Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "star-trek"

Once upon a time, there was one thing that amused me about Star Trek episodes not set on any of the Enterprises or other starships. Whenever Kirk or Picard’s Enterprises flew over a strange new world, they usually encountered one leader or a handful of council members who always spoke for an entire planet. Yes, there was usually a rebel opposition of some kind or a culture in conflict with the other government, but, again, we met only a handful of these folks. The Enterprise just couldn’t fly over the rest of the planet, encounter different countries, and talk to other leaders. The galaxy seemed full of inhabited worlds with only one, two at most, governments and cultures per planet.

Of course, I realize in the context of a one-hour TV drama, there’s limited time to introduce many new guest characters or try to flesh out much cultural diversity on these inter-planetary stop-overs, at least those not part of empires like the Klingons or Romulans. That’s where a literary epic can go places a starship on the move doesn’t have time to explore. (Of course, I’m talking single-episode stories, not civilizations like the Vulcans, Bajorans, or Cardassians who are so wonderfully developed over many story-lines across multiple series.)

For my part, from the very beginning I knew a number of settings and cultures would be involved in the Beta-Earth Chronicles for a variety of reasons. For example, when Malcolm Renbourn is ripped across the multi-verse in The Blind Alien, he’s a captive in the country of Balnakin. A racist, slave-holding culture, Balnakin believes its people are naturally superior to everyone else as their emphasis is on new technology, the disciplined dignity of its citizens, and their eyes are focused on the future, not the history so prized across the ocean on the Old Continent. When Malcolm escapes to freedom, he goes north to the much looser but far less powerful country of Rhasvi. It’s there where he really begins to learn about his new planetary home as his polygamous family begins to form.

But, by the end of The Blind Alien, Tribe Renbourn is forced to flee Rhasvi after a series of devastating catastrophes and disasters. After sailing over the Philosea Ocean, they settle in the country of Kirip in The Blood of Balnakin (book 2). Here, everything is different not only for the man from Alpha-Earth, but for his Rhasvin wives as well. Having grown up in poverty, most of them never expected to go to places outside their small home regions, especially to a country suspicious of outsiders where everyone speaks a different language. In many ways, the Renbourn women are now a bit like aliens themselves, ostracized by locals unhappy over this unwelcome intrusion of non-Kiripeans. As international figures, the family of exiles and outcast tour many regions of the Old Continent, meet many religious and political leaders, and are even captured at sea by the Liege of the island country of Arasad who threatens fatal consequences to Tribe Renbourn for their not bowing to her evil will.

By the opening pages of When War Returns (book 3), Malcolm unhappily realizes he has to do unpleasant things to give his growing family official protection and a secure sanctuary against the tribe’s growing list of threats and adversaries. This means Tribe Renbourn must relocate to Alma where Malcolm reluctantly accepts the title of Duce of Bilan, which places him in Beta’s equivalent of England’s House of Lords. Alma is very much the opposite of Balnakin with a deep cultural love of history and colorful pageantry. To make his title legitimate, Malcolm must accept an arranged marriage with Sasperia Thorwaife, an enhanced mutant who wants to take control of Tribe Renbourn.

At the same time, the Prince of Alma has lustful designs on the Renbourn wives. His sister, the High Priestess of Alma’s official church, wants to impose a strict orthodoxy on all inhabitants of Alma. In particular, she wants to end religious freedom for the country’s immigrant populations, and many of them live in the region the Duce of Bilan represents in the capital.

As the story progresses, the Renbourns battle one of their own, the heir to the throne, and a church that inflames the entire country to the brink of civil war. By the end of When War Returns, that war erupts and the Renbourns are among thousands of refugees who take to the sea to flee the coming bloodletting.

The fourth book of the saga, A Throne for an Alien, begins with that refugee fleet following the Renbourns wherever they go. That ends up being the island of Hitilec, a neglected country which sits in Beta’s version of the Caribbean. In my opinion, a new character, Elena Richelo, best paints a vivid history and culture of Hitilec in her introduction to A Throne for an Alien. So I’ll let her give you her thoughts in her own words in a post here next week. Stay tuned.

