In 1974 Franz Joseph Schnaubelt contributed hand prop designs to a Gene Roddenberry-produced
television pilot called
The following excerpt from a
1999 interview with Karen Dick
explains Franz Joseph's involvement with
Planet Earth:
Based on FJ's work on the [Star Trek Blueprints]
and [Star Fleet] Tech Manual,... [Gene Roddenberry] contracted FJ to
produce detailed drawings of the props for Planet Earth.
To get around the unions, GR told FJ to title the initial drawings as "communicator," "tricorder,"
and "medkit;" to label them as Star Trek pre-production drawings;
and to back-date them (real honest, huh?) to 1970 (it was then 1974).
Now that I think about it, the back-dating... would make them part of the work-up for the first aborted
Star Trek revival series... not the original series.
When FJ was about to deliver the finished drawings and asked for final
payment for the job, GR (through Norway Productions' legal team) demanded that FJ sign away all
his rights to the work. FJ refused to sign until the assignment of rights was re-worded.
(Apparently, FJ did not care about the design rights as they applied to the fictional movie/TV series,
but saw possible real-life commercial and scientific applications for the medkit in particular
and was not willing to sign away everything carte blanche.) The assignment of rights was
eventually re-worded to everyone’s satisfaction, final payment was made, and the final drawings
delivered, but not in time to build the detailed props for the movie. As a result, the props used
in Planet Earth were little more than blocks of wood
spray-painted silver and put together with hinges. I don’t believe FJ received any onscreen credit,
either, although he (and my mother and myself) were invited to the studio premiere, where GR was
very pleasant and magnanimous to us. GR intended to have the more detailed props built for
subsequent movies, but Planet Earth did so poorly that subsequent
movies never happened, and GR eventually sold his rights to the property.
Medikit / Medipak
Gene Roddenberry originally wanted the medipak to be a 22nd-century version of Doctor McCoy's
medical tricorder and kit from Star Trek.
Original sketch for the Planet Earth medical kit. Note the Star Trek labeling at the top.
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Another sketch for the Planet Earth medipak. The full page containing this image was drawn in a style similar to a page from Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. A caption at the top left of the full page reads "PLANET EARTH - 2133 A.D."
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The medikit / medipak as it appeared in Planet Earth.
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Transceiver
Gene Roddenberry originally wanted the transceiver to be a 22nd-century version of
Star Trek's communicator. The device was to have fit
in a breast pocket.
A sketch of the Planet Earth transceiver. The full page containing this image was drawn in a style similar to a page from Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. A caption at the top left of the full page reads "PLANET EARTH - 2133 A.D."
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The medikit / medipak as it appeared in Planet Earth.
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Multiceiver
Gene Roddenberry originally wanted the multiceiver to be a 22nd-century version of
Star Trek's tricorder. Note that the
"visual display screen" is meant to be folded. The screen apparently bends without
creasing when closed. While this might have been a difficult prop to build in the
twentieth century, the concept would certainly be possible in the twenty-second century.
A sketch of the multiceiver from Planet Earth. The full page containing this image was drawn in a style similar to a page from Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. A caption at the top left of the full page reads "PLANET EARTH - 2133 A.D."
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Illustrations and photos copyright Franz Joseph, Karen Dick, and/or Franz Joseph Designs unless otherwise noted.
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