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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,826 --> 00:00:02,826 (TV announcer) The "Star Trek" USS Enterprise 2 00:00:02,919 --> 00:00:03,994 gift set with command chair, console, 3 00:00:04,078 --> 00:00:05,162 three telescreen cards, 4 00:00:05,246 --> 00:00:07,914 and five "Star Trek" action figures. 5 00:00:07,999 --> 00:00:09,499 (narrator) Years after its cancellation, 6 00:00:09,584 --> 00:00:11,844 the only new "Star Trek" characters on TV 7 00:00:11,928 --> 00:00:14,847 were about six inches tall and made of plastic. 8 00:00:15,006 --> 00:00:15,922 (TV announcer) "Star Trek" action figures 9 00:00:16,016 --> 00:00:17,349 also sold separately. 10 00:00:17,434 --> 00:00:18,925 (narrator) With no new series, 11 00:00:19,010 --> 00:00:20,686 Gene Roddenberry could only watch 12 00:00:20,770 --> 00:00:23,430 as other people got rich off his idea. 13 00:00:23,523 --> 00:00:26,183 - The sold $12 million worth of toys the first year 14 00:00:26,276 --> 00:00:27,851 on a toy line of a television show 15 00:00:27,944 --> 00:00:30,270 that was off the air for half a decade. 16 00:00:30,354 --> 00:00:32,522 (narrator) Desperate, Gene went cap in hand 17 00:00:32,607 --> 00:00:34,775 to Paramount looking for a piece of the action, 18 00:00:34,859 --> 00:00:37,194 but instead... - They said, "For 150,000, 19 00:00:37,287 --> 00:00:38,695 why don't you just buy everything?" 20 00:00:38,788 --> 00:00:40,456 (narrator) A good deal for a franchise 21 00:00:40,615 --> 00:00:42,949 that's now worth $4 billion. 22 00:00:43,034 --> 00:00:45,285 - He could've been the George Lucas of "Star Trek," 23 00:00:45,378 --> 00:00:47,454 but right at that time, he couldn't come up with the cash. 24 00:00:47,538 --> 00:00:49,965 (narrator) But don't worry. Help is on the way. 25 00:00:50,050 --> 00:00:52,125 - Somebody's gotta write the goddamn script. 26 00:00:52,210 --> 00:00:53,376 (narrator) Sort of. 27 00:00:53,461 --> 00:00:55,554 ♪♪ 28 00:00:55,638 --> 00:00:57,890 So beam aboard and hold on tight 29 00:00:58,049 --> 00:01:01,518 as we boldly go into the depths of "Star Trek." 30 00:01:04,314 --> 00:01:06,982 And you can see it all from here 31 00:01:07,067 --> 00:01:08,358 in "The Center Seat." 32 00:01:12,989 --> 00:01:14,731 Unable to come up with that cash, 33 00:01:14,816 --> 00:01:16,992 Gene looked to create another cash cow 34 00:01:17,077 --> 00:01:20,570 in the form of sci-fi pilots, 35 00:01:20,663 --> 00:01:22,748 pumping them out one after the other. 36 00:01:22,832 --> 00:01:25,742 Phasers set to stun and jumpsuits set to kill. 37 00:01:25,835 --> 00:01:27,753 - That thing is from your century? 38 00:01:27,912 --> 00:01:29,579 - Yeah, we call them automobiles. 39 00:01:29,664 --> 00:01:31,915 (narrator) But no matter how fetching the jumpsuits, 40 00:01:32,008 --> 00:01:34,251 nothing fit quite like "Star Trek." 41 00:01:34,335 --> 00:01:36,253 - The reruns were doing gangbusters. 42 00:01:36,346 --> 00:01:38,004 - And when they're in syndication, 43 00:01:38,098 --> 00:01:39,840 they kept running and kept running and kept running. 44 00:01:39,924 --> 00:01:44,094 So we watched that show all the time because it was on. 45 00:01:44,178 --> 00:01:46,855 - I grew up watching the original series 46 00:01:46,940 --> 00:01:49,108 and, you know, reruns whenever it was on. 47 00:01:49,267 --> 00:01:51,268 - Come home from school, you watch "Star Trek." 48 00:01:51,352 --> 00:01:54,020 - It was a perfect sales demographic. 49 00:01:54,105 --> 00:01:57,866 It was a show that appealed to 18 to 49, 50 00:01:57,951 --> 00:01:59,618 and they just ate it up. 51 00:01:59,702 --> 00:02:00,694 (narrator) The networks were crying out 52 00:02:00,778 --> 00:02:02,612 for new "Star Trek," 53 00:02:02,697 --> 00:02:05,448 but the show had already been consigned to history. 54 00:02:05,542 --> 00:02:07,284 - Because they had destroyed the sets, 55 00:02:07,377 --> 00:02:08,877 they had given away the Enterprise 56 00:02:08,962 --> 00:02:10,620 to the Smithsonian Institute. 57 00:02:10,705 --> 00:02:12,205 (narrator) But Paramount could no longer 58 00:02:12,290 --> 00:02:14,624 ignore the show's growing legion of fans. 59 00:02:14,709 --> 00:02:16,468 (Marc) It's everywhere-- fan fiction, 60 00:02:16,553 --> 00:02:19,045 books, it's just selling, the merchandising is selling. 61 00:02:19,139 --> 00:02:21,557 So they finally said, okay, let's do a "Star Trek" movie. 62 00:02:21,641 --> 00:02:22,975 (narrator) Well, that was easy. 63 00:02:23,059 --> 00:02:25,719 - The idea that a "dead" TV series 64 00:02:25,803 --> 00:02:27,062 would come back as a movie, 65 00:02:27,147 --> 00:02:28,638 because the fandom demanded it. 66 00:02:28,723 --> 00:02:30,307 That was revolutionary. 67 00:02:30,391 --> 00:02:32,568 (narrator) But for Gene, it was an opportunity 68 00:02:32,727 --> 00:02:34,895 or even an answered prayer. 69 00:02:34,979 --> 00:02:38,565 So he wrote a feature film script entitled "The God Thing." 70 00:02:38,658 --> 00:02:41,410 - In which Kirk fights Jesus on the bridge of the Enterprise. 71 00:02:41,494 --> 00:02:43,745 - Which involved the crew of the Enterprise, 72 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:46,165 in essence, meeting what is perceived to be a god 73 00:02:46,249 --> 00:02:48,000 but not being god. 74 00:02:48,084 --> 00:02:49,668 (narrator) But this wasn't to be God's chosen script 75 00:02:49,827 --> 00:02:53,505 because in 1974 "The God Thing" wasn't a thing. 76 00:02:53,590 --> 00:02:55,165 - Barry Diller, who was running Paramount, was Catholic, 77 00:02:55,249 --> 00:02:57,593 and this script dealt with religion. 78 00:02:57,677 --> 00:02:59,586 And so he was bothered by it. 79 00:02:59,670 --> 00:03:02,014 (narrator) But Gene wasn't the only one to pull up a pew, 80 00:03:02,173 --> 00:03:04,266 and another script had caught Paramount's eye. 81 00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:06,518 - Called "Star Trek: Planet of the Titans," 82 00:03:06,677 --> 00:03:10,522 a planet that the Klingons, the Federation, 83 00:03:10,607 --> 00:03:12,265 and a new alien race that was being introduced, 84 00:03:12,350 --> 00:03:14,026 were trying to develop. 85 00:03:14,185 --> 00:03:16,028 Several versions of the script were written. 86 00:03:16,187 --> 00:03:18,438 (narrator) And Gene didn't like any of them. 87 00:03:18,522 --> 00:03:20,273 - He keeps having to tell them that everything they wrote 88 00:03:20,358 --> 00:03:21,867 is not "Star Trek." 89 00:03:21,951 --> 00:03:23,610 They got-- the characters aren't right. 90 00:03:23,703 --> 00:03:25,862 The Federation's not right. The starship's not right. 91 00:03:25,955 --> 00:03:27,873 Have you seen any of the episodes, guys? 92 00:03:27,957 --> 00:03:31,368 - There were about a dozen scripts that were written 93 00:03:31,452 --> 00:03:32,953 that were never produced. 94 00:03:33,046 --> 00:03:34,630 (narrator) After two years of false starts 95 00:03:34,714 --> 00:03:36,548 aiming for the silver screen, 96 00:03:36,707 --> 00:03:39,134 Paramount gave up, deciding it was now time 97 00:03:39,219 --> 00:03:41,127 to return to the small screen. 98 00:03:41,221 --> 00:03:43,305 - Paramount decided, let's do what we know how to do. 99 00:03:43,464 --> 00:03:44,890 (narrator) Uh, make movies? 100 00:03:45,049 --> 00:03:47,392 - Let Gene make another TV series on "Star Trek." 101 00:03:47,477 --> 00:03:49,311 (narrator) So no movies, then? 102 00:03:49,470 --> 00:03:51,480 Which isn't as odd as it sounds 103 00:03:51,564 --> 00:03:53,974 because Paramount did have big plans to make content 104 00:03:54,067 --> 00:03:55,892 for the small screen. 105 00:03:55,985 --> 00:03:59,071 (John) By the time you get to 1977, 106 00:03:59,155 --> 00:04:01,898 the only networks that existed in the United States 107 00:04:01,983 --> 00:04:04,734 were CBS, NBC, and ABC. 108 00:04:04,827 --> 00:04:06,820 Paramount decides it wants to try its hand 109 00:04:06,904 --> 00:04:08,738 at a fourth network. 110 00:04:08,823 --> 00:04:11,083 - Now, you know, a decade before Fox, 111 00:04:11,167 --> 00:04:13,910 here's Paramount trying to add to the big three. 112 00:04:13,995 --> 00:04:17,756 - "Star Trek" was going to be the flagship of that network. 113 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:18,999 - They realized what their strength is, 114 00:04:19,083 --> 00:04:20,425 and they're gonna lead with that. 115 00:04:20,510 --> 00:04:22,094 (narrator) They thought they needed TV people 116 00:04:22,178 --> 00:04:23,586 to make a TV show. 117 00:04:23,671 --> 00:04:25,681 And that's why this man entered the fray. 118 00:04:25,765 --> 00:04:27,424 - I'm Harold Livingston. 119 00:04:27,517 --> 00:04:29,342 (narrator) Harold was hired to produce 120 00:04:29,435 --> 00:04:32,846 Paramount's new "Star Trek" TV show called "Phase II." 121 00:04:32,939 --> 00:04:35,682 - All I know is Roddenberry called me in one day. 122 00:04:35,766 --> 00:04:37,442 They offered me this job. 123 00:04:37,601 --> 00:04:39,853 (narrator) Harold had just one sci-fi credit, 124 00:04:39,937 --> 00:04:41,771 but it was a doozy. 125 00:04:41,856 --> 00:04:45,608 - I was the story editor on a show called "Future Cop." 126 00:04:45,693 --> 00:04:47,536 (narrator) But now he'd be the writer 127 00:04:47,695 --> 00:04:51,123 for this perfectly named second "Star Trek" series, "Phase II." 128 00:04:51,282 --> 00:04:54,451 - We were going to do 13 one-hour episodes. 129 00:04:54,535 --> 00:04:56,878 (narrator) There was just one rather pointy problem. 130 00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:59,289 - Spock was not going to be in "Phase II." 131 00:04:59,382 --> 00:05:00,799 - That, sir, is illogical. 132 00:05:00,958 --> 00:05:02,459 (narrator) It was all to do with differences 133 00:05:02,552 --> 00:05:04,803 regarding a chocolate breakfast cereal. 134 00:05:04,962 --> 00:05:06,805 - Mr. Spock! 135 00:05:06,889 --> 00:05:09,466 - My search for something super chocolaty has led me here. 136 00:05:09,550 --> 00:05:12,135 - They let Pebbles cereal have Fred and Barney 137 00:05:12,219 --> 00:05:14,896 wearing pointed ears and making quasi-Vulcan jokes. 138 00:05:14,981 --> 00:05:16,973 - Fascinating. 139 00:05:17,066 --> 00:05:18,808 (Preston) There had been legal disputes 140 00:05:18,893 --> 00:05:22,479 involving royalties from the series, involving the use 141 00:05:22,563 --> 00:05:25,732 of the actors' faces in merchandising. 