Harlan Ellison | Veronica Scott

VS Note: Happy 60th Anniversary to Star Trek! I’vr updated this 2016 post a bit and added the 2016 USA Today HEA post about my experience (and who my “co-stars were” at the end of this post.

I’ve been a Star Trek fan since the series began – used to watch it in black and white! (My family were late adopters of the color TV, much to my dismay.) And now I’ve finally had the opportunity to become a real member of the starship Enterprise crew, via a new audiobook version of Harlan Ellison’s “City on the Edge of Forever”. As a Kickstarter backer of the project, I have one spoken line in the audiobook….blogged about the whole experience on USA Today HEA, sadly no longer in existence..It was a real fangirl experience and so much fun to do.

I didn’t mention it in that article but I also got the chance to play a Video Reviews reporter while in the recording studio, interviewing ‘Gene Roddenberry’ back in the day, about this episode. That was three more lines for yours truly, which will be in the part of the audiobook where Mr. Ellison discusses some of the controversy surrounding the script that was shot for TV, versus his original script, which is this audiobook. The interview actually took place decades ago and I read the transcribed questions the real reporter asked.

Just to be clear, when doing an audiobook, you don’t usually get to act with any of the other people playing parts so I didn’t meet any cast members but I did get to sign the cover of the script, alongside the signatures of some people a LOT more famous than I am.

From the Author’s personal collection

I used to write to the show for autographed photos of the cast when I was a kid (and the series was being newly broadcast LOL) and I got these four, which in those more innocent days I never for a moment doubted were actually signed by the actors. Who really knows? I choose to keep believing! I also received a number of colorful unsigned postcards from the publicity people. Found these in my scrap book box.

VS Note: Here is the USA Today HEA post about my experience in detail:

I’ve been a ‘Star Trek’ fan since the first episodes aired in 1966 and my little brother and I would sit in front of our black and white TV, glued to the voyages of the starship Enterprise. I wrote fan fiction before I even knew such a thing existed, in long hand during boring classes and would illustrate the stories with pictures cut out from TV Guide and other magazines. I wanted to be a crew member on that ship more than anything.

Flash forward to the present day and I am now and forever an official Crew Woman (which was how my parts were listed in the script I was given), undoubtedly a red shirt, on the Enterprise. How did this happen, you may ask?

One of my favorite episodes was “The City On The Edge of Forever.” Here’s the short summary from the Internet Database of Movies website: “When a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high.” The story contained romantic elements by today’s definition but (spoiler) in a supremely poignant ending, despite being deeply in love, Captain Kirk must allow the visionary heroine played by Joan Collins to die in order to save the future.

Unbeknownst to me as a fan, behind the scenes there was quite a bit of controversy over the script, with the original as written by Harlan Ellison not being the version that eventually beamed over my television screen. I’m not going to delve into all of that but there is now an audiobook version of the original script Mr. Ellison wrote, along with a fascinating discussion of background. Here’s the description from SkyBoat Media, Inc.: “A full-cast audiobook of the original Star Trek episode “The City on The Edge of Forever” by Harlan Ellison and all the Controversy.”

I was one of many Kickstarter backers for the SkyBoat Media campaign to create the audiobook. My backer reward was to narrate one line as a character. Since I live in Southern California, it was easy to arrange to get to the recording studio, which I did this week.

To prepare, I first rewatched the 1967 episode and then I read the entire original script from Mr. Ellison, as well as his discussion of all the events surrounding the story. The differences between the two scripts are fascinating to a Star Trek fan like myself but the heart of the story, including the doomed love between James T. Kirk and Edith Keeler, remains the same.

At Skyboat Media, rfecording my lines

The scene I’m in doesn’t appear in the TV episode. My character is Crew Woman (sounds like a super hero, doesn’t it? Although in the formal credits I’m listed as Crew Member.) and I’m proud to say the gender was changed to fit me. Going by the full original script as written by Mr. Ellison, my character was probably a Security red shirt who transported to the surface of the planet as part of a landing party with Kirk, Spock and a few others. I’m imagining myself in one of the short red uniforms like Uhura’s! After the crew member we’re chasing goes back in time and somehow changes the future, my character beams up to the Enterprise along with the rest of our party. To our great surprise we find that since history has been altered, our ship is now a marauder vessel named the Condor, crewed by a lot of less than savory renegades. Long story short, we take control of the transporter chamber, with one of our crew members getting killed. Kirk and Spock strategize what to do next. While they debate, my character utters these words: “Cap’n. I feel heat. They’re blasting.” The marauders are trying to break in and take us all prisoner.

That’s it, my sole spoken contribution. But I said this to Kirk! With Spock standing there! I said Harlan Ellison dialog!

Crew Woman is left aboard the Condor with the others, under the command of Yeoman Rand, fighting off the bad guys, while the Captain and Spock return to the planet to fix time and restore history. Their actions are the core of the story of course.

I’ve had several of my own novels done as audiobooks so I’m familiar with the process. I knew I wasn’t going to be recording with the other cast members. Their work is all completed and my line will get edited into the recording as part of the final product. It was still very exciting to meet award winning director and writer Gabrielle de Cuir, Senior Producer on this project, who patiently coached me through various takes of my line. I kept hanging up on saying “cap’n” instead of “captain.” It’s amazing how many ways a person can say the same six or seven words.

As a fun bonus, I got three more lines, not in character, but narrating part of an interview with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, which will go into the extra material of the book. I had less trouble with those lines, probably because I’m always interviewing people.

After the recording was completed, I also had the opportunity to chat at length with Ms. de Cuir, and Grammy and Audie award winning actor and author Stefan Rudnicki, a “Golden Voice” audiobook narrator himself. He’s the Executive Producer for this Star Trek audiobook. We talked audiobooks, acting, science fiction, theater and more. It was a thrilling afternoon for fangirl me.

My final act as Crew Woman was to add my signature to the cover of the script, next to the signatures of the other cast members. LeVar Burton, Jean Smart, John Rubenstein. D.C. Fontana, David Gerrold and Harlan Ellison himself have participated in this production, along with many others.

For more information about Skyboat Media, Inc., you can visit their web site at www.skyboatmedia.com Here’s the cast list from their webpage:

TELEPLAY

Captain James T. Kirk John Rubinstein

Mr. Spock Scott Brick

Edith Keeler Jean Smart

The Guardian of Forever Stefan Rudnicki

The Trooper Harlan Ellison

Dr. McCoy/The Orator Richard Gilliland

Beckwith Richard McGonagle

LeBeque Alex Hyde-White

Janice Rand Judy Young

The Cook Jim Meskimen