Going Green: Susan Oliver's Story In Full

Fiercely Independent

Those two words have stayed with me all the way since I first spoke to George Pappy about his biographical opus, The Green Girl in February of this year and now, having seen the pic, I agree that those six syllables do sum up Susan Oliver very succinctly.

Even with spending a good amount of time talking to director/writer/producer George, I didn't know what I was going to get but I did know it would be something that I would walk away from at least knowing a bit more about the girl behind the green.

Let's touch on that first actually - aside from the introductory reel and a few minutes within the body of the documentary, Star Trek and Susan's appearance in it do not take up a great deal of the running time. Now for some fans that might make you let your shoulders drop and feel shortchanged but what it makes you realise is how such a small part of her life made her recognisable to millions - and still does.

Pappy's work here covers everything from her birth as Charlotte Gercke on February 13th 1932 through to her death on May 10th 1990 but rather than taking a straight journey between those two points we're taken through a structured narrative arranged around key parts of her full life; her early acting career, the multitude of guest star roles, her relationship with her mother, her money issues, relationships, becoming a qualified pilot and her adept but underused skills at directing for television.

greengirlmovie.com

Edited by Pappy and Amy Glickman Brown, the format is standard with talking heads mixed with footage from a ton of classic shows such as The Invaders, Rawhide, Peyton Place, Wagon Train and The Virginian - but naming only those is a tiny drop in the pool and a search on IMDb will show you how prolific Susan Oliver was in the 1950's, '60's and 70's in front of the camera.

But as I said to start, those words echoed right through my watching of The Green Girl and as you listen to her friends, family and co-stars you get a better idea that Susan only ever did what she wanted to do and when she wanted to do it. Yes, there were year on year guest appearances in certain shows that she went back for but there was more going on away from the screen to keep her busy whether it was property management, getting to grips with the nature of the male-dominant directorial world or challenging herself to fly across the Atlantic solo. The acting helped pay for all this to become a reality but we do get a sense that it wasn't all happiness.

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Appearing alongside her step-brother James Gercke and step-sister Skip Gercke are female director Nancy Malone (who is credited on a couple of Voyager episodes) who is still fired up about the lack of women behind the camera and relates just how difficult life there was made difficult for Susan to the point where she had trouble getting a gig. There's also Celeste Yarnall who guest starred in The Apple as Yeoman Martha Landon and Catwoman/Star Trek guest Lee Merriwether. Talking more of their appreciation of Susan Oliver as an actress goes to show how well known she was but how her choice early in her career to get out of a contract affected her ability to get a major role thereafter. 

However as we see, she blossomed in other areas that even to the people interviewed find amazing to hear about in some cases. I for one found the story of her relationship (in more than one sense it seems) with flight instructor Mira Slovak very interesting when you got into the finer points about Susan's choice to make the potentially life-threatening flight across the Atlantic. Great for publicity but awful for your health but that didn't stop her from accumulating five flight world records during her time in the air. 

That's the big draw with The Green Girl aside from the blatant Star Trek link - Susan Oliver was not just a bit part actress. Her potential, even at the time of her death, was still hugely untapped and there could have been a chunk more for her to do - maybe even direct. That side to her was, as we see from both actors who worked for her on assignments or from peers such as Laurie Agard and the previously noted Nancy Malone, scuppered mainly due to a bad experience on one show one time - but as with the acting career that never flourished into full A-List stardom, one problem can cause life to spiral in a different direction. 

It is indeed that Fierce Independence which took Susan Oliver through every point in her life and made such an impact on the people we see here and I came away feeling as though Hollywood let her down or maybe passed her off to easily when there were seemingly so many who appreciated and understood what she was about.

The most telling aspects of The Green Girl are from two of her friends, actor Biff Maynard and Ron Wright-Sherr. While the other faces provide us with a close analysis of her working life such as David Hedison (nice guy, met him once on the way to the loo), Monte Markham (sadly I only remember him from a stint on Baywatch) and Ray Thinnes (quite good in The X Files as well as The Invaders); it is these two people who take us closest to Susan Oliver's real persona and seem to have understood who she was the most. After 90 minutes of putting the pieces of her life into perspective for the camera it is the emotions that rise to the surface for both Ron and Biff which show how much she is still missed 24 years after she succumbed to cancer.

It left me a little emptier knowing how such a packed, vibrant life had flicked and fizzled at the end - maybe fame was something Susan Oliver subconsciously shunned (she adamantly refused to have a star on the Boulevard) and is only now, thanks to this production, being recognised. I'm very glad that these 90 minutes don't focus heavily on her Star Trek appearance as it could easily have done. Fans of the show will be drawn because of the title but I don't think they will be disappointed with the result.

