STAR TREK is coming back as an animated series!
| Open Letter | |
|---|---|
| Title: | STAR TREK is coming back as an animated series! |
| From: | D.C. Fontana |
| Addressed To: | fans |
| Date(s): | May 1973 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
STAR TREK is coming back as an animated series! is a May 1973 open letter by D.C. Fontana.
It was printed in Despatch #15.
The first part of the letter is addressed to "STAR TREK friends" in general. The postscript is addressed to Ruth Berman, and it includes an extra possible goodie for fans of the character, Sarek.
This letter was one of many, many letters sent by Fontana, as well as David Gerrold and Gene Roddenberry that heavily promoted Star Trek: The Animated Series.
Some Context
Star Trek: TOS fans had been campaigning heavily for years for the return of the series to either television or as a movie on the big screen.
While some fans were glad to see Star Trek return in any form, many others were alarmed and disappointed that it was returning as an animated show. These fans didn't want to watch "a kiddie show," and were also worried that this series would be a bone tossed to them and would hurt chances of Star Trek returning in another form.
The Letter
Dear STAR TREK friends,
STAR TREK is coming back as an animated series! On first hearing this news, some STAR TREK fans have been disappointed; but they have not heard or considered all the facts.
Gene Roddenberry has full creative control and will function as Executive Producer. I will be associated with the series in some way, at very least contributing scripts. Well-known science fiction and previous STAR TREK writers have expressed interest in writing new scripts for the show. William Shatner has signed to do the voice of Captain James T. Kirk, and we are sure many of the original cast will recreate their characters as well.
Gene Roddenberry chose an excellent animation house, FILMATION, to do the series. The president of the company, Mr. Lou Scheimer, is not only an avid STAR TREK fan but also a great science fiction fan. He is as determined as Gene to produce an outstanding series. The quality of his artists' work -- which Gene and I have seen personally -- is comparable to that of Walt Disney Studios. The show will not be a kiddie show, nor will it include any juvenile characters. It will be STAR TREK, with the same quality, intelligent approach, and respect for science fiction that the original series had. There is the additional asset that animation allows us to consider stories we could not do before because of cost or production limitation -- great alien landscapes and cities, adventures in the vacuum of space or on planets that are not "Class M" types, exciting and imaginative alien creatures who are not humanoid.
NBC will begin broadcasting the series in the fall, but we do not yet have a debut date. It will be on late on Saturday mornings on your local NBC station. Look for it — watch it -- then decide on it. Please do not prejudge the series or dismiss it as a "kiddie show" not worthy of your attention because you will be doing a great injustice to Gene Roddenberry and all the other talented people who will be working hard to give you STAR TREK again...and you will be missing a fine show.
Live Long and Prosper, D.C. Fontana
P.S. Dear Ruth,
The only description I had of Sarek is as follows: "The Ambassador is tall, lean, handsome in the Vulcan way of sharply planed, hawklike features. Because of Vulcan longevity, it is impossible to tell his age merely by looking at him...he appears to be no more than forty. He is actually one hundred two... middle age for a Vulcan." Everything else came out of dialogue and reaction and, of course, the casting of the character and Mark's interpretation. I thought he was fantastic myself and wanted to bring him back in another story as Sarek. Maybe I can do it in the animated version of STAR TREK.