Justman & Koenig Share TOS Memories

Two members of the Original Series team shared their memories of the show in recent online chats.

"If we had known going in that working on the show would change our lives," Bob Justman told chatters at Roddenberry.com, "we probably would have gone ahead anyhow."

Original Series and Next Generation producer Justman went on to talk about the way the series changed his life. "It proved to me that all intelligent beings are motivated by the simple phrase 'Do the right thing,'" he said. "Or as I like to put it, 'How one leads a moral life.'"

Pavel Chekov actor Walter Koenig shared his memories of Gene Roddenberry. "I remember that he was always a very affable presence on the set," he said. "When he came by it always a very comfortable feeling that he brought with him."

The actor revealed he has plans to make a science fiction film starring some very familiar faces. "I don't know what my next TV project is," he said. "I'm currently trying to put together a science fiction feature film that I have written and would be doing one of the leading roles in. I have both Robert Picardo and John DeLancie in verbal agreement to participate in the film."

Also up for discussion was the subject of fun on the set. "The original series was really a very light-hearted experience - there were a lot of laughs and many of them were supplied by the temperament of our leader Bill Shatner," said Koenig. "The one that I remember most clearly had to do with him saying a line that included the words 'Fly-by.' As it turns out, he must have had some kind of block on these particular words, I'm not exaggerating when I say he must have said 'Fry By' on 12 successive takes. By the end we were all on the floor laughing hysterically."

"You had to be there," Bob Justman supplied. "Actually, [my favourite] was when the guy on the door didn't open it in time for Bill Shatner to go through."

Complete transcripts of the chats with Bob Justman and Walter Koenig are online here and here at Roddenberry.com. Thanks go out to Scifi Pulse for this!

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