Back for a Second (Season) Look

A while back, I blogged about a book that showed me I didn't know everything about Star Trek like I thought I did -- These Are the Voyages: Season One. Painstakingly researched and carefully written by Marc Cushman, the book chronicled the production of the first season of the original Star Trek. Cushman wrote two more volumes to cover subsequent seasons, and I've now finished his book on season two.

Once again, Cushman impresses with his level of detail. Not only does he dig deeper than any Star Trek book has gone before, he actually corrects misinformation that has been taken for truth over the decades -- from the actual production order of the episodes (which isn't what other sources have listed) to accurate Nielsen ratings for each telecast (showing that Star Trek was hardly a failure, even in a tough Friday night time slot).

Season two was a year of major upheaval for Star Trek, and the book conveys this well. Lucille Ball's studio, Desilu, about to go under, was sold to Paramount. Under new management, budget and schedule overruns were not to be tolerated. Oh, and that budget? Reduced from the first season. Cushman's episode-by-episode account really helps you appreciate why Star Trek was the way it was. Not every show could hit the mark because of the incredible time pressure. And did it seem to you like William Shatner's acting got broader and hammier in season two? Well, that's because there really wasn't time for more than a couple takes on any given scene, and not even the resident directors were willing to crack down too hard on the star.

Getting this full context made me appreciate the successes of the second season more -- and there were many, to be sure. I was particularly shocked to learn that the classic episode "The Doomsday Machine" was somehow filmed not in a modern standard seven or eight days, or even a Star Trek standard six days. It was filmed in just five days, in an attempt to get finances and scheduling back on track. (An attempt that not only worked, but still somehow resulted in a standout hour of the series.)

This book also made me better appreciate the role of producer Gene Coon in the history of Star Trek. It's creator Gene Roddenberry that gets all the praise now, but it turns out that if you're a typical Star Trek fan, most of what you like best was probably Coon's contribution, not Roddenberry's. Gene Coon created the Klingons (one tidbit I did know before this book). He built up the playful rivalry between Spock and McCoy. Most significantly, he shepherded the more comedic episodes of the series; "The Trouble With Tribbles" and "I, Mudd" were both developed while Roddenberry was on a working sabbatical from the series (and he reportedly hated them when he came back), while "A Piece of the Action," written by Coon, was allowed to be finished only out of desperation to get something in front of the camera.

Not that this book is a hit job on Gene Roddenberry as such, but it also provides many examples that take the shine off his legend. One great example of him believing too much in his own hype is the episode "The Omega Glory," a dreadful late season episode that he'd been trying to make since the series' inception. He thought it was so wonderful that he pushed it for Emmy consideration, to the exclusion of other episodes... and as a result, Star Trek missed out on nominations in several categories it had been part of for season one.

Obviously, as with volume one, this book will be of little interest to anyone who isn't a serious Star Trek fan. But if you are one, it's a real delight. As with the book before, I give this These Are the Voyages: Season Two an A-. I recommend it highly, and look forward to finishing the set with the book on Season Three.