James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Actually, now that I think about it, Marcia’s suggestion was for the explosion when Palpatine falls into the cavern. But I agree, it may well have been inspired by this scene. 000
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026They wanted to end this pilot with an old fashioned Western fist fight, to show NBC they could provide more action. #TOSSatNight 020
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026The phaser rifle makes its only appearance in this pilot. It’s such a cool prop, I would have liked to see it in regular use. #TOSSatNight 170
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Sally Kellerman would be nominated for an Academy Award five years later for her portrayal of “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H. Star Trek had the best guest stars. #TOSSatNight 040
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026It’s interesting that Gary Lockwood, within four years, would co-star in the Star Trek pilot that sold he series, and in Kubrick’s 2001: a space odyssey, a landmark film. He was a cool dude. #TOSSatNight 140
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Shatner nails Captain Kirk from the first frame. He’s fully fleshed out. More humor yet more gravitas than Jeff Hunter’s Captain Pike. #TOSSatNight 6250
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Andrea Dromm replaced Laurel Goodwin as the Captain’s Yeoman, and she was replaced in the production series by Grace Lee Whitney. Grace was great in the role (until they sacked her) but I wonder what it would have been like if Goodwin had remained. #TOSSatNight 160
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026The 3-D chess board is one of the most iconic props of the original series. The second pilot used heavy chess pieces that were too large for the board and later replaced by Peter Ganine pieces for the production series. #TOSSatNight 020
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026William Shatner helping Sally Kellerman relax back stage. #TOSSatNight 3101
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Yes, I regret never meeting her. It must have been incredible as a young actress for your first film to be a co-starring role with Elvis, filmed in Hawaii. A true Hollywood fairytale. 010
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Here’s another interview. youtu.be/UDEfoRIHbRk?...youtu.beGates of Graceland: Elvis Co-Star Laurel Goodwin Shares Stories from the Set of 'Girls!Girls!Girls!'YouTube video by Graceland 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026One of those Hollywood stories. Hal Wallis saw her, made her a lead in the movie, and that was that. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026In my opinion, Anson Mount plays Pike much more like Captain Kirk is portrayed by Shatner. It’s not true to the character created by Hunter. Anson is great, but this is one of the many issues I have with SNW. 000
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 · 27/09/2026It was a little odd the Flint would be living on Rigel VII. 000
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Would not have been a Star Trek were it not for Lucille Ball, and some unusual circumstances. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Yes, Sandra Gimpel, who is still with us and lives quite near to me. 010
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Take the train up to Boston and see the 3-ft model at the MIT museum until March 28th. mitmuseum.mit.edu/announcement...mitmuseum.mit.edu 000
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026It’s currently being exhibited at MIT in Cambridge. 110
James Fanson @jlfanson.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The original series featured the guest stars more than the later series, I feel. 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
