I'd like to talk about STAR TREK, past, present and future, and I don't know whether you're going to like what I have to say.
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I'd like to talk about STAR TREK, past, present and future, and I don't know whether you're going to like what I have to say. is an early 1973 speech by D.C. Fontana that was given at the second Star Trek Lives! con in New York.
It was printed in full in Star-Borne #6/7, a fan newsletter that often printed letters directly from Fontana, David Gerrold, and Gene Roddenberry, making this publication a quasi-official arm of Star Trek's powers that be.
The letter addressed the then current, and heating up, fan campaign to get Star Trek back either on television or as a movie, AND to implore fans to support the new Trek animated series.
In that sense, it is defined here on Fanlore as an open letter.
The letter in "Star-Borne" was preceded by:
BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE FOLLOWING SPEECH, WE HAVE DECIDED TO PRINT THE SPEECH VERBATIM, WITH ONLY A FEW AUDIENCE COMMENTS EDITED. THE SPEECH WAS GIVEN BY MISS DOROTHY C. FONTANA AT THE NEW YORK STAR TREK CONVENTION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1973.
Some Topics Discussed
- be a good fan and support Star Trek, and anything else Gene Roddenberry does
- Gene Roddenberry makes quality products when he has full control
- animation is not the same thing as cartoons
- the Star Trek animated series was sold to fans at this point (and perhaps to its creators as well) as an evening show, not one run Saturday mornings as a children's show
- Star Trek as you remember it is over
- fans have done a tremendous amount of work boosting the show, but there is still more work to be done
- Paramount is not really the good guy
- if fans do not support the new animated series, and on TPTB's terms, then when Star Trek finally dies, it is fans that killed it
The Letter
I'd like to talk about STAR TREK, past, present and future, and I don't know whether you're going to like what I have to say. I hope that you will see it the same way I do.
STAR TREK past is past. It's nice that we can keep it alive like this. You have a beautiful memory of it and can see it in reruns. But it is past. STAR TREK present is different. Right now, Gene Roddenberry has a non-exclusive contract at WARNER BROS, and at UNIVERSAL which means that he could do STAR TREK if PARAMOUNT ever decided to do it. He has made himself open to them if they would bring it back. Since last year's convention which raised so much hope and since you have raised so much hope we have tried in every way possible to get PARAMOUNT to understand that this is a fabulous property... that they should bring it back.
Herb Solow, the gentleman with Oscar Katz, who was instrumental in bringing STAR TREK on the air, had a contract at WARNER BROS. And is trying to work it so that he could do an independent picture of STAR TREK hoping that perhaps his salesmanship abilities would be able to sell it as a movie to PARAMOUNT. That failed.
We have asked you to write and you have. PARAMOUNT has been inundated. NBC changed its mind and asked PARAMOUNT "Please could we do the show?" PARAMOUNT said "No.".
Gene has, as I said, tried in every way possible to bring the show back. Leonard Nimoy has indicated that hp would be available for a series. Every other actor except William Shatner who has been busy that he has not been able to think of a series, has indicated that he or she would be available for a series.
I have said that I would work on the show, if Gene would produce it. Gene Coon has said that he would work on the show. David Gerrold has said that he would work on the show. Margaret Armen... every writer that you think highly of has volunteered to come back and work on the show provided that Gene was on it. Nothing - these are the best writers in Hollywood talking - Nothing. PARAMOUNT would not be swayed.
Just Wednesday (Feb. 14) Gene called me here and said that the deal has been completed to bring STAR TREK back as an animation... as a cartoon. The only reason Gene would allow that to be done is that he has full creative control. Which means, he will run it.
He has personally chosen the animation house. It is a good one. It is FILMATION. The show will probably go on the air sometime in the fall (Saturday mornings, NBC). However, Gene intends that its intelligence, its science, its stories, will be as good as STAR TREK was originally.
We will not be doing a "kiddie-cute" show. We will be doing STAR TREK. It will be animated.
Although we have not gone into it, I know that at least several of our actors... Jimmie (James Doohan) who is good at dialects, who could do, and would probably be willing to do the voices.
I have been asked whether i would like to write for it, and I said 'I probably would." Gene I know would contribute. David (Gerrold) has said that he would probably like to work on an animated version of something. It will be a quality show, then. If it is good enough, we could probably get it into prime time (8pm to 11pm EST, any network). And don't forget that in animation you can do many of the things that we could not do live on film. We could build those great beautiful cities that you always wanted to see, the planetscapes that we couldn't give you because we just couldn't build them... we can give you great special effects... lots more aliens because you can do so many things with animation that you cannot do on film... on budget.
