WEBVTT 00:14.800 --> 00:17.600 I started working with Gene Roddenberry in 00:17.600 --> 00:20.400 let me think know was 1963 00:20.400 --> 00:23.100 at MGM on the lieutenant series that he had 00:23.100 --> 00:24.100 there, 00:24.100 --> 00:25.500 which is about a 00:25.500 --> 00:26.000 new 00:26.000 --> 00:27.500 second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. 00:27.500 --> 00:29.400 Starring Gary Lockwood Robert Vaughn 00:29.400 --> 00:31.800 and of course, we use them 00:31.800 --> 00:35.300 Gary certainly in Star Trek later on. 00:35.300 --> 00:37.300 In fact, there were quite a few people that 00:37.300 --> 00:38.400 we used 00:38.400 --> 00:39.000 in 00:39.000 --> 00:40.200 the lieutenant that 00:40.200 --> 00:41.300 came on to Star Trek. 00:41.300 --> 00:41.500 Michelle. 00:41.500 --> 00:43.800 Nichols was one 00:43.800 --> 00:44.500 Leonard Nimoy. 00:44.500 --> 00:46.500 This one makes a Barrett was one 00:46.500 --> 00:47.200 so 00:47.200 --> 00:49.100 we developed quite a few 00:49.100 --> 00:51.800 actor connections that later came to work on Star 00:51.800 --> 00:54.100 Trek 00:54.100 --> 00:55.900 the lieutenant only lasted one year 00:55.900 --> 00:57.000 and 00:57.000 --> 00:58.200 toward the end of that 00:58.200 --> 00:59.600 season. 00:59.600 --> 01:00.800 Jean 01:00.800 --> 01:01.500 had 01:01.500 --> 01:02.400 he knew I 01:02.400 --> 01:05.200 had written some material and was interested in writing 01:05.200 --> 01:05.800 more. 01:05.800 --> 01:08.100 I had submitted a story to Lieutenant, but 01:08.100 --> 01:11.100 it didn't fly, but that was okay 01:11.100 --> 01:12.800 and at the end of that 01:12.800 --> 01:14.400 Lieutenant season he 01:14.400 --> 01:16.900 What about 12 Pages across the desk at me 01:16.900 --> 01:17.500 and said 01:17.500 --> 01:18.200 this is an idea. 01:18.200 --> 01:18.800 I'm working on. 01:18.800 --> 01:20.200 What do you think? 01:20.200 --> 01:22.500 It was Star Trek? 01:22.500 --> 01:26.700 And that time the ship was the Yorktown and 01:26.700 --> 01:27.000 mr. 01:27.000 --> 01:28.400 Spock was a martian. 01:28.400 --> 01:30.300 Not a Vulcan and 01:30.300 --> 01:31.400 yeah, there were other changes. 01:31.400 --> 01:31.600 Of course. 01:31.600 --> 01:33.300 The captain was Captain Pike 01:33.300 --> 01:35.800 Captain Kirk came along which later 01:35.800 --> 01:38.100 and I read the 12 pages and said, I 01:38.100 --> 01:39.300 think this is great. 01:39.300 --> 01:40.300 When can we do it 01:40.300 --> 01:41.000 and who plays mr. 01:41.000 --> 01:41.900 Spock 01:41.900 --> 01:42.600 and 01:42.600 --> 01:44.500 he told me then that he was thinking 01:44.500 --> 01:45.400 You want to be more for mr. 01:45.400 --> 01:46.200 Spock? 01:46.200 --> 01:48.400 Nobody else was set in his mind or had 01:48.400 --> 01:48.800 any idea. 01:48.800 --> 01:50.500 He had to have any idea about casting 01:50.500 --> 01:51.400 except for Leonard. 01:51.400 --> 01:53.800 Nimoy's f*** 01:53.800 --> 01:56.300 MGM had a first-look offer, 01:56.300 --> 01:57.600 you know, first-look deal 01:57.600 --> 01:58.800 with Jean 01:58.800 --> 02:00.300 to look at 02:00.300 --> 02:00.700 anything. 