Where To Watch
Here's how Gene Roddenberry made the Star Trek title sequence ''from garbage''
Quite a bit of drama made the sci-fi classic!
Very few things have the opportunity to draw us into a story like a fantastic opening sequence. Sure, maybe word-of-mouth could have us tune in. We might read a good review that makes us interested. But the title card is what will make or break our attention. Will we be swept up in the fanfare? Or are we going to turn the channel?
Well, you don't have to be a Trekkie to remember just how exciting the Star Trek opening titles are. There is something so riveting in the music, that we might feel compelled to watch several episodes in a row. There's also the incredible opening narration, rivaled only perhaps by that of Twilight Zone. "Space," intones William Shatner. "The final frontier!" The promise of adventure awaits. "These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!"
So, how did it all come together?
Well, in Shatner's memoir, Star Trek Memories, he yields some space to producer Bob Justman to recount the tale.
"We really put the main title together from nothing, literally from garbage, trims, and rejects. We got lucky, and we kind of disproved the old notion that you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
"Still, this near-disaster left Gene [Roddenberry] with a real [problem with] Bill Heath. He was really angry because not only had Heath procrastinated in getting the effects done, he also wouldn't allow Anderson to hire enough people to do them. He was functioning solely in the interest of saving the studio some money, and he was working against the good of the show. On top of all that, he had lied to us. It was so bad that even Gene, who was a notorious gentleman, wanted to go down and separate Bill Heath from his head. He wanted to kill him."
So, next time you get swept away by that famous opening sequence, remember that it took blood, sweat, and tears to whisk you away!
Related
10 Comments
Don't take my word for it... it's been documented elsewhere...
There's also unused [broadcast-wise] lyrics for I Dream of Jeannie, The Andy Griffith Show, Bonanza, Roseanne, The Tonight Show ("Johnny's theme - originally a record by Annette Funicello called "It's Only Love", and before that an early instrumental called "Toot Sweet"), I Love Lucy (although Desi sang lyrics to Lucy *once* in the show, and it's actually called "Desi's Samba"), Leave it to Beaver (ALthough the songs was released as a children's record with lyrics called "The Toy Parade"), Peter Gunn, Mama's Family, Hogan's Heroes, M*A*S*H* (recorded with lyrics as "Suicide is Painless") and Bewitched...