Star Trek in Myth and Legend

by Thomas. Richards

The stories behind the episodes from the Classic series and The Next Generations

The success of "Star Trek" is due in part to the clever crafting of the show's stories, many of which come from medieval epics and romances. This is a literary and sociological criticism of "Star Trek", showing its basis in the science fiction tradition and examining its anthropological aspects.

Contents:
Science fiction before "Star Trek"
Exploration and empire
Character and culture
Story and myth
The sense of wonder.

Genres: Star Trek, Nonfiction, Cultural Studies

180 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 1997

Reviews

[Ilias Sellountos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got a borderline rating of four stars; I was tempted to give it 3, but decided its virtues MUST overcome its shortcomings. There are many things to like, starting from the writer's love of Star Trek, his meticulous search for patterns over hundreds of episodes, the dilemmas and peculiarities arising from this fictional universe's creation (which are very rewarding, especially if you have been an "active audience" yourself and discover many of your own observations reflected). On the cons, there is a tendency for oversimplification, a simplistic view of SF that I do not share, and (though that ain't the writer's fault entirely) a selectivism in terms of episodes and situations used as examples: the writer it more of a TNG fan than of the original series and, though I cannot blame him for only making a tiny addendum in terms of DS9 and Voyager, i WOULD prefer a greater focus on the original Star Trek series. Overall, a fascinating read, examining in depth the issues of contact between alien cultures and the conflict that goes hand-in-hand with it, the issues of identity and the show's extraordinary faith in individuality, the way stories shape life and our dilemmas (and how this is tipped on its head when myths are involved), and the sense of wonder paired with the show's overall anti-religious stance. A must for any trekker, and a very interesting read for any (thinking) lover of SF.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost unreadable. Makes his point in a vague, waffly way, then makes the same point in three more vague, waffly ways. Little emphasis or drama in the writing style – it’s quite dry and academic, almost as if this book is a repurposed (failed) thesis. It’s not that I disagree with what Richards says (and says again, and again) it’s that (a) I’ve read it all before, and (b) I’ve read it all in much more entertaining pieces. And of course, like many theses, Richards ignores heaps of titbits that discount his theories and only focuses on the stuff which doesn’t.

Additionally, Richards’ is so in LOVE with Next Gen that the iconic TOS Trek gets all but ignored. I dunno. I guess it’s a valiant effort – a lot of effort tying stuff together to support his various vague theories. But damn I wish he’d made it more entertaining.

One good thing: he brought back some wonderful memories of some wonderful episodes. Alas my time would’ve been far better spent merely watching them, and pondering the themes myself.

3/10

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book around 20 years ago and both my memory of its content and how the author approaches his subject are not served well by the passage of time. The former is entirely down to me, whereas Richards and his publisher are culpable for what is ultimately a (mostly) redundant, glorified and limited collation of observations of Star Trek's literary constructs that would nowadays be more appropriate as a publication if posted as an online blog site.

The first and most egregious failure of the book is that it is supposedly a consideration of the 'Star Trek' universe, yet it's almost entirely focused on the 'Next Generation' series and its seven seasons. There are some discussion points that are derived from the earlier original series and the first eight films, and due to time and content restrictions a restricted consideration of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' and 'Star Trek: Voyager'. However upwards of 70% of Richards' critical analysis of the 'Star Trek' fictional universe is built around episodes and characters of the first sequel series.

Now it may be argued that this series was a high level mark in the entertainment, production and artistic creativity of all the franchises in the 'Star Trek' science fiction universe. However to try and draw broadly appropriate and significant interpretations of the 'Star Trek' series through mostly one iteration is at best problematic, and at worst self-sabotaging. It would have been far better for Richards and for the publisher to make this book purely about 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', thus ensuring it did not make claims for critical insights or analyses that were not sufficiently examined, or outside the general frame of reference of the episodes, characters etc presented as supporting material for Richards' arguments.

Another problem I had with the book was that whilst Richards has some useful things to say about 'Star Trek' in terms of its literary and cultural constructs, the manner in which he explores them, and how they are framed with external references are not done as well as they should be. It would've been far more cohesive and informative if each idea or construct was examined within a more narrow narrative structure, supported by more illustrative examples of supporting information gleaned and cited from other works of (science) fiction. There are times when this is done to some extent, such as the examination of religion and how its treatment in 'Star Trek' is juxtaposed with 'Star Wars'. However Richards takes broad strokes and offers up some fairly obtuse observations that often seem as if they are vague and/or are non-sequiturs from other segments of a chapter.

If this review seems overly negative there are some redeeming aspects that deserve mentioning. Once one gets through the clutter of his ideas and his ill-formed analysis structure, Richards does offer some useful insights into some aspects of 'Star Trek'. His interpretations of the episodes 'Darmok' ('Star Trek: The Next Generation') and Tuvix ('Star Trek: Voyager') are perceptive and rewarding. The chapter on 'Character and Identity' is quite good, with telling comments on how 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' has a somewhat dysfunctional view of family.

However these good points are submerged under the weight of obtuse and (at times) unsupported critical commentaries, which are then exacerbated by some minor but telling errors. For example, referring to the Origina Series villain Khan Noonien Singh as 'Kahn', and 'Voyager' aliens the Kazon as the 'Kaysan' is just sloppy work from either the author and/or his editor.

I would suggest that if Richards was to posit his analyses in this book purely on 'Star Tre: The Next Generation', provide a more coherent and less obtuse series of critiques on specific episodes and related issues, and provide more supporting material from a wider literary or science fiction context, this book would've been so much the better. It is not a bad book, but it is one with some flaws that will not be excused just because this is a 'Star Trek' book.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I re-watch all of the 'Star Trek' television series again, I decided to grab this off my shelf and re-read it. I found it a fascinating, well thought-out investigation of the way in which myths and legends have been plundered in order to populate the Star Trek universe, while also examining the within-Trek myths and legends that had formed through the Original Series and Next Generation (at the time of writing, Deep Space Nine and Voyager were in their infancy). Richards' background as a historian lends weight to his insights while his also being a fan of the series also comes through. I really enjoyed re-reading this, especially with the hindsight of the technological and social developments of this twenty-first century, in addition to the expansion of the Star Trek universe to the re-booting of the original storyline in film, plus two additional television series (though I'm personally loathe to include Discovery).

[Dan Caseley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros:
- Clearly an avid watcher of Trek, and that joy shines through
- Has some good insights

Cons:
- The editing is atrocious. Misspells Kazon on page 1. Confuses insures and ensures on page 2.
- Verbose and indirect. Long waffling paragraphs that switch between first person and third person, that eventually make a point, then slowly go on to make it again.
- Enormous generalisations that aren't fact based, like "by all accounts" and "most {something} of all time".

I love how much this author loves Trek and this is clearly a labour of love, but for me it wasn't an enjoyable read.

[Victoria Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good and in-depth analysis of 4 different themes in Star Trek. I liked the general writing and that Richards was not afraid to analyze Star Trek with different theories, including parallels between Star Trek’s ideologies and ideas of colonialism. He also acknowledges Mary Shelley as the first sci-fi author, which is appreciated. However the book can also be a bit dense on occasion, but it is still better than many academic texts. Overall, a good and interesting read.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Informative with some depth and insight around the cultural and historical context that Star Trek appears in.