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Memories of the Future - Volume 1
From Encounter at Farpoint to Datalore, relive the first half of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s unintentionally hilarious first season through the eyes, ears and memories of cast member and fan Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) as he shares his unique perspective in the episode guide you didn’t even know you were dying to read.
ENJOY snarky episode recaps!
EXPAND your Technobabble vocabulary!
AMUSE your friends with quotable dialog!
BOLDLY go behind the scenes!
ENJOY snarky episode recaps!
EXPAND your Technobabble vocabulary!
AMUSE your friends with quotable dialog!
BOLDLY go behind the scenes!
138 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
58 people are currently reading
2248 people want to read
About the author
Wil Wheaton
104 books233k followersWil Wheaton loves to tell stories. He’s been doing it his whole life.
By age ten, he had already been acting for three years. In 1986, at age 12, he earned critical acclaim as Gordie Lachance in Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me; at 14, he began his four-year turn as Wesley Crusher on the hit TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Since then, Wil has appeared in dozens of films and TV series, with recurring roles on TNT’s Leverage, SyFy’s Eureka, and the hit webseries The Guild. He is the creator, producer, and host of the wildly successful webseries Tabletop, credited with reigniting national interest in tabletop gaming. Most recently, he played a fictionalized version of himself on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, one of the most highly rated and watched sitcoms of the last decade.
An accomplished voice actor, Wil has lent his talents to animated series including Family Guy, Teen Titans, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. His video game credits include four installments each of the Grand Theft Auto and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series, as well as Fallout: New Vegas, DC Universe Online, and Broken Age.
His audiobook narration of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and was one of Goodreads’ 10 Best Narrator and Audiobook Pairings of All Time. He has also lent his voice to titles by John Scalzi, Randall Monroe, and Joe Hill.
When he isn’t acting, narrating, or podcasting, Wil Wheaton is writing.
A lot.
He is the author of Just A Geek, Dancing Barefoot, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Hunter, and Dead Trees Give No Shelter, plus a forthcoming novel, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. He has contributed columns to Salon.com, The A.V. Club, LA Weekly, Playboy, The Washington Post, and the Suicide Girls Newswire.
In recent years, Wil has earned recognition as an outspoken mental health advocate, chronicling his own journey in his blog and as a public speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. His powerful, candid essay about his struggle with chronic depression and anxiety garnered national attention.
Wil lives in Los Angeles with his badass, irrepressible wife Anne, two rescued dogs, one cat, and two vintage arcade cabinets. If you’re not a robot, you can reach him at: wil at wilwheaton dot net.
By age ten, he had already been acting for three years. In 1986, at age 12, he earned critical acclaim as Gordie Lachance in Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me; at 14, he began his four-year turn as Wesley Crusher on the hit TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Since then, Wil has appeared in dozens of films and TV series, with recurring roles on TNT’s Leverage, SyFy’s Eureka, and the hit webseries The Guild. He is the creator, producer, and host of the wildly successful webseries Tabletop, credited with reigniting national interest in tabletop gaming. Most recently, he played a fictionalized version of himself on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, one of the most highly rated and watched sitcoms of the last decade.
An accomplished voice actor, Wil has lent his talents to animated series including Family Guy, Teen Titans, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. His video game credits include four installments each of the Grand Theft Auto and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series, as well as Fallout: New Vegas, DC Universe Online, and Broken Age.
His audiobook narration of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and was one of Goodreads’ 10 Best Narrator and Audiobook Pairings of All Time. He has also lent his voice to titles by John Scalzi, Randall Monroe, and Joe Hill.
When he isn’t acting, narrating, or podcasting, Wil Wheaton is writing.
A lot.
He is the author of Just A Geek, Dancing Barefoot, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Hunter, and Dead Trees Give No Shelter, plus a forthcoming novel, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. He has contributed columns to Salon.com, The A.V. Club, LA Weekly, Playboy, The Washington Post, and the Suicide Girls Newswire.
In recent years, Wil has earned recognition as an outspoken mental health advocate, chronicling his own journey in his blog and as a public speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. His powerful, candid essay about his struggle with chronic depression and anxiety garnered national attention.
Wil lives in Los Angeles with his badass, irrepressible wife Anne, two rescued dogs, one cat, and two vintage arcade cabinets. If you’re not a robot, you can reach him at: wil at wilwheaton dot net.
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February 14, 2010
There's something inherently sad about child actors. They're called upon to do what older actors have been doing their whole lives, often acting alongside people who know their craft so much better than they do. To match the level of their adult counterparts, they have to work just that much harder, and they still get pigeonholed into fairly flat characters. For a lot of directors, even a poor child actor is good enough to fill out the character that has been created for him or her, so expectations are usually pretty low. In the end, a lot of child actors either burn out or give up.
Wil Wheaton wasn't a bad actor as a kid - anyone who watched Stand By Me can agree on that. He certainly wasn't what he could have become, but as child actors went, he did okay. Perhaps if he had been given the right roles with the right people, he would still be acting today and impressing us with the depth of his talent. As it was, he was on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which sent him down, let us say, a different path.
Wheaton's experience on TNG was one that a lot of the fans (and I count myself among them) seriously under-appreciate. From the age of fourteen, he was given the unenviable role of playing one of the most despised characters in modern science fiction, at least before Jar Jar showed up. In the early heyday of the internet, before liveblogging and Twitter and Facebook, there was Usenet - an early internet discussion group. And one of those early groups was the infamous alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die. The fans would speak of "The Wesley Crusher Problem" and write horrible fanfiction that would put Ensign Crusher through some of the most depraved torments they could think of. A small, but very vocal segment of the TNG fan base actively hated Wesley and, by extension, Wheaton.
I think he could have easily been forgiven for dropping out of the public eye forever after being treated like that. Fortunately for us, he has chosen otherwise.
With the growth of the Internet, Wheaton has really found his place. He's a tech evangelist and one of the most active bloggers out there, discussing tech, games, family, politics, and whatever else he feels like talking about. He's carved out a space for himself that doesn't rest on his Star Trek credentials, and even if he had never been on the show, he'd still be a fine and upstanding member of the online community.
Surprisingly enough, he does not reject his days as Wesley Crusher, but embraces them. As terrible as it could be sometimes as The Kid - overlooked by writers and directors, hated by fans - he still got to do what most fourteen year-old boys (including this one) can only dream of doing: playing a space explorer on TV. He got to work with a group of fine men and women, and helped to create a show that would be truly beloved around the world. On balance, the good vastly outweighed the bad, and Wheaton was able to fold that experience into his life, making him a better person for it.
Memories of the Future is Wheaton's tribute to his days on Star Trek. As he describes it, the book isn't a salacious tell-all, revealing all of Trek's dirty secrets. It's more like "you're flipping through your high school yearbook with your friends." It's an honest look at the first half of the first season, described only as someone who truly loves it can do: with snark, sarcasm and admiration for the work, but no illusions about when it was... shall we say, less than up to snuff.
It starts with Encounter at Farpoint and goes up to Datalore, covering the first twelve episodes of Season 1 (the summaries of the remaining episodes are forthcoming in volume 2). Each episode is summarized, in a hilarious and sarcastic fashion. True to his geek roots, he manages to work in references to all of the sacred touchstones: Monty Python, collectible card gaming, Dungeons and Dragons, and of course, the other Star franchise which we shall not name. He isn't afraid to call out the writers when they make stupid choices, such as Dr. Crusher asking to bring Wesley onto the bridge during a major diplomatic/security crisis (Code of Honor) or having him casually solve a major plot point that all the experts in the room have been breaking their brains over, and then leave with a snide, "Heh. Adults." (The Battle).
There's quotable dialogue included for each episode, ("Oh, your species is always suffering and dying" - Q, Hide and Q) and Obligatory Technobabble ("Come off the main lead, split off at the force activator, then reversing the power leads through the force activator, repulsor beam powers against Tsiolkovsky!" - Wesley, The Naked Now). There's also a Behind the Scenes Memory, giving us a good look at what it was like for Wheaton to work on the show, often showcasing how little he really knew about what was going on, and a section called The Bottom Line, which looks at each episode in the context of the whole series.
The episode recaps are at once both sentimental and brutally honest. Where there are flaws in the creative process, Wheaton points them out with a kind of rabid glee. Where there are gems of creativity, he shows us where they are as well. It's the kind of look at TNG that could only have been done by someone who was a part of the show and loved it. He writes with clarity and honesty and, just to be sure I point it out again, humor. Lots and lots of humor.
It's a very quick read, and a very enjoyable one. For bonus points, go find the "Memories of the Futurecast" podcast, wherein Wheaton reads selections from the book. It's even funnier than reading it, and is a good way to kill fifteen or twenty minutes. And we podcasters have to stick together, right Wil? You and me, right? Right?
