# Odd television facts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833 "2011-06-17T14:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![osme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/df788c/32.png) [@osme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/osme)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/221 "2011-06-22T20:22:27Z")
Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn (Dodi on My Three Sons) are brother and sister. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/222 "2011-06-22T20:26:34Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > After years of denying it happened, because he honestly thought it didn’t, somebody Eubanks was presented with a clip of the [“in the butt” answer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XM5hbS7GlU&feature=related). That was quite a topic of conversation during the early days of this message board, with the now-silent **David B** insisting vociferously that it never happened… and after the clip[ was revealed, lamely insisting that the clip didn’t follow the exact words of the legend and therefore didn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/223 "2011-06-22T20:44:12Z")
The thread about movies being shot out-of-order got me to thinking about something else. Star Trek episodes were shout out of order. The big stars would do their scenes early in the morning and get to leave the set early. Lesser actors would have to wait around all day, sometimes not shooting their scenes until late at night. This was the case when they were shooting _Gamesters of Triskelion_. There is a scene where Chekov is having a conversation with a husky Russion-like woman. Koenig and the actress did the scene very late at night. So late, in fact, that only one cameraman was still around. (Or the extra cameras were taken off of the set.) The result of this is that the dialog was shot using only one camera. For most of it we see the back of Chekov’s head. When he speaks, we see him cheating out to the camera. It looks really horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/224 "2011-06-22T20:52:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Star Trek. . . big stars would do their scenes early in the morning and get to leave the set early. Lesser actors would have to wait around all day, sometimes not shooting their scenes until late at night. This might be true, but it seems a little odd. I would have expected the second unit to be filming the non-star scenes simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/225 "2011-06-22T21:09:50Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > This might be true, but it seems a little odd. I would have expected the second unit to be filming the non-star scenes simultaneously. Did they have a second unit? I really don’t know, what I posted is what I heard directly from Koenig. Who, by the way, claims to have been in the boiler room during _Space Seed_. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/226 "2011-06-22T21:16:52Z")
Well in that case [no second unit], it wouldn’t be so odd. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/227 "2011-06-22T21:30:39Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > And many fans would argue that just because Chekov wasn’t on the bridge, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t on the Enterprise. He could have been assigned to various departments around the ship to further his training to become one of the bridge crew. Koenig himself joked that the real reason Khan recognized Chekov was because he had to use the head and Chekov kept him waiting. Only one head on a ship with a crew of over 400? Doubfull. (But a funny line by Koenig.) And in the TNG years, the crew just stick their tails into the replicator. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/228 "2011-06-22T23:45:41Z")
You can find a spinoff of a spinoff of a spinoff if you include reality television: The Surreal Life-Flavor of Love-I Love NY-Real Chance of Love ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/229 "2011-06-23T00:05:49Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > So is that whole Michael Keaton gag on Mr. Rogers definitely real? > > [They were discussing it here.](http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=75;t=000577;p=1) > > I see no cite for it, though. Sorry, can’t provide a cite. It was recounted to me nearly thirty years ago by a close friend who was on the set that day. It was told back before Keaton was famous, it might have been right after Night Shift came out. My friend has several funny stories about Keaton, he sounds like he was quite the character. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/230 "2011-06-23T00:55:26Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yes, it’s true. James Doohan saw action at Juno Beach on D-Day and was struck by six enemy rounds, one of which struck his right middle finger, causing it to be amputated. Charles Durning is another famous D-Day veteran who’s been a regular and a guest star on many TV shows (_Evening Shade_ and _Rescue Me_ among many others). In spite of obesity and whatever other unhealthy activities he’s engaged in over the years he’s still works constantly at 88. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/231 "2011-06-23T01:08:08Z")
> [@don draper](#): > > 1. On u.s. Television, on any commercial for any type of alcoholic beverage, it is illegal to show alcohol being consumed. Just look at any beer ad - nobody ever takes a sip. Vitameatavegimin!!! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/232 "2011-06-23T01:39:20Z")
