In the spirit of April Fools’ Day I thought we should take a moment to examine some of the oft-repeated stories in science fiction fandom which may be fooling fans. I know I have branded them “lies” in the title… but that is just because Sci-Fi Lies rhymes! Although some of these stories may have actually begun as intentional misrepresentations I prefer to think these more as “legends” which have grown up over the years. To truly understand the history of our genre the record needs to be set straight! BUT I urge you not to take my word for any of this! Don’t be a fool, go out and research for yourself. Some of these topics are open to interpretation.
First and foremost is the assumption science fiction was/is “for boys.” This has extended over the years to include roleplaying games and comic books. I wish I could say this was no longer the case, but as the father of an indie comics author and artist I can’t count how many times she has been a novelty in the comic book store, often treated like someone who accidentally wandered in while trying to find the nearest beauty shop. This is a very common story tossed around the science fiction genre by both men and women! I recently read a Robert Heinlein reader review (which I will not quote because I believe it was written and posted in good faith) which mentioned Heinlein was writing at a time when science fiction was for teen age boys.
In many ways this is the hardest story to debunk because it is almost impossible to go back and survey the readers of pulp magazines, watchers of sixty year old television shows, etc… I have no hard numbers but neither do the people continuing to repeat this one! I will also admit science fiction and fantasy were dominated by men for many years, at least when looking at writer/creator credits. Much of that time, though, men dominated all industries.
Women are now and have always been a part, a very important part, of the industry and fandom. Off the top of my head, I would point out the book many cite as the first “modern” science fiction novel, Frankenstein (1818) was written by a woman! Women were definitely present in the age of pulp, the heyday of science fiction. I recently read Alexandre Dumas’ The Wolf-Leader as originally presented in English in the August, September and October 1931 issues of Weird Tales. In addition to Dumas’ werewolf tale these three issues presented about 30 original stories and poems, some from well known authors including H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Edmond Hamilton. Some of the authors had names (often initials) which did not indicate gender but four of the authors (a little over 10%) were women. Several of the letters to the editor were written by female readers as well. Granted, 10% is a rather paltry amount but these were random 1931 pulp magazines and they prove being a female was not a bar to publication or avoided by readers. Just a few years later Leigh Brackett (a friend of Ray Bradbury and eventual wife of Edmond Hamilton) would be declared the “queen of space opera.”
I am not saying women did not face obstacles to publication, by the way. I am sure some did just as I am sure some aspiring women authors were told their lives would be easier if they published their science fantasies under a different name. Others, such as Catherine “C.L.” Moore, were using ambiguous initials. What I am saying is that women have always contributed to the pages of fantasy and science fiction. If you are foolish enough to believe fantasy or science fiction is “for boys,” or ever was, do a little more research. Before I move on I will point out the Star Trek, Doctor Who and Star Wars franchises benefited greatly from the contributions (and fandom) of women!
Proceeding in a kind of rough chronological order, the next science fiction falsehood I would like to tackle is the “panic” caused by the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds on Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater on the Air program. This was been cited many times over the years, including as a reason for the government to keep any knowledge of extraterrestrials visiting Earth secret. But was there really widespread panic? It actually seems unlikely.
First of all, many people today do not realize the show was announced the week before and it was published in radio schedules. The broadcast, which featured fictional news reports, also included scheduled breaks! While there were some people who were disturbed by the broadcast, many seem to have took it to be a conventional invasion (remember, this was prior to U.S. involvement in World War II but the war was raging). Newspapers, argued by some to feel threatened by radio as a rival new source, played up all reports of panic. It also seems likely Orson Welles himself played up the controversy, as his show did not have a sponsor and Welles seemed to buy into “there is no such thing as bad publicity” philosophy. By December the Mercury Theater On the Air program had become The Campbell Playhouse, after gaining sponsorship by the soup company.
Jumping ahead almost three decades to 1963 we come to Doctor Who, probably the BBC’s most famous science fiction series. Fans, at least in America, are told the show’s premiere episode was pre-empted or interrupted by a news report announcing the death of US President John F. Kennedy. The simple truth is the president was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963 at about 12:30PM (local time) in Texas, which was about 6:30 PM Friday in London. Doctor Who, however, did not premiere until Saturday, November 23, 1963. It was scheduled to start at 5:15 PM but, due to a news brief giving an update on events in the United States, it was delayed until 5:16 (and twenty seconds) PM but shown in its entirety. I suppose it is easy to understand how this slight delay has, over the years, been mis-remembered, mis-explained and grew into something more. Before we leave Doctor Who behind, though, I would like to throw back to our first story and remind everyone your favorite Time Lord was originally produced by a woman named Verity Lambert.
