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Star Trek: The Original Series (IDW) #4
Star Trek: Assignment: Earth
The 1968 TV episode "Assignment Earth" had been the Season Two finale for the original Star Trek series, and was intended by Gene Roddenberry as the pilot for a spin-off series that never came to pass. Now, John Byrne delivers the series 40 years after it would have debuted, recounting the adventures of interstellar agent Gary Seven and his Earth-born assistant as they covertly confront threats to the past so that they can save Star Trek's future. Byrne writes and draws the series, which steps one year forward with each installment, beginning with 1968, the year that the spin-off series would have appeared.
The mini-series consists of five issues:
"Brighter Than A Thousand Suns"
"Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow"
"My Name Is Legion"
"We Have Met The Enemy..."
"Too Many Presidents"
The mini-series consists of five issues:
"Brighter Than A Thousand Suns"
"Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow"
"My Name Is Legion"
"We Have Met The Enemy..."
"Too Many Presidents"
110 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2008
About the author
John Byrne
3,006 books373 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 8, 2021
Star Trek in name only, actual series regular cast members are on about 4 pages
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Also it is annoying when the 'smart sc-fi' series has so many mind numbingly stupid errors in the very first storyline, including but not limited to a man who receives a doctorate in QUANTUM MECHANICS in 1918 7 YEARS before the term was even invented, another minor side character in the same story supposedly graduating from Harvard with a triple doctorate at age 12, ANOTHER minor side character who also graduates with a doctorate from Harvard at 13 in 1942 then joins the Marines and is twice wounded in combat. 13. And then after leaving the Service he gets another doctorate from Yale before he turns 20. ANOTHER side character - a black woman - graduates from Yale and Princeton in 1954 and 1956 respectively - both impossibilities. Utterly ignorant and unbelievable (and worst of all unnecessarily ignorant and unbelievable, since none of the details are important to the plot) statements like these drive one right out of the story and prejudice the rest of book.
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Also it is annoying when the 'smart sc-fi' series has so many mind numbingly stupid errors in the very first storyline, including but not limited to a man who receives a doctorate in QUANTUM MECHANICS in 1918 7 YEARS before the term was even invented, another minor side character in the same story supposedly graduating from Harvard with a triple doctorate at age 12, ANOTHER minor side character who also graduates with a doctorate from Harvard at 13 in 1942 then joins the Marines and is twice wounded in combat. 13. And then after leaving the Service he gets another doctorate from Yale before he turns 20. ANOTHER side character - a black woman - graduates from Yale and Princeton in 1954 and 1956 respectively - both impossibilities. Utterly ignorant and unbelievable (and worst of all unnecessarily ignorant and unbelievable, since none of the details are important to the plot) statements like these drive one right out of the story and prejudice the rest of book.
April 24, 2013
Really 3.5 stars. A continuation of the Star Trek/original series episode Assignment:Earth.
The further adventures of Gary Seven, Ms Lincoln and of course Isis the cat (wink, wink)
Fair to good story telling and fair art. Made me feel somewhat nostalgic for my childhood. It covered the 1968-1974 time frame.
I was somewhat disappointed that the Star Trek characters were only peripherally involved. Just faint glimpses in the background.
The further adventures of Gary Seven, Ms Lincoln and of course Isis the cat (wink, wink)
Fair to good story telling and fair art. Made me feel somewhat nostalgic for my childhood. It covered the 1968-1974 time frame.
I was somewhat disappointed that the Star Trek characters were only peripherally involved. Just faint glimpses in the background.
October 5, 2021
Aegis Supervisor 194, also known as Gary Seven, is on a mission in Earth's past to protect their future by thwarting alien invaders and helping humanity avoid extinction level events.
Byrne's stories are in keeping with Boys' Own adventure serials from the period, with a modern sensibility. The artwork is strong and colouring is used effectively.
Byrne's stories are in keeping with Boys' Own adventure serials from the period, with a modern sensibility. The artwork is strong and colouring is used effectively.
