These ‘Star Trek’ Secrets Will Stun Trekkies

Star Trek is the epic series which took us all on an exciting journey through far away galaxy’s on the Enterprise with no other than Captain Kirk leading the way. Along the way, we were familiarized with phasers, Klingons, tricorders and other extraterrestrial beings, but trust us when we tell you there’s lot’s that went on behind the scenes that you haven’t heard about. We’ve managed to dig up some of the deepest secrets from the set of Star Trek, and we can assure you won’t want to miss out on each one of them.

In 1991, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was released and it was only at this point that Sulu was given a first name. Additionally, at the end of season two, Nichelle Nichols who played Uhura, revealed that she had accepted the first name Nyota, for her character. Nichols acknowledged that she liked the names because they originated from Swahili and had meanings behind them. Nyota means star, whereas Uhura means freedom. Interestingly, Uhura was also given the first name Penda, yet Trekkie fans didn’t like it.

While sleeping with the producer of the show you want to be on isn’t encouraged it surely has it perks and no one knows that better than Nichelle Nichols and Majel Barrett. Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry decided to create the characters of Nurse Chapel and Uhura especially for Majel Barrett and Nichelle Nichols, both of which Roddenberry was having an affair with when he was creating the show. Nichols decided to end things with Roddenberry shortly after the series began, but Barrett went on to marry the Star Trek creator becoming Mrs. Roddenberry.

While the show certainly stood for diversity and what seemed like equal rights the Starfleet’s uniforms didn’t exactly replicate those sentiments because as it turns out, The Federation uniforms were made in a sweatshop. According to the show’s producers Herb Solow and Robert Justman, the series’s budget was so limited that they couldn’t possibly afford to have the costumes made by costume-makers in the union so instead, they had the costumes made overnight in a sweatshop. The finished product was sneaked into the studio through one of the back windows.

The original Star Trek pilot episode, “The Cage,” wasn’t aired and the main reason was that it didn’t meet NBC’s broadcasts standards as it was deemed to be too erotic.  With with the dancing green girls and all that kissing, it seemed as though their concerns may have been warranted. The producers, however, used this to their advantage, and in later episodes played up the sensuality so that NBC executives wouldn’t notice other things like the Vietnam allegory in the episode A Private Little War.

In the beginning, Mr. Spock’s skin color was supposed to be a dark red, but this was abandoned when the producers realized that because viewers would see it on black-and-white TVs, Spock would look like he was in blackface, which was an obvious no go. On top of that Leonard Nimoy would have had to spend even more time in makeup each morning. Eventually, a unanimous decision was made to make Spock’s skin a  yellow-greenish tint.

Spock wasn’t only supposed to be red, but he also wasn’t supposed to eat or drink! Yes, that’s right no grub for Spock or at least not in the way you’d expect. In the first script, Spock was equipped with a metal plate located in the middle of his stomach. This particular plate was designed so that it would attract energy and any energy that struck it is what Spock would have fed on. I’m sure Spock is grateful that he got to eat regularly in the end.

The U.S.S. Enterprise? I think we should just call it the party ship especially after finding out that the starship was equipped with a completely decked out six-lane bowling alley. If you take a close look at the authentic Star Trek blueprints for the Starship which was released in 1975, you’ll see a large bowling alley located on Deck 21. This was right across from the “Food and Beverages Preparation Facility” and he “Refreshments Area”. Must be nice!

I’m sure you all remember the famous and controversial interracial kiss between Captain Kirk and Uhura, but what you may not have known is that it was originally supposed to be between Spock and Uhura. Nichelle Nichols who was the Uhura actress said that Shatner took a look at the script and said, “No you will not! If anyone’s going to be part of the first interracial kiss in television history, it’s going to be me!”. The scene was rewritten per Shatner’s demand, and Spock was taken out.

The world famous biochem scientist and sci-fi critic, Isaac Asimov, had a lot to say at the World Science Fiction Convention which was held in Cleveland. Asimov was so loud during Roddenberry’s presentation that Roddenberry shushed him and he didn’t realize till after who it was that he shushed.  Either Asimov wasn’t too offended, or he was just really impressed with the show because in 1967 he wrote a rave review about the series in an essay for TV Guide titled Mr. Spock is Dreamy!