Almost three years later and across the ocean, Star Trek first aired on September 8, 1966 on NBC which is why we celebrate Star Trek Day every September 8. Except Star Trek had already aired on television. September 8 is celebrated every year as Star Trek Day because it is the anniversary of it premiering on NBC in 1966. This is true. The problem is it just wasn’t the world premiere of Star Trek. This isn’t about the fact it had multiple pilots; neither of the pilots aired until later. Star Trek actually first aired on September 6, 1966. In Canada. Why did it air on CTV in Canada two days before the U.S. premiere? I don’t know… You can do the research on that for yourself but it is true. Nonetheless, Star Trek Day is celebrated every year on September 8… sorry Canada. But this is only one of many myths and myth-understandings centered on Star Trek.
One of the most repeated stories about Star Trek is how it featured the first inter-racial kiss on American television. In Plato’s Children, which aired on November 22, 1968, Nichelle “Lt. Uhura” Nichols and William “Captain Kirk” Shatner did engage in an on-screen kiss (while their characters were under the influence of aliens). But almost a year before, as many point out, Nancy Sinatra kissed Sammy Davis Jr. on her December 11, 1967 special Movin’ With Nancy. Sinatra herself has vacillated over the years regarding whether or not the kiss was planned. Either way, it came first but, as Star Trek fans have pointed out, it was on a music special, “unscripted” television, not a scripted kiss. And it gets even more complicated!
Some die-hard Star Trek fans maintain there was actually an earlier inter-racial kiss in a different episode of Star Trek! They argue in Mirror, Mirror (original airdate October 6, 1967, the episode that invented the “evil counterpart with a goatee” trope) Captain Kirk kissed his mirror universe counterpart’s paramour Marlena, played by BarBara Luna. Although Marlena’s background is not revealed, actress BarBara Luna’s father was born in the Phillipines, her mother in Budapest making her ethnically half Filipino but…
Almost a decade earlier on November 16, 1958 William Shatner (not playing Captain Kirk) performed a scene from the hit Broadway play The World of Suzie Wong with onstage co-star France Nuyen (who would later appear in the Star Trek episode Elaan of Troyius as the title character) for an episode of Ed Sullivan’s variety show. Although born in Marseille, France to a French mother, Nuyen’s father was ethnically Chinese from what was then called French Indochina. Although it was on a variety show, it was a scripted scene. But…
Also in 1958 on an episode of SeaHunt Lloyd Bridges kissed actress Nobu McCarthy (born Nobu Atsumi). She was born in Canada but her parents were both Japanese citizens in North Armerica because her father was a diplomatic attaché. But…
You probably thought if I mentioned Lucille Ball it would be because Desilu Productions made Star Trek and she is widely reported as being a champion of the show. That alone, by the way, cements her place as one of those influential and important women in science fiction (along with other important Star Trek women such as Bjo Trimble and Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana, but you can look them up). Lucy did champion Star Trek but that isn’t why I have brought her up. Some TV historians argue Lucille Ball and real-life husband Desi Arnaz actually presented television’s first interracial kiss in their beloved sitcom I Love Lucy, which premiered in 1951.
I will be 100% honest with you: I don’t want to argue about any of this at all. I am extremely uncomfortable with arguments (and I have witnessed arguments over the years) as to which of these kisses “counts” as inter-racial. I will also admit there may be other possible kisses which should be in the discussion. All I want to do is shed a little light on a well known myth surrounding Star Trek, which admittedly also opens up some discussion on how non-white actors and actresses were presented on television over the years. And it is not the only urban legend surrounding the show related to that topic!
Star Trek fans often contend it was the first network show to feature non-white characters in non-stereotypical roles. It is sometimes presented Star Trek was the first show to have non-white non-comedic characters. This can be a difficult topic and let me be clear: I am not in any way attempting to diminish the importance of the roles Nichelle Nichols, George Takei and other Trek actors played on the show, its legacy or in history. What I would like to do, though, is spread the word about some other television pioneers before Star Trek.
