Stephen E. Whitfield (1936–2000)

This book sets the standard for Making of... works that very few others acheive. It is a proper production history of the original Star Trek series written from the 'inside' but without the sort of marketing spin that studios now insist upon, examining the background of Gene Roddenberry, the story of the development of the concept and the production, and the work on making the show look the way it does. It is a proper history, rather than fanboy guff. Interestingly, it was first published show more part-way through the original show's third, and final season, and so takes no account of the snowballing of interest in the show subsequent to its cancellation - perhaps a good thing. show less

For those who enjoy the original series of Star Trek, this is a must-read.

A full history of how the series came about is given, along with detailed descriptions of how the episodes were made, plus in-depth descriptions of the characters (including the USS Enterprise).

As the series dates from 1968 onwards, the technology described is a fascinating throw-back to an earlier age, with descriptions of film cutting, 'matte' optical effects, and the painstaking and time-consuming process of show more bringing initial filming, optical effects, and soundtrack together. It was a laborious process involving many hours of work, often against a very tight deadline.

Above, the book describes how Star Trek was one man's vision, even through to the smallest detail, and how Gene Roddenberry's never-give-up attitude (even when faced with multiple setbacks), held firm and the series was made and broadcast. show less

Holds a special place in my heart--I got it for Christmas when I was in high school and had just discovered Star Trek reruns on television. This was before even VCRs, so I was starved for anything having to do with the show, and had seen this book on the desk of one of my teachers. I asked him about it, and passed it on to my folks, who got it for me. Parts of it were taken from the writer's guide for the show. As with a few other books, I no longer trust the idea that Roddenberry co-wrote show more this book--I think it's more likely he simply insisted on having his name on it. (See Harlan Ellison, City on the Edge of Forever) show less

This book was written right after the second season of the original show was finished, back in the 1960s. It's very interesting to see how the show has evolved over the intervening 50 years and it's also a little scary to see just how deeply ingrained misogyny was at that time.