Leonard Nimoy is the one responsible for introducing the Vulcan salute into the show. In an interview, Nimoy explained that the split-fingered gesture came from his childhood experience attending synagogue during high holiday services with his family. There was a certain blessing done by men referred to as  Kohanim, where they would stretch out their hands and create the Hebrew letter shin with their fingers. Nimoy recounted this while filming the show and though it would be the perfect form for the Vulcan salute.

It was hard for many of us when Sulu actor George Takei went MIA for nine episodes of the second season, especially for the procedures. While Takei’s absence was excused as he was busy filming The Green Berets, it was decided that the character of Chekov would be added in during his absence. All of Takei’s lines were given to Walter Koenig, and Takei didn’t take well to this att all. Takei was initially infuriated and despised Koenig for the changes, but the two got over it and ended up becoming very close friends.

In 1988 when NBC began promoting Star Trek in magazines, all the photos of Spock were airbrushed to diminish his pointed ears and eyebrows. This was done because the executives at NBC thought Spock looked too much like the devil and that this would deter people from watching the show.  This concern, however, was quickly eliminated after the series’ aired and  Spock not only became the show’s most popular character but he also a favorite amongst the female viewers.  Neither the cast or crew anticipated this extreme reaction.

While the spaceship was portrayed as space age and technologically advanced, this was all an illusion. For example, there were Stagehands that would pull open the turbo lift doors with cables and rope on cue. The Stagehands would also slide different panels by to make it look like decks were passing each other inside the turbo lift cars. These gave birth to some of the funniest bloopers where actors would nonchalantly walk into doors that hadn’t opened yet. One of the best blooper reels is of William Shatner walking into doors and screaming curses you’d need to use your imagination to picture.

Producers Robert H. Justman and Herbert F. Solow said that William Shatner wore 1.5-inch lifts in his shoes so that he would appear taller than his co- star Leonard Nimoy. Considering Shatner was just 5’9″, the combination of the lifts and the 2-inch heels of his boots made him just over 6 inches tall on the show. All the added height distorted Shatner’s posture so much that his stomach appeared to jut out when he stood up.  It may not have been the best of looks for Shatner, but he did it for the sake of the show. Now that’s what I call a team player!

James Doohan who played the character of Scotty is seen in a few episodes without his right middle finger. This is because Doohan lost it while fighting in World War II, and while we don’t know the specifics we can only imagine it was painful. Although directors did a great job at hiding his missing finger in most of the scenes, there’s one episode in particular titled The Trouble with Tribbles where the missing finger is very noticeable. In the episode, Scotty emerges bearing a basket filled with tribbles, and if you look at his right hand which is holding the basket, you’ll realize there’s something missing.

The James Kirk actor may love the show he starred on, but that doesn’t mean that he sit’s home to watch it on his free time. Shatner told his daughter Elizabeth that he’s never watched the series or any of the Star Trek movies, in a recent vlog they made together. The reason Shatner gave is that he despises watching himself act, as it makes him unmotorable. We would have never guessed that the sometimes vain Shatner of all people would have a problem watching himself act on the show.

The Star Trek series made history by hiring the first regular black female character on any television series which was Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura. Nichol’s role as Uhura was a significant one and on top of that, her character wasn’t subject to any of the pre-existing stereotypes that African American woman typically faced during that time.  Nichols once said that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his gratitude for her iconic role, as she portrayed such a positive black character for the world to see.

Something held in high esteem on the show was the insignia one was wearing as each Starfleet has a different badge. In the original series, the crew of the Enterprise wore an arrowhead badge which was an insignia exclusively for those of the Enterprise.  Any guest Starfleet character could be seen wearing different insignias on their uniforms, like Commadores who wore a sun or starburst insignia. In 1979 when the Star Trek movie came out they decided to simply the badge situation, and the Arrowhead insignia was adopted as the official Starfleet symbol.

Hollywood actors understand the intense pressure to stay fit and camera ready at all times which is why they usually endure long periods of strict dieting and strenuous workouts. William Shatner, however, is someone that didn’t buy into this and instead decided to take a more relaxed approach to becoming his version of camera ready.  Shatner tended to put on extra pounds while the seasons were being filmed, so his infamous green uniform was created as it did a great job at making Shatner appear thinner and hiding whatever needed to be concealed.