June 13, 2023
I’m currently re-reading the “Eugenics Wars” book which has as its main characters Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) and Roberta (Terri Garr). This reminded me that I had bought John Byrne’s (a legendary Star Trek fan) “Assignment: Earth” series about those two.
So I figured this was the perfect time to read it.
I still think this would make a good series if someone were to write it well enough. Of course, who could compare to Terri Garr’s charisma??!
Of course Robert Lansing was no slouch either.
Anyway, it reminded me what a crime it was that that pair never got their own series.
A fantastic Byrne cover starts the first issue.
Great starting scene with Gary Seven, Roberta and Isis and Kirk and Spock!
He does a great job of capturing the look of Robert Lansing. I don’t think he’s a successful with Terri Garr, but that’s understandably harder.
It’s actually like the author has decided that an Assignment: Earth series was needed and this is the series. It certainly reads like a great TV series. The last episode is self-contained and hit all the right notes the series should.
Skit!! D.C. Fontana wrote the original Assignment: Earth script?! That woman NEVER got the credit she deserves. Star Trek was a heckuva lot more her’s than it ever was Roddenberry.
I love that both the book I’m reading and this comic let Isis come and go in her humanoid form without ever revealing more about who or what she is that we already know!
“At least miniskirts will still be popular in the future!”
Cool story in issue #3. Seven and Roberta are hanging out on a college campus looking for something mysterious. All very 60’s style. They find nothing and Seven is starting to think the Beta 5 computer (sounding very much like ChatGPT!) has messed up. But a twist is that Isis is in full human form participating in the skulduggery. Dialog and all!
WOW! Well he definitely wrote this for a later audience (2008 according to the back indica).
And it’s kind of genius. He’s solved the problem of how to make the four of them (Seven, Roberta, Isis and Beta 5 the computer) work like a team and also like a cast of interesting characters!
LOL! The cat says “Mrr-owrrrr” and you know exactly what it means! Nice writing!
Wow! A wonderful Twilight Zone style ‘episode’, both perfectly modern and perfectly 60’s. Very nice.
The funny thing is, all of these stories so far could’ve been made in the time of the original Star Trek. No special effect needed beyond what was capable and nothing particular that would not have been allowed on TV. I wonder if that was intentional?
Too much fun and too cool! I’m loving this series. Hope there’s a TPB.
Very cool, that the first story in issue #4 reveals the secret of who Gary Seven is working for.
Next is a cute Isis solo story!
Issue #5 is a cute story about Nixon, both giving him credit (where it’s due) and giving him hell (which is also well deserved).
Of course, at least part of the reason Byrne hasn’t got Terri Garr’s likeness just right is because he didn’t use the same hairdo she actually has in the episode which is outright ridiculous. One of the few times a great misstep was made with females on Star Trek.
Actually, these stories are so great I think they would be even better appearing now on TV. There is such a joy in changing what the audience ‘knows’ really happened that this could be really fun to see with modern special effects.
Delightfully fun! Even ‘innocent’ and ‘quaint’ in a way, but I’m sure that’s how TOS is looked at anyway these days. That’s okay. Still a lot of fun to read.
I don’t really get the joke “Ah-Ha” story at the end of Issue #5.
I really hated for this series to end. It was a lot of fun. I’m giving it 5 stars and I’ll keep an eye out for a trade paperback that combines all the issues.
So I figured this was the perfect time to read it.
I still think this would make a good series if someone were to write it well enough. Of course, who could compare to Terri Garr’s charisma??!
Of course Robert Lansing was no slouch either.
Anyway, it reminded me what a crime it was that that pair never got their own series.
A fantastic Byrne cover starts the first issue.
Great starting scene with Gary Seven, Roberta and Isis and Kirk and Spock!
He does a great job of capturing the look of Robert Lansing. I don’t think he’s a successful with Terri Garr, but that’s understandably harder.
It’s actually like the author has decided that an Assignment: Earth series was needed and this is the series. It certainly reads like a great TV series. The last episode is self-contained and hit all the right notes the series should.
