Appendix A, Part IV: Star Trek, Season 5 (1970-71)
And now for the final season! (As always, editorial notes and comparison points to OTL will be highlighted in RED and placed in brackets.)
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"Captain’s log, final entry. These have been the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Throughout her five-year mission, she explored strange new worlds, sought out and discovered new life and new civilizations, and has boldly gone where no others have gone before."
- James T. Kirk, delivering the final lines of Star Trek
Viewership for Star Trek declines somewhat from the peak achieved in the previous season, with a rating of 21.0, or 12.62 million households watching the average episode; these numbers are good for an overall ranking of #19 for the season. For the third consecutive season, it can be found in the Monday 7:30 timeslot, and despite its lower ratings, it is still consistently able to defeat "Gunsmoke" on CBS, to win the timeslot. Viewer demographics continue to be superb; indeed, they are now better than those for "Laugh-In", which ranks at #12 overall for the season. (These viewership numbers exclude those for the series finale, which will be included later.)
The average production budget is almost $300,000 per episode, though this includes both the two-part crossover with Doctor Who, and the two-part series finale. Excluding these, the budget is roughly $275,000 per episode; that this figure is above initial projections fails to surprise anyone. Whether NBC would agree to cover these exorbitant expenses if they hadn't already arranged for this to be the final season is doubtful – especially since their margins are now very slim indeed. Desilu, of course, are more than able to cover their margins, thanks to merchandising revenues. Indeed, the studio makes over $10 million from products bearing the Star Trek name in 1970 alone.
All members of the "Big Five" remain in the same positions they held in the previous season. Gene Roddenberry, still the nominal Executive Producer, spends virtually no time involved with the show's production; when he isn't developing new ideas to pitch to the studio, he's planning an elaborate wedding, to make an honest woman out of his long-suffering mistress, Majel Barrett. (IOTL, he married Barrett in Japan – as soon as his divorce to his first wife went through - in the closing days of 1969.) Gene Coon, the Co-Executive Producer and showrunner, remains committed to his work, despite his own blissful second marriage, already in progress. Supervising Producer D.C. Fontana, though she spends most of her spare time writing spec scripts for other genre shows, in anticipation of the new opportunities awaiting her, also focuses on the task at hand: keeping up her writing duties for Star Trek. As always, the man who really keeps the show running is Robert Justman, the Producer. He never seems to tire of his micromanaging duties, which suits everyone else just fine. And finally, there is the Executive in Charge of Production, Herb Solow. His boss, Lucille Ball, had finally gotten the hint, and promoted him above needing to take a direct role in the production of Desilu's programming, though he remains with all of them through the end of the 1970-71 season; partly so that there will be time for a suitable replacement to be found, and partly so that Solow can continue on with his duties with Star Trek, to see the show off properly. He would never want anyone else to finish the task at hand.
At lower levels, there is even less movement. John Meredyth Lucas remains as Co-Producer, though he is forced to scale back on his directorial and writing duties to focus on actual producing. David Gerrold, the other Co-Producer, picks up the slack, spending virtually every spare moment writing for the show. As usual, most of his time is spent rewriting and punching up completed scripts, an act for which he receives no additional onscreen credit. The two Associate Producers, Gregg Peters and Eddie Milkis, are able to run a tight ship, though Milkis in particular is often out and about, looking for new opportunities. Early in 1971, Milkis meets Garry Marshall, developer and executive producer of "The Odd Couple", a Paramount production filmed on the Desilu lot, and becomes interested in an idea that Marshall is developing, tentatively titled "New Family in Town" (IOTL, this idea would eventually be developed as "Happy Days").
Which brings us to the cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley once again appear in all the episodes of this season; this makes Shatner and Nimoy the only actors to appear in every episode of the entire series, Kelley having missed a few first-season shows. James Doohan, for the third consecutive season, also appears in every episode, cementing his status as first-tier cast member in all but name. (This ambiguity between the "Big Three" and the "Big Four" ITTL is part of the reason why Gerrold coined the term "Big Five", as a reference to and gentle mockery of the ensuing fan dispute.) Among the second-tier cast, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, and John Winston all appear in the majority of the season's shows. All four of the third-tier cast members – Martine, Mulhall, M’Benga, and Tamura – appear in several episodes apiece. The only episode(s) to feature all thirteen of them is the two-part series finale.
