WI: The Enterprise completes its five year mission (Star Trek survives for 5 seasons)

Who should be captain of the Enterprise-D in this timeline's TNG?

  • Patrick Stewart (same as OTL)

    Votes: 50 68.5%
  • Patrick Bauchau

    Votes: 6 8.2%
  • Yaphet Kotto

    Votes: 5 6.8%
  • Rutger Hauer

    Votes: 11 15.1%
  • Someone else (specify who in the comments)

    Votes: 1 1.4%

  • Total voters
    73
  • Poll closed .
I would have used Yesterdays Enterprise as the basis for Generations. Flip Picard/Crusher so that Crusher was the CO of the previous Enterprise, with Picard his XO.

IOTL, Crusher dies, sacrificing himself and the Enterprise to save Picard and his crew, but securing peace with the Ferengi or Cardassians. Unwittingly Picard stops the destruction of the Enterprise, returns to the future and we get something more akin to Yesterdays Enterprise.

The catalyst for the alteration could be something as simple as Picard and an away team on a shuttle being sucked through the Nexus and sending of a distress call, old Enterprise responds and isn't in the place it was originally destroyed at.

Picard, prompted by Guinan, eventually realises this and has to find a way to get back through the Nexus to stop himself sending the distress call to ensure the previous Enterprise is destroyed and Crusher killed.
Didn't think of making Jack Crusher the captain of the Stargazer because IRL canon, Picard is the captain of the Stargazer. But it is an interesting thought. I don't want to wipe the actual Yesterday's Enterprise from canon because it was so good, so Rachel Garrett remains captain of the Enterprise-C ITTL. I wanted to bring the Stargazer into live pictures ITTL because it's constantly mentioned as a part of TNG canon but we only hear about it through Picard's memories of his service on the ship.
 
Goodness! Stumbled onto this timeline by chance and marathon-read the whole thing in a sitting!
The way things are going I'm going to be surprised if the show even makes its full five years with the snowballing situation off-camera.
Honestly, I would have assumed that in order to cut costs and thus save the show, Season Four would have seen a shakeup of the crew, with Kirk promoted out of the captain's chair and Spock or Sulu taking over as Captain (now that'd have been a coup, with Nimoy's repeated grumblings to leave the show, only to have Shatner being the one to leave! My money would have been on Sulu though) and with new roles filling in the blanks.
I'm in agreement with @Ogrebear that the movies are going to be very different from OTL after a five year series run, especially if trends continue and some members of the cast refuse to work together after the show's conclusion.

Question for @dsp19: with the events of The Devils Are All Here resulting in the Enterprise in serious refit a la USS Farragut, would some of the changes that would have been made for Phase II wind up in the show early, such as the angular nacelles and neck-mounted torpedo launchers? It seems too easy a 'reset button' for such a dramatic turn as the saucer separation to have been done and have everything fixed for the next episode. Or would that be trying to butterfly things too early?
 
Goodness! Stumbled onto this timeline by chance and marathon-read the whole thing in a sitting!
The way things are going I'm going to be surprised if the show even makes its full five years with the snowballing situation off-camera.
Honestly, I would have assumed that in order to cut costs and thus save the show, Season Four would have seen a shakeup of the crew, with Kirk promoted out of the captain's chair and Spock or Sulu taking over as Captain (now that'd have been a coup, with Nimoy's repeated grumblings to leave the show, only to have Shatner being the one to leave! My money would have been on Sulu though) and with new roles filling in the blanks.
I'm in agreement with @Ogrebear that the movies are going to be very different from OTL after a five year series run, especially if trends continue and some members of the cast refuse to work together after the show's conclusion.