Skit!! D.C. Fontana wrote the original Assignment: Earth script?! That woman NEVER got the credit she deserves. Star Trek was a heckuva lot more her’s than it ever was Roddenberry.
I love that both the book I’m reading and this comic let Isis come and go in her humanoid form without ever revealing more about who or what she is that we already know!
“At least miniskirts will still be popular in the future!”
Cool story in issue #3. Seven and Roberta are hanging out on a college campus looking for something mysterious. All very 60’s style. They find nothing and Seven is starting to think the Beta 5 computer (sounding very much like ChatGPT!) has messed up. But a twist is that Isis is in full human form participating in the skulduggery. Dialog and all!
WOW! Well he definitely wrote this for a later audience (2008 according to the back indica).
And it’s kind of genius. He’s solved the problem of how to make the four of them (Seven, Roberta, Isis and Beta 5 the computer) work like a team and also like a cast of interesting characters!
LOL! The cat says “Mrr-owrrrr” and you know exactly what it means! Nice writing!
Wow! A wonderful Twilight Zone style ‘episode’, both perfectly modern and perfectly 60’s. Very nice.
The funny thing is, all of these stories so far could’ve been made in the time of the original Star Trek. No special effect needed beyond what was capable and nothing particular that would not have been allowed on TV. I wonder if that was intentional?
Too much fun and too cool! I’m loving this series. Hope there’s a TPB.
Very cool, that the first story in issue #4 reveals the secret of who Gary Seven is working for.
Next is a cute Isis solo story!
Issue #5 is a cute story about Nixon, both giving him credit (where it’s due) and giving him hell (which is also well deserved).
Of course, at least part of the reason Byrne hasn’t got Terri Garr’s likeness just right is because he didn’t use the same hairdo she actually has in the episode which is outright ridiculous. One of the few times a great misstep was made with females on Star Trek.
Actually, these stories are so great I think they would be even better appearing now on TV. There is such a joy in changing what the audience ‘knows’ really happened that this could be really fun to see with modern special effects.
Delightfully fun! Even ‘innocent’ and ‘quaint’ in a way, but I’m sure that’s how TOS is looked at anyway these days. That’s okay. Still a lot of fun to read.
I don’t really get the joke “Ah-Ha” story at the end of Issue #5.
I really hated for this series to end. It was a lot of fun. I’m giving it 5 stars and I’ll keep an eye out for a trade paperback that combines all the issues.
March 4, 2020
Not Bad
This collection is an interesting "what if" on the original pilot show. There are five chapters, apparently one per year, and two shorts. The first one is decent, with a surprise twist at the end. Though it was a surprise in a story taking place in 1969 where a woman scientist is the head of a top-secret weapons development team. The second chapter has them following the second incursion into the past by the Enterprise crew, and while they chase them and observe, that's pretty much all that happens, as they never seem to catch up. The third one is no surprise, but it is quite sad; anytime I see the wall I get misty-eyed.
The fourth story sort of goes off to left field, and then does the big "reveal" on who the alien "sponsors" who trained Seven are; in this case, I thought it better at this point to not show them, even if this was only meant to be a single issue. And, the tech requirements of hiding so much mass in the last panels when switching forms is problematic.The last one had potential, but was too unbelievable.
Byrne is a good artist, and I remember his days with Chris Clairmont with affection. That said, he comes closer to rendering Robert Lansing better than he ever comes to Garr.
The two shorts are well done and amusing. Oddly there were two errors; the first in Chapter One, on the profiles page. The former marine gets his first degree in 1948, and the second in 1942 when it dhould have read 1952. The second error was a plain typo in Chapter Five. Byrne was usually a careful writer, so I have to wonder if either mistakes were in the original print versions.)
A fun book by an important comic writer and artist from the 1980s and 1990s. And he's still doing projects.
