An Alternate Trek

[nick_crenshaw82]

I'm not sure that the Star Trek comic strips would be published in the US. The ITC Star Trek hasn't hit the US consciousness the same way that the OTL one did. That having been said, the ITC Star Trek was popular with College students especially in the North East and California despite being shown in the graveyard slot of Friday evening on NBC. These buy comics so somebody may well take a punt. I doubt that it would be DC or Marvel (who exist ITTL), Charlton perhaps?

(I'm assuming that American comics have followed a very similar path to OTL)

In the Five Color ATL DC Comics split itself in 1945 (which is the POD) when Max Gaines buys out Jack Liebowitz and keeps All-American Comics separate from National Periodical Publications/Detective Comics, Inc. In 1958 Martin Goodman sells Timely/Atlas to All-American instead of being force to use National's distribution company for his comics. DC still purchase Fawcett Comics and Quality Comics.

Other PODs are that Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster won their case against DC and received an undisclosed sum. Rumor has the amount as high as $10 million. But more importantly, each received a small percentage of the company. Joe Simon & Jack Kirby created S&K Comics (which later became Escape Comics) in 1954. Escape Comics later purchased purchased Charlton (who themselves owned Frank Comunale/Nedor characters), Fox Feature, Lev Gleason, Magazine Enterprise). In 1958 Stan Lee and Steve Ditko are hired by Archie Comics and create the Mighty Comics superhero imprint and use the MLJ/Archie characters for their new heroes.

So in the long run no American comics doesn't follow the OTL. If it helps Marvel did show reprints in America so Mighty Comics might publish your version of Star Trek.

 

[Lindseyman]

They're much more like what I had in mind for the ITC Star Trek
Your original version would probably be the ones for the Will Smith vehicle that I mentioned in passing.

As to the comics I meant that in my timeline comics had gone much as OTL, after all my POD is in the early 60s.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Spock, Away Team Security

 

[Lindseyman]

Spock isn't quite that red and away team security just wear combat fatigues not the shipboard tunic (rather negates the idea of the fatigues!)
Still I'm VERY impressed.
Thank You

 

[Lindseyman]

As a courtesy NBC and Paramount invited ITC representatives to watch a special presentation of the first few episodes of Star Trek: USS Enterprise during October of 1970. Lew Grade, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Brian Clemens and various other members of the ITC production team plus both Malcolm Hulke and Terry Dicks (who had a break from their duties on Doctor Who) attended.

There was a pleasant meal and then they settled down to watch the episodes. NBC were very happy with the production. It “corrected” all the problems that they had had with the ITC production and were sure that it was going to be a success.

The first episode was a version of the episode Omega IV. In many ways Paramount had reverted to Gene Roddenberry’s original conception of the idea and had given it the title “The Omega Glory”. The British watched the episode and their reaction was not what NBC had expected to say the least!

Bruce Lansbury, the producer of the Paramount version, later recalled

“We shouldn’t have been at all surprised by their reaction. We had taken their baby and turned it into something else very different. I began to suspect that something was amiss when after twenty or so minutes I noticed Hulke and Dicks wincing. That stopped when we showed the second episode that introduced the Tellurians and was replaced by a look that was a cross between shock, horror and quite a bit of anger. The Andersons’ reaction was equally horrified although I could tell that they were at least impressed by the production values.

After the first episode Gene (Roddenberry) of all people, leaned over and whispered to me that this wasn’t going as well as he expected. He was very protective of this version, as it was closer to his original vision that he had tried to sell in the States in the early sixties, but he had worked with these people for four or five years and could tell that they were not reacting the way that we had hoped.”

Brian Clemens in an interview in the late seventies about “The New Avengers” was also asked about this showing. After some thought he replied

“With hindsight we shouldn’t have been surprised at what they (Paramount) did. They had taken the background and the idea and turned it into an American programme. It had superb production values, was very well edited and produced. Most of the acting was good or better, Leonard Nimoy’s Spock was superb. Bill Shatner’s Captain Hunter wasn’t to our tastes but did prove popular with American audiences and George Kennedy and De Forest Kelley were very good as the Chief Engineer and Doctor. However it was Lew Grade’s comment that hurt the Americans most. He said that the programme was excellent, much, much, better than other American Sci Fi on Television but it was NOT Star Trek!

