#Eddie Paskey

[small-witch-big-hat]

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What we really need is a video game with the mechanical sensibilities of Dark Souls and the aesthetic sensibilities of Star Trek: The Original Series. Give Captain Kirk an actual reason to be rolling everywhere!

[dominickeating-source]

Dominic Keating at Destination Star Trek Europe (2016)

Day 1: The first two photos include various actors from different Star Trek series, including William Shatner, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Marina Sirtis, Connor Trinneer, Jeffrey Combs, Garrett Wang, Chase Masterson, Terry Farrell, Alice Krige, Eric Pierpoint, and Eddie Paskey.

Day 2: Dominic Keating, Connor Trinneer and Vaughn Armstrong sat front and center for their entertaining panel moderated by Voyager's Garrett Wang. - Keating on getting word that Enterprise was canceled and then going back to work. "It was a weird time knowing we were 8 or 9 weeks away from oblivion." Of his Enterprise experience, Keating added, "My one regret was not getting to direct an episode."

Source: StarTrek.com - Day 1, Day 2

[chernobog13]

Actor Eddie Paskey (left rear) making his first appearance aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise in the second pilot for Star Trek, Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Although Paskey’s character is best known as Lieutenant Leslie, in this episode - as well as The Naked Time - he is Lieutenant Ryan.  In Mudd’s Women he’s addressed as “Connors.”  It’s not until the episode Balance of Terror that he becomes Lieutenant Leslie, the name his character keeps for the remainder of his appearances.  

Paskey had to leave the showing the middle of the third season due to pain from an old back injury and cluster headaches.  Despite that early departure, Lt. Leslie still managed to appear in more episodes than either Sulu or Chekhov.

Lt. Ryan/Connors/Leslie was quite the industrious crew member, working in numerous different departments and stations throughout the ship.  He wore uniform shirts of all three principal colors before it was settled he would stay in a red shirt.

True to form, that red shirt got Lt. Leslie killed in the episode Obsession.  Strangely enough, he was right back at work in the very next episode, Wolf in the Fold, with no explanation.  Apparently there was an unfilled scene in Obsession where Dr. McCoy is able to save Lt. Leslie’s life.  I guess the producers thought no one would notice; they weren’t quite as continuity conscious as folks are today.

[hellodarjeeling]

[oujiblanchette]

All smiles TOS publicity photos for “Star Trek”. Eddie Paskey, Leonid Nimsy and Jill Ireland. 

[redshirtgal]

The many tunics of Eddie Paskey  plus the corresponding jumpsuits. Plus an additional appearance as a background crew member in the beige tunic used in “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

[oldschoolsciencefiction]

Lieutenant Leslie scoffs at Starfleet's notion of "divisions" and wears whatever color shirt he wants.

[frank-o-meter]

Star Trek - Rest In Peace - Part 3

All but one of these crewmen are Red Shirts. Two (Mallory & Rizzo) died in prior episodes under different names. Two died as noted but appeared in later episodes under the same names (perhaps twins?). According to several Star Trek reference guides, Thompson was the only female Red Shirt to die on the show.

“The Apple” - Hendorff - Kaplan - Mallory - Marple “The Deadly Years” - Galway “Obsession” - Rizzo - Unknown (2) - Leslie “By Any Other Name” - Thompson “The Ultimate Computer” - Harper “Omega Glory” - Galloway

[defconprime]

Eddie Paskey as Lieutenant Leslie

[stellabystarlight12]

Eddie Paskey   August 20, 1939 - August 17, 2021

[fromthefilesofredshirtgal]

Our last article involved the appearance of chess boards in publicity photos for Star Trek: The Original Series. However, those sets turned up quite frequently in TOS episodes.

Sometimes they were pivotal in the episode. In “Court Martial” Kirk was damned by the Enterprise’s own computer tapes that clearly showed him pressing the eject button. However, Spock played a hunch (yes, you know he did) and played chess against the ship’s computer. When he won several games in a row, he realized that there was reason to cast doubt on the prosecution’s main witness. As it turned out, Finney had reprogrammed the system, which included the memory banks. So we can claim that chess saved the day in this episode.

Sometimes chess may not have been a major plot point but it aided our understanding of a character. For example, in “Charlie X” we could see a side of Charlie’s nature no one aboard the Enterprise knew about when he melted several chess pieces in frustration over losing to Spock. And in “By Any Other Name,” Spock used chess to gauge how well Kirk’s strategy of frustrating the Kelvans was working on Rojan.

And even if we did not see a single chess set in “Whom Gods Destroy,” the game played an important part here as well. When Garth disguised as Kirk attempted to beam aboard the Enterprise to escape the insane asylum on Elba II, he could not give the correct chess move to counter Mr. Scott’s “Queen to queen’s level 3.”

