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Summary
Summary
This is the unauthorized, uncensored and unbelievable true story behind the making of a pop culture phenomenon. The original Star Trek series debuted in 1966 and has spawned five TV series spin-offs and a dozen feature films, with an upcoming one from Paramount arriving in 2016. The Fifty-Year Mission is a no-holds-barred oral history of five decades of Star Trek , told by the people who were there. Hear from the hundreds of television and film executives, programmers, writers, creators and cast as they unveil the oftentimes shocking story of Star Trek 's ongoing fifty-year mission -a mission that has spanned from the classic series to the animated show, the many attempts at a relaunch through the beloved feature films.
Make no mistake, this isn't just a book for Star Trek fans. Here is a volume for all fans of pop culture and anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of a television touchstone.
Author Notes
EDWARD GROSS has an extensive history of covering film and television as a member of the editorial staff of a wide variety of magazines, including CINESCAPE, STARLOG, CINEFANTASTIQUE, SFX, FEMME FATALES, MOVIE MAGIC, LIFE STORY and SCI-FI NOW. He has written numerous non-fiction books and, along with THE FIFTY-YEAR MISSION coauthor Mark Altman, has written more about Star Trek over the past 35 years than just about anyone else.
MARK A. ALTMAN has been hailed as "the world's foremost Trekspert" by the LOS ANGELES TIMES. Altman is a former journalist for such publications as THE BOSTON GLOBE, CINEFANTASTIQUE and GEEK. He is also the writer/producer of the beloved romantic comedy, FREE ENTERPRISE, starring William Shatner and Eric McCormack as well as the hit TV series AGENT X, CASTLE, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS and FEMME FATALES.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
"Boldly go where no man has gone before": the oral history of the Star Trek franchise. Gross (Voices from Krypton: Superman on Film and in Comics, 2015, etc.) and Altman, a writer and producer, have done yeoman's work selecting and chronologically arranging this massive compendium of hundreds of comments from over 200 actors, directors, writers and producers involved in creating Star Treka "franchise that has literally changed the world," as Seth MacFarlane, who played Ensign Rivers of the first Starship Enterprise, proclaims in his foreword. The authors' goal was to "tell the real history of Star Trek in a way that no one else would be able to." As readers learn, it almost didn't happen. Studios passed on Gene Roddenberry's pilot script, and Desilu Productions executives would have if Lucille Ball hadn't greenlighted it. Roddenberry had written some Have GunWill Travel scripts, and he specifically drew on Paladin's passion, intelligence, and bleeding heart to provide Kirk, Spock, and McCoy with their major personality traits. Roddenberry was a Navy pilot in World War II and was "particularly fascinated by the story of the Enterpriseand wanted to use the name." The original show lasted three seasons, until 1969. There would eventually be four live action spin-offs (e.g., The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine) and an animated series, the latter of which was produced before Star Trek became a big budget motion picture. Leonard Nimoy said of that film, it was a "trial for the actors." James Doohan (Scotty) said it was "boring." The reviews were harsh, but the fans loved it. This volume ends with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Some quotes are just lame, while others are priceless. The editors have written numerous notes, providing solid context to quotes and historical background information. The book warmly invites jumping in anywhere to just sample, but it's best approached from the beginning to hear from those in the know how the phenomenon unfolded. An absolute must for any Star Trek fan. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Gross and Altman bring together the voices of the writers, producers, actors, and fans who brought Star Trek to life and kept it thriving for five decades in this incredibly comprehensive volume, the first of two set to coincide with Star Trek's fiftieth anniversary. Focusing on the original series and the six movies it spawned, this oral history delves into the challenges the series faced as well as the large personalities behind the scenes and in front of the camera. None was larger, perhaps, than show creator Gene Roddenberry, whose vision and determination kept StarTrek going even as his ego and attempts at having total creative control put him in conflict with other writers and executives. Gross and Altman shine a spotlight on such unsung heroes as writer Gene L. Coon, who produced many of the show's iconic episodes, to Richard Block, who brought the show into syndication, which allowed the fan base to grow even after cancellation and paved the way for the animated series, the films, and the series' eventual return to live-action television. Breathtaking in scope and depth, this is a must-read for Star Trek lovers as well as anyone who wants a better understanding of how television and film production works. Readers will be eager for the second book.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2016 Booklist
Table of Contents
| Foreword | p. xiii |
| What a Long Strange Trek it's Been | p. 1 |
| Reflections on the Trek of a Lifetime | p. 7 |
| Dramatis Personae | p. 11 |
| Birth of a (Trek) Nation "Let's make sure that history never forgets ... the name ... Enterprise" | p. 31 |
| Uncaged "It's like nothing we've encountered before." | p. 54 |
| These were the Voyages "Sometimes pain can drive a man harder than pleasure." | p. 107 |
| Family Feud "One day our minds became so powerful we dared think of ourselves as gods." | p. 149 |
| Boldly Going "In every revolution there is one man with a vision." | p. 173 |
| The End of the Beginning "To survive is not enough ... to simply exist is not enough." | p. 196 |
| Life After Death "We've been through death ... and life together." | p. 225 |
| Reanimated "You can no more destroy this ship than I can change color." | p. 264 |
| Lost in Space "Let me do something!" | p. 283 |
| The Next Phase "Aren't you dead?" | p. 313 |
| Slow Motion "I need you ... badly." | p. 333 |
| Khan Game "I reprogrammed the simulation so that it was possible to save the ship." | p. 388 |
| In Search of "The word is no.... I am therefore going anyway." | p. 442 |
| A Whale of a Tale "There be whales here." | p. 475 |
| God Complex "What does God need with a starship?" | p. 496 |
| Up the Academy "I am a graduate of Starfleet Academy; I know many things." | p. 519 |
| The Final Roundup "Only Nixon could go to China." | p. 527 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 557 |
| About the Authors | p. 559 |