This book has a nice and classy look about it. The black cover,
the actors without their makeup (stage makeup, at least), and a nice
picture of the Enterprise E on the inner flap. This is a tribute
to the tenth anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Enterprise D, and
it is a very respectable one, at that.
There is a very short introduction, once again describing the
rebirth of TV Star Trek. Then we dive right in to the first season.
Each season has a theme, which is fitting, because there were changeovers
in crew, and every season builds on the last, to become better than before.
It really did start out with "Uncertain Encounters", and near the end,
"It all Comes Together".
Each page of each season chapter has a sidebar, in which short synopses of
the episodes are given. The commentary is given all within
the text. A really neat sidebar at the beginning of each chapter
gives the major stories that were in the news that year, and what was popular
on TV and in the movies.
Within the text of each chapter, the art was described, the building
process, from models to mattes, the problems and hurdles with production,
and the fun that everybody had when everything was going well. We
get to go inside the minds of the writers and producers (sometimes to ask
what the heck were they thinking!), and sometimes the actors.
Finally, the first two TNG movies are treated in the same manner.
I really enjoyed reading through this book, as it brought back
fond memories of the series, and it got behind the scenes, as well, without
getting too technical.
by Warren Dunn, all rights reserved.
