I'm surprised at how jarring the math and background on page 2 feels.<p>It really feels reflective of a different era, coming from a modern perspective Id never dare include something like that, with a big "scary looking formula" that needed explanation text, in the first half dozen pages. I wouldn't trust the reader to care enough to keep reading one word past the formula if I didn't already have them reasonably invested in the concept. These days there is an endless firehose of pitches in-front of people with the money for all fields artistic, scientific, and financial ... Statistically your odds of making it past their initial selection process gets worse and worse and you’ve even seen some push back against this with more "shotgun" approaches to funding strategies, but this isn't as common outside the startup world. With risk appetites falling we get ever more obsessed with having the initial pitch be hyper-polished to the point I've seen people reference eye tracking studies while designing a slide deck layout, the last hope of "thoughtful consideration" having been extinguished as they try to ensure that the first few glances at their pitch deck slides might entice the viewer to look beyond the <i>thumbnail</i>.<p>So yeah living in the hyper-optimised pitch environment we have today, page two was a real whiplash moment for me... really just adds to how interesting it is to read this.
Ronald D Moores “series bible” for battlestar galactica is also quite a fun read for fans. A copy is available from the same site, so clearly this person enjoys their sci fi.<p><a href="http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Battlestar_Galactica/Battlestar_Galactica_Series_Bible.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Battlestar_Galactica/Battlesta...</a>
I never knew... the USS Enterprise was almost named the S.S. Yorktown.<p><a href="https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-why-enterprise-yorktown/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-why-enterprise-yorktown/</a>
Not a Star Trek related question, but I noticed that the title is printed in a special cursive font, while the rest of the document is typewritten. What kind of machine would have been used in 1964 to print a custom font for a one-off document?
Awesome collection! Pitch bible from He-Man Masters of the Universe is solid gold ;)<p>"Beyond the farthest galaxies viewed by the greatest telescopes on Earth. Beyond the limits of our universe lies another place - a place of magic, myth, sorcery and science. Through the cosmic clouds spins a solar system with a type three star twinkling in the ether of interstellar space. About the star rotate worlds inconceivable to mere mortal minds. They are populated by deities and demigods, sorcerers and sybils, men and women imbued with the powers of good and evil!"
Does that robot planet episode exist? It clearly exists in Futurama, just wondering wether that was inspired by Star Trek, or rather by that Star Trek pitch document?
In some ways I really love Star Trek. But you can see (like many things these days) that the initial paradigm has been carried through over the decades and it shows it's age and limitations.<p>For example, stereotyping (each "alien race" has its own predominant substantive characteristics) and glorification of the military are core parts of the structure.
Even if you are not a fan, the PDF is a very enlightening read!<p>"...blonde with a shape even a uniform could not hide"<p>It's shockingly misogynistic!
Fascinating! Bones is just as described.
I'd realised a while ago that the 'ship' is the structure; the fact it's a 'spaceship' is a detail but it's very naval in organisation.
Lucille Ball's best or second best decision in television history was to greenlight Star Trek. It was not a straightforward process, requiring an unusual 2nd pilot.
It was fun to look for hints of actual episodes in the episode suggestions.<p>"Mirror" and "Charlie" for examples, and many others.