Star Trek

by Ina Rae Hark

Star Trek remains the original, iconic and, for its many fans, the best example of science fiction television, boldly going where no TV drama had gone before. Ina Rae Hark’s lively and authoritative account of the five series – from the original Star Trek to its most recent manifestation, ‘Enterprise’ – provides a comprehensive guide to the Trek universe and its key themes. 

Hark carefully delineates the unique characteristics of each series, from Star Trek’s depiction of humanity confronting technological and evolutionary change, to The Next Generation’s diplomatic efforts to secure its perfected utopia for others, Deep Space Nine’s interrogation of the claims of that utopia in a hostile, alien environment, Voyager’s testing of Starfleet principles light years away from the Federation’s borders, and Enterprise’s look back at humankind’s first efforts to forge an intergalactic alliance.  Hark explores the character dynamics of each captain and his or her crew. 

As well as offering new insights for even the most hardcore Trekker, this volume also provides a perfect introduction to a popular culture phenomenon for those few who have never heard of a phaser or a Klingon.

Genres: Star Trek, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2008

About the author

Dr. Ina Rae Hark was Professor of English and Film Studies at the University of South Carolina, USA.

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up writing a huge review of this book. Please visit my blog if you you would like to read it.

[Stuart Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book that I have read from the BFI's TV Classics series and interestingly it takes a completely different approach to the title on 'The World At War'. Instead of focusing on how the show was made which is only briefly touched upon, Hark discusses what she considers to be significant recurring themes and motifs in the show. It covers all of the different incarnations of the show except for the Animated Series, presumably not included due to Gene Roddenberry's office declaring it to be non-canon, despite the use of various story and character elements introduced in that show in later live action productions.

I found the analysis of the shows to be quite interesting, particularly the aspect of how the storylines related to current events at the time of production such as DS9's ethnic cleansing themes being based on the Balkan Wars of the 90s and Enterprise's recurring hostage and imprisonment scenarios as references to the post 9/11 'War on Terror.'

An enjoyable read for fans of the show but not one I would recommend to newcomers as so many significant plot and storyline details are given away.