That's the nice thing. Pessimistically, and I am pessimistic about it... I think that it closes the door forever for bringing STAR TREK back with live actors on film. And that's the bad part. But I think that since this situation exists, that Gene Roddenberry can go ahead and do a new space show. And we could employ the same actors, including Leonard (Nimoy) who is available for a series. Mark Lenard for instance, who I spoke to last night...uh, his ears perked up.... I would be available of course. And the other writers I indicated who said that they would love to work again with Gene Roddenberry and whom you all know from STAR TREK. I think that Gene would like to go again and do a new space series. He does of course, have his obligations to GENESIS II and QUEST0R. But this would, if a studio or network were willing, would be piloted perhaps as a movie in the following year, and then you would see it as a series perhaps, the season after next, because these things take time.
You have to create them. Sell them. Write the pilot. Sell it. And then, have it organized as a series. So, you could not expect to see a space series from Gene Roddenberry for perhaps two more seasons, this coming fall and the fall after. You might see a movie in between.
There is no law that says that we can't have a space ship. There is no patent on it. There's no patent on a crew and captain, and aliens aboard. There is no law that says that we can't have the same actors who worked for us in STAR TREK in different roles. If you trust Gene I think that he can give you another show really as good as STAR TREK in space. With the same quality and intelligence that you have come to expect from all of us. I also think that in the meantime please don't neglect GENESIS II. It is not STAR TREK. It is a different kind of science fiction, but it is damned good science fiction. And Gene personally has supervised every foot of film. In fact that is why he could not be here now. He is working on the editing, scoring, the dubbing of it. It will be on, I think in March (March 23rd, 9:30 pm EST, CBS). Please don't neglect it. Give that your support.
Give the cartoon version of STAR TREK a chance. Don't turn it off because it is a cartoon. Let it live awhile, because if you kill it, then you have, really killed STAR TREK. Give it a chance. See what it is like.
And I guess the other thing that I would like to ask you to do is indicate to Gene that you would like to see another kind of space show. Basically STAR TREK, but obviously no infringements on that show because we would be sued. But it would be originality, would be respect for audience, would be intelligence, and the love of science fiction that made STAR TREK what it was.
Fan Comments
This speech was printed in Star-Borne #6/7, and the editors of that zine printed this statement in response:
As you can see, the speech of Miss Fontana's concerning STAR TREK returning as an animated show creates a new aspect to the revival movement, We, at STAR CENTRAL have discussed little else since the convention, We don't believe that anyone before the con had ever even considered STAR TREK as an animation before. Now we must.
Granted, an animation is not exactly what ST fans wanted, but we are presently faced with little choice concerning the show. If the idea displeases you, you are not alone with that feeling. But to repeat Miss Fontana's statements, if you condemn the animation now, you permanently kill all chances for STAR TREK to return.
Right now, STAR CENTRAL has only one suggestion - wait and see what happens. It possible that this new STAR TREK could be very very good.
Certainly the talent that probably will be working on the show warrants our attention, regardless of what you might think of ST being a cartoon. And may we point out that if you had heard of this show and the people involved, knowing what they are capable of, and if this show weren't called STAR TREK, wouldn't your reaction be far from negative?
Granted, some may feel disappointed. You might no longer have real live Vulcan ears or shapely legs to stare at. But at least we do have something to look forward to in the future.
About the future, what if Gene Roddenberry & Co, does decide to do another space show? If a new television series is as good if not better than ST (And the chances are that it will be better considering what they know now compared to what they knew ten years ago) if the script writers and set designers and special effects geniuses are at least as imaginative as they were seven+ years ago, a show by any other name could still be STAR TREK. If it stars the same actresses and actors besides new actresses and actors, if they still try to maintain the high caliber of science fiction found in the first 2 ST seasons, then it could still be STAR TREK.
We are not advocating to cease any revival movement. We still maintain that all ST fans still should keep writing the networks and PARAMOUNT, George Takei during the NYSTCON #2 suggested that people write to the acounting department of PARAMOUNT with suggestions about ST, as well as the facts and figures - if you are capable of doing so - proving the value of a filmed live version of STAR TREK as a movie, as a tv special as a tv show. You can point out that other shows, besides ST have had cartoon versions on the networks while the regular series was on too, BEWITCHED, THAT GIRL, etc, (Though please pray to your specific deity that the new ST in now way approaches their caliber of show.)
Again, we reiterate, keep writing, PARAMOUNT will not cause us to stop just simply because they think that this new animation will quiet us. Besides, the ST mail to PARAMOUNT has caused the studio to hire 3 secretaries to handle it alone, and we wouldn't want to put them out of a job...
And, may we suggest a few other things. Be sure and write Mr. Roddenberry if you think a new space show is a good idea. (Write to him care of STAR if you don't know where to write. We will forward the mail.)