Was the episode "Where no man has gone before" produced before "Charlie X" despite being aired after

[Captain Trekkie]

I'm watching the original series again and this same thought crossed me again.
"Where no man has gone before" looks like it was produced prior to Charlie X despite being aired later.

The uniforms are the same as the lost pilot episode.They don't seem to be yet standardized until later.

Watching them, I feel pretty sure "Where no Man has Gone before" was produced first but probably had some production issues before being aired, so "Charlie X" made it first.

I think "Where no Man has Gone Before" was probably the second episode but then was aired after "The Man Trap" and "Where no Man has Gone Before."

 

[fireproof78]

I'm watching the original series again and this same thought crossed me again.
"Where no man has gone before" looks like it was produced prior to Charlie X despite being aired later.

The uniforms are the same as the lost pilot episode.They don't seem to be yet standardized until later.

Watching them, I feel pretty sure "Where no Man has Gone before" was produced first but probably had some production issues before being aired, so "Charlie X" made it first.

I think "Where no Man has Gone Before" was probably the second episode but then was aired after "The Man Trap" and "Where no Man has Gone Before."

Yes, Where No Man Has Gone Before, was the second commissioned pilot. "The Cage" had not wowed executives, largely due to feeling like audiences could not connect with the main characters. Commonly, the phrase "too cerebral" is thrown around, and people treat that as "Oh, it was too smart." No, it wasn't that, it was very much too much of characters talking, but not a lot of relating.

So, the studio requested a second pilot to show another proof of concept of what the week to week stories might be like. Jeffery Hunter opted not to return as Pike, so Shatner was cast, and assets were reused. Now, a pilot is not necessarily to be aired, but to give the studio an idea of what production would look like, i.e. costs, scheduling, filming, etc.

So, Where No Man Has Gone Before was the second shot Roddenberry had to sell his series for production. "The Man Trap" is considered the first premier episode of the production run.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm watching the original series again and this same thought crossed me again.
"Where no man has gone before" looks like it was produced prior to Charlie X despite being aired later.

The uniforms are the same as the lost pilot episode.They don't seem to be yet standardized until later.

Watching them, I feel pretty sure "Where no Man has Gone before" was produced first but probably had some production issues before being aired, so "Charlie X" made it first.

I think "Where no Man has Gone Before" was probably the second episode but then was aired after "The Man Trap" and "Where no Man has Gone Before."

WNMHGB was the second pilot. I assume they decided to broadcast it to get from behind a deadline crunch. A lot of the first season were shown out of production order. You can notice several shifts in the costumes showing when certain episodes were filmed. TrekCore's episode list can be ordered by Broadcast, Production or Stardate.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

This is the production order:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes#Production_order

The early-episode aired order was different, based on which ones were finished on time (with fx shots and the final cut assembled), and NBC's preferences among the available episodes. WNMHGB was not the premier because NBC didn't want it to be. "The Corbomite Maneuver" took so long to air because its fx shots were not delivered on time.

 

[Captain Trekkie]

Okay so that explains it all. Thanks for the responses.

 

[Ssosmcin]

WNMHGB was the second pilot. I assume they decided to broadcast it to get from behind a deadline crunch. A lot of the first season were shown out of production order. You can notice several shifts in the costumes showing when certain episodes were filmed. TrekCore's episode list can be ordered by Broadcast, Production or Stardate.

Yep Where No Man was put in there because a) episodes shot earlier were still waiting on effects footage (Gene Roddenberry really wanted to lead off with The Corbomite Maneuver but that was delayed by nearly 3 months) and b) NBC didn't want certain episodes to air too soon because of subject matter.

The Man Trap was a "planet" show with a strange creature, so it went first. Charlie X had almost no effects work and no new model effects at all (all of the Enterprise shots were form the pilots), so that was next. According to Bob Justman and Herb Solow, they never intended to air Where No Man Has Gone Before at all, but they needed a show on the air. After that, enough episodes were aired to allow some familiarity with the crew to make The Naked Time effective and even though NBC prebaby wanted The Enemy Within a bit later, they needed to put it was a "planet" show and it wasn't Mudd's Women, which it seemed nobody but Roddenberry really liked. Space Hookers and all that.

 

[JoseNoodles]

The second pilot uniforms did seem to show up from time to time in Season 1 TOS. I recall see a female crew member wearing one during a Season 1 episode, but unfortunately I can't recall which one.

 

[Ssosmcin]

The second pilot uniforms did seem to show up from time to time in Season 1 TOS. I recall see a female crew member wearing one during a Season 1 episode, but unfortunately I can't recall which one.

The Man Trap and Charlie X showed women in pants. The tunics were reused but updated for background people. The Man Trap used crew footage from the pilot during the alert sequence so you saw pilot uniforms for a moment or two there.

 

[Captain Trekkie]

The Man Trap and Charlie X showed women in pants. The tunics were reused but updated for background people. The Man Trap used crew footage from the pilot during the alert sequence so you saw pilot uniforms for a moment or two there.

I never paid attention to that. Yes they typically wear skirts and not pants.

