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(written from a Production point of view)

For the first movie in the Star Trek franchise, please see Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

A chilling journey through worlds beyond imagination.

Star Trek 1 (originally titled simply Star Trek) is a collection of short story adaptations of seven Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, written by James Blish.

First published by Bantam Books in January 1967, it was the very first officially licensed Star Trek tie-in book, and the first in a series of episode adaptations, as well as marking the starting point of what later became recognized as the Star Trek print franchise.

Summary[]

Contents[]

"Charlie's Law"
A 22-page adaptation of "Charlie X".
"Dagger of the Mind"
A 17-page adaptation of "Dagger of the Mind".
"The Unreal McCoy"
A 14-page adaptation of "The Man Trap".
"Balance of Terror"
A 22-page adaptation of "Balance of Terror".
"The Naked Time"
A 15-page adaptation of "The Naked Time".
"Miri"
A 27-page adaptation of "Miri". Miri's planet is not an exact double of Earth.
"The Conscience of the King"
A 19-page adaptation of "The Conscience of the King".

Background information[]

  • Within nine months of initial publication, the book was re-printed five times. It was retitled Star Trek 1 after subsequent volumes in the series were published.
  • The contents of the book were later incorporated into The Star Trek Reader II (E.P. Dutton, April 1977), along with Star Trek 4 and Star Trek 9.
  • The stories in this, and the subsequent eleven volumes of the series, were based on early draft scripts. As a result, there are some significant differences between the printed version and what actually appeared on screen, based on the final script draft, which Blish had no access to. Due to the lead times required for publication, Blish was forced to use the only scripts available from Desilu promotions, which were early draft scripts that had been discarded. As many of these draft versions have been lost in the years since the series ended, Blish's adaptations are now seen as valuable resources for those researching how the early episodes evolved from script to film.
  • In 2016, Mike and Denise Okuda (re-)confirmed the status and value of Blish's episode adaptations, when a cache of Original Series outtake footage was rediscovered, some of which accorded with information Blish had already divulged in his adaptations. (Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault Blu-ray Disc-special feature, "Inside the Roddenberry Vault, Part 1").
  • The first-edition cover art was a painting commissioned by NBC to promote Star Trek as part of a campaign for its 1966 fall TV lineup (a similar painting created for I Spy would also be recycled for a novel based upon that series). The painting features the likenesses of Kirk and Spock among with that of other unidentified crew. All are wearing uniforms of the style seen in "Where No Man Has Gone Before"; Spock's eyebrows also match the style from the second pilot. The Enterprise is depicted incorrectly, with rocket blasts eminating from not only the nacelles but also from the shuttle bay.

Cover gallery[]

Characters[]

"Charlie's Law"[]

Sam Ellis
Medical division crewman who was temporarily sent into nothingness by Charlie.

"The Unreal McCoy"[]

Barnhart
Crewman.
Darnell
Crewman.
Bob Bierce
Archaeologist. Bierce was referred to as Robert Crater in the episode.
Nancy Bierce
Nancy was referred to as Nancy Crater in the episode.

References[]

"The Unreal McCoy"[]

Regulus VIII
Eighth planet in the Regulan system. "Regulus VIII" is referred to as M-113 in the episode.

"The Naked Time"[]

La Pig
"La Pig" was referred to as Psi 2000 in the episode.

External link[]

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First novel in series Bantam TOS
Novelizations
Star Trek 2
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