In today's installment, we examine some Roddenberry Vault images from the era of the TOS films. Here are some storyboards by Andrew Probert of the Vulcan shuttle from Star Trek: TMP. I've previously covered this shuttle in detail here.
Here's a costume sketch by Robert Fletcher for Spock in Star Trek: TMP.
Here's a behind the scenes shot of Leonard Nimoy in make-up as he directs Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Next we have a series of negatives of publicity stills featuring Jane Wyatt as Amanda and Leonard Nimoy as Spock in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I was so glad the filmmakers were able to bring back Jane Wyatt to reprise her TOS role. Having that continuity really did make Vulcan seem like Spock's home.
Finally, here is a series of negatives featuring shots of Leonard Nimoy preparing to film on the Klingon bridge in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
The next installment of my coverage of the Roddenberry Vault will jump nearly 100 years into the future with Star Trek: The Next Generation.
By now, most Trekkies will have seen the "first look" trailer for Star Trek: Discovery that was released on May 17, 2017. Now, let's examine it with the eyes of a Vulcanologist.
The trailer opens in a desert with lighting storms in the background. This footage was shot in Jordan and from the first frame it's clear that Discovery is cinematic. It's generally agreed that the footage in this trailer is all from the pilot. The Director of Photography on the pilot was Guillermo Navarro (Pan's Labyrinth, Pacific Rim). Some are speculating that this desert is Vulcan's Forge. That's certainly possible. The storms make it difficult to tell whether the sky is red or not. In these shots we are introduced to Michelle Yeoh as Captain Georgiou and Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham.
Next, we hear a male voice saying "Great unifiers are few and far between but they do come. Often such leaders will need a profound cause for their followers to rally around." It turns out this is Sarek, or rather a hologram of Sarek, played by James Frain. It seems as though he is addressing Burnham which makes sense since it is rumoured the series will deal at least partially with Burnham's rise to command. It sounds as though Sarek is giving Burnham advice. Is he a mentor of sorts to Burnham?
We next see Sarek, still in holographic form, saying (presumably to Burnham) "What have you done out there on the edge of Federation space?". It seems as though the two are communicating over some distance and the question is informal enough that it suggests Sarek and Burnham have some significant relationship. The idea that Sarek and Burnham have a relationship is further supported by the fact that the hologram seems to be in crew quarters which would make it a personal communique from Sarek to Burnham.
The next shot of Sarek is him in-person rather than a hologram but it's suggested that this is a flashback because the following shot is a young person, presumably Burnham as a child. Sarek says, "You will never learn Vulcan. Your tongue is too Human." The child's haircut seems to be in the traditional Vulcan style which suggests we are on the planet Vulcan for this flashback.
Perhaps Burnham was raised or educated on Vulcan? Was Sarek Burnham's teacher or guardian? if an orphaned Human was left on Vulcan it might make sense that Sarek would adopt that child since he has experience with a Human wife and with raising a half-Human child (Spock).
Sarek's costume, to me, is reminiscent of Michael Kaplan's Kelvin Universe Vulcan costumes. The high collar reminds me of Spock's learning pod costume or of Spock Prime's parka. iMDB currently lists some costume assistants but not the costume designer so I'm not sure whose work we are seeing.
That's pretty much all we get in the trailer that might be related to Vulcans. Some additional details and information will probably trickle out over the summer but we'll have to wait for the series to premiere in the Fall to, ahem, discover the rest. i'm looking very forward to the new show!
CBS released the below poster which seems to feature Michael Burnham giving the Vulcan salute. That's further evidence that Burnham might have close ties with Vulcan.
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the amazing site www.trekcore.com. The folks at Trek Core work diligently to provide high quality screen caps from all the Star Trek series and films. They also collect behind the scenes images, publicity photos, video and audio clips and report on the latest Trek news. If you don't follow them I recommend you bookmark them immediately!
Occasionally, Trek Core puts together a new album of rare Trek photos. Their latest has two images that will be of interest to Vulcanologists. First up is a great shot of Leonard Nimoy as Spock with his Vulcan Lyre.
Next is a publicity shot of Kirstie Alley as Saavik from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I've previously posted some other publicity shots of Alley as Saavik. I find this shot really interesting. The playful pose is either pure Kirstie Alley or it's showing the emotional Roman half of Saavik.
Thanks to Trek Core for all their work in uncovering images like this and archiving Star Trek's history.