What all this means is that the circumstances surrounding Malcolm Renbourn and Tribe Renbourn are constantly changing. They face uncertainty from ever-shifting threats, pressures, and adversaries that arise from so many international and very personal forces. Readers can never know what to expect as the tribe moves from being frightened fugitives to becoming alleged political leaders themselves to survivors of disasters that impact an entire planet. And, as the saga progresses, the threats intensify as old foes are joined by new, even more powerful enemies whose agendas have more and more consequences for the Renbourns and Beta-Earth itself.

Of course, I admit my panorama can’t measure up in any way with a galaxy of humans, Vulcans, Betazoids, Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, Bajorans, the Dominion . . . In most ways, it’s hard to see any parallels at all between my books and Star Trek or Star Wars or any other science fiction saga that uses spaceships, robots, advanced technology, or exotic weaponry.

But I can think of one thing we all share, or at least something I tried very hard to make the center of my books around which everything else revolves. Memorable, engaging characters. If my characters don’t fascinate you, intrigue you, resonate with you, nothing else matters. True, I hope readers will feel they’re experiencing a rich, detailed canvas that integrates history, culture, politics, sex, religion, and so many aspects of human life on two earths. In my books, I hope you’ll see all these things through the eyes of one blind alien and the many personalities of Tribe Renbourn in all the places they live and travel.

The Beta-Earth Chronicles (so far)

The Blind Alien (still on sale for 99 cents!)
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Alien-Be...

The Blood of Balnakin (Book 2)
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Balnakin...

When War Returns (book 3)
https://www.amazon.com/When-War-Retur...

A Throne for an Alien (book 4)
https://www.amazon.com/Throne-Alien-B...

Coming This Fall!

The Third Earth—The Beta-Earth Chronicles: Book 5
http://bmfiction.com/science-fiction/...

For seven years, Wes Britton was co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” for which he contributed hundreds of audio interviews with musicians, actors, producers, and all manner of entertainment insiders. During its original run, the show was broadcast every other Tuesday night over KSAV.org before being permanently archived at www.audioentertainment.org.

Many of Wes’s interviews were with participants in science fiction films, TV shows, novels, and comics. Below is a list of these interviews which, happily, are not dated because most of the actors, writers, or producers were talking about classic projects they had been involved with decades before. Every one of these shows is still available as a podcast, mp3 download, from itunes and through TEVO, or on the player at www.audioentertainment.org.

I provided direct links to specific shows when I had them in my files. I don’t have specific links here for older broadcast that aired before I started keeping better records. You can use the dates provided to find them in the directory at the website.

Please know, “Dave White Presents” was all about Variety Entertainment, so each interview was only a part of each 90 minute show. There are comedy songs, short comic bits, and other interviews in each broadcast. Most listeners will want to use a slider to move to the specific conversation you want to hear and ignore everything else. Also know most of these interviews are very in-depth and on the long side, up to 45 minutes in the case of very special guests. We had, as you can see below, many very special guests.

Here we go—

Star Trek

Walter Koenig with Marc Cushman.
http://tinyurl.com/ovyla5x

Marc Cushman on his Star Trek books.
http://tinyurl.com/qeorz83

Writer/producer John D.F. Black
http://tinyurl.com/nlbz847

June 24-July 8, 2009 (two parter): Ron Moore (special effects for Star trek and GHOSTBUSTERS)
www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

Actors from Sci Fi TV and Films

Dee Wallace (E.T., Scream Queen)
www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

June Lockhart (Lost in Space)
http://tinyurl.com/k7z6v4m

Tippi Hedron (The Birds)
http://tinyurl.com/87lxu8o

William B. Davis (“Cigarette Smoking Man” on THE X-FILES)
http://tinyurl.com/6neds9v

