Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site tilt.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!hou3c!hocda!houxm!mhuxl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!tilt!smw
From: smw@tilt.UUCP (Stewart Wiener)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: The animated episodes
Message-ID: <46@tilt.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Apr-84 17:50:49 EST
Article-I.D.: tilt.46
Posted: Fri Apr  6 17:50:49 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Apr-84 06:18:07 EST
References: <3299@brl-vgr.ARPA>
Organization: Princeton Univ. EECS
Lines: 33

If the animated episodes are being shown in your area, DEFINITELY make
an effort to see them.  They are infinitely beyond the usual Saturday
morning fare, and the kudos for that goes squarely to Gene Roddenberry
himself, who refused to let Filmation Studios take control.

Filmation wanted kiddie cadets aboard the Enterprise... you know the
kind of schlock they're capable of.  Roddenberry committed them to REAL
Star Trek.  I believe he produced it himself.  If not him, then it was
D. C. Fontana, who wrote the greatest animated story, "Yesteryear," in
which Spock has to go through the Guardian of Forever to Vulcan, saving
the life of the 8-year-old Spock.  It is amazing how MUCH they were
able to do in just a half-hour format.

Two seasons of animated ST were produced, in 1973 and 1974, I believe;
a total of 23 episodes.  It won an Emmy for best children's cartoon.  And 
of course it was cancelled for the same lousy reasons the original was.

The voices of all the original actors, except Walter Koenig (Chekov), were
used.  James Doohan and Majel Barrett often doubled as guest voices, with
Doohan regularly doubling as the navigator, Lt. Arex.  (The animated
format let them be much more imaginative with aliens, putting two in the
bridge crew.  They also used "life-support belts" to generate a glowing
force field instead of bulky spacesuits, which got them out more often.)
Mark Lenard did do Sarek's voice in "Yesteryear," by the way.

In short, animated Star Trek deserves to be counted as "real" Star Trek,
as much as the 79 original shows and two films.  It's no more inconsistent
than were those, and features the original producers and cast.  YES, if
you have any opportunity to do so, go out of your way to see animated ST.
-- 
	     Stewart Wiener			:-) "Read and weep as did
	  Princeton Univ. EECS			:-)  Alexander when he beheld
 {allegra,ihnp4!mhuxi}!princeton!tilt!smw	:-)  the glories of Egypt."