142 00:05:25,825 --> 00:05:27,159 (narrator) Nimoy refused to sign on until the dispute 143 00:05:27,243 --> 00:05:29,411 over licensing his image was resolved. 144 00:05:29,495 --> 00:05:31,663 Ironically, the script he passed on 145 00:05:31,748 --> 00:05:34,157 was called "In Thy Image." 146 00:05:34,241 --> 00:05:36,409 - Everyone else says, yes, sign me up. 147 00:05:36,494 --> 00:05:39,496 (narrator) And although the screenplay writing duties fell to Harold... 148 00:05:39,580 --> 00:05:42,665 - The idea of the story came from Alan Dean Foster. 149 00:05:42,750 --> 00:05:44,760 - Alan Dean Foster has been published 150 00:05:44,919 --> 00:05:46,336 in science fiction magazines 151 00:05:46,429 --> 00:05:48,671 and has written science fiction books. 152 00:05:48,756 --> 00:05:51,099 He also wrote the novelization books 153 00:05:51,184 --> 00:05:54,269 based on the animated "Star Trek" series. 154 00:05:54,354 --> 00:05:56,104 - Fascinating. - (narrator) Well, hopefully 155 00:05:56,189 --> 00:05:59,775 Harold would make it so as he began working on the script. 156 00:05:59,859 --> 00:06:03,111 - I went home and locked the doors, and wrote this script. 157 00:06:03,270 --> 00:06:04,854 (narrator) And what a script. 158 00:06:04,939 --> 00:06:06,439 (John) There's a supreme intelligence 159 00:06:06,524 --> 00:06:08,691 on its way to Earth to meet its creator. 160 00:06:08,776 --> 00:06:10,535 The Enterprise is sent to intercept it. 161 00:06:10,694 --> 00:06:12,788 (narrator) But then, another supreme intelligence 162 00:06:12,947 --> 00:06:14,864 intercepted Harold's script. 163 00:06:14,957 --> 00:06:17,376 - Roddenberry! He said, "All right. 164 00:06:17,535 --> 00:06:20,045 You've done your job. Now I'll do mine." 165 00:06:20,204 --> 00:06:22,872 - And Gene Roddenberry rewrote Harold's script. 166 00:06:22,957 --> 00:06:27,052 - It was about 40 pages longer and very poor, just dreadful. 167 00:06:27,211 --> 00:06:28,887 (narrator) Possibly because Gene had replaced 168 00:06:29,046 --> 00:06:31,965 his beloved Spock with an inferior facsimile. 169 00:06:32,049 --> 00:06:35,385 - The character of Xon was a full Vulcan, 170 00:06:35,469 --> 00:06:38,647 but wanted to be on a mostly human ship 171 00:06:38,806 --> 00:06:42,150 because he wanted to explore the human element more. 172 00:06:42,235 --> 00:06:44,319 (narrator) The man lined up to replace Spock 173 00:06:44,478 --> 00:06:47,239 wasn't from Vulcan. He was the "Man from Atlantis." 174 00:06:47,323 --> 00:06:49,241 Oh, not the man from Atlantis. 175 00:06:49,325 --> 00:06:50,992 A different one. 176 00:06:51,077 --> 00:06:52,828 - My list of credits, 177 00:06:52,912 --> 00:06:54,830 other than the theater plays that I'd done, 178 00:06:54,989 --> 00:06:56,906 was the "Man from Atlantis." 179 00:06:56,991 --> 00:06:58,500 No. 180 00:06:58,659 --> 00:07:00,252 Freely, I haven't the heart. 181 00:07:00,411 --> 00:07:01,995 (narrator) It was just a humble guest spot, 182 00:07:02,079 --> 00:07:03,338 but it led to this. 183 00:07:03,423 --> 00:07:06,007 - Will Decker. 184 00:07:06,092 --> 00:07:07,843 - How do you do, sir? - (narrator) With so little 185 00:07:08,002 --> 00:07:11,346 experience, David was brought in for a full makeup screen test 186 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:13,339 to see if he had the chops... 187 00:07:13,424 --> 00:07:15,008 - Lieutenant, you're erasing those tapes. 188 00:07:15,092 --> 00:07:17,185 (narrator) and the ears for the role. 189 00:07:17,270 --> 00:07:20,430 - Sir, if I am to function efficiently as science officer, 190 00:07:20,514 --> 00:07:22,182 I must become intimately familiar 191 00:07:22,266 --> 00:07:23,608 with each circuit in this system. 192 00:07:23,767 --> 00:07:25,193 - Carry on. 193 00:07:25,352 --> 00:07:27,362 - Thank you, sir. I will. 194 00:07:27,447 --> 00:07:30,273 (narrator) But just as the new kid was about to be cast, 195 00:07:30,357 --> 00:07:32,442 a new kid on the block arrived for sci-fi 196 00:07:32,526 --> 00:07:35,287 and he had people queuing around the block for his movie. 197 00:07:35,371 --> 00:07:38,623 - Mr. Roddenberry told me that he was very wistful 198 00:07:38,782 --> 00:07:43,536 one day in 1977 when he drove by the theater 199 00:07:43,629 --> 00:07:47,540 and saw the long line around the block for "Star Wars," 200 00:07:47,625 --> 00:07:51,544 wishing that it could have been for a "Star Trek" film. 201 00:07:51,637 --> 00:07:54,297 (narrator) Even if Paramount was having second thoughts 202 00:07:54,390 --> 00:07:56,216 about doing TV instead of a movie, 203 00:07:56,300 --> 00:07:58,718 it was too late to change course. 204 00:07:58,802 --> 00:08:00,562 - When "Star Wars" became a hit, 205 00:08:00,646 --> 00:08:02,314 they didn't want to do a movie 206 00:08:02,398 --> 00:08:03,648 because they said, now it's been done. 207 00:08:03,807 --> 00:08:05,984 Who needs another? It's a one-time thing. 208 00:08:06,143 --> 00:08:08,320 (narrator) Well, then a TV series it is. 209 00:08:08,404 --> 00:08:10,572 - Well, that's the real trick, isn't it? 210 00:08:10,731 --> 00:08:12,240 (narrator) Actually, yes. 211 00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:15,410 Because Paramount's plan to turn on a fourth network 212 00:08:15,569 --> 00:08:17,487 was about to be turned off. 213 00:08:17,571 --> 00:08:19,247 - Because no one wanted to really commit the dollars 214 00:08:19,332 --> 00:08:21,074 for a fourth network. 215 00:08:21,167 --> 00:08:23,835 (narrator) The TV network was faltering, and if Paramount 216 00:08:23,994 --> 00:08:26,579 thought George Lucas was a one-trick pony... 217 00:08:26,672 --> 00:08:28,507 - They didn't think there'd be sequels to "Star Wars." 218 00:08:28,591 --> 00:08:30,008 They didn't think there'd be "Close Encounters." 219 00:08:30,092 --> 00:08:31,751 - I want to speak to someone in charge. 220 00:08:31,844 --> 00:08:34,170 (narrator) Along came a film whose dazzling lights 221 00:08:34,263 --> 00:08:36,172 proved just how hypnotic science fiction 222 00:08:36,257 --> 00:08:37,507 at the movies could be. 223 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,260 (five-tone sequence plays) 224 00:08:40,353 --> 00:08:42,354 There was no denying it. 225 00:08:42,438 --> 00:08:45,273 The big money in sci-fi was moving to the big screen. 226 00:08:45,358 --> 00:08:48,026 After seeing "Close Encounters"'s success, 227 00:08:48,185 --> 00:08:50,436 Paramount executives called David Gautreaux 228 00:08:50,521 --> 00:08:53,439 to their offices for a close encounter of their own kind. 229 00:08:53,533 --> 00:08:55,700 - I'm brought right up to Gene Roddenberry's office now. 230 00:08:55,859 --> 00:08:58,361 I'm in a big room, a lovely office, 231 00:08:58,445 --> 00:09:00,372 and there's a lot of men in this room. 232 00:09:00,531 --> 00:09:02,865 (narrator) Including Paramount's top brass. 233 00:09:02,950 --> 00:09:04,701 (David) There was Jeffrey Katzenberg 234 00:09:04,785 --> 00:09:06,202 and Michael Eisner, and there's Gene. 235 00:09:06,295 --> 00:09:07,954 And he's got a drink in his hand. 236 00:09:08,047 --> 00:09:09,205 And he's offering me, "What would you like, David?" 237 00:09:09,290 --> 00:09:10,873 And I go, well, I happen to like bourbon. 238 00:09:10,958 --> 00:09:12,717 "Pour David a bourbon." So Gene is really the master 239 00:09:12,802 --> 00:09:15,220 of ceremonies for this. And so it was two things 240 00:09:15,304 --> 00:09:16,888 going on at the same time. 241 00:09:16,973 --> 00:09:21,893 "David, congratulations. You are our Xon. Hurrah!" 242 00:09:21,978 --> 00:09:24,563 A big toast. I'm so happy. I'm standing there. 243 00:09:24,647 --> 00:09:26,648 "Now we have another announcement we wanted to make 244 00:09:26,732 --> 00:09:28,057 "with all of you here. 245 00:09:28,150 --> 00:09:30,476 We're going to be a motion picture." 246 00:09:30,561 --> 00:09:33,572 (narrator) So not a TV show, a movie again. 247 00:09:33,731 --> 00:09:35,073 - Huzzah! 248 00:09:35,157 --> 00:09:37,409 (narrator) And so now, 249 00:09:37,493 --> 00:09:39,911 all they had to do was repurpose Harold's pilot... 250 00:09:39,996 --> 00:09:41,246 - (coughing) - (narrator) That had been 251 00:09:41,405 --> 00:09:43,999 repurposed by Gene, for the big screen. 252 00:09:44,083 --> 00:09:46,159 - So we all go and we read it. 253 00:09:46,243 --> 00:09:47,752 And he's sitting there. 254 00:09:47,911 --> 00:09:49,996 He had a desk that was about two feet higher, 255 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,674 so he looked down on you, like Mussolini. 256 00:09:52,758 --> 00:09:56,919 He had this grin on his face expectantly, "What'd you think?" 257 00:09:57,013 --> 00:09:59,005 - So I said, "Gene, it's (bleep)." 258 00:09:59,089 --> 00:10:01,099 And the grin fades. 259 00:10:01,183 --> 00:10:04,093 We had a few words, and he got a little angry. 260 00:10:04,186 --> 00:10:05,770 "Well, we'll let the studio decide!" 261 00:10:05,855 --> 00:10:07,597 (narrator) That gave studio head Michael Eisner 262 00:10:07,690 --> 00:10:10,183 the deciding vote between Gene's rewrite 263 00:10:10,267 --> 00:10:12,352 or Harold's original pilot. 264 00:10:12,436 --> 00:10:14,029 - He says, "This is a good script, Gene. 265 00:10:14,113 --> 00:10:16,364 But it's a television script." 266 00:10:16,523 --> 00:10:18,283 He says, "Harold's is a movie." 267 00:10:22,204 --> 00:10:23,446 (narrator) I By the mid-1970s, 268 00:10:23,530 --> 00:10:24,789 it seemed "Star Trek" the TV series 269 00:10:24,948 --> 00:10:27,533 was suffering an identity crisis. 270 00:10:27,627 --> 00:10:29,786 What was always meant to be a TV series became... 271 00:10:29,879 --> 00:10:31,704 - The movie that was a movie, 272 00:10:31,789 --> 00:10:34,049 but then it was a TV show, but then it was a movie again. 273 00:10:34,133 --> 00:10:37,043 (narrator) Nearly everyone had lost track of the "Trek" until... 274 00:10:37,136 --> 00:10:39,128 - The decision is made to take "In Thy Image" 275 00:10:39,221 --> 00:10:40,713 and turn it into a motion picture. 276 00:10:40,798 --> 00:10:43,725 - The pilot that we were commissioned to do 277 00:10:43,809 --> 00:10:46,636 is being morphed into a major motion picture. 278 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:47,979 (narrator) And in more ways than one, 279 00:10:48,138 --> 00:10:50,473 Paramount was shooting for the stars. 