Question for @dsp19: with the events of The Devils Are All Here resulting in the Enterprise in serious refit a la USS Farragut, would some of the changes that would have been made for Phase II wind up in the show early, such as the angular nacelles and neck-mounted torpedo launchers? It seems too easy a 'reset button' for such a dramatic turn as the saucer separation to have been done and have everything fixed for the next episode. Or would that be trying to butterfly things too early?
The show will make it to its full five years but everyone will be sick of each other by that point, especially sick of Shatner, and they'll want to take a break from Star Trek for most of the 1970s. Gene Roddenberry wants to make another series but it can't happen because they can't get the old gang back together as they will be on different projects. They make The Motion Picture into a Klingon battle movie because Paramount CEO Barry Diller wants to emulate Star Wars' success and wants a big fleet battle on the silver screen, so they get a bunch of Constitution class and new Miranda class vessels (they are introduced one movie early ITTL) to brawl with the Klingon K'Tinga battlecruisers. Therefore, we hear a lot more of Jerry Goldsmith's Klingon Battle music in this TMP. The idea for TTL's TMP is more scientfically oriented and Cold War oriented than Star Wars: The Klingons have developed a weapon of mass destruction, the neutronium bomb, and the Enterprise is tasked with protecting Federation worlds against the life destroyer. In this case, neutronium bomb spares the planet's physical structure itself but everyone on the planet dies. There will be a scene in this TMP where Kirk, Spock and Bones beam down to a planet that fell victim to the bomb with dead bodies everywhere, and McCoy says, "They're dead, Jim. Everybody." The idea for the original TMP is scaled down to the small screen (The God Thing) and becomes a two parter in season 5.

Elements of Phase 2 and New Voyages will also appear in Season 5 because Roddenberry (phase II) and David Gerrold have a more prominent role in creative control. The budget actually doesn't change much for a season 5 because the series is pulling great ratings. The issue with the budget in season 5 comes from Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley wanting their money back for Season 4. In addition, ITTL the public finds out about the Shatner/Nimoy lawyer negotiation for lines and future directorial roles. Shatner gets to direct two episodes in Season 4 but before Nimoy gets a chance to even up the score, Justman is fired and they don't hold up Nimoy's end of the bargain. So in the middle of season 5, Nimoy leaves for Mission Impossible, saves that show for two more seasons, while Star Trek is falling apart. As a result, we see Lieutenant Xon on the show, played by Lawrence Montaigne.

As for the saucer separation deal, the events of The Y Virus take place about 6 weeks after the events of All The Devils Are Here and They Shall Not Pass, so that is enough time to get the Enterprise bolted back together at a starbase.
 
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Chapter 27: Shatner-Nimoy Pact Revealed; Nixon Inspired to go to China
Updates for today:

SHATNER, NIMOY LAWYERS ENTERED PACT FOR EQUAL SCREEN TIME, FUTURE ROLES IN TREK

September 18, 1969

In a previously unknown legal filing, Star Trek stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy negotiated a detente of sorts through their lawyers in 1967. The agreement was created because of the unexpected popularity of Nimoy's Mr. Spock character in Season 1, which threatened to overshadow Shatner's Captain Kirk character, the intended star of the series. The armistice between the two stars is believed to have Shatner elevated to a slightly higher profile than Nimoy, with a few more lines and a fraction more screen time than Nimoy in each episode. In exchange, Shatner and Nimoy were allowed to each direct two episodes in future seasons of the series if the show became a major success. Now that the series is one of the highest rated shows on TV, Shatner wants to cash in with his first director role, in a script he originally wrote and submitted to Gene Roddenberry in season 1. It is unknown whether Nimoy has angled for a seat in the director's chair as well, but this appears likely to happen because of the pact between the two men. Nimoy is reportedly pleased with the money and attention he is garnering with playing Mr. Spock, but fears being typecast and is believed to want to split his time between Star Trek and Mission Impossible next year. Nimoy is a fan of Mission and wants to help the struggling series since Martin Landau and Barbara Bain are about to leave the series.


NEW YORK TIMES TV REVIEW: CARY GRANT GOES TO ROMULUS ON STAR TREK

September 24, 1969

The second episode of Star Trek's fourth season, NORMAN GOES TO ROMULUS, was an unintended comedy as Cary Grant wanted to be his old romantic self again, and he got the opportunity to with the female members of the Enterprise crew. In the episode, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the rest of the crew were ordered to transport President Robert Norman to Romulus under a flag of truce to end hostilities between the fictional Federation and the Romulan Empire. Instead, we received a barrel of laughs as Norman (Grant) tried to smooch up the Enterprise women and was continuously rejected. In one extremely funny scene, Norman attempts to romance Lieutenant Commander Uhura as she is singing a song to Spock on the bridge. Uhura replied, "Nobody interrupts my singing, not the Captain, and not the President of the Federation." Eventually, the Enterprise reaches Romulus, and Cary Grant's President negotiates the armistice with the Romulans. Kirk ends the comedic episode with the following words: "This is why I'm a starship captain, not a diplomat." The episode won the Nielsen ratings for the second straight week, the first time that Star Trek has led two straight weeks for the opening two episodes of a season.

