Looking For a Good Book

STAR TREK WEEK

Why? Why do we need this?

Aside from my distaste for a non-fan to act like a deep fan for the purposes of a book, my other ‘problem’ is that this offers nothing new. ‘This’ episode is good. ‘This’ episode is bad. Yeah, yeah, some of this is pretty commonly held thought, and some is clearly personal choice. (I happen to enjoy some of the lighter or funnier episodes as a good mix-up with the heavier, darker episodes but it’s okay if you don’t.)

Salinsky makes it very clear that he doesn’t like the lighter or humorous episodes. Really? You don’t like Harry Mudd? You don’t like tribbles? Who doesn’t like tribbles?! But to each his own. I assume that means I won’t find many lighter episodes when I finally sit down to watch Doctor Who.

But it’s comments like “It’s the return of Mark Lenard – and he’s Spock’s daddy! Not only that, he’s brought Spock’s mummy” and “This time, McCoy has wiped out a whole planet with a dangerous vaccine. It’s a little known fact that this episode was the early work of Joe Rogan” and “Party pooper Picard” that cheapen this reflection. Perhaps if Tom Salinsky were a celebrity, this would be amusing. I know, it’s a bit of a double standard, but let’s face it, if Ryan Reynolds were saying these things, we’d be amused. But … we’d also believe Ryan Reynolds was a ‘true fan’ and had earned his right to poke fun.

And, sorry, but it’s offensive on multiple levels to refer to actor Lycia Naff as “Ensign Hot Chocolate from Q Who….”

And if you need to be reminded that Salinsky is NOT a true fan, he does that plenty:

Why are these episode titles so vague and so hard to remember? I never have any trouble recalling which Doctor Who story is which (you’re a real Doctor Who fan if it’s never even occurred to you that people might mix up 1969’s ‘The Seeds of Death’ and 1976’s ‘The Seeds of Doom’) but without looking, I couldn’t tell you which one was Wolf in the Fold, which one was Return to Tomorrow and which one was Errand of Mercy if my very life depended on it.

But still he tries to also pass himself off as a true Star Trek fan when he writes “Fans have debated for ages…” How would he know? Once again, accessing the Memory Alpha wiki does not make one a ‘true fan.’

But Salinsky has pinpointed the problem … he’s a ‘real’ Doctor Who fan and NOT a real Star Trek fan. That’s cool. The world can have both. But, it brings me back to my opening question … Why? Why do we need this book? The answer is, we don’t. And I’m most certainly not interested in reading the next volume.

Looking for a good book? In Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series by Tom Salinsky, the author capitalizes on Star Trek fans’ interest in reading about their beloved series. It offers nothing new to fans or to the franchise but it may put a little money in his pocket.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series: The Original Series, The Animated Series and The Next Generation

author: Tom Salinsky

publisher: White Owl

ISBN: 9781399035040

hardcover, 224 pages