It was much more action orientated than ours had been. It was clear that the bad guys were just bad guys, there was no attempt to explain their point of view. This became even more apparent in later episodes when the Tellurians and Klingons appeared. Worst the United Systems really was the US in space. Admittedly ours had been the British Commonwealth in space but we had the Commonwealth making bad decisions that backfired and creating problems which had to be solved. There was none of that in this version they were right because they were the US and that was it!

I really think that the American’s did not understand our reactions. They were obviously baffled by them as in their eyes this was a production much better suited to their domestic market. It almost certainly was however in producing it they had ripped the soul out of our programme. In the end it didn’t really matter what we thought. The first series was successful in the States and when it got accepted for being a different programme, especially when they re-branded the second season as “Enterprise” dropping the Star Trek, it has been relatively successful overseas although nowhere near as successful as our Star Trek has been.”

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Spock isn't quite that red and away team security just wear combat fatigues not the shipboard tunic (rather negates the idea of the fatigues!)
Still I'm VERY impressed.
Thank You

So make Spock lighter in color then the red tunics, or switch the two colors?

 

[Lindseyman]

The tunics fine as it is, just make Spock slightly lighter.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Slightly lighter then the tunic or his current skin color?

 

[Lindseyman]

Lighten his skin colour.

On another note, any more comments? I'm avoiding writing much about the American Trek at the moment for reasons mentioned in previous posts. All thoughts/comments etc welcome.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Closer?

 

[Lindseyman]

That is definitely how Spock would appear in the comic strip (when it appeared in colour). On tv I don't think the colour would be that intense. However I'm still very impressed.

 

[Lindseyman]

British Television in 1970

1 January–5 February – The BBC airs The Six Wives of Henry VIII, a series of six plays, each of which focusses on the life of one of King Henry VIII of England's six wives. Each featured Keith Michell as Henry VIII.

2 January – Manhunt broadcast on ITV. British pilot Jimmy Briggs (Alfred Lynch) crashes his aeroplane in occupied France and immediately finds himself on the run from the Nazis. He meets a young girl, Nina (Cyd Hayman), a part-Jewish agent with important information, and vows to get her back to Britain. He is helped by another agent, code-named Vincent (Peter Barkworth), and pursued across France by S.S. Officer Lutzig (Philip Madoc), and the ambivalent Abwehr Sgt. Gratz (Robert Hardy), a complex psychological character who is implied to fall in love with Nina. Unlike most previous war dramas, the Nazis were presented as more than just fanatical thugs. While Lutzig was close to the stereotype, although given great depth by Philip Madoc, Gratz could not have been more different. Unlike many similar dramas, Manhunt also portrayed in detail the rivalry between the SS and the Abwehr.

5 January – A Question of Sport first broadcast on BBC1 presented by David Vine

9 February – Doomwatch broadcast on BBC1. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist (played by John Paul), responsible for investigating and combating various ecological and technological dangers

28 March Finis the last episode of Star Trek is broadcast on ITV

14 April – A Family at War produced by Granada for ITV. The series examined the lives of the lower middle-class Ashton family of the city of Liverpooland their experiences from 1938 and through WW2.

13 June – Albert and Victoria aired on ITV. Starring Alfred Marks, it was written by Reuben Ship. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television.

8 July – Jack Walker dies off-screen of a heart attack in Coronation Street as a result of the death of actor Arthur Leslie. Jack becomes the first major character to be written out due to the death of an actor.

14 September – The BBC Nine O'Clock News is first broadcast on BBC1. The programme aired until 13 October 2000 when the station's main evening bulletin was switched to 10:00pm.

28 September – Timeslip made by ATV for ITV. A fondly remembered series that explored Time Travel in a more down to earth way than Doctor Who, it ran for three series.

15 October – Play for Today produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

27 October – The Lovers. A sitcom by Jack Rosenthal, starring Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox as a courting couple, Geoffrey and Beryl. It was made between 1970 and 1971 by Granada Television for the ITV network.