Of course, there are countless other episodes in which we see the game either appear in Spock or Kirk’s quarters or in the rec room. It’s one of the most famous props used on the show. However, how much do we know about the background of this unique version of chess?

As we all know, the chess board used in The Original Series was often referred to as three dimensional or tri-dimensional chess. The actual board and chess pieces built for the show were in fact cannibalized from other game sets. For example, the chess pieces in the show were already in existence. They were part of Peter Ganine’s Classic Chess set, released in 1961. Ganine created several different versions of such sets and they were highly valued. A complete set of the same version above sold for $1250 on eBay in 2010. And that did not include the original board.  Today you may see individual pieces going for $25.  Btw, from here on out, my main source for this material comes information contributed by Gregory Schnitzer to several discussions on the Trek BBS. Schnitzer was the propmaster for Star Trek - New Voyages: Phase II for many years and was meticulous in his research and duplication of most of the TOS props used in that fan series. I will reference several of his Flickr collections at the end if you want to see detailed photos of his work.

Now the chess board has its own interesting story.  The three large main boards were taken from the then currently available Space Checkers, sold at that time by a company named Checkline. Even though the boards were originally clear, the alternating squares were painted red for the customized 3D chess version. The game of Space Tic Tac Toe itself seems to have made its first appearance in early studio publicity photos. The one on the right above appeared in The Making of Star Trek.

Another ‘60s game, Space Checkers, provided the attack boards of the 3D chess set. They were slightly smaller in size, which gave the Trek version a distinct look once both were inserted onto the metal base and frame. Normally there were four of the 2X2 attack boards that, when added to the three 4X4 main boards, totaled the 64 squares needed for a regulation chess board.

(You can barely make out a Space Checkers set against the wall behind Kirk and Spock in “Where No Man Has Gone Before”  - photo credit belongs to Gregory Schnitzer)

However, if you keep your eyes open, you will occasionally see a set with five attack boards, such as in the same scene from “Where No Man Has Gone Before” mentioned above. This set would then have a non-traditional 68 squares. (Btw, that is Eddie Paskey directly behind Kirk).

All three games often appeared in recreation deck scenes. The photo on the left comes from “The Conscience of the King.” Notice the Space Tic Tac Toe game on the table uses standard black and red checkers. Evidently, the original board pieces were missing. And we see both Space Checkers and 3D chess in “Charlie X.” Props like these, which were both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, added visual interest to the background in many episodes. And it deepened our understanding that even in the 23rd century, board games would still be popular as a way to pass time, keep one’s mind active, and form social groups.

Again, we would like to recognize Gregory Schnitzer, prop-master extraordinaire for the Star Trek fan film series New Voyages: Phase II.  Much of the information on the sets themselves came from his Trek BBS discussions. If you would like to see some of his replicas patterned on the original game sets, these three links are fascinating. https://www.flickr.com/photos/10901121@N06/sets/72157602298653167/with/2134027950/  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10901121@N06/sets/72157602298653167/with/2134027950/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/10901121@N06/albums/72157608722638071?fbclid=IwAR0TPuj07YZVKSGgdF0UuhbhqmljPnVNsNUSTBRPV9XM9hW4WLlYF-8ZePQ

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

starhearth: episode four

Second Month of Spring, Days 3-4

The snow stops falling in the night, and the next day dawns clear, but still cold. A few people sit together by the berry bushes as they eat what’s currently passing for breakfast. Thanks to the berries and the jerky from Uhura’s trapping the crew is in no danger of starvation, but no one’s exactly real happy about the quality of food they’re getting either.

[ID: A screenshot of McCoy, Chapel and Rand sitting among the berry bushes, eating from plates of square purple berries.]

As everyone sets to their morning work, a new villager arrives. This one has 5 Mind, 5 Body and 5 Spirit, and the Courageous trait (they get a happiness boost after defending the town from enemies). That naturally makes them best suited to being a combat unit. This does raise the minor problem of what to name them; we’ve got most of the main crew here by now, and while there are any number of characters in Star Trek whose job it is to fight things, most of them don’t tend to stick around long enough to leave much of an impression. In the end, he gets named after one of the show’s more frequently recurring redshirts, Leslie. Leslie doesn’t ever have a first name mentioned onscreen, so I named him after his actor, Eddie Paskey.

[ID: A screenshot of Leslie, a villager with short light brown hair, fair skin and blue eyes. His character page is open, showing that his mood is Content, he has the Pioneering Spirit happiness buff, and he has a trait called Courageous, as shown with the icon of a little cartoon sword and the caption, “Courageous: Ed Leslie loves to save others, and puts the safety of the town as paramount.”]

In other news, Uhura has made it to Level 2, which means she’ll no doubt soon be bringing a lot of pets home.

