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Warped: An Engaging Guide to the Never-Aired 8th Season
The official parody guide to the unaired eighth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, based on the popular @TNG_S8 Twitter account from creator Mike McMahan!
In the basement of the Star Trek archives, behind shelves of U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D models, bags of wigs, and bins of plastic phasers, sits a dusty cardboard box. Inside is a pile of VHS tapes that contain never-before-seen episodes and behind-the-scenes footage for something truly amazing. The world thinks there are only seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but there’s one more. A secret season.
Actually, not really. But that didn’t stop Mike McMahan, creator of the parody Twitter account @TNG_S8, from making a guide full of:
REAL* TNG SEASON 8 FACTS AND STORIES!
REAL* TNG SEASON 8 DIALOGUE AND IMAGES!
(* Again, not really, of course. This is humor. Sorry.)
So impress your friends and bewilder your enemies with your newfound knowledge of these very lost Star Trek episodes! Engage!
In the basement of the Star Trek archives, behind shelves of U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D models, bags of wigs, and bins of plastic phasers, sits a dusty cardboard box. Inside is a pile of VHS tapes that contain never-before-seen episodes and behind-the-scenes footage for something truly amazing. The world thinks there are only seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but there’s one more. A secret season.
Actually, not really. But that didn’t stop Mike McMahan, creator of the parody Twitter account @TNG_S8, from making a guide full of:
REAL* TNG SEASON 8 FACTS AND STORIES!
REAL* TNG SEASON 8 DIALOGUE AND IMAGES!
(* Again, not really, of course. This is humor. Sorry.)
So impress your friends and bewilder your enemies with your newfound knowledge of these very lost Star Trek episodes! Engage!
274 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
67 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
October 20, 2020
Great Twitter account. Terrible book. Some things are not meant to be longer than 140 characters.
It's a combination of things, really. For one thing, a lot of the book is nothing more than stretching out a concept. "Dr. Crusher goes on a date with a sentient virus" is funny, but actually going to the trouble of describing the date and making up a reason for it ruins the joke. The other problem is that the characters are all pretty one-dimensional. Sex-machine Riker, killing-machine Worf, and precocious adolescent trouble-maker best friends Geordi and Data get tiresome pretty quickly.
The truth is that the central joke behind the Twitter account isn't really about Star Trek, but rather about the way that television episodes are constructed: struggling to find a reason for peripheral characters to appear in every episode, and having to fill a pre-determined number of minutes every week, regardless of the requirements of the plot. It makes me wonder if this book shouldn't have gone in some totally different direction, but I don't think that McMahon is really the writer to pull that off.
ETA: Then again, this is also written by the guy behind Lower Decks, which is some of the best Star Trek in years and does a terrific job of straddling the line between homage and actual storytelling. Makes me feel a bit shite about the dig at his writing ability. Also, kind of funny that I’ve raved about Michael Chabon’s books, while not having enjoyed his Star Trek show. Oh, well; shows what I know.
It's a combination of things, really. For one thing, a lot of the book is nothing more than stretching out a concept. "Dr. Crusher goes on a date with a sentient virus" is funny, but actually going to the trouble of describing the date and making up a reason for it ruins the joke. The other problem is that the characters are all pretty one-dimensional. Sex-machine Riker, killing-machine Worf, and precocious adolescent trouble-maker best friends Geordi and Data get tiresome pretty quickly.
The truth is that the central joke behind the Twitter account isn't really about Star Trek, but rather about the way that television episodes are constructed: struggling to find a reason for peripheral characters to appear in every episode, and having to fill a pre-determined number of minutes every week, regardless of the requirements of the plot. It makes me wonder if this book shouldn't have gone in some totally different direction, but I don't think that McMahon is really the writer to pull that off.
ETA: Then again, this is also written by the guy behind Lower Decks, which is some of the best Star Trek in years and does a terrific job of straddling the line between homage and actual storytelling. Makes me feel a bit shite about the dig at his writing ability. Also, kind of funny that I’ve raved about Michael Chabon’s books, while not having enjoyed his Star Trek show. Oh, well; shows what I know.
November 20, 2020
This was so funny and a great parody because it laughs with Star Trek rather than at it. McMahan makes the same jokes all the fans have made through the years while watching the show and the references really do cut deep. Some of the humour was a bit too repetitive and silly, but it's a really great loving parody nonetheless.
