Overview
In the spirng of 1964, a rumpled, soft-spoken ex-cop named Gene Roddenberry walked into the office of Herbert F. Solow, the new head of production at Desilu Studios. Roddenberry presented an idea for a new science fiction television series called Star Trek. Immediately seeing the show's potential, Solow struck a scrip development deal with Roddenberry on the spot. Soon, Solow and Roddenberry brought Robert H. Justman on board as assistant director and together the three men embarked on an incredible odyssey that would make television history. INSIDE STAR TREK is a comprehensive look at the development and lfie of a televison and cultural phenomenon. It is also a story no one else could tell. Between them, Solow and Justman had a hand in virtually every aspect of the development and production of Star Trek -- fromt he battles with NBC and the internal conflicts with studio executives to the behind-the-scenes decisions about actors and their characters, writers, scripts, directors, budgets, and the endless details of weekly televison production. Here is the simple, fascinating and accurate account of a unique television series launched against astronomical odds -- a series that transported millions of viewers into another world and into an unprecedented, thirty-year, multimedia, multibillion-dollar cultural phenomenon.Editorials
Library Journal
Another look at the legendary Star TrekR set from a production executive and coproducer, respectively, for the original TV series.Ray Olson
When the promised "Star Trek" memoirs of James Doohan (Mr. Scott, the engineer) and Majel Barrett (voice of the good ship "Enterprise"'s ubiquitous computer and ST creator Gene Roddenberry's widow) arrive (soon), virtually all the most visible and audible members of the original ST crew will have deposed. Solow and Justman represent the space opera's behind-the-scenes cohorts, of whom far fewer have been heard. Solow was the Desilu studios vice-president who sold ST to NBC and oversaw production thereafter, while Justman was the series' associate producer (essentially analogous to the role of stage manager). Their take on the show is loaded with--surprise!--production details and trivia. The most amusing of the latter include Desilu owner Lucille Ball's early impression that ST was about entertainers doing a USO tour of the South Seas and NBC censors' many stern warnings about the open-mouthed smooches Captain Kirk laid on every curvaceous guest alien--stern warnings that Bill Shatner kept right on ignoring. The presentation of Solow and Justman's testimony is a little peculiar: each speaks in the first person in sections labeled "Herb" or "Bob" that are tied together by a third-person continuity that seems the work of neither of them. This is not, however, peculiar enough to dent the appeal the pair's recollections--more nuts-and-bolts than any of the actors' so far--bear for deep-dyed Trekkers. Stock up accordingly.Kirkus Reviews
A highly detailed account of the Star Trek phenomenon, written with affection but without zest by two men who were instrumental in the creation and production of that innovative show.Solow was "responsible for the sale, development and production" of the series; Justman served as Star Trek's co- producer. Together, they offer a chatty encyclopedia chronicling nearly every aspect of how the show was made. Fans of celebrity gossip will find some interesting (although generally familiar) material. For instance, the book explores, as it must, the brilliant yet flawed character of Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, and the competition between series stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. But the bulk of this volume concerns the technological and commercial aspects of producing the show. Justman and Solow recount in fervent detail how the lighting, special effects, music, costumes, scripts, and sets of the series were created. Desilu Studios, Star Trek's home, was not a wealthy operation, and the show's first season was an especially harried one. Scenes often had to be reshot because the studio's ancient arc lights popped and squealed. Only a few sets for scenes on alien planets existed; the same props were ingeniously altered for each new show. We learn, as well, about the studio personnel, about the corporate rivalries and in-fighting that typified television production in general and Desilu Studios in particular. (The anecdotes about Lucille Ball are wonderful, as are Solow and Justman's descriptions of the manic day-to-day business of producing a series.) To their credit, the authors are not mean- spirited, rarely pompous, and seldom self-righteous. Unfortunately, the narrative is listless and without a distinctive personality. The bland prose coupled with almost numbing detail make it slow going.
Still, despite its flaws, Star Trek completists and fans certainly will want to read this book.