280 00:10:50,566 --> 00:10:52,984 - They were aspiring to do "2001." 281 00:10:53,069 --> 00:10:54,894 - (Dave) Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL. 282 00:10:54,978 --> 00:10:56,813 (narrator) George Lucas had shown Sci-Fi 283 00:10:56,906 --> 00:10:58,823 could pull a crowd. But Paramount 284 00:10:58,908 --> 00:11:00,575 didn't think movies were the way to keep them. 285 00:11:00,660 --> 00:11:02,235 - People think Paramount said, 286 00:11:02,319 --> 00:11:03,986 oh, we gotta have a movie like "Star Wars." 287 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:05,822 - And it's gonna cost you something extra. 288 00:11:05,906 --> 00:11:08,166 (Marc) The reality was, "Star Wars" had 289 00:11:08,250 --> 00:11:09,742 very little to do with it. 290 00:11:09,827 --> 00:11:11,494 - Science fiction was not, by any stretch 291 00:11:11,587 --> 00:11:13,171 of the imagination, a guaranteed thing 292 00:11:13,330 --> 00:11:14,664 just because "Star Wars" had been successful. 293 00:11:14,748 --> 00:11:17,834 The concept of a sustained, profitable, 294 00:11:17,927 --> 00:11:19,928 growing science fiction franchise 295 00:11:20,012 --> 00:11:22,088 had never really existed before. 296 00:11:22,172 --> 00:11:23,598 (narrator) So Paramount planned to make one 297 00:11:23,757 --> 00:11:25,508 and one movie only. 298 00:11:25,601 --> 00:11:27,176 - With big money, big box office, 299 00:11:27,269 --> 00:11:28,853 no reason to ever make a second one. 300 00:11:29,012 --> 00:11:30,855 The fans will never come out to watch a second 301 00:11:30,940 --> 00:11:33,516 "Star Trek" movie, and then we'll launch our network 302 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,028 and then doing the series off of the strength of the movie. 303 00:11:37,187 --> 00:11:39,355 (narrator) But no matter how much Paramount said, 304 00:11:39,448 --> 00:11:41,858 "May the fourth network be with you," 305 00:11:41,942 --> 00:11:44,777 it never would be. But in any case... 306 00:11:44,862 --> 00:11:48,364 - You still have a lot of money that has been invested. 307 00:11:48,449 --> 00:11:50,700 (narrator) The studio's "Star Trek" project 308 00:11:50,784 --> 00:11:52,460 resembled a real-life space program 309 00:11:52,619 --> 00:11:54,546 and felt almost as costly 310 00:11:54,630 --> 00:11:57,623 with sets, props, and even a brand-new spaceship. 311 00:11:57,708 --> 00:12:00,301 - An entire overhaul and update of the Enterprise itself. 312 00:12:00,386 --> 00:12:02,462 (narrator) They had a new ship for a new production, 313 00:12:02,546 --> 00:12:05,223 but who would captain this risky mission? 314 00:12:05,382 --> 00:12:07,133 - Robert Wise. - (narrator) Paramount thought 315 00:12:07,217 --> 00:12:10,812 veteran director Robert Wise would be a safe pair of hands. 316 00:12:10,971 --> 00:12:13,973 - Robert Wise was the first 317 00:12:14,057 --> 00:12:16,642 and only director on the list considered. 318 00:12:16,736 --> 00:12:19,312 (narrator) Wise couldn't make a flop if he tried, 319 00:12:19,405 --> 00:12:22,148 not after this song and dance. - "West Side Story." 320 00:12:22,232 --> 00:12:24,484 - This is the guy who made "Sound of Music." 321 00:12:24,568 --> 00:12:26,402 (narrator) And he knew sci-fi from way back 322 00:12:26,495 --> 00:12:29,080 when it was lasers, not phasers. 323 00:12:29,165 --> 00:12:31,073 - He had done a classic science fiction movie 324 00:12:31,167 --> 00:12:32,751 called "The Day the Earth Stood Still." 325 00:12:36,505 --> 00:12:38,498 - Which is still regarded as one of the greatest 326 00:12:38,582 --> 00:12:40,258 science fiction movies ever made. 327 00:12:40,417 --> 00:12:42,427 (narrator) The pieces were falling into place 328 00:12:42,586 --> 00:12:44,337 for Paramount, but there was still something 329 00:12:44,421 --> 00:12:46,264 or someone missing. 330 00:12:46,348 --> 00:12:49,425 - Mr. Nimoy was still not involved in the project. 331 00:12:49,518 --> 00:12:53,104 Robert Wise, he agreed to do the film. 332 00:12:53,189 --> 00:12:56,682 His wife was a Trekker, and her son was a Trekker. 333 00:12:56,776 --> 00:13:00,102 And they told him, "It's crazy to do it without Spock. 334 00:13:00,187 --> 00:13:02,030 It'd be like doing it without Kirk." 335 00:13:02,114 --> 00:13:05,107 And so Wise went to Paramount 336 00:13:05,201 --> 00:13:07,693 and said exactly what they had told him, 337 00:13:07,778 --> 00:13:10,038 and said, "There's got to be a way that we can get him." 338 00:13:10,197 --> 00:13:12,532 (narrator) Scheduling conflicts and a bigger conflict 339 00:13:12,616 --> 00:13:16,452 over licensing and royalties had taken it down to the wire. 340 00:13:16,545 --> 00:13:19,205 - Days before the press conference 341 00:13:19,298 --> 00:13:21,874 to announce "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," 342 00:13:21,959 --> 00:13:24,803 all of those issues were quickly resolved 343 00:13:24,887 --> 00:13:26,712 and Leonard Nimoy came on board. 344 00:13:26,797 --> 00:13:28,556 - Science Officer Spock. 345 00:13:28,641 --> 00:13:30,308 Reporting as ordered, Captain. 346 00:13:30,392 --> 00:13:33,311 (narrator) The movie was announced to huge fanfare. 347 00:13:33,395 --> 00:13:36,222 Leonard Nimoy was already getting into character 348 00:13:36,306 --> 00:13:39,225 and when asked why it had taken him so long to confirm... 349 00:13:39,309 --> 00:13:42,570 - Probably the thing that took the most time is the fact that 350 00:13:42,729 --> 00:13:45,398 the mail service between here and Vulcan is still pretty slow. 351 00:13:45,491 --> 00:13:47,242 (laughter) 352 00:13:47,326 --> 00:13:49,902 (narrator) But Paramount still had a mountain to climb. 353 00:13:49,995 --> 00:13:52,488 Since "Star Trek" last took to the airwaves, 354 00:13:52,581 --> 00:13:54,833 science fiction had gotten real. 355 00:13:54,917 --> 00:13:57,502 - Now audiences are expecting "Star Wars" level 356 00:13:57,586 --> 00:13:59,671 and "Close Encounters" level quality special effects. 357 00:13:59,830 --> 00:14:02,164 (loud tones) 358 00:14:02,249 --> 00:14:03,758 (narrator) Aggressive presales had also 359 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:05,677 painted Paramount into a corner 360 00:14:05,836 --> 00:14:08,096 with a terrifyingly close release date. 361 00:14:08,180 --> 00:14:10,181 - The distributors were promised 362 00:14:10,340 --> 00:14:12,684 that there would be a "Star Trek" movie 363 00:14:12,843 --> 00:14:14,427 that they could show in their theaters 364 00:14:14,511 --> 00:14:16,938 on December 7, 1979. 365 00:14:17,097 --> 00:14:18,764 - They had penalty contracts 366 00:14:18,858 --> 00:14:21,267 where if they could not deliver this movie by the 7th, 367 00:14:21,351 --> 00:14:23,528 because these theaters are holding open the space for them, 368 00:14:23,612 --> 00:14:25,947 they were out the wazoo for millions of dollars. 369 00:14:26,106 --> 00:14:29,450 (John Tenuto) So that only gives them 18 months, basically, 370 00:14:29,535 --> 00:14:31,527 to take what was a television show 371 00:14:31,620 --> 00:14:33,446 and turn it into a motion picture. 372 00:14:33,530 --> 00:14:36,032 (narrator) At least they had a brilliantly inventive title. 373 00:14:36,116 --> 00:14:37,700 This motion picture would be called... 374 00:14:37,793 --> 00:14:39,118 - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." 375 00:14:39,211 --> 00:14:41,045 (narrator) Huh? 376 00:14:41,130 --> 00:14:43,956 - The body politic that was making the movie went, 377 00:14:44,049 --> 00:14:46,467 we better let everybody know that this is a motion picture, 378 00:14:46,627 --> 00:14:49,888 as opposed to an adapted TV show. 379 00:14:49,972 --> 00:14:53,299 (narrator) The fact was this was an adaptation. 380 00:14:53,392 --> 00:14:56,978 - You had what was meant to be a teleplay for a TV show, 381 00:14:57,137 --> 00:14:59,731 has to become a major motion picture for large screens. 382 00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:01,140 (narrator) Which brings us back to Harold. 383 00:15:01,233 --> 00:15:04,652 - Somebody's gotta write the goddamn script. 384 00:15:04,811 --> 00:15:07,572 - There was a deadline looming. They had to start shooting. 385 00:15:07,656 --> 00:15:10,742 So Roddenberry invited Harold Livingston back. 386 00:15:10,901 --> 00:15:12,652 (narrator) Harold's original script 387 00:15:12,745 --> 00:15:16,572 seemed to have gotten its DNA mixed up in the transporter. 388 00:15:16,665 --> 00:15:19,584 In fact, it had gained a whole new Gene. 389 00:15:19,743 --> 00:15:22,244 "'In Thy Image, ' written by Gene Roddenberry." 390 00:15:22,338 --> 00:15:24,664 - He took all the credit. He didn't share. 391 00:15:24,748 --> 00:15:26,424 - His name is on top. 392 00:15:26,508 --> 00:15:28,593 (narrator) Harold felt his script was now a rewrite 393 00:15:28,677 --> 00:15:30,169 and a write-off. 394 00:15:30,253 --> 00:15:32,597 So he decided to draw a line in the sand 395 00:15:32,756 --> 00:15:35,257 when meeting Roddenberry and director Bob Wise. 396 00:15:35,342 --> 00:15:37,009 - The first thing Wise says to me is, 397 00:15:37,094 --> 00:15:38,344 "What'd you think of the script?" 398 00:15:38,428 --> 00:15:40,179 I said, "What do I think, Mr. Wise, 399 00:15:40,272 --> 00:15:43,274 is you ought to take cyanide." Total crap. 400 00:15:43,433 --> 00:15:45,518 And that was but a big laugh, ha ha ha. 401 00:15:45,602 --> 00:15:47,770 So they asked me if I would rewrite it. 402 00:15:47,854 --> 00:15:51,699 I said, "I'll rewrite it as long as it is contractually agreed 403 00:15:51,784 --> 00:15:54,527 that Gene Roddenberry does not put word on paper." 404 00:15:54,611 --> 00:15:56,862 I mean, I hated him because he couldn't keep 405 00:15:56,947 --> 00:16:00,032 his fingers off the script, he had to rewrite everything. 406 00:16:00,125 --> 00:16:01,542 Agreed. 407 00:16:01,627 --> 00:16:03,127 And they gave me a lot of money. 408 00:16:03,286 --> 00:16:05,121 (narrator) Harold set about writing a script 409 00:16:05,214 --> 00:16:07,465 the whole franchise was riding on, 410 00:16:07,624 --> 00:16:09,717 safe in the knowledge that Gene Roddenberry 411 00:16:09,802 --> 00:16:11,711 would not have his way with it. 412 00:16:11,795 --> 00:16:14,806 (Harold) I write a first draft which Eisner wants to see. 413 00:16:14,890 --> 00:16:18,467 I give it to Gene's secretary to send to Eisner. 414 00:16:18,552 --> 00:16:20,812 About three days later, my phone rings. 