reblogging for el, who afaik actually likes dryden but also likes Literary Burns :)
[picture of a book with some handwritten annotations, here in quotes: [Tr]anslated from the Greek “into rotten English” by John Dryde[n] and others. The whole carefully revised and corrected. “by an ass” To which is prefixed]
My favourite fact about Star Trek TOS is that, because automatic doors weren’t invented yet, the ‘automatic doors’ in TOS were really just some guy yanking a rope and pulley system to make them slide open. Problem was the person was far enough away that they couldn’t see when exactly the doors needed to be open, and relied on a signal from somebody just off set. The actors, however, had to act as if they were 100% confident the doors were going to open at the exact time and moment despite the fact that they occasionally did not which lead to multiple occasions in which the actors walked directly into the doors while they were opening.
A. it’s so surreal to think of the modern technology like automatic doors, that we just take for granted while watching Star Trek. But they were legitimately part of the futuristic elements of the show to the viewers at the time. It’s interesting to consider how these elements may have influenced those future inventions, as in the case with other tech on the show like the commmunicators. Also how differing social/historical contexts influences the reception of a work. What elements in our contemporary science fiction will seem commonplace or even hopelessly dated, to societies of the future? How will what we envision wind up shaping those societies, and what is the responsibility of us to…
B. nah anyway someone tell me there’s footage of Shatner doing this
Here’s a montage of several bloopers where people have problems with the doors. My personal favorite is Michael Dorn walking directly into the turbolift door and Patrick Stewart just smiles because it has to happen all the time.
Cecil. She/her. During the day I sit in libraries staring at books. During the night I write queer fanfiction with a historical slant.
Some not-so-random facts: Gay space lizards are the best lizards. Star Trek is my life. I have too many DS9 ships. Classic Who and the Eighth Doctor Adventures make me grin stupidly. Kelas Parmak is the best. I will defend historically accurate portrayals of Alan Turing to the last drop of blood. Likes and asks end up in the name of @apolesens-otheraccount, because Tumblr doesn't have a way of changing which blog is your primary one. Nothing happens over there - this is the one to follow.
