND GENE LOOKED AT ME
AND HE SAID,
"SHH! THEY HAVEN'T
FIGURED IT OUT YET."
Narrator: BY THE END OF 1966,
"STAR TREK" HAD
STAKED ITS TERRITORY
AS THE SCIENCE-FICTION SHOW WITH
SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY.
"LOST IN SPACE," IN CONTRAST,
HAD TAKEN A SHARP TURN
IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION...
WHAT HAD STARTED AS
AN ADVENTURE SHOW
WAS NOW TRANSFORMING ITSELF
INTO SOMETHING MORE CAMPY.
THE REASON WAS COMPETITION.
"LOST IN SPACE"
WAS SCHEDULED OPPOSITE
THE BIGGEST TV PHENOMENON
OF THE MID-1960s,
A BLOCKBUSTER SHOW
CALLED "BATMAN."
HOW MANY ACTORS ARE
FORTUNATE ENOUGH, LUCKY ENOUGH,
TO CREATE A CHARACTER THAT
BECOMES PART OF POPULAR CULTURE?
ICONIC, YOU KNOW...
NOT MANY OF US ARE.
SO I AM GRATEFUL, YOU KNOW,
THAT IT HIT LIKE THAT.
Narrator: "BATMAN" WAS SUCH
A BIG HIT,
"LOST IN SPACE" TRIED TO
MIMIC ITS STYLE,
WITH BRIGHT OUTFITS,
OVER-THE-TOP ACTION,
OUTRAGEOUS BAD GUYS.
THE NETWORK HAS TO BE GOING TO
IRWIN ALLEN,
"HEY, EVERYBODY IS DIGGING
THIS 'BATMAN' THING...
MAKE YOUR SPACE SHOW
A LITTLE MORE FUN, RIGHT?"
West: I THINK ANY COPY
IS FLATTERING IN A SENSE,
BUT IF IT AIN'T BROKE,
DON'T FIX IT.
AND MAYBE THEY WERE TRYING TO
FIX IT TOO RADICALLY.
Narrator: WHILE "BATMAN"
WAS KNOWN FOR
ITS RANGE OF ICONIC VILLAINS,
"LOST IN SPACE"
HAD BEEN DEVELOPING
ONE OF TV'S MOST-FLAMBOYANT
TROUBLEMAKERS...
DR. ZACHARY SMITH,
PLAYED BY JONATHAN HARRIS.
HE STARTED BUILDING
THIS CHARACTER
THAT WAS REALLY VERY EASY
TO WRITE FOR, EASY TO PRESENT,
EASY TO MAKE IN...
MAKE THE SORT OF SILLY,
TONGUE-IN-CHEEK STYLE
THAT "BATMAN" WAS REPRESENTING.
NOW, NOW, MAJOR, LET'S NOT BE
HASTY WITH OUR SUSPICIONS.
OUR REAL CONCERN SHOULD LIE WITH
THAT UNFORTUNATE GENTLEMAN...
DOWN THERE.
Narrator: ORIGINALLY,
ZACHARY SMITH
WAS A STANDARD VILLAIN...
A TEMPORARY ROLE THAT MIGHT BE
GONE AFTER A FEW EPISODES.
DETERMINED TO EXTEND HIS STAY,
JONATHAN HARRIS BEGAN
REWRITING HIS LINES
AND REDEFINING HIS CHARACTER.
I'D MEMORIZED THE SCRIPT,
AND BEFORE WE'D SHOOT ANY SCENE,
JONATHAN WOULD,
"BILLY-PERSON,
COME IN TO MY DRESSING ROOM,
WE ARE GOING OVER THE SCENE."
AND, LIKE, I KNEW WHAT I WAS
GOING TO SAY, AND THEN,
YOU KNOW,
HE WOULD SIT THERE AND SAY,
"NOW, YOU CAN SEE IT'S NOT AS IT
WAS ON THE PAGE... LET'S GO."
HE WAS VERY SMART IN THAT WAY,
BECAUSE JONATHAN, I KNEW,
WOULD SIT UP EVERY NIGHT
AND WRITE HIS DIALOGUE.
THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THE FACT
THAT HE PLAYED IT HUGE...
I MEAN, THERE'S NO DOUBT
ABOUT THAT.
YOU CAN BE A SUBTLE ACTOR,
OR YOU GO, "DEAR! WILLIAM,
SAVE ME! OH, THE PAIN," RIGHT?
I MEAN, YOU CAN BE THAT,
AND THAT'S WHAT HE WAS.
OH, HOW COULD THIS
HAPPEN TO ME?
DOOMED TO DEVIL'S ISLAND!
THE PAIN, THE PAIN!
ONE DAY IRWIN ALLEN CAME DOWN
TO THE SET AND SAID, "YOU!"
AND JONATHAN WENT, "YES?"
AND IRWIN SAID,
"I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING."
JONATHAN WAS LIKE, "MM."
AND IRWIN SAID, "DO MORE!"
Narrator:
HARRIS HAD A LONG RESUME
ON BROADWAY AND IN MOVIES,
BUT "LOST IN SPACE" WOULD BE HIS
TOUR DE FORCE...
AND HE KNEW IT.
HE WAS A TRUE ACTOR.
THIS IS A LITTLE MAN
FROM THE BRONX,
SO POOR THAT HIS MOTHER
AND FATHER
RENTED HIS BED OUT TO PEOPLE
WHEN HE WAS A CHILD
AND HE SLEPT ON
THE DINING ROOM TABLE.
AND HE USED TO GO TO THE THEATER
IN NEW YORK
AND SNEAK IN DURING INTERMISSION
WHEN YOU COULD KIND OF GET INTO
A PLAY AFTERWARDS
AND JUST DREAM OF BECOMING
A STAGE ACTOR.
AND HE REINVENTED HIMSELF
TO ACHIEVE THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S GREAT,
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
I CAN'T TELL YOU
HOW GOOD IT IS TO BE HOME!
