personalityorbackground.Infleshing
outthecharacter,wenotonlygavenew
informationto theaudience,butalsoto
writerscomingto theshow.Sometimes,
thesmallestaspectofa character’s
“hiddenpast”or“hiddenpersonality”
canmakethegreateststories.
Season2’s“JourneytoBabel”saw
youaddfurtherdepthtoSpock,
includingintroducinghisparents.
Wasthisa plan,orwereyouworking
ona script-to-scriptbasis?
I wasworkingona script-to-script
basis!Attheendof “ThisSideof
Paradise,”whenKirkwastryingto
goadSpockintoanger,tobreakfreeof
thecalming,subservientreactiontothe
spores,heinsultsSpock’sparents.Spock
replies:“Myfatheris anambassador;
mymotherwasa teacher.”That’sthe
onlyreferencetothempersonally,butit
startstopullSpockoutof theinfluence
of thespores.
Later,whenthinkingabout
whatstoryI wantedtodonext,I
decidedthosefewwordsgavemea
springboardfora wholenewtale,
whichI thendevelopedintoa wayto
showa littleofSpock’sbackground
andinfluencesas hegrewintothe
Vulcanhebecame.I thoughtMark
LenardandJaneWyattdidwonderful
jobsas SarekandAmanda.Asstoryeditor,howmuchinfluence
didyouhaveonotherwritersin
theirdepictionofSpock– aswith
TedSturgeon’ssecondseasonopener
“AmokTime,”whichintroduced
Spock’shomeworldandtheVulcan
matingritualofponfarr?
I couldalwaysmakesuggestionsif I
feltthewriterwassomewhatoffin
Spock’sdepiction.Or,if assignedby
GeneRoddenberryorGeneCoon,I
wouldrewriteas needed.TedSturgeon
cameupwitha gooddealofVulcan
traditionandlifestylein“Amok
Time,”andwesawnoreasonto
correctorchangeit.Ofyournon-Spockfocusedsecond
seasonscripts– “Friday’sChild,”“By
AnyOtherName,”and“TheUltimate
Computer”– wasthereanything
youspecificallysetouttoachieve?
“Friday’sChild”seemstoengage
withissuessuchaswomen’srights,
armsdealing,andtheVietnamWar;
wastherea deliberateintroductionof
politicalandsocialissues?D. C. Fontana’s first Star Trek script was
“Charlie X.” Working from a storyline
devised by Gene Roddenberry,
Fontana had a surprising amount of
freedom first time out.
“Gene and I discussed the story
when I first began it,” she says. “I
asked to write the script because
I liked the story so much. It was
intriguing to build the character of a
young man raised by aliens who knew
nothing about how to be a human
being, because he never was among
them until he was in his late teens.
He had been given or taught strong
powers by the aliens to keep him alive,
but he had no sense of control or
human behavior. When angry, he struck
out at whoever had aroused his anger- and he could be highly dangerous. I
had the freedom to show this and the
change or growth and ultimate failure
of Charlie in the human world.
“I thought Robert Walker, Jr. was
outstanding as Charlie. He brought a
fine sense of innocence and naivety
to the character, and also a sense of
uncontrolled rage when thwarted
or threatened.”
03 04
D. C. FONTANA