Hattie McDaniel, perhaps best remembered today from her role in Gone With The Wind (1939), starred in her own television sitcom starting in 1950. Beulah was centered around housekeeper Beulah Brown and her life. The character originated on radio in 1939, originally played by a white man named Marlin Hurt (yes, you read that right). By the late 1940s the character starred in her own self titled show and in 1947 Hattie McDaniel took over the role. In 1952 health issues caused her to be replaced by Lillian Randolph and later Amanda Randolph (Lillian’s sister). Amanda Randolph, by the way, is often credited as the first African-American actress to have a regular part on a U.S. television show (the DuMont Network series The Laytons in 1948). In October, 1950 Beulah came to television with Ethel Walters starring. In 1951, Hattie McDaniel took over the role on TV while continuing to perform on the radio version. Louise Beavers (perhaps best known from 1942’s Holiday Inn) took over when Hattie McDaniel was diagnosed with cancer. Butterfly McQueen and Ruby Dandridge also had parts in the series as did Dooley Wilson (the piano player Sam in Casablanca 1942). The television version of Beulah ran on ABC from 1950 until 1953. Although it did star an African American actress, she was a “domestic.”
Two African-American women starred in their own self-titled series before Beulah came to television, although both shows where music programs. Amanda Randolph, who I just mentioned, also starred in an unscripted music program (Amanda) on DuMont from November 1948 through at least October 1949. Singer Hazel Scott also starred in a DuMont unscripted music show (The Hazel Scott Show) in the summer of 1950. Unfortunately, almost all of the DuMont Network’s programming was destroyed after the network folded. This was, by the way, a tragedy for many reasons! In addition to the programs already mentioned the network also ran The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong in 1951. Starring American born film star Anna May Wong as an art gallery owner and amateur detective, the show was credited as the first dramatic series starring an Asian actor (or actress). The year before, though, on CBS the magician Kuda Bux starred in his own unscripted magic series Kuda Bux, Hindu Mystic (although Bux was from India, born in what today is Pakistan, he was actually Muslim).
Moving away from Star Trek’s cast, we can at least agree it was the first serious adult oriented science fiction on American television, right? Wait, no, maybe not. How about the first non-anthology serious adult oriented science fiction on American TV, right? I mean, what else do you have? Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (multiple networks, 1950-1955)? Space Patrol (ABC, 1950-1955)? Lost In Space (CBS, 1965-1968)? Despite the distinct possibility all of these programs (and other early science fiction series) had adult fans during their runs, the shows were marketed as kids’ shows. However, I maintain there was Men Into Space (CBS, 1959-1960). This problem of the week series followed Colonel Edward McCauley, America’s most experienced astronaut, as he solved problems and pulled off difficult missions in an unspecified year (which seemed to be around 1980). Priding itself on a realistic portrayal of the challenges and technologies which would be found in space, the series ran for 39 episodes before slipping into re-run syndication under the title Space Challenge. While not as successful or influential as Star Trek, Men Into Space was undoubtedly first and attempted to present “hard science” fiction when space opera still ruled the genre.
One last Star Trek related story to cover, this one courtesy of Harlan Ellison. Famous for his ire over the way his script for The City on the Edge of Forever (which aired on April 6, 1967) was altered for production, Ellison often accused Gene Roddenberry of being an inexperienced television producer without any knowledge of writing. Well, he accused him of a lot more with way more colorful language but you can look that up yourself… or any of Ellison’s other rants against television programs with which he was associated.
While is a fact Gene Roddenberry was a television producer, and he did create Star Trek it was not his first experience with television. As many fans know, Roddenberry had previously created The Lieutenant. Following a state-side Marine officer, the show only lasted a single season on NBC from 1963-1964. Gene Roddenberry also wrote two of the episodes. Before that, though, he wrote about two dozen episodes of the western Have Gone, Will Travel (CBS, 1957-1963). Some sources have actually described Roddenberry as the de facto lead writer for the series. Gene Roddenberry had been working in television for over a decade by the time Star Trek premiered (in Canada on September 6, 1966).
The truth is Harlan Ellison was a published author but his television work was a little more limited. According to IMDB he had about 14 writing credits, including “story by” credits, before City On the Edge of Forever. Before Star Trek Roddenberry had over 80 writing credits and a handful of production credits. Gene Roddenberry may (or may not) have been many things but Ellison’s accusations Star Trek’s creator knew nothing about writing and was just a TV exec are simply unfounded.
Finally, let us turn our attention to Star Wars. Like Star Trek, there are a million stories about its creation, production, inspiration and more and also like Star Trek there are a million books and articles about it! You can research the various drafts, the original vision of George Lucas and so forth for yourself. Instead, I propose taking a couple of the more generally spread misconceptions such as the unstoppable success of Star Wars when released.
