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Scott Atwell Star Trek Discussion thread (Series and Films) (1 Viewer)

FanCollector

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Regarding the subject of Roddenberry's additions to Charlie X, surprising is a word I use for the unexpected, Nelson. In this case, interesting should suffice. But I didn't think the sexual emphasis of Charlie's troubles was a problem there. I felt like it was just focusing the story for the purpose of clarity and we could assume all the other kinds of problems someone that age would experience. And I completely agree about Kirk giving the speech. Better for the story, but especially for his character in the long run. I understand why producers find network notes so frustrating: "Great story. Now change it." There's also an inherent snobbery there, in a way--I like your script, but Mr. and Mrs. America are going to be too dense to get it. But then of course, the frustrating thing is when they turn out to know their business. Yes, it's possible that the movie was the reason for the huge drop. But didn't he also warn about that in The Enemy Within? Another great movie at 9:00? Taken together, much as it hurts to admit, network execs may sometimes know their audiences.The quick move from episode to episode must be jarring for all actors on single camera shows. It also really destroys any possibility for rehearsal, so I can understand why Shatner and others pushed to create their "rehearsal table" in the second year, even if the directors didn't like it. Also interesting that Joe Sargent asked for and got one full rehearsal day on The Corbomite Maneuver. I definitely never knew that!Was Ms. Fontana nice about sharing story credit? Maybe. Did she have a choice? If that's how Roddenberry was going to credit it, she would have had to ask for Writers Guild arbitration to take his name off, and this was her first assignment on the show; a risky proposition. (Wait till you get to Archons.)
 

Ockeghem

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FanCollector said:
I don't want the spoiler hint, Scott. But just for certainty's sake...are each of the numbers used separately and distinctly? Or are some of them partial? For example, when you say 14, is that definitely 14? Or could it be part of a stardate or a decimal or something like that?
Lee,Most of the numbers I have listed thus far are used as whole numbers in the script. Of course, I might have used one of the numbers as a percent. For example, the number 100 might be included by me if it were used (in the script) as 100%. That being said, I would not go so far as to use (e.g.) 14 in this way: Star date 3145.2 -- that would be just a tad unfair.

"Regarding the subject of Roddenberry's additions to Charlie X, surprising is a word I use for the unexpected, Nelson. In this case, interesting should suffice."I almost declared you the winner of the trivia question based on your having included this wonderful paraphrase. :)
 

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Agreed about the addition of the hormones if I wasn't clear in my post. I was reacting to the Fontana quote that she found it typical of what Gene Roddenberry was doing. It made Charlie fully a human 17 year old.Oh yeah, and the casting note that everyone thought of Michael J. Pollard for the role of Charlie! Good thing D'Agosta had Walker Jr. on his radar. History has forever burned in our memories that Pollard is Jahn, so it's hard to imagine him as Charlie. But who knows.
 

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Scott, i had a similar thought as Lee regarding the numbers. I figure the numbers can refer to warp factors, numbers of people, or years. But I also wondered if they might be part of a longer chain of numbers. Regardless, glad to see they are stand alone numbers, still a challenging puzzle! And I agree, Lee sure has a way with quoting lines!
 

Ockeghem

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Lee and Nelson (and others who may be playing),Here is a text clue that has to do with the two of you and your demeanor on this Board. I will put it in a spoiler in case you don't want another hint.

You two never seem to get angry.
 

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Nelson, if you know it, go for it!No disrespect to Michael J. Pollard, who is a very engaging actor in the right parts, but I think he would have been disastrous in Charlie X. The part requires vulnerability and sympathy in spite of everything we see Charlie do, and I think it would have been much harder to maintain that with Pollard than with Walker.
 

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I agree Lee! Walker was made for the part. I have a vague memory of Pollard's Lost In Space appearance. I think it was a sympathetic part, but that's from a viewing ages ago. So yes, Robert Walker nailed the part of Charlie. And Pollard was right for Miri.
 

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If you insist Lee!My guess is that the 14 refers to how many years Charlie was on the Thasian planet. He was 3 years old when the ship crashed there. But I haven't checked the other numbers yet. So my running theory is the numbers refer to Charlie X.
 

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I've been indulging in listening to Charlie X on my way home.Too bad the trivia answer is not this episode. So many matches! 20 crew on the Antares. 14 years on the planet, 3 years old when Charlie was cast away. :)At any rate, I really wanted to post a possible revelation. During the scene in the transporter room when Charlie first sees Yeoman Rand, I noticed the music may have been playing an audio que that Charlie is a child. This came to me because of the Cushman book talking about Charlie's innocence to the ways of the world. During this sequence, I can hear a xylophone. And the way it's played, especially when Kirk says, That's a girl. You hear a note from the xylophone. Plus a couple of notes earlier as Charlie is becoming aware what a girl is.So was Steiner trying to play a small audio que that the xylophone is a toy many children play with and that it's a way to tell the audience he's really a child?
 

Ockeghem

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Nelson,I too will have to listen to that music now. Thanks for pointing it out.

Lee,Yes, it is The Changeling. Here are the numbers in context for your perusal:

24 ("I want a 24-hour two-man armed surveillance on Nomad in sickbay").

18 ("Bearing -- 123 degrees. Mark -- 18. Range -- 90,000 kilometers").

9 ("Throw your dampers. Warp nine").

14 ("Spock, Bones, come with ... us. Chart 14-A, sir?").

3 ("We can resist three more such attacks").

Hints:2000 ("Wasn't there a probe called Nomad launched in the early 2000s?").20 ("I may add the energy used repulsing this first attack reduced our shielding power 20%").

You're up next. :)
 

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Nelson, not only do I agree with you about the reason for the orchestration in Charlie X, but it prompted me to listen to Steiner's use of instrumentation in Baby Balok from The Corbomite Maneuver. Same thing. That seems to have been his surprise-he's-really-a-kid instrument.
 

Nelson Au

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Congrats Lee, the numbers for The Changling was a hard one! The numbers were not as obvious as I thought, but more buried. As in the coordinates or the chart, 14-A. I checked the soundtrack booklet for Charlie X. I didn't see a mention of a xylophone used, so I wasn't sure if that was what I really heard! And after reading your post, I listened to Baby Balok. I can hear the same kind of thing happening, cool!
 

Ockeghem

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Nelson,I can't place the exact music you're referring to in Charlie X at the moment, but I do know that the xylophone is used frequently in first-season episodes. So you're probably right.

Lee,So you didn't need my textual (spoiler) hint? Nice!
 

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The xylophone (or similar sounding instrument) would fall under "percussion," which was listed for both sessions.I forgot about the spoiler hint! I just went back and looked at it. It wouldn't have helped me. 2000 was definitely the hook for me.
 

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