Read A Brief Guide to Star Trek Online
Authors: Brian J Robb
A Brief Guide to Star Trek
Brian J. Robb
is a writer and biographer whose previous books have included a
New York Times
and
Sunday Times
bestselling biography of
Titanic
star Leonardo DiCaprio;
Screams & Nightmares
, the definitive book on horror director Wes Craven;
Counterfeit Worlds
, exploring the life and work of Philip K. Dick; and a series of acclaimed film star biographies. For over ten years he was the managing editor of
The Official Star Trek Magazine
.
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STAR TREK
BRIAN J. ROBB
Constable & Robinson Ltd
55–56 Russell Square
London WC1B 4HP
First published in the UK by Robinson,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson, 2012
Copyright © Brian J. Robb 2012
The right of Brian J. Robb to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in
Publication data is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-84901-514-1
eISBN 978-1-84901-822-7
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
First published in the United States in 2012 by Running Press Book Publishers, a Member of the Perseus Books Group
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US ISBN 978-0-7624-4439-7
US Library of Congress Control Number: 2011933252
E-book ISBN 978-1-84901-822-7
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing
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For Paul Simpson,
whose valuable feedback and
Star Trek
brainstorming sessions
helped immensely to focus and shape my thinking.
Introduction
: The Storytellers
Chapter 1
Evolution:
Star Trek
Creator
Gene Roddenberry
Chapter 2
First Flight: The Two
Star Trek
Pilots
Chapter 3
Where No One Has Gone Before:
Star Trek
’s First Year
Chapter 4
Too Short a Season: Consolidating
Star Trek
Chapter 5
Timeless: The Birth of a Franchise and Fandom
Chapter 6
Persistence of Vision: The Original
Cast Movies
Chapter 7
Far Beyond the Stars:
The Next Generation
Chapter 8
Future’s End:
The Next Generation
Movies
Chapter 9
New Ground:
Deep Space Nine
Chapter 10
Business as Usual:
Voyager
Chapter 11
Yesterday’s Enterprise:
Enterprise
Chapter 12
Hollow Pursuits: Unmade
Star Trek
Chapter 13
Future Imperfect:
Star Trek
(2009)
Chapter 14
Legacy: Can
Star Trek
Live Long and Prosper?
‘
The job of
Star Trek
was to use drama and adventure as a way of portraying humanity in its various guises and beliefs
. Star Trek
is the expression of my own beliefs using my characters to act out human problems
.’ Gene Roddenberry
Whether you are relatively new to
Star Trek
, having enjoyed the J. J. Abrams blockbuster movie from 2009 or the sequel, or a fan of the show who’s been following the various series and movies since the US debut of the original in 1966, it is clear that this iconic television show that struggled through its first three years on air has – to adapt the worlds of the Vulcan Spock – ‘lived long and prospered’.
The phenomenon of
Star Trek
has been much studied, from features in the popular media and in-depth academic analysis to fan commentary and internet flame wars. The forty-five-year history of the ‘franchise’ has been dissected every which way in an attempt to discover the reasons for its success, longevity and cultural impact – why has
Star Trek
been so long-lasting when other science fiction TV series have fallen by the wayside, and why have its various iterations on screens large and small been so popular?
This is not an academic tome, but a critical cultural history of
Star Trek
. It’s an in-depth look at how the various series and movies were made, the creative forces driving them, what their cultural impact was and what it all means. The book will
examine how
Star Trek
changed through the decades and how it perhaps eventually failed to change enough with the times to escape ossification and irrelevance, requiring a dramatic re -invention to save it. It will also look at what the future might be for the
Star Trek
concept, assess what the series’ impact has been on viewers, and consider the unstoppable growth of
Star Trek
fandom.
Star Trek
now spans five distinct television series (six, if you include the often overlooked early-1970s
Star Trek: The Animated Series
) and eleven movies, from 1979’s
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
to J. J. Abrams’ 2009 reinvention, which has led to a new series of movies to take the franchise through the next decade and maybe beyond.
While many have pointed to the way
Star Trek
has reflected and critiqued the ethical, social and philosophical issues of our times and attempted to depict progressive gender, class and racial representations – so offering a hopeful and positive vision of the future of humanity – the secret of the success of the series is much simpler: it’s all down to great storytelling.
The genius of Gene Roddenberry in creating
Star Trek
was to tackle those serious and important issues through well-told science fiction action-adventure tales that appealed to a mass audience. It was the unusual stories and unforgettable characters that first attracted curious television audiences in the 1960s, while the forward-looking ideas presented by the series turned many of those viewers into lifelong fans.
Legend elevates Roddenberry – known to fans as the Great Bird of the Galaxy – to the status of sole creator of
Star Trek
. However, while his important role as the instigator of the series and author of its concept should not be undervalued (three times, no less: in its original 1960s incarnation, its reinvention as a series of movies and its return to television in the 1980s), Roddenberry himself wasn’t necessarily the most successful
Star Trek
storyteller. In fact,
Star Trek
has enjoyed more success when under the control of other storytellers, as this book sets out to demonstrate.