I'd buy that for a dollar
In fact, I literally did
Welcome to Star Trekking, my attempt to share points of interest and random intersections in the final frontier.
Sometimes you’re walking through an antiques mall and you come across a shelf full of Star Trek books that bears a sign reading “All Star Trek Books $1” and so naturally you walk out with this reference book in your hands.
This is a book I’ve eyed on Amazon for years, and I’ve come very close to buying the Kindle version on more than one occasion. So the big ol’ physical book for one dollar? Sold.
I think I’ve mentioned here before that I’ve not really been the biggest consumer of Trek novels. But I am a big consumer of Trek reference books, so this one felt like the perfect way to become more familiar with the world of the novels without having to read them all.
Published in 2006, Voyages of the Imagination covers the hundreds of books that populated shelves from the original James Blish novelizations through to, well, whatever came out in 2006. Most of the entries consist of a photo of the book’s cover along with a short synopsis and then some words from the author. They range from deep dives—
to, well, this:
I have just begun to dig into the book, so I am unable to share much more detail. But just opening it up at random yields gems like this.
Nathan Archer, author of a few Trek novels, “is the pseudonym for a writer who does not want to reveal his identity.” Oooo! Tell me more! Of course, fifteen-ish years later, that mystery has long since been revealed.
What other treasures await me inside Voyages of the Imagination by Jeff Ayers? I’m looking forward to discovering that answer.
Something else I spent a dollar on recently was an LP, the soundtrack to a film I’ve never seen, Gunn.
I figured, what the heck, might as well spend a buck to have the Peter Gunn Theme.
The movie, from 1967, was a reboot of the late 50’s TV series. Gee, can you think of another TV series that got rebooted as a film a decade or so after it went off the air?
Anyway, while listening to the record, I looked up a bit about the Gunn movie, landing on this wikipedia page. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a direct Star Trek connection.
Sherry Jackson tells how she was hired for the movie, "A friend took me to lunch in the noisy Paramount commissary while I was wearing the costume [from the Star Trek episode, "What Little Girls Are Made Of"]. I’m terribly near-sighted and when we walked in, it got quieter and quieter, so I asked what was happening. Turns out, they were all looking at me. All the seats were full, so we got a table in the director’s room where Blake Edwards happened to be sitting. My friend told me he began pointing to me and giving hand signals to Craig Stevens in another part of the room and yelling to him ‘Sam! Sam!’ That turned out to be a character in Edwards’ next film, ‘Gunn,’ and I was offered the part.”
She continues, "But Paramount knew it was not going to be a big hit, so they wanted to use me to promote it.”
According to Herbert F. Solow, Paramount executive, he recalled that Sherry Jackson's friend who led her into the commissary was Star Trek actor William Shatner.
Solow relates that story in the excellent book Inside Star Trek, and if you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for?
It all just once again demonstrates the ongoing thesis of this newsletter: Star Trek is everywhere, whether you’re looking for it or not.
MEANWHILE…
Karaoke time.
Those were the days.
An old interview with Sherry Jackson.
And she’s also in this Sci-Fi channel special edition segment.
As for novels…
And finally, this week in Trek music covers.
Until next time, remember -
The human adventure is just beginning.