Star Trek in Black and White?

[Spock's Barber]

Compare ST to Lost in Space (Ugh!). LIS was bad in Black and White and even worse in color. At least the ST cinematographers didn't make a joke out of using different colors to 'paint' a scene. Anyone remember the infamous LIS episode "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" or whatever it was called? Maybe it is better if you didn't see it.

Totally disagree about the ugh and the relative effectiveness of the 1st season's choice of filming in black and white. While I'm fairly certain that the rationale was cost, just like the premiere year of I Dream Of Jeannie, even though all the networks were on the cusp of having color being de rigueur for all new shows, it is widely agreed that beyond the growing Dr. Smith-centric plots and silliness that definitely didn't reach its true fruition until the 2nd season, the lack of color was integral in the perception of the show's initial serious tone, more realistic depiction of scenarios germane to the family's survival, and perhaps as well, the integrity of the greater level of the presentation of the cast as an ensemble.

It was probably inevitable that color would appear in season 2, pretty much accompanied hand-in-glove by the profusion of a fantasy orientation and the triumph of the Smith-Will-Robot troika. I would agree that the vividness of the color lent itself to the impression made by the themes, but I think it's more than a little of an exaggeration to suggest the choices made were necessarily garish and that they had much to do with the definition of the show in the last two seasons in light of the plots' substance, which was mitigated slightly by the space borne setting decision made for the last season.

I wouldn't attribute the infamy of the Vegetable Rebellion and Guy Williams and June Lockhart being kicked off the episode because they couldn't contain themselves for the palette rationale either. Stanley Adams was encased in an only slightly overly orange colored carrot suit and I personally find that Dr. Smith made an enchanting celery stalk. Obviously there was a certain something about the episode as TV Guide rated it #76 in a 1997 list of the Greatest TV Episodes Ever (City on the Edge of Forever was #92)

Be glad that you didn't get to see the prospective 4th season, which if Irwin Allen had gotten his way may very well have featured a purple llama.

GR and the ST production company may have said "Ugh", too, if the idea of a Carrot Creature or Celery Stalk Man would have been proposed. Irwin Allen's concept of alien life forms came straight from the 1950's Z-movie archives.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

GR and the ST production company may have said "Ugh", too, if the idea of a Carrot Creature or Celery Stalk Man would have been proposed. Irwin Allen's concept of alien life forms came straight from the 1950's Z-movie archives.

Lost in Space often "went juvenile" in a glaring and overt way, but Star Trek had its share of implausible plots and aliens that can be hard to defend when a non-fan points and giggles.

 

[Drone]

GR and the ST production company may have said "Ugh", too, if the idea of a Carrot Creature or Celery Stalk Man would have been proposed. Irwin Allen's concept of alien life forms came straight from the 1950's Z-movie archives.

Of course Allen didn't give a hang about the possible likelihood of how actual science, or common sense, might play into what his aliens looked like. Versimilitude and logic didn't figure into his conception of action oriented spectacle that predominated after the first half season by which time he had used up all the relevant footage from the unaired pilot.


As you suggest, I don't think he was averse to using alien archetypes from the period you mention, though I think it's indisputable that he coped himself more than anyone else!!!! I do wonder though if some of the over-the-top aliens would have been tempered somewhat if it wasn't Dr. Smith that was dealing with them, but much more commonly, a wider range of the family as the main protagonist in episodes, which certainly wasn't the case from the second season on. I think there is support for this( The Sky is Falling, The Magic Mirror, Follow the Leader,etc.).

These guys were some of my favorites. I though their blue bowlers were fab!!!!!


https://pennyrobinsonfanclub.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/fans21.jpg

 

[johnnybear]

I saw Trek in b/w right up to 1976 when we had our first colour set. Then later on had weeks of more b/w when the set kept losing colour for some weird reason. The engineer they sent had no idea how to fix it and we got the same answer everytime until they sent a youngster around who put it right in about ten minutes flat and then I got to see more Trek in colour!
JB

 

[CrazyMatt]

My first viewings of Star Trek when I was in elementary school in the early 70's was with a black and white portable TV.
Finally seeing it in color was a tremendous improvement.
Of course in black and white there was never the argument over what color the Captain's shirt was.

You and I share a history, my friend. While attending 2nd grade, I started watching Star trek in 1971, on the local UHF channel, every Monday through Friday at 4 pm. I did not see Star Trek in color until 1974, when we got our first color TV.

The first episode I ever watched from beginning to end? Come on, do I really have to say it????

 

[Warped9]

I began watching Star Trek in b&w in 1970. My parents bought a colour television about a year later by which time I was already hooked on the show. So in its initial run being in b&w might not have hurt the show, but it might have in later syndication (in terms of attracting new viewers) when colour sets were becoming evermore prevalent.