I may be overestimating our camaraderie.
If you're a Trek fan, this book will be a nice visit to a better time. What's more, this will probably make you want to go watch the first season again, if only to see if some of those early episodes are nearly as bad as he's making them out to be. I can't wait for volume 2.
Wil Wheaton wasn't a bad actor as a kid - anyone who watched Stand By Me can agree on that. He certainly wasn't what he could have become, but as child actors went, he did okay. Perhaps if he had been given the right roles with the right people, he would still be acting today and impressing us with the depth of his talent. As it was, he was on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which sent him down, let us say, a different path.
Wheaton's experience on TNG was one that a lot of the fans (and I count myself among them) seriously under-appreciate. From the age of fourteen, he was given the unenviable role of playing one of the most despised characters in modern science fiction, at least before Jar Jar showed up. In the early heyday of the internet, before liveblogging and Twitter and Facebook, there was Usenet - an early internet discussion group. And one of those early groups was the infamous alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die. The fans would speak of "The Wesley Crusher Problem" and write horrible fanfiction that would put Ensign Crusher through some of the most depraved torments they could think of. A small, but very vocal segment of the TNG fan base actively hated Wesley and, by extension, Wheaton.
I think he could have easily been forgiven for dropping out of the public eye forever after being treated like that. Fortunately for us, he has chosen otherwise.
With the growth of the Internet, Wheaton has really found his place. He's a tech evangelist and one of the most active bloggers out there, discussing tech, games, family, politics, and whatever else he feels like talking about. He's carved out a space for himself that doesn't rest on his Star Trek credentials, and even if he had never been on the show, he'd still be a fine and upstanding member of the online community.
Surprisingly enough, he does not reject his days as Wesley Crusher, but embraces them. As terrible as it could be sometimes as The Kid - overlooked by writers and directors, hated by fans - he still got to do what most fourteen year-old boys (including this one) can only dream of doing: playing a space explorer on TV. He got to work with a group of fine men and women, and helped to create a show that would be truly beloved around the world. On balance, the good vastly outweighed the bad, and Wheaton was able to fold that experience into his life, making him a better person for it.
Memories of the Future is Wheaton's tribute to his days on Star Trek. As he describes it, the book isn't a salacious tell-all, revealing all of Trek's dirty secrets. It's more like "you're flipping through your high school yearbook with your friends." It's an honest look at the first half of the first season, described only as someone who truly loves it can do: with snark, sarcasm and admiration for the work, but no illusions about when it was... shall we say, less than up to snuff.
It starts with Encounter at Farpoint and goes up to Datalore, covering the first twelve episodes of Season 1 (the summaries of the remaining episodes are forthcoming in volume 2). Each episode is summarized, in a hilarious and sarcastic fashion. True to his geek roots, he manages to work in references to all of the sacred touchstones: Monty Python, collectible card gaming, Dungeons and Dragons, and of course, the other Star franchise which we shall not name. He isn't afraid to call out the writers when they make stupid choices, such as Dr. Crusher asking to bring Wesley onto the bridge during a major diplomatic/security crisis (Code of Honor) or having him casually solve a major plot point that all the experts in the room have been breaking their brains over, and then leave with a snide, "Heh. Adults." (The Battle).
There's quotable dialogue included for each episode, ("Oh, your species is always suffering and dying" - Q, Hide and Q) and Obligatory Technobabble ("Come off the main lead, split off at the force activator, then reversing the power leads through the force activator, repulsor beam powers against Tsiolkovsky!" - Wesley, The Naked Now). There's also a Behind the Scenes Memory, giving us a good look at what it was like for Wheaton to work on the show, often showcasing how little he really knew about what was going on, and a section called The Bottom Line, which looks at each episode in the context of the whole series.
The episode recaps are at once both sentimental and brutally honest. Where there are flaws in the creative process, Wheaton points them out with a kind of rabid glee. Where there are gems of creativity, he shows us where they are as well. It's the kind of look at TNG that could only have been done by someone who was a part of the show and loved it. He writes with clarity and honesty and, just to be sure I point it out again, humor. Lots and lots of humor.
It's a very quick read, and a very enjoyable one. For bonus points, go find the "Memories of the Futurecast" podcast, wherein Wheaton reads selections from the book. It's even funnier than reading it, and is a good way to kill fifteen or twenty minutes. And we podcasters have to stick together, right Wil? You and me, right? Right?
I may be overestimating our camaraderie.
If you're a Trek fan, this book will be a nice visit to a better time. What's more, this will probably make you want to go watch the first season again, if only to see if some of those early episodes are nearly as bad as he's making them out to be. I can't wait for volume 2.
December 22, 2009
Wil Wheaton and I have a lot in common: liberal politics, bitchin' facial hair, and fond childhood memories of Star Trek: The Next Generation -- albiet from opposite sides of the television screen. His recaps, reviews, and behind-the-scenes stories of the first half of the first season of TNG are endearing as hell.
Unfortunately, they're not without their flaws. Wheaton is a 30-something geek writing for an audience of 30-something geeks; there's common cultural currency there, part of which is incessant reference to that currency. That's fine, if queasily recursive; I like a good in-joke as much as the next guy.
But there's a trick to dropping pop-culture references, and Wheaton hasn't quite mastered it. Allusions are for texture. They add depth, or humour, or resonance for readers who catch them, and stay out of the way of readers who don't. In Memories..., Wheaton leans hard on jokes that should be decorative, not structural: nearly every page has a fan-servicing non sequitur that grinds the writing to a standstill. It's lazy and it's pandering, and he's better than that.
He's also better than the disjointed stream-of-consciousness style that belies the book's live-blogged origins. The conversational tone is engaging, and his enthusiasm is infectuous, but there's "spontaneous" and then there's "first draft," and while I'll forgive a lack of polish on screen, it's a lot harder to swallow in a book I paid actual money for.
The book's charming, warts and all, I enjoyed it immensely, and I'm excited for Volume Two -- but I hope Wheaton gets an editor before then.
Unfortunately, they're not without their flaws. Wheaton is a 30-something geek writing for an audience of 30-something geeks; there's common cultural currency there, part of which is incessant reference to that currency. That's fine, if queasily recursive; I like a good in-joke as much as the next guy.
But there's a trick to dropping pop-culture references, and Wheaton hasn't quite mastered it. Allusions are for texture. They add depth, or humour, or resonance for readers who catch them, and stay out of the way of readers who don't. In Memories..., Wheaton leans hard on jokes that should be decorative, not structural: nearly every page has a fan-servicing non sequitur that grinds the writing to a standstill. It's lazy and it's pandering, and he's better than that.
He's also better than the disjointed stream-of-consciousness style that belies the book's live-blogged origins. The conversational tone is engaging, and his enthusiasm is infectuous, but there's "spontaneous" and then there's "first draft," and while I'll forgive a lack of polish on screen, it's a lot harder to swallow in a book I paid actual money for.
The book's charming, warts and all, I enjoyed it immensely, and I'm excited for Volume Two -- but I hope Wheaton gets an editor before then.
November 16, 2009
As someone who only got into TNG during the later seasons, and hasn't had much experience watching the earlier ones, this book was a great way for me to recap on some of the episodes I was only barely familiar with, and in a geniuinly humourous way.
Although it's fair to say that a fair chunk of the humour comes from self depreciation, it is generally releiving to finally read a book that doesn't put Star Trek on the pedastal, and gives an honest account of where it goes wrong. Not every episode can be a 'Darmok', and for a series that is (possibly too?) well known for it's views on equality, pointing out the obvious sexism and racism in episodes such as 'Code of Honour' is something which I have rarely come across before.
The fact it was written by a cast member also adds to not only the authenticity of the book, but it's charm as well. Wil gets to explain to where the die.die.die fans came from, and also has the objectivity to actively agree with them.
While the book isn't perfect, some of the long running gags are a bit too long running, but it is nice to read something of Wil's that isn't entirely autobiographical (and no, I haven't read Sunken Treasure, but with £80 for postage, you wouldn't have read it either!)
FINAL GRADE B+
Although it's fair to say that a fair chunk of the humour comes from self depreciation, it is generally releiving to finally read a book that doesn't put Star Trek on the pedastal, and gives an honest account of where it goes wrong. Not every episode can be a 'Darmok', and for a series that is (possibly too?) well known for it's views on equality, pointing out the obvious sexism and racism in episodes such as 'Code of Honour' is something which I have rarely come across before.
The fact it was written by a cast member also adds to not only the authenticity of the book, but it's charm as well. Wil gets to explain to where the die.die.die fans came from, and also has the objectivity to actively agree with them.
