Sunday 05 February 2012

Joanna

Dorothy Catherine Fontana, originally Gene Roddenberry’s secretary, wrote many Star Trek episodes, including “Tomorrow is Yesterday”, “Journey to Babel”, “This Side of Paradise” and “The Enterprise Incident”. Some of these were written in cooperation with Roddenberry; oftentimes Roddenberry’s contributions were limited to revisions though. Fontana was typically credited as “D.C. Fontana” or by pseudonym to hide for the fact that she was a woman.

Her work on Star Trek was not limited to the original series; she wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint” in 1987 and the episode “Dax” of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993.

Fontana wrote the outline for the episode “Joanna” in August 1968. It was subsequently revised on August 27 and September 5 of that year. The title refers to the name of McCoy’s daughter, to be introduced in this episode. Fontana noted that the role could possibly be played by either Nancy Sinatra or Bobbie Gentry. The episode was never produced however several Star Trek novels have featured or referred to the character of Joanna, including Brad Ferguson’s Crisis on Centaurus (1986) and the Star Trek: Untold Voyages comic “Past Imperfect” (1998).

Teaser

Onboard the Enterprise, Lieutenant Uhura receives a distress call from a small group of travelers stranded on a planet, after their “homemade” spaceship crashed. The Enterprise diverts there, and beams aboard young Doctor Sevrin and his “23rd Century Flower Children,” all of whom belong to a galaxy-wide movement known as “The Artists.”

Kirk, Spock, McCoy are in the transporter room as this group materializes. A lovely young woman steps forward, stops in front of a suddenly frowning Doctor McCoy.

“Hello, Dad,” she says.

McCoy is visibly angry, does not reply. Spock asks if “Hello, Dad” is some archaic form of Earth greeting. McCoy finally speaks tartly, “This is my daughter—Joanna.”

Act one

We learn of the group known as “The Artists,” and their peaceful ways. Kirk is furious that they have been in space in their rinky-dink little ship, upsetting shipping lanes by crossing with no flight plans, etc. Sevrin apologizes and states that they are desperate to find the planet Nirvana.

Nirvana, a paradise world with lovely peace-loving inhabitants, is a legend, Kirk says. But soon we learn that one hundred years ago an old “space prospector” claimed to have found it in uncharted space. When he was finally able to return to Federation space, he could never recall exactly where it was located, thus most people think he was lying. Sevrin assures Kirk that he had pieced together old records and logs of the prospector and thinks it is true.

Kirk declares his intent to take the bunch to the nearest Star Base and drop them off and have them sent back to Earth.

Joanna attempts to talk to her father, but he is quiet and lacking in his usual warmth. He is cold toward her because she has been lying to him. For the past three years, the few times she has contacted him she has told him she was studying to be a nurse, and now he finds out she is running all over the galaxy with a bunch of gypsies. Joanna tells him being a nurse was not what she wanted, and besides, this stranger called “daddy,” whom she has seen exactly three times in her life after he left her and her mother does not have any right to tell her what to do. She has musical talent and wanted to pursue that, and now she wants to help her fellow “Artists” find Nirvana. She tells him if he cannot forgive her for being what she is, she cannot forgive him for being what he is—“A coward!” She walks away, leaving McCoy shaking with anger.

Spock takes what info Sevrin (a former computer programmer) has on Nirvana and sets the Library Computer to work on locating it.

Sevrin says he and his followers will return to the Star Base as Kirk wishes, but Spock notes that Sevrin suddenly begins to read up on the ship (to increase their knowledge “To learn is to grow.”), and reports this to Kirk.

Joanna McCoy comes to Kirk for advice, knowing that in the few times they have communicated, McCoy has mentioned their deep friendship. She wants to rebuild her and her father’s relationship, but he is shutting her out. Perhaps Kirk could intercede. He declines, as this is one area of his life that McCoy will not even breathe a word of. Kirk tries to talk her out of the futile search for Nirvana, but she is intent. Kirk and Joanna, despite their differences, seem to warm to each other though.

Sevrin and a couple of his men make their way to the Auxiliary Control Room, overpower the men there, and begin doing things to the equipment, referring to the micro-tapes they borrowed from Scott.

Joanna has an invitation to dine with Kirk in his quarters. When he is not looking, she plants a “bug” listening device in the room.

Sevrin and men throw their final switches. Subspace radio goes dead, navigation and helm controls are overridden. Sevrin informs Kirk that they have rigged the matter/antimatter mass to blow if Kirk tries anything. Sevrin wants to go to Nirvana, and there is nothing Kirk can do to stop him.

Act two

Joanna acts as liaison between Sevrin and Kirk. Kirk finds her attractive, intelligent and sensitive. He is growing to like her, and McCoy cannot help but notice. He tells Kirk that Joanna is a witch just like her mother, and that is why he left her (mother). Kirk says he does not want to hear about McCoy’s marital problems and divorce. “She’ll cut your heart out,” McCoy warns, “and carry it around in a jar. She’s no good!“

Kirk, Spock and Scott try everything, but cannot regain control of the ship. Kirk then decides to separate the saucer from the main drive and jettison the nacelles. But when he attempts to do this, we learn that Sevrin already knows, he has heard everything via the bug that Joanna planted in his quarters.

The ship arrives at Nirvana, then swings away on its on, under control of Sevrin’s programming. Sevrin and his Artists steal a shuttlecraft and head down. Kirk goes to the shuttlebay with guards. They will follow in a shuttlecraft, while Spock and Scott attempt to regain control of the ship as it moves away. McCoy joins them, insists on going.

Kirk and McCoy follow the stolen shuttlecraft down, land and find that Nirvana is a dead world. The surface of this once lovely planet has been ruined, overgrown, wild... and dead.

Act three

During this act, we cut back to the Enterprise several times as it races away. Spock and Scott work to regain control.

Since subspace radio was shut down, Kirk cannot call them, they cannot reach him.

McCoy and Joanna continue to be cold to each other.

Sevrin thinks its a great opportunity. He and his group will start over, tame this world, make it a paradise again. Kirk points out that none of them have any practical experience in even staying alive on a wilderness world. Sevrin says Kirk will show them. Kirk shows them simple things like starting a fire. Sevrin becomes annoyed as his followers begin to look to Kirk as a leader, and not him.

McCoy wants to know why Joanna follows this clown. “Because,” she says, “he doesn’t condemn me for being something I’m not.”

McCoy reacts angrily, but when she is gone, we see that he is in terrible anguish.

Act four

We learn of the history of this planet via a recording device found in a ruined building. The inhabitants were a beautiful, peace-loving people who allowed their baser emotions to take over. They destroyed themselves.

Sevrin gets madder and madder at Kirk’s effortless leadership while Spock and Scott work to regain control of the Enterprise. They succeed and the ship returns to Nirvana.

Sevrin tries to kill Kirk, but is beaten and surrenders.

McCoy and Joanna talk openly. She says that she was thrown out by her mom for being too much like her father. McCoy smiles. They are not truly father and daughter yet, but they have taken their first steps toward reconciliation. Joanna says after they have served their sentences for hijacking the Enterprise, perhaps she will reconsider nursing as a career.

McCoy finally says that he would prefer that she do what she wants to do, whatever that may be.

 

Dave Eversole
20 November 2008
Last updated: 8 July 2010