Star Trek and American TelevisionAt the heart of one of the most successful transmedia franchises of all time, Star Trek, lies an initially unsuccessful 1960s television production, Star Trek: The Original Series. In Star Trek and American Television, Pearson and Messenger Davies, take their cue from the words of the program’s first captain, William Shatner, in an interview with the authors: “It’s a television show.” In focusing on Star Trek as a television show, the authors argue that the program has to be seen in the context of the changing economic conditions of American television throughout the more than four decades of Star Trek’s existence as a transmedia phenomenon that includes several films as well as the various television series. The book is organized into three sections, dealing with firstly, the context of production, the history and economics of Star Trek from the original series (1966-1969) to its final television incarnation in Enterprise (2002-2005). Secondly, it focuses on the interrelationships between different levels of production and production workers, drawing on uniquely original material, including interviews with star captains William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart, and with production workers ranging from set-builders to executive producers, to examine the tensions between commercial constraints and creative autonomy. These interviews were primarily carried out in Hollywood during the making of the film Nemesis (2002) and the first series of Star Trek: Enterprise. Thirdly, the authors employ textual analysis to study the narrative “storyworld” of the Star Trek television corpus and also to discuss the concept and importance of character in television drama. The book is a deft historical and critical study that is bound to appeal to television and media studies scholars, students, and Star Trek fans the world over. With a foreword by Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. |
Contents
STAR TREK AND AMERICAN TELEVISION HISTORY | 17 |
ART COMMERCE AND CREATIVE AUTONOMY | 55 |
THE CRAFTWORKSHOP MODE OF PRODUCTION | 86 |
THE PUBLIC FACE OF STAR TREK | 106 |
WORLD BUILDING | 126 |
CHARACTER BUILDING | 149 |
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actors alien alternate possible world American television Angeles Blackman Borg Brannon Braga broadcast budget Captain chapter are taken characters classic network construction continued costumes craft workers creative autonomy creative industries crew Crusher cultural Dan Curry Desilu director Enterprise Enterprise's executive producer extended seriality fans feature film first-run Frakes franchise Further quotations Gene Roddenberry genre going Herman Zimmerman Hollywood Ibid individual Inside Star Trek interview January Jonathan Frakes Kerry McCluggage Kirk Lauritson London Marina Sirtis Media Michael Piller Michael Westmore multichannel narrative niche audiences Nimoy Paramount Patrick Stewart Picard post-TOS series postnetwork production process Rick Berman Riker role Ron Moore Routledge scene science fiction script season shooting shot showrunner Solow and Justman Spock Star Trek series Star Trek television Starfleet story Telefantasy television drama television series television show textual actual world tion TNG episodes told TOS's Trek's University Press viewers Voyager William Shatner writers York