STAR TREK: DISCOVERING THE TV SERIES - Tom Salinsky

STAR TREK WEEK

 Why? Why do we need this?  Some might ask why I read this book and that question I can answer.  Aside from being a Star Trek junkie, willing to read anything with the words "Star Trek" on it, I was a little envious of someone getting to watch Star Trek for the first time, and I thought it might be fun to get those reactions.

Author Tom Salinsky sets us up with the fact that he's a huge Dr. Who fan but, for various reasons (including the fact that British television didn't always show Star Trek or didn't show all of Star Trek through the years) hadn't watched Star Trek and decided to venture forth on the Trek journey and document it along the way.

Great idea, but here's the thing ... if you're new to something, an admit it right out, it's okay to not like it or even pan it, but you really can't be acting like you're one of the 'in' crowd and commenting and making jokes the way long-time fans have.  Reading Reddit pages or the Memory Alpha wiki pages doesn't grant immediate long-term-fans status and treating some of the worst and some of the best episodes as your long-time friends doesn't suddenly make you an authority worthy of writing about a series you supposedly are only just watching.

More than once I wondered what a Dr. Who fan like Salinsky might think if I admitted I'd never watched Dr. Who and decided to write a book about my experiences as I watched each episode and, after checking in on the discussion boards, made jokes and comments the way those who've watched the episodes over and over might. (I've never watched Dr. Who other than about three episodes back in the 80's and I'm only assuming there are discussion boards dedicated to it.)

Aside from my distaste for a non-fan to act like a deep fan for the purposes of a book, my other 'problem' is that this offers nothing new.  'This' episode is good. 'This' episode is bad. Yeah, yeah, some of this is pretty commonly held thought, and some is clearly personal choice. (I happen to enjoy some of the lighter or funnier episodes as a good mix-up with the heavier, darker episodes (Really? You don't like Harry Mudd?) but it's okay if you don't.)

And when we look at it as though this were a first viewing, why is it, then, that Salinsky will make comments like "unlike in the Mirror Universe stories..." when he's talking about a first season TOS episode and there haven't been any Mirror Universe stories yet? Or make a comment such as (in reference to the original series episode, "The Galileo Seven"): "A recent episode of Discovery stranded Tilly on a dangerous planet, struggling to keep alive a team of trainees who didn't trust her leadership style. It worked just as well there as it did fifty-five years ago." Isn't that comment better saved for reflection on the first watching of Discovery in volume two (or three)?

Salinsky makes it very clear that he doesn't like the lighter or humorous episodes.  really?  You don't like Harry Mudd? You don't like tribbles?  Who doesn't like tribbles?!  But to each his own.  I assume that means I won't find many lighter episodes when I finally sit down to watch Doctor Who.

But it's comments like "It's the return of Mark Lenard - and he's Spock's daddy! Not only that, he's brought Spock's mummy" and "This time, McCoy has wiped out a whole planet with a dangerous vaccine. It's a little known fact that this episode was the early work of Joe Rogan"  and "Party pooper Picard" that cheapen this reflection. Perhaps if Tom Salinsky were a celebrity, this would be amusing. I know, it's a bit of a double standard, but let's face it, if Ryan Reynolds were saying these things, we'd be amused.  But ... we'd also believe Ryan Reynolds was a 'true fan' and had earned his right to poke fun.  

And, sorry, but it's offensive on multiple levels to refer to actor Lycia Naff as "Ensign Hot Chocolate from Q Who...."

And if you need to be reminded that Salinsky is NOT a true fan, he does that plenty:

Why are these episode titles so vague and so hard to remember? I never have any trouble recalling which Doctor Who story is which (you’re a real Doctor Who fan if it’s never even occurred to you that people might mix up 1969’s ‘The Seeds of Death’ and 1976’s ‘The Seeds of Doom’) but without looking, I couldn’t tell you which one was Wolf in the Fold, which one was Return to Tomorrow and which one was Errand of Mercy if my very life depended on it.

But still he tries to also pass himself off as a true Star Trek fan when he writes "Fans have debated for ages..." How would he know?  Once again, accessing the Memory Alpha wiki does not make one a 'true fan.'

But Salinsky has pinpointed the problem ... he's a 'real' Doctor Who fan and NOT a real Star Trek fan.  That's cool.  The world can have both. But, it brings me back to my opening question ... Why?  Why do we need this book?  The answer is, we don't.  And I'm most certainly not interested in reading the next volume.

Looking for a good book? In Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series by Tom Salinsky, the author capitalizes on Star Trek fans' interest in reading about their beloved series with his supposed first reactions to watching the series for the first time. It offers nothing new to fans or to the franchise but it may put a little money in his pocket.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

1 star

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Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series: The Original Series, The Animated Series and The Next Generation

author: Tom Salinsky

publisher: White Owl

ISBN: 9781399035040

hardcover, 224 pages