George Pappy has devoted the last few years to The Green Girl and I think he can walk away happy. It is a superb testament to the work ethic, the life and the beliefs of a woman who has for too long only been remembered for being Vina, stuck behind the final shot of the closing credits of one season of Star Trek when there were more layers and stories about her that had never been told. This documentary lays it all out and while it paints a very favourable picture of Susan Oliver you feel that there are still more things that we could do with understanding but may never uncover, in particular the relationship with her mother which is touched upon but not to the extent that it seems to have controlled her life. Nor do we see any of those who disagreed with Susan or had issue with her at one time or another.

While that might have put a negative spin on some aspects it would have darkened the production and the overall focus on achievement which we see in Susan's 58 years on this world. Keeping it positive reflects that ferocity to succeed in shadowy times that this actress faced at points in her life and I think she would be proud. The tragedy that was her forgotten, extensive and varied career is now worldwide - after all, having your story immortalised in such a poetic way through the words and recollections of those you knew alongside the moments of your career is going to last a lot longer than any old star on a pavement....

You can get your copy of The Green Girl now by heading over to the website.

Fiercely Independent: The Green Girl

The Cage; the pilot, the beginning and the episode that introduced us to the Orions.

But not just any old Orion. Star Trek Continues recently brought us Lolani and the return of the slave girls however The Cage gave us Vina. The original, the one that all who play and have played green girls look back to.

Today, February 13th would have been Susan Oliver's 82nd birthday and in celebration to her life and her imprint on the Star Trek universe we talked to someone who has made her story his mission and purpose in the last few years; George Pappy.

So, in a first for Some Kind of Star Trek here is our audio interview with the man behind the phenomenon that is The Green Girl as interviewed by +Clive Burrell 

Part 1: The History...

...Part 2: Currently...

Part 3: Moving forward, plus the Six from SKoST quiz...

When we interviewed George there was one other thing we did - made him the first person to attempt Six from SKoST - placing our interviewee against the knowledge base of one of the team. Here's the questions and the results as +Joe Hardacre took on the Orion Expert...

Which I think makes George Pappy our first Six from SKoST winner with five out of six and he also guessed the tie breaker of Chase Masterson who played a green girl in Of Gods and Men! (Prize under construction!)

Thanks also to +Mark Thwaite for some tireless editing and preparation to bring the interview to the site.

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Hot for 2014

With a new year we have to ask what is there to look forward to in the Star Trek universe and the answers might just lie here. Read on and discover what our top tips for 2014 could be...

Star Trek: Axanar

Billed as the story of Garth of Izar this is one that we really wanted to find out more about as soon as whispers of its existence found their way onto the internet. Luckily it looks like we're going to see this project through almost from its inception. Checking out out calendar we think there will be a lot on this in the next few months with some access to cast and creators (we hope) through this site.

Set 21 years before the adventures of Kirk and the USS Enterprise we're in the midst of the Klingon war at an event that would shape one of the most important figures in Starfleet history.

Already signed, according to the website, are Richard Hatch, J G Hertzler and Gary Graham. Having been in contact with those behind the scenes we know there's more amazing news to come in regards to Axanar but even now it looks like a real winner. I just can't wait and we will be covering this as events progress.

Star Trek: Renegades

Every man and his beagle know about this sort-of sequel to Of Gods and Men. Directed by Tim Russ and starring both him and Walter Koenig as well as a host of well known names from both inside and out of the Star Trek universe it looks set to be available very, very soon judging from the two trailers we've already seen recently. Add into that we'll be looking back at Of Gods... too.

As with the Axanar project we fully intend to be giving this movie the coverage it deserves in 2014. From what we've seen the quality looks pretty impressive as does the cast but will it mean the start of something new for the franchise or is this going to be another one off that ends up sitting in the YouTube archives until the end of time? Is the world ready for another twist on live-action TV-based Star Trek - and I don't want to hear anyone mentioning Captain Worf or Captain Sulu thanks. One notable point is that this show doesn't seem to be totally leaning in the direction of Starfleet which will definitely be a first for the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: Seekers

The big novel release of the year could well be Seekers. From the minds of David Mack, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore this series will be numbered - and have no titles as the anthologies of the 1970s did. Set on two starships - the USS Endeavour and the USS Sagittarius - in the Original Series era, the books are a direct sequel to the earlier Vanguard novels. 

