Comicon - New Posts to Come!

Well, Planet Comicon recently happened, and I got several awesome items there that I will be more than happy to share about in later installments.

Among them, an issue of Enterprise Incidents (the fanzine), the rare 'Blue Shirt' Playmates Picard, the original 1979 Star Trek The Motion Picture novelization, and a 1981 Marvel comic.

Needless to say, I'll have much to say about these later.

Gold Key - The Lost Comic!

Gold Key's Star Trek series was a real hit-or-miss game, with some stories that felt like they belonged in a Trek entry, and some just laugh-out-loud hilarious. They eventually lost the license to Marvel just before the movie, but this link here shows that there was to be one last comic, which never made it to stores.

http://startrekcomics.info/images/goldkey/st62script.pdf

It is called "Trial by Fire", and sees the Enterprise dealing with a energy dispute over the planet Orgone. While this certainly could have been an interesting story, one cannot help but enjoy the final printed entry, which featured an appearance by Harry Mudd, of all people.

Special thanks to startrekcomics.info

The Sour Luck of Joanna McCoy

               

For those unaware, D.C. Fontanna was a television writer, who had worked with Gene Roddenberry, but is probably mostly known for her work with him on Star Trek. According to her, she was informed about the project before “The Cage” was even in production. She was a great writer, authoring some of the most famous stories of both Season 1, 2, and 3. One of them was “Joanna” or as we know it “The Way to Eden”. The latter is particularly interesting, both because it was the only story D.C. Fontanna remained uncredited on, and it represents an interesting of Leonard McCoy’s life, his daughter.

There are certainly a number of universe expanding episodes for Kirk and Spock. “Amok Time”, “Court Martial”, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and certainly “Obsession”. McCoy’s history has always been somewhat of a blank slate, though. In 1989 we found out he had been forced to euthanize his dad, and his playful animosity with Spock is one of the show’s staples, but not much is known of his assignment to the Enterprise, or past before. “Joanna” as per Fontanna's original treatment, would have expanded upon McCoy's past greatly, revealing that he had a failed marriage and lost custody of his daughter. Joanna was to have her first, and presumably only, appearance in the series. She was to be among the space hippies that we know from the "Way to Eden", and Kirk (I know) was to have a romantic relationship with her (I KNOW!!). Having not read that draft, I can only imagine what the conversations between Kirk and McCoy were like!

However, a producer for Season 3 was for some reason very interested in giving Chekov more of his own episodes. So, the aired version has an old flame of Chekov's in place of Joanna. What's even worse, most of the dialogue between them is directly transposed from McCoy and Joanna's conversations from the original, which gives the scene of very strange overtone. However you put it, "Way to Eden" was certainly not one of Star Trek's better moments.

Now, a few years ago, I won an eBay auction for a few teleplays from Lincoln Enterprises, one of which titled "The Stars of Sargasso". Joanna appears in this one as well, and subsequently dies as well. Basically, Joanna is the last survivor of a trainee mission. The ship was destroyed by an alien named Argos, who is holding her prisoner. In a rescue attempt, a duel breaks out between the crew and Argos' androids. Not only is Joanna killed in the process, Spock is the one who accidentally kills her. It takes the McCoy/Spock animosity to whole new levels. They still don't truly make up by the end of the episode, even when Spock takes a near-fatal stab for McCoy towards the end. It's dated May 14, 1969, which is certainly a good explanation for why it never aired. As far as the live-action continuity goes, McCoy is childless.

  So what's the legacy behind this? Well, the backstory of McCoy's divorce is present in the original writer's guide, and the 2009 film also referenced this backstory as well. She had a brief mention in The Animated Series, which might be canon depending on who you talk to. Additionally, Joanna herself appeared in the 1979 Marvel comics series #13. So, maybe she will be appearing in some fan episode soon. Or maybe she'll get an appearance in an IDW comic. One can only hope.

