James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Laurel Goodwin made her screen debut with Elvis Presley in 1962 with Girls! Girls! Girls!, so she was well known by the time she acted in THE CAGE in 1964. #TOSSatNight 130
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026So glad that the long lost original 3-ft studio model of the Enterprise was discovered in a storage locker after more than four decades. #TOSSatNight 290
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The lovely Laurel Goodwin should have become a series regular. We lost her in 2022 at age 79. #TOSSatNight 190
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The design of the Enterprise gets its final approval with this meeting between Richard Daytin and Gene Roddenberry on the set of THE CAGE. #TOSSatNight 150
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Susan Oliver’s costume is not that revealing. #TOSSatNight 050
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Some of the Orion slave girl scenes never made it to the final cut. #TOSSatNight 160
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I don’t believe the first pilot was rejected by NBC because it was too “cerebral” or that Susan Oliver’s costume was too revealing. I believe it was rejected because it was too erotic and Spock was too satan-like, meaning that they wouldn’t be able to sell it in the Deep South. #TOSSatNight 280
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026As good as captain Pike was, I don’t think the series would have succeeded because Jeffrey Hunter was just too wooden, too stiff, and crowded Nimoy’s ability to give Spock the qualities that made the character work. Hunter was no Shatner. #TOSSatNight 9341
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026In real life, Mojave doesn’t look anything like this today. #TOSSatNight 060
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I dig the Talosian cave set. Very atmospheric. #TOSSatNight 170
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Have always felt that the Talosians were well depicted and convincing. #TOSSatNight 2130
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Susan Oliver was a remarkably accomplished person. In 1967 she became the fourth woman to fly a single-engine aircraft solo across the Atlantic Ocean. #TOSSatNight 0111
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Another fine matte painting by Albert Whitlock for the pilot episode Rigel VII. #TOSSatNight 180
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026A vintage magazine spread on Jeffrey Hunter’s family life. #TOSSatNight 080
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The scene where Pike throws himself against the barrier was always effective, and sets up the scene where the barrier is has a hole blasted in it. #TOSSatNight 140
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026This is the stage at the Culver City studio where the original two pilots were filmed, and where they had their struggle with the rattling noise of flushing toilets and wasps that harassed the cast and crew. #TOSSatNight 080
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026In my opinion, Susan Oliver acts circles around everyone else in this pilot. She was a remarkable woman and an excellent actor. #TOSSatNight 4212
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Desilu built a great planet set for the pilots. #TOSSatNight 1101
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Groundbreaking to have a woman as first officer of the ship in 1964. #TOSSatNight 180
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Alexander Courage wrote a fabulous main title for Star Trek and went on to write wonderful music for the series. His cues are some of my favorites. #TOSSatNight 081
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Command is often a lonely position to occupy, but I think Pike feels to sorry for himself. #TOSSatNight 030
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Got to love the goose-neck displays in the original bridge. #TOSSatNight 081
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Time to “check the circuit” on the original bridge of the starship Enterprise. #TOSSatNight 061
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...nytimes.com‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control. 000
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Visited the Academy Museum’s Marilyn Monroe exhibit. Wonderful collection of dresses, photographs, and other artifacts. Missing was the famous 1962 “happy birthday Mr. President” dress, which was apparently ruined by Kim Kardashian wearing it in 2022. 100
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Enjoyed walking the streets of London this past May in cool crisp weather. 000
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026When we look up at the moon at night it looks bright. In reality the moon is quite a dark object—much darker than the Earth. Here is a picture taken from space of the moon in front of our planet. Many comets and asteroids are very dark, making them harder to find and track. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026“A.I. safety experts were even more alarmed. They saw in the Hugging Face incident the first real-world example of an A.I. system’s successfully escaping human control, commandeering resources and scheming to cover its own tracks.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/t...nytimes.comWhy the Hugging Face Hack Should Make You Worry More About A.I. (Gift Article)The attack by an aggressive “collective” of OpenAI agents shows the danger of artificial intelligence systems that organize themselves. 120
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Couldn’t make this episode, but of all the TOS episodes to miss, this is the most “cringe.” #TOSSatNight 151
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Any projection of a spherical Earth to a flat map makes someone unhappy. Either the sizes, shapes, or locations of continents are distorted. Here are examples: Mercator, Peters, Equal Earth, Winkel, Boggs, Pierce, and Lee. 000
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 08/09/202660 years ago today Star Trek premiered on NBC with THE MAN TRAP. I eagerly awaited the broadcast, having seen the TV promos and getting permission from my mom to stay up past my bed time. Sandra Gimpel played the salt vampire, which scared me. I became a lifelong fan. 131
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026B-25 Mitchell bombers were loaded aboard USS Hornet (CV-8) for the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo at Alameda, CA. Docked at that same pier is the museum ship USS Hornet (CV-12) that helped sink the Yamato as part of Task Force 58. Later, Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 and 12 astronauts from the moon. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026I’ve always thought The Savage Curtain was an odd episode—Lincoln floating in space in the Lincoln Memorial pose. But it’s nice to meet the Vulcan historical figures. #TOSSatNight 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Missed last night’s episode to attend a John Williams tribute at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil conducted by David Newman. They did play a selection from Lincoln. John appeared at age 94 to conduct the final piece to the cheers of the audience waving their light sabers. Glorious. #TOSSatNight 161
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Love to walk the streets of San Francisco (and ride the historic cable cars!). 120
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Remembering the Space Shuttle, that magnificent, fragile, capable, and dangerous Space Transportation System that lofted and then serviced (multiple times) the Hubble Space Telescope. It was at once the coolest and scariest rocket humans have ever piloted. 131
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 02/09/2026On a recent trip to Berlin, I admired the restored Brandenburg Gate, the scene of intense fighting between German and Soviet armies, and which stood for decades of the Cold War adjacent to the Berlin Wall. 010
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026And the source of a nice Christmas tree ornament. #TOSSatNight 050
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026What a great music score by Fred Steiner. #TOSSatNight 190
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Leslie Parrish was such a beautiful and poised model and actress. #TOSSatNight 050
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026At the Greg Jein auction I was able to inspect at close quarters the duty uniform worn by Leslie Parrish as Lt. Carolyn Palamas. It’s a second season velour costume with diagonal seams. #TOSSatNight 3123
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026It has been so hot in Los Angeles I escaped to San Francisco to cool off. I never miss an opportunity to photograph the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge, which celebrates its 90th anniversary next spring. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026The Trojan Horse is mentioned in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Perhaps the earliest depiction of the Horse is contained on the Mykonos Vase, a ceramic vessel dating to the 7th century BC. It is filled with violent scenes of the Trojan war. I snapped these photos in 2006. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 23/08/2026At least we discover what happened to the M4 predecessor of Daystrom’s M5 in this episode. #TOSSatNight 150