415 00:16:20,971 --> 00:16:23,147 It's Eisner calling me from Paris. 416 00:16:23,232 --> 00:16:26,067 He said, "What kind of (bleep) did you send me?" 417 00:16:26,151 --> 00:16:28,811 Honest to God. I said, "What are you talking about? 418 00:16:28,904 --> 00:16:30,062 I tell you it was a good script." 419 00:16:30,147 --> 00:16:31,814 I said, "Bob liked it." 420 00:16:31,898 --> 00:16:34,066 He said, "Nobody could like this crap." 421 00:16:34,151 --> 00:16:35,735 We find out what happened 422 00:16:35,819 --> 00:16:38,496 was I gave the script to Gene's secretary, 423 00:16:38,580 --> 00:16:41,991 and she sent Gene's rewrite to Eisner in Paris. 424 00:16:42,075 --> 00:16:43,909 (narrator) You can't write this stuff, 425 00:16:43,994 --> 00:16:46,829 which is why director Bob Wise was amazed. 426 00:16:46,922 --> 00:16:48,923 - Wise said to me, direct quote, 427 00:16:49,008 --> 00:16:52,084 "Harold, I've been in this business for 40 years, 428 00:16:52,177 --> 00:16:54,670 and I've never had an experience like this." 429 00:16:54,763 --> 00:16:56,338 (narrator) Not for the first time. 430 00:16:56,432 --> 00:16:58,266 "Star Trek," the fourth iteration 431 00:16:58,425 --> 00:17:00,259 was back to square one. 432 00:17:00,343 --> 00:17:03,021 - We threw Gene's rewrite out and went back to what I did. 433 00:17:07,026 --> 00:17:08,026 (narrator) The signing of Leonard Nimoy as Spock 434 00:17:08,185 --> 00:17:09,101 had "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 435 00:17:09,186 --> 00:17:11,112 headed in the right direction... 436 00:17:11,196 --> 00:17:14,115 - Well, so help me, I'm actually pleased to see you. 437 00:17:14,274 --> 00:17:16,776 (narrator) ...and Paramount breathing a sigh of relief. 438 00:17:16,869 --> 00:17:19,028 - Because we're not gonna risk a "Star Trek" property 439 00:17:19,121 --> 00:17:21,030 that doesn't have its most recognizable 440 00:17:21,114 --> 00:17:22,206 and one of the most popular, 441 00:17:22,291 --> 00:17:23,791 if not the most popular character. 442 00:17:23,876 --> 00:17:25,960 (narrator) But Spock's return was still 443 00:17:26,045 --> 00:17:27,462 throwing a wrench in the works. 444 00:17:27,546 --> 00:17:28,454 - In an essence, you have to write Spock 445 00:17:28,547 --> 00:17:30,206 into the movie, right? 446 00:17:30,299 --> 00:17:32,124 He wasn't even in "In Thy Image." 447 00:17:32,209 --> 00:17:33,968 (narrator) What was good for Leonard Nimoy 448 00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:36,295 was not so good for David Gautreaux... 449 00:17:36,379 --> 00:17:38,556 (man) Are you trying to tell me all that work was done for nothing? 450 00:17:38,715 --> 00:17:40,716 - That is the logical conclusion, sir. 451 00:17:40,801 --> 00:17:43,728 (narrator) ...whose Johnny-come-lately Vulcan character Xon 452 00:17:43,812 --> 00:17:45,554 was suddenly on the chopping block. 453 00:17:45,647 --> 00:17:48,566 - Spock is vital to this core. 454 00:17:48,650 --> 00:17:50,151 (narrator) And knowing Xon wasn't, 455 00:17:50,235 --> 00:17:52,570 David met with Gene for reassurance. 456 00:17:52,729 --> 00:17:55,323 - And he gave me a thousand assurances. 457 00:17:55,407 --> 00:17:57,075 "We're definitely, definitely, definitely, 458 00:17:57,234 --> 00:17:59,077 we're building this to go into series." 459 00:17:59,161 --> 00:18:01,570 (narrator) Executives insisted Xon 460 00:18:01,655 --> 00:18:03,831 was a Vulcan who would live long and prosper. 461 00:18:03,916 --> 00:18:06,084 - "Xon is key 462 00:18:06,168 --> 00:18:07,919 to the future of this franchise." 463 00:18:08,078 --> 00:18:10,254 Okay. 464 00:18:10,413 --> 00:18:11,831 (narrator) So all David had to worry about 465 00:18:11,924 --> 00:18:14,258 was learning his lines. - They send me the script. 466 00:18:14,343 --> 00:18:17,670 There is no Xon in the screenplay. 467 00:18:17,754 --> 00:18:21,173 And I realize, oh, it's over. 468 00:18:21,258 --> 00:18:22,767 (narrator) Fortunately for David, 469 00:18:22,851 --> 00:18:24,769 another envelope arrived 470 00:18:24,853 --> 00:18:27,605 and it contained the next best thing an actor can hope for. 471 00:18:27,689 --> 00:18:30,775 - Here's your payoff. You're free. 472 00:18:30,934 --> 00:18:33,778 All in one gesture and a very large check. 473 00:18:33,937 --> 00:18:37,690 Well above what the pilot figure was. 474 00:18:37,774 --> 00:18:40,952 I felt completely liberated. 475 00:18:41,036 --> 00:18:43,112 (narrator) But Mr. Spock himself 476 00:18:43,196 --> 00:18:46,949 was feeling anything but relief over the Spock vs. Xon debacle. 477 00:18:47,042 --> 00:18:49,285 So Nimoy summoned David to ask him... 478 00:18:49,369 --> 00:18:51,537 - "How did it affect you... 479 00:18:51,630 --> 00:18:54,456 "when I... 480 00:18:54,550 --> 00:18:56,551 took that role away from you?" 481 00:18:56,635 --> 00:18:58,794 (narrator) For David, Nimoy's olive branch 482 00:18:58,887 --> 00:19:01,130 was compensation enough for his loss. 483 00:19:01,214 --> 00:19:05,059 - I certainly never, ever once said, that Nimoy guy 484 00:19:05,218 --> 00:19:07,136 coming back and taking my role. 485 00:19:07,220 --> 00:19:11,399 I never viewed it that way because... he's Spock. 486 00:19:11,483 --> 00:19:13,225 - You are correct. 487 00:19:13,318 --> 00:19:14,894 (narrator) And even by the standards of a Vulcan, 488 00:19:14,978 --> 00:19:16,821 this was... - It was very human, 489 00:19:16,905 --> 00:19:19,982 very humane that he would ask such a challenging question. 490 00:19:20,075 --> 00:19:21,567 (narrator) And David still got to learn 491 00:19:21,651 --> 00:19:22,994 some lines for the movie. 492 00:19:23,153 --> 00:19:24,320 - That's within Klingon boundaries. 493 00:19:24,413 --> 00:19:26,238 Who are they fighting? - Unknown, sir. 494 00:19:26,323 --> 00:19:28,332 - They did say, "David, 495 00:19:28,491 --> 00:19:30,326 we'd like you to play Commander Branch." 496 00:19:30,419 --> 00:19:32,244 So I agreed. I played Commander Branch. 497 00:19:32,329 --> 00:19:33,588 (narrator) Here he is commanding, 498 00:19:33,672 --> 00:19:34,922 albeit briefly. 499 00:19:35,007 --> 00:19:36,257 (alarm sounds) 500 00:19:36,416 --> 00:19:38,334 - We are under attack! 501 00:19:38,418 --> 00:19:40,678 (narrator) And while Xon the new Vulcan didn't make it, 502 00:19:40,837 --> 00:19:43,264 for the first time in nearly a decade 503 00:19:43,348 --> 00:19:45,341 the original cast was tight again, 504 00:19:45,425 --> 00:19:47,176 like peas in a space pod... 505 00:19:47,260 --> 00:19:48,519 (William Shatner) I appreciate the welcome. 506 00:19:48,604 --> 00:19:49,937 (narrator) including Mr. Chekov. 507 00:19:50,022 --> 00:19:51,680 - Aye, sir. (narrator) Walter Koenig 508 00:19:51,773 --> 00:19:53,274 finally came in from the cold 509 00:19:53,358 --> 00:19:56,185 after missing the animated series. 510 00:19:56,278 --> 00:19:58,103 - I thought we were in for a grand time. 511 00:19:58,197 --> 00:20:01,532 - When we came back to do the first really big one 512 00:20:01,691 --> 00:20:04,118 that we did after being away so long, 513 00:20:04,203 --> 00:20:07,455 it was amazing that they're the same people. 514 00:20:07,539 --> 00:20:10,449 (narrator) And there were mysterious new characters too, 515 00:20:10,542 --> 00:20:13,535 smuggled in from the original "Phase II" TV pilot. 516 00:20:13,620 --> 00:20:15,955 - She's... Deltan, Captain. 517 00:20:16,039 --> 00:20:17,965 - A Deltan, which was a new 518 00:20:18,050 --> 00:20:20,709 alien race, her species was bald. 519 00:20:20,794 --> 00:20:22,294 They possess the pheromone 520 00:20:22,379 --> 00:20:25,464 that was something that humans just could not 521 00:20:25,548 --> 00:20:26,974 steal themselves against. 522 00:20:27,059 --> 00:20:28,226 (narrator) Which was especially 523 00:20:28,310 --> 00:20:30,052 inconvenient for humans because... 524 00:20:30,136 --> 00:20:32,396 - My oath of celibacy is on record, Captain. 525 00:20:32,555 --> 00:20:34,148 (narrator) Lieutenant Ilia was played 526 00:20:34,233 --> 00:20:37,235 by a new face, and not just any face-- 527 00:20:37,394 --> 00:20:41,313 Miss India 1965. - Persis Khambatta was 528 00:20:41,398 --> 00:20:43,157 an exceptionally beautiful woman. 529 00:20:43,242 --> 00:20:45,985 (narrator) It wasn't just her looks that set Persis apart. 530 00:20:46,069 --> 00:20:47,903 - Unlike a lot of actors, 531 00:20:47,996 --> 00:20:49,413 she was willing to part with her hair. 532 00:20:49,498 --> 00:20:50,998 (narrator) This was no simple matter 533 00:20:51,083 --> 00:20:53,242 of a few hours of makeup and a bald cap. 534 00:20:53,335 --> 00:20:56,003 Persis was prepared to go baldly 535 00:20:56,088 --> 00:20:58,831 where no "Star Trek" actress had gone before. 536 00:20:58,924 --> 00:21:01,166 - There are really heartbreaking images of her crying 537 00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:03,085 while they were doing that. But that's how committed 538 00:21:03,178 --> 00:21:04,929 she was to playing the character 539 00:21:05,088 --> 00:21:07,089 and bring an authenticity to the role. 540 00:21:07,173 --> 00:21:09,925 (narrator) Also new, the character of Commander Decker, 541 00:21:10,010 --> 00:21:13,262 but actor Stephen Collins got to keep this locks. 542 00:21:13,346 --> 00:21:15,764 - He was the son of Will Decker from "The Doomsday Machine" 543 00:21:15,849 --> 00:21:17,441 from the original series. 544 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,019 - Commodore Decker, you are relieved of command. 545 00:21:20,103 --> 00:21:22,029 (narrator) The cast for "The Motion Picture" 546 00:21:22,114 --> 00:21:25,691 was in shipshape, but unfortunately the script wasn't. 547 00:21:25,784 --> 00:21:28,452 - It was not perfect because it had been rushed 548 00:21:28,537 --> 00:21:31,122 to convert "In Thy Image" to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." 549 00:21:31,281 --> 00:21:33,291 - Ready or not, she launches in 12 hours. 550 00:21:33,450 --> 00:21:35,960 (narrator) So much so that principal photography 551 00:21:36,044 --> 00:21:39,705 began in 1978 before a script had even been finished. 552 00:21:39,798 --> 00:21:43,134 Paramount was also behind on commissioning special effects. 553 00:21:43,218 --> 00:21:45,052 - (screaming) 554 00:21:45,137 --> 00:21:47,796 - They wanted to give it to Industrial Light & Magic, 555 00:21:47,881 --> 00:21:49,298 but they weren't available. 