The World of Star Trek

[HIjol]

Interesting. Somewhere among my stuff I have a first edition I bought when I was eight years old. I'm now 48, so that tells you how long this book has been around.

Gerrold's two books, The World of Star Trek and The Trouble with Tribbles, are both worth reading. He was a founding member of the Cult of Roddenberry and he bought into some of Gene's stories that we now know are false, and Gerrold hated Lost in Space, but apart from that he comes across as an okay guy.

I don't know whatever happened to my old Star Trek books, but I do recall not particularly liking The World of Star Trek. I suspect it was the first to go - I probably threw it out. In retrospect, I think David Gerrold may be sort of a forerunner of today's (generally speaking) generation of potty-mouthed, self-indulgent creators of fiction.

The whole tone of society has changed radically, and while I'm by no means a prude, just look at how young people today are influenced (among other things, of course) by this stuff. You can't find some kid on youtube who when, say, reviewing a movie, isn't spitting out mindless profanity at least every other sentence. Hardly creative, entertaining, or inspiring.

I have theories about exactly how all this started, but I won't bore you with any of that . I'll just leave it by saying that The World of Star Trek was not a treasured read from my youth.

Could not agree more, My Friend. Gerrold left a lot to be desired, and got a lot wrong. He seemed to have his own agenda, and did NOT seem to have a good Editor, but TWoST was one of the First. For that reason alone it has value. But relative and with a grain of salt.

 

[Corylea]

And the cult of Roddenberry is still going on. There was an excerpt recently from a Skype chat with Leonard Nimoy at one of the conventions, and a fan asked Mr. Nimoy in worshipful tones what it was like to work with *worshipful sigh* Gene Roddenberry.

And because Mr. Nimoy is a great actor, he managed NOT to look pained or to go into the history of how many times Roddenberry screwed him over.

 

[HIjol]

And the cult of Roddenberry is still going on. There was an excerpt recently from a Skype chat with Leonard Nimoy at one of the conventions, and a fan asked Mr. Nimoy in worshipful tones what it was like to work with *worshipful sigh* Gene Roddenberry.

And because Mr. Nimoy is a great actor, he managed NOT to look pained or to go into the history of how many times Roddenberry screwed him over.

The Consummate Professional. But I know that there are others that would say that The Bird was focusing on what the right thing was, and making sure Shatner got all the good stuff

 

[Warped9]

While aspects of TWOST can come across as harsh as well as unfair and inaccurate the book did help me start being able to look at something I like with a critical eye. No matter how much you like something you can still see and acknowledge its missteps.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

That's a very fair statement, Warped9.

 

[Warped9]

At the time I first read it way back when it was first released I was hungry for all kinds of Star Trek books, which back then weren't anywhere as plentiful as more recent times. At the time I found the book quite interesting even if I didn't agree with parts of it.

Today I still think it gives a glimpse of early fandom and can still offer morsels of interest, but I don't think it holds up as well as The Making Of Star Trek. TMOST is a fascinating window into the making of TOS while it was in production and before the explosion in popularity in the '70s.

For younger viewers and younger fans The Making Of Star Trek, The World Of Star Trek, The Trouble With Tribbles and The Best Of Trek books (if you can find them) can offer a good look back at what it was like for fans back in the day through the '70s and '80s right up until the introduction of TNG. Those books as well as magazines like Starlog (as well as attending conventions) were our internet.

And yet we didn't feel we were lacking. It was a great time to be a Trek fan.

 

[EnriqueH]

Today we know that NBC execs were in favor of having a woman in that role, but they didn't think Majel Barrett had the talent and charisma to pull it off. Gene evidently made up the "mean-old-NBC" story to spare Majel's feelings (she was his primary extra-marital affair at the time), and then found he had to drop the woman-first-officer idea altogether to keep Majel from getting wise, and then found that as the story got out, it portrayed him as a heroic fighter for women's rights-- and he loved that phony image.

I found Solow and Justman's book fascinating, especially when they talk about Majel not having the stuff to pull it off.

