CN running "Where No Fan Has Gone..." tonight

Tonight (3/30) marks the first U.S. airing of "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" since it aired one time only on Fox last year. This, of course, is the episode with several "Star Trek" cast members supplying guest voices, but for the first time in America, you'll be able to see the end credits as they were originally intended to be seen, unfettered by some obnoxious "This Wednesday on Fox..." blurb that reduces the credits to generic status, squashed to one side.

What's so great about this? Instead of the usual end theme and white-on-solid-black credits, they went with an ersatz version of the "Star Trek" theme over stills from this episode...and a depiction of Kif Kroker that was decidedly *not* a part of the episode. Some of you already know what I'm talking about and others may have caught it online at TLZ, as I did, but if you haven't, this is must-see TV, especially if you're a Trekkie.

--David Johnson

Actually it aired 2 more times, but if you live on the east coast, you never got to see those reruns.

• CMiB

never got to see those reruns. - CMiB

I don't live on the East Coast; I live in the Midwest (always have). But I get their feed and so I was in the same position as far as always missing Futurama was concerned.

However, I did tape the one Fox airing of "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" that made it here.

--David Johnson

On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 11:03:45 -0600 (CST), [email] (David Johnson) went upon the mount and spoke thus:

This is the first time I saw this episode and it had me in stitches, especially the Kif picture in the end credits. I can't wait to get the Season 3 DVD...

• Robinson

"Mirror Spock" wrote in message news:[email]...

That episode won't be on the Season 3 DVD.

On Mon, 31 Mar 2003 15:59:54 +0100, "FlameBoy" went upon the mount and spoke thus:

The Season 4 DVD then...

• Robinson

I'm not a Trekkie. What was the Kif photo spoofing?

Jason Saslow wrote in news:[email]:

I'm not a trekkie either, but I remember watching the original series and at the very end (when the Desilu logo was displayed, I think) there was a freeze-frame of an alien's face looking pretty much just like Kif did.

Joshua wrote in news:[email]:

Indeed. As I watched the full credits sequence for the first time on CN, and I realized that they were doing a Trek-like end credit sequence, I thought, "It'd be great if they spoof the shot of Balok at the end. What would they show, Kif Kroker?" and when it actually showed up, I choked up laughing.

If I remember correctly from "Inside Star Trek", associate producer Robert Justman purposely put Desilu vice-president of production Herb Solow's credit right in the middle of Balok's horrible face at the end of the credits, as a friendly joke toward his friend and colleague. The image was from "The Corbomite Maneuver", where a cheerful little alien fellow named Balok (played by then-child-actor Clint Howard, Ron's brother) used a horrifying alien mannequin to intimidate strangers.

A shot of the monster (alas, sans Solow's credit) can be seen here: http://www.simpsons.nl/matty/kifspoof.jpg The image of Kif is here: http://www.simpsons.nl/matty/kif.jpg

On Tue, 01 Apr 2003 07:30:42 GMT, Aaron Teitlebaum wrote:

For the three seasons, they used a mixed set of stills for the closing credits. They were not necessarily from the current episode, and sometimes were even from a then-unbroadcast episode. And a handful were outtakes.

However, the last frame was almost always the same: Vina as green Orion slave girl (from "The Cage") for the first season, the Balok puppet ("The Corbomite Maneuver") for the second, and a star field for the third.

I wouldn't have minded seeing Leela as Vina, though. :-)

Alan Hamilton writes:

When someone mentioned that the special end credits for "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" featured Kif in a scene that wasn't from the episode, I thought it was Kif in drag as Vina.

On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 11:03:45 -0600 (CST), David Johnson wrote:

Was it just me or did they cut something from the second time Welshie got zapped by Mellvar? I seem to remember Fry grabbing him and yelling "Nooooooooo!"

-alan