Air date: September 22, 1969

Shatner:

That pact about me and Leonard, well the public was not supposed to know about that at the time. I blame the media for airing out our dirty laundry. Leonard wasn't pleased with it either, as I recall. It soured a bunch of relationships, and the remaining cast wondered why Leonard and I were hogging all the screen time. That made them envious, that's for sure.

Nimoy:

I didn't like the fact that Bill and I had our business known to the fans either. But we had to make the deal because Bill would have completely dominated the show with no other input from the rest of the cast. I was protecting Dee Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig just as much as I was protecting myself. Bill got a little too big for his britches, especially when Cary guest starred. His ego exploded after that because he got to share TV time with Hollywood's biggest celebrity.

Nichols:

Nobody interrupts me when I'm singing, not even Cary Grant! I made that point clear in the episode.

H.R. Haldeman, Nixon's chief of staff:

Nixon wasn't a fan of Star Trek, but he did watch the two episodes that Cary Grant appeared in because he considered Cary a personal friend. I think two weeks after the episode aired, Nixon got the idea, "Why can't I go to China? If Cary Grant could make peace with an enemy on a TV show, I can do it in the real world." Nixon did appreciate the work that Star Trek put into its politics. He understood that the Klingons were like the Russians and the Romulans were like the Chinese, and both were opposed to the Federation, which was like the United States. So in the real world, Nixon thought of the idea to separate Communist China from the Soviet Union, partially from the episodes of Star Trek where Cary Grant played a guest role.
 
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Nixon’s China visit inspired by Star Trek? Cool.

I wonder who leaked the Shatner-Nimoy deal?
There is an old Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon could go to China.

As for who leaked the Shatner-Nimoy deal? Douglas Cramer’s people at Paramount
 
To elaborate on the Shatner-Nimoy leak earlier in the timeline, Doug Cramer and Paramount surreptitiously leaked the contract details as payback for the Star Trek cast almost tearing his head off in his office for his attempted firing of Justman. So Cramer, who doesn't like Star Trek but is accepting it because of the high ratings, is quietly trying to destroy the series, even though it is becoming one of the jewels in Paramount's crown. Cramer successfully divides the cast among themselves, plus they start to get tired of seeing each other for 12-15 hour a day shoots at this time. Instead of funny gag reels and a joyful mood on set, the cast members are beginning to develop an aloofness towards each other, and looking towards other projects (Nimoy towards M.I., Dee Kelley towards Westerns, Takei towards politics and Nichols towards Broadway as examples).
 
Chapter 28: Early 4th season episodes
Update for today...

The next five episodes of Season 4 are as follows, with summaries of the stories if they were unmade IRL. The first two episodes of the fourth season were PEACE OR WAR and NORMAN GOES TO ROMULUS.

Episode 3: MUDD'S PASSION: Air date, September 29, 1969. Written by Stephen Kandel, directed ITTL by John Meredyth Lucas. The script is similar to the TAS episode IRL, but extended to an hour for live action. Mudd brings a love potion onto the Enterprise and hilarity ensues, with McCoy and Scotty attempting to flirt with everyone aboard the ship. Nielsen rating: 1st in timeslot. Critical reviews at the time indicated that "Star Trek had two straight comedic episodes and needed to return to being a serious sci-fi series."

Episode 4: THE MARK OF GIDEON: Air date, October 6, 1969. Written by George F. Slavin and Stanley Adams, directed by Jud Taylor. This was a 3rd season episode IRL, but they had the script already ITTL and used it in the 4th season. The story is unchanged from TTL. Nielsen rating: 2nd to Gunsmoke.

Episode 5: JAPAN TRIUMPHS: Air date, October 13, 1969. Written by Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon (as one of his last scripts for TOS), directed by John Meredyth Lucas. In this episode, the Enterprise is transported into an alternate timeline after entering an anomaly. Japan has won World War II and the crew is captured, except for Sulu, who uses all of his ingenuity to save his shipmates. There are lots of choreographed fight scenes in this episode, including one where Takei performs his own stunts and acts as the star of the show. At one point, Takei finds a sword and starts to defeat the Japanese guards who are imprisoning Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew. At the end of the episode, Takei is promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and Uhura says, "I still get to tease you and pull rank on you, even though you saved us, Commander Sulu." Nielsen rating: 1st in timeslot. Critical reception to this episode was largely positive, and Takei's performance was especially acclaimed, with the New York Times saying, "Takei has the ability to lead his own television series, Star Trek or otherwise, in the future."