June 19, 2018
This was hilarious and I loved it. The only thing I didn't like was unnecessary heterosexuality but that's pretty common in Trek, so I can't complain too much. I also loved how 90% of the Geordi and Data plots sounded like Troy and Abed plots from Community.
December 18, 2016
Cute for about three chapters, earning an extra star because I'm a sucker for anything ST:TNG, but there's no good reason for this to have been published.
February 21, 2020
Awesome book. The fact that the author was able to get this published earns it 5 stars. So funny if you love TNG.
January 8, 2022
I wanted to enjoy this book more consistently than I did, but as other readers have noted, some episode concepts that are funny as a 140 character tweet do not hold up in this extended format. That said, McMahan’s love for TNG — and the nuances of the show’s B-story writing style in particular — is consistent throughout. I probably added a star here due to that, as well as the fact he went on to create Lower Decks, one of my favorite shows and easily the best of the four Trek series currently in production.
December 2, 2016
Simply wonderful book expanding on the great @TNG_s8 Twitter feed. If you're like me and recently rewatched all 178 episodes start to finish, you'll definitely get a kick out of this fake episode guide. The hilarious artwork is also a plus.
October 18, 2020
"It just goes to show you—even if the world were run by half-robot/caveman fascists, things would wind up pretty Star Trek in the end anyway. Kinda gives you hope."
Yup, that about sums it up. I picked this up on a whim because it was recommended by a friend as a fun little side Trek (pun intended,) and I was delighted to discover that it was actually really fun and quite entertaining.
About halfway through it, I realized that a few of the concepts in here sounded suspiciously like things I'd just been watching on ST: Lower Decks, and it wasn't until that moment that I realized that this book was written by the guy who created that show. Mind very slightly blown. One of my favorite things, knowing this, was the bit in the afterword where the author says, "There's no chance I'll ever get to write for a Star Trek show (which is probably for the best)."
I'm glad you were wrong, Mike McMahan. This book is pure good geeky fun, and I'm glad your sense of humor got injected into Star Trek lore in a more official way.
Yup, that about sums it up. I picked this up on a whim because it was recommended by a friend as a fun little side Trek (pun intended,) and I was delighted to discover that it was actually really fun and quite entertaining.
About halfway through it, I realized that a few of the concepts in here sounded suspiciously like things I'd just been watching on ST: Lower Decks, and it wasn't until that moment that I realized that this book was written by the guy who created that show. Mind very slightly blown. One of my favorite things, knowing this, was the bit in the afterword where the author says, "There's no chance I'll ever get to write for a Star Trek show (which is probably for the best)."
I'm glad you were wrong, Mike McMahan. This book is pure good geeky fun, and I'm glad your sense of humor got injected into Star Trek lore in a more official way.
Read
September 3, 2024Deeply silly, but built upon well-observed caricatures of the show and TV production in general. This could have been a barrage of throwaway gags but it’s unexpectedly consistent in characters and world-building. Laforge and Data’s reinterpretation as rowdy best friends constantly getting in to trouble is a particular highlight, and provides what is surely literature’s only gag based on a recycled continuity photo. “Lower Decks” fans will enjoy recognising the origins of that series’ characters, although as a former follower of the original @TNG_S8 Twitter account I’m disappointed that those pithy little gags didn’t make it in to the back pages.
December 3, 2025
I bought this because I wanted to see if anticipated any of Mike McMahan’s ideas for Lower Decks. Some precursors I found:
* A plot involving a multi-crewperson Tuvix
* A sentient cave (“a dark place that knows things” in Beckett Mariner’s memorable phrase)
* The mystery of the Klingon boots
* Non-warrior Klingons
* A Riker workout scene that was reminiscent of Ransom
However, other than that, it was only mildly entertaining.
* A plot involving a multi-crewperson Tuvix
* A sentient cave (“a dark place that knows things” in Beckett Mariner’s memorable phrase)
* The mystery of the Klingon boots
* Non-warrior Klingons
* A Riker workout scene that was reminiscent of Ransom
However, other than that, it was only mildly entertaining.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2022
If you like The Next Generation, and you also like a little bit of simply silly humor, this might very well be the book for you. I would say that the biggest thing to keep in mind about this book is that it's not meant to be taken seriously. I enjoyed it for what it was-a silly little book about some potentially ridiculous TNG episodes.