November – Mr Benn broadcast by the BBC for the first time (it is repeated many times over the years). Mr Benn's adventures take on a similar pattern. Mr Benn, a man wearing a black suit and bowler hat, leaves his house at 52 Festive Road and visits a fancy-dress costume shop where he is invited by the moustache, fez-wearing shopkeeper to try on a particular outfit. He leaves the shop through a magic door at the back of the changing room and enters a world appropriate to his costume, where he has an adventure (which usually contains a moral) before the shopkeeper reappears to lead him back to the changing room, and the story comes to an end. Mr Benn returns to his normal life, but is left with a small souvenir of his magical adventure. Additionally, scenes before and after his adventure usually have some connection to it, such as the games the children are playing in the street as he passes.

7 November – Felix Dennis becomes the first person to use the word "cunt" on British television during a live broadcast of The Frost Programme.

8 November – The Goodies appears on BBC2. Much more traditional and gentle than Monty Python, it runs for many years. The show was co-written by and starred Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie (together known as "The Goodies"). Bill Oddie also wrote the music and songs for the series — while "The Goodies Theme" was co-written by Bill Oddie and Michael Gibbs.

13 November – The Colour Strike begins when ITV staff refuse to work with colour television equipment following a dispute over pay with their management.

9 December – 10th anniversary of the first episode of Coronation Street.

25 December – Pluto's Christmas Tree is broadcast on BBC1, the first complete Mickey Mouse cartoon to be shown on British television in colour.

 

[Lindseyman]

The crew of the USS Enterprise

The main crew of the Enterprise at the start of season 1 was as follows:

Captain James Hunter: William Shatner

First Officer Commander Spock: Leonard Nimoy

Chief Engineer Scott (Scotty) Drake: George Kennedy

Helmsman Ensign Jack Crusher: Tim Matheson

Navigator Lieutenant Lavrenti Kutusov: Harrison Ford

Communications Officer Jane Rand: Grace Lee Whitney

Chief of Security Lieutenant Commander Emmet Chandler: Clu Gulager

Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant Commander Milton (Doc) Piper: De Forest Kelley

One of the many points that the ITC representatives had made when given their screening of the first few episodes was that the main crew were all white and male, the only regular female officer was Rand and she was only a lieutenant. Also although black and Asian actors played some of the crew none held any positions of responsibility. This seemed strange especially as the ITC Star Trek had had a black captain!

The Paramount and NBC representatives had shifted uncomfortably on this being pointed out to them but when casting it just hadn’t occurred to them as a major problem. Steps were taken for season two but season one was already in the can.

 

[Lindseyman]

The Omega Glory, the first episode of Star Trek:USS Enterprise

“Captain’s Log, Mission Date 0126.4, the Enterprise has been ordered to investigate the apparent disappearance of the USS Hornet. There have been no communications with it for the past six months. We are heading for their last recorded position in the Omega II system, so named as it is a twin to the Omega system in the Klingon Empire. The crew of the Enterprise is settling in very well and getting to know the ship and its systems. The Chief Engineer still complains about shoddy workmanship at the shipyard and has spent many hours getting the systems to perform to the upper limits of their specifications and in some cases exceeding them…”

Captain Hunter breaks off from making his log entry as the Enterprise enters the Omega II system. Spock, at the Science Station as the Duty Science Officer has left the bridge feeling ill and his relief has not yet reported for duty, scans the system

“Captain, the Hornet is in orbit around the fourth planet of the system. There appear to be no life signs on board the vessel although there are many on the planet.”

Hunter looks at Spock

“Opinions?”

“I have no data upon which to form any, Captain. However an investigation of the Hornet would seem to be the logical next step.”

Hunter grins and leads a boarding party to the Hornet despite Spock’s objections. On arrival they find uniforms covered with a crystalline substance — found to be the chemicals of the human body when all water is removed. Piper scans them with a perplexed look on his face.

“What’s up Doc?” asks Hunter

Piper rolls his eyes. Hunter never tires of using that phrase but Piper is getting fed up of it!

“I’m not sure but I’m sure that I’ve read about something similar when training.”

