Sea
entered the office, muttering apologies. A
Voyage
episode scheduled to start shooting the following week had a character called Lobster Man, and the wardrobe department had been unable to make his costume as specified in the designer’s sketches.
“Irwin, the antennae on Lobster Man’s suit are supposed to vibrate, but the suit isn’t rigged for it,” the production manager said.
Allen threw up his hands in resignation. “Is it a big story point?”
“No,” the unit man said.
“Then forget it.” Allen thought for a moment, rubbing his hands over his paunch. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Ask the electrical department if they can put two little blinking lights in the antennae.”
“Okay,” the production man said. “That’s a good idea, Irwin.”
“That’s what I’m sitting in the boss’s chair for,” Allen said. “You got a little problem about Lobster Man, you come to see Irwin.”
Allen turned back to
The Man from the 25th Century
. On an easel at the end of the table were color sketches of Andro and of the “interrogation room” at Delphi. The art director, a young man named Dale Hennesy, lifted the overlays from the sketches and displayed them for Allen.
“If we spin off from
Space
, we’re going to have to get a script written quick, Irwin,” said Hal Herman, one of Allen’s production managers.
“No problem,” Allen said. “Irwin knows how to do it. The Space Family Robinson”—the family in
Lost in Space
—“turns up on another planet. They settle down for dinner and then all of a sudden this beautiful man appears. They reach for their ray guns and this guy says, ‘I’m Tomo from Andro,’ and to pay for his supper, he tells a story. Dissolve—
The Man from the 25th Century
.” He patted the presentation script. “It’s all here. Easy, right?”
“Right, Irwin,” chorused the table.
Allen doodled for a moment with a pencil. “Say we do spin off,” he said. “We spin off where?”
“The twenty-second segment,” Hal Herman said.
“That starts shooting twenty-five working days fromnow,” Allen said, checking his production schedule. He turned to Dale Hennesy. “Dale, using spit and glue—and with a start date that close, that’s what you’re going to have to use—can you get these sets together by then?”
Hennesy whistled softly. “Can do,” he said finally.
Allen asked to see the rest of the sketches. One drawing showed the concrete living quarters at Project Delphi. Allen shook his head. “It doesn’t send me,” he said.
“What I was trying to do here, Irwin …” Hennesy began.
Allen shook his head vigorously. “Dale, it doesn’t send me,” he said in measured tones. “Let’s just accept that. It wastes time to argue and time is what?”
“Money, Irwin,” Hennesy said.
“Right,” Allen said.
He perused the rest of the sketches. Gradually he began to abandon the idea of spinning
The Man from the 25th Century
off a
Lost in Space
segment. While the production problems of a spinoff were not insurmountable, they would pose certain difficulties and furthermore would strain the already tight budget of the show. As the meeting wore on, Allen began to think in terms of the ten-minute presentation film. He asked Hennesy for the storyboard sketches of the originally proposed spinoff segment.
“I don’t like these much, Dale,” Allen said. He was beating time on the conference table with his knuckles. “They’re okay for a storyboard, but not for a presentation film. We need something flashier.”
Hennesy nodded.
“And I think it’s a mistake to show story continuityin a presentation film,” Allen said. “We’re not trying to sell a story, we’re trying to sell a concept.”
“How about using paintings?” Hennesy said. “I mean, the paintings of the various sets?”
Allen slapped his hand on the desk. “Great,” he said. “We can use the camera to get a sense of movement. Move in, pan, hold, dissolve through.
entered the office, muttering apologies. A
Voyage
episode scheduled to start shooting the following week had a character called Lobster Man, and the wardrobe department had been unable to make his costume as specified in the designer’s sketches.
“Irwin, the antennae on Lobster Man’s suit are supposed to vibrate, but the suit isn’t rigged for it,” the production manager said.
Allen threw up his hands in resignation. “Is it a big story point?”
“No,” the unit man said.
“Then forget it.” Allen thought for a moment, rubbing his hands over his paunch. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Ask the electrical department if they can put two little blinking lights in the antennae.”
“Okay,” the production man said. “That’s a good idea, Irwin.”
“That’s what I’m sitting in the boss’s chair for,” Allen said. “You got a little problem about Lobster Man, you come to see Irwin.”
Allen turned back to
The Man from the 25th Century
. On an easel at the end of the table were color sketches of Andro and of the “interrogation room” at Delphi. The art director, a young man named Dale Hennesy, lifted the overlays from the sketches and displayed them for Allen.
“If we spin off from
Space
, we’re going to have to get a script written quick, Irwin,” said Hal Herman, one of Allen’s production managers.
“No problem,” Allen said. “Irwin knows how to do it. The Space Family Robinson”—the family in
Lost in Space
—“turns up on another planet. They settle down for dinner and then all of a sudden this beautiful man appears. They reach for their ray guns and this guy says, ‘I’m Tomo from Andro,’ and to pay for his supper, he tells a story. Dissolve—
The Man from the 25th Century
.” He patted the presentation script. “It’s all here. Easy, right?”
“Right, Irwin,” chorused the table.
Allen doodled for a moment with a pencil. “Say we do spin off,” he said. “We spin off where?”
“The twenty-second segment,” Hal Herman said.
“That starts shooting twenty-five working days fromnow,” Allen said, checking his production schedule. He turned to Dale Hennesy. “Dale, using spit and glue—and with a start date that close, that’s what you’re going to have to use—can you get these sets together by then?”
Hennesy whistled softly. “Can do,” he said finally.
Allen asked to see the rest of the sketches. One drawing showed the concrete living quarters at Project Delphi. Allen shook his head. “It doesn’t send me,” he said.
“What I was trying to do here, Irwin …” Hennesy began.
Allen shook his head vigorously. “Dale, it doesn’t send me,” he said in measured tones. “Let’s just accept that. It wastes time to argue and time is what?”
“Money, Irwin,” Hennesy said.
“Right,” Allen said.
He perused the rest of the sketches. Gradually he began to abandon the idea of spinning
The Man from the 25th Century
off a
Lost in Space
segment. While the production problems of a spinoff were not insurmountable, they would pose certain difficulties and furthermore would strain the already tight budget of the show. As the meeting wore on, Allen began to think in terms of the ten-minute presentation film. He asked Hennesy for the storyboard sketches of the originally proposed spinoff segment.
“I don’t like these much, Dale,” Allen said. He was beating time on the conference table with his knuckles. “They’re okay for a storyboard, but not for a presentation film. We need something flashier.”
Hennesy nodded.
“And I think it’s a mistake to show story continuityin a presentation film,” Allen said. “We’re not trying to sell a story, we’re trying to sell a concept.”
“How about using paintings?” Hennesy said. “I mean, the paintings of the various sets?”
Allen slapped his hand on the desk. “Great,” he said. “We can use the camera to get a sense of movement. Move in, pan, hold, dissolve through.
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