“Bones — what if I’m wrong?” Kirk asked in a touching scene in Balance of Terror. The original version of that scene was a mundane exchange until Gene Roddenberry fixed it the day before the cameras rolled.
Category: Autographs
A defence of The Way to Eden: it’s better, and much darker, than you remember
The episode is widely disliked, so you probably haven’t seen it in a while. I encourage you to watch it again. It’s not hippies and bouncy songs. It’s a mass murderer and his enthralled gang.
Waiting on Walter. My lunchbox needs him
Walter Koenig, I need you. Please come back to Toronto. Also, did you know Canadians got to see Star Trek before the Americans?
The Ebony magazine that got me two minutes with Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols owns a copy of her Ebony magazine-cover issue, but it’s in poor condition. I tried to give her mine.
The Concordance Color Book — and three fantastic surprise autographs
I bought this book years ago. I had never opened it. When I did, I discovered three major Star Trek autographs.
Thank you, Doug Drexler, for trying to save the Gold Key comics
Before Doug Drexler’s huge contributions to four Star Trek series and five movies, he did his best to save the Gold Key comics.
Kirk and Spock were meant to bust out of your wall. I got my poster signed instead
This is the best Star Trek poster I have ever seen. It’s big, it’s quirky, it’s a good likeness and you were supposed to cut them up, so that’s cool. Mine is also signed by Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner.
William Shatner was always nice to me
I have 13 William Shatner autographs. Eight of those I got in person. Three of those are extra special. This is the story of those three.
A fun fake: Flight Deck Officer certificate
Do you have a Gene Roddenberry autograph in your collection? If it’s on a Flight Deck Officer certificate then…probably no. But it’s a fun item anyway.
Rodan, John Wayne and what George Takei got wrong
George Takei was thrilled when John Wayne cast him in The Green Berets, but that robbed Takei of the chance to pick up a Tribble with Uhura on K-7.
Except that story is not quite true.
Leonard Nimoy sued Paramount — and won
Henry Fonda kicked off a dispute over a beer ad that almost kept Spock from appearing in The Motion Picture.
Leonard Nimoy to Trek fans: Don’t smoke. Live long and prosper
Leonard Nimoy used his celebrity to encourage others to quit smoking. He signed this American Cancer Society poster for me in 2006. And then, weirdly, Shatner signed it too.
The Roddenberry memo that helped launch The Making of Star Trek
The Making of Star Trek is one of the most important books in TOS fandom, and Gene Roddenberry was an early advocate of the project.
Bobby Clark signed a Gorn mask
Two guys pulled on the Gorn wetsuit costumes on the set of Arena in November 1966. I was fortunate to spend 20 minutes chatting with Bobby Clark, the better known of the two. Clark asked why Star Trek and the Gorn mattered to me.