Bill Gray (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
http://tinyurl.com/nxsh7jo

Lochlyn Munro (Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island)
http://tinyurl.com/86y58d5

Writers, Producers, and Film Makers

Author Jay Bonansinga on The Walking Dead
http://tinyurl.com/cs2r6jy

Peter Ernest of the International Spy Museum on espionage in Harry Potter books and films.
http://tinyurl.com/po7lbx2

Author Greg Cox on Godzilla novelization.
http://tinyurl.com/mzmvns2

Documentary filmmaker Patrick Meany on his film about X-Men writer Chris Claremont, creator of "Days of Future Passed."
http://tinyurl.com/ontgfat

Producer Paul Davids, the Sci-Fy documentary, The Life After Death Project.
http://tinyurl.com/m6gw9rg

Older Shows still available

March 30, 2011. Singer/producer Philip Margo of The Tokens talks music and his sci fi novel, The Null Quotient.

Sept. 1, 2010. Mark Goddard (Lost in Space)

Sept. 16, 2009. Actor and musician Bill Mumy (LOST IN SPACE, BABYLON 5)

Oct. 28-Nov 11, 2009 (two parter). Author Bruce Scivally (SUPERMAN)

Aug. 19, 2009. Script writer Alan Katz (TALES FROM THE CRYPT)

April 29, 2009. Author Diane Cachmar (THE FLY AT 50)

March 18, 2009. Author Martin Grams (THE TWILIGHT ZONE)

On Sept. 22, 1964, a phenomenon premiered, although few knew it at the time. It would take nearly a year before The Man From U.N.C.L.E., or MFU as fans know it, would dominate so much of mid-‘60s popular culture. Emulating the success of the James Bond films, MFU was the fountainhead from which so much TV Spy-Fi sprouted, as in shows like The Wild Wild West and British imports like The revamped Avengers and The Prisoner. For most episodes, the evil THRUSH (the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity, if you accept the tie-in novels as canon) trotted out one mad scientist after another in their quest to rule the world with futuristic technology. They tried everything from weather-controlling machines to mind-altering drugs to Harlen Ellison’s sexy killer Robots to defeat the stalwart agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Did you know MFU paved the way for Star Trek? For example, it was on a first year episode of MFU, “The Project Strigas Affair,” where William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy first shared the TV screen together. Trek is credited with introducing hand-held communicators decades before cell-phones; in fact, two years before Trek, U.N.C.L.E. agents carried around cigarette-pack sized communicators before the show introduced the iconic pen communicator into which they whispered “Open Channel D” to talk to headquarters or each other.

It’s often been stated the two most popular figures in ‘60s television were Illya Kuryakin and Mr. Spock. Both characters were cool, aloof aliens in a strange world, traits which appealed to adolescents feeling a similar sense of disenfranchisement from an adult world known as “the Establishment.” Kuryakin and Spock appealed to a growing trend championing non-conformity and an interest in fictional figures different from previous media heroes and role models. The freshness of this trend can be demonstrated by the fact both characters were nearly killed off by the networks as executives feared they would be too unusual to be accepted on American television.

As it turned out, with one eye on Kuryakin and one on the Monkees, Star Trek introduced its own Russian long-hair in its second season, the young Ensign Chekov (Walter Koenig) precisely to appeal to the audience created by U.N.C.L.E.

Star Trek is known for featuring an intelligent African-American woman, Nichelle Nichols, a casting choice reflecting the then new and rare opportunities given to African-Americans like Greg Morris (Mission: Impossible) and Bill Cosby (I Spy (. Unlike the pervasive Westerns, in which the roles of women and minorities were frozen in 19th century values, SF and secret agent shows fostered new and futuristic qualities for new kinds of heroes and heroines. Female leads like April Dancer—The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.--Agent 99, and Emma Peel in the 1960s joined in the physical action, outthought their partners, and didn't totally rely on serving as temptresses. (Girl from U.N.C.L.E., despite many glaring weaknesses, was in fact the first hour-long TV action-adventure to feature a female lead produced in the U.S.) Spy shows like Mission: Impossible and U.N.C.L.E. deserve equal credit, alongside Star Trek, for these accomplishments.