May 6, 2023
It was cute, had some laugh out loud jokes throughout, and was an enjoyable light read. A fun little book to pick up and read a chapter or two here and there. It does feel a tad stretched out in places, but it's interesting to see the starting point for certain elements of McMahan's style that continue into the Lower Decks cartoon (which I would rate 5/5 stars).
December 14, 2023
This book is silly nonsense and I love it for that. Some of the episodes described actually seem like maybe they could have been made, but many of them are flat out ridiculous, and those are by far my favorites. Some of the quotes from the episodes made me laugh out loud and the Goofs section also pokes fun at Star Trek fandom. Great stuff.
October 27, 2020
Great bedtime read
Great bedtime reading. Only problem is that you will laugh, shaking the bed in the process. This may annoy your partner , but it's worth the pillow fight that ensues.
Great bedtime reading. Only problem is that you will laugh, shaking the bed in the process. This may annoy your partner , but it's worth the pillow fight that ensues.
December 10, 2020
I feel bad, because this seems like a labor of love. The tweets are funny but expanding each episode out to eight pages long just doesn't work. Or maybe it's just not good pandemic reading? Either way it lingered on my bedside table for a long time until I gave up halfway through.
January 31, 2019
Silly stupid fun. If you're a viewer of the Greatest Generation, this is for you.
July 9, 2019
A very fun way to reminisce on old episodes while admiring the quirks of the characters and show.
February 29, 2020
I got this one signed by the author. The note said "50/50 that you'll like this". I am a fan of the twitter feed, but the long form was exactly that, 50/50.
July 6, 2021
Hilarious
One of the funniest and funnest reads of all time, I really wish there were more of these. Perhaps DS9, VOY, and ENT should all get a crack at a lost season?
One of the funniest and funnest reads of all time, I really wish there were more of these. Perhaps DS9, VOY, and ENT should all get a crack at a lost season?
July 19, 2021
I had a good chuckle reading these episode guides for a fake unaired Next Generation season. Some of the jokes got a bit repetitive, but overall it was enjoyable.
July 28, 2022
Not as funny as the TNGS8 Twitter account but still funny in parts. it dragged a lot but I could tell the author enjoyed writing it.
November 28, 2024
Mike mcmahan truly gets star trek in a way that I don't think anyone else does
December 31, 2025
If you love Star Trek The Next Generation this is a hilarious extension. Lets us spend a little more time with the characters we love but in super quirky and weird situations.
November 3, 2019
Dnf at 12%. I was hoping for something funny, but this is just boring.
October 4, 2021
Strangely unfunny considering what wonders Mike McMahan did with TNG Season 8 and Lower Decks.
October 19, 2015
(Review cross-posted from my book review blog.)
This was a very amusing book. As the summary says, it’s an expansion of the TNG season 8 Twitter account. Where the Twitter account gives TV Guide-style short episode descriptions, this book has full plot summaries and extras just like you’d expect from a guide book to an actual TV season.
The target audience for this book, I would say, is people who are fans of TNG and also enjoy gentle fun being poked at it. I’m a big Trekkie, so I fit right in there. (My cubicle at work has two Data figures and one Geordi in it.) The book plays with things that fans of the show should find familiar, like Picard getting stuck in turbolifts and Worf being really into Klingon stuff. I think the people who will get the most from it are those who’ve actually seen every single episode, in order to pick up on all the jokes, even from fairly obscure/forgotten episodes. There are even references to TOS, DS9, and Voyager scattered in there.
I did find this quite amusing. Not can’t-stop-laughing funny, but definitely amusing. The jokes occasionally get off-color, but not too much, and nowhere near as off-color as some of the jokes I’ve seen/heard from the actual TNG actors about the show. If you’re a Trekkie who likes the idea of a fake guide to a fake (and very silly) season of TNG, you’ll probably enjoy this. All you have to do to get a sense of the sort of humor in this book is to check out the @TNG_S8 Twitter feed.