I gotta hand it to Gene. He used a great excuse to spare Majel's feelings, and he still found a way to get her on the show.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

At the time I first read it way back when it was first released I was hungry for all kinds of Star Trek books, which back then weren't anywhere as plentiful as more recent times. At the time I found the book quite interesting even if I didn't agree with parts of it.

Today I still think it gives a glimpse of early fandom and can still offer morsels of interest, but I don't think it holds up as well as The Making Of Star Trek. TMOST is a fascinating window into the making of TOS while it was in production and before the explosion in popularity in the '70s.

For younger viewers and younger fans The Making Of Star Trek, The World Of Star Trek, The Trouble With Tribbles and The Best Of Trek books (if you can find them) can offer a good look back at what it was like for fans back in the day through the '70s and '80s right up until the introduction of TNG. Those books as well as magazines like Starlog (as well as attending conventions) were our internet.

And yet we didn't feel we were lacking. It was a great time to be a Trek fan.

Well said. The books helped give TOS the kind of internal structure that turned mere notions of TOS' value as a series into the reality of TOS being a weighty, serious TV production. At the time, there next to no detailed studies about series, so TMoST, TWoST, TTWT, etc., added an extra level of semi-academic respectability to something that was more than just some random sci-fi series.

 

[HIjol]

While aspects of TWOST can come across as harsh as well as unfair and inaccurate the book did help me start being able to look at something I like with a critical eye. No matter how much you like something you can still see and acknowledge its missteps.

That's a very fair statement, Warped9.

At the time I first read it way back when it was first released I was hungry for all kinds of Star Trek books, which back then weren't anywhere as plentiful as more recent times. At the time I found the book quite interesting even if I didn't agree with parts of it.

Today I still think it gives a glimpse of early fandom and can still offer morsels of interest, but I don't think it holds up as well as The Making Of Star Trek. TMOST is a fascinating window into the making of TOS while it was in production and before the explosion in popularity in the '70s.

For younger viewers and younger fans The Making Of Star Trek, The World Of Star Trek, The Trouble With Tribbles and The Best Of Trek books (if you can find them) can offer a good look back at what it was like for fans back in the day through the '70s and '80s right up until the introduction of TNG. Those books as well as magazines like Starlog (as well as attending conventions) were our internet.

And yet we didn't feel we were lacking. It was a great time to be a Trek fan.

Agreed LMFAOschwarz, and very very well said, Warped9!

i still remember the excitement and joy of those early years of fandom, not that it has waned, but it has changed a bit!

Time it Was!

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

We were lucky to have been at the age we were, too. Those pre- and early teenage years were a time where enthusiasm and curiosity were probably at their peak. I miss that!

I had my favorite shows back then, or at least ones I watched pretty regularly. The Wild, Wild West (I taught myself to tell time watching that one, with the animated commercial break shot relative to the clock-hand positions! ), U.F.O (creepy stuff! )...but Star Trek was the only one that to me was just as interesting as a neat show about neat stuff, as it was from a tv production standpoint. I don't know why that was, really, but the aforementioned books fed that fascination like meat to a hungry sled dog! There was so much to learn, and I immersed myself in it like Madge's fingers in dish washing liquid!

Someone on here recently observed that you can watch Star Trek at different times in your life, and take away different things about it. That is so true. At one point, As a kid, Spock was simply cured of the spores and was going to help the Captain. But the last time I watched This Side of Paradise, Leila's "Do you mind if I still say I love you?" had me tearing up, having at this stage in my life knowing how much of an emotional punch those moments in life are.

What a great show.

 

[Warped9]

That was and remains a huge strength if TOS--it was multilayered in that it could appeal on many levels.

There aren't many things you enjoy when young that remain with you as an adult. But TOS was/is one of them. As a young teenager I lived the cool hardware and spaceships as well as exotic aliens and the adventure. But even then I could sense deeper things. But as an adult I can enjoy it on a completely different level. So much of the nuance that I was barely aware of is somethhing that now really resonates.

And I still enjoy the adventure, cool spaceships and neat aliens.

