Carol Burnett & The First Star Trek TV Spoof?

[Maurice]

While doing some research for an article, I bumbled into what may be the first Star Trek sendup on television, or at least network television, right at the start of Trek's second season.

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Sketch begins at 8:48 in the video if it doesn't automatically play from there.

Around the same time MAD Magazine published its “Star Blecch” parody, the second-ever episode of The Carol Burnett Show on CBS did a Star Trek spoof titled “Star Trip,” (S1, E2, September 18, 1967; IMDb entry (link)) but—like MAD's first take on the series—didn’t really grok what it was sending up, being a generic parody of 1950s sci-fi other than guest Sid Caesar’s enormous eared Mr. Spook and a throwaway line about logic.

Given Trek wasn’t a network hit, most of the audience probably wouldn’t have gotten the joke of a more targeted sendup.




Note the Burke chairs.


Leonard Nimoy made a cameo in full Spock regalia in a sketch a few months later on December 4, 1967.

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[ZapBrannigan]

the same time MAD Magazine published its “Star Blecch” parody, the second-ever episode of The Carol Burnett Show on CBS did a Star Trek spoof titled “Star Trip,” (S1, E2, September 18, 1967; IMDb entry (link)) but—like MAD's first take on the series—didn’t really grok what it was sending up, being a generic parody of 1950s sci-fi other than guest Sid Caesar’s enormous eared Mr. Spook and a throwaway line about logic.

If it wasn't played for laughs, that plot idea could absolutely have been done as an actual episode. Mr. Norman threatened to blow up the Enterprise, and later Kirk fell hard for Rayna Kapec.

Also: I think the Carol Burnett writers were casting about for inspiration— this was the days of no Internet and no home video— and they purposely caught a first-rerun of Lost in Space for research. "Wild Adventure" features a girl floating outside the lower deck windshield, and only Dr. Smith can see her. Carol's robot character floating outside the ship was extremely similar.

Another thing: Harvey Corman giving orders into a corded microphone was apparently inspired by the early publicity still of Shatner holding a mic in front of a conglomeration of 1930's Buck Rogers props. Carol Burnett would have asked Desilu for a press kit or something, so they could work from photos.

 

[Maurice]

I think it's a stretch to conclude that the incidental action of pulling out a mic for a few seconds was inspired by a publicity photo.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I think it's a stretch to conclude that the incidental action of pulling out a mic for a few seconds was inspired by a publicity photo.

I still say The Carol Burnett Show clearly asked Desilu for a publicity kit, and also caught the Lost in Space rerun that happened to be on the week they were developing "Star Trip." To them, it was all the same.

They took inspiration from the publicity stills that were the easiest to re-create. It's no coincidence the earliest Shatner pics were thrown together in two minutes for no money— like a sketch. That was perfect for Carol Burnett. You should check the images:

Shatner with Globe:

Corman with Globe:

Shatner with Mic:

Corman with Mic:

Vitina Marcus in Space (LIS "Wild Adventure"):

Carol Burnett in Space:

It's fun finding these connections.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

There was at least one more notable TREK spoof with Burnett as Kirk. It may have preceded ''The Procrustean Petard,'' though both are thematically similar.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

There was at least one more notable TREK spoof with Burnett as Kirk. It may have preceded ''The Procrustean Petard,'' though both are thematically similar.

I have that book, Star Trek: The New Voyages 2. It came out in January, 1978.

The transgender Carol Burnett sketch aired in 1991, during a brief revival series. I don't even have a solid guess as to whether one of her writers knew the story. It's very possible, but they'd have to have been a real Star Trek fan.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I still say The Carol Burnett Show clearly asked Desilu for a publicity kit, and also caught the Lost in Space rerun that happened to be on the week they were developing "Star Trip." To them, it was all the same.

They took inspiration from the publicity stills that were the easiest to re-create. It's no coincidence the earliest Shatner pics were thrown together in two minutes for no money— like a sketch. That was perfect for Carol Burnett. You should check the images:

Shatner with Globe:

Corman with Globe:

Shatner with Mic:

Corman with Mic:

Vitina Marcus in Space (LIS "Wild Adventure"):

Carol Burnett in Space:

It's fun finding these connections.

Mic cord coms, globes and floating outside a window seem pretty generic SciFi to me.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Mic cord coms, globes and floating outside a window seem pretty generic SciFi to me.

Well, you're not even being serious. What brought those particular "generic" things to mind? Were the Star Trek uniforms with comically exaggerated silver insignia "generic SciFi" too? The Carol Burnett Show was doing Star Trek, and they got their hasty skit design rolling by working from the easiest-to-follow publicity stills in the Desilu packet.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Well, you're not even being serious. What brought those particular "generic" things to mind? Were the Star Trek uniforms with comically exaggerated silver insignia "generic SciFi" too? The Carol Burnett Show was doing Star Trek, and they got their hasty skit design rolling by working from the easiest-to-follow publicity stills in the Desilu packet.

The uniforms are definitely Star Trek inspired. The rest, not so much.

 

[Maurice]

To my eye, the only Trek-specific elements are the "boldly" part of the narration, the punny names, the style of the uniforms, Spook's haircut and ears and the mention of logic (he's nothing like Spock otherwise), the Burke chairs, and maybe Quirk at the globe device looking like that publicity photo. The rest is pretty generic sci-fi spoofage, like the lightning bolt logos. I can maybe buy the lady floating around outside the ship being Lost In Space–inspired, but that could just be because how else are you going to show someone hitchhiking in space? She's not going to walk up to the window.

The aforementioned Star Blecch in MAD is similarly generic, though at least it does a gag on the transporter.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

The aforementioned Star Blecch in MAD is similarly generic, though at least it does a gag on the transporter.

Kirk never looked better.

 

[Maurice]

Kirk never looked better.

I only now just noticed the badly reassembled Kirk's details are flopped between the two images: right hand protruding from right ear, and then it's left hand coming out of his left ear; right leg is a leg in one, then an arm in the other, etc. Bad MAD continuity.

Several things in that comic are definitely based on publicity photos. The mic image Zap posted, for instance, complete with a bit of the background.