While the book isn't perfect, some of the long running gags are a bit too long running, but it is nice to read something of Wil's that isn't entirely autobiographical (and no, I haven't read Sunken Treasure, but with £80 for postage, you wouldn't have read it either!)
FINAL GRADE B+
April 4, 2012
I’ve been following Wil Wheaton for quite some time, mostly by happenstance. I stumbled upon his blog back around 2001 or so, led there by my long-standing fondness of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ended up being a fairly active participant on the message boards he maintained at the time. Since then, I’ve enjoyed watching him on his ascendant path to nerd spokesman, but for some reason have never gotten around to reading any of his books until now. While this one is a little rough around the edges in a few places, it delivers a perfect mix of snark and nostalgia.
The book is a collection of short reviews that Wil originally published online with AOL TV Squad. The reviews cover the first thirteen episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s uneven first season, and Wil apparently subjected himself to extensive rewatches while writing them in order to refresh his memory. If you own the series on DVD or have access to Netflix streaming, I highly suggest you do what I did: follow his example and watch each episode before reading its review. It definitely heightens the experience.
The first season of TNG has its high points, but it often swings between unintentionally hilarious and plain awful. Honestly, it’s hard to take seriously the vision of the future presented by the hair and makeup stylists of the late 1980s (I sensing something, Captain. Aqua Net. Aqua Net and... and rouge. So... much... rouge!) Wil calls out the inherent silliness of these early episodes from the perspective of someone who worked behind the scenes, enriching the hilarity with trivia and personal recollections. Best of all, he does it with a palpable fondness, contrasting the ridiculous bits with the truly good ones, and taking plenty of time to give credit to his wonderful costars as they navigated through a show with questionable writing but enormous potential.
The only problem I have with the book comes from the format it was initially presented in, I think. Wil initially wrote each review as a humorous online column. Thus, he packs a lot of one-liners into each chapter, and flavors them with plenty of inside baseball from Star Trek and general nerd culture. Being a Star Trek nerd, I appreciated most of these asides, but there was a groaner every now and then. It was never enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book, but a few paragraphs skirted the line of reaching just a bit too much for a joke.
Minor quibble, easily forgotten. Honestly, this is a great book for anybody who has ever watched the series, and a perfect companion piece for watching it again. It’s also worth looking at for anybody who has a general interest in science fiction, since it offers an acerbic and often hilarious look at a seminal science-fiction franchise.
The book is a collection of short reviews that Wil originally published online with AOL TV Squad. The reviews cover the first thirteen episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s uneven first season, and Wil apparently subjected himself to extensive rewatches while writing them in order to refresh his memory. If you own the series on DVD or have access to Netflix streaming, I highly suggest you do what I did: follow his example and watch each episode before reading its review. It definitely heightens the experience.
The first season of TNG has its high points, but it often swings between unintentionally hilarious and plain awful. Honestly, it’s hard to take seriously the vision of the future presented by the hair and makeup stylists of the late 1980s (I sensing something, Captain. Aqua Net. Aqua Net and... and rouge. So... much... rouge!) Wil calls out the inherent silliness of these early episodes from the perspective of someone who worked behind the scenes, enriching the hilarity with trivia and personal recollections. Best of all, he does it with a palpable fondness, contrasting the ridiculous bits with the truly good ones, and taking plenty of time to give credit to his wonderful costars as they navigated through a show with questionable writing but enormous potential.
The only problem I have with the book comes from the format it was initially presented in, I think. Wil initially wrote each review as a humorous online column. Thus, he packs a lot of one-liners into each chapter, and flavors them with plenty of inside baseball from Star Trek and general nerd culture. Being a Star Trek nerd, I appreciated most of these asides, but there was a groaner every now and then. It was never enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book, but a few paragraphs skirted the line of reaching just a bit too much for a joke.
Minor quibble, easily forgotten. Honestly, this is a great book for anybody who has ever watched the series, and a perfect companion piece for watching it again. It’s also worth looking at for anybody who has a general interest in science fiction, since it offers an acerbic and often hilarious look at a seminal science-fiction franchise.
March 7, 2019
This book had me laugh out loud more than once!
Next Generation was the series that got me into the Star Trek franchise back when I was young – and undoubtably impressionable. Cause when 25 years later I decided to re-visit the love of my youth again (seldom a good idea ;) ), I could watch the first season of TNG only with one eye. The other was 90 percent of the time covered by a facepalm. How those – in hindsight – really bad episodes ever had managed to start my lifelong love affair with the franchise is beyond me. I guess there was nothing else on TV at that time.
So reading Wil Wheaton’s memoirs about this struggling time charged open doors with me. And it kind of conciliated me with the first season (although I certainly won’t watch it again). The style is witty, self-deprecating and enlightening about the processes behind the cameras. It was a delight to re-live the episodes through the eyes of the mature man, whose younger self had the ungrateful task of playing the most hated character on Star Trek. Just for the record: I belong to the minority who never had any qualms with Wesley and I raise my hat to the strength, with which Wheaton went through that certainly demanding time of his life.
It’s a pity that the promised second volume never was published. I would have loved to read it.
Next Generation was the series that got me into the Star Trek franchise back when I was young – and undoubtably impressionable. Cause when 25 years later I decided to re-visit the love of my youth again (seldom a good idea ;) ), I could watch the first season of TNG only with one eye. The other was 90 percent of the time covered by a facepalm. How those – in hindsight – really bad episodes ever had managed to start my lifelong love affair with the franchise is beyond me. I guess there was nothing else on TV at that time.
So reading Wil Wheaton’s memoirs about this struggling time charged open doors with me. And it kind of conciliated me with the first season (although I certainly won’t watch it again). The style is witty, self-deprecating and enlightening about the processes behind the cameras. It was a delight to re-live the episodes through the eyes of the mature man, whose younger self had the ungrateful task of playing the most hated character on Star Trek. Just for the record: I belong to the minority who never had any qualms with Wesley and I raise my hat to the strength, with which Wheaton went through that certainly demanding time of his life.
It’s a pity that the promised second volume never was published. I would have loved to read it.
November 2, 2009
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be Wil Wheaton.
I was nine when TNG debuted, and Wesley Crusher was a role model. Here was a child prodigy saving the day with his science projects, he had a cool haircut, and those sweaters were pretty rad, too. Well, I wasn't too big a fan of the sweaters, but I identified with Wesley, and for what it's worth, this is about when I started embracing my status as Smartest Kid in the Class (which, granted, only lasted until middle school). Did I mention that one of the two VHS tapes available during my summers at my Grandma's place on Long Island, and thus viewd dozens, if not hundreds of times, was 'Stand By Me' (the other one being 'Jaws')? Point is, the book's great. It's a snarky, nostalgia-fueled look back at his childhood and, to a certain extent, mine.
I was nine when TNG debuted, and Wesley Crusher was a role model. Here was a child prodigy saving the day with his science projects, he had a cool haircut, and those sweaters were pretty rad, too. Well, I wasn't too big a fan of the sweaters, but I identified with Wesley, and for what it's worth, this is about when I started embracing my status as Smartest Kid in the Class (which, granted, only lasted until middle school). Did I mention that one of the two VHS tapes available during my summers at my Grandma's place on Long Island, and thus viewd dozens, if not hundreds of times, was 'Stand By Me' (the other one being 'Jaws')? Point is, the book's great. It's a snarky, nostalgia-fueled look back at his childhood and, to a certain extent, mine.
July 9, 2011
An absolutely hilarious memoir/review of the first half of the first season of Star Trek: the Next Generation from the perspective of a 15-year old Wil Wheaton. The level of loving snarkiness was perfect, and the behind-the-scenes insights were great. Wheaton goes to great lengths to inform the reader about the process by which Wesley Crusher became one of the most hated characters in sci-fi history (in a mostly joking way), and how he was essentially powerless to stop it.
The book is broken up into one chapter per episode, with each episode getting a snarky description/review, then a section of behind the scenes goodness, quotable dialog/technobabble, and finally a letter grade.
I'm definitely buying volume 2!
The book is broken up into one chapter per episode, with each episode getting a snarky description/review, then a section of behind the scenes goodness, quotable dialog/technobabble, and finally a letter grade.
I'm definitely buying volume 2!
November 9, 2009
I enjoyed reading this book. The episode recaps were quite funny and the behind the scenes sections were really interesting. I'm kicking myself a little for buying a physical copy of the book instead of the almost half as expensive digital version. It is not very likely that I will reread this book, and since it only covers half of season one I don't feel like I got enough bang for my buck. I would have preferred to pay the same price for the entirety of season 1 in one volume. If I decide to pick up volume 2 I will definitely be going with the digital version.