556 00:21:49,391 --> 00:21:50,975 (narrator) Meaning there was a risk 557 00:21:51,059 --> 00:21:53,978 their special effects might not be so special, and so... 558 00:21:54,137 --> 00:21:57,222 - Paramount hired Robert Abel & Associates. 559 00:21:57,307 --> 00:21:58,474 (narrator) Which in movie circles 560 00:21:58,558 --> 00:22:00,401 was not an obvious choice. 561 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,070 - Had never done a movie. They were doing TV commercials. 562 00:22:03,229 --> 00:22:05,239 (TV announcer) Enough of this kissing little registered mark. 563 00:22:05,324 --> 00:22:07,149 (narrator) Not just any TV commercials, 564 00:22:07,242 --> 00:22:09,902 but effects-heavy extravaganzas. 565 00:22:09,986 --> 00:22:12,237 - And they had just gotten a lot of attention 566 00:22:12,331 --> 00:22:15,249 for a 7UP TV commercial, which had a lot of effects in it. 567 00:22:15,408 --> 00:22:17,501 - ♪ We see the light ♪ 568 00:22:17,660 --> 00:22:19,411 ♪ Of 7UP ♪ 569 00:22:19,496 --> 00:22:21,997 (narrator) While it was more soda than Yoda, 570 00:22:22,082 --> 00:22:24,592 it wasn't a million light-years away from sci-fi. 571 00:22:24,751 --> 00:22:26,752 So Robert Abel was hired. 572 00:22:26,845 --> 00:22:29,347 - To do all these mind-blowing special effects 573 00:22:29,431 --> 00:22:31,673 that are in an industry perspective, 574 00:22:31,767 --> 00:22:33,351 having to compete with "Star Wars." 575 00:22:33,510 --> 00:22:35,761 (narrator) Desperate for fresh ideas, 576 00:22:35,845 --> 00:22:38,356 Robert Able hired a hotshot young designer. 577 00:22:38,515 --> 00:22:40,274 - I was recommended right out of school 578 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:42,693 to work on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." 579 00:22:42,778 --> 00:22:45,604 (narrator) And gave him a suitably entry-level job to start. 580 00:22:45,688 --> 00:22:47,439 - Build a whole new Enterprise. 581 00:22:47,532 --> 00:22:49,450 (narrator) Completely redesign one of television's 582 00:22:49,534 --> 00:22:52,444 most iconic vehicles, and do it fast. 583 00:22:52,529 --> 00:22:54,530 - The Enterprise had already been built, 584 00:22:54,614 --> 00:22:57,032 but it was too small. It was like six feet long. 585 00:22:57,125 --> 00:22:59,543 They decided on maybe a ten-foot model. 586 00:22:59,628 --> 00:23:01,537 (narrator) For the big screen, 587 00:23:01,621 --> 00:23:03,297 Paramount needed a big ship. 588 00:23:03,456 --> 00:23:05,457 So the Enterprise was upsized. 589 00:23:05,542 --> 00:23:08,052 - And they build this beautiful model, huge! 590 00:23:08,136 --> 00:23:09,970 - He rebuilt most of the miniatures. 591 00:23:10,130 --> 00:23:11,472 And the ones he didn't rebuild, 592 00:23:11,556 --> 00:23:13,298 he had to redesign in some way or another. 593 00:23:13,383 --> 00:23:15,300 (narrator) But with the script still in flux 594 00:23:15,385 --> 00:23:16,885 and with shooting under way, 595 00:23:16,970 --> 00:23:18,562 who knew which of the new ships would even fly? 596 00:23:18,721 --> 00:23:20,564 (explosion) 597 00:23:20,649 --> 00:23:22,307 - They were rewriting that script as they were filming it. 598 00:23:22,392 --> 00:23:25,486 - We were shooting without pages at times. 599 00:23:25,570 --> 00:23:27,229 (narrator) None of this helped director Robert Wise, 600 00:23:27,313 --> 00:23:29,314 whose vast experience counted for little 601 00:23:29,399 --> 00:23:31,316 in the "Star Trek" universe. 602 00:23:31,401 --> 00:23:32,827 - He did not know "Star Trek", and he was 603 00:23:32,911 --> 00:23:34,245 at the mercy of people who said 604 00:23:34,404 --> 00:23:36,155 this is the way this should be done. 605 00:23:36,239 --> 00:23:38,249 - There were changes coming down by the hour. 606 00:23:38,333 --> 00:23:40,668 - We had to do all kinds of scenes. 607 00:23:40,752 --> 00:23:42,253 (narrator) Soon the movie's right hand 608 00:23:42,337 --> 00:23:43,921 was no longer talking to its left. 609 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,841 - Script pages were coming down to the set 610 00:23:46,925 --> 00:23:49,334 after the scenes had already been shot. 611 00:23:49,419 --> 00:23:50,752 - And any kind of script revision 612 00:23:50,846 --> 00:23:52,671 that you have causes problems. 613 00:23:52,764 --> 00:23:55,266 You may need to set up that scene in a different location, 614 00:23:55,425 --> 00:23:57,017 do the camera movement in a different way. 615 00:23:57,102 --> 00:23:59,261 That's all time. That's all money. 616 00:23:59,345 --> 00:24:01,930 Both of which the film didn't have enough of. 617 00:24:02,015 --> 00:24:04,024 (narrator) The writer and producer were barely talking either. 618 00:24:04,109 --> 00:24:06,527 (Harold) Gene would continually rewrite, 619 00:24:06,611 --> 00:24:08,195 and somebody would sneak it back to me 620 00:24:08,354 --> 00:24:10,197 and I'd rewrite him. 621 00:24:10,356 --> 00:24:12,941 - The rewrite of the rewrite of the rewrite would get rewritten. 622 00:24:13,026 --> 00:24:14,535 - And it became script wars. 623 00:24:14,694 --> 00:24:15,944 - He wouldn't stop. 624 00:24:16,037 --> 00:24:18,197 He was just maniacal about it. 625 00:24:18,290 --> 00:24:20,449 (Walter) I guess that was a trademark of Gene's. 626 00:24:20,542 --> 00:24:22,460 He had to rewrite everybody's work. 627 00:24:22,544 --> 00:24:24,119 - And he was a bad writer. 628 00:24:24,212 --> 00:24:26,547 (narrator) Ironically, some of the best 629 00:24:26,631 --> 00:24:28,966 dialogue and the most electrifying scenes 630 00:24:29,125 --> 00:24:31,302 were playing out between Harold and Gene. 631 00:24:31,461 --> 00:24:33,462 - We'd sit there insulting each other, 632 00:24:33,546 --> 00:24:36,215 calling each other stupid and a piece of (bleep). 633 00:24:36,308 --> 00:24:37,883 And you don't know what the hell you're doing. 634 00:24:37,976 --> 00:24:40,811 Get out of my sight! We were at each other's throats. 635 00:24:40,896 --> 00:24:42,387 (computer voice) Emergency alert. 636 00:24:42,481 --> 00:24:44,223 (narrator) But "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 637 00:24:44,307 --> 00:24:47,318 now had a problem money alone couldn't solve. 638 00:24:47,477 --> 00:24:48,894 - I said, "I'm not gonna put up with this 639 00:24:48,978 --> 00:24:50,821 and I don't care, and I quit!" 640 00:24:54,734 --> 00:24:55,993 (narrator) "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 641 00:24:57,078 --> 00:24:57,328 was now months into shooting, 642 00:24:58,488 --> 00:24:58,496 but fast running out of script. 643 00:24:59,906 --> 00:25:00,456 - And they gave us an unfinished script. 644 00:25:02,408 --> 00:25:03,334 (narrator) And the only thing worse than not having a script 645 00:25:03,418 --> 00:25:05,661 is not having a writer to fix that. 646 00:25:05,754 --> 00:25:07,254 - So I get a call from Katzenberg. 647 00:25:07,339 --> 00:25:08,589 (narrator) Writer Harold Livingston had... 648 00:25:08,673 --> 00:25:10,332 - Quit! - and Paramount executives 649 00:25:10,425 --> 00:25:12,167 rushed to save their production. 650 00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:13,844 - Katzenberg sends a car for me. 651 00:25:14,003 --> 00:25:16,430 Brings me to his office at 7:00 p.m. 652 00:25:16,589 --> 00:25:18,340 I walk into his office. 653 00:25:18,433 --> 00:25:20,518 The secretary locks the door. 654 00:25:20,677 --> 00:25:22,269 "Would you like something to drink?" 655 00:25:22,354 --> 00:25:24,429 So I said, "Yeah, I'd like some gin on the rocks." 656 00:25:24,514 --> 00:25:26,524 Brings me a full glass. 657 00:25:26,683 --> 00:25:29,193 So I'm sitting there drinking. I drink. 658 00:25:29,352 --> 00:25:32,112 Half-hour later, Katzenberg comes in. 659 00:25:32,197 --> 00:25:33,864 "All right, you're gonna come back to work." 660 00:25:33,949 --> 00:25:35,440 I said, "No, I'm not." 661 00:25:35,525 --> 00:25:37,025 And I'm drunk. I'm whacked out of my head. 662 00:25:37,110 --> 00:25:39,203 (narrator) Perhaps the gin had not swayed Harold, 663 00:25:39,362 --> 00:25:41,205 but it had given him some courage. 664 00:25:41,289 --> 00:25:43,282 - I said, "I want $10,000 a week." 665 00:25:43,375 --> 00:25:45,709 "Got it." "And I want a picture commitment." 666 00:25:45,794 --> 00:25:47,378 A script commitment. "You got it." 667 00:25:47,537 --> 00:25:49,964 (chuckles) Well, that's what I had to do. 668 00:25:50,123 --> 00:25:52,708 (narrator) But just as Harold had tied one on with Katzenberg 669 00:25:52,792 --> 00:25:56,128 and been tied down, Gene was unraveling. 670 00:25:56,212 --> 00:25:59,965 - Gene was already starting to show signs of substance abuse. 671 00:26:00,049 --> 00:26:01,642 - He was on drugs all the time. 672 00:26:01,726 --> 00:26:04,886 He smoked a lot of pot, and I know he was on cocaine. 673 00:26:04,980 --> 00:26:07,723 And he was a prodigious drinker. 674 00:26:07,807 --> 00:26:09,400 (David Gerrold) Gene Roddenberry was probably 675 00:26:09,484 --> 00:26:11,727 one of the most complicated people I've ever met. 676 00:26:11,811 --> 00:26:14,479 He had power, he had authority, he had ability. 677 00:26:14,564 --> 00:26:16,991 He wasted it by being a substance abuser, 678 00:26:17,075 --> 00:26:19,401 but when he was at his best, he was the best. 679 00:26:19,485 --> 00:26:21,486 And when he was at his worst, he was the worst. 680 00:26:21,580 --> 00:26:23,488 (narrator) Sidelined from his own production, 681 00:26:23,573 --> 00:26:26,074 Gene was losing touch with his life's work. 682 00:26:26,159 --> 00:26:28,419 (Harold) I understand that this was Gene's baby. 683 00:26:28,503 --> 00:26:30,087 It was his whole life. 684 00:26:30,171 --> 00:26:33,757 And without "Star Trek," he was gone, he was nothing. 685 00:26:33,916 --> 00:26:35,584 (narrator) The creator of "Star Trek" 686 00:26:35,668 --> 00:26:38,420 tried harder to force his will on the production. 687 00:26:38,504 --> 00:26:42,591 - Roddenberry was always trying imbue his own ideas 688 00:26:42,684 --> 00:26:45,010 into the script, into the picture. 689 00:26:45,094 --> 00:26:46,937 He drove everybody crazy. 690 00:26:47,096 --> 00:26:48,764 He was more than a pain in the ass, 691 00:26:48,857 --> 00:26:51,358 he was a monumental nuisance. 692 00:26:51,443 --> 00:26:53,935 (narrator) On set, director Robert Wise 693 00:26:54,020 --> 00:26:57,356 was feeling stymied by his overreaching producer. 