After Hours on Stage 9 at Paramount in 1988. Star Trek TNG Interlopers!

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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

 

First Contact with a Star Trek TNG Script

TEASER

INT. ALIEN MEDICAL FACILITY – CORRIDOR – DAY

CLOSE ON a wide sliding door opening… TWO MALCORIAN medical technicians rush someone on a gurney through the doors and into a small room crowed with medical equipment for emergency trauma care. The level of the technology is approximately mid 21^st century Earth with just enough differences that this is an alien world. There are two treatment beds/tables, Cabinets, and trays with medical instruments, and a display for reading scans. The Malcorians are humanoid with a slight difference in facial features…their hands are shaped like mittens without fingers (If this is a difficult makeup job they can all wear gloves)

There is a sense of urgency as the technicians rush the gurney into the Emergency Room…two young Malcorian physicians NILREM (male) and TAVA (female) quickly move equipment and get a table ready for the incoming patient. Throughout the following scene, we should NOT SEE the face of the man lying on the gurney, but he is in a Malcorian civilian garb, and has a large bandage on his head. We may notice that he does wear gloves (mittens) on his hands. They have the gurney in position and the technicians help move the victim off the gurney and onto the table.

NILREM

Ready…Lift!

They all lift and move the victim on the table. The medical technicians now move away and EXIT.

(Continued)

 

This is not the beginning of the latest episode of a hospital trauma TV series, although it certainly has the feel of an emergency room/casualty situation! This is the first few words from a Star Trek the Next Generation script that arrived in my mail box the other day. The episode is in Star Trek TNG’s fourth season and is entitled “First Contact” not to be confused with Star Trek – First Contact the feature film involving the TNG cast fighting the Borg from 1996. The script in my hand is rough and used, with the date NOVEMBER 28^th 1990 stamped at the bottom, the name of the person who the script is to be issued to labeled on the upper right. A couple of other unusual things you will find on the front cover of this script that you won’t on the actors’ copies are – stunt replacements for the actors who will need to be doubled, their rates for the day. That’s right, stunts; this is the script for the stunt-coordinator of the episode, my friend, Dennis Madalone.

I knew I would be receiving a shooting script from Star Trek TNG as Dennis and I had discussed it in our many conversations over the last month. I had no idea which one I would be receiving and was very excited when the other day the package arrived; I tore it open with the anticipation of a seven year old on Christmas Day and to my pleasure discovered this script. Complete with the dog-eared feel of a manuscript that has been used for the sole purpose of producing a TV show, with no thought of it ever falling into the hands of a fan. In fact, Paramount make allowances for such an eventuality with the following statement inside the front cover:

“THE WRITING CREDITS MAY NOT BE FINAL AND SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR PULICITY OR ADVERTISING PURIPOSED WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING WITH THE TELEVISION LEGAL DEPARTMENT.

Copyright 1990 Paramount Picture Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This script is not for publication or reproduction. No one is authorized to dispose of same. If lost or destroyed, please notify the Script Department.”

As it is near to sixteen years since the date this script was issued, and I know the person to whom it was issued, I see no harm in discussing and quoting from the original piece. It should be said at this point I have checked eBay for other scripts being sold and they appear to be mostly copies and spares, I did not see any from the production crew, labeled as with one is.

I started to read the script as soon as I opened it. I noticed immediately, as my memory for these things is generally very reliable, that it was very different from the version that ended up on the television screen. I hunted through my personal libraries and drew my own copy of the episode to compare to the script. I opened the script and began to watch and read.

The scenes played out with the same feeling that the script gave, I know from my other Star Trek books and my years of interest that script writers put words like “med-tech” in where the technical consultants would come up with an alien of the week medical gadget name or medicine. The appearance of “med-tech” in this script tells me this was not the version taken to the set for the actors, but a version prior to the consultants culling.

I was excited to see use of writer’s lingo such as “Columbo moment” and “oh shit look” when referring to Commander Riker’s expression when the aliens we come to know as Malcorians discover that he is not of their world. As I said the general feel and dialogue that appears in the episode is in the script, but it is not identical, nor can one expect it to be.

I continued to watch the episode with the aid of the script and couldn’t stop marveling on how the script really does tell the STORY of the episode I couldn’t help but notice how short the episode really is. I had finished in forty-four minutes. The story came together. Captain Picard managed to convince the Chancellor of the Malcorians that he could be trusted and should release Commander Riker. A portion of the story that talks about the fear of the new “threat” from the Starfleet ship, plays out with Krola, the Minister of Security going as far as to force the Chancellor to dis-regard progress in favor of the more traditional ways of life.

The episode drives home the Star Trek ethic of always telling the truth and the Enterprise leaves orbit at the end with Riker safe. Krola, the Minister of Security has recovered. Mirasta, the Malcorian Space Administrator fulfils her childhood dream of voyaging into space and remains onboard the Enterprise when they leave orbit. If you are interested in knowing something specific about this episode of Star Trek you are quite welcome to email me and ask.