January 9, 2016
The actor behind Star Trek - the Next Generation's least favourite character delivers its most-favourite literary offspring: a behind the scenes look at how season one came together, full of sly pokes but empty of scuttlebutt. Great fun, but probably only for fans of the show.
May 12, 2016
This is not the type of book that I typically read. I am usually in to fantasy or sci-fi. I am a huge Star Trek fan, though, so this title seemed intriguing to me. I was not expecting the episode to episode recap but it was enjoyable to hear the recap as told by a cast member as awesome as Wesley Crusher himself.
I was amused reading his line: "Oh, that's pure fucking genius writing there, guys; that's not going to alienate a single fan. Bravo. Here, have a nice slow clap from me to you." -direct quote from location#1306/65% via Kindle because I actually did feel alienated on a couple aspects....: I felt as though there were some "inside jokes" that I didn't understand. I understood many of his hidden pop culture movie quotes and references but not all were hidden. Some were blatantly asking me to know "yada yada" to understand the punch line of some of his coined snark which I unfortunately didn't fully "get" and didn't feel like putting the book down to google and therefore missed the joke entirely.
While there were obviously a few things that rubbed me wrong, on the whole this book was very enjoyable. I really loved reading of his perspective on the background of these first 13 episodes and enjoyed having some of the writing/producing stuff explained better.
I had a love/hate relationship with his making fun of the many flaws, though. While I enjoyed having plot holes pointed out - things that I honestly didn't notice myself - I was torn because it almost seemed like Because I know he is a fan from reading his blog and following him on twitter, I didn't have to worry that aspect. !
I really wanted to give this book 4 for "really liked it"... things mentioned above throw me into the not often played 3 stars "I liked it". And I did like it enough to want to read any additional volumes published in the series... I just really hope for less inside jokes without explanation and less political crap (not that there was a lot,.. just mentioning it at all can be enough). I want more of the thing that made me pickup the book in the first place: Radtacular Wheaton trademarked Snark, bitches!
Poor Wesley, got no love...
[image error]
I was amused reading his line: "Oh, that's pure fucking genius writing there, guys; that's not going to alienate a single fan. Bravo. Here, have a nice slow clap from me to you." -direct quote from location#1306/65% via Kindle because I actually did feel alienated on a couple aspects....: I felt as though there were some "inside jokes" that I didn't understand. I understood many of his hidden pop culture movie quotes and references but not all were hidden. Some were blatantly asking me to know "yada yada" to understand the punch line of some of his coined snark which I unfortunately didn't fully "get" and didn't feel like putting the book down to google and therefore missed the joke entirely.
Let me sidebar my review for just a moment to rant slightly on an annoyance that I know I am not alone in experiencing:
I felt that he specifically attempted to alienate the half of the country that doesn't While I may agree that there were some very dumb things done under certain presidents, etc., I hate when actors, authors, comedians, musicians, etc. feel the need to shove their political opinions in your face by subtly hiding it in their books, songs, interviews, etc. I get it if you are writing a book on politics or whatever but I was sad to see it mentioned so often in this - a comical recap of an awesome show that does not cater only to the left but that we can all enjoy. I would rather that Trek and other awesome sci-fi could be a thing that people could have in common. People who believe differently on religion and politics should all be able to watch and enjoy this stuff together. I dream of a world where politics and religion (I am grouping religion into this rant even though Wil Wheaton did NOT bring religion into his book because it bothers me equally) can be set aside for the common love of comedy and of sci-fi.
Ok, back to my review..
While there were obviously a few things that rubbed me wrong, on the whole this book was very enjoyable. I really loved reading of his perspective on the background of these first 13 episodes and enjoyed having some of the writing/producing stuff explained better.
I had a love/hate relationship with his making fun of the many flaws, though. While I enjoyed having plot holes pointed out - things that I honestly didn't notice myself - I was torn because it almost seemed like Because I know he is a fan from reading his blog and following him on twitter, I didn't have to worry that aspect. !
I really wanted to give this book 4 for "really liked it"... things mentioned above throw me into the not often played 3 stars "I liked it". And I did like it enough to want to read any additional volumes published in the series... I just really hope for less inside jokes without explanation and less political crap (not that there was a lot,.. just mentioning it at all can be enough). I want more of the thing that made me pickup the book in the first place: Radtacular Wheaton trademarked Snark, bitches!
Poor Wesley, got no love...
[image error]
November 14, 2014
Der Schriftsteller und Schauspieler Wil Wheaton kombiniert in "Memories of the Future" seine Leidenschaften: Er hat sich den zweiteiligen Pilotfilm und die weiteren 11 Folgen (also bis Datalore) von Star Trek The Next Generation Staffel 1, in denen er als Teenager die Rolle des Wesley Crusher gespielt hat, als Mittdreißiger noch einmal angesehen und darüber geschrieben (zunächst in einem Webblog, dann veröffentlich in diesem Buch). Zu jeder Folge gibt es eine Plotdarstellung, dann bemerkenswerte Dialogzeilen, herausragendes Techno-Gebabbel, dann - soweit möglich - Erinnerungen das Autors an diese Episode und zum Schluss eine zusammenfassende Betrachtung. Was soll ich sagen: Ich fand Wil Wheatons Erinnerungen sehr unterhaltsam.
Seine Plotdarstellungen bezeichnet er seinen Texten als "snarky" und lt. dict.cc ist dieses Wort mit höhnisch, abfällig oder bissig zu übersetzen. Ich empfand seine Darlegungen durchaus als bissig, denn er macht keinen Hehl daraus, was in diesen Folgen falsch lief. Unglückliche Regie, das Aufbereiten von Folgen der Classic-Serie, das Bedienen von Klischees und unüberlegte Drehbücher werden gnadenlos kommentiert und auch die Löcher in Plots werden nicht außen vor gelassen. Und die Behandlung des Charakters Wesley Crusher durch die Autoren in der Show macht einen guten Teil der Anmerkungen aus, was mich selbstverständlich nicht wundert. ;) Auf der anderen Seite ist in den einzelnen Kapiteln aber auch immer Positives zur Folge zu finden, mag die "Wheaton-Wertung" auch die schlechteste Note aufweisen. Das reicht vom Anerkennen eines großartig vorgenommenen Castings, der Schauspielerei von Kollegen oder der Charakterentwicklung, die stattfand oder das Potential der Show, das sich in manchen Szenen abzeichnete.
Für mich jedenfalls wurde deutlich, dass Wil Wheaton die Show mag, unabhängig davon, wie schwierig es für ihn als Teenager auf dem Set gewesen sein mag und wie verletzend es für ihn gewesen sein muss, Hass-Attacken gegen die von ihm verkörperte Figur des Wesley Crusher zu erleben (wobei vielleicht sogar eine Gleichsetzung von Schauspieler und Rolle erfolgte). Ich schaue derzeit mal wieder StarTrek Deep Space Nine und auch als Star-Trek-Fan bin ich nicht blind gegenüber Handlungsschwächen (wie z.B. direkt im Pilotfilm, wenn eine Flotte zu Wolf 359 zu einem Kampf mit den Borg befohlen wird und offenbar überhaupt keine Zeit vorhanden ist, an Bord befindlichen Zivilisten in einen Transporter zu beamen oder auf die Untertassensektion eines Galaxy-Schiffes und diese abzutrennen ...). Manche Dinge sind ärgerlicher als andere, manche übersieht man oder man kann über sie hinwegsehen), aber in der Gesamtschau überzeugt die Show. Aber ich schweife ab ;)
Wie schon gesagt, fand ich seine Zusammenfassungen recht bissig, aber nicht mit dieser negativen Färbung, die mit dem Wort höhnisch oder abfällig einhergeht. Seine sexuellen Anspielungen und Verknüpfungen im Rahmen der Plotdarstellung gingen mir allerdings etwas auf die Nerven, bei anderen Gelegenheiten habe ich dann aber losgelacht, etwa in der Plotdarstellung zu "The Last Outpost" , in der es heißt - Riker hat gerade die Ferengi mit Yankee-Händlern aus dem 18. Jahrhundert verglichen -:
"This indicates that, in the 24th century, the traditional practice of using 600-year-old comparisons is still in vogue, like when you're stuck in traffic on the freeway, and say: "Man, this is just like Vasco de Gama trying to go around the Cape of Good Hope!". *
Ich habe das ebook im engl. Org. gelesen. Das US-Englisch war grundsätzlich leicht lesbar und verständlich. Grundsätzlich deshalb, weil die Texte mit einigen Abkürzungen und Begriffen - z.B."KTHX" oder "All about the Benjamins" - gespickt sind, die als feststehende Redewendung oder Slang nicht über dict.cc erkannt werden. Dankenswerterweise gibt es aber auch ein online-urban-dictionary und auch ein online-slang-dictionary.
