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Early Draft of a Should-Have-Been Classic.
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 second draft script of a much-derided film, also to think about what might have been . . .
Up for bid is a photocopy of the second draft script to "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.” It contains the same basic story as the final, but the details are very often different.
I know, I know: who wants to read anything having to do with Star Trek V? Well, this script makes me a bit sad: sad for what could have been. And I have a greater appreciation for what Shatner was going for.
-- It's hard to describe, but the cut dialogue here fills out the story much better than the final. I understand the need to trim things, but they seem to have eventually cut the heart out of the story. A lot of the charm here was deleted.
-- Sybok was a classmate and companion of Spock, not a long-lost brother. This gives the emotional punch of Spock's dilemma more impact because it's not smothered with Soap Opera cheese.
-- Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura's turning away from Kirk and following of Sybok is fleshed out a bit here, but it still rings a touch false. Would have been better to have them all resisting, a la Scotty, while the rest of the crew follows Sybok.
-- And the ending. The ending to the final film, due to budget concerns, is obviously disappointing. The ending here is terrific, having all the actual elements of danger and suspense the final was lacking.
"God" has a much-expanded role, offering much more in terms of story, conflict, and resolution. And his rockmen/gargoyle attackers are a swarm, clawing and tearing at Kirk, Spock, and McCoy as they flee. McCoy, after an extended, tense chase, is ultimately badly injured by them.
In your mind's eye, as you read the description of the dozens of screeching gargoyles literally ripping the shuttlecraft apart to get the three, a shuttlecraft designed to suffer the rigors of space travel, it is actually chilling. Very well written, and it could have been very exciting on film.
All in all, like I said, I have a new appreciation for what Shatner and the team were going for. In the pre-CGI days, I'm not sure if the ending could have been filmed as written at any cost, but it's nice to know that what they were trying to do was as exciting as any Star Trek film has ever been. Give it a shot.
If you're interested in this type of thing, please remember to check out my other auctions.
The movie, of course, featured:
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
The script comes three hole punched with two new brass tabs. Hollywood custom is that the center hole remains unfilled. E-mail with questions.
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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