Captain’s log: stardate 5476.3 I’ve always loved the title of this episode and the imagery it conjures in my head. Written by Hendrik Vollaerts under a pseudonym this ends up being a solid, if slightly flawed episode, that aired on 8 November, 1968. Things get underway when Dr. McCoy (DeFrorest Kelley) is diagnosed with a…
Category: star trek
Star Trek: Ishmael (1985) – Barbara Hambly
My journey with the non-canon Star Trek Pocket Books continues. And this novel from 1985 demonstrates what was happening in Trek pages before Paramount took a stronger stance on what the novels could be about. Previous to this we’ve encountered Trek novels with slash overtones between James T. Kirk and his science officer, the Vulcan…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Spectre of the Gun and Day of the Dove
Captain’s log: stardate 4385.3 Spectre of the Gun is a bit of an interesting episode. Written by Gene Coon, under a pseudonym the episode premiered on 25 October, 1968. When the Enterprise trespasses into Melkot space, the alien race punishes some of the crew including Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest Kelley),…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – And the Children Shall Lead and Is There in Truth No Beauty?
Captain’s log: stardate 5029.5 And the Children Shall Lead. Written by Edward J. Lasko, this episode aired on 11 October, 1968. It started out with the some good ideas – the Enterprise arrives at a Federation colony to discover that all the adults have taken their own lives, leaving the children, who seem oblivious to…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Enterprise Incident and The Paradise Syndrome
Captain’s log: stardate 5027.3 The Enterprise Incident aired on 27 September, 1968 and was written by D.C. Fontana. It’s a fairly strong episode and a huge step-up from last week’s debacle. We see the return of the Romulans as Captain Kirk (William Shatner) behaves in an increassingly erratic manner, taking the Enterprise across the Neutral…
Star Trek: Shadow Lord (1985) – Laurence Yep
I dove into another non-canon Star Trek adventure from Pocket Books, and this one, I have to say, is a swing and a miss. It’s almost like it wants to be a bit of a fantasy tale in the vein of Dumas’ Musketeers, but it is actually just a big misstep, which doesn’t really fit…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Assignment: Earth and Spock’s Brain
Captain’s log: stardate unknown. Originally written as its own pilot, Assignment: Earth was later rewritten to work it into a Star Trek story. The script was by Art Wallace, and came from a story developed by him and Gene Roddenberry. The episode first aired on 29 March, 1968. 1968. The very year the Enterprise travels…
The Fifty-Year Mission: The First 25 Years (2016) -Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman
Space, the final frontier… These words have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From my first introduction to the series I was a fan, watching the show, getting my hands on comics, the first Pocket Book novels when they started out, the other collectible, behind-the-scenes books, anything I…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Ultimate Computer and Breads and Circuses
Captain’s log: stardate 4729.4 The Ultimate Computer. D.C Fontana writes the script from a story by Laurence N. Wolfe, and this episode first aired on 8 March, 1968. The U.S.S. Enterprise is stripped down a skeleton crew to test the new M5 supercomputer. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is a little anxious about the idea, because…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – By Any Other Name and The Omega Glory
Captain’s log: stardate 4657.5 By Any Other Name was written by D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby and had an original airdate of 23 February, 1968. The Enterprise is seized by alien life forms known as the Kelvans, and may be the beachhead for a galactic invasion! Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest…
The Mind Reels 