PCB Book Review: Star Trek FAQ 2.0

If you're a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond, this book sheds light on how those shows and films came to be. But is it an FAQ? In a word: no.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Star Trek FAQ 2.0 by Mark Clark. I hadn't read the first installment (which covers the worlds of Star Trek: The Original Series), but I did expect that somehow, this would be an FAQ of sorts. It isn't. I'm not sure a single question is asked from the point of view of the reader, and in fact, there's some information that I definitely didn't ask for.

If you're looking for any technical information or drawings of weapons or ships, that's not what this book is about. Which is fine, the book doesn't claim to be that, it's more of a behind the scenes story of the people who made Star Trek, and how their interactions and choices shaped the show.

Instead, it's more like a cross between a chronology, an encyclopedia, and a very long conversation with a guy who knows a lot about Star Trek, and will tell you everything he knows about it if you simply ask him "Do you like Star Trek?"

First off, the book itself isn't terribly impressive. It has a decent number of pages, but the cover, font selection and layout are uninspired, albeit functional. There's nothing wrong with that, but since all of the Star Trek series have really impressive art direction, you might expect a little effort might be put into that.

The author makes clear from the beginning that this book isn't really intended to be read from cover to cover, although efforts were made in this volume to give the reader a better experience if, as I did, you do read it straight through. Instinct tells me this book is better than the last one on that score, as, by and large, reading straight through was a lot less like reading an encyclopedia, as I imagine the first was, and more like reading a history.

The chapters are roughly chronological, and cover a lot of very interesting back story about Star Trek post TOS, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The author discusses the behind the scenes battles and victories of the various writers, producers and stars of the films, ST:TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Voyager and Enterprise. Most of that info is really quite illuminating, culled from other books, interviews, forum posts by reliable sources, online chats, and more. It paints a picture of a franchise that nearly died many times, and of a group of real people butting heads, especially the franchise creator, Gene Roddenberry, whose involvement (or lack thereof) in the various iterations of Trek is sometimes surprising. It also hefts praise on most of those involved in the series.

The most detail is spent on TOS features, and the series and features based on ST:TNG. Every single episode of TNG is covered in detail, including notes about writers, directors, actor conflicts, reasons why this or that episode was or was not particularly good for a participant. DS9, Voyager and Enterprise don't get the same treatment, and one wonders, based on the way the book is written, if they ever will by this author. To many, those shows are lesser incarnations of the Trek universe, but not to everyone, and it's a little disappointing that they become footnotes rather than treated as full members of the Trek mythos. One imagines even more conflict and pathos surround the less successful series.

There are also some interesting forays into honoring various classes of characters in the multiple series pre-DS9 - family of characters, villains, guest stars, etc. each get their moment in the sun. Again, DS9 and after don't get the same treatment, even though there are as many episodes of DS9 as there are TNG episodes, and the final three series have more episodes than the first two put together.

One thing that puzzles me: the author has a desire to let us know many of the relationship foibles of the cast, writers, and and producers. It's one thing if a divorce caused drama on set, or, as in the case of Patrick Stewart, an on set romance broke up a marriage. But I'm not entirely sure why I have to know that a particular cast member had multiple wives, or is currently living with their boyfriend. If this were in fact an encyclopedia, I might understand, but as what is essentially a narrative, the references feel out of place.

Other casualties of the unclear nature of the book's structure are the repetition of descriptions verbatim throughout the book. Again, were this an encyclopedia, then repetition could probably be forgiven. But in the case of this book, sentences and I think in some cases whole paragraphs of description are repeated wholesale in two, three, or more places. There's nothing wrong with refreshing information, especially if you believe a reader will just read this chapter or that one out of order. Still, it seems like at least making an effort to tailor the information to the section it's being included in would be appropriate.

One very cool feature of the book that I was surprised to see was coverage of fan made Trek content. Over five pages, the author details a number of fan productions (many of which include cast members from the various Trek incarnations) worth giving a look. It's great for folks wanting to know about fan Trek content. On reflection, though, it's a slap in the face to the professionals who made the last three series, which are covered in a mere ten pages. 

Is the book successful? In general, yes, it provides great information about the people who brought Star Trek back from the brink, and some really interesting opinions and insights into the process of producing a weekly sci-fi TV show. In my view, the book would have been better served if it had focused on telling that story, and left out the episode by episode breakdown of TNG. If they had, they might have had the space and time to do better justice to the other series that came after.

A better title, then, for this book may have been something like Star Trek: Reborn - the Story of How Star Trek Reclaimed TV. Those looking to learn about how TV and films were made from 1980-2006 will find interesting information that lends color to the creation process. If you want a blow by blow of episodes of TNG, you will also be satisfied. While the structure is flawed, the content is there. Here's hoping that Mr. Clark's next book details the behind the scenes of DS9, Voyager and Enterprise, and leaves off any pretense of being a reference book. Clark is most successful when detailing the victories and foibles of the creative forces of the well loved TV series.

Star Trek FAQ 2.0
Available now
5 out of 10 phasers