[ID: A screenshot of a notification box titled Nyota Uhura has Leveled Up! The text in the box reads, “Nyota Uhura has achieved Trapper Level 2!” Below are three icons: a pink square with a cartoon rabbit with hearts for eyes, with a caption reading, “Charm Pet: The trapper will occasionally choose to turn a particularly fine animal into a pet!” a blue square with a red and white bullseye above a cartoon animal trap with the caption, “Job Opportunities: The trapper now qualifies for advanced jobs. Click the promote command for details,” and a red cartoon heart with the caption, “Max Health +10.”]

By the next day it’s warmed up again, but now it’s raining, which isn’t improving anyone’s mood much. McCoy sets out to go gather some more berry bushes and move them into the camp, but winds up falling asleep on the ground before he makes it all the way back.

[ID: A screenshot of McCoy sleeping on the shore of the lake with a berry plant in a pot at his feet. The info box at the bottom of the screen reads “Leonard McCoy—sleeping on the ground.”]

mood

We don’t have enough food and net worth to attract a new villager today, but never mind that right now, we’ve got another problem: water. We’ve run out of all the drinks that came with our starting rations, and with no other source of drinks, everyone’s getting pretty thirsty. (In my defense, this wasn’t even an existing gameplay mechanic the last time I played, so I completely forgot about it until the negative mood modifiers started piling up.) At the moment we don’t have the ability to brew up anything fancy, but we can at least dig a well for water.

The well is set to be placed next to the tavern, near the kitchen door. Only problem is, digging the well counts as a building project, and since the tavern was placed first, everyone’s prioritizing that. It takes pausing the construction of the tavern entirely before anyone—Leslie, specifically—will address the well.

[ID: A screenshot of Leslie digging a well outside the partially completed tavern walls. The unfinished well, a simple post with a bucket attached to a rope, hanging above a hole in the ground, is visible but transparent to show that it has been placed but is not yet built.]

Once (finally) started, the well doesn’t take long to complete. Soon, everyone’s stopping by for a nice cool drink of water.

[ID: 1. A screenshot of Chekov sitting on the ground next to the well and drinking from a simple cup. 2. A similar screenshot of Kirk sitting on the ground and drinking from a simple cup.]

But Kirk’s break is rudely interrupted by another attack. This time it’s a group of Entlings, who are much like the Stonelings except they’re little tree dudes instead of little rock dudes.

[ID: A screenshot of Kirk holding his sword ready as he fends off four Entlings, which resemble blocks of wood with arms and legs, about half Kirk’s height.]

For some reason, Chapel decides this would be a great time to strike up a conversation.

[ID: A screenshot of Kirk fighting the last Entling, with a red heart over his head that is three-quarters full, showing his depleted health. Chapel is standing behind him, while the info box at the bottom of the screen reads, “Christine Chapel—talking to James Kirk, Log-Splinter.”]

No, go on, I’m not busy or anything.

Apparently this distraction isn’t enough to deter Kirk from handily wiping out the Entlings. The achievement even earns a title for both him and his sword. Not sure who hands out these titles, but hey.

[ID: A screenshot of two message boxes overlaid together, titled James Kirk has achieved a new Title! And Practice Sword has achieved a new Title! The first box reads, “James Kirk...is now James Kirk, Log-Splinter! They killed 5 minions of the Wilds! Doesn’t that title have a nice ring to it? You can select which title one of your citizens is using by right-clicking their name in their character sheet or the selected unit window. The second box reads, “Practice Sword...is now Practice Sword of the Forester! It killed 5 minions of the Wilds! Doesn’t that title have a nice ring to it? You can select which title this item is using by right-clicking its name in the selected unit window. You might also consider giving Practice Sword a fancier name to go along with their new title by left-clicking its name in the selected unit window.”]

But the newly acquired accolades aren’t enough to make up for the rest of Kirk’s morning. He told a joke that didn’t go over well, his drink was interrupted so he’s still thirsty, and now he’s all scratched up too. What a lousy day! Now he’s glum too. So are McCoy and Chekov, but that’s probably just them being themselves.

[ID: A screenshot of Kirk’s character information window pulled up over the villager information window. Kirk’s mood is shown as Glum, with one positive mood modifier (“It’s raining...+3”) and five negative mood modifiers: “Very thirsty -8”, “Pain (Scratched) -6” “Tough crowd -5” “My meal was raw -5” and “Slept in a shared bed -2.”]

Apparently, the joke was told to Sulu.

[ID: A screenshot of Sulu’s character information page, showing that his mood is glum and he has several negative mood modifiers. One of them, “Had an unpleasant talk -3” is highlighted, showing the caption, “I can’t believe James Kirk said that!”]

The bad moods don’t last too long, though. Once everyone’s gotten a drink, they start to feel better. By evening, they’re all back up to content. Meanwhile, work on the tavern is progressing nicely; by now the walls are up and work has started on the roof.

