Great book for the true fan, with some interesting things I had not read elsewhere. My perspective is that of a long time, but casual fan, and a student of the human psyche. I can remember having a serious crush on both Mr Spock and Captain Kirk as a young teenager while watching the show in syndication, all the while realizing that some of the episodes were not that good. Only recently did I see all 6 of the movies. While I enjoyed seeing the crew again, several of the movies were also not very good. Why, then, am I a fan? Why do we even care about the back-story of TOS 50 years later?
There is something in our psyche that craves a hero to worship. As William Shatner once remarked, and to paraphrase, Star Trek fandom is a spiritual experience. The moralistic story lines address the spiritual vacuum of the human heart. My religion may tell me to be kind to others, but it has little to offer about what to do on a long rainy evening. Hence the void that Star Trek has filled for many fans over the years.
Watching the crew deal successfully and handily with a different alien conundrum, week after week, I fell under the spell of the idealistic society portrayed. For a moment, it seemed very real. So it is interesting to read some of the actual behind the scenes machinations. It is important to realize that these memoirs have been written many decades after the fact, however actual letters and memos of the day tell the story as the people involved perceived it. at the time. There were multiple pressures at play. For a variety of reasons, an episode of Star Trek cost somewhat more to produce than the typical shows of the day, such as Westerns, The overarching concern was whether that investment would pan out financially. This concern bordered on an obsession. Then, as now, no one wanted to make a show that was not profitable, but each person involved had a slightly different view on how to make the show work.
There are some very interesting tidbits here. For example, Leonard Nimoy got a large raise in the second season, and by then he was worshiped by millions of adoring fans. He was finally making a good living in acting, after almost 20 years of bit parts, but he was already becoming unhappy with the Mr Spock role, although he had to some degree created it. Success was not what he had imagined it to be. He wrote a letter, essentially complaining that his character didn't get to do much. He complained that Mr Spock just did the same thing over and over (sounds like most jobs, doesn't it?) It is rather ironic, considering the major role that the Spock character played in the series and the fact that Nimoy never again had to drive a taxi or clean fish tanks in Doctor's offices for a living. Perhaps there is something in human psychology where we are never satisfied, and tend to see the downside of everything?
Some people have complained about the treatment of Gene Roddenberry in this book.There is much detail here about Gene's various sexual proclivities and dalliances, which some people will find offensive. Again, the human vulnerability of seeking to worship heroes. We have a hard time reconciling the fact that the people we admire don't always live up to our ideals. Things go on behind closed doors. After all, there were no bathrooms on the Starship Enterprise!
Roddenberry was a fairly typical upper-middle class male living in California in the 1960's. It was a groovy time and place to be alive. People were experimenting with different lifestyles, drugs were thought to be safe, even healthy, and fidelity in marriage was old fashioned and constraining. This was long before AIDS. Mr Roddenberry never tried to hide what he was doing, from what I have read, as he was not ashamed of it. At least we have an explanation for the wooden character of Nurse Chapel, an affront to real nurses everywhere. Majel Barrett was Roddenberry's paramour for many years before she became his wife, and demanded a recurring role in the series. Majel knew what she was getting in Gene, but even Lucille Ball complained about the "casting couch" going on in her studio. Gene was probably a narcissist, a severe character disorder. It seems a person can be a narcissist and still have a good idea for a TV show- or play the Captain of a Starship, for that matter, although opinions about William Shatner seem to diverge.
Overall, an excellent read for the fan who wants to know "everything" about TOS.
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