Filmed May 1967
There has been a misinformation about STAR TREK’s METAMORPHOSS that has been circulating for over half a century. Now I could just take the easy way out and state what that is. But I have a more interesting plan. Why not do what I’ve been doing here for the past 11 years and take you onto one of my sets and give you a fly eye-on-the-wall view of the circumstances leading up to this misinformation.
Now in those golden olden days before digital photography replaced film, a director assembled his cast and crew, shot sequence after sequence until the entire script had been turned into reels and reels of film, which were turned over to a film editor who spliced it into its first assemblage. It was different for the two sequences I’m going to be discussing. The time was 1967. The location was the Desilu studio in Hollywood and the experience was unlike any I had in my 26-year film-directing career.
The show was STAR TREK’s METAMORPHOSIS. Let me give you a quick recap of the events leading up to this point in the story. Kirk, Spock, Doc and an ill Ambassador Nancy Hedford were traveling through space in a shuttlecraft when a strange cloud formation overpowered their craft and took it to an unknown planet. Here they met a young astronaut, who claimed to have been marooned on this planet. He tells them a cloud (he called it the Companion) had brought his craft to the planet when he was a dying 89 years old. His intention had been to die in space. The Companion rejuvenated him, made him a young man again and had kept him young. His name was Zefram Cochrane, of Alpha Century, the discoverer of the space warp, but to the utter amazement of all, they knew that Zefram Cochrane had died 150 years ago. Under intense questioning he then further reveals, they had been brought here to keep him company.
The 3 men view the hovering Companion, but in a different form than it had in space. The dramatic battle begins, Kirk’s efforts to get them off this planet, the Companion’s determined attacks to keep them captive and the Companion keeps winning. Kirk’s final desperate move is to try to contact the Companion and communicate with it via a Universal Translator. That brings us to the 2 vitally important sequences with its 2 conversing characters I referred to above. The two speaking characters: Captain James Kirk played by William Shatner and the Companion, an amorphous cloud to be visually created and produced post production by some Special Effects Company and vocally performed by an actress still to be cast.
I never met the man who designed the Companion, but I learned years later he was Richard Edlund of Westheimer Special Effects. Then one day in the past 6 months (long before I had any thoughts of doing this post), when I was casually Googling the internet, I found a film clip interview of a man (I’m sure it was Edlund) describing his creation of the Companion for a STAR TREK episode. He said he took a yellow piece of paper, painted several various shaped symbols in different colors on it and then waved it in front of a camera as he filmed it.
My responsibility was to stage the scenes, providing camera angle coverage of Captain Kirk, and the camera angles where the image of the Companion would be added. It was requested that where possible, I should avoid camera set-ups requiring a moving matte. Shatner would be playing the scenes looking at the set and the camera crew with an actress saying the Companion’s lines standing left of the camera instead of the cloud Captain Kirk would be viewing. For the voice of the still uncast Companion, I asked Elinor Donahue to play the role in the scenes with Shatner.
When filming wrapped, the final reels of film were turned over to the assigned film editor. I fulfilled my responsibility of viewing the first assemblage, offering my suggestions for changes. Copies of the camera angles involving the Companion were sent to Special Effects, where images created based on that yellow piece of paper could be added. Eventually these shots were integrated into the film, as was the audio voice of the actress who had ben cast as the Companion. I had not been consulted on her casting or involved in the recording of her performance on a dubbing stage. But I was there for the first viewing of the completed film and nobody disagreed with me when I declared the performance, which had been spoken in a robotic monotone, was unacceptable. I did not blame the actress for that performance. Whoever oversaw that recording, if it was anyone other than one of the technical recording staff, had advised her wrongly. Gene Coon’s 2 scenes were not between Captain Kirk and an unemotional thing. They needed to be played the same way they would have been played between two conflicting emotional people. These 2 sequences were the peak climaxes of this story. If not performed emotionally correctly, the transition to the final scenes would make no sense. I knew immediately whom I wanted to recast. I had worked with an actress the prior year on THE PLUNDERERS, an episode of THE FBI. I had been very impressed with her performance and more importantly with her voice. She was immediately hired. We went into the dubbing stage where I directed her, speech by speech, one speech at a time..