This collection is an interesting "what if" on the original pilot show. There are five chapters, apparently one per year, and two shorts. The first one is decent, with a surprise twist at the end. Though it was a surprise in a story taking place in 1969 where a woman scientist is the head of a top-secret weapons development team. The second chapter has them following the second incursion into the past by the Enterprise crew, and while they chase them and observe, that's pretty much all that happens, as they never seem to catch up. The third one is no surprise, but it is quite sad; anytime I see the wall I get misty-eyed.
The fourth story sort of goes off to left field, and then does the big "reveal" on who the alien "sponsors" who trained Seven are; in this case, I thought it better at this point to not show them, even if this was only meant to be a single issue. And, the tech requirements of hiding so much mass in the last panels when switching forms is problematic.The last one had potential, but was too unbelievable.
Byrne is a good artist, and I remember his days with Chris Clairmont with affection. That said, he comes closer to rendering Robert Lansing better than he ever comes to Garr.
The two shorts are well done and amusing. Oddly there were two errors; the first in Chapter One, on the profiles page. The former marine gets his first degree in 1948, and the second in 1942 when it dhould have read 1952. The second error was a plain typo in Chapter Five. Byrne was usually a careful writer, so I have to wonder if either mistakes were in the original print versions.)
A fun book by an important comic writer and artist from the 1980s and 1990s. And he's still doing projects.
May 24, 2018
Gene Roddenberry's last episode of Star Trek in Season 2was a back door pilot for Assignment Earth. This book takes a look at five adventures of Gary Seven and his secretary Miss Lincoln.
In Issue 1, they have a mystery to solve as immediately after the Enterprise leaves they have to access a government research project where there's a Soviet Spy present. This is okay but really could have used more space.
In Issue 2, Gary Seven and Miss Lincoln deal with another visit from the Enterprise in their future from their first appearance, but in Earth's past. This is a wonky time travel tale that keeps our heroes on the periphery.
Next up is Issue 3 where they are investigating strange goings on at a University. On one hand, the military villain is pretty stereotypical. On the other hand, the war protestor character has some nuance.
Issue 4 has them trying to fight an alien invasion by a group called Counterstrike. This one was the weakest in the book. It's okay, but it needed more room to breathe.
The final issue involves Gary and Ms. Lincoln having to stop the Chinese from kidnapping Nixon and replacing him with a duplicate. This one was actually pretty funny and the best comic in the book.
This book is okay, but just okay. I'd give it 3.5 stars on the strength of the fake Nixon story. The more you're curious about this concept and all things Trek, the more you're actually going to enjoy this.
In Issue 1, they have a mystery to solve as immediately after the Enterprise leaves they have to access a government research project where there's a Soviet Spy present. This is okay but really could have used more space.
In Issue 2, Gary Seven and Miss Lincoln deal with another visit from the Enterprise in their future from their first appearance, but in Earth's past. This is a wonky time travel tale that keeps our heroes on the periphery.
Next up is Issue 3 where they are investigating strange goings on at a University. On one hand, the military villain is pretty stereotypical. On the other hand, the war protestor character has some nuance.
Issue 4 has them trying to fight an alien invasion by a group called Counterstrike. This one was the weakest in the book. It's okay, but it needed more room to breathe.
The final issue involves Gary and Ms. Lincoln having to stop the Chinese from kidnapping Nixon and replacing him with a duplicate. This one was actually pretty funny and the best comic in the book.
This book is okay, but just okay. I'd give it 3.5 stars on the strength of the fake Nixon story. The more you're curious about this concept and all things Trek, the more you're actually going to enjoy this.
June 6, 2018
I really dug this ... great and original "lost scripts" for the TV series "Assignment: Earth" that never got past the backdoor pilot phase as a Star Trek episode. Byrne admits he's never been great with likenesses (check out his Kirk and Spock for proof), but he nails Robert Lansing in these stories. Roberta looks nothing like Teri Garr (likeness rights unavailable?), but he gets the voice and the "look" of the character down just fine. There is one bizarre story with Nixon that makes you go, "Whaaaaa?" - giving us the advantage of having these stories created after the infamous Watergate scandal. Recommended if you enjoy 60s television science fiction and drama.
