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I was doing some late night YouTube watching and while on a simple search for “Star Trek Behind the Scenes” I came across this little set of videos. It seems that 2 rather unintelligent lifeforms broke into the Stage 9 set of Paramount Pictures after hours during the time of Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A Paramount worker must have decided to upload the videos to the Internet after nearly 20 years in storage!
Not only did these lack-wits break into the set and parade around like they owned the place they were caused set pieces to fall down and turned on all the lighted consoles that make the Star Trek computers look so futuristic. The problem with the whole enterprise, if you will forgive the bad alliteration, is while trying to film a “behind the scenes” look at the Star Trek set the guy who was in front of the camera most of the time had nothing much to say that was true or in any way worth hearing.
During their invasion of Stage 9 one of the men tried out a bio bed in the sickbay set. Laying on the bed after he had determined it was not going to hold him only made it funnier when the whole setup fell. The idiots did however manage to get lights working on the set and prove once and for all that some of the computer panels were in fact touch sensitive. Another hilarious bit in these 4 videos are the times when the main “character” puts on his glasses to see better. What a twerp! The guy defiantly has anger management issues as he seems to be constantly on the verge of yelling at his co-hort. Maybe they were just totally scared shitless as the set might have been about to open up again for early morning prep at any moment.
As a fan of Star Trek and a technical fan at that, I know what the warp core does etc so when this man who dressed himself in what appears to be a uniform like that of Commander Riker, tried to explain what he is standing infront of, be it the warp core or a window in the old “Conference / Crew Quarters” set used during the first season he just gets everything totally wrong, take my word for it. He did grab a LCARS panel and seemed to correctly identify it as the graphic used when Lt. Yar died.
His sidekick, unintelligent lifeform number 2, is completely unversed in the operation of the camera and has never even heard of a steady shot judging by the way the camera shakes for the entire set of 4 videos. Notable props and set pieces in these videos include: Transporter Room Console, Lt Cmdr Remmick (Dead) from the episode Conspiracy, a prop alien creature from Conspiracy, the Bio Bed used for really sick or dying people with the big swing arm, Cargo Bay type doors, and the best part of all, the Enterprise that is usually such a tidy place is a total dump!
According to the blurb on YouTube, when the idiots were chased from the stage they dropped their camera, this can be seen in the last few moments of Video 4. I am not sure what happened to these guys or if they were ever caught but there certainly is plenty of video evidence to prove their crime. Pitty they never had a chance to edit it! Even though a tour of the Star Trek sets is a trekkie’s wet dream, this particular tour was not one I would ever want to go on. I sure would like to know how they got in there in the first place!
The video above is the first in their series of 4. The following links start at video two and link you to the rest of the escapade. I am going to call my friend Dennis Madalone who was the stunt co-ordinator on TNG and ask him if he remembers this one! Thought Trekkies everywhere would get a kick out of this! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHZOH-1domQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9tu4iPx1gI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTwSihLYI0w
Seb's Web Archive 
February 3, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I do not believe any of this! This is simply not true! Star Trek is NOT a television show and there are no ships! The Enterprise is REAL, Voyager is REAL, the people are real. Don’t tell me they are a television show with stages! Just wait until I tell Captain Janeway about this!
February 3, 2007 at 5:39 pm
LOL! Yeah. I am gonna call security on you now Andy…*hits fake comm badge that is collecting dust in desk drawer* security to my bedroom, NOW! There’s a madman on the internet who actually believes he can talk to Captain Janeway! …S
February 5, 2007 at 12:55 am
There is a curious discrepancy – he references the episode in which Yar died (“Skin of Evil”), which first aired on April 23, 1988, yet the timestamp on the video reads March 10. Unless the timestamps were inaccurate, this indicates that at least the “host” of the video must have been crew member of the show or Paramount employee of some type with access to inside information. This may also explain how he was able to infilitrate the stage. The camerman may have been a buddy or family who he asked to tag along and videotape the adventure.
February 5, 2007 at 1:10 am
Captain Stone,
Yes. It would appear that either the time stamp is incorrect or the person has inside information. It is also possible that the “host” picked up the LCARS panel and it was labelled “Skin Of Evil – “Yar Death Screen” or something like that. It would not be unlike the crew to label a piece of hardware that was going to be used on the set especially if there were a lot of them around like an LCARS display.
This does not however change the fact that these people were intercepted by yells and shouts that implied they were not supposed to be there. This would tell me that either the person who worked there was not in visual range of the pursuer, neither of them worked there or the pursurer realised who they were after the video ends and they don’t actually run very far.
Speaking of running away in a hurry we never saw or heard them discussing going back to get the “host’s” jacket that was left in the transporter room so it is a fair bet that if they did run away, and leave the camera that they also left their jacket behind. Most of the video the “host” was wearing a Star Trek outfit as I stated, it is also logical to assume that the peice of wardrobe had been pilfered by the intruders as the “host” does not arrive wearing it.
