Monday, July 16, 2018

U.S.S. Enterprise


I became addicted in 1966.  I didn’t take drugs, drink alcohol or imbibe in any other chemical substance.
 
My addiction was sparked by my imagination and my imagination was fed by a new and different type of science fiction TV show.

The show broke away from the then steady stream of cliché and adolescent-themed science fiction shows of that period.

The show took itself serious, with timely topics tackled face on disguised as alien or other world situations.  The show’s sets looked realistic and, while primitive by today’s standards, the special effects were ground-breaking.

Much of the technologies introduced were based on future projections of engineers, scientists and scholars.

The show I’m referring to (as if you didn’t know) is Star Trek: The Original Series.

While the human cast of the show took center stage there was another cast member that was every bit as important as the actors and actresses who played their parts.

The starship U.S.S. Enterprise dominated the screen whenever it was shown.  Its unique design successfully re-imagined what a space ship could look like.  Gone were the tail fins, cylindrical tube design and multi-stages.

The Enterprise NCC-1701 consisted of three main parts: the saucer section, the nacelles and the lower body with sensor display.

Haynes, Ben Robinson, Marcus Riley and Michael Okuda present their new hardbound book: U.S.S. Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual.

Star Trek fans know that have been many starships christened as the Enterprise from the NX-01 to the NCC-1701-E.  All of them have the aforementioned design elements, with slight variations.

The book goes into exhaustive detail of each and every ship.

It includes cut-away views, various angle shots, interior and exterior details, full-color photos of the various decks and departments and equipment and shuttle details-the list goes on and on.

Technical and function details delve into the operation of key equipment and capabilities, 3D schematics allow the reader to examine each component up close and deck by deck cutaways show each ship’s complexity, size and locations of departments.

This is the book every Star Trek fan will want to have.  I have never seen any book that goes into such extensive detail about the various Enterprises. Stats, specs, engineering notations, key personnel and missions-it’s all here in a ‘fascinating’ and ‘logical’ combination.

“Beam me up, Scotty!  I’ve got a lot of reading and studying to do!”