02:00.700 --> 02:02.700 He came up with he showed them Star Trek 02:02.700 --> 02:04.900 and he said pass 02:04.900 --> 02:07.200 but they're still kicking themselves around the block all 02:07.200 --> 02:09.400 these years later that they said pass, but they 02:09.400 --> 02:10.300 did 02:10.300 --> 02:13.700 so Jean started shopping it around and ultimately it 02:13.700 --> 02:14.400 landed it does 02:14.400 --> 02:15.200 E Lu 02:15.200 --> 02:17.000 and Herb solo was very interested in it. 02:17.000 --> 02:18.600 They took it to CVS. 02:18.600 --> 02:20.600 I believe who passed and then NBC who took 02:20.600 --> 02:21.500 it 02:21.500 --> 02:26.300 and that was in 1964 02:26.300 --> 02:28.500 and we did the first pilot 02:28.500 --> 02:31.600 NBC said it was too cerebral. 02:31.600 --> 02:32.400 So we got 02:32.400 --> 02:33.300 a nun 02:33.300 --> 02:35.900 heard of opportunity to do second pilot, 02:35.900 --> 02:37.800 which was where no man has gone before by 02:37.800 --> 02:39.900 Sam people's and that's old 02:39.900 --> 02:42.600 and then we started doing the series actively 02:42.600 --> 02:45.000 in 1966. 02:45.000 --> 02:46.900 So I had known Gene for three years by 02:46.900 --> 02:48.200 the time we got to 02:48.200 --> 02:53.600 actual production on Star Trek. 02:53.600 --> 02:57.100 Well to me a Star Trek story is 02:57.100 --> 02:58.800 a morality tale. 02:58.800 --> 03:00.800 We always have a point 03:00.800 --> 03:02.200 there is action in it. 03:02.200 --> 03:05.000 We don't want to stand around and talk about 03:05.000 --> 03:05.900 all these things 03:05.900 --> 03:08.700 has to be doing 03:08.700 --> 03:10.700 to me it always had a personal point of 03:10.700 --> 03:11.500 view. 03:11.500 --> 03:13.000 There was a problem for the captain. 03:13.000 --> 03:14.300 There was a problem for mr. 03:14.300 --> 03:14.700 Spock. 03:14.700 --> 03:17.100 There was a problem 03:17.100 --> 03:20.700 for 03:20.700 --> 03:22.200 Even Christine Chapel, 03:22.200 --> 03:25.500 you know, I mean minor characters had their moments. 03:25.500 --> 03:27.800 We always tried to have at least three stories 03:27.800 --> 03:29.900 running a b and c lines in the original 03:29.900 --> 03:31.000 show 03:31.000 --> 03:32.500 and generally in the 03:32.500 --> 03:33.300 Star Trek 03:33.300 --> 03:33.600 Next. 03:33.600 --> 03:37.100 Gen said, I worked on one DS9 I did 03:37.100 --> 03:40.300 it was a story that had a main problem. 03:40.300 --> 03:42.500 And then there were at least two other problems 03:42.500 --> 03:44.500 going on at the same time one more major 03:44.500 --> 03:45.600 one more minor 03:45.600 --> 03:47.100 so they're complex stories. 03:47.100 --> 03:49.200 There are stories that 03:49.200 --> 03:50.500 all have to come together. 03:50.500 --> 03:52.600 One point they have to touch one another 03:52.600 --> 03:53.500 and 03:53.500 --> 03:55.800 to me a good startrek story is one about 03:55.800 --> 03:57.000 a personal problem 03:57.000 --> 03:58.600 with an overall 03:58.600 --> 03:59.500 kind of 03:59.500 --> 04:07.500 story problem going on a situational problem. 04:07.500 --> 04:09.200 The job of a story editor is to work 04:09.200 --> 04:10.700 with the writers and bring the best out of 04:10.700 --> 04:12.000 the writers. 