This book is not endorsed, sponsored, or affiliated with CBS Studios Inc., Paramount Pictures, or the Star Trek franchise. In the 1980s and 90s, Star Trek rose from the ash heap of network cancellation and soared to the peak of its popularity with a series of blockbuster feature films and the smash sequel series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek FAQ 2.0 picks up where the original Star Trek FAQ left off, chronicling the historic comeback of the failed series and its emergence as a pop culture touchstone. The book provides accounts of the production of every Star Trek movie (including creator Gene Roddenberrys struggle to retain control of the franchise) and every episode of The Next Generation (and the conflicts that roiled its writing staff). It also offers profiles of the actors, directors, writers, producers, and technicians whose excellence fueled the franchises success, and explores often overlooked aspects of the Star Trek phenomenon, including unofficial, fan-made productions. Star Trek FAQ 2.0 represents the final frontier of Trek scholarship.

From the Author

As the title indicates Star Trek FAQ 2.0 is the companion volume to Star Trek FAQ: Everything Left to Know about the First Voyages of Starship Enterprise, released in 2012 by Applause Books. Star Trek FAQ recounted the creation of the original Star Trek, its untimely cancellation and its unprecedented, near-miraculous resurrection in the 1970s. Star Trek FAQ 2.0 picks up the story from there, beginning with the near-death experience that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and continuing through the franchise's second amazing revival, fueled by a blockbuster trilogy of feature films and the wildly successful Star Trek: The Next Generation series.

I address Star Trek as a unified franchise, with a shared history and a single (albeit, at times fragmented) fan base. That's how Paramount Pictures executives thought of Star Trek. And, for more than twenty years, the movies and various television series interacted with one another in sometimes surprising ways, creating synergies that helped Star Trek soar to the pinnacle of its popularity and mainstream acceptance in the early 1990s, but later exacerbated the decline of the franchise when ratings and box office receipts slumped in the early 2000s. Looking at the franchise holistically, I believe, reveals fresh insights into the backstage dynamics of both the movies and the television programs and provides new perspectives on why audiences embraced some products and rejected others. This approach also sets Star Trek FAQ 2.0 apart from most Star Trek histories, which typically treat the original program and original cast feature films, The Next Generation and its movies, and the various spin-off series, all as distinct entities. If you liked the first book, I believe you will enjoy this one too.

About the Author

Mark Clark, a 1988 graduate of the University of Louisville, is a film historian and the author of several books, including Star Trek FAQ, and has contributed essays and articles to numerous other books and magazines. He's a former film critic for the Louisville Courier-Journal and has also taught film history and genre theory for the Factory Digital Film Production Program at Douglas Education Center in Monessen, PA.