Interactions between the cast are considerably mellowed, tensions being much lower, and morale being much higher, with a clear end in sight. Nonetheless, Shatner continues to annoy his co-stars with his towering ego, which has produced yet another musical album, Man of the Future. (This was never produced IOTL; the world had to "wait" until 2004 for his second album, the actually-pretty-good Has Been, made during the height of Shatner's latter-day "comeback".) For his part, Leonard Nimoy, continuing to withdraw into himself and his drinking problem, interacts very little with his castmates – or even the fans – outside of the job. One new opportunity shared by both Shatner and Nimoy this season is the chance to direct episodes of the series. Kelley, for his part, is exhausted; his hours are even longer and harder than they were in past seasons, and having to referee and mediate conflicts between his castmates is emotionally draining. Doohan, though he continues to despise Shatner, does his best to avoid conflict for the good of the show. Takei, on the other hand, has no such reservations, and his feuds with Shatner become the talk of the Desilu lot. It occurs to many members of the crew that the cast seemed to get along much better when Star Trek was just a struggling show that was flying under the radar.
30 episodes are produced this season: 26 regular episodes; 2 episodes as part of the crossover with Doctor Who; and 2 episodes as part of the series finale (which is aired as one two-hour episode). 24 of these are directed by one of the five regular directors: Marc Daniels, Joseph Pevney, Vincent McEveety, Ralph Senensky, and Lucas. Shatner directs one episode; Nimoy directs two. Every episode but one is written, at least in part, by a veteran Star Trek writer. The highlights of the season include:
"The Borderland", the only episode credited entirely to a rookie, Larry Niven, who obviously has credentials as a science-fiction writer. The episode, which features an elaborate plot about disappearing starships and black holes, and is unusually "hard" science-fiction by Star Trek standards, is the most expensive of the 26 regular episodes, but wins plaudits for its literate script by Niven; up to and including the 1971 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, the third won by the series. (IOTL, Niven submitted this story idea – as "The Borderland of Sol" – to D.C. Fontana for TAS; she declined, believing it too complex for a half-hour, so he instead sold them "The Slaver Weapon", a reworking of his own "The Soft Weapon". Niven also wrote, but never pitched, a script idea called "The Pastel Terror".)
"Cassandra", the fifth and final once-a-season contribution by Theodore Sturgeon, is a comedic episode featuring a clumsy Yeoman (Tamura, in her most developed part in the series), and a Gremlin-like mischief-making creature; similar to "The Trouble with Tribbles", though obviously with a more malevolent alien menace. (This episode was written for Phase II IOTL.)
"To Attain the All" continues the fifth-season trend of returning science-fiction writers, with Norman Spinrad (absent since the second season) coming back to write the story. It tells the tale of the Enterprise crew unwittingly becoming involved in a contest to access a vast repository of knowledge, though they soon discover themselves to be agents for disembodied aliens, similar to "Return to Tomorrow". (Another Phase II script. Spinrad isn't thrilled about coming back to work with Coon, but the producers ask really nicely.)
"Cyrano de Mudd", a Harry Mudd-Cyrano Jones teamup written by Stephen Kandel (with an uncredited rewrite by Gerrold), features the two trickster traders becoming involved in a galactic smuggling racket; their presence in the scheme alerts the crew of the Enterprise, and it's a madcap chase to intercept the illicit merchandise. (No OTL analogue; that truly terrible title is all mine.)
"The Savage Syndrome", written by Margaret Armen, features a strange device that strips inhibitions from humans and amplifies their rage, touching on themes from many previous episodes: "The Naked Time", "Day of the Dove", "The Savage Curtain"... with the added twist that Spock, for once, is completely immune, whereas Kirk is among the most strongly affected. Considered by the writing staff as a sign that they are running out of ideas, it is usually considered one of the fifth season's weakest episodes – a symptom of having to write 30 instead of 26, in the view of many. (Another Phase II script, written by a series regular. Stale as stale can be.)
"Lord Bobby's Obsession" marks the return of first-season writer Shimon Wincelberg (also known as S. Bar-David), who spins the tale of a figure from days gone by, mysteriously found on a Klingon derelict. Similar to the episode "The Squire of Gothos", also from the first season, it features a seemingly omnipotent trickster character, who causes the Enterprise crew no end of trouble. (One last Phase II script. Again, the fact that it was written by a series veteran gives it priority. And again, nothing we haven't seen before.)
(In short, Season 5 is very uneven. A few episodes are considered among the very best of Star Trek, and there are few outright disasters, unlike in earlier seasons; but those stale episodes and overused plots really feel old here, to the point of being boring on occasion. The effects, props, costumes, and sets are at their most elaborate and ambitious in this season, which at least provides a lot of eye candy.)