Even the covers have a retro 1970's style to their artwork from the illustrator Rob Caswell. The first two volumes will make their debuts in August and September 2014 with more to follow. While I missed out on Vanguard I find the whole concept of Seekers really intriguing and it's definitely a read I'm eager to dive in to. Indeed, since my return to Trekdom this will be the first non-canon material I will have read that doesn't deal with characters already established on the TV. At present we've not had any plot or character details however it's certainly going to give the Kirk/Seven crossover novel a run for it's money when we look back at what titles were the top for the year.

Star Trek: Equinox

We only discovered this gem in the last 24 hours or this post would've gone live earlier. Yes, it's true - there is work in progress to return us to the Nova Class USS Equinox in 2014.

First up there's the news of a "possible" TV movie starring John (Captain Ransom) Savage (read that as fan-made movie) which appears to be in pre-production now. Entitled The Night of Time it includes Gary (Gary Mitchell) Lockwood among the cast and has signed WWE's Matt Striker as a Romulan. Secondly the starship is reaching our ears via an audio series from the same stable. You can check out their progress in both areas via the Facebook page and the website which is gradually taking shape. Indeed, it appears to be focusing on two different  ships from two different eras - the one we know and a Miranda Class version in The Original Series era. Fascinating as one might say.

Are we excited? You bet - and a great find on New Year's Eve thanks to a news search. We're thinking this could be one of the big developing Star Trek stories of the year!

These are the Voyages Seasons Two and Three

The first book was a revelation and we fully expect the concluding two volumes to be just as indepth and jaw-dropping as the initial edition. Once again scribed and researched by Star Trek luminary Marc Cushman along with Susan Osborn, we can expect more of the same. Now that phrase usually instils fear and dread in most people but not here. More of the same with Cushman means intricate attention to detail and then some to bring together the best resource books on The Original Series. Fact.

Aside from actually having been on set and in every meeting during production which would have been physically impossible, this is as good as it gets. We'll also be covering the expanded work that's been going on with the first book in an extra little blog piece in the next few weeks. Amazingly Leonard Nimoy has helped add a further 80 pages to the tome, bringing personal recollections into the mix. Season Two will over some of my favourites including The Doomsday Machine and A Piece of the Action but the real intrigue will surely be the car-crash third season with budget cuts and management changes. Better clear a few weeks in the diary to read them. If you want more information our review has been featured on the Jacobs Media Publishing site and you can buy the first book direct here.

Star Trek: Phase II

Formerly New Voyages this show is now in its tenth year, releasing Kitumba on New Year's Day 2014. Picking up, as with Continues, after season three of The Original Series these guys are looking to bridge the gap between Turnabout Intruder and The Motion Picture and show the transitions that took place from one to the other. 

We'll be honest we found it really difficult to split the two because of their differences (Continues/Phase II) and what they have to offer. While Continues goes for total originality, Phase II offers a chance to see some classics that never made the screen and has David Gerrold as it's showrunner. That's clout right there.

It looks like a great prospect and we'll hope to get stuck in to the library of episodes that already exist as well as looking at the future of this fan-made series which seems to have done extremely well. Using scripts from luminaries including David Gerrold, the Phase II team have even filmed the legendary Blood and Fire as well as their own version of The Child. The newly released Kitumba was, as you will probably know, a script for the original version of Phase II.  2014 is likely to see a lot of work on the production of their next episode, The Holiest Thing. Exciting times indeed!

The Green Girl

The brainchild of George Pappy this movie had massive impact last year across the internet as it went into production. Detailing the life and times of the original Orion slave girl, Vina, it looks set to be launched this year with much anticipation. We're hoping to bring you a review of the movie as soon as we can get our hands on a copy plus (we hope) some inside information on The Green Girl project. It's perhaps not our usual fare but Oliver had such a big presence back in The Cage and graced the closing credits of the first season that we felt it was important to give this production the time and space it deserves - and we're intending to find out a lot more about the life and times of the actress into the bargain.  

...And More

Those might be the things we've highlighted as hot topics for 2014 but let's not forget some of the other elements of the Star Trek universe that we'll no doubt encounter in the next twelve months. In fact we're probably already finding new stuff as you're reading!

For certain the rumour mill around Star Trek 3, it's script, cast and director will kick into second gear with the 2016 launch not that far away oh and anyone fancy mentioning the Netflix Enterprise season five campaign too?!

Stick with us in 2014 as we take some new steps forward and introduce a few new faces to the Some Kind of Star Trek contingent who will bring their own twist on the franchise in its many different forms.

Is there anything we've failed to pick up on? Is there an element of the Star Trek universe that has evaded our sensors? Let us know.

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