Vintage footage of a couple of Star Trek fans breaking into the set has resurfaced online.
Long before the idea of “behind the scenes” footage became a staple on DVD and Blu-ray releases, two fans—with at least one dressed in a Starfleet uniform—visited the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) on or about March 10, 1988, right in the middle of the show’s first season.
One of the fans, who redditors have identified as Greg R. Stone, a special effects tech who worked on a small number of TNG episodes, is seen exploring various parts of the set while demonstrating the different futuristic computers used by the cast during filming.
While normally fans would love the idea of getting a behind-the-scenes look at their favorite shows back during its peak, not too many of them were happy with the footage reemerging. It has appeared on YouTube at least once before but was quickly taken down by CBS. A copy of the video is available to view on DropBox.
“Not only did these lack-wits break into the set and parade around like they owned the place they were [sic] caused set pieces to fall down and turned on all the lighted consoles that make the Star Trek computers look so futuristic,” Sebastian Prooth wrote on his blog in 2007.
Makeup artist Doug Drexler and stand-in performer Guy Vardaman recounted the incident in a 2011 interview with Trek Radio, which resulted in the studio refraining from hiring fans on the production staff.
“They also had serious problems, like, I remember there was a videotape that was made by, I am not going to mention any names, of someone who snuck onto the stage wearing a Starfleet uniform, and took videos of himself and going through the sets and giving a tour of the ship,” Drexler said.
“And breaking the clam shell in sickbay and messed up our shooting schedule the next day, do you remember that?” Vardaman asked.
He did, and now so will the rest of us.
H/T Digg | Photo via Alistair McMillan/Flickr