 

[WisTrekFan]

At the time I first read it way back when it was first released I was hungry for all kinds of Star Trek books, which back then weren't anywhere as plentiful as more recent times. At the time I found the book quite interesting even if I didn't agree with parts of it.

Today I still think it gives a glimpse of early fandom and can still offer morsels of interest, but I don't think it holds up as well as The Making Of Star Trek. TMOST is a fascinating window into the making of TOS while it was in production and before the explosion in popularity in the '70s.

For younger viewers and younger fans The Making Of Star Trek, The World Of Star Trek, The Trouble With Tribbles and The Best Of Trek books (if you can find them) can offer a good look back at what it was like for fans back in the day through the '70s and '80s right up until the introduction of TNG. Those books as well as magazines like Starlog (as well as attending conventions) were our internet.

And yet we didn't feel we were lacking. It was a great time to be a Trek fan.

Well said. The books helped give TOS the kind of internal structure that turned mere notions of TOS' value as a series into the reality of TOS being a weighty, serious TV production. At the time, there next to no detailed studies about series, so TMoST, TWoST, TTWT, etc., added an extra level of semi-academic respectability to something that was more than just some random sci-fi series.

I would also add to that list of books, "Star Trek Lives."

 

[JonnyQuest037]

While aspects of TWOST can come across as harsh as well as unfair and inaccurate the book did help me start being able to look at something I like with a critical eye. No matter how much you like something you can still see and acknowledge its missteps.

I totally agree with this. Star Trek is wonderful, but it's not the end-all be-all that some fans paint it as. And you can love something (or someone) in spite of (or even because of) its/their faults. And it's quite interesting to see how Gerrold's criticisms led to certain format changes when TNG came around (the Captain not going on landing parties, more conferences with the senior staff, etc.).

For me, the definitive quote of the book is when Gerrold writes, "Star Trek is the McDonald's of science fiction. But I prefer filet mignon."

 

[Maurice]

For all the book's faults it does fairly point out some of the sillier things about the show, and it's right on the money about the difference between the show's "format" and the "formula" it frequently lapsed into. And, hey, "Klingons pick on old ladies. Klingons fart in airlocks," was damned funny to me at age 11.

 

[bbailey861]

I got this book when I was 12 and still have it although I haven't read it in years. I don't remember it well, at all, so it's been great reading all these comments. I do recall believing everything I read back then. I think it's time I dig it out of the Rubbermaid container it's been relegated to and give it a going over again.

 

[HIjol]

We were lucky to have been at the age we were, too. Those pre- and early teenage years were a time where enthusiasm and curiosity were probably at their peak. I miss that!

I had my favorite shows back then, or at least ones I watched pretty regularly. The Wild, Wild West (I taught myself to tell time watching that one, with the animated commercial break shot relative to the clock-hand positions! ), U.F.O (creepy stuff! )...but Star Trek was the only one that to me was just as interesting as a neat show about neat stuff, as it was from a tv production standpoint. I don't know why that was, really, but the aforementioned books fed that fascination like meat to a hungry sled dog! There was so much to learn, and I immersed myself in it like Madge's fingers in dish washing liquid! ooo

Someone on here recently observed that you can watch Star Trek at different times in your life, and take away different things about it. That is so true. At one point, As a kid, Spock was simply cured of the spores and was going to help the Captain. But the last time I watched This Side of Paradise, Leila's "Do you mind if I still say I love you?" had me tearing up, having at this stage in my life knowing how much of an emotional punch those moments in life are.

What a great show.

Loved "Wild, Wild West" and how well I remember the clock and other icons turned pictures in their "special effects." What a good memory for you that you used it for learning to tell time! I always tried to predict which picture would change next. I thank the gods I was the (impressionable) age I was when first viewing Star Trek, and then having the more "reality/grown up" experiences later. I kinda feel sorry when I read here that some of our fellow Trekkies were older when they first saw the show, and did not have the "innocence of youth" experience.

That was and remains a huge strength if TOS--it was multilayered in that it could appeal on many levels.