Here are those two scenes, assembled from 3 divergent sources, with Shatner’s inspired performance of Gene Coon’s wondrous words, photographed impeccably as always by Jerry Finnerman with George Duning’s enhancing background musical score.
Noted film critic Scott Mantz had this to say about that scene:
Everything that we’ve seen, up to this point … is an urgent drama that they’re in a race against time … right here at this moment the entire tone of this episode completely flips. The beautiful touch of the Companion’s moving off of Cochrane as he hears Kirk try to address it … it is a voice, she’s a female.
Their next conversation:
I personally was and am very moved by Gene Coon’s and her final words in the second scene: “If I were human there can be love!”
And now I will correct the misinformation about the casting. The actress playing the Companion was Lisabeth Hush. Here she is the year before in THE FBI episode.
And that’s the way it happened. You can come down now from your fly eye-on-the-wall perch as …
The journey continues
Fun facts!
Thank you, Mr Senensky for this invaluable behind-the-scenes look at an iconic Trek episode. Ms Hush is an actor of many talents-I would never have recognized her voice as that of The Companion. ( And I work with VO artists for a living.) The fact that you recognized her talents and put them to such great use speaks volumes for you and your artistic ears – and eyes.
Thank you again for this revelation.
More, please!
Once again thank you for your insight.
Hi Mr. Senensky,
The cast list for this episode, at UCLA, indicates that Elizabeth Rogers did voice-over work for this episode on 5/25/1967 and then was called back again for more voice work on 6/2/1967. I’m confused as to what her role might have been in light of your comment. Any thoughts? I’d be especially curious as to how these dates sync with yours. Also, did you personally bring in Ms. Hush? I’m wondering how she got connected to the series if she did the voice work.
Kind Regards, David
As I wrote on my post I was not consulted about the casting or recording of the first actress. It was only later I learned it was Elizabeth Rogers; that she had appeared in an episode filling in for Nichelle Nichols as Uhura when Nichelle had to be away. I’ve assumed that casting director Joe D’Agosta cast her. I’m not sure who supervised the recording; it could have been Robert Justman or Eddie Milkis. I saw the performance for the first time when there was a first screening with everything involving the Companion included. All of the matte shots earlier and those 2 final sequences with the Companion’s voice. I was appalled and nobody disagreed with me. I’m sure Miss Rogers was instructed on how to do it, but the Companion’s reading of lines were delivered in a cold, robotic monotone. I cast Lisabeth Hush, whom I had worked with the year before, as I wrote in the post, and was present to direct the recording. I told all of this to Marc Cushman for his Volume 2 of THESE ARE THE VOYAGES. You would have to ask him why he ignored my statement. There is nothing for you to be confused about. I WAS THERE! The UCLA archives were not! I am telling what happened.
I’m watching all the episodes for the first time. I got to “Metamorphosis” today.
Looking for information on the episode, I found this blog.
It was so great to read your analysis and really excited to see that it was made only very recently.
Mr Senensky, thank you!
Geoffry: Are you aware of the 6 other episodes of STAR TREK that I directed are also discussed in posts on this website. You might also be interested in a podcast interview I did on Roy’s Tie Dye Sci Fi Corner a couple of weeks ago where I discuss a lot about STAR TRE. The link to that is https://www.facebook.com/ralph.senensky.
Hi Ralph
My kids (both under 10) enjoy watching the original series. Did you ever think back then that the show would remain popular into 2021?
Happy birthday from the UK
To answer your question, No, I did not think back then that the show wold remain popular into 2021. I also didn’t think that I would remain into 2021.
I am pleasantly surprised that you have, sir. It’s not often somebody who’s done as much as you’ve been able to is still around to talk about it.
Wow. OK…Hello Ralph. You MAY remember me-I was in a production of “You Can’t Take It With You” that you directed at Theatre 40 with Bill Erwin et al back in…1984? I was the young xylophone-playing Ed. So I was watching “The Companion” which aired tonight on MeTV and started going down a Google rabbit hole looking for who did the voice of The Companion (I knew it wasn’t Majel Barret as some online Star Trek blog claimed), which lo and behold landed me here. I was totally unaware of this website and blog and am ecstatic to have discovered it! I know this isn’t really the right forum for personal chit-chat etc. but I had to reach out, say hello and let you know what a fantastic treasure trove this all is-I love it!