Episode 6: THAT WHICH SURVIVES: Air date, October 20, 1969. Written by DC Fontana and John Meredyth Lucas (who is getting a lot of burn this season), directed by Herb Wallerstein. This was a 3rd season episode ITTL, but they had the script already ITTL and used it in the 4th season. The story is unchanged from TTL. Nielsen rating: 2nd to Gunsmoke.

Episode 7: HE WALKED AMONG US: Air date, October 27, 1969. Written by Norman Spinrad, directed by Marvin Chomsky. Spinrad is able to develop his original script into a shoot because Gene Coon is no longer on the show to rewrite it. IRL, Spinrad complained that Coon rewrote the episode to make it a comedy, and he wanted a serious episode with Milton Berle appearing as Kirk's adversary. In this episode, the Enterprise encounters a race called the Jugali, who are manipulated by Mr. Byrne, a Federation sociologist (played by Milton Berle in his guest Star Trek appearance). The Prime Directive becomes a key part of this episode, as Kirk and Byrne engage in arguments about its importance. They accuse each other of violating the Prime Directive (Kirk on other occasions, Byrne on this occasion). IRL this script was found in 2012 and placed on Amazon for a brief time before CBS demanded its removal. Nielsen rating: 1st in timeslot. Critical reception to this episode was somewhat positive, but Milton Berle was not fully acclaimed for playing a straight man, where he was known as a comedian. The New York Times wrote that "Milton Berle's guest appearance on Star Trek was strange, because he was not the comedic figure America knows him as. He played the straight, serious man as effectively as he could, but it was hard to suspend disbelief from the Berle we know in our world."

Takei:

I finally got to star in one of the episodes, Japan Triumphs. I got so much fan mail for that show, and got to display all of my acting abilities instead of constantly saying "aye, sir" to William Shatner. This episode inspired me to go to Paramount almost 25 years later and get my own series with Captain Sulu leading the Excelsior. It extended my Star Trek career, even though I left Hollywood to go into local politics after the original series run ended.
 
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Chapter 29: Star Trek sees the My Lai News Reports
Update for today is short, but is important because it adds a plot line to Season 4 that the producers initially did not plan for.

Episode 8: REQUIEM FOR METHUSELAH: Air date, November 3, 1969. Written by Jerome Bixby, directed by Murray Golden. This is a 3rd season episode IRL which was shifted to Season 4 ITTL and the story is unchanged. Nielsen rating: 2nd to Gunsmoke.

Then Star Trek takes a week off to catch a breather on November 10. Three days later, this happens:

LIEUTENANT ACCUSED OF MURDERING 109 CIVILIANS

By Seymour Hersh (Published in the Chicago Sun-Times, November 13, 1969). The link to the original story is here...


Justman:

We had already shot the majority of our fourth season episodes when I read about what Lieutenant Calley did in Vietnam. So I immediately called Gene and DC together and said, could someone write a script quickly that can be put into production as soon as possible? This would be a great allegory for Star Trek to play out. Gene agreed, because we had done Day of the Dove, putting our stance on Vietnam in clear view in the third season. So Gene and Dorothy collaborated and wrote this script called THE MASSACRE, and everyone knew what it was about. We used the pretext of an Orion civil war in our fictional universe as the Vietnam War instead of using a primitive civilization. We had the Federation arming one side of the Orion civil war, which happened to be corrupt. A Federation starship captain conducts a massacre on Orions he deems to be untrustworthy, and the Enterprise stumbles upon it. Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew have to break down the conspiracy and bring the rogue Federation starship captain to justice.
 
Note: The episode THE MASSACRE will not appear for about 10-14 days on this timeline because it is written towards the end of season 4 (and is indeed the last episode with Bob Justman's name on it as showrunner). The next episode (which I will expand upon tomorrow and write more extensively) will be a fun diversion where the Enterprise crew plays baseball against the USS Potemkin, and a brawl will break out! Obviously, this episode will be called TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME. Keep in mind this is occurring in 1969, and the New York Mets just won the World Series against all expectations, so a baseball episode in the future would be pretty well received.
 
