SPECIAL: Me and the Devil in the Dark

Compared to the many television productions I have written about on this website, THE DEVIL IN THE DARK has a distinction. When I was booked for my first STAR TREK in December, 1966, it was the script for THE DEVIL IN THE DARK that was sent to me. I read it and was very impressed. Then several days later I received another script with a memo telling me I was NOT going to be directing THE DEVIL IN THE DARK. I would be directing THIS SIDE OF PARADISE. But during those several days between my reception of the two scripts, the DEVIL had been germinating in my imagination with my attention mainly focused on Horta, the intriguing monster.

Harking back to 1947 when I was a 24-year old student at the Pasadena Playhouse, I was taught in my directing class that when starting a new project, I must read the play the first time for my emotional reaction to it. That emotional reaction was what I must strive to generate in future viewers of my production.

My emotional reaction after reading THE DEVIL IN THE DARK did not disappear with my removal from the project. The distinction it holds that started this discussion is that unlike the other posts, I never filmed it. But now 55 years later, with the new attention my meager contributions to STAR TREK have received, I thought why not let some of that germinating fantasy spill out onto my computer keyboard and in to my website. I haven’t had the incentive to think out the whole script – just the Horta part of the story that intrigued me.

I would start the story earlier – with the first attack by the monster. The scene: A Sillicon mine. There are 4 or 5 miners at work. (I’m not sure what they would be doing, but later in OBSESSION I had Spock phaser a chunk out of a large mineral rock. Perhaps they could be doing that.) The pieces they mine are tossed into a 23-third century mining cart. Unbeknownst to them, a creature is nearby watching them. One of the miners moves to the mine cart, tosses his final mined chunk into the already filled cart, steps behind the cart and starts to push it. He takes it past where the creature lies hidden and as he continues, the creature slides out and follows him. (We never see the full creature in its original position, only very close angles on it and on its eye. As it follows the miner, the camera view is the creature’s point of view.) The creature/camera moves closer and closer until it leaps up to attack the miner; the miner falls to the ground tipping over the mine cart, spilling its contents on the ground.

(After the opening billboard)

The Enterprise circles a planet as Kirk reports a Star log. He has been informed of a distress message from the mine on the planet, reporting the mysterious death of the miner plus two more fatalities and is ordered to proceed to the planet. We next see Kirk, Spock and McCoy in mine supervisor Vandenberg’s office. He relates details of what has been happening. McCoy asks to see the bodies of the deceased miners. Kirk asks to see the mine.

Kirk, Spock and Vandenberg are next seen down in the mine. A crew of miners is working; they are now attended by 4 guards armed with phasers. Vandenberg continues relating the events that have occurred. and again they are being watched by the creature. This time the creature’s attention is riveted on Kirk, on his every move.

Another scene in Vandenberg’s office follows, when a miner who saw and shot the creature with a phaser reports the incident. During that scene Spock will see and be interested in a round ball of Silicon.

Kirk will contact the Enterprise and order Scott to beam down a team of men and phaser rifles. When the men arrive, Kirk will instruct them to work in teams of 2 as they seek out the creature to kill it, The men take off in pairs, all armed with phaser rifles and Kirk and Spock, also armed with phaser rifles, will follow them into the mine. Kirk and Spock are on their own mission to seek out and kill the creature. (Here I depart from Coon’s script and do not have Kirk and Spock separate and go off in different directions.) As the two move cautiously through the mine, Spock notices broken pieces of Silicon lying on the mine floor. Picking one up, he and Kirk consider it as unbeknownst to them the creature is viewing their every action. The two are suddenly startled by a violent collapse of a part of the mine wall. They look to where the mine collapsed, phaser rifles drawn. They see crawling toward them, through the debris filled air resulting from the collapsing mine wall, a grotesque creature. Their rifles are ready. The creature stops, still 20 feet from them, then it slowly turns around, revealing its wounded rear. Kirk says, “It’s wounded.” Slowly the creature turns around to face them again and cautiously starts to creep toward them. Spock raises his phaser rifle, ready to shoot. Kirk puts a restraining hand ond Spock’s rifle. Ten feet away the creature stops, turns sideways and slowly backs up revealing etched into the ground the message, “No Kill I”. Kirk says, “No kill I.” Spock says, “…or I no kill.” (There should be more dialogue) when Spock suggests he should do a mind meld. The first mind meld is done with Spock near the creature. It doesn’t work. Spock says he will need to touch the creature. That is done very carefully, one hand at a time. (Here again I depart from Coon. I eliminate PAIN. I would want to do it in the tone I did later with Kirk and the Companion in METAMORPHOSIS.) Spock will make his mind meld, quietly intense, solemnly, and will start to relate what he is learning from the creature who he now knows as Horta.”I am the last of the species. The problem started when the miners began mining on this level. They were killing my offsprings.” Spock relates all of this, slowly, quietly, empathically. (I would intercut close-ups of Spock, Horta, Kirk. Most of the time would be close-ups of Horta with Spock’s voice relating her tale. It will seem as if we are hearing her speak.)

That is my Horta story. It would be interwoven with Coon’s script – keeping the growing group of miners ready to move in for the kill, keeping Dr. McCoy’s treating the creature’s wound, keeping the happy resolution of the situation at the mine and finally bringing closure to me and the devil in the dark.

The journey continues