HARDCOVER COFFEE TABLE BOOK, pocket books, 2007
If you already know about Pocket Books’ amazing Ships of the Line calendars, you know that every year my friends Doug Drexler and Margaret Clark work with some of the best visual effects artists in the field to create spectacular (and often previously-unseen) images of Trek’s ships. A couple of years ago, Margaret collected some of the most popular images in a beautiful coffee table book. These mini-masterpieces include the various Starships Enterprise, as well as other Federation and alien ships, both major and delightfully obscure. In that later category, my favorite is probably Daren Dochterman’s image of the eerie alien pod ship from “Beyond the Farthest Star.” As a big fan of the original Enterprise, I enjoyed seeing several artists’ subtly different interpretation of Matt Jefferies’ beautiful creation. I even got to write the text for each ship, in which I tried to suggest a small fragment of each ship’s adventures. (I’m told that one such fragment, for the Columbia NX-02, actually inspired part of the storyline of an actual Star Trek novel!) Hardcover, 184 pages.
Blu-ray disk, PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO, 2009
We’ve always regarded Galaxy Quest as one of our favorite Star Trek movies. Technically, of course, the film has nothing to do with Gene Roddenberry’s creation, but in fact it is a loving - and hilarious - parody of both Star Trek and its fans. Tim Allen is brilliant as Shatner wannabe Jason Nesmith, and Sigourney Weaver is a delight as Gwen DeMarco, the anti-Ripley. And don’t forget Alan Rickman as the alien Dr. Lazarus and “Mac guy” Justin Long as uberfan Brandon Wheeger. Now, let’s pretend that there really was a TV show called Galaxy Quest. Let’s imagine that it spawned books like a tech manual, an encyclopedia, a “making of,” and, of course, a nitpicker’s guide. That’s what we did when our friends at Paramount Home Video (with the blessing of the film’s director), invited us to do a tongue-in-cheek text commentary for the film. We call it the “Galactopedia,” and it purports to be based on those imaginary books. As you might suspect, we had a whole lotta fun with this one, and we hope that you do, too! Available on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Video through retailers including Amazon.com.
Blu-ray disk set, CBS HOME VIDEO, 2009
This isn’t our favorite season, either, but the CBS Digital team worked extra hard to come up with a few unexpected goodies. Check out Max Gabl’s fabulous matte paintings of Flint’s all-new castle in “Requiem for Methuselah,” the Scalosian city in “Wink of an Eye,” and even the glacier planet in “Spock’s Brain.” Look for a tiny glimpse of the decontamination equipment slung under the Enterprise in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” and the domed Memory Alpha colony on an airless planetoid in “Lights of Zetar.” We’re quite proud of the revamped Stratos cloud city in “The Cloud Minders,” based closely on Matt Jefferies’ original design, with architectual details inspired by the Getty Museum. And don’t forget the cool nebula in the last shot of “Turnabout Intruder,” echoing the opening sequence in the remastered version of “The Cage,” which is also included in this set. One of the big surprises is the inclusion of the original version of “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the other pilot episode. Never before released, this version features an entirely different title sequence and a very different prolog, in which Kirk introduces the Enterprise and her mission. As with the other two sets, this one features seamless branching, allowing you to choose either the remastered visual effects, or the original film opticals. Either way, Star Trek has never looked so good. Available on Blu-ray from CBS Home Video through retailers including Amazon.com.
Blu-ray disk set, CBS HOME VIDEO, 2009
To many fans, the original Star Trek hit its stride during the second season. With classics like “Journey to Babel,” “Amok Time,” and “The Ultimate Computer,” there’s a lot to be said for this theory. But for the remastered episodes, the second season’s crowning achievement has to be Norman Spinrad’s “The Doomsday Machine.” With an indestructable planet-killing robot, a starship captain gone insane, and more visual effects shots than any other episode of the original series, “The Doomsday Machine” was probably the most-anticipated episode of the remastering project. Even writer Norman Spinrad wanted a copy of this one. The Blu-ray release also includes an entire disk devoted to David Gerrold’s Hugo-nominated fan favorite, “The Trouble With Tribbles,” with commentary by the writer, plus bonus sequel episodes “More Tribbles, More Troubles” from the animated series, and the Emmy- and Hugo-nominated “Trials and Tribble-ations” from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As with the first season set, you can choose the remastered visual effects, or the classic original versions of the episodes (including the original mono soundtracks, for the purists among us.) Now available from CBS Home Video through Amazon.com.