Legend has it that virtually unknown James Garner was chosen for the role of Bret Maverick because at 6’1" Garner could wear the hand me down wardrobe that 6’2" Randolph Scott had worn in the movie Santa Fe. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/233 "2011-06-23T01:39:34Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > The producers of the James bond movie, Diamonds are Forever had wanted Frank Sinatra to not only sing the title song but to appear as the Las Vegas millionaire held by Thumper. He declined. This is why the title song is sung in that Sinatra style. Uh? The theme to Diamonds Are Forever is sung by Shirley Bassey, who had previously sung the Goldfinger theme, in pretty much the same style. Also, a man singing “Diamonds Are Forever” would be a bit weird, considering the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/234 "2011-06-23T02:13:41Z")
Yes, John Ratzenberger was auditioning for the role of Norm Peterson: > **[Cliff Clavin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Clavin)** > > Clifford C. Clavin, Jr. (born 1947 or 1949) is a fictional character on the American television show Cheers played by John Ratzenberger. A postal worker, he is the bar's know-it-all and was a contestant on the game show Jeopardy! Cliff was not originally scripted in the series' pilot episode, "Give Me a Ring Sometime", but the producers decided to add a know-it-all character and Ratzenberger helped flesh it out. The actor made guest appearances as Cliff on The Tortellis, St. Elsewhere, > The ... The producers were impressed by his audition, but they didn’t think he was right for the part of Norm. He suggested instead that they add a character to the show who would be the bar know-it-all. They hired him for a two-episode run and then eventually made him a regular. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/235 "2011-06-23T03:52:09Z")
Originally, Dr. Drakken and Shego were simply two of a number of characters for the _Kim Possible_ rogues’ gallery, a fairly generic “mad scientist” and “enforcer”, but the early results of the animation and voice acting (particularly Nicole Sullivan’s talent for delivering snark) convinced the writers to develop them as the main recurring antagonists. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/236 "2011-06-23T04:15:28Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > That seems unlikely to be true. > A dog with his collar nailed to the floor would struggle quite vigorously to get away, which would be far more damaging to any film shot. Yeah, that collar story sounds kinda dumb. They would have had to nail the collar to the floor, and then force the dog’s neck into it, and then the buckle would have been in the wrong place. The move likely scenario would be them drugging the dog if it moving was a scene destroyer. What I’m wondering about is: how would the dog moving- providing the scene isn’t specifically about the dog- ruin the scene? So what if it moves? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/237 "2011-06-23T09:08:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Every Trekkie knows this one (tho it may be apocryphal, I dunno): In production of the original pilot, _The Menagerie/The Cage,_ the green-skinned dancing girl kept showing up pink in the prints for some reason and Roddenberry kept saying “Paint her greener!” until she was dark as an eggplant. Turned out somebody in the film-editing stage of the process didn’t know she was **supposed** to be green and kept correcting her tint. This isn’t the only color correction thing. You know the gold uniforms? They are about the same color green as the Captain’s Jacket appears–kind of an olive green. They only appear yellow on camera. Also, Spock was originally supposed to be red, but he both looked too much like the devil and his dark makeup made him hard ot see on black and white screens. They instead started using a green tint–which, again, you really can’t see. Finally, as you probably know, Nimoy came up with the Vulcan salute from a Jewish tradition, and came up with the nerve pinch because he was supposed to punch someone out, but had decided that Vulcans were non-violent. And yet he still punches someone out in an earlier episode. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/238 "2011-06-23T13:14:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > and came up with the nerve pinch because he was supposed to punch someone out, but had decided that Vulcans were non-violent. And yet he still punches someone out in an earlier episode. The way I heard it (from Nimoy himself) was that he was supposed to pistol-whip (phaser-whip?) Evil Kirk in _The Enemy Within_. He figured that Spock attended the Vulcan Institute of Technology and would have a technique way cooler than brute force. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/239 "2011-06-23T14:09:52Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Only one head on a ship with a crew of over 400? Doubfull. (But a funny line by Koenig.) > > And in the TNG years, the crew just stick their tails into the replicator. Unless they were constipated. Then they run down to the transporter room… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833/240 "2011-06-23T14:23:03Z")
David Lynch filmed a morgue scene in _Twin Peaks_ despite the flourescent overhead light flickering; he liked the atmosphere it created. He also cast a set dresser as the evil BOB after seeing him look up with an expression that intrigued him. He also used takes of scenes with minor dialogue flubs if the effect supported the surreal mood he was trying to create. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-television-facts/585833.md?page=13)