694 00:26:57,449 --> 00:26:59,116 (David Gerrold) Robert Wise was used to having 695 00:26:59,275 --> 00:27:01,943 a much greater degree of autonomy 696 00:27:02,028 --> 00:27:03,704 to getting things to work. 697 00:27:03,788 --> 00:27:07,115 And Roddenberry's meddling and micromanaging 698 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,702 was not working well for him. It was not a happy 699 00:27:10,795 --> 00:27:12,954 experience for him. Roddenberry was the worst 700 00:27:13,048 --> 00:27:14,456 producer he ever had to work with. 701 00:27:14,549 --> 00:27:16,208 (narrator) Adding to the trouble, 702 00:27:16,292 --> 00:27:18,636 Katzenberg and Harold's gin-fueled accord 703 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,471 had already broken down. 704 00:27:20,630 --> 00:27:22,381 - I got so disgusted with everything 705 00:27:22,474 --> 00:27:24,141 that I didn't care about the money or anything. 706 00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:26,385 I just walked out. (narrator) Again. 707 00:27:26,469 --> 00:27:28,053 Which was not the end of a story 708 00:27:28,137 --> 00:27:30,305 because the story still had no end. 709 00:27:30,390 --> 00:27:32,733 - They didn't have an ending for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." 710 00:27:32,817 --> 00:27:36,737 - They gave us a two-act script in a three-act movie. 711 00:27:36,821 --> 00:27:39,156 - I had trouble writing the ending myself. 712 00:27:39,315 --> 00:27:41,316 I mean, I can't blame anybody for that 713 00:27:41,401 --> 00:27:43,327 because I couldn't come up with a decent ending. 714 00:27:43,486 --> 00:27:45,412 (narrator) And without a writer on board, 715 00:27:45,571 --> 00:27:49,750 the only writing being done was a series of angry memos. 716 00:27:49,834 --> 00:27:51,326 - Lots of memos going back and forth, 717 00:27:51,411 --> 00:27:52,661 including from Paramount. 718 00:27:52,754 --> 00:27:54,413 "What's the ending gonna be?" 719 00:27:54,506 --> 00:27:56,748 And nobody could agree on what the ending was gonna be. 720 00:27:56,833 --> 00:27:58,834 (narrator) Not having a third act was bad, 721 00:27:58,927 --> 00:28:00,669 but there was another problem 722 00:28:00,753 --> 00:28:02,421 that couldn't simply be solved with a typewriter. 723 00:28:02,505 --> 00:28:03,514 - The special effects people 724 00:28:03,673 --> 00:28:05,516 were not producing what he needed. 725 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,351 - So the question would be, why wouldn't they come forward 726 00:28:07,510 --> 00:28:09,019 and say, "Hey, we're having a problem?" 727 00:28:09,178 --> 00:28:10,595 Well, 'cause you don't want to get fired. 728 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:12,597 They were feeling that they would somehow 729 00:28:12,682 --> 00:28:14,108 find a way to pull it through. 730 00:28:14,192 --> 00:28:16,101 (narrator) The director was getting nervous. 731 00:28:16,185 --> 00:28:17,769 - Paramount presold this. 732 00:28:17,854 --> 00:28:19,947 There was a locked premiere date. 733 00:28:20,031 --> 00:28:22,190 (narrator) With the movie already booked in theaters, 734 00:28:22,275 --> 00:28:25,035 Wise knew how true the teaser poster really was. 735 00:28:25,194 --> 00:28:27,538 The adventure was only just beginning 736 00:28:27,697 --> 00:28:29,781 when it should have been nearly finished. 737 00:28:29,874 --> 00:28:31,792 - They were opening the movie in nine months. 738 00:28:31,951 --> 00:28:33,210 - It needs more work, sir. 739 00:28:33,294 --> 00:28:34,703 - Bob Wise finally said, 740 00:28:34,796 --> 00:28:36,130 "Come show me what you have." 741 00:28:36,214 --> 00:28:38,206 He'd been asking to see it for a while. 742 00:28:38,291 --> 00:28:40,292 (narrator) The effects crew played a test reel, 743 00:28:40,376 --> 00:28:42,136 hoping the director would see the light. 744 00:28:42,220 --> 00:28:44,796 - And so they brought it in and they screened it. 745 00:28:44,889 --> 00:28:46,715 (narrator) Robert Wise saw the light all right. 746 00:28:46,799 --> 00:28:48,467 - The probe itself, which was a physical thing, 747 00:28:48,551 --> 00:28:49,801 putting out a huge amount of light. 748 00:28:49,886 --> 00:28:51,470 (narrator) But that was all he saw. 749 00:28:51,563 --> 00:28:52,730 - And he said, "Okay, show me what else you have." 750 00:28:52,814 --> 00:28:54,481 And they said, "That's everything." 751 00:28:54,566 --> 00:28:57,476 And they failed terribly. They were over their heads. 752 00:28:57,569 --> 00:28:59,478 They didn't know how to do something like this. 753 00:28:59,571 --> 00:29:02,406 (narrator) Worse, this humble on-camera effect 754 00:29:02,565 --> 00:29:04,742 was not what Robert Abel had promised. 755 00:29:04,901 --> 00:29:08,236 - Bob had bitten off a huge chunk. 756 00:29:08,329 --> 00:29:10,998 He had proposed and pursued 757 00:29:11,157 --> 00:29:14,659 doing the effects for the movie in a digital environment 758 00:29:14,744 --> 00:29:17,162 with computers that were not even 759 00:29:17,246 --> 00:29:18,839 as powerful as your cell phone. 760 00:29:18,923 --> 00:29:20,665 (narrator) Unbeknownst to the director, 761 00:29:20,750 --> 00:29:22,834 the digital effects had failed 762 00:29:22,927 --> 00:29:26,087 and the only stunning visual effect Robert Wise saw 763 00:29:26,172 --> 00:29:28,173 was the disappearing budget. 764 00:29:28,257 --> 00:29:29,758 - About 5 million was squandered. 765 00:29:29,851 --> 00:29:31,685 Robert Wise had a meltdown. 766 00:29:31,844 --> 00:29:33,512 He'd just storm out 767 00:29:33,605 --> 00:29:35,680 and say, "I never want to see that man again." 768 00:29:35,765 --> 00:29:37,858 (narrator) That man was soon-to-be-replaced 769 00:29:37,942 --> 00:29:40,277 special effects supervisor Robert Abel. 770 00:29:40,436 --> 00:29:42,529 - "Find me somebody else. I don't care who. 771 00:29:42,688 --> 00:29:45,106 I will never have anything to do with that man again." 772 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:46,617 (narrator) The numbers were all bad 773 00:29:46,701 --> 00:29:47,776 for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." 774 00:29:47,869 --> 00:29:50,111 Six months until the premiere, 775 00:29:50,205 --> 00:29:53,031 only two of three acts scripted, 776 00:29:53,124 --> 00:29:55,626 and just one miserable minute of special effects. 777 00:29:59,547 --> 00:30:01,540 (narrator) Nearly a year into production, "Star Trek: 778 00:30:01,633 --> 00:30:03,208 The Motion Picture" still had no special effects, 779 00:30:03,292 --> 00:30:05,052 no ending, and seemingly no hope. 780 00:30:05,136 --> 00:30:06,553 - Systems overloading, Captain. 781 00:30:06,638 --> 00:30:08,222 (narrator) Only one thing could make 782 00:30:08,306 --> 00:30:11,475 this classic Hollywood nightmare worse... lawyers. 783 00:30:11,559 --> 00:30:14,228 - Exhibitors put a lot of pressure on the studio 784 00:30:14,312 --> 00:30:16,230 in the form of a potential lawsuit 785 00:30:16,314 --> 00:30:18,974 to make sure that the movie was completed 786 00:30:19,058 --> 00:30:21,226 on the date that they had proposed. 787 00:30:21,319 --> 00:30:22,644 (narrator) There's nothing like the threat 788 00:30:22,737 --> 00:30:25,063 of legal action to get things moving. 789 00:30:25,147 --> 00:30:28,492 Fearing the worst, Paramount made plans to shift liability. 790 00:30:28,651 --> 00:30:31,236 - I believe they had to have a fall guy. 791 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:33,247 (narrator) Overwhelmed and underachieving, 792 00:30:33,331 --> 00:30:35,833 Robert Able was cast in that role. 793 00:30:35,917 --> 00:30:39,253 - Bob Abel became the force majeure 794 00:30:39,412 --> 00:30:41,505 that the studio had to have 795 00:30:41,589 --> 00:30:46,009 in case they were sued by the exhibitors to avoid 796 00:30:46,168 --> 00:30:48,428 a hundred-million-dollar class-action suit. 797 00:30:48,588 --> 00:30:50,681 (narrator) Trimming up legal strategies was one thing, 798 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,091 but what Paramount needed was someone to dream up 799 00:30:53,175 --> 00:30:54,768 an ending to their film. 800 00:30:54,853 --> 00:30:57,012 (Marc) And Jon Povill, who was associate producer, 801 00:30:57,105 --> 00:30:59,097 came up with the ending in the 11th hour 802 00:30:59,190 --> 00:31:04,027 with this idea that V'Ger is trying to achieve consciousness. 803 00:31:04,112 --> 00:31:07,030 (narrator) That's V'Ger, the giant amorphous energy cloud. 804 00:31:07,189 --> 00:31:09,950 - And how better to do it than to merge with the Creator? 805 00:31:10,034 --> 00:31:11,785 - And who is the Creator? - A human. 806 00:31:11,870 --> 00:31:13,203 (narrator) That's this human. 807 00:31:13,362 --> 00:31:14,955 - And Decker can merge with Ilia. 808 00:31:15,039 --> 00:31:16,290 (narrator) That's this woman. 809 00:31:16,374 --> 00:31:18,041 - The Creator has not answered. 810 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,200 (Marc) Which is also merging with V'Ger. 811 00:31:19,285 --> 00:31:21,202 - Who is V'Ger? 812 00:31:21,287 --> 00:31:23,046 - V'Ger is that which seeks the Creator. 813 00:31:23,131 --> 00:31:25,624 - Which allows V'Ger to merge with humankind. 814 00:31:25,708 --> 00:31:26,967 - It became a living thing. 815 00:31:27,051 --> 00:31:28,635 (narrator) If that sounds confusing, 816 00:31:28,794 --> 00:31:31,046 that's because it is, and Paramount felt the same way. 817 00:31:31,139 --> 00:31:33,974 - Paramount hated it. Hated it. 818 00:31:34,058 --> 00:31:36,718 But Robert Wise said, "I like it." 819 00:31:36,802 --> 00:31:38,395 And of course, when Bob Wise liked it, 820 00:31:38,479 --> 00:31:40,138 then Paramount liked it and so it got filmed. 821 00:31:40,231 --> 00:31:42,307 (narrator) Working at the end was a start, 822 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,144 but in June of '79, Paramount still had an incomplete film 823 00:31:46,228 --> 00:31:47,896 with no special effects. 824 00:31:47,980 --> 00:31:49,648 - Paramount brings in Doug Trumbull, 825 00:31:49,732 --> 00:31:52,067 who is one of the special effects' worlds 826 00:31:52,151 --> 00:31:54,486 most amazing artists working on "2001." 827 00:31:54,570 --> 00:31:56,246 (narrator) Stanley Kubrick's classic opus 828 00:31:56,405 --> 00:31:59,917 had virtually defined the look and feel of space on film. 829 00:32:00,076 --> 00:32:01,585 - Nobody knew how to do the space effects 830 00:32:01,669 --> 00:32:03,328 better than Doug Trumbull. 