Product Details

• Actors: Alexander Courage, Kellam de Forest, Marj Dusay, Fred Freiberger, James Goldstone
• Directors: Donald R. Beck
• Writers: Robert H. Justman, Herbert F. Solow
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: November 3, 1998
• Run Time: 48 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792152638
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,650 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Devoted Trekkies and Trekkers will probably consider this tape indispensable. Otherwise, give it a pass, unless you're interested in the reminiscences of people you've never heard of or don't care about (or both) who worked behind the scenes on Star Trek: on the show itself, at Desilu Productions, and at NBC. These are the kind of players who would be filler in a written biography; here, they're given center stage. And talk about revisionism: to hear Grant Tinker tell the story, NBC was the real hero for putting this forward-thinking show on the air in the first place. The attempts to cancel it? The time-slot shifts that threatened to kill it? You won't hear about them here. Neither will you hear from anyone major from the show: neither creator Gene Roddenberry nor William Shatner nor Leonard Nimoy, except in clips from the show. On the other hand, if you wanted to settle a bet about who came up with the opening intro to the show ("Space: the final frontier!"), this is the video to own. --Marshall Fine

From the Back Cover

You've seen every episode. Now, get all the answers.

Who directed the pilot for the original Star Trek series? Where was it filmed? Who really built the Enterprise? You may own The Star Trek Encyclopedia, and you may have seen every episode, but you still don't have all the answers! For the first time, the men and women who worked behind the scenes on the most popular science ficition television series ever created invite you to boldly go where no fan has gone before. In-depth interviews will introduce you to the writers, directors, producers, technicians and artists who breathed life into the original Star Trek series. You'll discover their greatest joys, their deepest sorrows and everything else you every wanted to know about the greatest show in the galaxy. There are no actors or special effects. Just the truth.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Bother, December 9, 1999

By 

Diane Line (Trenton, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside Star Trek - The Real Story [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I bought this video, and for the first time in my life, I was really sorry that I couldn't return it. This is a documentary about the original Star Trek series, told from the point of view of the producers and the powers-that-be from NBC. This film is filled with network propaganda and attempts to absolve the network from any blame regarding the cancellation of Star Trek. There is absolutely no content from the series, no appearances by any of the actors, and no comments from any members of the late Gene Roddenberry's family or friends. The comments are very inflamatory towards Mr. Roddenberry, accusing him of everything that ever went wrong with Star Trek. One of the people in this film even went as far as to say that Star Trek wasn't buried on Friday nights at 10pm. I was there... I watched it on Friday nights... at 10pm.

I'm not sure what the point of this documentary was, except maybe for the studio to take credit for the great success of Star Trek, instead of their documented attempts to kill the series. Don't bother... or if you really want to see it, you can have my copy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, May 22, 2001

By 

Landru (MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside Star Trek - The Real Story [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I never thought I would see a video like this in my life time! It is based on the book of the same title and it is, finaly, a true and honest rendition of how Star Trek was made. Gene Roddenberry helped create the show but he was just one part- Gene Coon was just as much the reason Star Trek was great as Gene Roddenberry. Herb Solow, Robert Justman, Sam Peoples, Robert Butler, James Goldstone they all had a hand in the birth of Trek.

If you want the real story, with no hype, of these guys who built a televsion icon with no money, no support and no fame than this is the true history of Star Trek.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential for hardcore fans, March 30, 2010

By 

PhxHorn "PhxHorn" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inside Star Trek - The Real Story [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a worthwhile companion to the (outstanding) book of the same name, but it doesn't stand up all that well by itself. But it *is* a very worthwhile resource for hardcore fans who want to hear the stories firsthand. Solow tells you upfront that you won't hear from the actors, since you've already been hearing their stories for 30 years (at the time of filming.) It's time for everybody else to get their turn.

It's great to hear firsthand how the Enterprise was designed, and to hear the story told by the guy who did it, who has since died. On the other hand, the story of how stardates came to be isn't all that interesting, and they keep cutting away to some CGI in order to distract you from the rambling story. But it's there for people who want to know. You also hear from the composer of the music, Alexander Courage, also now deceased. [In the book of the same name, you can read how Roddenberry wrote some horrific lyrics to the theme music for the sole purpose of stealing 50% of the publishing royalties. Courage is classy enough to leave out that part on camera.] Plus interviews with directors, writers, and a tour of the studio lot and the exterior of the buildings where Trek was made. Not for the casual fan, but great for the hard-core fans.

I should also point out that while the network execs do a bit of spinning to absolve themselves of past sins, at no time do they deny moving it to Fridays, despite what you read in a previous review.