Note: The episode THE MASSACRE will not appear for about 10-14 days on this timeline because it is written towards the end of season 4 (and is indeed the last episode with Bob Justman's name on it as showrunner). The next episode (which I will expand upon tomorrow and write more extensively) will be a fun diversion where the Enterprise crew plays baseball against the USS Potemkin, and a brawl will break out! Obviously, this episode will be called TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME. Keep in mind this is occurring in 1969, and the New York Mets just won the World Series against all expectations, so a baseball episode in the future would be pretty well received.


Does it come with special helmets for Andorians?
 
Chapter 30: Star Trek Cast Plays Baseball
Short update before the main one today:

STAR TREK CAST PLAYING BASEBALL IN A LOS ANGELES LOT?

November 15, 1969

Two months ago, an intrepid observer caught the Star Trek cast, including William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, playing baseball in Los Angeles in their Star Trek uniforms with batting helmets. The observer reported that James Doohan was playing right field, George Takei was playing center field, Walter Koenig was playing third base, Nimoy was playing first base, Shatner was playing shortstop, and DeForest Kelley was pitching. Nichelle Nichols was sitting in the dugout, presumably playing the role of baseball manager for the cast. The observer was not able to recognize the three other actors playing in the field with the main cast, or the actors playing on the other team. TV Guide was able to confirm with Robert Justman, showrunner for Star Trek, that a baseball episode was placed into production and the cast were allowed to wear their favorite team's baseball caps to the set. The observer saw Nimoy wearing a Red Sox cap with his pointed ears, Kelley wearing an Atlanta Braves cap, Koenig wearing a Chicago Cubs cap, Takei wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers cap, and Shatner wearing the cap of the new team in Canada, the Montreal Expos. How Shatner got an Expos cap so quickly, we'll never know.
 
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Chapter 31: Take Me Out To The Ballgame
Main update for today: TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME was the 9th episode of the 4th season. Written by D.C. Fontana and directed by Joseph Pevney, it aired on November 17, 1969. In the episode, the Enterprise gets a week of shore leave at Starbase 12 near Delta IV, where they encounter the USS Potemkin crew, who challenges them to a game of baseball. Hilarity ensues as some of the Enterprise crew learns how to play the game and attempts to understand its arcane rules. In this episode, members of the production cast, including Matt Jefferies, Jerry Finnerman, Gregg Peters, John Dwyer, and Jim Rugg, appear as extras, playing baseball for the Potemkin crew. John Winston (Lt. Kyle), Frank da Vinci (Lt. Brent), and William Blackburn (Lt. Hadley) fill out the Enterprise starting nine. Michael Witney, who appeared in "A Private Little War" in season 2, plays Potemkin Captain Whitney.

Captain's log, stardate 6854.1. The Enterprise is getting upgrades to its scanning system and deflector dish at Starbase 12, orbiting Delta IV. We have received a communication from the new captain of the USS Potemkin, about an archaic game called baseball. It appears as if the Potemkin bridge crew want to play the Enterprise in a game of baseball on the planet's surface.

Kirk: "So I wonder why they want to play baseball with us? It's an old game, and I haven't played it since I was a teenager, and only for fun."
Bones: "Baseball is a wonderful old game, Jim. I have a really good pitcher's arm, and if you need a pitcher, you've got the old country doctor to throw you some strikes and keep the other team off the bases."
Spock: "What is this game of baseball you are talking about?"
Kirk: "It's an ancient Earth game, going back to the 19th century. You play with a small ball, four bases arranged in a diamond, a pitcher's mound, a catcher to catch the pitches, an infield, and an outfield."
Spock: "I shall look up the specifics of this game of baseball on the computer memory banks to get myself acquainted. No such game existed on Vulcan."
Bones: "You mean the Vulcans didn't play baseball? We humans have something to teach you green blooded Vulcans after all."
Spock: I will glean my information from the Enterprise's computer, Doctor, and report my findings back to the Captain."
Bones: "Jim knows baseball, Spock. He just hasn't played the game in a while."

Spock goes to the computer in the conference room to look up baseball. He raises an eyebrow and says, "Fascinating. A very compelling, sometimes irrational, and sometimes violent game played professionally mostly on Earth's North American continent, but also in Japan and the Far East, in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Some of the most famous baseball players were among the most famous individuals of the 20th century Earth era."