Ich habe mich nach Volume 2 der Memories of the Future umgeschaut, aber weder eine print- noch eine ebook-version sind - bislang?- erhältlich. Wenn Volume2 erscheint, werde ich es mir kaufen, mich interessiert Wil Wheatons Blick auf die restlichen Folgen der ersten TNG-Staffel. Ich hoffe, er arbeitet daran. ;)
*Quelle:
"Memories of the Future Volume 1" by Wil Wheaton, Kapitel: "The Last Outpost", kindle-Edition, Verlag: Monolith Press (26. April 2011), ASIN: B004Y74XAI, Position 645 von 1999,
Seine Plotdarstellungen bezeichnet er seinen Texten als "snarky" und lt. dict.cc ist dieses Wort mit höhnisch, abfällig oder bissig zu übersetzen. Ich empfand seine Darlegungen durchaus als bissig, denn er macht keinen Hehl daraus, was in diesen Folgen falsch lief. Unglückliche Regie, das Aufbereiten von Folgen der Classic-Serie, das Bedienen von Klischees und unüberlegte Drehbücher werden gnadenlos kommentiert und auch die Löcher in Plots werden nicht außen vor gelassen. Und die Behandlung des Charakters Wesley Crusher durch die Autoren in der Show macht einen guten Teil der Anmerkungen aus, was mich selbstverständlich nicht wundert. ;) Auf der anderen Seite ist in den einzelnen Kapiteln aber auch immer Positives zur Folge zu finden, mag die "Wheaton-Wertung" auch die schlechteste Note aufweisen. Das reicht vom Anerkennen eines großartig vorgenommenen Castings, der Schauspielerei von Kollegen oder der Charakterentwicklung, die stattfand oder das Potential der Show, das sich in manchen Szenen abzeichnete.
Für mich jedenfalls wurde deutlich, dass Wil Wheaton die Show mag, unabhängig davon, wie schwierig es für ihn als Teenager auf dem Set gewesen sein mag und wie verletzend es für ihn gewesen sein muss, Hass-Attacken gegen die von ihm verkörperte Figur des Wesley Crusher zu erleben (wobei vielleicht sogar eine Gleichsetzung von Schauspieler und Rolle erfolgte). Ich schaue derzeit mal wieder StarTrek Deep Space Nine und auch als Star-Trek-Fan bin ich nicht blind gegenüber Handlungsschwächen (wie z.B. direkt im Pilotfilm, wenn eine Flotte zu Wolf 359 zu einem Kampf mit den Borg befohlen wird und offenbar überhaupt keine Zeit vorhanden ist, an Bord befindlichen Zivilisten in einen Transporter zu beamen oder auf die Untertassensektion eines Galaxy-Schiffes und diese abzutrennen ...). Manche Dinge sind ärgerlicher als andere, manche übersieht man oder man kann über sie hinwegsehen), aber in der Gesamtschau überzeugt die Show. Aber ich schweife ab ;)
Wie schon gesagt, fand ich seine Zusammenfassungen recht bissig, aber nicht mit dieser negativen Färbung, die mit dem Wort höhnisch oder abfällig einhergeht. Seine sexuellen Anspielungen und Verknüpfungen im Rahmen der Plotdarstellung gingen mir allerdings etwas auf die Nerven, bei anderen Gelegenheiten habe ich dann aber losgelacht, etwa in der Plotdarstellung zu "The Last Outpost" , in der es heißt - Riker hat gerade die Ferengi mit Yankee-Händlern aus dem 18. Jahrhundert verglichen -:
"This indicates that, in the 24th century, the traditional practice of using 600-year-old comparisons is still in vogue, like when you're stuck in traffic on the freeway, and say: "Man, this is just like Vasco de Gama trying to go around the Cape of Good Hope!". *
Ich habe das ebook im engl. Org. gelesen. Das US-Englisch war grundsätzlich leicht lesbar und verständlich. Grundsätzlich deshalb, weil die Texte mit einigen Abkürzungen und Begriffen - z.B."KTHX" oder "All about the Benjamins" - gespickt sind, die als feststehende Redewendung oder Slang nicht über dict.cc erkannt werden. Dankenswerterweise gibt es aber auch ein online-urban-dictionary und auch ein online-slang-dictionary.
Ich habe mich nach Volume 2 der Memories of the Future umgeschaut, aber weder eine print- noch eine ebook-version sind - bislang?- erhältlich. Wenn Volume2 erscheint, werde ich es mir kaufen, mich interessiert Wil Wheatons Blick auf die restlichen Folgen der ersten TNG-Staffel. Ich hoffe, er arbeitet daran. ;)
*Quelle:
"Memories of the Future Volume 1" by Wil Wheaton, Kapitel: "The Last Outpost", kindle-Edition, Verlag: Monolith Press (26. April 2011), ASIN: B004Y74XAI, Position 645 von 1999,
January 26, 2010
"Memories of the Future: Volume 1" is a collection of episode recaps of the first half of the first season of Star Trek TNG, written by erstwhile cast member Wil Wheaton.
It's been a long time since I watched much Next Generation, but I found to my delight as I was reading this book that I remembered nearly all of the episodes discussed, and it brought back a lot of fond memories. The first season of TNG was very uneven - they were still struggling in the mostly cheesy mold of the original series - and Wil Wheaton does a good job of pointing out episodes that do poorly in differentiating the young show from its original, even singling out several episodes that are straight-out plot rips from TOS. He balances out the criticism with moments of real affection for the show, pointing out scenes where you can begin to see how The Next Generation was going to grow into the strong, much more interesting series it later became.
He writes his recaps in a snarky voice, which sometimes works very naturally (there's a lot to make fun of in the early episodes!) but could also feel forced when he tried too hard for a joke. I listened to a couple of the podcasts where he reads excerpts from this book, and many of his jokes and asides that work wonderfully when spoken aloud by him just don't have the same effect on the page, feeling strained or awkward instead. (If Wil Wheaton ever releases a full audiobook version of "Memories of the Future", I'd like to preemptively recommend the audio version over this printed version.)
The best part of the book, by far, were the small "behind the scenes" sections that Wheaton included for each episode, with memories of working on the show. I found these brought a unique and insightful take to the book. Unfortunately, he doesn't always have a memory for each episode, so some of the behind the scenes sections are essentially missing or sparse, which is a shame.
Three stars.
It's been a long time since I watched much Next Generation, but I found to my delight as I was reading this book that I remembered nearly all of the episodes discussed, and it brought back a lot of fond memories. The first season of TNG was very uneven - they were still struggling in the mostly cheesy mold of the original series - and Wil Wheaton does a good job of pointing out episodes that do poorly in differentiating the young show from its original, even singling out several episodes that are straight-out plot rips from TOS. He balances out the criticism with moments of real affection for the show, pointing out scenes where you can begin to see how The Next Generation was going to grow into the strong, much more interesting series it later became.
He writes his recaps in a snarky voice, which sometimes works very naturally (there's a lot to make fun of in the early episodes!) but could also feel forced when he tried too hard for a joke. I listened to a couple of the podcasts where he reads excerpts from this book, and many of his jokes and asides that work wonderfully when spoken aloud by him just don't have the same effect on the page, feeling strained or awkward instead. (If Wil Wheaton ever releases a full audiobook version of "Memories of the Future", I'd like to preemptively recommend the audio version over this printed version.)
The best part of the book, by far, were the small "behind the scenes" sections that Wheaton included for each episode, with memories of working on the show. I found these brought a unique and insightful take to the book. Unfortunately, he doesn't always have a memory for each episode, so some of the behind the scenes sections are essentially missing or sparse, which is a shame.
Three stars.
July 17, 2014
Blimey, have I finished this already? Well it is a very easy and entertaining read, and written very much in Wil Wheaton's voice, so it flows quite naturally.
Basically, it's great. It's a subjective behind the scenes opinion of some of the earlier episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, stuffed with stories and comparisons between how the actors felt at the time, and how they feel now (principally Wil Wheaton, obviously). It shines a light on the mess of television production, bordering occasionally on the apologetic when it does.
There's also some fantastic insight into how early-internet and even pre-internet fandom worked (remember Usenet, anyone?) and how we all still managed to be behave like we had Twitter and Tumblr, even before we did. Some things never change.
It is drenched in references to various shows, memes, and news stories.. but these are layered. There are things everyone will get, things some people will understand, and things that will amuse a select few. There's a certain smugness in spotting a joke or reference that would go utterly unnoticed to someone who was unaware of what it involved.
