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First Draft Script of a Star Trek: The Original Series Episode
Hiya, folks.
If you’re like me, you love to delve into the background of things, to read early drafts of a film or television show to see the changes as they occur. And, as in the case of this first draft script of this fan-favorite episode, also to think about what might have been . . .
Up for bid is a photocopy of the first draft script to the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode “This Side of Paradise.”
Originally titled "The Way of the Spores," this one is completely different from the final. And it’s such a mess, you’ll have a new sympathy for what the production team had to go through in getting some of the scripts into shape. DC Fontana was later given this one to do something with; knowing how great it ended up, you’ll be surprised by how goofy the source material is.
I’m not making any of this up:
-- Sulu is the crewmember with the past relationship with the young lady Leila Kalomi. The landing party comes across a crude cemetary containing a gravemarker with her name on it. Sulu, overcome with grief, suddenly remembers he always carries her picture (?) in his pocket (?). He passes it around so they can all see and appreciate what a nifty Eurasian beauty she was.
-- Scotty witnesses a Redshirt being run over by a driverless tractor (actually controlled by the Spores). The man’s body later disappears, and the Spores bring him back to life as a toady.
-- The settlers all dress in Amish clothing, and they all speak with a “thee” and “thy” affectation. And they can all lift heavy boulders over their heads, due to the Spore infestation.
-- Sulu’s ex is revealed to be alive. And out of the blue, Kirk tells Sulu that the “scar tissue” on his lungs will force Sulu off the Enterprise and out of Starfleet right after this mission. (McCoy, who comes across as a hopeless nincompoop here, must have been too busy repeating everything Kirk says to break the news to the poor guy.) Sulu asks Kirk, “Why are you telling me this now,” Kirk gives him a nudge-nidge-wink-wink toward Ms. Kalomi, and Sulu takes a stroll with the young lady.
-- Two other Redshirts find a bottle of homemade brandy (?), and one proceeds to get drunk (?). They follow Sulu and Leila Kalomi, like Peeping Toms, and see the pair duck into a cave for a little refresher course.
-- The Spores are concentrated inside the cave. One chases down Sulu, its blue light shining under his shirt until it settles in to his chest cavity. Sulu is now connected mentally to the settlers. He can even see through the others’ eyes. The pair leave the cave.
-- The two Redshirts, one drunk and one not, enter the cave. The Spores attack, but shy away from the drunk one.
-- Kirk tracks down Sulu, who runs away. Kirk phasers him to the ground. Now having Super-Spore strength, Sulu gets up and runs off again.
-- Kirk, Spock, and Scotty encounter the Spores. Spock and Scotty are infected, but Kirk is not. No reason is given for this, even though the crux of the story is that you’ve got to be drunk for the Spores to stay away from you.
-- Spock and Scotty help Sandoval take over most of the Enterprise. Kirk comes very close to ordering Phaser crews to eradicate all life on the planet and then destroying the ship.
-- After figuring out that alcohol is the key factor in immunity from the Spores, Kirk arranges a meeting with the renegade Spock. He jumps on Spock’s back and forces a bottle of booze down his throat. (I think I went to college with a 20th century relative of Kirk’s, by the way …)
-- At the end, again with no explanation or logical underpinning, Kirk out of the blue says, “Didn’t you hear, the Spores meant no harm?” All smile and laugh and off we go.
I’ve left out a bunch of nonsense. Again, reading this gives me more respect for Fontana, Roddenberry, and Coon.
The script comes three hole punched with two new brass tabs. Hollywood custom is that the center hole remains unfilled. E-mail with questions.
If you're interested in this item, please also check out my other auctions. Combined shipping is welcome.
The series, of course, stars:
William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Mister Spock
DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
George Takei as Mr. Sulu
James Doohan as Scotty
Walter Koenig as Mr. Chekov
Paypal prefered. Check and money orders will have to clear, of course, before shipping can occur.
I always hate to see a nice item on eBay and then find the seller has set the shipping to Gouge. To combat that for you, I offer no-drama shipping: $4.80 for Priority Mail with no handling charges. You don't have to pay me to write your name on the outside of the free, post office-supplied mailer; I think I can swing that. I'm also glad to combine shipping. Just add a dollar for each additional item, i.e.: 1 script = $4.80 2 scripts = $5.80 3 scripts = $6.80 4 scripts = $7.80 International buyers, contact me via eBay and I'll see what international options are open to us. I won't gouge you, either.
Please contact me with any other questions. And please check out my other items: lots of interesting stuff there. Thanks much. I appreciate you looking.
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