Kirk: "Mickey Mantle."
Spock: "Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, I can go further."
Bones: "Now Hammerin' Hank Aaron. He played in my home state of Georgia 300 years ago. He was as good as it got in baseball. Hank was an all time great home run hitter. There's still a statue of him in Georgia."
Kirk: "Yes, Hank Aaron was a great player. I remember the moment when he was challenging Babe Ruth's home run record. It was taught in elementary school."
Bones: "I remember the New York Mets, an expansion team, beating Aaron and my Braves in the history books as well."
Kirk: "It was considered the greatest surprise in sports history, the Mets winning the World Series that year."
Spock: "How was the game violent? Did the players hammer each other with the bats instead of hammering the baseball?"
Bones: "On rare occasions, yes. Very rare occasions. Baseball used to have fights, which usually happened when one pitcher threw at the other team's best player and the other team had to respond back in kind, Spock."
Spock: "Very irrational and illogical behavior, Doctor."
Kirk: "Let's hope this game doesn't have that kind of behavior in it. Let's contact the Potemkin."
Uhura: "Captain, a message from Captain Whitney of the Potemkin."
Kirk: "I'll be on the bridge."

Kirk and Whitney exchange pleasantries and Kirk apologizes for the incident that occurred in The Ultimate Computer. Whitney challenges Kirk and the Enterprise crew to the baseball game on Delta IV, and Kirk accepts. Kirk gathers the crew, plus Lieutenants Kyle, Brent, and Hadley, in the conference room.

Kirk: "Now baseball requires 9 players, plus a few bench players and extra pitchers in case of an injury, and a manager. I will play shortstop, because it was my position when I played the game as a youth. Dr. McCoy has volunteered to pitch, so that leaves seven other positions and a manager."
Bones: "I'm getting my old right arm ready to pitch all 9 innings, Jim."
Kirk: "I need someone very reliable at first base who is athletic and won't drop the ball. Spock, you're my first baseman."
Spock: "Yes, Captain."
Bones: "Spock has never played baseball and you're putting him at first base, Jim? What are you thinking?"
Kirk: "Mr. Spock is a very quick study, Bones. I trust him with first base."
Spock: "I can calculate the trajectory of a moving baseball very quickly so I will make no errors in the field and hit the ball at a high rate of speed with power, Captain."
Kirk: "That's why I'm relying on you, Mr. Spock. Lieutenant Kyle, you will be my catcher, and Lieutenant Brent, you will play second base. Lieutenant Hadley, you will play left field, that's an outfield position."
Kyle, Brent and Hadley: "Aye, sir. We are familiar with the game and we'll do a good job with it."
Kirk: "Ensign Chekov, ever played baseball before?"
Chekov: "No, baseball vas not a Russian inwention."
Kirk: "Get up to speed with third base, quickly. I need someone with fast reflexes there and you've got very quick reflexes, among the best on the ship."
Chekov: "Aye, Keptin. I wish we were kicking around a round ball instead. That's vhat the rest of the vorld did in the 20th century, Mother Russia included."
Kirk: "Scotty, what about you."
Scotty: "We never played this sport in Scotland and kicked that round ball around like Chekov. Although they played a version of this sport in England called cricket."
Kirk: "I'll hide you in right field, just make sure you catch the ball when it's hit to you."
Scotty: "Aye, sir. You're always asking miracles of me, Captain."
Sulu: "I was an excellent baseball player as a kid, Captain. Played outfield like the best of them."
Kirk: "Exactly, and you're going to be my centerfielder, hitting in the middle of the lineup, to anchor the team."
Sulu: "Aye sir, I can't wait to hold a bat again and whack that baseball."
Uhura: "What about me? I've never played before and never heard of the sport before, but I'd like to participate too."
Kirk: "You are going to be our manager. You are going to sit in the dugout and direct all of us on how to do things."
(Uhura pouts): "No room for a lady on the diamond. I can command a starship to victory over the Romulans but I can't play a game of baseball. You'll need me at some point during the game, sir."
Kirk: "I bet I will, Commander Uhura. Keep yourself ready to pinch hit in case someone gets injured."