In today's installment of the Roddenberry Vault review we look at images from Star Trek: The Animated Series (which I've covered in detail here). First up is a painted cel featuring Spock's model sheet pose.
Here are a couple of drawings showing Spock's head at different degrees of turning. These also show the different scale for closeups and long shots.
Here's a painted cel of Spock. The episode details are cut off at the bottom.
Next up is some art featuring the design of the tricorder and demonstrating how Spock would wear it. I have a nice clean copy of this art in my collection which I've covered here.
Here's some art featuring Aleek-Om and a young Spock.
This art would become one of the most iconic images of TAS. It features I-Chaya and a ferocious le-matya.
Finally, here's a sweet drawing of young Spock and his friend, I-Chaya.
In the next installment we'll look at images from the TOS movies.
In this second installment of the Roddenberry Vault review, we examine images and negatives from the quintessential Vulcan episode of TOS, "Amok Time". Here's a negative with Celia Lovsky as T'Pau.
Here's a negative featuring Leonard Nimoy as Spock, deep in the plak tow, as T'Pau looks on.
This next selection is a contact sheet of rare publicity photos featuring Celia Lovsky and William Shatner. The bottom right shot of Kirk wielding the Lirpa is amazing!
This next series of contact sheets are all images from the infamous fight scene. There are some great shots of Arlene Martel as T'Pring, watching stoically.
Here's a final contact sheet featuring publicity shots of Arlene Martel as T'Pring.
I think this Roddenberry Vault social media project was a wonderful way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. The images and documents are great companions to the Roddenberry Vault Blu-ray collection.
Throughout 2016, Roddenberry Productions shared some rare images and artifacts on their social media channels to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. Many will be of interest to Vulcanologists.
This memo about the character of Spock is revealing. It was written as the show headed into its second season and one can see the influence it had on some stories that year. One can also get a sense of the growing difficulties between stars Shatner and Nimoy as they competed for screen time.
Here's a publicity shot of Leonard Nimoy as Spock in the first pilot, "The Cage" and a famous shot of Leonard Nimoy with his 1963 Buick Riviera on the Desilu lot.
Here's a great negative from "The Devil in the Dark" featuring Spock attempting to mind meld with the Horta and two others of Spock with some Treknology.
Here's a contact sheet with images of Mark Lenard as Sarek in "Journey to Babel".
In the lower left is an unused promotional shot of Leonard Nimoy with Jane Wyatt as Amanda in "Journey to Babel".
Here's a famous print featuring Spock by the late science fiction artist Kelly Freas.
This last one is pretty special. This is the only known photo of Gene Roddenberry in a Star Trek costume. This is one of the Romulan uniforms.
Today at 5pm I'll be live TweetingFor the Love of Spock.
"I may not be the fastest, I may not be the tallest or the strongest, I may not be the best or the brightest but one thing I can do better than anyone else is be me."
The film opens with an interviewer quoting from one of Leonard Nimoy's poems. It's a perfect way to begin a film about a man who was so unique.
The documentary was originally intended to be about Spock and his impact on our culture. After Leonard Nimoy passed away, Adam Nimoy realized the film would also have to talk about Leonard Nimoy's life and impact. It made sense to then include something of Adam's story as well. The result is a wonderful tribute to Leonard Nimoy and the Spock character.
The film takes us through Nimoy's early acting career including some great clips of his performances, including one from Gene Roddenberry's The Lieutenant which also features Majel Barrett. The film then moves into the Star Trek years and makes great use of HD clips from TOS to remind the audience of some of Spock's most memorable moments and Leonard Nimoy's contributions to the series. It recounts the stories of how the Vulcan nerve pinch and salute were created.
Adam and Julie Nimoy recall how their father was very present in their early lives but how his work ethic in the early 60s and during Star Trek made him less available to them. The difficult tensions between Adam and his father provide a thread through the film that is resolved near the end when Leonard started "majoring in family and minoring in career" rather than the other way around.
This film is a highly enjoyable two hour journey into the life of a man I have idolized, studied and been entertained by since I was a child. I thank Adam and Julie Nimoy for sharing their stories with us and giving Star Trek fans the opportunity to know both Spock and Leonard Nimoy a little better. I highly recommend it.
For the Love of Spock is available in theatres worldwide and with behind the scenes extras on We are Colony.
