Join us for a nostalgic journey as we discuss the "good old days" of "star trek tng" and its classic special effects. We reflect on the enduring appeal of this "classic film" and the impact of its visual effects on the "sci-fi" genre. Plus, hear an amusing anecdote about dining with the legendary "william shatner" himself!

Discover the realities of TV writing, from early Star Trek effects to meeting Bill Shatner. We explore the writer's role, the challenges of directing, and a producer's clever strategy to avoid set chaos.

[75:43-76:08]

Probably. Well, Lamar Burton was in that series, wasn't he? Oh, he was in the, the, uh, what, Next Generation? Yeah, yeah. N-I, um, I'm talking, I was re- referring to classic. Oh, classic Star Trek. Where they, where they, yeah, classic Star Trek, where they recycled the special effects from other shows like Outer Limits and stuff like that. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Those, those were the days. I actually was lucky enough to have dinner with Bill Shatner, uh, l- oh, 18 months ago- Wow.

[76:08-76:23]

I think, just before the Palisades fire. He's a friend of, uh, a lawyer, he's a, a lawyer friend of mine knows him and they're good mates. And so I got to hang with him at a little dinner at my, our friend's house. That was nice. He's, uh, sharp as a tack, he is. Very cool. Yeah.

[76:23-76:44]

94th- And now look how, how low you've fallen. You're spending your mornings with us. Ah, that's Yeah. How the mighty are fallen. Well, that's the nice thing about being a writer. You're not an anybody. If you write the script and you go on the set, you know, without your work, there wouldn't be anyone there, but they don't need you. You know, you're just- Yeah. you did your job.

[76:44-77:01]

Now sit in the background or go away. And so you don't become an important person. But we do know everything, writers. We know who the, who the a-holes are in, in, in the business. You don't wanna work with her. My God, she's got this terrible sister who turns up - Wow. she's always on the set interfering. Very- Yeah.

[77:01-77:16]

Now, just, I'll just out of curiosity, since you, like, if you, you write a piece and you're on a set, would it not be more practical for you to be the continuity script-, script continuity person as well? Because, you know- No, I, I, no, no, no, no, God, no.

[77:16-77:41]

No, that's a skill. That's a real skill. Oh, okay. It's, it's like being an actor. Well, heck, it is, yeah. You know, it's a specialized job. You know, the thing is, once your job's done, they don't need you. And I learned this the hard way with a series that I was very disappointed with, actually kind of broke my heart. But I created it, I put it all together, uh, I wrote all the scripts, and un- unfortunately, the director, uh, went off and did something else. Well, unfortunately from my point of view, show wasn't a success.

[77:41-78:00]

But I, I thought it really could've been. And someone else later did a similar idea, which was huge. And I was since then, and I just didn't go to the set after a bit, 'cause the guy didn't, he wasn't playing it how he wanted it. And you know, it's, it's, that's, that's what happens. You, you, you can't go to the set and start arguing with the director.

[78:00-78:31]

That would not- Yeah. not be any good for anyone. Your job is done by the time- Yeah. the prep starts. And, and, uh, you may, you may be involved in casting, of course. But after that, uh, they don't need you. You should I have a friend who's a producer, she's done, you know, like 60 or 70 pictures, and, uh, she never goes to, never goes to the set. And she's very hands-on in the lead-up, but she says, "If I go, people just make busy work and charge around looking busy, like, to impress the producer." So she stays out of the way- Wow.

[78:31-78:47]

except right towards the end, she'll pop in and say hello to everyone on a day that's, when everyone's calm and the thing's nearly finished. And, and, and if there are ch- if there's chaos and problems, she stays away then, you know, if it's one of those race against time jobs. But, um, if everything's cool, she just goes and says hello.

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