We all have moments of genius and when they come they have to manifested. This is why in many shows there are aspects that are improvised and Star Trek is no exception. The full name of James Doohan’s character Scotty is Montgomery Scott. The name was made up on the spot by Gene Roddenberry and James Doohan. The logic behind it was that ‘Scott’ represented Doohan’s Scottish accent which Roddenberry loved and ‘Montgomery’ stood for Doohan’s middle name.

Asides from being incredibly handsome one of the main reasons James Doohan was cast as Scotty was because of his uncanny ability to speak in different dialects and accents. When Gene Roddenberry cast Doohan, he didn’t have a specific ethnicity or nationality in mind for the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer, so when Doohan tried out for the part Roddenberry had Doohan try out a few accents. Ultimately Roddenberry decided that he liked Doohan’s Scottish accent the best, and used it for the series.

DeForest Kelley who plays Dr.McCoy on the series had a secret nickname given to him by Captain Kirk, and that was Bones. The name came from the slang term sawbones, which is popularly used for surgeons in the Military and Navy. More technically the term sawbones refers to the literal process of amputating or sawing off someone’s limb as that was a common response to soldiers issues until modern medicine and technology advanced.

Gene Roddenberry, wrote the lyrics to the theme song which plays at the opening of the series, but he had zero intention of them ever being including or sung on screen. Instead, he created the lyrics so that he could get credit as a  co-writer, and receive residual payments for the use of the theme song along with the composer of the tune, Alexander Courage. Roddenberry did this a year after the show aired, after realizing a contract clause that would allow him to take advantage of this money-making opportunity.

Once open a time there was an episode written in which famous comedian Milton Berle would have guest starred but it unfortunately never came to fruition. The episode was titled He Walked Among Us, and Berle would have played a sociologist trying to play God in a primitive community. Berle who was a big fan of the series thought that starring on the show would be a great way to expand his career, but the episode was rewritten into a comedy and eventually scraped.

All the props on the Star Trek set were all placed purposefully, and each one had a meaning behind them. In the case of the slanting crawlway that lead up to the warp-drive nacelles, there’s an interesting explanation behind it. The tubular crawl space was referred to as a Jefferies tube in honor of the art director of the show Walter M. Jefferies. Jefferies contributed in major ways to making the out of this world set as original and realistic as possible.

Because of the fact that it was popular for television shows of the 60’s to film at the same studios, they often shared the same minor cast members. If you pay close attention you will likely see more than a few familiar faces in episodes of Star Trek that you’ve also seen in other shows like Batman, Mission: Impossible, Get Smart, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, and The Wild Wild West. Many of the extras were also veterans of The Twilight Zone.

Although his homosexuality was an unknown secret amongst his fellow cast members, George Takei privately pitched a story idea to Gene Roddenberry for an episode that would allegorically depict homosexuality by an alien race. In the episode, the crew would discover a race of homosexual aliens in space. While Takei claims that Roddenberry took well to the idea, he ultimately decided not to pursue the idea because it would be too controversial. As if the show wasn’t already controversial enough!

Leonard Nimoy’s character of Mr. Spock was famous for its many aesthetic changes and transitions along the way of the series production. Spock’s look was one of the most high maintenance on the show, and even his face makeup was hand mixed to ensure the perfect hue of green, due to his green Vulcan blood of course.  However, because Spock’s makeup was hand mixed the shades of green in the makeup varied so even though makeup artists tried to perfect the tone the hue can look a little different in ceratin episodes.

For the original pilot Star Trek: The Cage which aired in 1986 Lloyd Bridges was approached to play Capt. Pike but he turned the role down. His reasoning was that he felt playing in a science fiction series would hurt his reputation in showbiz, that was until he found out what a success the show turned out to be, but as they say..hindsight is 2020. Ultimately Jeffrey Hunter was selected to play Capt. Pike, but was quickly replaced after Roddenberry realized that his salary demands were way too high.

When it came to the budget for the show money certainly was an object, and when it was possible to cut corners they did, especially with the set design. The alien artwork and cosmic wall hangings that could be seen in many episodes were just recycled styrofoam that had been thrown away. The styrofoam was from the shipping box liners of tape recorders used by the fellow Paramount series Mission: Impossible. The styrofoam was then spray painted and arranged into different forms to create the art for the set.