In addition, Star Trek has often been described as an optimistic window into the future. Likewise, MFU creators Norman Felton and Sam Rolfe were political liberals believing in the importance of concepts such as the United Nations. Clearly, U.N.C.L.E. was a kind of optimistic spy show, with people of different nations uniting against common foes, very much like a terrestrial United Federation of Planets.

For the record, there was no shortage of espionage in Star Trek. Certainly, there was much more of it in the later Next Gen and DS9, but remember Captain Kirk in his Romulan ears? Or Gary Seven? Or all the times Kirk and company took on false identities to infiltrate alien governments? Likewise, remember all the covert operations alien cultures used to try and defeat Star Fleet. (The Memory Alpha website has a long article on espionage in Star Trek.)

As a fan of MFU from the first year on, I was far from alone having a youth filled with the 23 Ace paperback novels, MFU games, guns, bubblegum cards, you name it. So, for me and legions of fellow Baby Boomers, MFU is a major slice of our nostalgic look back to the ‘60s.

Over the years, I’ve contributed more than my fair share of remembrances for those good old days. If you too were a part of the “Spy-Fi” generation, here are some items for your listening and reading pleasure:

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of MFU’s debut, in 2014 I had the opportunity to interview cinematographer Fred Koenekamp who had so much to do with the look of the series. For online radio’s “Dave White Presents,” Fred not only talked MFU, but shared much of movie history stretching back to his father’s pioneering work in the silent era all the way through Fred’s work on Patton.
http://tinyurl.com/nm8dpb4

Now, should you stop by—
http://www.spywise.net/spiesOnTV.html

and click on the “Spies on Television and Radio” button, you’ll find a bounty of MFU items.

Without question, the most significant offering is a free book, The Final Affair by David McDaniel, the full text of what would have been the 24th tie-in paperback novel had Ace ever published it. (McDaniel was the gent who coined the “Technological Hierarchy” name for the previously unspecified THRUSH acronym.) The entire book is free for the taking, downloadable as a PDF for you!

Other items include:

* “Robert Vaughn, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is Alive and Kicking.” An interview with Napoleon Solo himself!

* “A Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and The Wild Wild West – Meet Mark Ellis” in which Mark gives you the inside story into the “Birds of Prey Affair” comic-book

*”How The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Returned – As a Comic Book.” Paul Howley’s story of the TE (That’s Entertainment) MFU comics series.

* “Behind the Toys from U.N.C.L.E. – The Inside story of a Collector’s Guide.” Paul Howley’s insider’s view into a long overdue catalogue of MFU merchandise.

There’s also a link to “The U.N.C.L.E. Movie that Never Was” posted at the Fans From U.N.C.L.E.org website. It’s my interview with Danny Beiderman and Robert Short about their aborted film project sanctioned by Sam Rolfe, co-creator of the series.
http://manfromuncle.org/spywise.htm
THE U.N.C.L.E. MOVIE THAT NEVER WAS

So, as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryaking used to say—“Open Channel D”—and check out some memories of the real MFU, the one that mattered.

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume 2
Marc Cushman
Publisher: Jacob Brown Media Group; 1 edition (November 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0692747567
ISBN-13: 978-0692747568
https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...

Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton

I rather expected Volume 2 of Marc Cushman’s exhaustive history of Lost in Space would have to be much thinner and less engaging than Volume 1. After all, Vol. 1 included the pre-LIS careers of Irwin Allen and all the cast members as well as an in-depth look at Allen’s first TV sci fi series, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. For Vol 2, what else could Cushman do other than review all the episodes produced in season 2 of LIS? Well, he could, and does, give us a very decent overview of Allen’s prematurely cancelled Time Tunnel that ran on ABC from fall 1966 to spring 1967.