November 25, 2019
The episode Assignment Earth of Star Trek the original series was a backdoor pilot. NBC declined to pick it up. And fans were left wondering what adventures Gary Seven and Roberta got up too.
This graphic novel answers those questions. It is set around the 1960s to 1970s and the stories are wonderful.
The reason I did not give it five stars is the artwork. While there are times that Gary Seven looks like Robert Lansing at no time does Roberta Lincoln look like Teri Garr. I found that jarring.
Other than that if you are fan of Star Trek TOS this a must read.
This graphic novel answers those questions. It is set around the 1960s to 1970s and the stories are wonderful.
The reason I did not give it five stars is the artwork. While there are times that Gary Seven looks like Robert Lansing at no time does Roberta Lincoln look like Teri Garr. I found that jarring.
Other than that if you are fan of Star Trek TOS this a must read.
November 18, 2017
I wish this had been more memorable. Loved the original Star Trek episode and this feels a bit like the original screenwriters may have written the episodes this way. John Byrne is great too. His pencils over the past 30 years have been solid without looking as amazing as his classic X-Men stuff did. The characters are compelling and the stories are just strange enough. Something just didn't resonate with me.
September 27, 2023
A series of short stories in comic book format. There are five stories here with Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln getting into several tight spots throughout history, courtesy of the Beta Five computer and the wall safe transporter. There are a couple errors in one or two stories, but nothing that really matters. Definitely recommended
June 13, 2025
The stories were a great exploration into Gary Seven's mission to Earth, but I felt there were a few panels missing. The story jumped from some action to resolution without really diving into that process. At least, that's what I got out of it. The artwork is good and the ideas are too. I wish, however, it was a more coherent series where each adventure was an 'episode'.
February 28, 2019
This is more like a spin off of the original Star Trek.
The stories are about protecting the Earth from other time travellers and aliens. The interesting stories were the ones where they intersected with the Enterprise crew. A good read.
The stories are about protecting the Earth from other time travellers and aliens. The interesting stories were the ones where they intersected with the Enterprise crew. A good read.
April 9, 2025
Nice example of what we could have seen in the spinoff show had been adopted.
In some small ways, it reminded me of the brief show "Middleman".
I recommend this collection and the Middleman show, if you can find them.
In some small ways, it reminded me of the brief show "Middleman".
I recommend this collection and the Middleman show, if you can find them.
September 8, 2019
Re-read. It's a little hollow and a little cute, I've just been spoiled by what Pocket has done with these characters in the last 20 years. Isis the cat is the best drawn character tho.
March 27, 2022
This had fun From a Certain Point of View vibes, and I LOVED IT!
May 21, 2022
I had always wondered what their adventures would have been like. Byrne did a fine job with this book.
February 27, 2024
A fun imagining of a TV series that never came to pass
January 4, 2026
Patchy but still featuring some good Byrne writing
September 13, 2026
DNF at 22%
February 5, 2009
Okay, I'll admit it up front. I've never been much of a fan of Star Trek the original series. Granted that most of what I've seen, I've seen at times when I was perhaps not must receptive to the material. However, the old time effects, etc, have always put me off, and I've always been a Next Generation and onwards Trekker.
And then I finally got around to reading John Byrne's first Trek story, the Alien Spotlight: Romulans one shot, which completely blew me away, most of all because the effects weren't an issue here. And the storytelling was fun (so, now as a consequence I will have to reconsider my stance on TOS and give it another chance).
Needless to say, I could hardly wait for this TPB collecting Byrne's second Trek venture for IDW. Taking the season two finale and sneak pilot for a possible spin off, "Assignment Earth" as a starting point, Byrne goes ahead and makes the spin off series Roddenberry never did follow through with. And the result is a fun, sixties flavoured, time travelling tale that is truly worthy of the Star Trek franchise.
Personally, I truly hope there will be more Assignment: Earth forthcoming, but in the meantime, I will keep my eyes peeled for the upcoming Romulans TPB collecting the Alien Spotlight one shot and the two subsequent miniseries (as well as a short extra, I've heard).