Both teams meet on Delta IV and the baseball game starts. Bones strikes out the side in the first, and the Enterprise team takes a quick 2-0 lead on back to back home runs by Spock and Sulu. The Potemkin crew evens the score in the 2nd, on a 2 run HR by Captain Whitney, hitting 6th in their lineup. The Enterprise is retired in order in the 2nd inning, and Bones retires the Potemkin team in order in the top of the third. In the bottom of the third, Spock homers again with two outs to give the Enterprise a 3-2 lead. Bones says, "That Vulcan is a natural at baseball. He's really good." McCoy gets in a groove and retires the Potemkin in order in the 4th as well, striking out two.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Enterprise up 3-2, Matt Jefferies (playing the Potemkin pitcher) hits Kirk with a pitch on the shoulder to lead off the inning. Kirk drops his bat in anger and threatens to charge the mound, but is held back. The benches clear but nobody fights yet. In the dugout, Bones threatens to get even.

Bones: "They hit the Captain with a pitch, Uhura. I have to retaliate."
Uhura: "I don't think I agree with that, Doctor."
Bones: "But we can't let them think we can keep on hitting our guys. Soon they'll hit Sulu, and they'll definitely throw at Spock because he's homered twice already."
Spock: "Retaliation is illogical, Doctor. We are ahead in the game and your job is not to allow any more batters from the Potemkin crew to score."
Bones: "I'll take care of who I put on base when I hit their guy, Spock."
Uhura: "I won't let you hit one of their players with that baseball, Doctor McCoy."
McCoy: "I have to do it. There has to be a response."

In the top of the fifth, McCoy hits Captain Whitney and all hell breaks loose. Whitney charges the mound and a full fledged brawl breaks out. Kirk does his Kirk-Fu on a couple of Potemkin crewmembers, while Spock does a mild Vulcan nerve pinch on Whitney just as he is about to hammer McCoy. Chekov and Scotty also get involved in the melee. The fight scene goes on for about 2 minutes, and then everyone takes a break.

We move to the top of the 7th inning. Whitney singles and Rugg doubles, scoring the Potemkin captain and tying the game at 3. Jerry Finnerman (playing a Potemkin crewmember) singles in Rugg and the Potemkin leads 4-3. During this time, Matt Jefferies, playing the Potemkin pitcher, gets into his own groove and figures out that nobody on the Enterprise can hit a curveball, so he continuously strikes out the Enterprise lineup on curves.

In the top of the 9th, the Potemkin, still leading 4-3, loads the bases with two outs, with Dwyer batting. In the previous at-bat, Lieutenant Brent at second base injures himself diving for a baseball, and cannot continue. Uhura puts herself into the game at second base, as the manager. Dwyer hits a hotshot in the 1st base hole and Uhura miraculously makes the diving catch. She tells Kirk, "I told you that you needed me out there."

In the bottom of the 9th, Sulu (hitting cleanup, or fourth) and Kirk (hitting fifth) lead off the inning with singles, figuring out Jefferies' curveball. Uhura, who had to replace Brent, hilariously holds the bat with Kirk yelling at her to bunt. Fortunately for Uhura, Jefferies is tiring and throws a straight fastball; Uhura puts down a perfect bunt, advancing Kirk to 2nd and Sulu to 3rd. Chekov comes up with one out and the infield pulled in. Chekov thinks he has the winning hit but Rugg makes a diving catch in right field to rob him. Sulu scores on the sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4. With Kirk on 3rd, Scotty comes up with two outs. Scotty runs the count to 3 and 2. Jefferies throws another one of his curves, but it hangs, and Scotty gets bat on it and hits it up the middle into the outfield to drive in Kirk and win the game for the Enterprise, 5-4. The Enterprise crew celebrates, almost burying Scotty in bodies. At the end of the episode, Kirk says, "Well that was a fun outing and a fun game of baseball."

Justman:

I wanted to do a baseball show at some point because I was a big baseball fan. I originally was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, having grown up in Brooklyn and seeing Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges and the rest. When they moved to Los Angeles, I couldn't stay a Dodgers fan, even though I also moved to Los Angeles. Southern California was where I worked, but Brooklyn and New York was home. I was never going to be a Yankees fan, being a Brooklyn boy, so I followed the new team in New York, the Mets. When the Mets made their run at the pennant, I decided to put the baseball show idea into production. Everyone loved working on it. We gave Jefferies, Rugg, Dwyer, Finnerman and Gregg Peters SAG credits for appearing in the episode. They all wanted to play baseball too, and this show actually ran well under budget, because we only had to shoot at an empty baseball field in Los Angeles for most of it. We actually shot a scene of the show where McCoy and Kirk mention the Mets winning the World Series after the rest of the show was completed, just to remind the audience.