In many ways, my expectations were spot on. But not completely. This is especially true of the early discussions which focus on the changes that came when the show was now produced in color. Over and over, we’re told how “pop art” the visuals became, perfectly timed to coincide with the psychedelic ‘60s. As Cushman looks at the first episodes of the 1966-1967 season, it doesn’t seem like most of the cast members were all that important, other than the break-out star, Jonathan Harris. As with season 1, he continued to be not only an actor but a major script re-writer as well.

In fact, cast member Marta Kristen, who played Judy Robinson, said the program became the Jonathan Harris show with his evil Dr. Zachery Smith taking up the lion’s share of the time along with Bob May inside the robot and Bill Mumy’s Will Robinson. Guy Williams and June Lockhart, who had been major TV stars in their past series (Zorro, Lassie) had only sporadic lines and duties. In addition, the program became, more and more, a comedic fantasy emphasizing monsters, special effects, outlandish props, and oddball guest stars. With the apparent exception of network president William Paley, whom Cushman says was embarrassed by shows like LIS, CBS liked the changes. Top executives preferred a lighter touch that appealed to younger viewers which made for a winning formula against ABC’s Batman.

I was surprised to see just how much competitiveness Allen felt with the newcomer to network TV sci fi, the more serious Star Trek. For much of that season, in terms of ratings, LIS was often the weekly winner. Writers who worked on both series felt freer when scripting for LIS as there were fewer restrictions on what they could create. I wasn’t aware of how much pioneer work took place in LIS, especially with filming those outer space visuals and creating those weird props.

For a time, I felt like I was reading nothing more than a very, very detailed episode guide, something only diehard fans would enjoy. As Cushman admits, “my books redefine `TMI’." True enough. Nonetheless, there’s a warm tone that runs through the production notes. It’s clear Cushman liked the series when it first aired and he likes it, perhaps even more so, now. There are frequent moments when Cushman takes the time to point to just what made a specific episode special or entertaining. He tells us the better stories had themes, as in the lessons children learned about topics like self-sacrifice, tolerance, lost innocence, or sexual equality. Such thematic material, of course, wasn’t present in many more fantastic episodes.

In the end, it will be the serious fans who’ll want this second volume in the LIS saga. I can well imagine many TV sci fi fans who would also like to skim a book about one of the pioneer series in the genre. Certainly, most libraries should shelve this series, especially if they specialize in popular culture, TV production, or media studies. It’s not a cover-to-cover read, but rather a readable reference work.

This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on July 26, 2017:
http://dpli.ir/hfkMM2

On April 9, 2014, Wes Britton interviewed writer/producer John D.F. Black on “Dave White Presents.” They discussed Black’s work on the original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mr. Novac, Shaft, and Combat!

On Nov. 29, John Donald Francis Black died at the age of 85, apparently of natural causes. In his memory, Star Trek fans have set up a Gofundme account to set up a memorial to celebrate his legacy.

Please visit and donate to the GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/startrek-fan...

You can hear Wes Britton’s “Dave White Presents” interview with John D. F. Black at:
http://tinyurl.com/nlbz847

Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded
Jason Heller
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Melville House; First Edition edition (June 5, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1612196977
ISBN-13: 978-1612196978
https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Stars-...

Reviewed by : Dr. Wesley Britton

When I read a blurb describing Strange Stars, my first reaction was that Jason Heller had beaten me to the punch. I had long thought the connections between sci-fi flavored rock music and sci-fi films and books in the 1970s would make for an interesting critical analysis. I was right, except Heller was a much better critic to pull all the strings together than I would have been. By miles and miles.