And then I finally got around to reading John Byrne's first Trek story, the Alien Spotlight: Romulans one shot, which completely blew me away, most of all because the effects weren't an issue here. And the storytelling was fun (so, now as a consequence I will have to reconsider my stance on TOS and give it another chance).
Needless to say, I could hardly wait for this TPB collecting Byrne's second Trek venture for IDW. Taking the season two finale and sneak pilot for a possible spin off, "Assignment Earth" as a starting point, Byrne goes ahead and makes the spin off series Roddenberry never did follow through with. And the result is a fun, sixties flavoured, time travelling tale that is truly worthy of the Star Trek franchise.
Personally, I truly hope there will be more Assignment: Earth forthcoming, but in the meantime, I will keep my eyes peeled for the upcoming Romulans TPB collecting the Alien Spotlight one shot and the two subsequent miniseries (as well as a short extra, I've heard).
November 16, 2008
History Lesson: Gary Seven and company showed up in the third season of Star Trek and the idea was he would then get his own spin off TV series. This never happened, sad to say, but thirty years later, John Byrne fixes this and creates solo comic stories for him.
The series is uneven, as Byrne has to create a world for Gary Seven, while not messing too much with Trek history and the fact that he has only one TV show to use as his building blocks.
There is a nice 'Doctor Who meets the man from U.N.C.L.E.' vibe to these stories, as they blend sci-fi with 60's spy themes.
The supporting cast is a lot of fun and you get the feeling Byrne enjoys writing them more than the hero of the series.
Starts slow, but the stories get stronger as they go along and you can feel Byrne getting comfortable with the characters and setting.
There's talk of a second series, which I'm looking forward to, and reading this makes me sad that Gary and company never got a TV show. Though, it's not to late, if they can bring back Battle Star Galactica....
The series is uneven, as Byrne has to create a world for Gary Seven, while not messing too much with Trek history and the fact that he has only one TV show to use as his building blocks.
There is a nice 'Doctor Who meets the man from U.N.C.L.E.' vibe to these stories, as they blend sci-fi with 60's spy themes.
The supporting cast is a lot of fun and you get the feeling Byrne enjoys writing them more than the hero of the series.
Starts slow, but the stories get stronger as they go along and you can feel Byrne getting comfortable with the characters and setting.
There's talk of a second series, which I'm looking forward to, and reading this makes me sad that Gary and company never got a TV show. Though, it's not to late, if they can bring back Battle Star Galactica....
October 6, 2015
Even with a bonus for nostalgia: 1.5 STARS ★ - The Episode of
Assignment: Earth
was meant to be a pilot for a spin-off series but it didn't get picked up... until now!
Almost any fan of the series from way back would remember this episode as being kind of odd even for the 1960's. It featured Garry 7 (played by Robert Lansing) a human who had been raised on an alien world and sent to the Earth as an agent of positive change.
Along with his Earth-born human assistant, Roberta (played by Teri Garr), his "cat" Isis, the Beta 5 computer and his multi-function Servo (Ummm, sonic-screwdriver?!). Well now those lost adventures are finally being chronicled by comic book legend and Trek fanatic John Byrne.
While it wasn't terrible it wasn't all that great either, so I wouldn't recommend it, but it's a good try and not the worst of the Trek-World adventures out there so... really, just don't spend money on it.
Almost any fan of the series from way back would remember this episode as being kind of odd even for the 1960's. It featured Garry 7 (played by Robert Lansing) a human who had been raised on an alien world and sent to the Earth as an agent of positive change.
Along with his Earth-born human assistant, Roberta (played by Teri Garr), his "cat" Isis, the Beta 5 computer and his multi-function Servo (Ummm, sonic-screwdriver?!). Well now those lost adventures are finally being chronicled by comic book legend and Trek fanatic John Byrne.