Blu-ray disk set, cbs home video, 2009
Sure, we’re proud of the new digitally-rendered visual effects, including the gorgeous new matte paintings and the blinking Gorn. But the real stars are the stunningly beautiful new transfers of the episodes themselves, now in glorious 1080p Blu-ray high definition. The genius of Matt Jefferies’ brilliant designs, of Bill Theiss’s futuristic fashions, and Jerry Finnerman’s colorful cinematography shine brighter than ever. Not to mention the power of these timeless stories, written by such greats as Gene Roddenberry, Gene Coon, Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison, Sam Peeples, and D.C. Fontana. Bob Justman himself told us that the original series has never looked so good. And thanks to the “seamless branching” feature, you can choose between the new digital effects and the classic film opticals. Surely, the best of both worlds.
trade paperback, pocket books, 1991
digital edition, kindle/amazon, 2009
Writing the TNG Tech Manual with Rick Sternbach was one of the highlights of my seven years on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Having Gene Roddenberry’s blessing on this project meant we could go into far more excruciating “technical” detail than anyone ever dared. And we had a blast doing exactly that. Of course, we were delighted (and relieved!) to find that there were a lot of fans who shared our obsession with imaginary technologies that have at least some basis in extrapolated science. (How long does it take for a phase transition coil to complete the transporter dematerialization cycle, anyway?) Available in trade paperback form, and now in downloadable digital format for Kindle readers. (3.481 seconds, if you must know.)
trade paperback, pocket books, 1999
This was a huge project, reflecting the fact that Star Trek is probably the richest, most detailed invented universe in the history of popular culture. Each edition took up to a year of research and writing. (Between production work at Paramount and writing in the evenings and weekends, we had no life at all when we were working on these books.) Denise was in charge of research. She (and a few hard-working friends) took on the daunting task of watching each episode, with script in hand, and noting every dialog change. Afterwards, they’d use an exhaustive 18-page form to record all the important details of the episode. Even so, there always seemed to be something that we needed to check. Anyway, a lot of Trek fans and writers have told us that they regard the Encyclopedia as an essential reference, so we figure it was all worth it. This edition was published in 1999, and it includes information through most of the seventh season of DS9, the fifth of Voyager, and Star Trek: Insurrection. (Sorry, Pocket Books has no current plans to update the Encyclopedia or the Chronology, as much fun as that would be. But at least this edition is still in print.)
Blu-ray disk set, paramount home ENTERTAINMENT, 2009
When Star Trek: The Motion Picture burst onto movie screens in 1979, fans thrilled to the rebirth of their favorite starship and the beloved original crew. Even better, it was just the first of six films to feature Shatner, Nimoy, and company, now released for the first time in Blu-ray. We had a lot of fun working on these disks. Not only did we do commentary on two of the films (with our friends Daren Dochterman and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens!), but we also got to write Encyclopedia-style notations for a cool feature called the “Library Computer,” which provides realtime background info as you watch each film. And, of course, Blu-ray high def lets you re-create the power of the original theatrical experience, right in the comfort of your own living room. Khaaaannn!!
Blu-ray disk set, paramount home video, 2009
Standard-def DVD set, paramount Home ENTERTAINMENT, 2009
If the big six-pack of Trek movies is too much for you, how about the definitive trilogy of The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home? Vengeance, rebirth, and whales! Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is my personal favorite of the Trek films for the simple reason that it was the first Star Trek production that I worked on. Whenever I see the film, I think of how excited I was to get my first job in Hollywood. I think of director Leonard Nimoy’s gentle artistry, and I remember how lucky I was that producer Ralph Winter decided to take a chance on a kid from Hawai’i. Beautiful in Blu-ray, and pretty darned cool in standard-def DVD, too.