Narrator: AS HARRIS' PROFILE
GREW ON "LOST IN SPACE,"
THE ENSEMBLE CAST
FADED INTO THE BACKGROUND.
BY THE SECOND SEASON,
MOST OF THE OTHER ACTORS
HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO.
A SIMILAR PATTERN WAS UNFOLDING
AT "STAR TREK."
ANY NUMBER OF CHARACTERS MIGHT
HAVE BECOME MAJOR PLAYERS
IN THE "STAR TREK" UNIVERSE,
BUT BY 1967, IT WAS CLEAR
JUST TWO ACTORS WOULD FORM
THE NUCLEUS OF MOST STORIES...
WILLIAM SHATNER'S CHARISMATIC
"CAPTAIN KIRK"
AND LEONARD NIMOY'S LOGICAL
"MR. SPOCK."
Nimoy: BUT WHAT HAPPENED
WAS THAT
WHEN THE SHOW WENT ON THE AIR,
THE SPOCK CHARACTER SORT OF
BROKE OUT,
AND IT TOOK SOME TIME...
PSYCHOLOGICALLY, EMOTIONALLY,
CREATIVELY...
TO WORK OUT THE PROPER BALANCE.
AND BILL AND I WERE VERY
COMPETITIVE WITH EACH OTHER,
VERY COMPETITIVE.
Narrator: WILLIAM SHATNER'S
COMPETITIVE NATURE
DIDN'T ORIGINATE ON "STAR TREK."
HE ALREADY HAD A LONG HISTORY
AS ONE OF THE INDUSTRY'S
HARDEST-WORKING PERFORMERS,
DATING ALL THE WAY BACK TO
HIS VERY FIRST ACTING JOBS
ON LOCAL TV...
IN CANADA.
Man: CAMERA ONE, ZOOM IN
ON SHATNER, CLOSE-UP.
Narrator: IN 1954,
THE TORONTO, CANADA,
VERSION OF "HOWDY DOODY"
ADDED A NEW CHARACTER...
"RANGER BOB,"
PLAYED BY A 23-YEAR-OLD
WILLIAM SHATNER.
Shatner: I'VE HEARD MANY TIMES
THAT I DID HOWDY DOODY,
BUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE
IS WIPED OUT OF MY HEAD.
SO IF I WERE ON A STAND
WITH A HAND ON THE BIBLE,
I'D SAY, "WELL, NO, I'VE NEVER
DONE 'HOWDY DOODY,""
BUT APPARENTLY I DID.
Narrator: SOON SHATNER
WAS IN NEW YORK,
GAINING NOTORIETY FROM A NUMBER
OF LIVE TELEVISION PERFORMANCES
IN TV'S GOLDEN ERA.
ACTING FOR LIVE TV WAS A GREAT
TRAINING GROUND FOR ACTORS...
THERE WAS NO STOPPING,
NO SECOND TAKES,
AND THE ENORMOUS STUDIO CAMERAS
SEEMED ALMOST ALIVE.
LENSES THAT BIG
AND A GUY BEHIND IT,
AND IT'S ON ROLLERS, YOU KNOW,
AND HE'S PUSHING THIS THING
AROUND.
AND THE TUBES
WHICH THEY WERE USING THEN
WERE SO HOT, THEY NEEDED FANS
TO BLOW AWAY THE HOT AIR,
TO KEEP THEM COOL.
SO THIS ANIMAL
WOULD MOVE AROUND
SOMEWHAT STEALTHILY
AND MAKE LITTLE COOING SOUNDS,
LIKE...
AND FINALLY IT ENDS
ABOUT LIKE THIS,
AND YOU'RE IN CLOSE-UP.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING PAST IT
IN CLOSE-UP,
AND THIS THING IS
RIGHT IN YOUR FACE.
BUT IT'S LIKE A LOVED ONE
SAYING,
"OH, BILLY,
HOW NICE YOU LOOK TODAY,"
AND SO IT'S
A LOVING, FRIENDLY...
OR IT'S AN ANIMAL
ABOUT TO DESTROY YOU.
Narrator:
BY THE EARLY '60s,
WILLIAM SHATNER
WAS IN HOLLYWOOD,
APPEARING IN A LONG STRING OF
TELEVISION GUEST ROLES.
TURIN'S AN ENGINEER,
NOT A FIGHTER.
LET ME SHOW YOU.
OH, NOW, MY LORD,
YOU SHOULDN'T...
Narrator: HE WAS A HOT YOUNG
ACTOR ON THE RISE...
NOT UNLIKE HIS COHORTS,
CLINT EASTWOOD OR STEVE McQUEEN.
SO LANDING WILLIAM SHATNER AS
THE CAPTAIN OF THE ENTERPRISE
WAS SOMETHING OF A COUP
FOR GENE RODDENBERRY.
BILL SHATNER WAS HIRED
AS THE STAR OF "STAR TREK,"
AND WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT.
HE WAS THE CAPTAIN...
NOT ONLY IN COMMAND OF THE SHIP,
BUT HE WAS HIRED AS "THE NAME."
HE HAD SOME REPUTATION,
HE HAD SOME BACKGROUND.
Narrator: AS THE LEADING ACTOR
ON "STAR TREK,"
WILLIAM SHATNER DIDN'T MISS
AN OPPORTUNITY
TO EXPAND HIS CHARACTER...
TO FIGHT FOR HIS VISION OF
JAMES T. KIRK.
SO THE ONLY ONE WHO IS
VALIDATING THE CHARACTER MOSTLY
IS THE ACTOR.
SO YEAH, IT'S, IN MY OPINION,
REQUISITE TO MAKE A FUSS,
UP TO A CERTAIN POINT,
ABOUT RETAINING
THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE CHARACTER.
Narrator:
DESPITE SHATNER'S EFFORTS,
IT WASN'T CAPTAIN KIRK
WHO WAS THE BREAKOUT CHARACTER
ON "STAR TREK"...