Also, as predicted, Uhura has already brought home a pet: a rabbit, named Thumpy.

[ID: A screenshot of a small brown and white cartoon voxel rabbit sitting on the ground, with the crafting stations and stockpile behind it. The information box at the bottom of the screen reads, “Thumpy—befriended by Nyota Uhura.”]

Not really the choice of name I would’ve gone for, personally, but you do you.

[weerd1]

Star Trek TOS Rewatch Log, Stardate 1712.06: Missions reviewed "The Deadly Years" and "Obsession."

Investigating a Federation science outpost the Enterprise finds that the young scientists have all aged rapidly- indeed, Chekov finds one of them dead of old age on the floor, and gives us the first small taste of what will evolve into the Chekov Scream™. Soon after, the other members of the landing party--except Chekov--also begin to suffer the effects of advanced age, with Kirk becoming irrational, irritable, short tempered, and basically just like Shatner on Twitter now. With the command staff suffering dementia, a visiting Commodore takes command, and almost immediately makes a number of bad decisions that subject the Enterprise to Romulan attack. Luckily, McCoy and Spock realize the Chekov Scream™ may be the answer, and devise a treatment from adrenaline, returning Kirk to the bridge just in time to pull the Corbomite Manuever (a rare in series callback) on the Romulans and save the ship. During all this we also get ANOTHER blonde old Kirk girlfriend who is interested in reestablishing interpersonal communications with the good Captain. That happens to Jim a lot. I do find it odd that such pronounced senility hits Kirk at a physical age given between 60 and 72, when humans should be living longer and staying healthy well past what we do today (after all, McCoy still holds the rank of Admiral at age 137 in "Encounter at Farpoint," the TNG pilot). Regardless, Shatner gives his all while wearing some surprisingly effective makeup for 1967. Interesting though that Commodore Stocker, despite not being a man with a starship service background, only starbases, defers repeatedly to Kirk, and even calls him "Sir" at one point. Definitely a miss on the military relativity of Starfleet, which admittedly is just as military or just as civilian as any particular writer needs it to be.

We follow that with "Obsession" where Kirk may not have shaken off ALL the aging irritability, as he's really kind of an ass in this episode. When three redshirts are killed, Kirk is convinced the culprit is a gaseous entity he faced 11 years ago on the USS Farragut, when he hesitated before firing ship's weapons, and in his mind consequently lost 200 crew members including his Captain, Garrovick. Garrovick's son is now serving on the Enterprise and suffers a similar lapse, which Kirk treats harshly. Eventually, they realize the creature is immune to phaser fire anyway, so neither of them could have helped it. The plan to kill the creature succeeds, but never quite makes up for how much of a Jerk Kirk is for the duration here. Interestingly, we see the demise of Mr. Leslie, whom you may recall is played by Shatner's double Eddie Paskey, but without explanation, he is up and roaming the halls later in the episode even after McCoy's autopsy. He will got on to appear in several more episodes before leaving early in the third season. As I mentioned in an earlier review, Leslie is in 60 episodes, which makes me wonder why he never quite got the status of Uhura or Sulu or Chekov in the 70s Trek renaissance. The character does appear in several non-canon novels, and some fan films. Maybe Tarantino will bring him to the fourth Kelvin Timeline film. Speaking of JJ Abrams, in an odd bit of foreshadowing, Kirk in this episode seem to have a scale model of the red matter sphere in his quarters. Red spheres appear in a number of Abrams projects, besides Trek '09. How could they have known?

NEXT EPISODE: Either Montgomery Scott just murdered an exotic dancer or there's a "Wolf in the Fold"!

Leslie was dead, but he got better.  Read all about this unsung hero at Memory Alpha!

[chernobog13]

Star Trek’s second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Along with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, and George Takei, notice that actor Eddie Paskey was with Kirk’s crew from the start.

Paskey, more familiar to fans as “Mr. Leslie,” was a familiar face on the Enterprise.  He was usually just an anonymous crewman or guard early on.  It wasn’t until until the episode The Conscience of the King that he was addressed as Mr. Leslie, and Mr. Leslie he remained.

Mr. Leslie was certainly a versatile crew member.  He had been observed working at numerous stations throughout the ship, including Sick Bay, and wore uniform tunics of all three division colors (mustard, blue, and red) before it was settled that he would be a “red shirt.”

And, like a typical red shirt, he was killed in an episode.  He mysteriously recovered, with no explanation ever given, but that’s a story for another time.

Also pictured with the series’ regulars is guest star Sally Kellerman, probably most famous as the original Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan from the film M.A.S.H.

As an old Army guy meself, I’m tickled pink to see that Spock’s equipment belt is a standard U.S. military web belt painted silver.

[hellodarjeeling]

Broke: Mr. Leslie is a jack-of-all-trades

Woke: Mr. Leslie is a triplet