For the last couple of weeks Star Trek fans and bloggers attention has been focused on the actions of Star Trek executives to control the Star Trek universe.
For the last couple of weeks Star Trek fans and bloggers attention has been focused on the actions of Star Trek executives to control the Star Trek universe. First it was Star Trek movie producer J.J. Abrams effort to control information about the upcoming 2013 Star Trek reboot sequel. Upset at the leak of photos of Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Trek newcomer Benedict Cumberbatch engaged in a fight scene, Abrams placed a couple of dozen shipping containers around his production site in order to block further images of the film from appearing on the internet. Unlike some fans, I applaud Abrams for this decision because I want to be surprised and awed when I plop down my $20 at the midnight premiere of Star Trek 2 in May 2013. Raise the shields, J.J! Abrams' control of his multi-million dollar film is understandable, however, the decision of CBS executives to squash a fan-produced web film is less admirable. Last year a lost script by a 1960s Star Trek (TOS) writer was discovered when a fan asked the author to sign his copy of the script. Norman Sprinrad, who authored the TOS episode "The Doomsday Machine" also submitted another script that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry later rejected. Titled "He Walked Among Us," this proposal reportedly was written to star Milton Berle in a more dramatic role. At some point Spinrad lost the original script until it surfaced at a convention this last fall. Apparently Spinrad began to sell copies of the script online until CBS lawyers asked him to stop. More recently, producers of the fan-produced episodes, Star Trek: Phase II contacted Spinrad about turning his script into a full-length episode. Phase II has produced several episodes over the last decade, including one based on another rejected script by David Gerrold. Gerrold who authored one of the most endearing TOS episodes, "The Trouble with Tribbles," submitted a proposal for an episode inspired by the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which TNG executives turned down because it included openly gay characters. Gerrold later released the novel Blood and Fire based on the original script. A few years ago Star Trek Phase II produced a two-part episode "Blood and Fire" which starred TNG's Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar). This production did not even draw a sniff from CBS executives. Spinrad's script, however, quickly drew demands to halt any production or use of the script as CBS lawyers claimed that the company still maintained a copyright on "He Walked Among Us." Phase II officials agreed to this request because they did not want to harm their amiable relationship with CBS, which has allowed similar productions by the web group. At this point all parties have agreed to leave this lost script suspended indefinitely in a transporter buffer, leaving Star Trek fans once again frustrated and dismayed.