IT WAS MR. SPOCK.
THROUGHOUT THE 1950s,
LEONARD NIMOY PLAYED
A WIDE RANGE OF CRIMINALS,
ETHNIC CHARACTERS,
AND EVEN A LOW-BUDGET
SPACE ALIEN.
HOW ABOUT
THE OTHERS?
I THINK THEY'RE
ALL DEAD.
YOU'RE IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE
YOURSELF.
TAKE IT EASY, AND I'LL
CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE.
NO! FIRST YOU MUST
STOP THE BOMB.
Nimoy: I ACTED IN ONE CALLED
"ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE,"
AND, YES, I WAS
ONE OF THE ZOMBIES.
Narrator: WHEN IT CAME TIME
TO CAST "STAR TREK'S"
VULCAN CHARACTER,
CREATOR GENE RODDENBERRY
THOUGHT THE NATURAL CHOICE
TO PLAY MR. SPOCK...
WAS MARTIN LANDAU.
Landau:
I TURNED DOWN "STAR TREK."
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TORTUROUS.
I MEAN, I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY
DIED PLAYING THAT ROLE.
I MEAN, EVEN THE THOUGHT OF IT
NOW UPSETS ME.
IT WAS THE ANTITHESIS
OF WHY I BECAME AN ACTOR.
I MEAN, TO PLAY A CHARACTER
THAT LENNY WAS BETTER SUITED
FOR, FRANKLY.
HE'S A GUY
WHO TALKS IN A MONOTONE,
WHO NEVER GETS EXCITED,
NEVER HAS ANY GUILT,
NEVER HAS ANY FEAR,
NEVER IS AFFECTED
ON A VISCERAL LEVEL...
WHO WANTS TO DO THAT?
Narrator: WITH LANDAU
OUT OF THE PICTURE,
GENE RODDENBERRY INVITED
LEONARD NIMOY TO THE SET
AND WORKED HARD TO CONVINCE HIM
TO TAKE THE JOB.
HE WAS KIND OF DOING
A SELLING JOB...
THIS IS THE WAY
IT'S GOING TO LOOK
AND THIS IS THE WAY
THE SETS ARE BEING BUILT
AND THESE ARE THE PROPS,
THESE ARE THE COSTUMES...
OH, AND, BY THE WAY, YOU'LL BE
WEARING POINTED EARS.
Narrator: CREATING REALISTIC
POINTED EARS
WAS A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE.
A MAKEUP MAN FROM
LUCILLE BALL'S SHOW
WAS RECRUITED TO DO
THE FIRST PROTOTYPES.
HE DID
A VERY CRUDE PASTE-UP
OF PAPER MACHE KIND OF MATERIAL
ON THE TOPS OF MY EARS.
IT LOOKED PRETTY BAD.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT,
THE MAN WHO WAS HEAD...
RUNNING DESILU AT THE TIME...
STUCK HIS HEAD IN
TO SEE HOW WE WERE PROCEEDING,
AND I HEARD THE FIRST OF
THE VERY BAD EAR JOKES...
HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE...
SO RODDENBERRY WAS WITH HIM,
HE SAID, "GENE THIS POOR MAN
NEEDS SOME HELP."
I THOUGHT, "OH, GOD, I DON'T
REALLY NEED TO HEAR..."
YOU KNOW, I'M STEPPING
INTO A KIND OF SCARY TERRITORY
WITH THIS CHARACTER
WITH THE MAKEUP AND ALL.
Narrator: AFTER THE EARS
WERE PERFECTED,
LEONARD NIMOY FACED
AN EVEN BIGGER CHALLENGE...
COMING TO GRIPS WITH TV'S
MOST UNUSUAL CHARACTER.
IN THE TWO "STAR TREK" PILOTS
AND THE FIRST EPISODE,
NIMOY PLAYED SPOCK WITH A WIDE
RANGE OF HUMAN-LIKE EMOTION.
SPOCK HERE...
THIS IS ALL SOME SORT OF TRAP.
WE'VE LOST THE CAPTAIN.
DO YOU READ?
Narrator: IT WASN'T UNTIL
THE SECOND EPISODE
THAT EVERYTHING CLICKED.
THE KEY SCENE WAS A TENSE MOMENT
ON THE BRIDGE
WHEN THE ENTERPRISE
SEEMED UNDER ATTACK.
CAPTAIN, SOMETHING
HAS GRABBED US, HARD!
AND SPOCK WAS GIVEN
ONE... ONE...
NOT A LINE, BUT A WORD TO SAY,
AND THE WORD WAS "FASCINATING."
AND I GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE
EXCITEMENT OF THE WHOLE THING,
AND I SAID "FASCINATING!"
AND THE DIRECTOR,
TO HIS GREAT CREDIT, SAID,
"DO IT AS A SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY
RATHER THAN GET EXCITED...
RATHER THAN BEING CAUGHT UP
IN THE DRAMA OF IT,
PLAY THE CURIOSITY OF IT."
SO I CHANGED THE READING
AND I SAID, "FASCINATING."
FASCINATING.
Nimoy: AND THAT, I THINK,
WAS WHERE WE REALLY FOUND
THE SPARK OF THE CHARACTER.
Narrator: "STAR TREK" SOON HIT
ITS STRIDE,
WITH COMPELLING CHARACTERS,
SOPHISTICATED STORYLINES,
AND A UNIQUELY OPTIMISTIC VIEW
OF THE FUTURE.
BUT AUDIENCES DIDN'T NOTICE...
AT LEAST NOT ACCORDING TO
THE CRUDE RATINGS SYSTEM
OF THE ERA.
NBC PRESSED GENE RODDENBERRY
TO MAKE "STAR TREK"
MORE LIKE "LOST IN SPACE."
MORE MONSTERS,
FEWER STATEMENTS.
FROM A RATINGS PERSPECTIVE,
IT WAS HARD TO ARGUE,
BECAUSE "LOST IN SPACE" PRODUCER
IRWIN ALLEN
SEEMED TO HAVE THE MAGIC TOUCH.
BY EARLY 1967,
IRWIN ALLEN WAS RIDING HIGH.
ADDING COLOR AND CAMPINESS TO
"LOST IN SPACE"
HAD BOOSTED THE SERIES' RATINGS,
AND "LOST IN SPACE"
WASN'T ALLEN'S ONLY BIG HIT.
HE'S WAS ALSO THE CREATOR OF
"VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE SEA,"
NOW IN ITS THIRD SEASON.
PLUS, "LAND OF THE GIANTS" WAS
ON IRWIN ALLEN'S DRAWING BOARD.
AND ALLEN HAD JUST LAUNCHED
THE MOST EXPENSIVE
SCIENCE-FICTION SHOW EVER,
"TIME TUNNEL."
Announcer: TWO AMERICAN
SCIENTISTS ARE LOST
IN THE SWIRLING MAZE
OF PAST AND FUTURE AGES,
DURING THE FIRST EXPERIMENTS
ON AMERICA'S
GREATEST AND MOST
SECRET PROJECT...
"THE TIME TUNNEL."
Meriwether:
IT WAS MASSIVE.
IT WAS MASSIVE,
AND THEN WHEN
I SAW IT ON AIR...
THE TUNNEL'S
GONE BLANK!
WELL, WHEREVER HE AND DOUG
ARE NOW,
AT LEAST THEY'RE TOGETHER.
Meriwether: ALL THE ART WORK
THAT WAS DONE
AFTER WE WERE GONE.
IT WAS AMAZING.
Mumy: IRWIN HAD A GREAT ABILITY
FOR ASSEMBLING THESE TEAMS
AND MAKING REALLY GOOD PILOTS,
PILOTS THAT SOLD.
HE WAS GOOD AT THAT, BUT HE WAS
INCREDIBLY BUDGET CONSCIOUS
AND I WAS GOING TO SAY "CHEAP,"
BUT I DON'T KNOW
IF HE WAS CHEAP,
BUT HE WAS VERY BUDGET
CONSCIOUS.
AND ONCE THOSE SHOWS GOT
ON THE AIR,
THEY REALLY WENT INTO LIKE
AN AUTOPILOT KIND OF MODE.
AND I THINK HE WAS...
CHEAP.
Narrator: ALLEN'S LEGENDARY
FRUGALITY MEANT
RE-USING MONSTERS.
A CREATURE THAT WOULD ATTACK
ONE WEEK
ON "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE SEA"
MIGHT SHOW UP A FEW WEEKS LATER
ON "LOST IN SPACE."
HIS MONSTERS WERE
RECYCLED.
I CAN ABSOLUTELY TELL YOU
WITHOUT EXAGGERATING
THERE WOULD BE
SOME POOR STUNTMAN GUY
IN A WET SUIT THAT WAS
GREEN...
WITH BUG EYES ON HIM.
THEY WOULD LEAVE OUR SHOW.
THEY WOULD GO TO "VOYAGE
TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA,"
"LAND OF THE GIANTS."
AND THEY WOULD WALK HIM
INTO STAGE 10
AND THEY WOULD SPRAY-PAINT HIM
ORANGE...
MAYBE THEY WOULD PUT HAIR DYE,
DYE THEM RED OR SOMETHING
LIKE THAT, BUT...
OFTEN WE'D GO,
"HEY, THAT MONSTER WAS
ON OUR SHOW LAST WEEK."
YOU KNOW, IT HAD ONE EYE,
NOW IT HAD THREE.
Narrator: IRWIN ALLEN'S
FORMULAIC
MONSTER-OF-THE-WEEK SHOWS
GOT GOOD RATINGS
FOR BOTH CBS AND ABC.
EXECUTIVES AT NBC WANTED
THE SAME
FOR THEIR SCIENCE-FICTION
SHOW... "STAR TREK."
BUT CREATOR GENE RODDENBERRY
WASN'T INTERESTED
IN ADDING MORE
MONSTERS.
HE SAW "STAR TREK" AS A VEHICLE
TO INFLUENCE SOCIAL CHANGE...
AND IN 1960s AMERICA, FEW TOPICS
SEEMED MORE IMPORTANT
THAN RACIAL EQUALITY
AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
ISSUES THAT TV IGNORED.
BUT GENE RODDENBERRY
WASN'T AFRAID.
FOR TWO DECADES,
AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN
WERE ALLOWED ONLY ONE ROLE
ON TELEVISION... THE SERVANT.
LIEUTENANT UHURA,
TAKE OVER NAVIGATION.
Narrator:
THE BREAKTHROUGH CAME
WHEN NICHELLE NICHOLS WAS CAST
AS LIEUTENANT UHURA,
FOURTH IN COMMAND
ON THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE.
BUT UHURA WAS SOON WRITTEN OUT
OF STORYLINES...
AS OTHER CHARACTERS BECAME
MORE DOMINANT.
FRUSTRATED, NICHOLS WROTE
A LETTER OF RESIGNATION.
WITHIN HOURS, A CERTAIN
DEDICATED FAN REQUESTED
A SPECIAL MEETING.
Nichols: AND I STOOD UP TO TURN
AROUND AND MEET THE TREKKIE.
AND THERE IS THIS MAN...
BIGGER-THAN-LIFE HUMAN BEING...
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING.
Nichols: HE SAYS,
"I AM THE TREKKIE."
HE SAYS, "I AM THE BIGGEST
TREKKIE ON THE PLANET
AND I AM LIEUTENANT UHURA'S
MOST ARDENT FAN."
HE WENT ON TO SAY
HOW IMPORTANT "STAR TREK" WAS,
THAT IMAGES ON TELEVISION
PERMEATE THE CULTURE
EITHER FOR THE GOOD
OR FOR THE BAD,
AND THIS IS
FOR THE HIGHEST GOOD.
HE SAID, "YOU CANNOT ABDICATE
YOUR POSITION.
YOU ARE CHANGING THE MINDS
OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD,
BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THROUGH YOU, WE SEE OURSELVES,
WHAT CAN BE,
WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR,
WHAT WE ARE MARCHING FOR."
Narrator: NICHOLS RETURNED
TO "STAR TREK,"
A SINGULAR ROLE MODEL
FOR THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS WHO
HAD NEVER BEFORE
SEEN A WOMAN OF COLOR IN
A POSITION OF POWER.
TRANSPORTER ROOM,
ENERGIZE.
TWO YEARS LATER, NICHOLS BROKE
ANOTHER CULTURAL BARRIER
WHEN A "STAR TREK" EPISODE
INCLUDED
TV's FIRST INTERRACIAL KISS.
OH, MY GOD, A WHITE GUY'S
KISSING A BLACK GIRL ON CAMERA,
WOW.
Narrator: IN THE EPISODE
"PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN,"
THE CREW ENCOUNTERS A PLANET
RESEMBLING ANCIENT GREECE.
THE POWERFUL ALIENS THEN FORCE
KIRK AND UHURA TO KISS.
I'M SO FRIGHTENED,
CAPTAIN.
BUT IT ALMOST DIDN'T HAPPEN.
AFTER THE FIRST TAKE,
THE EPISODE'S DIRECTOR REALIZED
JUST HOW CONTROVERSIAL THIS KISS
MIGHT BECOME.
CUT! CUT!
NBC EXECUTIVES WERE SUMMONED
TO THE SET.
THEY DEMANDED THE SCENE BE
RE-SHOT WITHOUT THE KISS.
WILLIAM SHATNER
WAS FURIOUS,
BUT NOT BECAUSE
OF ANY RACIAL ACTIVISM.
HE JUST THOUGHT CAPTAIN KIRK
WOULD NEVER RESIST
A PRETTY WOMAN.
Shatner: I MEAN SHE IS
BEAUTIFUL.
SO IT WASN'T VERY HARD TO WORK
UP ENTHUSIASM TO KISS HER.
Narrator: NBC WASN'T PERSUADED
BY SHATNER'S ARGUMENT
AND A NEW VERSION OF THE SCENE
WAS FILMED WITHOUT THE KISS.
BUT WILLIAM SHATNER STILL GOT
HIS WAY...
BY SECRETLY RUINING
THE NEW SHOT.
AND BILL LEANS ME DOWN
LIKE THIS,
AND HE COMES AROUND AND HE LOOKS
UP INTO THE CAMERA
BEFORE THEY COULD CUT...
AND THE DIRECTOR
NEVER EVEN SAW IT...
HE DOESN'T KISS ME,
HE'S NOT EVEN CLOSE.
AND HE LOOKS UP INTO THE CAMERA
AND HE CROSSED HIS EYES.
Narrator: WITH THE ALTERNATIVE
VERSION RUINED,
THERE WAS NO CHOICE BUT TO AIR
THE SCENE WITH THE KISS.
BY SHEER FORCE OF WILL,
WILLIAM SHATNER HAD AGAIN
PROTECTED HIS VISION OF ONE OF
TV'S MOST ICONIC CHARACTERS...
WHO DID THAT?
Narrator: JAMES T. KIRK.
I DID.
HE WAS, UH...
HANDSOME AND ATHLETIC
AND SMART
AND A LEADER
AND INTELLIGENT AND FUNNY
AND HAD LOTS OF WOMEN
TRAILING HIM
AND MEN LOVED HIM AND...
IT WAS SORT OF ME.
Narrator: AS GENE RODDENBERRY'S
"STAR TREK"
TACKLED THE BIGGEST ISSUES
OF THE DAY...
IRWIN ALLEN'S "LOST IN SPACE"
WAS CREATING, PERHAPS,
THE MOST INSIPID
AND BIZARRE EPISODE
IN TELEVISION HISTORY...
CALLED "THE GREAT VEGETABLE
REBELLION."
WILL YOU KINDLY TELL
THIS CREATURE
TO STOP NIBBLING
AT ME?
IT JARS ME
TO MY VERY ROOTS.
Mumy: IT'S INCREDIBLY BAD.
I MEAN, THERE ISN'T
A SINGLE SCENE
IN THAT... WHATEVER IT IS...
50 MINUTES OF TELEVISION
THAT ISN'T SO OVER THE TOP
AND SO RIDICULOUS AND SO
NONSENSICAL AND SO INSANE.
BUT IT IS HARD TO KEEP
A STRAIGHT FACE
WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PIECE
OF CELERY
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TALKING
TO YOU.
"THE GREAT VEGETABLE REBELLION."
WELL...
I REMEMBER MARK GODDARD SAYING,
"SEVEN YEARS, SEVEN YEARS
OF STANISLAVSKI,
SEVEN YEARS OF METHOD ACTING
AND I'M TALKING TO A CARROT?"
YOU MUST BE GETTING
AWFULLY TIRED
OF PLAYING THIS GAME
WITH US.
TIRED?
I'VE BARELY STARTED.
YOU'LL MAKE A POWERFUL-
LOOKING TEAKWOOD TREE.
YOU'RE FORGETTING HUMAN
RESISTANCE
AND YOU CAN'T STOP THAT
UNLESS YOU KILL US.
IF YOU KILL US, THEN YOU
CAN'T CHANGE US, CAN YOU?
YOU MEAN YOU'D RATHER DIE
THAN BE A TREE?
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SHOW,
THERE ARE TIMES
WHEN WE'RE BITING OUR LIPS
FROM LAUGHING.
I MEAN, TRYING NOT TO LAUGH,
YOU KNOW?
LIKE THIS, AND TRYING TO SAY
THE LINE AND LISTENING...
"OH, YEAH, REALLY, WELL..."
