Customer Reviews

Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I assume that if you're reading this review, we share in common the belief that Star Trek The Original Series (TOS) was great. Perhaps you bought the complete set of DVD's, like I did. The DVD's are worth it; I consider them one of my most treasured collections. I watch the episodes with my kids, and they love it. TOS is great television, with great writing asking intriguing questions about man's existence. Television writing has devolved since that time.

I've read both "Inside Star Trek" and Yvonne Fern's "Gene Roddenberry, The Last Conversation". Both books look at different angles of Star Trek. Fern's book deals with the philosophical side of Gene Roddenberry, and how he perceived himself. "Inside Star Trek" deals with the business end of the show and all the difficulties encountered in producing it. It's an impressive story, and it's amazing that it ever got produced. Herb Solow and Robert Justman did a fantastic job producing the series.

It's been about 33 years since I was in college. After dinner in the cafeteria, a group of us would congregate to watch Star Trek reruns on the local UHF station. That was a crucial time in the success of Star Trek, when the UHF stations picked it up, because it was otherwise a ratings failure on the networks. If it wasn't for the phenomenal success of Star Trek appearing in reruns on UHF, Star Trek would have been just a vague memory.

I would not recommend this book to new viewers of Star Trek, until they have seen the shows, because the book tends to reveal the magic. Roddenberry is a god to some, but he had "feet of clay". Also, reading about the actors tends to diminish the herioc stature of the characters they protrayed. "Inside Star Trek" shows you all the nuts and bolts of how the thing was put together, and how it fell apart.

Looking back, Star Trek was an incredible achievement.

I could never have dreamed of the value of this book - I bought it and was amazed! This book is a must-have for every fan of the original series and real trekkie!
The complete background of the beginning of the series, the problems, the costs and the riscs to make the series - all covered within this essential book. It was great fun to read and
extremely interesting. Believe it or not, I had some good laughs too!

Hard to realize how some things have been done and worked out. The real point in trying to catch a copy of it is that the writers were really there at this time! They perfectly know what they are talking about.

Try to get a copy of that book as fast as possible. Out of print for some time now it is very hard to find and I'm afraid I won't sell mine... *g*

I felt this book presented a raw Behind the Scenes look at Star Trek the initial series. This book was written after Gene Roddenberry's death so there is a feeling that things that were neatly hidden away have become reported. One thing the book points out is that Gene was by no means the creative genius of Star Trek. The series was the result of many creative people. It was also interesting to note the extent for which Roddenberry would go for royalties, even securing 1/2 of the royalties of the original Star Trek Theme by writing this obscure lyric that would never be performed, nor known about from the original composer. Good stories about Shatner's hairpiece and Roddenberry's falling out with Nimoy. All good reading.

I read and thoroughly enjoyed Stephen Whitfield's book when it appeared in the late '60s, and have since read many of the cast memoirs, including Majel Barrett's adoring biography of Gene Roddenberry. The latter all started to fall into a mold -- 'I was great but under-appreciated, Star Trek was wonderful and Shatner was a louse'. This book gives a refreshingly more objective view of the whole thing, letting us see the people in a more realistic light (and one of the few books where Shatner isn't raked over the coals). Little tidbits, like the origin of the "Great Bird of the Galaxy", add to the fun. Yes, it drags at times, but Trek fans should find it well worth the read.

Justman and Solow have given here an interesting account of the making of Classic Trek. Compared, say, to Bill Shatner's on-the-set perspective in his STAR TREK MEMORIES, this one is more of what went on in the offices. I have read a fair amount on the making of the show, and it seems to me there are new details and perspectives here. Particularly fresh and interesting is their account of the environment at Desilu Studios as the genesis of Star Trek. There is also a good section on the making of the terrific music for the series. And much more. I was a little irked, though, that the book is so rough on creator Gene Roddenberry. I don't know that the unfavorable incidents recounted here are untrue, but I thought a lot of it was unnecessary and did not leave much room for making more positive comments on him. But, all in all, INSIDE STAR TREK is surely one of the primary books on the making of the show. It's a good choice for those who know a lot about it, or know nothing at all.

I finally got around to reading this book in a spasm of Trek-related reading. It's been about 35 years since I read Whitfield's "the Making of Star Trek," which I eagerly devoured at the time. I was hoping for a similar nostalgic rush from this, but it never really happened for me.

Of the two authors, Justman was the more important player creatively, while Solow worked on the business side. The story here is far from complete, but is nevertheless interesting. There are many stories of set building, uniform fittings, budget cuts, ego issues, and script procurement. Justman was an overworked, likable jack-of-all trades on the set, while Solow was the lubricant between the show and the network and studio brass.

I didn't find the book at all dismissive of Gene Roddenberry, rather it was mostly quite respectful of him. I think some of the creative folks that were still around, such as Dorothy Fontana and John D.F. Black, could have added some much needed juice and color (unfortunately, others like Bill Theiss and Matt Jeffries have left us).

Overall, a mildly interesting read; it's subtitle might have been "The Nuts and Bolts of Keeping Star Trek on Time and Under Budget." Nothing controversial, nothing very intriguing. Ms Fontana, your memoirs please!!!

This set of two tapes sete the record straight on alot of myths about Star Trek: TOS. Herb Solow and Robert Justman do a real good job in telling their version of the story. The story of a man, myth, his dream, the team that put the series togther, and of Desilu Studios, and NBC who took a gamble to help fufill the impossible dream. STAR TREK! Kudos to Herb and Robert or RJ for giving an unbaised version of the genesis of a television legend!

Excellent Book documenting many of the little known/untold stories from behind the scenes. Written in an interesting and easy to read format. Lots of pictures and draws document the information contained in the book. A must read for a Trekkie or Treker.

Finally, there is a book which actually shows pictures of the Desilu set and where the show was filmed! I love Star Trek and thought that I knew everything about it. After having read this book, I didn't know even half of the story. Great work!

The original "The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield provided fans with the first "insider's look" at the legendary series. "Inside Star Trek" was written by two television industry executives who were with series creator Gene Roddenberry from the beginning and throws a little mud on the rosy picture left by "The Making of Star Trek". "Inside Star Trek" has almost too much emphasis on the television industry politics - making the book a little overly technical from the average fans standpoint. Nevertheless, the above two books taken together are probably the best written history on this landmark television series.