And I didn’t know this until I just looked something up…Happy Birthday! My website (entered below) would fill you in on a bunch of what I’ve been up to. If you feel like emailing any time, by all means please do. Eventually talking? Or y’know, not. Whatever does or doesn’t strike your fancy.
Anyway Ralph, hope you’re well, thank you for putting all of this together and all the best to you!
Michael
I certainly do remember you. I will be reaching you via the other avenues you included in your COMMENT.
Just to let you know – what I remember most about this episode is Mr. Finnerman’s terrific use of color, your use of the scarf when the Companion joins with the human Ms. Hedford, and Ms. Hush’s absolutely perfect, compelling, couldn’t be better voice as the Companion. You nailed it.
Sir, just wanted to thank you sincerely for your
work on Star Trek AND on 12 O’Clock High.
Both were important parts of my growing up in
the ‘60’s. Different from one another, but both great.
As I watch the two series today, I am always curious
to see who worked on or appeared in both shows.
Great stuff, from the layman fan’s point of view.
Reminds me of what is often said of Sinatra
or Glenn Miller – they just don’t make ‘em like
that anymore!
Here’s hoping for many more healthy years to you!
Thank you Ben for those good wishes and it’s always so gratifying to hear that my work has provided more than entertainment
Sir, Bob again.
Could you please explain to us why series like
12 O’Clock High, Star Trek, etc., used different
directors for the various episodes, rather than
sticking with just two or three? Wouldn’t the
frequent change in directors cause the “constant”
regular cast members difficulties and
disagreements in vision and approach that might
hinder or slow production? Must have caused
you and your colleagues some gray hair?
Great question Bob and my reply will be a little complex. One group of persons to ask for an answer would be the producers of the series. I can’t answer for them. The other group would be directors and I can’t answer for all of them. I can only answer for myself. There were 2 reasons why I preferred to not be exclusive to one series. I tried it with THE FBI on their 2nd season. I had directed 3 episodes the first season and they booked me to do half of the 3rd season — 13 episodes. That meant that when I completed photography on an episode, I would report the next day and start preparing another episode. I lasted through 8 episodes. Near exhaustion I asked to be relieved of the remaining 5. That alone was a reason not to alternate on one series. The 2nd reason I had was I really liked having the variety of working on DIFFERENT series.
Wow. A very interesting read. I’ve been watching Star Trek (the original series) since I was 6 in 1969 (I remember “The Tholian Web” from the first time I saw it on NBC) – and to this day, with all the other Star Trek that’s been produced – I honestly still only REALLY enjoy TOS and feel the rest still pale in comparison and overall haven’t aged as well as the original Star Trek.
I had always just assumed the voice of “The Companion” was Barbra Babcock because to me the voice sounded similar to the Tholian Commander in the Tholian Web which I read she had done the VO for.
Shows what happens when you assume 😉
But as an old fan, I too want to say thanks for your blog as it’s interesting to read the experiences of people who actually worked on the series first hand. With all the added post production elements and time constraints, if can never have been an easy job no matter what you did for the production.
Just came across this and really enjoyed. After reading the name Ralph Senensky over the years, it’s to see you giving fascinating technical details that are so often ignored in Trek memoirs.
Mr. Senensky,
Thank you for your inspired direction of Lisabeth Hush. Her delivery was remarkable. You have always had the awesome talent of bringing best out in each actor, in every bit of film I’ve seen. Your direction of the wonderful Beulah Bondi in “The Pony Cart” brought her that Emmy, and all I can say is that YOU deserve awards for everything you’ve done. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for bringing us the best of television for so many years.
Sandy: My awards (rewards) are the response of viewers like yours to my word — except if you love what you do, it isn’t work!
This is one of my favorite Trek episodes. There are many love stories in Trek, but this may be the most moving. The actors are all at there best. Shatner’s little speech, “We’re on a thousand planets and spreading out…,” accompanied by George Dunning’s memorable score, is one of the highlights of the series. I always liked this episode, even 50 years ago when I was a kid, but as I’ve aged I’ve come to appreciate even more. One of the top five episodes, at least in my book.