The book’s title is a tad misleading if you assume David Bowie will be an important thread in the story. Yes, Heller bookends the decade with Bowie’s 1971 “Space Oddity” and its 1980 follow-up, “Ashes to Ashes.” Sure, Ziggy Stardust and The Man Who Fell to Earth aren’t neglected. And the book ends with Bowie’s 2018 death and the release of Black Star.

But Heller probes a rich well of evidence demonstrating that the ‘70s was the decade when sci-fi began to be taken seriously in popular culture, its impact ignited by two films by Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. The Planet of the Apes also contributed to a growing interest in sci-fi and the phenomena of Star Trek was just beginning its widening cult status.

Sci-fi authors cited by many musicians as influences included Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Burroughs, Philip Dick, and Frank Herbert, among many, many others. To greater and lesser degrees, these writers influenced popular rock musicians like Paul Kantner’s Jefferson Starship (“Blows Against the Empire,”) David Crosby and The Byrds (“Mr. Spaceman,”) Elton John (“Rocket Man”), Black Sabbath (Iron Man”), and the psychedelic Pink Floyd. At the same time, futuristic electronic sounds and cover art helped define Progressive Rock groups like yes and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (“Tarkus.”)

Heller also explores cult favorites including the French Magma, Germany’s Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, Gary Neuman, Devo, as well as the often forgotten Hawkwind, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come, and the avant-garde jazz figure Sun Ra. And these are but the best known of the musical performers and groups Heller lists and describes in minute detail leaving no rare single or obscure album unturned.

Along the way, Heller discusses sci-fi lyrics, the burgeoning use of futuristic synth-sounds, new sub-genres like sci-fi-funk and Kraut-rock, concert events like 1979’s Futurama and the impact of films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Star Wars and Star Trek. Occasionally he layers in historical events that piqued public interest in space, futuristic technology, and dystopian predictions like the disappointing passing of Comet Kohoutek and the crash of Star Lab.

In his “Acknowledgements,” Heller credits one reader with keeping him from publishing an encyclopedia instead of a story. There are many, many passages where readers could be forgiven for feeling like they’re following long, encyclopedic entries, especially when Heller recites band name after band name, album title after album title. Such passages might inspire skimming along and there’s nothing wrong with that. Strange Stars can serve as a reference volume as well as an analysis of an amorphous genre, or at least a many-tentacled realm of popular culture. Strange Stars belongs in pretty much every public library and on the private shelves of both sci-fi and rock lovers.

This review was first published at BookPleasures.com on Dec. 28, 2018:
https://waa.ai/ouMU

Jacobs Brown Media Group LLC has released their first audio bookof Marc Cushman's astonishing and thorough *These Are The Voyages: Star Trek The Original Series Audio Book.* The nearly 28 hours are narrated by Vic Mignogna (Captain Kirk in the web series Star Trek Continues) taking you into the writers' room, production offices,
and onto the sound stages to witness the making of this historic TV series. Joining Vic will be many who were actually there - the contributors to the
making of Star Trek. They include the legendary D.C. Fontana, Clint Howard (Balok from "The Corbomite Maneuver"), and Joe D'Agosta.

Find out more at:

http://www.jacobsbrownmediagroup.com/...

Beaming Up and Getting Off: Life Before and After Star Trek
Walter Koenig
Publisher: Jacobs/Brown Press (April 24, 2020)
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
ASIN: B087N1HHFC

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087N1HHFC/...

Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton


Without question, the primary audience for Walter Koenig's new update to his 1999 memoir, Warp Factors, will be Star Trek fans who remember Koenig best for his role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek along with aficionados of his role as the evil Alfred Bester in Babylon Five. Such fans shouldn't be disappointed, even those who previously read Warp Factors.

There may be those who question the value of a new version of Koenig's autobiography as it might not seem, at first glance, all that much has happened in the actor's life in two decades. Well, that's only if you are looking for insights into popular screen roles. In fact, Koenig has much to talk about in an additional 100 pages that is new and does so with his very engaging writing style. In fact, I'd say Chekov and Bester aside, any reader wishing for insights into an actor's life in Hollywood from the '50s to the present should easily enjoy Beaming Up.

