View Full Version : Lucy & "Star Trek"


treky
06-17-2003, 01:36 AM
This is for all you other "Trekys" out there:
Did you know that Lucille Ball was actully (SP)? responsible for "Star Trek" getting on TV? When they made the first pilot (there were 2 pilots-but that's another story!) no one that saw it liked it, exept her. (the series was shot at Desilu, which later was bought out by Paramount Pictures, & became Paramount Entertainment) She liked science fiction, and she also liked the pilot. So, she wanted them to go with it. And, since she was the head of the studio, no one was willing to argue with her.

LucyFan
06-17-2003, 03:09 AM
Originally posted by treky
This is for all you other "Trekys" out there:
Did you know that Lucille Ball was actully (SP)? responsible for "Star Trek" getting on TV? When they made the first pilot (there were 2 pilots-but that's another story!) no one that saw it liked it, exept her. (the series was shot at Desilu, which later was bought out by Paramount Pictures, & became Paramount Entertainment) She liked science fiction, and she also liked the pilot. So, she wanted them to go with it. And, since she was the head of the studio, no one was willing to argue with her.

Yeah, I knew that. I find it amazing that Lucille Ball helped (in some way) to get other shows "started" besides Star Trek like for instance Mannix and The Brady Bunch.

Mickey
06-17-2003, 04:54 AM
Yes, Lucy is to blame for the whole damn Star Trek franchise. For destroying originality and holding back any kind of growth and development in American sci-fi until Babylon 5 arrived on the scene. Bloody Star Trek! :mad: For making a star out of William Shatner, and therefore also for punishing the world with some truly dreadful novelty records... :(

Mind you, people always use that example to show how good she was at spotting a hit, but Star Trek wasn't a hit. Hence it being axed and thrown on the scrap heap. Only chance got it resurrected and remembered, so it's not the best example to use of her ability to spot a good investment! Other decisions that she made were much more sound.

dawsongirl
06-17-2003, 06:14 PM
Originally posted by Mickey
Yes, Lucy is to blame for the whole damn Star Trek franchise. For destroying originality and holding back any kind of growth and development in American sci-fi until Babylon 5 arrived on the scene. Bloody Star Trek! :mad: For making a star out of William Shatner, and therefore also for punishing the world with some truly dreadful novelty records... :(

Mind you, people always use that example to show how good she was at spotting a hit, but Star Trek wasn't a hit. Hence it being axed and thrown on the scrap heap. Only chance got it resurrected and remembered, so it's not the best example to use of her ability to spot a good investment! Other decisions that she made were much more sound.

True, but it is a cult hit. Many of today's classics are really just cult hits, not top 10 masterpieces.

Mickey
06-17-2003, 07:59 PM
Oh I know. It's just that lately I really hate the show! I used to be a huge fan of Star Trek TOS, then a few years ago I got to see it again for the first time in ages, and I just couldn't stomach it. Kirk made my skin crawl, McCoy was so self righteous I just wanted to hit him, and Spock was just plain boring. Now if they'd made the show about Sulu, Uhura and Chekov I'd be in the front line applauding Lucy's decision to make the thing!

And now, with so many new parts to the saga being made, it's really held back American sci-fi. Everybody seems to want to acknowledge the show in some way, everybody uses the same ideas - only Babylon 5 broke away, and then Paramount nicked the idea with Star Trek DS9 (though that was good, admittedly). Stargate now is the only non Trek-choked American sci-fi in some time.

Rant over, and I know it's not really Lucy's fault. I just wish she's thrown her name behind something else. Irwin Allen maybe! I'm always game for more Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (especially if the sea in question is filled with wobbly monsters with dodgy rubber heads :) )

SPLAIN
06-18-2003, 02:38 PM
We couldn't tell you HATED the show Mick, you should have been more vehement in your comments, LOL! The people at Desilu knew this show as well as Mission Impossible had the potential to be big hits, but the studio had fallen on hard times and they didn't have the money to do justice to the pilots they would be making for both shows, so they went to Lucy and asked her to use her own money to make proper pilots, then they would SELL to the networks. So she took her own under the table slush fund of 600 thousand dollars that was given to her to keep her happy and at CBS, the same type of arrangement that Gleason and Skelton and others had. She did not see the potential of the series, she actually thought that Star Trek was about movie stars on a trek somewhere, but she trusted her advisors and wanted to protect her investment in Desilu and keep the jobs of the thousands of people who worked there, so she spent her own money to save the studio and eventually provided Paramount with TWO BILLION dollar franchises, Star Trek and Mission Impossible, no wonder they named a building after her there!

Lucyfreak86
06-20-2003, 03:07 PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Lucy is responsible for the Brady Bunch? I HATE the BBs!!!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad:

SPLAIN
06-21-2003, 07:40 PM
How on earth is she responsable for that show being on? Because she did a movie called Yours mine and ours and it got copied for tv?