Unused VFX Shot

Just thought I'd post this, as it's a nice alternate visual from the TMP workprint.

Also, the interview and the picture are from two different sources.

EDIT: This picture was posted by Maurice on TrekBBS a few years ago. If you're curious about the source, ask him.

Unreleased Film Versions

The Star Trek movies have been very interesting in terms of recuts and scenes that still remain unreleased by Paramount. Keep in mind, these just pertain to the films. I will undoubtedly make another post containing unreleased items pertaining to the series.

Star Trek The Motion Picutre - 
1979 Workrpint
Contains many different effects shots and tons of deleted scenes. No leak as of yet.

70mm Version
Many scenes from the 1983 television. Mentioned once from OT.com user FanFiltiration.

Star Trek The Wrath of Khan - 
1982 Workrpint
Black and white preview cut, many, MANY, alternate or deleted scenes. Abruptly cuts off right when Spock leaves for engine room. Mentioned many a time by TrekBBS.com user Grant.

70mm Version
Title card lacks the II in the title. 1 photo exists.

Star Trek III The Search for Spock -
1980's TV version
Cuts off a great deal of the opening to fit in a time slot.

Star Trek IV The Voyage Home - 
1986 Workprint
Many unfinished effects shots

Star Trek V The Final Frontier - 
1990's TV Version
Cuts off most of the cat-lady and camping scenes

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country - 
No known alternate unreleased version

Star Trek Generations - 
1994 Workprint
Over 30 minutes longer than the theatrical version. Downloads can be found easily

1994 Preview Cut
Shorter, but contains the original ending, with almost fully completed effects. Lots of temp music.

Star Trek First Contact -
UK Theatrical Cut
Two extra scenes not seen anywhere else.

Star Trek Insurrection - 
Workprints rumored to exist, never confirmed

Star Trek Nemesis - 
Again, rumored workrpint. No confirmation

Well, that was healthy. Talk to you later.

Film Versions and Best Sources: A comprehensive list

Any fan of the Star Trek film series knows about the various recuts across various formats. Here, for the OCD Star Trek fans (don't be ashamed to admit it), here is a list of the officially released recuts, and what sources are best for your personal enjoyment.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture -
1979 Theatrical Cut
Best Source - 2009 Blu-Ray &/or HDTV broadcast version.

Bonus - Widescreen Laserdisc for theatrical sound mix

1983 Television Cut
Best Original Broadcast Source - 1983 Laserdisc

Best(Only) Widescreen Source - FanFiltiration Restored Version

2001 Director's Cut
Best Source - 2001 DVD

Star Trek The Wrath of Khan -
1982 Theatrical Cut
Best Source - HDTV broadcast and/or 2009 Blu-Ray

1984 Television Cut
Best Source - Torrents can be found easily

2001 Director's Cut
Best Source - 2001 DVD or iTunes download.

Star Trek III The Search for Spock -
No major changes known, go with the blu ray.

Star Trek IV The Voyage Home -
International Cut - Certain international DVD's and VHS's.

US Theatrical Cut - Blu-Ray or HDTV version.

Star Trek V The Final Frontier - 
No known changes - go with the Blu-Ray.

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country - 
1991 Theatrical Cut - Blu Ray

1992 Home Video Version - 1999 single disc DVD

2001 Revised Cut - 2001 DVD

Star Trek Generations - 
 Blu-Ray - No changes known

Star Trek First Contact - 
Blu-Ray - No changes known

Star Trek Insurrection - 
Blu Ray - No changes known

Star Trek Nemesis -
Blu-Ray - No changes known,

Happy hunting, my friends.

Welcome!! This is the grand christening of this new Star Trek website (like there's not enough already...) ! This site will be dedicated to the preservation, documentation, and speculation on some of the rarest things this grand science-fiction series has to offer. We're talking unaired scripts, deleted scenes, alternate versions, rare comics, toys, etc. I hope you will find it as interesting as I do. Live long and... you know.