04:12.000 --> 04:13.700 That's what I tried to do. 04:13.700 --> 04:16.100 My working with Gene coding was a joined a 04:16.100 --> 04:17.000 treasure 04:17.000 --> 04:19.600 and also with John Meredith Lucas who came along 04:19.600 --> 04:22.600 after Gene kun-hee was a wonderful wonderful writer director 04:22.600 --> 04:23.600 producer 04:23.600 --> 04:25.300 and we had a good time 04:25.300 --> 04:26.600 but 04:26.600 --> 04:28.300 it was there was a lot of work involved 04:28.300 --> 04:30.100 in making Star Trek Star Trek 04:30.100 --> 04:32.600 and yet those writers who could deliver well, we're 04:32.600 --> 04:37.000 always bang on Forest David Gerald the 04:37.000 --> 04:39.200 Arm and for instance who did multiples 04:39.200 --> 04:40.800 Steve can bail 04:40.800 --> 04:43.400 a lot of people who were really very good 04:43.400 --> 04:46.100 and consistently good and just came in with scripts 04:46.100 --> 04:51.400 and we just shot them. 04:51.400 --> 04:53.500 She if I had a significant influence, I think 04:53.500 --> 04:57.300 it might be the development of the Vulcans 04:57.300 --> 04:59.700 because I really like Spock as a character. 04:59.700 --> 05:01.900 But I knew Leonard Nimoy for years. 05:01.900 --> 05:03.400 I was a very first story I ever wrote 05:03.400 --> 05:05.100 In fact 05:05.100 --> 05:06.700 and it was Western 05:06.700 --> 05:08.200 but 05:08.200 --> 05:11.600 I really like the Vulcan 05:11.600 --> 05:12.500 culture. 05:12.500 --> 05:14.000 What we hinted at other 05:14.000 --> 05:16.600 Riders hinted at Ted sturgeon began it 05:16.600 --> 05:19.000 and I took off with that and ran with 05:19.000 --> 05:20.500 it and 05:20.500 --> 05:20.900 if 05:20.900 --> 05:21.600 There is any 05:21.600 --> 05:24.000 as you say imprint 05:24.000 --> 05:25.200 then it was 05:25.200 --> 05:29.200 developing Spock his parents his background Vulcan 05:29.200 --> 05:34.500 all of those things. 05:34.500 --> 05:37.300 Well, let me say that all the characters 05:37.300 --> 05:39.400 were developed by the actors 05:39.400 --> 05:41.000 in the sense that 05:41.000 --> 05:42.600 we would give them something on the page in 05:42.600 --> 05:44.200 the early episodes 05:44.200 --> 05:45.800 and they would run with it. 05:45.800 --> 05:46.900 They would 05:46.900 --> 05:49.000 do something that we would come back the following 05:49.000 --> 05:49.700 week after 05:49.700 --> 05:51.400 after seeing all the dailies and maybe rough cut 05:51.400 --> 05:52.100 and say 05:52.100 --> 05:54.400 hey, you know what we could build on that 05:54.400 --> 05:57.800 what came out of that for instance was the 05:57.800 --> 05:58.400 the 05:58.400 --> 06:00.700 jockeying back and forth verbally between dr. 06:00.700 --> 06:01.900 McCoy and mr. 06:01.900 --> 06:04.300 Spock. 06:04.300 --> 06:04.900 It's just one thing. 06:04.900 --> 06:05.200 Mr. 06:05.200 --> 06:05.700 Spock. 06:05.700 --> 06:07.200 You can't tell me that when you first saw 06:07.200 --> 06:08.700 Jim alive that you were on the verge of 06:08.700 --> 06:09.900 giving us an emotional scene. 06:09.900 --> 06:11.800 That would have brought the house down 06:11.800 --> 06:12.100 nearly. 06:12.100 --> 06:15.600 My quite logical relief at Starfleet had not lost 06:15.600 --> 06:17.000 the highly proficient Captain. 06:17.000 --> 06:17.800 Yes. 06:17.800 --> 06:18.000 Mr. 06:18.000 --> 06:19.000 Spock Lobster. 06:19.000 --> 06:19.800 Thank you God 06:19.800 --> 06:20.400 of course. 06:20.400 --> 06:20.600 Mr. 06:20.600 --> 06:21.000 Spock. 06:21.000 --> 06:22.700 Your reaction was quite logical. 