Did you know that without Lucille Ball, Star Trek would have never made it to air? In fact, the famous actress, comedienne and television industry innovator was essential to saving the show not once but twice.
For today’s Trek Tuesday, we’re remembering why Ball is the Patron Saint of Star Trek. This column is dedicated to Ollie Kaplan, whose life-long love of I Love Lucy served as inspiration.
I Love Lucy
Ball is perhaps best known for her performance as the eponymous character on the beloved sitcom I Love Lucy. In fact, if you are reading this, it is almost certain that you’ve seen an episode of this seminal series or at least are familiar with the concept. The series aired on CBS for six seasons, from October 1951 through May 1957.
Starring Ball and her then-husband Desi Arnaz, I Love Lucy was set in New York City. It followed the exploits of Lucy Ricardo, who often concocted madcap schemes with the aim of appearing alongside her husband, Ricky Ricardo, in his capacity as a bandleader at a nightclub. Appearing alongside the married couple were their friends and landlords, Ethel (Vivian Vance) and Fred Mertz (William Frawley).
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I Love Lucy was significant to television history for several reasons. It has been credited with the first television show to feature an ensemble cast, in which all four characters shared the spotlight equally. It was also the first series to be shot on 35-millimeter film before a live studio audience.
The show was wildly popular. After it concluded in 1957, it spawned several follow-ups. These included The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour (1957 – 1960) and The Lucy Show (1960 – 1968), Here’s Lucy (1960 – 1974) and Life With Lucy (1986). In the intervening years, the original I Love Lucy has lived on through reruns. Now, the sitcom is currently available for streaming on Paramount+, while Season 5 and Season 6 are currently streaming free on Pluto TV.
The Legacy of Lucy
But it wasn’t just in front of the camera that Ball made waves in the television industry. In 1950, she and Arnaz created Desilu Studios. Taking its name from a portmanteau of their forenames, Desilu was originally the name of their ranch in Chatsworth, California. Hollywood movie studios were quick to dismiss television as a fad in the wake of World War II.
However, this created the opportunity for smaller studios like Desilu to pick up the slack. Eventually, and thanks in no small part to the success of I Love Lucy, Desilu Studios soon grew to become a much larger operation.
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Desilu Studios was responsible for other seminal sitcoms, too, like The Andy Griffith Show. Furthermore, the studio also lent its production faculties to studios that lacked their own. As a result, the shows My Favorite Martian, I Spy and My Three Sons were filmed there as well. After Ball and Arnaz had divorced, Ball bought out the studio in 1962. While she preferred the role of actress to businesswoman, she had become the first female “Hollywood mogul.” Now, that’s going where no one has gone before.
Because of how high in demand Ball was, Desilu was rewarded with contracts that included “development money.” This was about $500,000, which could be used to develop a TV series pilot. While there was no guarantee the show would make it to air, it clearly afforded the opportunity for creative development. Ball appointed Oscar Katz as the head of Desilu programming. Katz recruited Great Bird of the Galaxy Gene Roddenberry to the Desilu staff.
Patron Saint of Star Trek
Thanks to the development money (and funding from Desilu Studio overhead), not one but two Star Trek pilots were filmed. But in 1966, Star Trek almost ended before it began. After “The Cage” was rejected by NBC, a second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” was produced. This resulted in a series order from NBC. But thanks in part to the large production costs associated with the series, the conservative board of directors at Desilu Studios unanimously decided to discontinue the show.
However, as chairwoman of the board, Ball had the ability to override decisions made by her board of directors. With a nod of her head, Ball reversed their decision to discontinue the show. Star Trek was on its way to the airwaves, where it would first be broadcast in the United States on September 8, 1966.
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During the production of Star Trek Season 2, Ball sold Desilu to Gulf+Western. This brought the studio under the same parent company as Paramount Pictures. After a special ceremony to commemorate the sale, Ball left the studio lot and never returned. This ceremony took place as the unforgettable Star Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror” was being filmed.
While it wasn’t the only time Star Trek narrowly avoided cancelation, it was arguably the most significant. The Franchise might have ended before it even began if not for Ball’s intervention. As such, it’s fair to credit Ball as the Patron Saint of Star Trek. Qapla’!
Article Sources: Memory Alpha; Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry by David Alexander. Catch up with the many Star Trek shows and movies that happened as a consequence of Ball’s nod, currently available for streaming on Paramount+.
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