So when all is said and done aside from the small discrepancy surrounding the Lt. Yar death scene panel my post about the idiots who invaded Stage 9 is still true, unless of course someone can prove that they didn’t break it, that they didn’t act like total ninkenpoops, that the “host” didn’t try to get onto a bio-bed that he had already established was not going to hold him and that that the cameraman wasn’t totally clueless with the camera to the point where he was unaware as to how to disable the date display function. If someone can prove none of those things happened I will recant my statement that the guys who broke into Stage 9 were idiots.
Thanks for commenting, Mr. Stone.
February 5, 2007 at 2:24 am
Whether they “broke in” or not, it’s obvious they were up to no good. However, I don’t think this was just a couple of random Star Trek fans. The “Captain Stone” fellow seems to know a lot about the sets that a laman fan would not (i.e. he explains how the windows were especially made for an episode with Troi).
One thing though, I wonder why they didn’t go to the bridge? Was it on another set? I know if I were going to risk prison time to sneak onto the set of Star Trek, the first place I would go would be the Enterprise bridge. It seems it’s the only regular set piece they didn’t visit.
February 5, 2007 at 2:45 am
He says that the windows are for an upcoming episode. I thought when I watched it they looked like the windows that are used in the episode “The Child” which is season 2 episode 1. I didn’t think the host had mentioned it was for an upcoming troi episode on the video.
I was thinking the same thing about the bridge, why would they not go to the bridge. We all know that the bridge was used in every episode of TNG but “Family” and that was in the 4th season. I think they didn’t go to the bridge because it must have been on a seperate set from where they were
Maybe they did go to the bridge and that part of the tape was damaged, for all we know they went there first and went to the area with Remmick’s body and the chair sometime later…
They must have known someone but the people I know now who worked on the set told me yesterday they remember the break in and that wardrobe was taken. They remember it specifically. That makes the incident not only breaking and entering but also theft. So your assessment of them being up to no good is certainly what I would think…
February 5, 2007 at 3:20 pm
The final episodes of the first season were not filmed in sequetial order, and “Skin of Evil” was one of the first first out of the last 5 episodes, so it would make sense for it to be at the set, and it would also make sense for it to be labeled for the episode. “Captain Stone” would also have had to had help (most likely camera guy, wearing the robe), and Stone doesnt seem very knowledgable of the actual workings of the set, and he only knew a little bit of the fictional uses of the sets and props
February 5, 2007 at 8:06 pm
These guys were retarded! OMG…lol. Total stupidity. No knowledge.
And as for it being March, but Yar’s death wasn’t seen until April, but Trek doesn’t always just film episodes out of order, but they are also filmed WELL in advance. So Yar’s death episode was probably finished sometime in February, and they were done with filming the 1st season by late March or April.
And the reason they didn’t go to the bridge is because it was on another sound stage. They went to stage 9. Now, the picture link that I’ve posted below is that of the floor plan for Star Trek Voyager on sound stage 9, but the actual layout and position of the rooms is IDENTICAL to that of TNG…The Corridor layout is the same, Engineering is in the same spot, Sick bay is in the same spot. All they did was cover the walls to make them look different, completely redesign Engineering, and make sick bay look different. (With slight, yet still significant changes.)
February 5, 2007 at 11:19 pm
I think the only reason slick knew anything about the show (i.e. what was going on episode wise) is that he knows somebody who worked there. He clearly DIDN’T know how to turn lights on, or how to get panels to work. Or how to keep the bio-bed from totally crashing.
Let me say this on his behalf, though….
Mental health is no joking matter. For us to sit in judgement on a guy who displays a variety of personality disorders, physical “ticks” and clear disassociative tendencies borders on cruel. He probably sees nothing wrong with his treatment of bathrobe boy, or his multiple personality swings.
I hope in the 20 years since this was shot he’s gotten help. There are services to assist those who have a disconnection with reality to keep them and those around them safe. I hope he or someone close to him has directed him to those services and he may now benefit from therapy and medical treatment.
If not…then he probably still sees himself as “misunderstood” and that his perceived “contributions” to the world of Star Trek have been uncredited. He would see his role as sort of a self-proclaimed “historian” for the show(s) as well as identifying himself as someone who participated when in fact he didn’t.
I have been raised with the idea that we shouldn’t condemn those who are afflicted with mental illness, but provide pity, empathy and “tough love”. Greg is in need of all that.
He also has no hair. By now he’s probably grown a beard and is doing a beard combover. (Mom didn’t say anything about mocking hair loss.)
April 15, 2007 at 2:42 pm
[…] Star Trek TNG Stage 9 Interlopers […]
February 1, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Hey, Seb!
I saw your great and funny story on the paramount interlopers and wanted to provide you a piece of info.
“Captain’s stone’s” little friend is none other than “Ralph Miller”, the very same person who is currently working the sound effects over at “New Voyages” fansite! I haven’t seen this video in over 10 years, at some of the Vegas conventions, and it was a riot then, and still is, THANKS!
James
June 5, 2009 at 11:13 am
Has anyone got this video or know a link to it? It’s been taken off youtube and I”d be fascinated to see!