831 00:32:03,412 --> 00:32:04,829 (narrator) Paramount needed Trumbull to do 832 00:32:04,914 --> 00:32:07,499 the same for "Star Trek" and at warp speed. 833 00:32:07,592 --> 00:32:10,677 What "Star Trek" needed was a new way of doing things, 834 00:32:10,836 --> 00:32:12,179 and luckily for Trumbull, 835 00:32:12,263 --> 00:32:14,514 John Dykstra had invented just that, 836 00:32:14,599 --> 00:32:16,424 courtesy of "Star Wars," again. 837 00:32:16,517 --> 00:32:17,926 - Here's where the fun begins. 838 00:32:18,010 --> 00:32:19,853 - When we did the "Star Wars" stuff, 839 00:32:20,012 --> 00:32:24,516 it opened up a whole new realm for lots and lots of material. 840 00:32:24,609 --> 00:32:27,110 (narrator) Motion control, still a new technique, had made 841 00:32:27,269 --> 00:32:29,780 it possible to realistically depict space flight. 842 00:32:29,939 --> 00:32:32,699 - Take us out. - We were using technology 843 00:32:32,784 --> 00:32:35,527 we designed for an earlier project 844 00:32:35,611 --> 00:32:38,279 to achieve a new result. 845 00:32:38,373 --> 00:32:41,708 But there was so much work to do in such a short period of time. 846 00:32:41,793 --> 00:32:43,961 When I joined them, it was triage. 847 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,955 - Suddenly there was a crash rush at the end of-- 848 00:32:47,048 --> 00:32:48,799 Coming up to release date. 849 00:32:48,883 --> 00:32:50,709 (Dykstra) We immediately went into a nightmare. 850 00:32:50,802 --> 00:32:52,293 Everybody's hair was on fire. 851 00:32:52,378 --> 00:32:54,721 We were working three eight-hour shifts. 852 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:56,306 - They brought beds in. 853 00:32:56,391 --> 00:32:59,309 - I think the quote was, from Michael Eisner was 854 00:32:59,468 --> 00:33:02,804 "You're coming out on the release date we have set. 855 00:33:02,897 --> 00:33:05,482 "I don't care if there's black leader in place 856 00:33:05,566 --> 00:33:07,976 of where the effects should be, the movie's coming out." 857 00:33:08,069 --> 00:33:10,311 - Don't worry, she'll launch on schedule 858 00:33:10,396 --> 00:33:11,980 if we have to tow her out with our bare hands. 859 00:33:12,073 --> 00:33:14,074 (narrator) With the hardest of hard deadlines, 860 00:33:14,233 --> 00:33:17,327 John and Doug divided the work between their studios. 861 00:33:17,486 --> 00:33:20,822 - Doug was really, I think, focusing on the Enterprise. 862 00:33:20,906 --> 00:33:23,166 (narrator) The iconic and now redesigned mother ship 863 00:33:23,251 --> 00:33:25,243 was destined to be the centerpiece. 864 00:33:25,327 --> 00:33:27,328 - Doug did the dry dock sequence. 865 00:33:27,413 --> 00:33:29,080 - And they do the tour around the Enterprise, 866 00:33:29,165 --> 00:33:31,758 and if you're a "Star Trek" fan, it's... ahh. 867 00:33:31,843 --> 00:33:33,844 - The introduction to the Enterprise 868 00:33:34,003 --> 00:33:35,670 had to be orgasmic. 869 00:33:35,755 --> 00:33:37,172 - I'm in heaven, you know? 870 00:33:37,265 --> 00:33:38,682 If you would stop now, I'll die happy. 871 00:33:38,841 --> 00:33:40,675 (narrator) This cinematic climax was made 872 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,094 possible by some ingenious smoke and mirrors. 873 00:33:43,187 --> 00:33:46,106 - Trick is, is that we're trying to create an illusion. 874 00:33:46,190 --> 00:33:48,016 You put a light source on the ship, 875 00:33:48,100 --> 00:33:52,187 and you want it to focus on a particular thing. 876 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:54,689 - So much white lighting on the side of the ship 877 00:33:54,774 --> 00:33:56,616 kind of took away from the scale of the ship, 878 00:33:56,701 --> 00:33:58,526 and he thought it'd be better 879 00:33:58,619 --> 00:34:01,529 to neutralize all of that lighting down 880 00:34:01,614 --> 00:34:05,709 and just use these spotlights to give the ship a more scale. 881 00:34:05,793 --> 00:34:07,368 (narrator) That epic scale came from something 882 00:34:07,462 --> 00:34:09,120 small enough to fit in your mouth. 883 00:34:09,213 --> 00:34:11,873 - There was dental mirrors, a lot of dental mirrors. 884 00:34:11,957 --> 00:34:14,134 Take a light, source it, a focused beam, 885 00:34:14,218 --> 00:34:15,710 bounce it off a dental mirror, 886 00:34:15,803 --> 00:34:17,387 and it puts a spot of light over here. 887 00:34:17,472 --> 00:34:20,465 And it looks like that light is sourced from here. 888 00:34:20,549 --> 00:34:22,225 (narrator) But to get the party started, 889 00:34:22,310 --> 00:34:25,053 it wasn't the Enterprise that needed to look imperious. 890 00:34:25,137 --> 00:34:27,138 - John Dykstra's outfit 891 00:34:27,231 --> 00:34:30,809 did the opening shot which was of the Klingon ship 892 00:34:30,902 --> 00:34:32,402 looming into view. 893 00:34:32,561 --> 00:34:34,488 They knew how important it was for the picture. 894 00:34:34,647 --> 00:34:36,898 (narrator) If the Enterprise was going to be majestic, 895 00:34:36,982 --> 00:34:40,660 her enemies needed to be electrifying. 896 00:34:40,745 --> 00:34:41,986 - We had lots of weird stuff. 897 00:34:42,071 --> 00:34:43,997 We had a Tesla coil, 898 00:34:44,082 --> 00:34:46,583 which is lightning generator. 899 00:34:46,667 --> 00:34:51,412 It would throw a six-foot arc in helium with no vacuum, 900 00:34:51,497 --> 00:34:53,665 which is a long piece of lightning. 901 00:34:53,749 --> 00:34:55,258 (electrical whirring) 902 00:34:55,343 --> 00:34:58,345 It used 60 amps at 440 volts, 903 00:34:58,429 --> 00:35:00,180 which is a lot of electricity. 904 00:35:02,016 --> 00:35:04,184 And we had to build a cage around it 905 00:35:04,343 --> 00:35:06,344 because we're near the airport there. 906 00:35:06,428 --> 00:35:08,105 And when we fired it up, 907 00:35:08,264 --> 00:35:10,357 it would interfere with radio transmissions 908 00:35:10,441 --> 00:35:13,268 from the tower with the airplanes. 909 00:35:13,361 --> 00:35:15,103 Maybe that wasn't the best way to do it, 910 00:35:15,196 --> 00:35:16,855 but it was the way that we figured 911 00:35:16,939 --> 00:35:19,440 we could get it done in the time that we had. 912 00:35:19,534 --> 00:35:22,110 (narrator) While incredible explosions were being rendered to film, 913 00:35:22,194 --> 00:35:24,696 something else was exploding like a supernova, 914 00:35:24,789 --> 00:35:26,114 and it wasn't pretty. 915 00:35:26,198 --> 00:35:27,207 - It went way over budget. 916 00:35:27,291 --> 00:35:28,542 - It doubled and then tripled. 917 00:35:28,626 --> 00:35:30,535 And then eventually was $45 million. 918 00:35:30,619 --> 00:35:32,045 - Money wasn't an issue. 919 00:35:32,130 --> 00:35:33,288 - And worked around the clock 920 00:35:33,381 --> 00:35:36,457 and finished the last special effects 921 00:35:36,542 --> 00:35:39,377 about a week before the movie was gonna open. 922 00:35:39,470 --> 00:35:41,379 (narrator) A lot had gone into 923 00:35:41,463 --> 00:35:43,882 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." - Nobody had seen the movie. 924 00:35:43,975 --> 00:35:46,134 (narrator) And a lot of it ended up on screen. 925 00:35:46,218 --> 00:35:48,228 - It was an incredible human effort. 926 00:35:48,312 --> 00:35:50,138 (narrator) To some it was no surprise that 927 00:35:50,222 --> 00:35:54,067 following their first screening, the "L" word was used. 928 00:35:54,152 --> 00:35:56,486 - And suddenly, it's feeling long. 929 00:35:56,645 --> 00:35:58,405 (narrator) Along with the "B" word. 930 00:35:58,564 --> 00:36:01,065 - It's feeling a little boring. 931 00:36:01,150 --> 00:36:03,484 (narrator) However, somewhat ironically, Robert Wise 932 00:36:03,569 --> 00:36:05,579 just didn't have enough time to fix it. 933 00:36:05,663 --> 00:36:07,739 - He wanted more time to shave off 934 00:36:07,832 --> 00:36:11,001 some of those moments that people complained about 935 00:36:11,085 --> 00:36:12,994 where there's a little too much special effects. 936 00:36:13,078 --> 00:36:16,581 Add a little bit more of the humanity into the film. 937 00:36:16,665 --> 00:36:18,675 (narrator) But with the premiere looming, Paramount had 938 00:36:18,759 --> 00:36:20,919 the bigger problem of finishing their final cut 939 00:36:21,003 --> 00:36:23,838 or any cut in time for the opening. 940 00:36:23,923 --> 00:36:26,099 - They were just hoping that they could get it done. 941 00:36:30,012 --> 00:36:31,262 (narrator) December 7, 1979. 942 00:36:31,347 --> 00:36:32,597 - It was a red carpet thing. 943 00:36:32,681 --> 00:36:34,441 Everybody was in tuxedos. 944 00:36:34,525 --> 00:36:36,693 (narrator) As everyone made their way to the premiere... 945 00:36:36,777 --> 00:36:39,354 - Robert Wise was carrying with him the print, 946 00:36:39,438 --> 00:36:42,023 and it's still wet. They just made the print. 947 00:36:42,107 --> 00:36:44,618 They came out of the developer into the cans, 948 00:36:44,702 --> 00:36:47,954 still wet with the idea that they would be dried off by their 949 00:36:48,039 --> 00:36:50,448 first trip through the projector when they got to the feeder. 950 00:36:50,532 --> 00:36:52,617 - The last roll of visual effects 951 00:36:52,701 --> 00:36:55,286 had been done the night before. 952 00:36:55,371 --> 00:36:57,121 - They got it into the theater. 953 00:36:57,215 --> 00:36:59,716 (narrator) The feeling in the room was euphoric. 954 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,460 - The opening to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" is glorious. 955 00:37:02,544 --> 00:37:04,879 There's so much going on. 956 00:37:04,964 --> 00:37:07,382 The effects are marvelous. The audience cheered 957 00:37:07,466 --> 00:37:09,726 and applauded when they saw the Klingon ships. 958 00:37:11,896 --> 00:37:13,972 (narrator) Paramount had a hit on their hands. 959 00:37:14,056 --> 00:37:16,066 - It's amazing, it's insane. 960 00:37:16,150 --> 00:37:17,150 - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 961 00:37:17,309 --> 00:37:19,402 was extremely successful. 962 00:37:19,487 --> 00:37:21,813 - It's insane that the movie made as much money as it did. 963 00:37:21,897 --> 00:37:23,490 - It made a fortune. 964 00:37:23,574 --> 00:37:25,149 - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 965 00:37:25,234 --> 00:37:26,993 makes $139 million. 966 00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:28,662 (narrator) After crawling over the finish line, 967 00:37:28,746 --> 00:37:31,498 the film still managed to take first place. 