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Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

leethomson.myzen.co.uk

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Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#41

Post by dottrap »

techdragon wrote: post #23

I'm surprised at how jarring the math and background on page 2 feels. It really feels reflective of a different era, coming from a modern perspective Id never dare include something like that, with a big "scary looking formula" that needed explanation text, in the first half dozen pages. I wouldn't trust the reader to care enough to keep reading one word past the formula if I didn't already have them reasonably inves…

Not only that, they wrote part of this math into a monologue for Dr. McCoy, where McCoy was advising Kirk.

    In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that... and perhaps more, only one of each of us.

    Don't destroy the one named Kirk.
From the episode Balance of Terror:

https://youtu.be/2237SaR75iw?t=83

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#42

Post by dmix »

gsatic wrote: post #31
dmix wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why they always tell startup founders to study how Hollywood pitches are done. Putting together a good collection of these would be valuable to founders. Not just for tech startups by anyone selling ideas... Writers selling novels, governments pitching policy ideas, lawyers defending clients, corporate workers pitching new ideas internally, etc etc

Thats all startup founders (and for that matter most Americans who want to succeed) end up studying. Beyond being great salespeople with great stories there is nothing else interesting going on in the mind.

Maybe you’ve been meeting different entrepreneurs than me because the vast majority of people with good ideas seem to suck at communicating them.

I hope they study this stuff and I’ve seen it promoted heavily in the HN/VC world, but in practice it’s rare to find well pitched startup ideas.

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#43

Post by gumby »

zeckalpha wrote: post #10
akamaka wrote: post #8

Not a Star Trek related question, but I noticed that the title is printed in a special cursive font, while the rest of the document is typewritten. What kind of machine would have been used in 1964 to print a custom font for a one-off document?

A pen, perhaps? Inksmanship, drafting, lettering all were much more common skills. Could also be stickers, hot metal typesetting (unlikely), or even phototypesetting.

I don't think there was phototype in 1964. Probably Letraset.

I think phototypesetters arrived around 1974

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#44

Post by Brian_K_White »

neilv wrote: post #27
cwillu wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cylons did not, in fact, have a plan.

Sounds like they were Lost . ("Lost" was an extremely promising SF show that claimed to have a plan, but was revealed not to. Which is unforgivable when the attraction of the show was figuring out the mystery. My own theory is that the wildly successful first season led to the writers purchasing too much celebratory cocaine, and subsequently just phoning it in, while the business people were happy to milk it like a s…

And if having no plan wasn't damning enough, the compounding crime was not at least being as good storytellers along the way as X Files.

I couldn't stand all the unbelivable behavior. When you don't know anything about someone yet, then you can be forgiven for falling for deception from them. But once you do catch them doing something inexcusable, why the f have you forgotten all about that an episode or two later? And then act all devastated when the already known bad guy is bad again later... Seemed to be happening in all different directions with all different characters at different times. I never watched more than a handful of episodes before I wrote it off as pointless contrived drama resulting mostly from inexplicable behavior from the victim(s)-of-the-day.

Just to be clear, X Files was never my favorite show, just another show that ended up having no plan, but mostly didn't piss you off for being stupid, so much so that it could get away with being aimless for a long time.

Another way to say it, X Files ended up being pointless, but it didn't feel pointless all along the way. Lost felt pointless immediately and never didn't (for the admittedly short time I gave it).

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#46

Post by wongarsu »

firecall wrote: post #7

Even if you are not a fan, the PDF is a very enlightening read! "...blonde with a shape even a uniform could not hide" It's shockingly misogynistic!

The unaired pilot episode features characters very close to those described here. There's a "secretary has crush on her superior, he doesn't notice or doesn't care" cliche going on which would have been a feature over the whole series. Obviously making her physically attractive helps that plot point.

Of course that got axed after the unaired pilot episode, but in return the gender ratio took a hot with both the yeoman and Number One gone.

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#47

Post by pencilguin »

dmix wrote: post #42
gsatic wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats all startup founders (and for that matter most Americans who want to succeed) end up studying. Beyond being great salespeople with great stories there is nothing else interesting going on in the mind.

Maybe you’ve been meeting different entrepreneurs than me because the vast majority of people with good ideas seem to suck at communicating them. I hope they study this stuff and I’ve seen it promoted heavily in the HN/VC world, but in practice it’s rare to find well pitched startup ideas.

This is why they say not to worry about anybody stealing your idea: if it's any good, you will need to invent a really great story to get anybody interested.

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#49

Post by WalterBright »

njharman wrote: post #13
cheschire wrote: post #4

Ronald D Moores “series bible” for battlestar galactica is also quite a fun read for fans. A copy is available from the same site, so clearly this person enjoys their sci fi. http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Battlestar_Galactica/Battlesta...

"We take the Opera out of Space Opera"? I quit watching after several episodes because it devolved into High School level drama of who is fucking you and totally unwarrented flip-flops every episode of people being loyal, betraying, hating someone then in love with them etc. And (mostly) starbuck screaming, crying then totally forgetting she was overacting in the next scene. It was simplistic, base, boring and not sc…

I watched "Beverly Hills 90210" for a while (shame on me), and eventually realized that all the plots were "given X cast members, how many episodes can one create that revolves around one member of the cast hooking up with another"?

Re: Star Trek (1964) [pdf]

#50

Post by WalterBright »

neilv wrote: post #27
cwillu wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cylons did not, in fact, have a plan.

Sounds like they were Lost . ("Lost" was an extremely promising SF show that claimed to have a plan, but was revealed not to. Which is unforgivable when the attraction of the show was figuring out the mystery. My own theory is that the wildly successful first season led to the writers purchasing too much celebratory cocaine, and subsequently just phoning it in, while the business people were happy to milk it like a s…

One of the episodes did it right - it was a snowglobe. But that never went anywhere after that remark.
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