 

[Ovation]

According to Bob Justman and Herb Solow, they never intended to air Where No Man Has Gone Before at all

I’m quite grateful for the time crunch that made them air this episode as it is my single favourite episode in all of Trek (and apart from Prodigy, I’ve seen them all).

 

[Nerys Myk]

I never paid attention to that. Yes they typically wear skirts and not pants.

One of Charlie's victims wears pants.

 

[mb22]

One of Charlie's victims wears pants.

Probably because they didn't want to show her as an old woman in a mini dress.
https://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/screencaps/season1/107-charlie-x/charlie-x-br-599.jpg

 

[Nerys Myk]

Probably because they didn't want to show her as an old woman in a mini dress.
https://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/screencaps/season1/107-charlie-x/charlie-x-br-599.jpg

That's always been my assumption.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I think the old-timers among us must resign ourselves to the fact that there are now people out there whose first encounter with ST was not with TOS (even in strip syndication, with a UK print of "Spectre of the Gun" ["gin" instead of "corn whiskey"] even airing in some US markets [during the years that KTLA had it]), and never read any of the reference books that discussed airing vs. production order.

Even the early seasons of TNG had some episodes aired out of production order.

I hadn't heard that "The Corbomite Maneuver" had been held up in post-production, but it doesn't surprise me. It is an effects-intensive show.

According to everything I've ever heard or read, "The Man Trap" aired first because NBC executives thought a show about a monster would be the most appealing to the people they expected to be watching.

And I cannot imagine that anybody involved would be so utterly wasteful as to not plan on airing the second pilot at some point.

 

[Nerys Myk]

And I cannot imagine that anybody involved would be so utterly wasteful as to not plan on airing the second pilot at some point.

The pilot did it's job, it sold the show. Using it and the first pilot were acts of desperation, The Cage was cleverly incorporated. WNMHGB, not so much.

 

[Ovation]

I think the old-timers among us must resign ourselves to the fact that there are now people out there whose first encounter with ST was not with TOS (even in strip syndication, with a UK print of "Spectre of the Gun" ["gin" instead of "corn whiskey"] even airing in some US markets [during the years that KTLA had it]), and never read any of the reference books that discussed airing vs. production order.

Even the early seasons of TNG had some episodes aired out of production order.

I hadn't heard that "The Corbomite Maneuver" had been held up in post-production, but it doesn't surprise me. It is an effects-intensive show.

According to everything I've ever heard or read, "The Man Trap" aired first because NBC executives thought a show about a monster would be the most appealing to the people they expected to be watching.

And I cannot imagine that anybody involved would be so utterly wasteful as to not plan on airing the second pilot at some point.

I believe pilots, even today (though perhaps less so than in the 20th century), are not automatically shown to general audiences. Cast changes are among the most common reasons for this policy, if applied.

 

[Henoch]

I hadn't heard that "The Corbomite Maneuver" had been held up in post-production, but it doesn't surprise me. It is an effects-intensive show.

Just watched it two days ago. I was amused at the new "transition" uniforms from the pilot with the new ones having oversize black collars on some of the characters (Spock, Sulu, Bailey) but not on others (like Kirk). As the episode progressed, the collars seemed to change in height.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Just watched it two days ago. I was amused at the new "transition" uniforms from the pilot with the new ones having oversize black collars on some of the characters (Spock, Sulu, Bailey) but not on others (like Kirk). As the episode progressed, the collars seemed to change in height.

Yeah, they must have hit the ground running on "Corbomite," the first regular episode, and I think Theiss had to send some of them out wearing huge-collar prototypes, like Spock, Bailey, and Sulu. Kirk is in the settled version of the production uniform.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I believe pilots, even today (though perhaps less so than in the 20th century), are not automatically shown to general audiences

The Six Million Dollar Man had a "Movie of the Week" pilot. Quincy, ME had its pilot, and the first few production episodes, set up to run as one of the spokes in an "NBC Mystery Movie" wheel. Emergency! had a pilot that was designed, as I recall, to run initially as a TV movie, and then be split up into a 2-parter.

On the other hand, Get Smart's pilot ("Mr. Big," with Michael ["Alexander," from "Plato's Stepchildren"] Dunn as the eponymous KAOS kingpin) was shot in black-and-white, and I think it might have been slightly shorter than the production episodes, and it wasn't seen by the general public until the DVD set came out.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I believe pilots, even today (though perhaps less so than in the 20th century), are not automatically shown to general audiences. Cast changes are among the most common reasons for this policy, if applied.

Yeah. Sometimes a pilot is just a cheap demo film made for executives, where major set construction hasn't been funded yet. Or sometimes there are major cast changes, like what happened with Gilligan's Island and The Munsters. Or a cast change like Lost in Space, where Smith and the robot were added after the pilot, but their characters had to be there from the beginning. But even there, you salvage as many scenes from the pilot as you can and write their usage into the series.

The first episode of Bewitched doesn't have the series standing sets, but that works because Sam and Darrin haven't bought their house yet. That had to be pilot footage to demo the characters, probably supplemented with a few new scenes to make a full episode.

And I cannot imagine that anybody involved would be so utterly wasteful as to not plan on airing the second pilot at some point.

Same here. I'd be stunned if they ever planned to leave WNMHGB in cold storage.