AND WE'RE BITING OUR LIPS
SO THAT WE'RE NOT BREAKING UP
AND IRWIN DOESN'T COME DOWN
AND SAY,
"TIME IS MONEY, TIME IS MONEY."
I MEAN REALLY,
TALKING TO A CARROT.
Creature: MOISTURE! MOISTURE!
Narrator:
"THE GREAT VEGETABLE REBELLION"
ILLUSTRATED THE TENDENCY OF
"LOST IN SPACE"
TO AIM AT YOUNGER CHILDREN.
FIRE!
WHILE "STAR TREK" WAS SEEN
AS THE MORE SERIOUS
SCIENCE-FICTION SERIES,
NOT EVERY EPISODE MET THAT GOAL.
"STAR TREK"... WE DISCUSSED IT
EARLIER PRIVATELY...
I THOUGHT WAS
A VERY INCONSISTENT SHOW,
WHICH AT TIMES SPARKLED WITH
TRUE INGENUITY
AND PURE
SCIENCE-FICTION APPROACHES
AND OTHER TIMES
WAS MORE CARNIVAL-LIKE
AND VERY MUCH MORE THE CREATURE
OF TELEVISION
THAN THE CREATURE OF
A LEGITIMATE LITERARY FORM.
Narrator: YEARS BEFORE
"STAR TREK" OR "LOST IN SPACE,"
ANOTHER LANDMARK
SCIENCE-FICTION SERIES
TOOK A VERY DIFFERENT PATH...
MORE DEEPLY ROOTED
IN THE LITERARY TRADITION
OF THE SHORT STORY.
A SERIES CREATED BY
ROD SERLING.
YOUNG ROD SERLING WAS SOMETHING
OF A PRANKSTER.
HE'D GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO
SHOCK HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
SERLING'S FAVORITE PART WAS
THE SURPRISE AT THE END...
THAT NO ONE SAW COMING.
IT WOULD BECOME HIS TRADEMARK...
AT THE FAMILY CABIN...
AND LATER,
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
Narrator: FROM THE VERY
BEGINNING, ROD SERLING
UNDERSTOOD THAT AUDIENCES
LIKED TO BE JOLTED,
SCARED, ASTONISHED.
NO ONE ON TELEVISION
DID IT BETTER.
TELEVISION'S GOLDEN AGE WAS
A GREAT TIME TO BE A WRITER.
IN THE ERA BEFORE VIDEOTAPE,
EVERYTHING WAS LIVE...
AND THAT MEANT
A NEW ORIGINAL PLAY...
CREATED JUST FOR
TELEVISION...
HAD TO BE PRESENTED
EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
THE NETWORKS WERE HUNGRY
FOR TALENT...
AND ROD SERLING HAD IT.
Narrator: SERLING'S TELEPLAYS
WERE QUICKLY SEEN
AS SOME OF TV'S FINEST...
WINNING HIM EMMY'S FOR
"REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT"
AND "PATTERNS."
I HAVE NO INTEREST WHATEVER
IN THE PHILLIPS MATTER.
WHAT WAS THAT?
I'M TELLING YOU THAT I DON'T
WANT THE JOB.
I'M THROUGH, I'M QUITTING,
I RESIGN AS OF NOW.
WHY?
BECAUSE I HATE YOUR GUTS.
I'M NOT A NICE HUMAN BEING.
WHAT ELSE?
YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FREAK!
YOU'D DRIVE YOUR PEOPLE
INTO PEAK EFFICIENCY
IF THEY CAN MAKE IT
OR A GRAVE IF THEY CAN'T!
Narrator: BUT AS TELEVISION GREW
FROM A NOVELTY
INTO A BUSINESS, SPONSORS BEGAN
TO DEMAND REWRITES
OF SERLING'S SCRIPTS,
REDLINING STORYLINES THEY
THOUGHT MIGHT BE CONTROVERSIAL,
EVEN CHANGING THE ETHNICITY OF
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS.
SERLING SOON CAME TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT GENE RODDENBERRY
WOULD LEARN A FEW YEARS LATER...
THE ONLY WAY TO TELL STORIES OF
SUBSTANCE ON TELEVISION
WAS TO SEVER THE CONNECTION
TO THE FAMILIAR,
TO SET YOUR TALES
IN AN ALTERNATE WORLD.
AND SO ROD SERLING CREATED
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE."
Serling:
THAT'S THE SIGNPOST UP AHEAD.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
I WOULD TRY TO CHOOSE
THOSE STORIES THAT,
THOUGH EVEN SCIENCE-FICTION
IN GENRE, WOULD BE TELLABLE
IN TERMS OF THE MOST ACCEPTABLE
HUMAN TERMS THAT WE NOW KNOW.
I WOULD PROBABLY SHY AWAY FROM
THE YEAR 2500.
I WOULD MUCH RATHER DEAL
IN 1998.
IN THOSE DAYS
A VISIONARY WHO FOUGHT FOR
CONTROL OF HIS PROJECT
GOT IT SOMETIMES.
THE BEAUTY OF THE WHOLE
SCIENCE-FICTION GENRE WAS
THAT SO MUCH OF IT HAD BEEN
UNTOUCHED.
IT HAD BEEN REPRODUCED IN
PRINTED FORM
OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUT IT
NEVER HAD BEEN DONE ON CAMERA.
SO WE HAD ALMOST A GOLD MINE
OF UNUSED MATERIAL
THAT WE COULD OPERATE FROM.
Narrator: "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
WAS AN ANTHOLOGY,
MEANING EVERY EPISODE HAD
DIFFERENT CHARACTERS
AND A UNIQUE SETTING.
OVER FIVE YEARS,
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
BROUGHT AMERICA 152
ONE-OF-A-KIND TALES...
THOUGHT-PROVOKING SHORT STORIES.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR FAVORITE.
IS SOMETHING WRONG?
NO, I THOUGHT I SAW
SOMETHING OUT THERE.