That's mainly because Koenig is a very expressive writer, his story full of self-deprecating humor, lots of colorful imagery, and the fact he doesn't merely recite events and anecdotes but shares his feelings and reactions to the moments, people, triumphs and missteps that impacted his life. Among other topics, He discusses his Jewish cultural background and his work ethic, his lesser known projects, including those never produced or those seen by small audiences. But never does the reader sense an agenda, a venting, a man settling any scores. We meet a man presenting himself openly and honestly with a wisdom accrued from experience with a lively approach to his craft and behind-the-scenes life.

I'll admit, the story lags from time to time, mostly during his recounting of his appearances at fan conventions. Those were anecdotes he couldn't not include, of course, and I noticed one story he told an audience at a convention I attended wasn't included in the book. He did retell it later in a radio interview I had with him and hope to get him to retell in a similar interview soon. As they used to say, stay tuned . . .

True, Koenig's descriptions of his early years as Chekov on Star Trek are not the long heart of the book some might hope for. But that is more than made up for in his tales regarding later projects, such as his working in fan-made web-episodes and his thoughts about Anton Yelchin taking over the Chekov role in the 2009 reboot trilogy. I think I already knew this, but I was surprised to read Koenig was 31 when he was cast to be Star Trek's answer to Davy Jones of The Monkees. Among the disappointments of his professional life, the purpose of his casting became a bit muted when CBS shifted the show's time slot to Friday nights when the young audience Chekov was supposed to appeal to weren't watching. At least, not then.

But any reader interested in an autobiography well-told that is guaranteed to be entertaining should give this one a try, whether or not you're a fan of sci-fi television. There's so much more to the life and times of Walter Koenig and so much surprising wisdom to enjoy. Beam on up and get off with Walter Koenig for your summer reading and beyond--


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on May 29, 2020:

https://waa.ai/e0S9

These Are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s Volume 2 (1975-77).
Marc Cushman
Publisher: Jacobs/Brown Media Group
Release date: July 1, 2020
Number of Pages: 650 pages
ISBN-10: 1733605320
ISBN-13: 978-1733605328

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/173360...


Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton

Volume Two of Marc Cushman's three volume coverage of everything that happened in the Star Trek universe during the 1970s is the tenth of Marc's books I've read and reviewed to date. Starting with his single volume book on I Spy, I've read everything from Marc's first three books on Star Trek: The Original Series, his three volumes on Lost in Space, not to mention his explorations of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and The Moody Blues. All these books share one major attribute. Comprehensive is too mild a descriptor. Exhaustive is much more on target. Marc is the master of never leaving any stone unturned, no memo unread, no potentially useful data is left out of any of his tomes.

In the case of Cushman's Star Trek journalism, Marc was given unprecedented access to apparently every scrap of paper associated with Gene Roddenberry and everyone involved with the original franchise. In this volume, this resulted in a very comprehensive overview of all the scripts and stories we never saw in the never filmed Star Trek Phase 2 TV project. These chapters were my favorite passages in this history, reading about some adventures I'd like to have seen, some I'm glad were never produced. No Star Trek fan will want to miss these descriptions.

In addition, we get detailed histories of Roddenberry's lesser-known TV attempts like The Questor Tapes, Genesis II, Spectre, and The Nine. On top of that, Cushman tells us about projects featuring Star Trek cast members like Leonard Nimoy's In Search Of . . . documentary series and William Shatner's short-lived Barbary Coast. We hear about how cast members fared in their lives outside of Star Trek, like the sparring between Nimoy and Roddenberry involving Nimoy's possible participation in any Star Trek revivals.