There is no denying Star Wars was incredibly successful. It made millions of dollars and launched a franchise still active today. But when it was released on Memorial Day weekend of 1977 it was not even the most successful movie of the weekend (even though it was released the Wednesday before the holiday). Smokey and the Bandit, which was not released until Friday, grossed $2,689,851 while Star Wars came in at $2,556,418. Those were both incredible openings but Smokey and the Bandit simply came out on top. It is worth noting, though, Star Wars was only booked on 43 screens while Smokey was on 386. That means Star Wars can boast of a much higher per screen average, an important cinema metric, but it also means about nine times more theater owners and booking agents had confidence in the Burt Reynolds/Sally Fields comedy than yet another science fiction film.
Star Wars went on to top the box office through a good part of the summer although The Deep took the top spot for three weeks when it was released at the end of the season. Star Wars took over the box office for a good part of the year, although Looking for Mr. Goodbar and Oh God! both held the number spot at times, with Oh God! and Star Wars trading the honors back and forth in November, the beginning of the holiday season. Once Close Encounters of the Third Kind, another science fiction blockbuster, was released it held the top honors for the last couple weeks of the year.
Close Encounters leads us to the second story about Star Wars which circulates in fandom, which is the claim that it “saved” or “resurrected” science fiction. There was an undeniable boom in science fiction after the success of Star Wars. It could be argued, though, the popularity of Star Wars was partially because it kiddified science fiction, which led to an unprecedented wave of merchandising and toy sales. Some have said Star Wars took science fiction from matinee/drive-in kids’ fare to adult audiences.
As far as Star Wars saving or revitalizing science fiction, the best argument against that is most probably the list of science fiction films which came out in the 1970s before Star Wars. Many of these titles were much more serious than Star Wars and aimed directly at adults. Many had serious subject matter such as ecological collapse and overpopulation while others were rated R. Science fiction movies released in the United States from 1970 until the release of Star Wars include:
Colossus, the Forbin Project (April, 1970)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (May, 1970)*
Crimes of the Future (June, 1970)
No Blade Of Grass (October, 1970)
Gas-s-s (Feb, 1971)
THX 1138 (Mar, 1971)
The Andromeda Strain (March, 1971)
Escape From The Planet of the Apes (May, 1971)
The Omega Man (Aug, 1971)
A Clockwork Orange (Dec, 1971)
Silent Running (March, 1972)
Slaughter House Five (March, 1972)
Z.P.G. (May, 1972)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (June, 1972)*
Solaris (August, 1972)
Soylent Green (April, 1973)
Battle For The Planet of the Apes (June, 1973)*
The Neptune Factor (August, 1973)
Westworld (Aug, 1973)*
The Final Programme (October 1973)
Fantastic Planet (Dec, 1973)
Zardoz (Feb, 1974)
Dark Star (March, 1974)
Phase IV (Sept, 1974)
Stepford Wives (Feb 1975)
Escape to Witch Mountain (May, 1975)
Deathrace 2000 (April, 1975)
The Ultimate Warrior (June 1975)
Rollerball (June 1975)
A Boy and His Dog (Nov, 1975)
The Man Who Fell To Earth (Mar, 1976)
Embryo (May, 1976)
Food of the Gods (June, 1976)
Logan’s Run (June, 1976)
FutureWorld (July 1976)*
Wizards (Feb, 1977)
Demon Seed (April, 1977)
It should probably be noted that Damnation Alley and Close Encounters of the Third Kind both came out after Star Wars but were already in production before its release. In fact, money was diverted from Damnation Alley’s budget to Star Wars! The movies with an * after them are part of multi-film franchises, which I have included because it is occasionally spread among fans Star Wars launched the phenomenon of film franchises. The Planet of the Apes and Westworld were not only a multi-film franchises but each also launched a television series (Planet of the Apes CBS, 1973, the animated Return to the Planet of the Apes NBC, 1975 and Beyond Westworld, CBS 1980 and much later Westworld HBO 2016-2022), as did Logan’s Run (CBS, 1977-1978).
I think we have hit most of the most common stories circulating in science fiction circles which require a little more examination. I hope you will look into some of these stories yourself. I hope some of you will take up this conversation either over on the Swords and Rayguns Discord server or by sending me an email. I especially want to hear from you if you find evidence contrary to my conclusions! I personally am more interested in the truth than I am in being “right” or considered “an expert.” As you look into the history of science fiction I think you may discover some incredible things, including authors, stories and shows you may have otherwise never known.