Narrator: AMONG THE SERIES'
MOST FAMOUS
AND ENDURING EPISODES WAS
"NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET."
WILLIAM SHATNER PLAYS
A NERVOUS FLYER
AND THE ONLY PASSENGER WHO SEES
A STRANGE CREATURE
SABOTAGING THE FLIGHT.
OH, THE ONE WITH
WILLIAM SHATNER,
WITH THE MONSTER ON THE WING.
I MEAN, DO YOU EVER LOOK OUT
AN AIRPLANE WINDOW
AND THINK ABOUT THAT?
I HAVE FOR YEARS.
THAT MADE SUCH AN IMPRESSION
ON ME.
STRANGELY, IT SEEMS TO HAVE
TOUCHED A NERVE.
THAT NERVE OF,
"WHAT IS THIS BOX DOING
UP IN THE AIR?"
AND MAYBE THERE ARE LITTLE
GREMLINS.
SO IT TOUCHES A UNIVERSAL FEAR,
I THINK.
BUT IT'S GOOD THAT YOU'RE
MAKING IT SNOW, ANTHONY.
IT'S REAL GOOD.
AND TOMORROW...
TOMORROW'S GOING TO BE
A REAL GOOD DAY!
Narrator: IN THE EPISODE
"IT'S A GOOD LIFE,"
BILLY MUMY
PORTRAYS ANTHONY...
A YOUNG BOY
WITH INFINITE POWERS,
ABLE TO CREATE OR DESTROY
ANYTHING AND ANYONE
WITH JUST A LOOK.
HE'S BOTH INNOCENT...
AND TERRIBLE.
WHEN HE USED HIS POWERS,
HIS EYES GOT BIG.
AND I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT UNTIL
MANY DECADES LATER
THAT ALSO HIS NOSTRILS FLARED.
BUT IT'S TRUE.
WHEN ANTHONY DOES SOMETHING,
IT'S LIKE...
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THAT.
WOULD SOMEBODY TAKE A LAMP
OR A BOTTLE OR SOMETHING
AND END THIS?!
YOU'RE A BAD MAN!
YOU'RE A VERY BAD MAN!
AND YOU KEEP THINKING
BAD THOUGHTS ABOUT ME.
AAAH!
AAAAH!
Narrator: OF THE MORE THAN
90 "TWILIGHT ZONE" SCRIPTS
THAT ROD SERLING WROTE HIMSELF,
THIS EPISODE
WAS HIS PERSONAL FAVORITE.
Serling: AN ADAPTATION
OF MINE...
A VERY FREE, LOOSE ADAPTATION...
OF A SHORT STORY
CALLED "TIME ENOUGH AT LAST,"
ABOUT A MYOPIC BANK TELLER,
WHO, AT THE END OF THE WORLD,
BREAKS HIS GLASSES,
JUST WHEN HE'S ABLE TO READ ALL
THAT HE'S EVER WANTED TO READ,
WHICH WAS
SHEER, PURE, BEAUTIFUL IRONY.
THAT'S NOT FAIR.
THAT'S NOT FAIR AT ALL.
THERE WAS TIME NOW.
THERE WAS ALL THE TIME
I NEEDED.
THAT'S NOT FAIR.
Narrator: SERLING ENCOURAGED
THE BEST SCIENCE-FICTION WRITERS
OF THE ERA TO CONTRIBUTE SCRIPTS
TO "THE TWILIGHT ZONE."
RICHARD MATHESON'S
"THE INVADERS"
WAS SERLING'S FAVORITE
FROM AN OUTSIDE WRITER.
"THE INVADERS"
WITH AGNES MOOREHEAD,
WHICH WAS, IN A SENSE,
PURE SCIENCE-FICTION
WITH A VERY
O'HENRY-ISH TWIST.
THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO LIVES
IN THE HOUSE,
A WOMAN WHO'S BEEN ALONE
FOR MANY YEARS.
A STRONG, SIMPLE WOMAN WHOSE
ONLY PROBLEM
UP UNTIL THIS MOMENT
HAS BEEN
THAT OF ACQUIRING ENOUGH
FOOD TO EAT.
A WOMAN ABOUT TO FACE
TERROR,
WHICH IS EVEN NOW COMING
AT HER
FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
ALL THESE LITTLE
TINY PEOPLE CAME OUT
AND THEY WERE LIKE
OUTER SPACE PEOPLE.
AND THEY WERE POKING HER WITH
KNIVES AND STUFF, AND SHE WAS
TRYING TO GET RID OF THEM AND
SWEEP THEM AWAY AND EVERYTHING,
AND THEN YOU FIND OUT SHE WAS
THE MONSTER
AND THEY WERE FROM
THE UNITED STATES.
Man: THE SHIP'S DESTROYED
AN INCREDIBLE RACE
OF GIANTS HERE.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS
SUCH A FABULOUS ONE.
I LOVED IT, AND SHE
NEVER SPOKE IN THE ENTIRE THING.
IT WAS, YOU KNOW, GRUNTING
AND GROANING AND CARRYING ON.
Narrator: THE INVADERS EPISODE
REVEALED A CHALLENGE
SERLING FACED EVERY WEEK...
CREATING QUALITY SCIENCE-FICTION
ON A MEAGER BUDGET.
Serling: THIS DESPERATELY
REQUIRED 8-INCH LITTLE MEN
TO WALK ACROSS THE FLOOR
OF A ROOM.
ALL WE COULD USE... BECAUSE WE
COULDN'T AFFORD OPTICALS
AND WE COULDN'T AFFORD MONTAGE
EFFECTS...
WERE LITTLE
WIND-UP RUBBER MEN,
AND THEY WALKED PRECISELY LIKE
LITTLE WIND-UP RUBBER MEN.
I THOUGHT IT TOTALLY DESTROYED
THE ILLUSION
AND POINTED OUT TO ME
THE DESPERATE BUILT-IN PROBLEMS
OF DOING PROPER SCIENCE-FICTION
ON TELEVISION.