After rumors had started to swirl during the second season that the show was going to be canceled, Star Trek fans banded together in protest.  Bjo Trimble was the leader of a group of mega sci-fi fans and was responsible for organizing a letter-writing campaign to NBC. The campaign’s goal was to beg NBC not to cancel the show and to renew it for a third season. After inundating NBC’s office with thousands of handwritten letters, NBC decided to renew the show. Voice-over announcements were made thanking viewers for all of their support promising that it would return in the fall for the third season. This proves that there’s power in numbers people!

Due to trademarking issues the show couldn’t use the bottles of already existing beverage company’s so, they decided to shake things up a bit and modify them. In the episodes where you see prop beverage bottles these were actually alcohol bottles that were reconstructed to look more fitting of the time. For example, Aldeberan Whiskey bottles were made out of Cuervo Gold 1800 Tequila bottles, and the bottles used for Saurian Brandy were previously George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey carafes.

You may know the Klingons as the brutal and ruthless humanoids that play the main antagonists of the Enterprise passengers but what you may not have known is where the name Klingon even came from. Star Trek screenwriter, Gene L. Coon, created the Klingons and named them after a friend of his Wilbur Clingan. Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry and Wilbur Clingan, both worked together in the Los Angeles Police Department. Clingan was a lieutenant.

Only Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner had their names shown in the opening credits of Star Trek’s fist season which aired in 1966. It was just when the second season started that the opening credits included the names of the show’s other stars like DeForest Kelley. For actors like George Takei, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig, they had to wait until the third season to have their names appear, and it was only in the closing credits! This was supposed because they all didn’t appear in every episode together.

There are small things that have changed throughout the filming of the series, and although they may be so small that viewers don’t recognize them, it doesn’t make them any less major. For example, the filming location of the show was changed after both pilots were released. Both of the pilots for the series – Star Trek: The Cage and Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before– were filmed in Culver City, California at what is today Sony Pictures Studios. After that, the rest of the show was filmed in Hollywood at the Paramount Studio lot.

When you go digging for dirt, you’re bound to get dirty, and that’s what happened to us when we found out the truth behind Dr. McCoy’s secret life. In the series writer guide, McCoy’s character biography reveals that he was a divorcee and even had a university aged daughter whose name was Joanna. Even though all of this was never mentioned in any of the episodes, there were a handful of failed attempts to introduce her to the series. One memorable attempt was in the 1969 episode The Way to Eden. Remember the buxom character of Irina? Well, that was originally supposed to have been McCoy’s daughter Joanna.

During a time when it was taboo for a woman to be the writer of a hit television series one woman decided to challenge the norms  and that was Dorothy Catherine “D. C.” Fontana. The American television writer is best known for her work on the Star Trek script, but she sadly didn’t get any public credit at the time. When Fontana began working on the series, Gene Roddenberry told her to use the initials “D.C.” because of the fact that networks at that time wouldn’t hire a writer that was a woman.

In William Shatner’s autobiography, he admitted that he and Leonard Nimoy weren’t exactly the best of friends during the series. There was one incident where a photographer from Life Magazine arrived on set to do a feature on Nimoy. This angered Shatner, and he refused to come out of his dressing room until his demands were met and the photographer was dismissed from the set. Nimoy also locked himself in his dressing room and wouldn’t come out until the photographer was brought back. This delayed filming for hours while the show’s executives tried to negotiate with the stars to return to work until Gene Roddenberry sought out Isaac Asimov’s to end the feud. The two have since reconciled and ended up being good friends.

Leonard Nimoy who was the man behind Mr. Spock really took one for the team and made Star Trek history by receiving the one and only award nomination the show ever got. Despite the show’s success it’s actors didn’t win any Emmy awards, but Nimoy received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Role for all three of the show’s seasons. These were the only Emmy Award nominations the show received for all three of it’s seasons in acting categories.

Shatner who became a close friend of Nimoy’s said that after Star Trek became successful Leonard became very dependent on alcohol and his habits become out of control.  In an interview, Shatner said about Nimoy’s drinking that, “He started drinking heavily around 1967, during the second series of Star Trek. He had always enjoyed a glass or two of wine after filming, but gradually the ritual became so important that it took over his whole personality.” What’s even more shocking is when Shatner admited that, “When he(Leonard) directed, a secretary was on standby to bring him a drink in a paper cup, the moment the last shot was in the can.”

