Review by C.J. Bunce
TV historian and Star Trek expert Marc Cushman is back to continue his second trilogy of books about the development, production, and struggles behind the first two decades of Star Trek. In These Are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s, Volume 2 (1975-77), at last we get to delve into the biggest Star Trek project never delivered: The 1970s Star Trek: Phase II series that would be parted out and become Star Trek: The Motion Picture and later Star Trek: The Next Generation. And that’s not all–ideas and early scripts for Phase II continue to be tapped in the 21st century Star Trek series and films. Even better, Cushman digs into the ever-developing Star Trek novels, conventions, and more, which became the practice grounds for the wider, broad world of pop culture fandom as a whole. How did Star Trek finally movie forward from the original series to become what it is today? How did the fans play a major role in making that happen? Continue reading