And then there is the two-part series finale, "These Were the Voyages", aired on a single night: July 5, 1971, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. In addition to all thirteen recurring Enterprise crewmen, the two most frequent guest characters – Admiral Komack, and the nefarious Klingon Captain Kor – make an appearance in the finale, as does Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek (though only in the first part). Gene Roddenberry is credited for the story, but despite his providing a few suggestions, these are mostly discarded by the actual writers, Gene Coon and D.C. Fontana (credited for the teleplay), with input from Lucas, Gerrold, and even Justman. The plot entails the expiration of the Organian Peace Treaty, resulting in the Federation and the Klingons quickly coming to blows; chaos breaks loose when the Romulans launch a sneak attack on both sides. (ITTL, the Klingons and Romulans are not established as erstwhile allies, a situation which only came about because of budget limitations which forced the producers to reuse Klingon ship models for the Romulans; indeed, there is said to be tension between them, as an allegory of the Sino-Soviet split.) The Romulans, stand-ins for Red China through most of the series, suddenly become Imperial Japan analogues, with the Enterprise finding itself at the heart of a Pearl Harbor situation.
In the midst of a long-awaited and heated battle between Kirk and Kor, they're ambushed by a Romulan fleet, eager to take out the two enemy flagships. To the surprise of the Enterprise crew, Kor sacrifices his own ship, defiantly declaring that no one could defeat Kirk – except for him. This allows the Enterprise – though badly wounded – to defeat the remaining ships and escape. The Federation and Klingon fleets, learning of this sacrifice, form a truce, teaming up and beating back the Romulans. They are so successful in their joint offensive that they push the Romulans back to the Neutral Zone "faster than the Allied forces marched through Europe at the end of World War II", a classic example of the series directly referring to one of its allegorical situations. Thus, just as the Enterprise, crippled and outgunned, engages another Romulan Bird-of-Prey, and is facing certain doom, news arrives from Admiral Komack: all three sides have agreed to a tripartite truce. After the Enterprise hobbles to the nearest starbase, the story reaches a denouement, which functions as a long goodbye.
The five-year mission, as announced at the beginning of the finale, is drawing to a close; the crew are welcomed to Starbase 10 by Komack himself. (Byron Morrow makes his only appearance on-set with the other actors on this occasion; all his other appearances are as a talking head on a viewscreen, which adds to the significance of this scene.) The peace negotiations are underway, and Komack formally declares the end of the five-year mission, as of the end of that day (Stardate 9999.0). A round of promotions and reassignments are announced. Kirk is promoted to Commodore, and given command of the new ship, USS Excelsior. Spock is promoted to Captain, and given command of the ship on which he has served for his entire career: the Enterprise, pending repairs. Bones decides to resign his commission to return to Earth, and spend time with his daughter. The Big Three are going their separate ways, and indeed, all ten of the other recurring characters will move in one of those three directions. (Scotty seems to take the path of least resistance; he remains a Commander and Chief Engineer aboard the Enterprise, promoted only to First Officer.) The Enterprise is still spaceworthy, and Kirk convinces Komack to allow the crew one last patrol of the sector; he delivers his final log entry before the ship flies off, one last time.
The moral of the story is a simple one: in war, there is no victor; in peace, there is no loser. An unabashedly sentimental finale, everyone involved has good feelings about it, but even the most optimistic of them can not anticipate the public response. It receives a 47.0 rating and a 75 share. This means that 47% of all television sets in the United States – and 75% – or three-quarters – of all those that are turned on – are tuned to Star Trek. This figure represented 28.25 million households. These remarkable numbers are enough to shatter previous ratings records, notably dethroning "The Fugitive" as the most-watched episode of any continuing series in television history. (The numbers for "The Fugitive" are a 45.9 rating and a 72 share, for 25.7 million households.) Without a doubt, the grand finale of Star Trek brings the era of classic television to an end with a big bang.
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Thus concludes the original run of Star Trek ITTL. It ran from September 8, 1966, to July 5, 1971, for a total of 137 episodes, plus the unaired pilot. We'll be taking a look at Star Trek with two additional posts: a trivia and statistics update; and a legacy and aftermath update. One will be included in each of the next two cycles, so there's still more Star Trek to come!
I deliberately avoided discussing the Star Trek/Doctor Who crossover, which will be detailed in the next update. Thank you all very much for reading my longest post to date, and once again, Happy New Year. Here's to a most productive 2012!
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