While it wasn't terrible it wasn't all that great either, so I wouldn't recommend it, but it's a good try and not the worst of the Trek-World adventures out there so... really, just don't spend money on it.
July 25, 2011
John Byrne has created a wonderful homage to the second season finale of the original Star Trek series. The episode was to serve as a pilot for a series about an alien who protects Earth with the help of a sassy hippie girl companion. The idea was very Doctor Who, but I love Doctor Who so much I can't even be mad when it's being blatantly copied. I dare say that "Assignment: Earth" will work wonders among Whovians as well as Trekkers.
The book is a collection of standalone stories that span a decade of the assignment. The plots are innovative, the stories campy and entertaining, but the retrospective on cold war -era history comes through strongly. This is a perfect union between fun entertainment and ambitious fiction that tries to understand history and show its repetitiveness in things going on currently. And there are also many wonderful treats offered to the hardcore fans of Star Trek as connections are made and previously separate threads are tied together.
The book is a collection of standalone stories that span a decade of the assignment. The plots are innovative, the stories campy and entertaining, but the retrospective on cold war -era history comes through strongly. This is a perfect union between fun entertainment and ambitious fiction that tries to understand history and show its repetitiveness in things going on currently. And there are also many wonderful treats offered to the hardcore fans of Star Trek as connections are made and previously separate threads are tied together.
March 28, 2013
Gene Roddenberry had many ideas for science fiction television series and John Byrne has a talent for bringing those ideas to life in comics. Star Trek: Assignment Earth takes it's name from an original series episode of the same name from 1968. The original story was me at to be a launching point from which would feature, like this collection, the adventures of Gary Seven, his assistant Roberta Lincoln, and Cat/Companion Isis. The stories here could have appeared in the series, had it ever aired, having the same feel and pacing of classic Star Trek episodes. Want some fun, high concept, simple science fiction then check this out.
January 28, 2015
This was a fun "what if" look at the continuing adventures of Gary Seven and his assistants Roberta Lincoln and Isis. Gary is a human who was raised by an alien species for the purpose of making sure humanity didn't destroy itself.
These stories branch off from a failed pilot episode for a TV series that Gene Roddenberry tried to sell the networks on back in 1968. It would have made for a cerebral and entertaining series with a dash of humanist morality, much like Star Trek. It was not picked up, but you can pick up this volume and see into a future - now past - of what might have been as these secret agents save humanity from its worst elements and impulses.
These stories branch off from a failed pilot episode for a TV series that Gene Roddenberry tried to sell the networks on back in 1968. It would have made for a cerebral and entertaining series with a dash of humanist morality, much like Star Trek. It was not picked up, but you can pick up this volume and see into a future - now past - of what might have been as these secret agents save humanity from its worst elements and impulses.
October 21, 2016
I'm not sure whether or not an Assigment: Earth spinoff show would have appealed to me that much. This miniseries feels like highlights from what could have been a five-season show (albeit with references to the future since it was written later). The adventures are okay, although Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln being around offscreen during the TOS episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday" feels too coincidental, and some of the dialogue doesn't even match up exactly.
April 16, 2013
The second season finale of Star Trek's original series featured a 'back-door' pilot for a new series by Gene Roddenberry to feature the new characters Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln (the latter played by Terri Garr). It never took off. Decades later, John Byrne gives us a glimpse of what could have been. Hopefully there will be more.
December 22, 2015
05/09/11: 4 stars
04/16/16: Lackluster writing, bad editing. Would've been better if it was "From the original unseen scripts!" or something like that... No offense to John Byrne, this just isn't very inspired. Fun for a fan though, especially the last two issues where it was hitting more of a stride. 3 stars
04/16/16: Lackluster writing, bad editing. Would've been better if it was "From the original unseen scripts!" or something like that... No offense to John Byrne, this just isn't very inspired. Fun for a fan though, especially the last two issues where it was hitting more of a stride. 3 stars
August 5, 2011
Ever wonder how awesome "Assignment: Earth" would have been if it had ever made it on the air? Wonder no more, and revel in it's awesomeness!
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