A healthy portion of the book explores the growing fan support for Star Trek including the nationwide success of the show in syndication, the beginnings of Star Trek conventions, the expanding bonanza of Star Trek merchandise, and the public speaking tours of Roddenberry, Nimoy, and Shatner. Cushman also talks about the state of science-fiction television shows of the era, most notably a detailed overview of Space 1999, a program clearly influenced by Star Trek. Toss in generous samplings of contemporary reviews of all these items and it's no wonder the book reaches 650 pages.

As Cushman told me in a recent interview, he doesn't target his books to the casual fan but instead aims for the serious aficionados of his various subjects. In the case of Star Trek, that's a pretty hefty audience who will treasure this authoritative history of a cultural phenomenon. Sure, even this readership will likely find chapters and sections to skim over, other sections will be devoured for all the information never made available before. If you're a Star Trek lover, casual or serious, you won't want to miss any of Marc Cushman's extraordinarily researched studies. No previous histories match him for detail, fresh insights, corrections to popular myths; every possible stone is turned over and examined.

As I write this, I'm about to dive into Volume Three of this set which means one last long summer read. That's before Marc dives into all the movies and later series in the '80s and beyond. Stay tuned . . . six books later and the voyages have just begun . . .


To hear Karina Kantas and Wes Britton interview Marc Cushman about his Star Trek books, here's a link to Karina's "Behind the Pen" Podcast:

https://youtu.be/kchFuD9p64o


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Aug. 27, 2020:
https://waa.ai/ue9q

Swords, Starships and Superheroes –
From Star Trek to Xena to Hercules: A TV Writer’s Life Scripting the Stories of Heroes
Paul Robert Coyle
Foreword by Steven L. Sears
ASIN : B08M953MG2
Publisher : Jacobs/Brown Press (October 28, 2020)

https://www.amazon.com/Swords-Starshi...

I've read enough entertainment insider memoirs to know most fit into one of two categories. The first includes reminiscences by performers, writers, directors or other well-known participants from movies, television, or other performing arts whose names are all it takes to stir up reader interest. The second are autobiographies by participants who aren't especially famous in their own right. But they've had to good fortune to work on projects with large fan bases. Their memoirs appeal to the sorts of fans hungry for behind-the-scenes tidbits from insiders from stuntmen to scriptwriters to visual graphics -designers.

Paul Robert Coyle's Swords, Starships and Superheroes clearly falls into the second category. True, he's had his brushes with fame by appearing at fan conventions for devotees of, in particular, the cult hits, Zena: Warrior Princess and Hercules, The Legendary Journeys.

Coyle's look back over his career includes quick discussions of his freelance scriptwriting for shows from The Streets of San Francisco to Superboy to various series in the Star Trek franchise. (Anyone remember Gerry Anderson's one season obscurity Space Precinct? I didn't). So there are chapters for Star Trek devotees to dive into, especially lovers of Deep Space Nine. But it's mainly aficionados of Xena and Hercules who are going to want to scoop up this major peek behind the curtains of these shows' productions.

For such fans, Coyle doesn't just share his own memories. True, we get a full accounting for his career as a script-writer as he spent many years as a free-lancer pitching stories before graduating to being a staff writer/ producer and going to fan conventions where he had to bite his tongue to not give away production secrets for Zena and Hercules. Beyond describing his duties and relationships with the writers and producers of these shows, Coyle gives us passages from scripts, sometimes two variants of script drafts, along with other production documents. He shares stories of things that might have been and of how problems were solved, notably how the writers and producers had to deal with the absence of Kevin Sorbo in the 4th and 5th seasons of Hercules due to the star's serious health concerns.

Of course, Coyle's book is akin to many like it, that is, sharing glimpses into the profession of TV script-writing with suggestions about the things other writers should do to succeed and, just as importantly, the things not to do. In short, this is the sort of book for a niche market--those into the productions Coyle was part of and those wanting to learn about the industry he has worked in for decades. It's all very readable and well told, as you'd expect from an inventive writer who's been drawing from his own creative well for many years now.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Feb. 11, 2021:


https://waa.ai/JxlL