Spock scans the computer records for similar occurrences in the past. Meanwhile Chandler accesses the ship's logs which show that the Hornet's landing party contracted a strange disease on the planet and brought it back to the ship. The medical officer's last log, warns anyone watching it that they have been exposed to the disease and will die unless they go down to the planet; returning to their own ship would only spread the disease.

Piper is now even more certain that he has heard of this happening before! However all Spock can report is that there are records of an old Commonwealth ship encountering something similar but nothing more than that. Many records have been lost since the Commonwealth fell.

Hunter's party beams to the last coordinates in the Hornet's computer and they find themselves in what resembles a Tibetan village. They see two prisoners, a man and woman, are being prepared for execution by native warriors who appear Asian. Leading the warriors is Hornet Captain Ron Tracey (Robert Windom) who pauses the execution and greets Hunter. Tracey explains he was stranded when the disease ravaged his ship. He discovered that remaining on the planet confers immunity. He tells the party they will be safe as long as they stay on the planet. Tracey then explains the prisoners are savages called "Yangs" who are waging a war with the villagers, the "Kohms."


The village is attacked by the Yangs and Kutusov is injured. Piper takes him into a hut for treatment while Spock investigates a pile of Yang bodies. He finds exhausted phaser power packs, evidence that Tracey is helping the Kohms, a violation of the Prime Directive. Hunter tries to contact the Enterprise, but Tracey confiscates his communicator. When Kutusov reaches for his phaser, Tracey stuns him. He defends his actions, because the planet offers valuable medical benefits — the people are immune to the disease.

Tracey orders Piper to investigate the secrets of their immunity and has Hunter and Spock locked up in a crude jail. Hunter is thrown in with the two Yang prisoners. They attack him, but Spock manages to nerve pinch the female and the male stops, concerned. When Hunter plots an escape, he uses the word "freedom." The Yang male objects to an "enemy" using a "Yang worship word." Hunter gets the Yang to loosen the bars of the cell window. Once opened, the Yang knocks Hunter out and takes the woman. When Hunter recovers, he and Spock make their own escape.

Reunited with Piper, Spock modifies some medical equipment into a makeshift communicator. Piper believes the natives' immunity is the result of evolution; the inhabitants developed hardy physiologies as a result of a cataclysmic war. So any infected visitor naturally acquires an immunity after being on the planet.

An angry Tracey destroys the communicator. He demands that Hunter order a supply of phasers from the Enterprise. Hunter tells Tracey that his interference has been for nothing. Tracey's mind snaps and he demands that Hunter order the weapons. Hunter calls Chandler who insists on clarifying the situation before complying. He asks Hunter if he should send a security team, but Hunter refuses to explain, saying the security team is not needed. Hunter then tries to wrestle Tracey's phaser away, but fails. He escapes, but is quickly recaptured. Tracey tries to shoot Hunter, but his phaser is out of power.

The two fight over an axe when Yang warriors arrive and take everyone back to their village. Their leader, Cloud William, turns out to be the prisoner from earlier. Cloud produces a very old American Flag and ancient manuscripts from which he poorly recites the Pledge of Allegiance. When Hunter completes the pledge, the Yangs are shocked. Spock surmises that the cultures may have developed along very similar lines to Earth. Kirk speculates that the Kohms were "Communists" and Yangs were "Yankees." Apparently, the Omegans had a war, similar to the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. The conflict resulted in a war that destroyed both cultures many centuries earlier. Even Spock finds the parallel between the two worlds to be "almost too close".

The Yangs decide to execute Hunter and his companions, but Tracey claims that Hunter and the others are evil. Tracey tells Cloud that Hunter was cast out of Heaven and claims that Spock looks like an image of Satan in a Yang document. Despite their explanations that the Vulcanian is not a devil, Cloud is not convinced and asks Hunter to complete the "sacred words" starting with 'E Plebneesta' from another document. Hunter doesn't understand the words and suggests that he and Tracey duel to the death — since good always triumphs over evil. As Hunter and Tracey begin to fight, Spock notices a communicator near Cloud's female companion, and makes a mental suggestion which causes her to activate it. Soon, just as Hunter subdues Tracey, Chandler and a security detail beam down to investigate the situation. Hunter spares Tracey's life and has him taken into custody to face Federation charges.

