Star Trek the Next Generation the Continuing Mission

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· 208 ratings · 13 reviews

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Dec 07, 2007 Alejandro rated it it was amazing

When TNG got 10 years!

BOLDLY GOING

This was the celebration book when Star Trek: The Next Generation reached 10 years of existing (now (2017) it's reaching 30 years!) and the TV series that it was a spin-off of the iconic Star Trek: The Original Series was at its best moment indeed.

Seven seasons on TV (it wasn't a record but at that moment, it was rare that other TV series in that particular moment would reach that quantity of seasons) and two successful theatrical films (Generations and

When TNG got 10 years!

BOLDLY GOING

And you can read about all these events in this very book.

A gorgeous hardcover edition, with astonishing pictures and exclusive content about the behind-the-scenes of the hit TV show!

After many doubts when it was announced to be produced and two first seasons with rocky development, finally in its third season could show all of its potential (that nowdays (2017) could easily being a failure since it seems that TV studios just pull the plug if any TV series didn't reach the expected rating numbers not matter its raw potential) proving that Star Trek as franchise could be beyond of Kirk & Spock and the iconic sci-fi product could expand with success with other spin-offs where the acceptation of TNG was crucial and at its third season paid off and it opens the path for other four spin-offs in TV, several other series in prose novels & comic books, even a parallel dimension film trilogy...

...showing that while Space is the final frontier...

...Star Trek adventures were just beginning.

And all thanks to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While by now (2017) the book is kinda outdated, still is a priceless collector's item and all its articles keep their reading value if you want to live again each season of TNG and its first steps into the silver screen.

Definitely a must-have book for any TNG fan and Trekkers alike.

Make it so!

...more

So, truth time. I read this so long ago that I'm not sure I know anything about it now. I know I'd been finished with it for quite a while before I even scanned the book into my 'currently reading' queue.

All I can tell you is that as I rewatched TNG this past summer, I was so enthralled at how awful the first season of the show was that I couldn't help but want to find out more about how such a train wreck happened. I'd heard that there was some interesting behind the scenes stuff related to th

I think by this time I have a working hypothesis of what went on behind the scenes of that infamous first season. I'm not entirely sure the book was any more enlightening than things I'd read on the internet were (granted, the internet probably used the book as a source), but it's nice to have all these rumors I've picked up traced back to an actual source, an officially sanctioned official source.

So, what this is, it's a book that looks briefly at every season of the show (and the first two TNG movies) and the behind the scenes stuff that went on. Most of it production related, so the soap-opera behind the scenes stuff that plagued the early seasons of TNG were touched on, but not really elaborated on with as much detail as I'd have liked. Instead the focus is on how the new tricorders looked and why the costume design looked the way it did.

All things I find interesting. I guess. But not exactly for 'edge of your seat' reading material. So, it was fine. I can only say to read it if you've time traveled back to the late nineties and you want the scoop on the early seasons of TNG. Otherwise, not that much info here that goes much further than fluff. And you can find this and tons more on the internet nowadays anyway.

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Jul 13, 2011 Ellis rated it it was ok

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with this show. Every day at recess we played Next Generation; I was Dr. Crusher (and I still steadfastly deny the season with Dr. Pulaski - whatever, Diana Maldaur), Chris Goto was Wesley, Levon was Riker, Jason was Captain Picard (I think - or maybe it was Eliot). This book passed through my hands while doing returns at work & I figured I'd take it home & have a nostalgia trip. I was pretty bummed out instead. There's a small synopsis of episodes, but otherwise When I was a kid, I was obsessed with this show. Every day at recess we played Next Generation; I was Dr. Crusher (and I still steadfastly deny the season with Dr. Pulaski - whatever, Diana Maldaur), Chris Goto was Wesley, Levon was Riker, Jason was Captain Picard (I think - or maybe it was Eliot). This book passed through my hands while doing returns at work & I figured I'd take it home & have a nostalgia trip. I was pretty bummed out instead. There's a small synopsis of episodes, but otherwise it's basically info about writers, costumes, boring behind the scenes stuff. While I guess this might've been interesting in the right context, I was hoping for more dish from the cast. Now I remember, though, Eliot was Data. We had no Worf, it seems. ...more

This was an utterly fascinating read for me, and I imagine will also be for anyone with an interest in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

TNG was the first Star Trek series I watched, despite it beginning to air before I was born, and finishing before I would ever have watched it as it was released, but being my introduction to the Trek universe it is and always will be my favourite series, Picard will always be my favourite Captain, Q my favourite guest star.