There is one unfortunately jarring joke, an unnecessary swing at Lindsay Lohan's vicodin addiction. It seems to be the only truly hostile joke in the book, and seems oddly out of place. This is a recurring symptom in I guess what you would call popular nerd culture, where all that inclusiveness and understanding drops for a second to make a very crass and mainstream remark, before carrying on as normal.
Otherwise a great read though, the kind that will entertain both fans of Star Trek, and fans of television production. I appreciate this is a digest of specific published articles, but feel it could have been longer. If there is a Volume 2, 3, etc, I don't see why they couldn't have been merged together.
Nick
xx
Basically, it's great. It's a subjective behind the scenes opinion of some of the earlier episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, stuffed with stories and comparisons between how the actors felt at the time, and how they feel now (principally Wil Wheaton, obviously). It shines a light on the mess of television production, bordering occasionally on the apologetic when it does.
There's also some fantastic insight into how early-internet and even pre-internet fandom worked (remember Usenet, anyone?) and how we all still managed to be behave like we had Twitter and Tumblr, even before we did. Some things never change.
It is drenched in references to various shows, memes, and news stories.. but these are layered. There are things everyone will get, things some people will understand, and things that will amuse a select few. There's a certain smugness in spotting a joke or reference that would go utterly unnoticed to someone who was unaware of what it involved.
There is one unfortunately jarring joke, an unnecessary swing at Lindsay Lohan's vicodin addiction. It seems to be the only truly hostile joke in the book, and seems oddly out of place. This is a recurring symptom in I guess what you would call popular nerd culture, where all that inclusiveness and understanding drops for a second to make a very crass and mainstream remark, before carrying on as normal.
Otherwise a great read though, the kind that will entertain both fans of Star Trek, and fans of television production. I appreciate this is a digest of specific published articles, but feel it could have been longer. If there is a Volume 2, 3, etc, I don't see why they couldn't have been merged together.
Nick
xx
October 22, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. I laughed so much while reading Memories of the Future, more than I have for any other book in recent memory.
The episode recaps are the real stars of the book, and I would often stop to read a particularly hilarious passage out loud to my girlfriend. However, this isn't just a book of condensed snark; Wheaton's love of Star Trek TNG comes through on every page. His profound respect for his fellow actors, and his affection for what the show will become gives the recaps a humane quality. As a result, the snarky episode recaps, feel less like a nasty internet posting (the natural habitat of undiluted snark), and more like the playful ribbing of a friend at the dinner table, while reminiscing about that embarrassing event that everyone had to go through back in high school.
It's a great book, but I do have a tiny niggling complaint. There's a lot of references in the recaps to later episodes by their title, which I wouldn't mind if the recaps of those episodes were in the same volume, however a few of them are slated for volume two, and since I don't have the 1st season of TNG around the house to figure out what Wheaton's referring to, I felt left out of a joke that probably won't make sense to me until the second volume comes out (soon, I hope).
There were also a couple episodes where Wheaton didn't actually recall anything from behind the scenes, so for those entries the "Behind the Scenes Memory" section would be a little weak.
To sum up: I loved this book and can't wait for volume two. However, I knock off one star for the two small complaints I mention because I am a bit of a prick despite Wil Wheaton's sage advice: "Don't be a dick!"
The episode recaps are the real stars of the book, and I would often stop to read a particularly hilarious passage out loud to my girlfriend. However, this isn't just a book of condensed snark; Wheaton's love of Star Trek TNG comes through on every page. His profound respect for his fellow actors, and his affection for what the show will become gives the recaps a humane quality. As a result, the snarky episode recaps, feel less like a nasty internet posting (the natural habitat of undiluted snark), and more like the playful ribbing of a friend at the dinner table, while reminiscing about that embarrassing event that everyone had to go through back in high school.
It's a great book, but I do have a tiny niggling complaint. There's a lot of references in the recaps to later episodes by their title, which I wouldn't mind if the recaps of those episodes were in the same volume, however a few of them are slated for volume two, and since I don't have the 1st season of TNG around the house to figure out what Wheaton's referring to, I felt left out of a joke that probably won't make sense to me until the second volume comes out (soon, I hope).
There were also a couple episodes where Wheaton didn't actually recall anything from behind the scenes, so for those entries the "Behind the Scenes Memory" section would be a little weak.
To sum up: I loved this book and can't wait for volume two. However, I knock off one star for the two small complaints I mention because I am a bit of a prick despite Wil Wheaton's sage advice: "Don't be a dick!"
September 7, 2012
The second I saw Memories of the Future, I knew it was going to be something I’d love. I really only have one complaint about this book and it’s simply that there’s not enough of it. This book covers the first half of season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation and I really do wish that there were more of these to cover the rest of the series.
I’ve recently been watching TNG season 1 on blu-ray so a lot of these episodes were fresh in my mind while I was reading these books, as opposed to the dull memories of childhood and I found myself thinking a lot of the same sort of things bout these episodes watching them now 15-20 years after I first saw them. Admittedly, these thoughts were better articulated than I could probably managed and for anyone who loves snark-filled reviews/recaps this book is a dream come true.
It’s got just about everything you’d want to know about the episodes it covers – airdates, directors, writers etc. plus a whole bunch of personal anecdotes which really do elevate this book above the standard recap/guide style affairs. The thoughts expressed in the recaps are hardly anything new – anyone who has ever loved Star Trek will have voiced similar thoughts and feelings over the years after all, we love to nit-pick. It’s like the defining characteristic of Trek fans.
I devoured this book in an afternoon and found myself feeling strangely nostalgic, thinking back to the first time I remembered seeing these episodes. It was funny and irreverent in all of the best ways possible, and it was surprisingly personal. It wasn’t a sordid tell-all book but a collection of genuine reminiscences by someone who loves the material and for me, that’s what made it worth giving this book 5 stars.
I’ve recently been watching TNG season 1 on blu-ray so a lot of these episodes were fresh in my mind while I was reading these books, as opposed to the dull memories of childhood and I found myself thinking a lot of the same sort of things bout these episodes watching them now 15-20 years after I first saw them. Admittedly, these thoughts were better articulated than I could probably managed and for anyone who loves snark-filled reviews/recaps this book is a dream come true.
It’s got just about everything you’d want to know about the episodes it covers – airdates, directors, writers etc. plus a whole bunch of personal anecdotes which really do elevate this book above the standard recap/guide style affairs. The thoughts expressed in the recaps are hardly anything new – anyone who has ever loved Star Trek will have voiced similar thoughts and feelings over the years after all, we love to nit-pick. It’s like the defining characteristic of Trek fans.
I devoured this book in an afternoon and found myself feeling strangely nostalgic, thinking back to the first time I remembered seeing these episodes. It was funny and irreverent in all of the best ways possible, and it was surprisingly personal. It wasn’t a sordid tell-all book but a collection of genuine reminiscences by someone who loves the material and for me, that’s what made it worth giving this book 5 stars.
December 1, 2010
If you're a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation or Wil Wheaton, then you will enjoy reading Memories of the Future. Wheaton provides his take on the first half of the first season of the television series. Wheaton played Wesley Crusher on the show, so he brings the viewpoint of a fan of the show and an actor on the show.
When Star Trek: The Next Generation first launched, geeks like me were abuzz at the new series. Especially since Gene Rodenberry, who had created the original series, was heavily involved. This was re-booting a franchise before Hollywood called it re-booting.
It's a bit hard to be a fan of the series and be a fan of Wneaton's role. Wesley Crusher was the Jar-Jar Binks of Star Trek. (From Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory)
Why was Wesley Crusher on board? I suspect the producers wanted a teen on board so that teenage fans would have someone to relate to. I would guess they also wanted a pretty face to attract teenage girls to the show.
Wheaton is the hardest on himself. The book is not a tell-all. It's written with true affection for his fellow actors. Clearly, he is a fan of the show. However, Wheaton is hard on the writers, directors and producers of the show.
Each chapter in Memories of the Future is dedicated to an episode. Wheaton gives a snarky and hilarious synopsis of the show, full of anecdotes and geeky references. He doles out some technobabble, some behind the scenes memories and a bottom line evaluation of the episode.
The show ended up being great, but these first episodes were really rough. Picard, Riker and Worf ended up being great characters in the Star Trek franchise. Wesley Crusher? Not so much.
When Star Trek: The Next Generation first launched, geeks like me were abuzz at the new series. Especially since Gene Rodenberry, who had created the original series, was heavily involved. This was re-booting a franchise before Hollywood called it re-booting.
It's a bit hard to be a fan of the series and be a fan of Wneaton's role. Wesley Crusher was the Jar-Jar Binks of Star Trek. (From Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory)
Why was Wesley Crusher on board? I suspect the producers wanted a teen on board so that teenage fans would have someone to relate to. I would guess they also wanted a pretty face to attract teenage girls to the show.
