I dreamt last night that I was on the set for the filming of
the final scenes of a Star Trek: The Next
Generation episode. Picard, Troi, Riker and Crusher had beamed down to a
planet and been trapped by a group of aliens whose ship had crashed there.
These aliens were reptilian, an apparent offshoot of the Gorn. Something in the
planet’s atmosphere was causing the Gorns to mutate into near-mindless
alligator type creatures. The ones who were still OK insisted that the humans,
who were unaffected by the condition, help them solve the problem before they
were all lost.
In the scene I witnessed, the Trek crew discovered that the
problem had something to do with unequal air pressures inside and outside the
bodies of the aliens. These pressures were causing their skulls and bodies to
distort. Once the Trek crew figured out the problem, the aliens had a device
that was able to equalize the pressures and prevent the mutations from
occurring.
It was clear to me that the actors thought the whole concept
was very weak and they weren’t really enjoying themselves. As the last scene
was filmed and the actors headed for the dressing room area, I was walking
along with them and saw lots of head shaking. As Patrick Stewart was unbuttoning
the top of his uniform he made the comment: “That was insane.”
I guess that’s why this episode never aired!
------
------
Aside from the Air Pressure element, it sounds like a cool episode.
ReplyDeleteha. i wonder if after a certain time, the actors do get tired of the roles...esp of such an iconic franchise...knowing they will forever be thought of in that role...stewart of course as professor X as well.....
ReplyDeleteTom, yeah, that was pretty weird. They pressed this device on the skull and suddenly the pressure all equalized and it shrunk. lol.
ReplyDeleteBrian, I know some of 'em do. Probably a lot more who never say anything about it.
Damn, I want dreams like that!
ReplyDeleteI would've bought the concept.
Alex, it was fun seeing the skull inflate and then deflate as the treatment worked. And the skull looked largely like metal, which was also kind of neat
ReplyDeleteWas tht a dream oir real life? You have vivid dreams, Charles.
ReplyDeleteSuperb . . . cool working it all out on the set in your mind, with double layers of commentary all orchestrated by . . . your own imagination and thought patterns . . .
ReplyDeleteOscar, I sure would have enjoyed sitting in on an episode.
ReplyDeleteErik, it is weird how the mind directs such things.
I have never gone beyond the original Shatner-Nimoy-Kelley "Star Trek" series though I've seen parts of the latter film and television versions. The roles of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier suit Patrick Stewart.
ReplyDeleteThis is hysterical. I wish I had dreams like this one. Or a dream I even remembered. My husband always dreams he is in eastern Europe. Too bad he doesn't make use of it.
ReplyDeletePrashant, I watched all the Next Generation episodes, but after that fell off the Trek wagon in the sense of not keeping up with Deep Space Nine, Voyager, or Enterprise.
ReplyDeleteThat image of Patrick Stewart is hilarious! My dreams are much weirder, and unfortunately don't involve Patrick Stewart.
ReplyDeleteAny dream you survive is a good one. :)
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty, I would have preferred more of Beverly Crusher in the dream than Stewart. :)
ReplyDeleteBernard, never really thought of it that way but I can see that you are right.
Charles-I cannot abide with Star Trek!
ReplyDeleteWell, that explains why THAT episode never aired. But what's the explanation for the first two seasons?
ReplyDelete