ANN!
Narrator: TELEVISION'S RIGID
PARAMETERS LED TO A FALLOUT
BETWEEN SERLING AND SCIENCE-
FICTION ICON RAY BRADBURY...
WHO WROTE AN EPISODE CALLED
"I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC,"
STARRING A YOUNG
VERONICA CARTWRIGHT.
DON'T CRY,
DON'T CRY!
Veronica: IT WAS VERY COOL.
WHO KNEW?
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING
TO END UP BEING AS POPULAR
AS IT WAS, YOU KNOW,
IN YEARS LATER.
GRANDMA! GRANDMA!
YOU'RE ALIVE!
ALIVE!
Narrator: IN THE EPISODE,
CARTWRIGHT PORTRAYS A GIRL
WHOSE
MOTHER HAS PASSED AWAY
AND MUST NOW ACCEPT
HER NEW CAREGIVER...
A LIFELIKE ROBOT GRANDMOTHER.
YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY?
I CAN'T, I WON'T.
YOU'LL NEVER DIE?
NEVER!
OH, GRANDMA.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH
THE EPISODE REMAINS
AN ENDURING FAN FAVORITE,
SERLING CUT A SCENE
CITING A LACK OF MONEY.
BRADBURY WAS FURIOUS.
THE TWO ICONS,
ONCE GOOD FRIENDS,
NEVER WORKED TOGETHER AGAIN.
OVER TIME, THE GRIND OF
WEEKLY TELEVISION
TOOK ITS
TOLL ON ROD SERLING.
THE MEDDLING OF NETWORK
EXECUTIVES AND SPONSORS
WAS ESPECIALLY TRYING.
BY 1964, THE FREE REIN
SERLING ENJOYED
IN THE SHOW'S EARLY YEARS
WAS A DISTANT MEMORY...
REPLACED BY A STIFLING
BUREAUCRACY.
Landau: THERE WAS A CHANGE
BETWEEN THE SHOW I DID IN 1959
AND THE SHOW I DID IN 1964...
IN HIM.
HE WAS VERY DISILLUSIONED WITH
THE AD AGENCIES AND THE CENSORS,
AND THE PEOPLE TELLING HIM,
"THAT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA."
I THINK AT THE MOMENT IT IS
BEING STULTIFIED
BY THE CURRENT DESPERATE
ECONOMICS
OF OUR PLACE OUT THERE.
THAT THEY'RE BEING TERRIBLY
TIMOROUS
IN ALL NEW AREAS OF
STORYTELLING...
ONLY BECAUSE IT COSTS A BUCK.
Narrator: AFTER FIVE YEARS,
ROD SERLING HAD ENOUGH
AND THE "TWILIGHT ZONE"
LEFT THE AIR IN 1964.
SERLING WENT ON TO WRITE
"PLANET OF THE APES"
AND THEN RETURNED TO TELEVISION
IN 1969 WITH "NIGHT GALLERY."
Narrator: IN 1975, AT AGE 50,
ROD SERLING PASSED AWAY,
LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY
OF THE BEST-WRITTEN SHOW
IN TV HISTORY...
"THE TWILIGHT ZONE."
THE PIONEERS OF
SCIENCE-FICTION TELEVISION
DIDN'T JUST INVENT A GENRE,
THEY TAUGHT US SOMETHING
ABOUT OURSELVES...
AND THEY GAVE US A GREAT RIDE.
THE CORE OF A SUCCESSFUL
TELEVISION SHOW...
IT'S THE RELATIONSHIPS.
HERE COMES THE OPPORTUNITY
TO PUT ON
SUPERHERO OUTFITS, TO LITERALLY
CARRY A LASER GUN,
AND TO USE IT?
WHO WOULDN'T HAVE LOVED THAT?
I HONESTLY, I NEVER HAD A BAD
DAY GOING TO WORK ON THAT SHOW.
TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION,
TO MAKE A REAL CONTRIBUTION
TO THE SHOW, THAT'S WHAT
MY GOAL WAS EVERY DAY.
I WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL
FOR THE EXPERIENCE...
NOT JUST THE JOB,
BUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE
AND TO DISCOVER
A LOT MORE THAN
I THOUGHT I KNEW.
BILL AND I, AND MARTA ALSO,
WERE ABLE TO VISIT NASA
ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND WE HAD EVERYONE COME UP
TO US AND TELL US
THAT WE WERE THE REASON
THAT THEY HAD GOTTEN INVOLVED
IN THE SPACE PROGRAM.
THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT BUILD
THE ENDEAVOUR.
SCIENTISTS ARE COMING UP TO US
AND SAYING,
"WE LOVED LOST IN SPACE.
YOU INSPIRED US TO GO
INTO SCIENCE."
AND THEY'RE LOOKING
AT US,
THESE, YOU KNOW,
ROBINSON KIDS,
AND SAYING, "YOU ARE THE ONE
THAT MADE ME GET INTO
THE SPACE PROGRAM."
IT WAS MIND-BOGGLING.
HOW WONDERFUL, MY GOD.
THREE YEARS, 40 YEARS AGO,
AND THEY STILL TALK ABOUT
THE CHARACTER... MY GOD.
I THINK "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"
IS THE BEST TELEVISION SERIES
THAT WAS EVER PRODUCED,
AND I WAS LUCKY TO BE
A PART OF IT.
WE CAN'T WAIT FOR
THE NEXT EPISODE.
I MEAN IT'S GREAT.
TV'S GREAT.
Narrator: IN RECENT YEARS,
DOZENS OF QUALITY
SCIENCE-FICTION SERIES
HAVE BEEN EMBRACED
BY MILLIONS...
BUT THEY ALL OWE A DEBT
TO THE SHOWS THAT SET
THE STANDARD...
CREATED BY
THE PIONEERS OF TELEVISION.
FOR MORE INSIDER FEATURES
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