This book touches on some of the human

This was an utterly fascinating read for me, and I imagine will also be for anyone with an interest in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

This book touches on some of the human elements brought by Stewart, De Lancie, Spiner and the rest, but the focus is on how TNG was developed and the influences of people whose names we only know from the credits, how it grew season on season until it became the show that we know and love. I wouldn't have thought I would have been hugely interested in the changes to the writers, or how the sets were designed but once you begin reading this book you can see how important all of this was - and how the changes kept the show fresh.

I liked understanding why certain elements came about - from Roddenberry's insistance that the world of the 24th Century be a nicer one than the current world we live in, that petty squabbles are the thing of the past, to the insistence of others that episodes have a focus on character development, and how you can ensure the one without breaking the other.

Also interesting were the episode synopsis - based off these there are a few epsiodes I have apparently never seen! Also, the reasons why DS9 and Voyager were developed - and how the TNG films were pretty much a done deal.

I wish that this book covered 'more ground' in terms of the later TNG films, but as a tenth anniversay tribute this is really interesting and I'll certainly read this again in the future.

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4.5 stars

When I was younger, and the revised Star Trek was at the height of its popularity, I bought nearly every book related to it. But, while the novelisations were quickly moved from to-read to finished, the various behind-the-scenes volumes languished on my shelves until lockdowns gave me the opportunity to make my reading more structured.

This is the best one I have read so far (albeit, maybe, because others were unofficial). It is exactly what it says it is - a celebration of The Next Gene

4.5 stars

This is the best one I have read so far (albeit, maybe, because others were unofficial). It is exactly what it says it is - a celebration of The Next Generation, produced on (or around) the shows tenth anniversary. So, now an historical tome.

Opening with insights into the development of the show, it continues with a chapter for each season, and the first two films. While it doesn't dig into the minutiae, it does tell the story, via interviews snippets, gorgeous photos and designs, of what was, when I first encountered it, a TV phenomenon. ST:TNG is my Trek. It's the one I saw first. It's probably the one I like best and, to read about it in this book us a joy. It may not cover the infighting in as much detail as other books, but the joy of working on the show, if bringing it to life, shines through. And that's really all you can ask for.

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Jul 05, 2018 Warren Dunn rated it really liked it

Another nice trip through memory lane. I recently finished rewatching the entire series and movies, so most of them are still fresh in my mind. The commentary seemed a little outdated, though, and recent events (like Discovery) have made their predictions for the future seem a little optimistic.

Excellent overview of TNG's first decade with some rarely seen BTS photographs and fairly prophetic words from Rick Berman about Trek overexposure near the end of the book. It seems like only Frakes, Dorn and Burton share any reminisces from the main cast, but there is plenty interview material from the production side. The book does an especially good job of explaining the business side of Trek, laying out the real reasons season seven was the last. Reading a book like this in 2016 is a bit sad Excellent overview of TNG's first decade with some rarely seen BTS photographs and fairly prophetic words from Rick Berman about Trek overexposure near the end of the book. It seems like only Frakes, Dorn and Burton share any reminisces from the main cast, but there is plenty interview material from the production side. The book does an especially good job of explaining the business side of Trek, laying out the real reasons season seven was the last. Reading a book like this in 2016 is a bit sad, seeing that TNG never got their fair shot at a long movie series like TOS crew. ...more

Anyone who loved Star Trek: The Next Generation will love this book - a detailed inside-look at the show, written by two of the most knowledgeable Trek figures: Judy and Gar Reeves-Stevens. This book is fully comprehensive, and includes lots of fantastic behind-the-scenes photos and personal stories, as well as episode synopses for every episode of the series. From the very beginnings to the triumphant end, this is a must-have documentary book for any TNG fan.

Dec 01, 2009 Chris Schmutz rated it it was amazing

OK, so I'm a geek. I wear my pocket protector proudly. This was the last good book I read before I became addicted to the Internet - which gives one the timeframe of about when I did the reading. If you like Star Trek The Next Generation, read the book. If you don't, it has nice pictures & things to skim.

This is a non-fiction book documenting a fictional TV production.

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Mar 01, 2009 Ross rated it really liked it

For a Next Generation fan that took a little proding to get with the program (I didn't like it at first), this book brought it all together.
From character development to set design, it's a great read.
They even go into detail about the now gone Star Trek Experience in Las Vega$. For a Next Generation fan that took a little proding to get with the program (I didn't like it at first), this book brought it all together.
From character development to set design, it's a great read.
They even go into detail about the now gone Star Trek Experience in Las Vega$. ...more