Ok. It’s just about time for someone to step in and rein in some of these stories. I know it can’t be far off, but at this point, some of them are really starting to annoy me. This week’s Book Shelf lets me visit a non-canon adventure of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Let’s…
Category: star trek
Star Trek: The Original Series (1969) – The Savage Curtain and All Our Yesterdays
Captain’s log: stardate 5906.4 The Savage Curtain. It doesn’t get much simpler in terms of themes or ideas than this, the antepenultimate episode of the Original Series. Written by series creator Gene Roddenberry and Arthur Heinemann, it aired on 7 March, 1969. I always liked this one because it’s so simple, and has Captain Kirk…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1969) – The Way to Eden and The Cloud Minders
Captain’s log: stardate 5832.3 If there’s a worse episode than Spock’s Brain, then The Way to Eden has to be it. I knew, even when I saw it as a child that this was a terrible episode. The story and I did not reach, man. Written by Arthur Heinemann from a story he developed with…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1969) – The Lights of Zetar and Requiem for Methuselah
Captain’s log: stardate 5725.3 Poor Scotty (James Doohan). Unless your name is James T. Kirk (William Shatner), it seems your love life aboard the Enterprise is lacklustre at best and doomed at its worst. Scotty learns that in The Lights of Zetar. Written by Shari Lewis and Jeremy Tarcher, this episode first aired on 31…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1969) – The Mark of Gideon and That Which Survives
Captain’s log: stardate 5423.4 The Mark of Gideon, which was written by Stanley Adams and George F. Slavin first aired on 17 January, 1969. When Captain Kirk (William Shatner) beams down to the planet Gideon II, he is stunned to find himself still on the Enterprise. A seemingly empty starship, except for one other living…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1969) – Whom Gods Destroy and Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
Captain’s log: stardate 5718.3 Whom Gods Destroy was penned by Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl and had it’s first broadcast on 3 January, 1969. The Enterprise arrives in orbit around Elba II, which serves as an asylum for the criminally insane. They have arrived on a mission of mercy, they are carrying a serum that…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Empath and Elaan of Troyius
Captain’s log: stardate 5121.5 The Empath is an interesting episode, written by Joyce Muskat and with an original airdate of 6 December, 1968, this one uses a bit of minimalist set design to give it an almost surreal feel. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) find themselves trapped in…
Star Trek: Dwellers in the Crucible (1985) – Margaret Wander Bonanno
Before Star Trek V: The Final Frontier came along four years later with the concept of the Planet of Galactic Peace, Margaret Wander Bonanno presented a similar idea in her non-canon Star Trek novel, Dwellers in the Crucible, which finds its way onto the Book Shelf this week. Set before the events of Star Trek…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Plato’s Stepchildren and Wink of an Eye
Captain’s log: stardate 5784.2 Plato’s Stepchildren first screened on 22 November, 1968 and was written by Meyer Dolinsky. The episode is of historical note because of the first American broadcast interracial kiss when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) kisses Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). Beyond that, the story is rather basic. The Enterprise is summoned to a…
Star Trek: Killing Time (1985) – Della Van Hise
Hey look, it’s another non-canon Trek novel that features villains altering the timeline to change history, and allowing the author to play with established characters in their own way, with heavy slash tendencies (in this case, a Kirk/Spock romance… again). If you can get your hands on an ultra-rare first edition, there is actually more…
The Mind Reels 