Review by C.J. Bunce

Twelve years ago here at borg we pondered the question: What is the most iconic Star Trek prop?  An online forum of more than 2,000 Star Trek fans offered their picks.  Now for Star Trek’s 60th anniversary Insight Editions takes on a similar journey in its book The Star Trek Archive: 100 Objects and Stories from the Final Frontier, available now here at Amazon.  Compiled by Ben Robinson, the book doesn’t look only at props, tying in things like toys and model kits, and some other things that will make you think of the Final Frontier.  Its focus isn’t ranking or looking for the most favorite, but it groups items by Star Trek series, from the original 1960s show all the way through to Starfleet Academy.  The book does a nice job of collecting those items and offering commentary on objects most fans will think of, plus shuffling in some others to tug on your nostalgia strings.  I’d wager if you listed your own picks, you’d find at least 50 made the book.

If you could own one favorite Star Trek prop, what would it be?  What is the top Holy Grail of Trek props?  Both our list and 100 Objects look beyond props to include costumes, and 100 Objects further casts its net to include screen-used models.

Twelve years ago two props were neck and neck for our top prize: an original series tricorder and a Klingon Bat-leth from The Next Generation.  No surprise, both made the 100 Objects book.  And for good reason.  The tricorder has sparked imaginations since it first appeared, decades before similar tech in real life would come close to a one-sized fits all scientific and medical device (although we don’t have it yet, a lesson anyone who’s read about Elizabeth Holmes knows well).  And what Trek weapon has a higher cool factor than Worf’s weapon of choice?

Moving down, our list looked like this, in order: An original series communicator, an original series phaser, Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s Ressikan flute, Captain Kirk’s command chair from the original starship Enterprise, then The Next Generation tricorder and phaser were next on the list, respectively.  Next came an original series “red shirt,” a pair of Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock ears, a tribble, Mr. Spock’s lyre from “Charlie X,” Picard’s cup for his “Earl Grey tea, hot,” and the highest ranking item from Deep Space Nine, Captain Benjamin Sisko’s prized baseball.  This was followed closely by Seven of Nine’s prosthetics worn by Jeri Ryan on Star Trek Voyager, Lt. Geordi LaForge’s barette-inspired VISOR, and Lt. Cmdr Data’s head from presumably either the episode “Time’s Arrow” or the film Star Trek Nemesis.  Several costumes were common to both lists.  Ours had Captain Picard’s last uniform type worn on-screen between Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek Nemesis and the formal maroon Starfleet uniforms made famous by Captain Kirk & Co. in Star Trek movies II through VII, an original series blue tunic, a red command uniform from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a Klingon disruptor.  Body parts worn by The Borg, including Locutus, made both lists, as did communicator pins and Captain Kathryn Janeway’s coffee mug.  Uhura’s communicator earpiece, an original series chess set, bars of gold press latinum from Deep Space Nine, Worf’s Klingon baldric, and Constable Odo’s bucket, made both lists, too.  No surprises there?

Most, but not all, of these items made 100 Objects.  Notable items that didn’t?  No Tox Uthat–the incredible time travel device sought by Captain Picard, no Varon-T disruptor–one of the most sought after and rare devices inside the world of Star Trek, the prize of Kivas Fajo’s collector in “The Most Toys.”  100 Objects didn’t have a self-sealing stem bolt from Deep Space Nine, no Hor’gahn from Risa, no item or costume element tied to Ricardo Montalban’s Khan, Commander Kruge’s gold Klingon rings, and no Dathon dagger from the TNG episode “Darmok.”  Is any single image more hauntingly memorable than Balok’s head from the original series episode “The Corbomite Maneuver,” shown in the original series end credits?  Maybe your list might include the Commander Will Riker’s trombone or Quark’s Dabo chips, or the brightly lit transport enhancers used in multiple series, or Worf’s “I am NOT a Merry Man” costume.

Are any of these egregious omissions from either list?  Heck no.  In fact now you need to ponder what the other 40+ items that made 100 Objects may include.  Note that our list stuck with the first five series and movies–all that fans had as of 2014!  And stepping back from handheld props, who wouldn’t like their own transporter or shuttle?

Particular favorites I enjoyed finding in 100 Objects include one of the two pairs of gravity boots Mr. Spock and the crew searched for in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, an example of a prop used as a key story element.  I love that iconic creations designed by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda made the list.  And the book included a photograph used in Star Trek Beyond of the original series crew, the result of work by my friend, publicist Terry Erdmann–making his work to promote Star Trek V a piece of Star Trek canon in the Kelvin timeline.  Some artwork made 100 Objects, and another list might include original costume design artwork from one of the many costume designers on Trek movies and series or some of those fantastic labels designed by Okuda and Sternbach.  With this year’s introduction of characters from the original Animated Series into Strange New Worlds, maybe those makeups or masks would make good crossover additions.

The Lower Decks selections are well done in 100 Objects, the series known for so many callbacks and Easter eggs to the prior series.  The author of 100 Objects tapped Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan, plus actors Terry Farrell, Nana Visitor, Ethan Phillips, Robbie McNeill, Garrett Wang and others for suggestions, accounting for some of the more obscure selections.  I always think writers of Star Trek non-fiction should include more from the extensive creativity of the production staff of Enterprise.  In particular I would have incorporated one of the show’s desk or wall communicators from the NX-01.  The Mego action figures were a nice choice from the real world.  The Star Trek Colorforms set and ViewMaster reels would also have been good picks.  In the book some of the series only include one object, which doesn’t do justice to all the creativity from each series.  But anyone can understand the limits of book page counts.

100 Objects includes a brief salute to prop masters for the various series, but considering a fair number of selections were costume or makeup creations, it would have made sense to include information on those creators as well.  The caretaker of many of the actual props 100 Objects (before many were sold off via auctions by CBS/Paramount), was the late Penny Juday–check out my interview with Penny here at borg for a further dive into the props of the franchise.

With great photographs, great choices, and all sorts of nostalgia, The Star Trek Archive: 100 Objects and Stories from the Final Frontier is a great coffee table book and source of conversation for Trek fans celebrating the franchise’s 60 years.  Order your copy now here at Amazon.