Regarding Lost In Space. Watching the show now the series looks much better in b&w and absolutely gaudy in colour. The b&w helped make the first season feel moodier and somewhat less goofy.

 

[T'Girl]

GR and the ST production company may have said "Ugh", too, if the idea of a Carrot Creature or Celery Stalk Man would have been proposed

Not to mention a creature who looked like a oil slick, or a alien whose nose was connected to his chin.

Ugh indeed.

.

 

[erastus25]

Not to mention a creature who looked like a oil slick, or a alien whose nose was connected to his chin.

Ugh indeed.

.

The appearance of Armus is actually pretty cool and unique. Any time ST deviates from the usual "humanoid with a funny forehead and/or ears" formula it should be commended. His fate is also pretty horrifying and a nice departure from the usual pat ending of most of ST. Kind of similar to the clown on VOY, now that I think about it.

It seems the character of Armus ultimately loses points in the eyes of many fans b/c the episode is terrible and because is origin story is almost laughably bad new age pseudoscience mumbo jumbo. There was a lot of potential in the concept, but the execution undercuts it pretty significantly.

Either way, he was still 1000x better than a carrot creature or celery stalk man.

 

[CrazyMatt]

And here are some images the way I saw them when I watched that first episode in glorious shades of gray....

 

[Warped9]

And here are some images the way I saw them when I watched that first episode in glorious shades of gray....

Yep. That's how I remember seeing it originally.

 

[The Old Mixer]

You guys had good receptions. No snow, no horizontal lines?

 

[Warped9]

You guys had good receptions. No snow, no horizontal lines?

The reception we were getting at the time was usually excellent so it looked very much like the images posted above.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Well...we had a color set then, so .

 

[Albertese]

I grew up in the 80's and 90's, so color was prolific. However, as a young teenager, my grandma gave me an old 12" black and white TV from probably 1970 or so, and I watched Star Trek after school most every day. I've got to say, I always thought it worked pretty well sans color. And I also watched TNG on the same old TV. TOS looked great in B&W, while TNG always looked flat and weak. My understanding is that TOS was produced with both Color and B&W in mind as both were still well represented in the market.

You know, I kinda want to try turning the color saturation on my TV all the way down and watching TOS in B&W again. I miss it.

--Alex

 

[Drone]

Not to mention a creature who looked like a oil slick, or a alien whose nose was connected to his chin.

Ugh indeed.

.

The appearance of Armus is actually pretty cool and unique. Any time ST deviates from the usual "humanoid with a funny forehead and/or ears" formula it should be commended. His fate is also pretty horrifying and a nice departure from the usual pat ending of most of ST. Kind of similar to the clown on VOY, now that I think about it.

It seems the character of Armus ultimately loses points in the eyes of many fans b/c the episode is terrible and because is origin story is almost laughably bad new age pseudoscience mumbo jumbo. There was a lot of potential in the concept, but the execution undercuts it pretty significantly.

Either way, he was still 1000x better than a carrot creature or celery stalk man.

So, any need to ask what you two, or anyone else, thinks of Tulpa?

 

[CrazyMatt]

You guys had good receptions. No snow, no horizontal lines?

You're right, I had forgotten about the good old days of tin foil on rabbit ears and rotating antennas on the roof. It (sometimes) actually looked more like this:

 

[DarKush]

I first saw some TOS in black and white. I thought it looked boring. I remember when I first saw it in color how vibrant the colors were.

 

[Redfern]

You're right, I had forgotten about the good old days of tin foil on rabbit ears and rotating antennas on the roof. It (sometimes) actually looked more like this:

I can imagine a TV salesman during the "rabbit ear" era of broadcast television trying to pull a "fast one" and claim, "No, no, that's not 'static'. That's 'texture'! See how it gives richness to otherwise blank, featureless regions on the screen? Only our finest sets offer this feature. And today only, we're offering this option at just 5 percent extra!"

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Galileo7]

...
Regarding Lost In Space. Watching the show now the series looks much better in b&w and absolutely gaudy in colour. The b&w helped make the first season feel moodier and somewhat less goofy.

Agree, b&w added a lot to Lost In Space , plus these early first season serious episodes: "Reluctant Stowaway", "The Derelict ", "Island In The Sky", "There Were Giants In The Earth", "The Hungry Sea", "Invaders From The Fifth Dimension" and "One Of Our Dogs Is Missing".

 

[Draculasaurus]

I watched most of DS9's first run on a black and white kitchen TV. Interestingly, I remember Quark's always being a little smokier than it appears in color. It must have been a quirk of the higher contrast.