The Yangs now believe Hunter is a deity and Cloud kneels before him, but Hunter refutes this and tells him to stand up. He looks over the ancient, crumbling document, which appears to be a distorted version of the American Constitution. Hunter finishes the sacred speech (the Preamble to the United States Constitution) and rebukes the Yangs for allowing the document to degrade. He declares that the words were not just for the Yangs, but for Kohms, as well, declaring that they "must apply to everyone or they mean nothing." Cloud doesn't fully understand, but swears to Hunter that the "holy words" will be obeyed. Before departing, Hunter takes one last proud look at Old Glory.


Notes:

1. Any OTL viewer would not be able to tell the difference between the OTL episode and TTL episode after the arrival on the planet (apart from names and actors)

2. The two senior officers beaming together into danger was one of the objections raised by the ITC representatives at their screening. They rarely, if ever, did it in their version.

 

[Lindseyman]

Reaction to Star Trek: USS Enterprise

NBC ordered 26 episodes of Star Trek: USS Enterprise. “The Omega Glory” aired on Thursday 7th January 1971 at 8:30pm EST. Reviews were mixed; while The Philadelphia Inquirer and San Francisco Chronicle liked the new show, The New York Times and The Boston Globe were less favourable, and Variety predicted that it "won't work", calling it "an incredible and dreary mess of confusion and complexities and a pale shadow of the ITC Star Trek". The first regular episode of Star Trek, “Errand of Mercy” aired on Thursday 14th January, pitched against mostly reruns, Star Trek easily won its time slot with a 40.6 share. However the following week against all-new programming, the show fell to second (29.4 share) behind CBS. It ranked 33rd (out of 94 programs) over the next two weeks, then the following two episodes ranked 38th in the ratings.

Star Trek: USS Enterprise’s first-season ratings would in earlier years likely have caused NBC to at least consider cancelling the show. The network had pioneered research into viewers' demographic profiles in the 1960s, however, and, by 1971, it and other networks increasingly considered such data when making decisions (for example, CBS had temporarily cancelled Gunsmoke in 1967 because it had too many older and too few younger viewers). Although Roddenberry later claimed that NBC was unaware of Star Trek's favourable demographics, (despite them being aware of the demographics watching the ITC Star Trek in the graveyard slot of Friday evenings!) awareness of Star Trek: USS Enterprise "quality" audience is what likely caused the network to retain the show after the first season. Indeed the show rapidly built up a loyal fan base who became known as “Prisers” and who let NBC know how much they enjoyed the program.

However NBC did insist on a rebranding to just Enterprise when it ordered a second season in May 1971, as well as some re-casting to alleviate the problems of the composition of the crew. This had been pointed out by the newspaper reviews as well as the ITC representatives at their screening. The network originally announced that the show would air at 7:30–8:30 pm Tuesday, but it was instead given an 8:30–9:30 pm Friday slot when the 1971-72 NBC schedule was released, making watching it difficult for the young viewers that the show most attracted.

 

[Lindseyman]

Mercy Mission the second episode of Star Trek: USS Enterprise

“Captain’s Log, Mission date 0276.4, Relations between the United Systems and the Tellurian Empire have again reached breaking point, and the recent negotiations have collapsed. The Enterprise has been sent to the world of Organia, a non-aligned planet near the Tellurian border, to prevent the Tellurians from annexing it. We are approaching with some trepidation as old Commonwealth records seem to indicate that they avoided this system. However given the current situation Command feels that we need to prevent a Tellurian take over.”

As the Enterprise approaches Organia, Spock briefs Hunter, calling it a primitive society. However remaining Commonwealth records indicate that there is, or at least was, something with great power on the planet of which Command does not wish the Tellurians to gain control.