Nimoy took the term wet your whistle very seriously as he felt keeping his mouth moist would help him while reciting his lines during filming. So to keep his mouth, moist Leonard Nimoy would always suck on a lollipop in between takes on set. In the cases where scenes would take place off of the ship, Nimoy would usually hide his lollipop inside the tricorder before filming began. While this may sound like a strange ritual, it clearly worked.

A contest was held in the mid-2000s to determine where Scotty originated from. The competing cities were all located in Scotland and eventually the city of Aberdeen was named the winner. It is thought that Aberdeen won because of a line in Star Trek: Wolf in the Fold. Coincidentally, this fit very well with the accent that James Doohan used for the character, since he impersonated Scotty’s voice from a friend who lived in Aberdeen. We wonder if James Doohan has ever even visited Aberdeen?! Although the writers of the show intended to create more episodes that centered around characters other than Kirk, Spock and McCoy they never actually did. Those three continued to take the lead roles, while the other characters were only given supporting parts. Apparently the actors who played Sulu, Chekov and Uhura were promised more high-profile storylines and airtime but in the end it never actually happened. Scotty was the only character that was given a more leading role as the show progressed. Apparently red was the color that characters wanted to avoid completely when appearing on the show, since over 70% of the characters that died were wearing red. Trekkie fans subsequently deemed the term “red shirts” for a character whose only reason for appearing on the series, was to eventually be killed off. The “red shirts” became a theme that frequently occurred, making us wonder whether producers began to use this on purpose in order that fans could detect who would be killed next. CBS originally passed up on the opportunity to screen the show on its network and it was ran on Paramount instead. The reason being was that they had already commissioned the TV series Lost in Space and felt that Star Trek would be too similar, since Lost In Space was also to be based on science fiction. However, eventually CBS did run Star Trek, after they established network relations with Paramount. Both shows went on to be a commercial success. Only a few parts of the original 1960s bridge remain, yet they aren’t the only props from the show to survive. According to some sources, a bookstore located in Los Angeles has the captain’s chair on display. Additionally, a museum on the Hollywood Boulevard has two authentic turboshaft doors on display to the public. This means that as well as rewatching the series, serious Trekkie fans can even see some real life Star Trek memorabilia. Ever noticed that the character Yeoman Janice Rand features a lot throughout the first series? Well, that is because producers of the show intended Grace Lee Whitney who plays the character to take the female lead role. However, for undisclosed reasons Whitney left the show after filming just over half of the first season. Yet, Whitney did take up her role again for the subsequent Star Trek movies that were released, after fans continually asked about her. Sadly, she died in 2015 of natural causes.

In the beginning, Mr. Spock’s skin color was supposed to be a dark red, but this was abandoned when the producers realized that because viewers would see it on black-and-white TVs, Spock would look like he was in blackface, which was an obvious no go. On top of that Leonard Nimoy would have had to spend even more time in makeup each morning. Eventually, a unanimous decision was made to make Spock’s skin a  yellow-greenish tint.

Spock wasn’t only supposed to be red, but he also wasn’t supposed to eat or drink! Yes, that’s right no grub for Spock or at least not in the way you’d expect. In the first script, Spock was equipped with a metal plate located in the middle of his stomach. This particular plate was designed so that it would attract energy and any energy that struck it is what Spock would have fed on. I’m sure Spock is grateful that he got to eat regularly in the end.

The U.S.S. Enterprise? I think we should just call it the party ship especially after finding out that the starship was equipped with a completely decked out six-lane bowling alley. If you take a close look at the authentic Star Trek blueprints for the Starship which was released in 1975, you’ll see a large bowling alley located on Deck 21. This was right across from the “Food and Beverages Preparation Facility” and he “Refreshments Area”. Must be nice!

Due to budget constraints, the idea of beaming on and off the ship was created. Producers realized that it would be far too expensive in terms of the budget, to have the Enterprise take off and land in different places for every single episode. This also meant that the “transporters” were born. Just think, with a different budget there may have been no transporters and Star Trek would probably have looked totally different.