There aren't many things you enjoy when young that remain with you as an adult. But TOS was/is one of them. As a young teenager I lived the cool hardware and spaceships as well as exotic aliens and the adventure. But even then I could sense deeper things. But as an adult I can enjoy it on a completely different level. So much of the nuance that I was barely aware of is somethhing that now really resonates.

And I still enjoy the adventure, cool spaceships and neat aliens.

You are so right and having the initial innocent experience of its purity, and then getting the layers later. What a total gift. SO SO SO SO much more than a show! And the instantly recognizable ships and uniform and Aliens and planetary locations and various theme music...oh, baby!!!

While aspects of TWOST can come across as harsh as well as unfair and inaccurate the book did help me start being able to look at something I like with a critical eye. No matter how much you like something you can still see and acknowledge its missteps.

I totally agree with this. Star Trek is wonderful, but it's not the end-all be-all that some fans paint it as. And you can love something (or someone) in spite of (or even because of) its/their faults. And it's quite interesting to see how Gerrold's criticisms led to certain format changes when TNG came around (the Captain not going on landing parties, more conferences with the senior staff, etc.).

For me, the definitive quote of the book is when Gerrold writes, "Star Trek is the McDonald's of science fiction. But I prefer filet mignon."

That is a good quote andJonnyQuest037 you, with your Avatar, have provided a perfect example of yet another show that had it all, IMHO, and had it on multiple levels: "Jonny Quest!"

From ass cool theme music to some pretty good writing at times to voice over actors PERFECT for the animated characters they played to some pretty darn kitschy animation! A Family member of ours is a program director for WGN TV in the Chicago market, and they STILL get "Jonny Quest" from time to time

For all the book's faults it does fairly point out some of the sillier things about the show, and it's right on the money about the difference between the show's "format" and the "formula" it frequently lapsed into. And, hey, "Klingons pick on old ladies. Klingons fart in airlocks," was damned funny to me at age 11.

Loved how SillyDrunk the TOS Klingons got in "The Trouble With Tribbles," and how Korax swaggered so as he was insulting everything Enterprise! Fast-forward to "now". I think even Worf would have killed Korax where he stood for his silliness and disrespect of "now" Klingon behavior. Hope that makes sense! Love how you picked that out, Maurice !!! Klingons fart in air locks!
B

 

[Ssosmcin]

For me, the definitive quote of the book is when Gerrold writes, "Star Trek is the McDonald's of science fiction. But I prefer filet mignon."

Eh, I think that's still too denigrating of a placement, considering the through and care that went into it (regardless of the TV stupidity that was there). I was more of the mind that Irwin Allen's shows were junk food sci-fi. Trek was more of an "Olive Garden" style; better quality, better prepared, but still not "Tavern on the Green."

However, unlike others, I prefer burgers and pizza to to filet mignon. Just sayin'.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

That is a good quote andJonnyQuest037 you, with your Avatar, have provided a perfect example of yet another show that had it all, IMHO, and had it on multiple levels: "Jonny Quest!"

From ass cool theme music to some pretty good writing at times to voice over actors PERFECT for the animated characters they played to some pretty darn kitschy animation! A Family member of ours is a program director for WGN TV in the Chicago market, and they STILL get "Jonny Quest" from time to time

Well, obviously, I agree that JQ was a really strong show. It's a shame they never produced any more episodes in the 60s -- None of the revivals have caught the same magic. And although the animation was limited, the drawings were beautiful.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Trek was more of an "Olive Garden" style; better quality, better prepared, but still not "Tavern on the Green."

I know a few Italians who would find that analogy even more insulting than McDonald's.

And I don't think that Gerrold meant the original comment with malice, anyway. If he didn't like the show, he wouldn't have written books about it and come back to help GR with TNG in subsequent years. There's nothing wrong with eating at McDonald's, but it's a problem if it's the only restaurant you ever go to.

 

[Ssosmcin]

True. Especially when you have White Castle around...

Good thing I didn't say "Bertucci's"...