Since its creation in the late 1960s,Star Trekhas been filled with amazing and in-depth universe building. The show has explored complex political structures of alien races, and introduced some ofthe best science fiction technologyto grace the small screen. Within this rich and detailed world, however, there are a load of questionable decisions andcontinuity errors. These are the side effects for a show that has run for so long and has had a plethora of different writers.
While a lot of continuity errors can be justmarked as mistakes, there are some decisions that still haunt the series. One of these is the laughable fighting techniques employed by the Federation and members of Starfleet inThe Original Series.However, it turns out there are some good reasons for this convoluted fighting style.
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The first reason was that Gene Roddenberry based a lot ofTOSon old cowboy films. He wanted his show to be cowboys in space, but with a sprinklingof political allegory. While old westerns acted as much of the inspiration for his creation, he also wanted it to actually feel futuristic, so made tweaks to his characters personalities and behavior that reflected his utopian vision for humanity. One such change was to move away from the typically gruff and violent style of fighting typical to cowboy movies, where the characters who swing back and punch hard with their fists, often into their opponents faces or soft parts.
Roddenberry wanted to move away from this, and to come up with a futuristic style of fighting fit for the explorers of Starfleet. The specifics were left to the stunt coordinators, who, with limited instruction, did their best to create something that looked like a form of special, Starfleet trained, martial art. Audiences were expected to believe that, despite appearances, this was a superior way to immobilize opponents with limited physical and long-lasting damage to them. The fighting style was based loosely on the leverage-orientated martial arts of the east, relying on dynamic movements, surface area, and speed over hard hitting damage. What it ended up looking like, however, was the staged wrestling matches of the era, with overly dramatic drop-kicks and axe-fisted punches.
While this is the biggest reason for the specific style of fighting, they stunt coordinators were guided somewhat by external factors as well. The first of these were safety concerns for the non-trained cast. While it’s possible to create a gritty, realistic-looking fight sequence where actors pulled their punches and the camera angles make it look like contact had been made, this required training and time to get right.TOSwas made at a time when everything needed to be done as a fast as possible. They could not afford to waste time with what was deemed unnecessary training. Money was also incredibly tight, so the crew had to cut corners and scramble with the limited experience the cast had. These factors combined forced the fighting to be incredibly simple, but dramatic enough to look highly trained. This is where the double axe-punch/hammer blow often used by Kirk came in. It was attack that could be done at full force and actually make contact with the other actor, as the force was spread out evenly enough not to cause damage.
Money, as always, was another large factor that forced the stunt coordinators' hands. When a script included simple instructions like “Kirk and the Klingon fight,” they would plan a huge fight sequence, with characters getting thrown around across the set, making for what would have been a great scene. When it came to filming, however, they were almost consistently told no.
The excuse was that while it would cost $200 – $400 to film the scene, it would cost hundreds more to repair or remake the set, all of which wasbadly strung together out of bits and bobs. None of it was weight-bearing or structurally secure, and it would often break with even the lightest of nudges. As such, the idea of two actors wrestling and the potential damage they might do to the set was too much for the producers, which required them to crank down the action. It was also a matter of costumes, which were again made as cheaply as possible and would tear easily. That’s why a lot of the punches and kicks thrown by officers in costume look fairly restrained, tight, and slow moving, as the actors were afraid they would rip the fragile material.
This monetary restraint would force action to take place in the centers of rooms, with controlled punches and attacks, keeping the fighting away from walls and other set pieces. It was also, interestingly, part of the idea for wherethe Vulcannerve pinch came from. The original idea was to have a fight sequence, but due to fears of set destruction and time restraints, a simple pinch followed by collapse was much easier.
There are exceptions to all of this, however.The Original Seriesincludes some amazing episodes where the producers let the actors and stunt coordinators have some fun, destroying parts of the set and other props (often ‘borrowed’ from other films). Other times, selected epic fights were simply filmed outside (like the famous fight between Kirk and the Gorn).