Fontana:

I'm not a big baseball fan so Justman and Gene helped me with some of the terms and rules of the game, but I loved shooting this episode! The cast did too. Fortunately, nobody hit William Shatner with a bat, although Nimoy jokingly took a swing at him.

Shatner:

If you want to know how I got the Montreal Expos cap, Rusty Staub gave me one that he didn't use, knowing that I was a fan of the new Expos at the time. It actually fit my head fairly well, which was surprising, because Rusty had a large head.

Nimoy, while shooting The Voyage Home in 1986:

There were times where I wanted to whack Bill with the bat, but I didn't want to hurt him that bad. So I plunked him with a baseball a couple of times on set. I also played baseball as a kid on the streets of Boston, and Ted Williams was my favorite player. We all wanted to be Ted. I could swing the bat from both sides of the plate, being ambidextrous, so I sometimes posed as Ted, or as Yaz (Carl Yastrzemski). At the time, Boston hadn't won a World Series in half a century, and those damn Yankees won almost every year in my younger years. Even the Mets winning in 1969 wasn't a relief. My Red Sox have to win it all at least once before I die.

Kelley:

I got to show off that pitcher's arm really well in that episode. It was a joy to shoot and as it turned out, I was the winning pitcher.

Doohan:

I wasn't much of a baseball player growing up, and didn't hold a bat that often. So we had to retake the final scene about 8 times before I hit that ball up the middle to win the game for the Enterprise.

Takei:

California kids love baseball, and I wanted to play baseball professionally before going into show business. I got to hit a home run in the episode, which was nice.

Koenig, on the Search for Spock set in late 1983:

I'm a Cubs fan, so 1969 was a bummer. I can't believe we lost to the Mets of all teams in the division. We'll never win the World Series, or even get to a World Series. But it was funny playing the Russian Chekov who had to play an American game. He was a fish out of water.

Nichols:

I told Shatner the crew would need me to win the game, and that's how it played out.

Jefferies:

Rugg, Finnerman, Dwyer, Gregg and I loved the opportunity to get on screen. We were always behind the scene, but that SAG credit will always be on my record. Shame that I had to be the losing pitcher, though.
 
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Budgetary constraints mean no Andorian baseball players, unless you want me to add an Andorian LOL
More alien characters please!

Even if it’s just someone in Spock ears painted purple, more aliens in the backgrounds ship cast - maybe one of those extras who gets up when the main cast comes onto the bridge, or an engineer? Even give the odd or two of ‘em a name...

Funky rubber head masks do not always work, but easy stick on bits like ears or tusks do with a slap of makeup.
 
More alien characters please!

Even if it’s just someone in Spock ears painted purple, more aliens in the backgrounds ship cast - maybe one of those extras who gets up when the main cast comes onto the bridge, or an engineer? Even give the odd or two of ‘em a name...

Funky rubber head masks do not always work, but easy stick on bits like ears or tusks do with a slap of makeup.
There are going to be at least two Orion episodes later in the 4th season...
 
An aesthetics note: The outro for seasons 3 and 4 consists of the following pictures:

Enterprise leaves the screen for the last time.

Bob Justman: Executive Producer
D.C. Fontana: Co-Producer
Gene Roddenberry: Executive Consultant

The behind the scenes and special effects crews names are in the outro, including the co-stars (Doohan, Takei, Koenig, Nichols) and guest stars. We see:

Kirk in the spacesuit during The Tholian Web
Spock and McCoy investigating a Denebian slime devil
Uhura standing up from the captain's chair pointing forward as the Enterprise fights the Romulans
Kirk in a Romulan disguise
Sulu wielding the sword in The Naked Time
Klingon D7 battlecruiser picture
Balok

A Paramount Production, in association with Norway Corporation
Douglas S. Cramer, Executive Vice President in Charge of Production
 
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Ok, Star Trek baseball cards, that'd be an awesome collectible.
Some 1970 Topps baseball card sets and Donruss entertainment card sets will have special Star Trek inserts that later become valuable items when they get signed at the conventions in a few years...
 
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