Wheaton is the hardest on himself. The book is not a tell-all. It's written with true affection for his fellow actors. Clearly, he is a fan of the show. However, Wheaton is hard on the writers, directors and producers of the show.
Each chapter in Memories of the Future is dedicated to an episode. Wheaton gives a snarky and hilarious synopsis of the show, full of anecdotes and geeky references. He doles out some technobabble, some behind the scenes memories and a bottom line evaluation of the episode.
The show ended up being great, but these first episodes were really rough. Picard, Riker and Worf ended up being great characters in the Star Trek franchise. Wesley Crusher? Not so much.
September 2, 2015
A friend at work happened to notice I was re-watching Star Trek through my Twitter account and asked if I would be interested in reading this book. Being a bit of a Star Trek TNG fan I said "hell yes" (or something like that, I can't recall and cannot be bothered to go to Twitter to check). I am very glad I did as this is a very amusing book.
Star Trek TNG started broadcasting 2 years before I was born so when I first saw it it must have been on its third or fourth repeat. As such I never knew the hatred of Wesley Crusher until I started finding information on the internet (Wikipedia is really useful at times you know!). Granted as a character he did start to wear at me but there is usually a character in most shows that I am not a fan of and tolerate so... nothing knew there.
As a watcher of The Big Bang Theory I knew of Wil Wheaton and that he seemed happy enough to take the mickey about himself and you can see that here. He doesn't shy away from saying when he made a poor acting decision (though he does point out he was 14 and to be acting with a legend like Patrick Stewart you cannot really blame him as a lad), and also points out that the writers could have helped out a bit (and honestly, I can see what he means - Wesley does have some really lame lines).
The episode recaps are usually hysterically funny, and the behind the scenes memories are interesting. This book is 4 years old now and there is, apparently, meant to be a volume 2. Not entirely sure when that'll be but I will definitely be looking into reading it if it is ever published.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable very quick read and I highly recommend it for Star Trek TNG fans.
Star Trek TNG started broadcasting 2 years before I was born so when I first saw it it must have been on its third or fourth repeat. As such I never knew the hatred of Wesley Crusher until I started finding information on the internet (Wikipedia is really useful at times you know!). Granted as a character he did start to wear at me but there is usually a character in most shows that I am not a fan of and tolerate so... nothing knew there.
As a watcher of The Big Bang Theory I knew of Wil Wheaton and that he seemed happy enough to take the mickey about himself and you can see that here. He doesn't shy away from saying when he made a poor acting decision (though he does point out he was 14 and to be acting with a legend like Patrick Stewart you cannot really blame him as a lad), and also points out that the writers could have helped out a bit (and honestly, I can see what he means - Wesley does have some really lame lines).
The episode recaps are usually hysterically funny, and the behind the scenes memories are interesting. This book is 4 years old now and there is, apparently, meant to be a volume 2. Not entirely sure when that'll be but I will definitely be looking into reading it if it is ever published.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable very quick read and I highly recommend it for Star Trek TNG fans.
September 13, 2011
I've been a fan of Star Trek for years, and also a fan of Wil Wheaton for quite a while. I've seen him speak several times, including the keynote at PAX 2007 as well as his panels every year since, in addition to reading most of his books and his blog. Wil's taken the experience of being a child actor on ST:TNG and used them to write the first installment of an absolutely hysterical guide to the series. This book covers the first half of the first season, with each episode covered by synopsis/discussion, quotable dialogue, technobabble, and memories. Plenty of snark is evident, tempered by serious commentary, and his teenage memories are tempered with his adult experience to provide a rich and interesting picture "from within" of the development of the series. A few bits are familiar to me, but lots of it is all new material, and many of his insights especially on how the series was starting out are quite good. A familiarity with the series helps, but you can still read this book for the writing if you've never watched a single ST:TNG episode in your life - though I'd run a quick glance over Wikipedia to get an idea of the actors and their characters first. Definitely worth a read if you like Wil's writing, and as I truly laughed out loud a few times while reading it, I will be looking forward to further installments.
February 21, 2016
This book was a quick and entertaining read with a lot of laughs in it! I really enjoyed the insight into Wheaton's personal memories, but also the critical look at the episodes themselves and the parts that talked about the writers, directors, and other actors and what it was like working with them.
My only complaint is that, at times, it was painfully snarky in an effort to be funny, crossing over into just plain mean, which made some parts just not funny to me at all. I felt this was especially so where some self-deprecating bits regarding Wesley's character are concerned, like Wheaton is trying really hard to make sure that we understand he was as fed up with the way Wesley's character was handled as we were and, further, that it wasn't his fault and Wil Wheaton and Wesley Crusher are two different people. Over and over, to the point where I began to feel like he was trying to convince himself of all this as much as the audience, which there is no need to do because we are logical people who understand actors are only doing what they can with what they're given for their character.
Anyway, for me it was kind of hard to get through some of the synopses because of that. But, underneath all that, the criticisms were spot on and I enjoyed the behind-the-scene looks, so I just kind of read around the overly snarky bits.
My only complaint is that, at times, it was painfully snarky in an effort to be funny, crossing over into just plain mean, which made some parts just not funny to me at all. I felt this was especially so where some self-deprecating bits regarding Wesley's character are concerned, like Wheaton is trying really hard to make sure that we understand he was as fed up with the way Wesley's character was handled as we were and, further, that it wasn't his fault and Wil Wheaton and Wesley Crusher are two different people. Over and over, to the point where I began to feel like he was trying to convince himself of all this as much as the audience, which there is no need to do because we are logical people who understand actors are only doing what they can with what they're given for their character.
Anyway, for me it was kind of hard to get through some of the synopses because of that. But, underneath all that, the criticisms were spot on and I enjoyed the behind-the-scene looks, so I just kind of read around the overly snarky bits.
November 16, 2012
High marks to Wil for coming up with a great concept. I think the best way to enjoy this book is to watch an episode (Netflix has the entire ST:TNG series available for instant view), then read the section about it. It had been quite a while since I had watched many of the first season episodes, and I had forgotten what a rocky start the show got off to.
In the book, each episode contains a snarky plot synopsis, memorable quotes, and memories of filming. The plot synopses were full of Wil's brand of humor, which is occasionally very funny, sometimes annoying, but overall enjoyable. And the memories of shooting were very interesting, but felt too short. Perhaps there was really nothing more to say, but I wanted to hear more background on the production of the show. The other problem I had with the book was the general feeling of Wil vs the writers. This is not to say that the writers aren't at fault, and they didn't create a horrible character in Wesley Crusher. But one gets the feeling that this book is his opportunity to make a case that, in the words of Han Solo, "it's not my fault!".
In any case, it really is a great concept, and it's a perfect excuse to go back and revisit old episodes of TNG. I hope Wil continues to create these, as I have doubt they will improve with each volume.
In the book, each episode contains a snarky plot synopsis, memorable quotes, and memories of filming. The plot synopses were full of Wil's brand of humor, which is occasionally very funny, sometimes annoying, but overall enjoyable. And the memories of shooting were very interesting, but felt too short. Perhaps there was really nothing more to say, but I wanted to hear more background on the production of the show. The other problem I had with the book was the general feeling of Wil vs the writers. This is not to say that the writers aren't at fault, and they didn't create a horrible character in Wesley Crusher. But one gets the feeling that this book is his opportunity to make a case that, in the words of Han Solo, "it's not my fault!".
In any case, it really is a great concept, and it's a perfect excuse to go back and revisit old episodes of TNG. I hope Wil continues to create these, as I have doubt they will improve with each volume.
June 10, 2011
Memories of the Future was a highly enjoyable book. I've seen Wil Wheaton speak in person and listened to the podcasts surrounding this book, so when I read his prose, I can sense the warmth he feels for the people he worked with and the loving glee with which he desiccates the shoddy writing of first season TNG. However, I'm not sure this comes across in the writing itself.
Wheaton writes in the introduction that Memories of the Future is supposed to read sort of like an old high school yearbook, playing on the ups and downs on nostalgia rather than on really clean editing. Filled with pop culture references that leave the book already feeling dated, the prose comes off as stilted when it tries to be conversational. I suspect that whoever tried to edit it into book format couldn't find a way to bring Wheaton's glee and warmth to life.
Still, it's a fun read for anyone familiar with the woes and wonders of first season TNG, and as I'm slowly watching my way through it again, having read the books is paying off. I'm enjoying episodes that, frankly, I never thought would be possible to enjoy. So Bravo, Wil Wheaton! You've made season one fun!
Wheaton writes in the introduction that Memories of the Future is supposed to read sort of like an old high school yearbook, playing on the ups and downs on nostalgia rather than on really clean editing. Filled with pop culture references that leave the book already feeling dated, the prose comes off as stilted when it tries to be conversational. I suspect that whoever tried to edit it into book format couldn't find a way to bring Wheaton's glee and warmth to life.
Still, it's a fun read for anyone familiar with the woes and wonders of first season TNG, and as I'm slowly watching my way through it again, having read the books is paying off. I'm enjoying episodes that, frankly, I never thought would be possible to enjoy. So Bravo, Wil Wheaton! You've made season one fun!
February 3, 2010
I have to give it 5 stars because it is the best version of this type of re-capping that I have ever seen. Having our favorite stories re-told from the point of view of one of the actors in such a hilarious manner is priceless. I can't wait for volume 2.
My formula for maximum enjoyment of this book includes being an established TNG fan who has seen most, if not all, of the episodes, preferably in multiple viewings. It also includes being an outright geek. Because there are so many references here, running the gamut from Futurama to other Treks to old sci-fi flicks, to really appreciate this book you would probably need to have a good base of geek knowledge.
Wil takes creative license with his recaps, resulting in a running comedic commentary, rather than a boring blow-by-blow analysis. There are many laugh-out-loud moments and unique insider views.
I think he may be too hard on Wesley, and by extension, himself, but we all know that Trekkies have been much harsher throughout the years. I always thought he was unintentionally hilarious, rather than detestable.
My formula for maximum enjoyment of this book includes being an established TNG fan who has seen most, if not all, of the episodes, preferably in multiple viewings. It also includes being an outright geek. Because there are so many references here, running the gamut from Futurama to other Treks to old sci-fi flicks, to really appreciate this book you would probably need to have a good base of geek knowledge.
Wil takes creative license with his recaps, resulting in a running comedic commentary, rather than a boring blow-by-blow analysis. There are many laugh-out-loud moments and unique insider views.
I think he may be too hard on Wesley, and by extension, himself, but we all know that Trekkies have been much harsher throughout the years. I always thought he was unintentionally hilarious, rather than detestable.
January 28, 2012
Wil Wheaton's memoir of the first half of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is well written and amusing. It's filled with an honest affection for the subject matter, but that doesn't stop Mr. Wheaton from liberally sprinkling sarcasm, snark, and self-deprecating humor throughout his writing.
I picked up this book expecting it to be interesting, but I did not expect to be nearly as amused as I was. Mr. Wheaton did a remarkable job of remembering his teen awkward self and presenting it in a way that made me remember and laugh about those days, particularly since I'm about the same age he is. He did so deftly, never making the book about himself per se, but rather as an observer in this science fiction world that he'd been lucky enough to be part of.
It's a truly refreshing piece of writing and I'm looking forward to seeing him write a sequel to this book. His conversational writing style here was the perfect touch to describe his memories and views on the beginning of what turned out to be an epic television series for science fiction and Star Trek fans.
I picked up this book expecting it to be interesting, but I did not expect to be nearly as amused as I was. Mr. Wheaton did a remarkable job of remembering his teen awkward self and presenting it in a way that made me remember and laugh about those days, particularly since I'm about the same age he is. He did so deftly, never making the book about himself per se, but rather as an observer in this science fiction world that he'd been lucky enough to be part of.
It's a truly refreshing piece of writing and I'm looking forward to seeing him write a sequel to this book. His conversational writing style here was the perfect touch to describe his memories and views on the beginning of what turned out to be an epic television series for science fiction and Star Trek fans.
June 25, 2014
This book had me with non-stop laughter. From the first page of the first review, the tone is clearly set: there will be self-deprecating humor around every bend and no one is safe from judgment. It's all in good fun, though, as Wil Wheaton relives the memories of working on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" 20 years after the original airdates by "reviewing" each episode of the first season. In many cases, it has been 20 years since he has seen these episodes and he looks back with a fondness and a self-conscious cringe.
If you've ever watched even one episode of ST:TNG or if you are any sort of fan of Wil Wheaton, you will love this book. If you are a fan of snark and pop culture, you will love this book. Even if you hated Wesley Crusher, YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. I am anxiously awaiting Volume II.
If you've ever watched even one episode of ST:TNG or if you are any sort of fan of Wil Wheaton, you will love this book. If you are a fan of snark and pop culture, you will love this book. Even if you hated Wesley Crusher, YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. I am anxiously awaiting Volume II.
September 16, 2013
This is a compendium of reviews of the first half of season 1 of Star Trek: Next Generation by Wil Wheaton. I take it that no volume 2 is forthcoming as volume 1 was published 4 years ago. Each episode gets a recap, some quotable dialog, Wheaton's personal memories of filming, and a critical "bottom line" for the episode.
I think that Wheaton is at his best when he is direct and airing his own views, and not writing so that he will be "liked" by all his fans. (I understand where his impulse comes from, but it really isn't his best work.) The recaps are snarky, but often feel forced; his pop culture references are sometimes non sequitors and date the book unnecessarily (especially considering that TNG aired over 20 years ago). By far the best parts of the reviews are his recollections and reflections, which are entertaining and thoughtful. A modest and mostly entertaining book.
I think that Wheaton is at his best when he is direct and airing his own views, and not writing so that he will be "liked" by all his fans. (I understand where his impulse comes from, but it really isn't his best work.) The recaps are snarky, but often feel forced; his pop culture references are sometimes non sequitors and date the book unnecessarily (especially considering that TNG aired over 20 years ago). By far the best parts of the reviews are his recollections and reflections, which are entertaining and thoughtful. A modest and mostly entertaining book.
October 7, 2014
First off, it’s by Wil freakin’ Wheaton. Do I really need to say any more? As someone who used to sit with her dad and watch episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation with her father every week, then subsequently the other three Star Trek series, I was curious about this book the first time I heard Wil Wheaton talk about it at Emerald City Comicon. When he read an excerpt out loud I knew I must one day possess this book. That day came when I bought my kindle; it is the only book I paid for. This book is hilarious and I tell every Trekkie I know to read it. Wil is snarky and self-deprecating. I tried really hard not to giggle on the bus, so those around me wouldn’t think I was one of those crazy bus people. He brings an interesting perspective to one of my childhood loves.
It might not be fiction but I still recommend it.
It might not be fiction but I still recommend it.
November 14, 2009
I was just younger than Wil Wheaton when TNG started and so I kind of grew up with him on the show. I even stopped watching when he left,though that may have been because I headed for college and didn't have a TV.
It was fun to go back and read his impressions of the early episodes. Having followed his blog, I was prepared for the snarkiness of his comments and the consistently self-deprecating humor, but this may catch some readers by surprise. Wheaton has no problem poking fun at himself, but sometimes it seems like he is trying to get the jab in before the reader can. That is disappointing because anyone who is reading this book was probably never a contributor to alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die.
Overall I really liked the book and am looking forward to the next volume.
It was fun to go back and read his impressions of the early episodes. Having followed his blog, I was prepared for the snarkiness of his comments and the consistently self-deprecating humor, but this may catch some readers by surprise. Wheaton has no problem poking fun at himself, but sometimes it seems like he is trying to get the jab in before the reader can. That is disappointing because anyone who is reading this book was probably never a contributor to alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die.
Overall I really liked the book and am looking forward to the next volume.
December 15, 2017
Pretty good!
The episode summaries maybe try a little too hard for laughs, but the insights and behind-the-scenes perspectives are invaluable. Nobody got the same view of the production that Wil Wheaton did.
My opinion of some of the writers/directors/producers went up, but for others it went way, way down. In particular, D.C. Fontana's treatment of Wil is cruel *and* unprofessional. Ugh.
Recommended for TNG fans!
The episode summaries maybe try a little too hard for laughs, but the insights and behind-the-scenes perspectives are invaluable. Nobody got the same view of the production that Wil Wheaton did.
My opinion of some of the writers/directors/producers went up, but for others it went way, way down. In particular, D.C. Fontana's treatment of Wil is cruel *and* unprofessional. Ugh.
Recommended for TNG fans!
November 16, 2009
A very enjoyable albeit short read. I liked the behind the scenes and the "bottom lines" more than the synopses, which were often laugh out loud funny but sometimes groan worthy in the humor department. They were full of loads of geekdom references and inside jokes that were a treat, if you got them :). I look forward to volume 2.
April 9, 2010
A friend loaned me this one, and it was rather entertaining. A look back at the first half of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation from the perspective of the actor Wil Wheaton. He is both a fan and critic, and his insights are really amusing. I don't remember a few of the episodes he talks about (or details he mentions), but it's certainly a good read.
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