On entering the system, the Enterprise is attacked by a Tellurian vessel without warning. It is quickly destroyed when the Enterprise returns fire. Upon arrival at the planet, Hunter leaves Spock in command of the ship with instructions to withdraw if a Tellurian fleet arrives. Hunter and Chandler then beam down to the planet surface and find themselves in a primitive town, with ruins in the distance. Hunter tells the Organian council what the Tellurians will do if they capture the planet, but the Organians are unconcerned. Instead, the Organian leader says that the Enterprise and her crew are the only ones in danger. A Tellurian fleet appears, firing on the Enterprise. Hunter orders Spock to withdraw, which strands Hunter and Chandler on the planet.

The Organians disguise Hunter and Chandler as inhabitants of the town. The Tellurians seize control of the planet without resistance and install the ranking Tellurian officer, Schmidtt (Jon Voight), as the military governor. Schmidtt, noticing that Hunter and Chandler are the only Organians who don't smile all the time, takes a liking to them and demands that Hunter act as the Organian liaison, with Chandler as his assistant.

The Organians do nothing to resist the occupation. Hunter and Chandler start guerrilla operations of their own by blowing up a munitions dump outside town. The Organians in the council strongly object to the action, while Hunter protests their lack of action. Meanwhile, Schmidtt listens to Hunter's speech through a hidden camera, discovering that he is the saboteur.

When the Tellurians threaten to torture them as suspected insurgents, the Organians reveal the true identities of Hunter and Chandler and allow them to be arrested. Chandler is imprisoned while Hunter is taken to Schmidtt's private chambers, where Schmidtt tells Hunter that he has twelve hours to answer questions about the United Systems’ fleet. After that, if Hunter still refuses, he will undergo a mind scanning technique, leaving him a vegetable. Then he will question Chandler.

With six hours before the deadline, the Organians free the pair and hide them in the council chamber. While Hunter and Chandler try to comprehend the natives' contradictory actions, Schmidtt orders the executions of two hundred Organians. Still, the Organians protect them, but remain otherwise unperturbed by the Tellurian's actions, leaving Hunter, Chandler and the Tellurians baffled.

As United Systems and Tellurian fleets converge on the system, Hunter and Chandler raid the Tellurian headquarters in hopes of rousing the population into resistance. They capture Schmidtt and prepare to make a last stand, while the fleets are ready to clash. The Organians then reveal their true nature: They are not primitive humanoids, but are highly advanced incorporeal beings. They instantly incapacitate both sides, stating that the two sides had been allies against powerful foes in the recent past and would be so again in the future. The Organians force the two sides to agree to the Organian Peace Treaty. Both sides protest, but the Organians predict the rivals will get along far better in the future. The Organians’ final message is that they had told their predecessors to stay away and that they had done so. They really hoped that the United Systems and Tellurian Empire would also do so or that there would be unfortunate results.


NOTE: Although ITTL this episode is VERY loosely based on the ITC episode “Organia” an OTL viewer would have no difficulty in recognising the OTL Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy”. The Tellurians were portrayed as Prussian Militarists rather than Nazis but it was a very one dimensional portrayal with none of the nuances that occurred in the ITC shows with the Tellurians.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Closer?

 

[Lindseyman]

Can't see the image so can't comment at the moment
It's probably because we have set up all sorts of blocks so the elder son actually does some revision for his A2 exams (the exams English (also Welsh not Scottish and I'm not sure about the Northern Irish) students take at the end of their final year in school before going to University or work).

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Can't see the image so can't comment at the moment
It's probably because we have set up all sorts of blocks so the elder son actually does some revision for his A2 exams (the exams English (also Welsh not Scottish and I'm not sure about the Northern Irish) students take at the end of their final year in school before going to University or work).

We don't have those in the states (as far as I know), but than the whole British school is completely different than the American system. Take Eton College, to those who don't know (not me), would confuse some (if not most) Americans. I hope your son does well and if he goes to University it's not to expensive for the family (tough luck losing free education.)

 

[Kendog52361]

We don't have those in the states (as far as I know), but than the whole British school is completely different than the American system. Take Eton College, to those who don't know (not me), would confuse some (if not most) Americans. I hope your son does well and if he goes to University it's not to expensive for the family (tough luck losing free education.)

One big difference would be, in the US, we would call Eton a private school because it isn't a school run by the local school district. In England, it would be called a Public School