Allan Asherman
The Star Trek Compendium

"Space...the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations--to boldly go where no man, where anyone has gone before...".

On September 8, '66, thousands of people became passionate about one of the most unforgettable and imitated TV series in cinematic history.

Roddenberry believed that a television writer would have to undertake an almost impossible commitment to create and produce a quality TV series. Gene hoped to find an idea for a television series that could be the exception to the rule, namely: Star Trek. He knew it would be a risky and complex project, also because a program that dealt with important and interesting content could change the perspective of Americans forever. The main problem was television censorship, but since these were science fiction stories, he was sure he could conceal the true reason for the topics developed. The adventures told of friendship, politics, sex, economics, the stupidity of war, personal dramas, xenophobia, and various other subjects, usually banned for those times, on television.

In the memorable "The Devil in the Dark," the 'Horta' was not an evil creature attacking man, but was just a mother defending her eggs... If one can show understanding for a 'Horta,' they can understand other races, with their feelings, religions, and behaviors. This is just one example, but there are others concerning different and stimulating themes. In the first pilot episode "The Cage," Kirk, McCoy (Bones), Scott (Scotty), Sulu, CheKov, and Uhura were not yet present, only Spock. With "Where no man has gone before," Kirk, Scott, and Sulu appear. In the first season, Dr. McCoy, Uhura, and nurse Chapel (secretly in love with Spock) are added. Hence, a more heterogeneous, multiracial, and extraterrestrial crew than ever. Starting from the second season, Chekov arrives.

This volume in English contains an infinite number of topics starting from the origins of ST, mainly set through a series of cards, with related photos, brief but precise for each episode for all 3 seasons. Each card is divided into 3 parts. The first part includes: the writer of the story, the director, and the main actors. The second briefly describes the plot and the star date. Finally, the third explains the most interesting details concerning the episode. Among the episode writers are names of the caliber of: J. Sohl, R. Matheson, R. Bloch, T. Sturgeon, H. Ellison, N. Spinrad, D. Gerrold, F. Brown. Among the actors stand out important names, all precisely marked in a special section.

After the three seasons, ST reappeared on the big screen also thanks to the continuous support of fans and various 'conventions.' The book also contains the animated series of 22 episodes created between '73 and '74. In closing the volume includes an exhaustive section on the first three Films, plus a brief mention of the fourth. On 12.7.79 "ST: The Motion Picture" arrived in cinemas under the direction of R. Wise, with the same protagonists of the original series. The Film stood out distinctly from the TV series, not only for the spirit and for the themes treated in a more 'mature' way, but also for the special effects that for those times were considered exceptional. Extra Star Trek: curiosities (Copyright © by Paramount Pictures Corporation - All rights Reserved).

For ST enthusiasts, I decided to include some information I translated from the compendium. In "The Man Trap," the sounds produced by the M113 'The Salt Vampire' monster were obtained by A. Courage (strings, woodwind, and organ). Originally Roddenberry intended to make the Enterprise transparent when it was at Warp speed. That idea was abandoned, but in "The Naked Time," you can see how it could have appeared. In "Balance of Terror" the actor playing the Romulan commander would later portray Sarek, Spock's father. The actor who plays the part of the android Ruk in "What are Little Girls made of?" is better known as Lurch in "The Addams Family" series. When Ruk refers to his creator as "The Old One," it is because R. Bloch, the writer of this episode, wanted to refer to his passion for Lovecraft and his ancient and powerful entities that dominated the human race. In "The Galileo Seven," the 1:1 scale shuttle was created by AMT Corporation Workers under the supervision of G. Winfield, who also created the vehicles in "Blade Runner." The panels of Balok's spaceship from "The Carbomite Maneuver" were reused in the Starbase bar of "Court-Martial." In "Space Seed," the pressurization chambers of the Botany Bay became part of Dr. McCoy's lab. E. Keeler (J. Collins) in "The City on the Edge of Forever" will become a superstar in "Dynasty." The amulet of the Enterprise contained in the transparent block that appears in "Catspaw" is kept at the 'Smithsonian Institution Air & Space Museum'. Apollo's transformation in "Who Mourns for Adonais" was achieved with an ingenious combination of camera angle usage and editing. The name of the music group Spock's Beard was inspired by "Mirror, Mirror," even though Spock's version in the alternate universe actually has a goatee. The success of "The Trouble with Tribbles" was such that many, including writer Gerrold, began creating plush toys to sell by mail and at 'conventions.' "The Tholian Web" won an Emmy Award also thanks to the use of particular animation effects and mini-photographs. "Requiem for Methuselah" contains references to the Film "Forbidden Planet." The nickname 'Kapec' given to Rayna is derived from the writer Karel Capek, the first to coin the term 'Robot' (from the Czech Robota) in 1921 in his most famous work, the three-act play R.U.R. The 'librarian' in "All Our Yesterdays" Mr. Atoz, could not have had a more fitting name (A to Z). The title of this episode is the same as the track on A. Holdsworth's album "Atavachron," additionally both the title and the cover are inspired by the machine capable of time travel. "Turnabout Intruder" was the last episode produced for the series...

But the adventure toward the stars is not yet over and continues to this day; in fact, a new Film with a return to its origins will soon be released in cinemas. I wish to dedicate this review to all the main actors of Star Trek, especially those who are no longer with us. I wish them a good journey to other dimensions.