I also want to mention the format of this book, because it’s unusual. It’s a paperback, a bit bigger than your usual mass-market size but not as big as a trade paperback. The most noticeable thing is how heavy it is. Because the interior has color on the pages (there are quite a few full-color illustrations, and spots of color in page numbers and such), the paper is heavier and thicker than normal paperback paper. So the fairly small size of the book is probably a good idea, since it could get uncomfortably heavy if it was too big. Speaking of illustrations, there are a lot, and they are pretty fun. The style is like what you see on the cover. (BTW, I love that Spot made the cover.)
So yeah, if you’re a Trekkie, and especially if you’re a TNG fan, and if you enjoy silly humor, you should check this book out. (If you’re not into Star Trek at all, you probably won’t get much out of this book.) I own the paperback, but I’d totally buy this in audio too if they got one of the actual TNG actors to read it.
This was a very amusing book. As the summary says, it’s an expansion of the TNG season 8 Twitter account. Where the Twitter account gives TV Guide-style short episode descriptions, this book has full plot summaries and extras just like you’d expect from a guide book to an actual TV season.
The target audience for this book, I would say, is people who are fans of TNG and also enjoy gentle fun being poked at it. I’m a big Trekkie, so I fit right in there. (My cubicle at work has two Data figures and one Geordi in it.) The book plays with things that fans of the show should find familiar, like Picard getting stuck in turbolifts and Worf being really into Klingon stuff. I think the people who will get the most from it are those who’ve actually seen every single episode, in order to pick up on all the jokes, even from fairly obscure/forgotten episodes. There are even references to TOS, DS9, and Voyager scattered in there.
I did find this quite amusing. Not can’t-stop-laughing funny, but definitely amusing. The jokes occasionally get off-color, but not too much, and nowhere near as off-color as some of the jokes I’ve seen/heard from the actual TNG actors about the show. If you’re a Trekkie who likes the idea of a fake guide to a fake (and very silly) season of TNG, you’ll probably enjoy this. All you have to do to get a sense of the sort of humor in this book is to check out the @TNG_S8 Twitter feed.
I also want to mention the format of this book, because it’s unusual. It’s a paperback, a bit bigger than your usual mass-market size but not as big as a trade paperback. The most noticeable thing is how heavy it is. Because the interior has color on the pages (there are quite a few full-color illustrations, and spots of color in page numbers and such), the paper is heavier and thicker than normal paperback paper. So the fairly small size of the book is probably a good idea, since it could get uncomfortably heavy if it was too big. Speaking of illustrations, there are a lot, and they are pretty fun. The style is like what you see on the cover. (BTW, I love that Spot made the cover.)
So yeah, if you’re a Trekkie, and especially if you’re a TNG fan, and if you enjoy silly humor, you should check this book out. (If you’re not into Star Trek at all, you probably won’t get much out of this book.) I own the paperback, but I’d totally buy this in audio too if they got one of the actual TNG actors to read it.
July 26, 2016
An amusing look at Star Trek: TNG. The author has a Twitter following and decided to write a book about some of the fake shows he felt would be funny.
There are definitely some funny fake episodes. The author has a fixation on Riker and his machoness, Data and Geordi's friendship and Wesley Crusher.
If you are a big fan of next gen, this will be fun.
There are definitely some funny fake episodes. The author has a fixation on Riker and his machoness, Data and Geordi's friendship and Wesley Crusher.
If you are a big fan of next gen, this will be fun.
December 13, 2015
Humorous take on a fictitious eighth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This was an ARC from the publisher, so I will have a full review of the book on its release date.
UPDATE: Here's my full review: http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2015/10/13...
UPDATE: Here's my full review: http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2015/10/13...
October 22, 2015
This book, based on the best Twitter feed ever, cracked me up so many times over. Anyone who knows Star Trek TNG needs to pick this up. A total nerd book, but it's like every in joke you had during this series' run was brought up. A great burst of humor in a tough week.
June 25, 2022
Fun and in the right spirit
Not only does this parody guide walk you through the unaired, unmade eighth season of Star Trek The Next Generation, it hits the right tone of Trek fandom, TV tropes, and what happens when a series carries on too long. A fast, fun read.
Not only does this parody guide walk you through the unaired, unmade eighth season of Star Trek The Next Generation, it hits the right tone of Trek fandom, TV tropes, and what happens when a series carries on too long. A fast, fun read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews