The "Essential" TOS

[finarvyn]

Some "essential" threads on some other boards got me thinking about what would constitute the "Essential TOS" Star Trek. It can't be your whole collection, but maybe what you could throw into a box or backpack if you had to leave in a hurry. ;D

Here's my thinking:
1. All three TOS seasons in DVD.
2. Franz Joseph Star Trek Technical Manual
3. Whitfield's Making of Star Trek
4. Solow/Justman's Inside Star Trek

Not sure about:
5. Blish series 1-12
6. Animated series on DVD
7. Foster Log series 1-10
8. New Abrams Star Trek reboot movie
9. Star Fleet Battles game (ziploc minigame version)

What do you think? Looks like I'm on the road to a good "top 10" list....

[Falconer]

I’ll have to think about this. Damn you, you know how much I love lists!

[aramis]

Essentials: TOS DVDs, TAS DVD, SFTM,
Not Quite Essential but damned good: SFMRM, SFSFC, Star Fleet Uniform Manuals (i've lost a couple of these over the years)

The Medical Reference Manual is done in style much like the SFTM, tho' it seems to be set at about just before the motionless picture.

[blackbat242]

Jul 27, 2010 3:52:50 GMT -5 aramis said:

the motionless picture.

You mean "Star Trek: The Special Effects"?

The first time we saw it we whispered to each other the TOS episodes riffed for plot points:
1. Nomad in The Changeling= V'ger
2. the gigantic one-celled entity in The Immunity Syndrome = big fatal cloud around V'ger (complete with starship sending distress signal as it is destroyed... Vulcan-crewed USS Intrepid = Klingon cruisers)
3. Commissioner Nancy Hedford becoming "host" to "The Companion" in Metamorphosis = Ilia "hosting" V'ger's probe (Zefram Cochrane choosing to remain with "The Companion" = Decker volunteering to merge with V'ger)

And then, of course, the whole "Tribute to 2001" theme (the long, music-filled space effects scenes, the "birth of a star-child" at the end... sigh).


Robert Wise was trying to make "Great and Timeless Art" using Star Trek as his directorial canvas, but he was just a plagiarist... and Alan Dean Foster couldn't break himself out of the "novelization of episodes" rut he was in when he wrote the script.

[blackbat242]

But enough thread derailment...

My list:
Star Trek Technical Manual: Franz Joseph
The Making of Star Trek: Stephan Whitfield
The World of Star Trek: David Gerrold
Star Trek Lives: Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak, Joan Winston
Star Trek Memories: Wiliam Shatner
I Am Spock: Leonard Nimoy
Blish series 1-12 (with Spock Must Die)
Foster Log series 1-10
The Final Reflection: John Ford
The Romulan Way: Diane Duane*

My flash drive with all the Star Trek stuff I've gotten off this forum
A set of dice
USS Enterprise Deck Plans (FASA boxed set)
Klingon D-7 Class Battle Cruiser Deck Plans (FASA boxed set)

* I would love to include the other 4 books of her Rihannsu series (TRW is #2), as well as my Nitpicker's Guide to Classic Trek Phil Farrand, the 7 volumes of Star Wreck Leah Rewolinski, Marc Okrand's The Klingon Way & The Klingon Dictionary, and others... but you said "throw into a box or backpack if you had to leave in a hurry", and I'm already getting that pack pretty full.

[finarvyn]

Jul 26, 2010 19:36:57 GMT -5 Falconer said:

I’ll have to think about this. Damn you, you know how much I love lists!

You pretty much got me started, actually.

[finarvyn]

Jul 27, 2010 4:43:33 GMT -5 blackbat242 said:

Nitpicker's Guide to Classic Trek Phil Farrand

Oh, dang. Forgot about that one!

[Falconer]

Alright, I’ve been thinking about this one, so here goes:

1. Star Trek: The Original Series DVDs - not the Blu-ray or Remastered DVDs, just these DVD sets. Probably removed from their outer cases to save space in the “backpack”!

2. Star Trek: The Animated Series DVDs - I was on the fence about this one, but if you remove the outer case again, it takes up so little space. And how could anything be more “essential” than this (other than TOS itself), anyway? Could come in handy to entertain children, at the very least!

3. My Star Fleet Battles stuff—homemade map, homemade rulebook and homemade tables/charts/SSDs all based on the Pocket Edition, and pewter miniatures collection, all stuffed in a Designer’s Edition box.

4. Star Trek Blueprints and Book of Klingon Plans, as well as possibly Space Station K-7 Blueprints. They would all do fine for the “big picture”, but honestly, I’d rather redraw them in more of a minimalistic, D&D style and just stick to the areas actually shown on screen, more similar to the Stage 9 Master Plan (more scans).

5. As many soundtracks as I could get a hold of (mp3s on a portable device should be fine).

6. A printout of the Star Trek Writers/Directors Guide and a copy of The Making of Star Trek.

7. The Star Fleet Technical Manual probably should be second or third on this list!

8. Star Trek Concordance is great, though that Nitpicker’s Guide sounds good too.

9. Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier - A slim book; not the most playable RPG of them all, but still handy for all the Trek monsters and such that it collects in simple, old-school gaming format.

10. Well, I had 9 things on the list, so I thought I might as well add a tenth. I must say, I’ve gotta have The Wrath of Khan!