968 00:37:31,657 --> 00:37:34,909 - It was number one at the box office for about three months. 969 00:37:34,994 --> 00:37:37,504 - It made more money than any "Star Trek" film 970 00:37:37,663 --> 00:37:39,756 until "Star Trek" 2009. 971 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:41,508 (narrator) But critics were split. 972 00:37:41,592 --> 00:37:42,834 (Marc Cushman) About half of 'em were very 973 00:37:42,918 --> 00:37:45,178 positive.. and half weren't. 974 00:37:45,263 --> 00:37:49,266 (narrator) For some, the rebirth of "Star Trek" was an achievement itself. 975 00:37:49,350 --> 00:37:51,518 - What a towering achievement, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 976 00:37:51,602 --> 00:37:55,096 was that it was able to take a 1960s television show, 977 00:37:55,180 --> 00:37:57,432 produced on a 1960s budget 978 00:37:57,516 --> 00:38:00,443 with 1960s special effects technology 979 00:38:00,528 --> 00:38:04,188 and transform it into something realistic and believable. 980 00:38:04,273 --> 00:38:06,116 - It looks like you found a way. 981 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:07,617 (narrator) But for some, the film still 982 00:38:07,702 --> 00:38:10,537 moved at a 1960s pace. 983 00:38:10,621 --> 00:38:14,449 - "Star Trek, the motionless picture" and things like that. 984 00:38:14,533 --> 00:38:16,617 - The papers, they were brutal. They just said 985 00:38:16,702 --> 00:38:19,287 we were these old guys who were 986 00:38:19,371 --> 00:38:21,873 sort of stuck to television. It was just awful. 987 00:38:21,957 --> 00:38:24,042 The only thing was, I evidently 988 00:38:24,126 --> 00:38:26,044 was so anonymous in the picture 989 00:38:26,128 --> 00:38:29,297 that when the reviews came and they started 990 00:38:29,381 --> 00:38:32,133 naming the actors who were out of their league 991 00:38:32,217 --> 00:38:33,551 by being in this picture, 992 00:38:33,635 --> 00:38:36,229 they ignored my existence entirely. 993 00:38:36,314 --> 00:38:38,306 I, I, I was grateful. 994 00:38:38,390 --> 00:38:39,891 We have defeated. 995 00:38:39,975 --> 00:38:41,985 - I only see all the flaws in it. 996 00:38:42,069 --> 00:38:45,405 Because I was there, and I know where the compromises are. 997 00:38:45,489 --> 00:38:47,157 (narrator) For Leonard Nimoy, the motion picture 998 00:38:47,241 --> 00:38:49,326 was like a faraway planet. 999 00:38:49,410 --> 00:38:53,071 - V'Ger is barren, cold. 1000 00:38:53,155 --> 00:38:54,998 It was cold, it was distant. 1001 00:38:55,082 --> 00:38:56,074 It had very little to do with "Star Trek." 1002 00:38:56,158 --> 00:38:59,077 No meaning, no hope. 1003 00:38:59,161 --> 00:39:00,912 The characters were not in shape, 1004 00:39:00,996 --> 00:39:02,672 in place, playing off of each other 1005 00:39:02,831 --> 00:39:04,832 and with each other the way we did best. 1006 00:39:04,917 --> 00:39:06,676 - There were some reviews that called into question 1007 00:39:06,761 --> 00:39:09,929 the missing sort of humanity of the characters. 1008 00:39:10,014 --> 00:39:12,507 (narrator) Then it was possibly the most confusing ending 1009 00:39:12,591 --> 00:39:15,602 to a Sci-Fi picture since "2001: A Space Odyssey." 1010 00:39:15,686 --> 00:39:17,604 - I wasn't crazy about the ending. 1011 00:39:17,688 --> 00:39:21,191 - What V'Ger needs in order to evolve is a human quality. 1012 00:39:21,350 --> 00:39:22,692 - And that's not because I didn't write it. 1013 00:39:22,851 --> 00:39:25,353 It's because it made little sense to me. 1014 00:39:25,437 --> 00:39:27,447 Well, though, with V'Ger, 1015 00:39:27,531 --> 00:39:29,199 do some (bleep) thing, I don't know. 1016 00:39:29,283 --> 00:39:32,619 But if it worked for the "Star Trek" people, okay, good. 1017 00:39:32,703 --> 00:39:34,195 (narrator) For director Robert Wise, 1018 00:39:34,279 --> 00:39:36,289 it turned out to be one of his biggest hits 1019 00:39:36,374 --> 00:39:38,533 and one of his least favorite films. 1020 00:39:38,617 --> 00:39:40,284 - He said I've never made a movie before where 1021 00:39:40,369 --> 00:39:43,296 we were rewriting the script as we were shooting 1022 00:39:43,381 --> 00:39:45,123 and waiting for the special effects. 1023 00:39:45,207 --> 00:39:47,300 - Making "Star Trek" wasn't fun. 1024 00:39:47,459 --> 00:39:49,052 (narrator) The success of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 1025 00:39:49,136 --> 00:39:51,304 had saved the franchise. 1026 00:39:51,389 --> 00:39:53,297 - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was such a big hit. 1027 00:39:53,382 --> 00:39:54,549 Of course, there was gonna be a second movie 1028 00:39:54,633 --> 00:39:55,642 and a third movie and so forth. 1029 00:39:55,726 --> 00:39:57,560 - It made it of worth 1030 00:39:57,645 --> 00:39:59,479 to continue the "Star Trek" franchise. 1031 00:39:59,563 --> 00:40:00,972 (narrator) But this larger prize came 1032 00:40:01,056 --> 00:40:03,391 at the expense of the TV show. 1033 00:40:03,475 --> 00:40:05,985 - So there, phase two went away for that reason. 1034 00:40:06,070 --> 00:40:08,479 Because of the success of the movie. 1035 00:40:08,564 --> 00:40:10,156 (narrator) For Gene Roddenberry, 1036 00:40:10,241 --> 00:40:12,066 the motion picture was another example 1037 00:40:12,151 --> 00:40:15,161 of "Star Trek" taking off without him on board. 1038 00:40:15,246 --> 00:40:17,321 - Yeah, there were a lot of problems with the motion picture 1039 00:40:17,406 --> 00:40:20,250 both structurally and as a film. 1040 00:40:20,334 --> 00:40:24,421 And a lot of that was not Gene's fault, but he was blamed. 1041 00:40:24,505 --> 00:40:26,664 And he was demoted. 1042 00:40:26,748 --> 00:40:28,583 - After the motion picture, 1043 00:40:28,667 --> 00:40:30,093 Gene was kicked upstairs. 1044 00:40:30,177 --> 00:40:33,179 - They gave him a new contract that said 1045 00:40:33,264 --> 00:40:36,599 that he would be a very well-paid script consultant. 1046 00:40:36,684 --> 00:40:38,759 (narrator) For perhaps the first time in its history, 1047 00:40:38,844 --> 00:40:41,604 but not the last, "Star Trek" had broken through 1048 00:40:41,689 --> 00:40:45,099 despite its creator as well as because of him. 1049 00:40:45,184 --> 00:40:46,517 - We wouldn't be here discussing "Star Trek" 1050 00:40:46,602 --> 00:40:48,361 if it wasn't for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." 1051 00:40:48,446 --> 00:40:51,606 - Somebody had to go boldly where no one had gone before. 1052 00:40:51,690 --> 00:40:54,525 And Robert Wise did it. It would be churlish 1053 00:40:54,618 --> 00:40:57,945 and self-aggrandizing, I think, to not acknowledge 1054 00:40:58,030 --> 00:41:01,282 the debt even if it, you know, I just learned things 1055 00:41:01,366 --> 00:41:03,293 that I, watching the movie that I didn't understand 1056 00:41:03,377 --> 00:41:06,287 or wanted to change or thought could be done differently. 1057 00:41:06,371 --> 00:41:08,882 - It was also a sociological... (chuckling) 1058 00:41:08,966 --> 00:41:11,292 Pop culture land mine. 1059 00:41:11,385 --> 00:41:12,710 - What do you make of all this? 1060 00:41:12,794 --> 00:41:14,220 (narrator) Just as the motion picture split 1061 00:41:14,305 --> 00:41:16,380 critical opinion, fans were also split 1062 00:41:16,465 --> 00:41:18,799 and still debate its worth today. 1063 00:41:18,893 --> 00:41:22,470 - The very first debate of the fans 1064 00:41:22,554 --> 00:41:24,314 is "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" good or bad? 1065 00:41:24,398 --> 00:41:28,234 - It didn't have the dynamics. It didn't have the drama. 1066 00:41:28,319 --> 00:41:30,820 - I think it's a good movie. Most people excoriate it. 1067 00:41:30,905 --> 00:41:32,739 But I like the first "Star Trek" movie. 1068 00:41:32,823 --> 00:41:35,074 (narrator) But for every fan of the original series 1069 00:41:35,234 --> 00:41:38,319 who lamented the lack of a good villain or driving action... 1070 00:41:38,403 --> 00:41:40,488 (loud grunting) 1071 00:41:40,572 --> 00:41:43,824 There's a fan who sees pure science fiction. 1072 00:41:43,909 --> 00:41:47,086 - It's a very cerebral, thoughtful commentary. 1073 00:41:47,171 --> 00:41:49,422 It comments on the concept of faith. 1074 00:41:49,507 --> 00:41:52,926 It deals with something that we are dealing with right now 1075 00:41:53,085 --> 00:41:56,012 in a profound way which is the merger of humanity and machines. 1076 00:41:56,096 --> 00:41:58,089 - V'Ger and the Creator will become one. 1077 00:41:58,173 --> 00:41:59,849 - And so in some ways again, like really great 1078 00:41:59,934 --> 00:42:02,352 science fiction, ahead of its time. 1079 00:42:02,436 --> 00:42:04,604 - For all the slings and arrows that the motion picture takes 1080 00:42:04,688 --> 00:42:08,358 as a piece of cinema, "Star Trek" broke so many norms. 1081 00:42:08,442 --> 00:42:10,851 It broke so much new ground on so many levels. 1082 00:42:10,945 --> 00:42:13,521 - We are inside a living machine. 1083 00:42:13,605 --> 00:42:15,782 - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" goes into who we are. 1084 00:42:15,866 --> 00:42:18,025 What is life? What is the meaning of life? 1085 00:42:18,110 --> 00:42:20,194 - "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" keeps in line 1086 00:42:20,279 --> 00:42:24,282 with Roddenberry's edict that "Star Trek" is us. 1087 00:42:24,366 --> 00:42:26,459 - I think we gave it the ability to create 1088 00:42:26,544 --> 00:42:29,537 its own sense of purpose 1089 00:42:29,630 --> 00:42:31,548 out of our own human weaknesses. 1090 00:42:31,707 --> 00:42:33,541 (narrator) Whatever its human weaknesses, 1091 00:42:33,625 --> 00:42:34,801 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" 1092 00:42:34,885 --> 00:42:36,961 had put "Star Trek" the franchise 1093 00:42:37,045 --> 00:42:39,222 back on track, even if its makers 1094 00:42:39,306 --> 00:42:41,641 felt like they had just survived a war. 1095 00:42:41,725 --> 00:42:44,060 - I've been in three (bleep) wars, I've... 1096 00:42:44,144 --> 00:42:46,145 The (bleep)-- had the (bleep) kicked out of me. 1097 00:42:46,230 --> 00:42:48,815 My worst war was with Roddenberry. 1098 00:42:48,899 --> 00:42:50,725 I don't know who else could've taken all that (bleep). 1099 00:42:50,809 --> 00:42:53,194 (narrator) Well, Harold would not be the last.88636

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