06:22.700 --> 06:24.900 Thank you doctor. 06:24.900 --> 06:30.300 And a pig's eye 06:30.300 --> 06:30.900 come on Spock. 06:30.900 --> 06:38.000 Let's go mind the store. 06:38.000 --> 06:39.700 We saw the actors do that. 06:39.700 --> 06:41.600 So well in one episode and then 06:41.600 --> 06:43.100 we kept putting it in 06:43.100 --> 06:44.700 and they kept developing it 06:44.700 --> 06:46.000 at the end of the first season. 06:46.000 --> 06:47.700 I went around to all of the actors and 06:47.700 --> 06:49.300 sat down with them and said tell me about 06:49.300 --> 06:50.200 your character. 06:50.200 --> 06:51.900 What do you know about the character? What are 06:51.900 --> 06:53.400 you coming from? 06:53.400 --> 06:54.700 And I took that and put it 06:54.700 --> 06:58.700 The character biographies for the second season writers guide. 06:58.700 --> 07:01.600 So the actors themselves were operating off 07:01.600 --> 07:04.000 something they had developed 07:04.000 --> 07:05.800 as part of their character 07:05.800 --> 07:08.000 and then they conveyed that to us and 07:08.000 --> 07:10.200 we put it onto the other writers and brought 07:10.200 --> 07:12.000 it out more in the characters 07:12.000 --> 07:13.500 and in the script, 07:13.500 --> 07:16.400 so it was a collaborative effort as most film 07:16.400 --> 07:17.200 is 07:17.200 --> 07:18.800 and I would say that we got as much 07:18.800 --> 07:20.100 from the actors 07:20.100 --> 07:22.300 developing their characters all of them 07:22.300 --> 07:24.600 as we did from writers putting something. 07:24.600 --> 07:25.500 In the script 07:25.500 --> 07:26.700 the one important thing. 07:26.700 --> 07:29.700 I think that came out of 07:29.700 --> 07:32.100 that talk I had with the actors about 07:32.100 --> 07:33.800 what did they know about their characters and what 07:33.800 --> 07:35.300 have they learned over the year. 07:35.300 --> 07:37.200 Was that 07:37.200 --> 07:38.600 DeForest Kelley 07:38.600 --> 07:40.500 he and his wife were childless, but he said 07:40.500 --> 07:41.000 that dr. 07:41.000 --> 07:42.100 McCoy had 07:42.100 --> 07:43.000 a child 07:43.000 --> 07:45.000 and I said, oh boy, and he said no, 07:45.000 --> 07:46.400 I think a girl 07:46.400 --> 07:48.800 so that's how Joanna came to be created. 07:48.800 --> 07:50.700 I was going to write in third season a 07:50.700 --> 07:54.700 story about Joanna and that never really happened. 07:54.700 --> 07:58.400 The story was changed into something else and 07:58.400 --> 07:58.900 you know, 07:58.900 --> 08:00.100 we never did see Joanna. 08:00.100 --> 08:01.100 Although she's been mentioned. 08:01.100 --> 08:03.500 I believe in the novels and 08:03.500 --> 08:05.300 in other biographies of dr. 08:05.300 --> 08:06.700 McCoy. 08:06.700 --> 08:09.100 So that was kind of an interesting development. 08:09.100 --> 08:11.200 Most of the things that came out about what 08:11.200 --> 08:13.100 the characters thought about 08:13.100 --> 08:14.100 their their 08:14.100 --> 08:16.100 what the actor said about their characters 08:16.100 --> 08:16.900 was 08:16.900 --> 08:18.500 background 08:18.500 --> 08:21.000 where they came from and who they were before. 08:21.000 --> 08:22.600 They got to be 08:22.600 --> 08:24.800 members of the USS Enterprise. 08:24.800 --> 08:26.800 And some of that was incorporated in the stories.