Books on the Making of TNG?
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There aren't any detailed ones that I am aware of, the closest you can get is the Tng Companion, or the unofficial Captains Logs books, both of which are not solely focused on the show's production (companion is also an episode guide for the most part, and Captains Logs covers everything up to the first few years of Tng in quite a bit of depth, but isn't strictly speaking a making of.)
Deep Space Nine has an excellent Making Of book, I haven't read Voyagers yet.
Starlog did publish two 'journals' one was about Tng tech and includes some set floor plans and articles, and one focused purely on Michael Westmores make up.
I can't find anything purely Making Of or purely TNG.
Hopefully others can suggest something.
Deep Space Nine has an excellent Making Of book, I haven't read Voyagers yet.
Starlog did publish two 'journals' one was about Tng tech and includes some set floor plans and articles, and one focused purely on Michael Westmores make up.
I can't find anything purely Making Of or purely TNG.
Hopefully others can suggest something.
TNG 365 is a nice book. Some behind the scenes details on the seasons and the shows creation, and also the amount of pictures is stunning. Having read the TNG companion as well though I'm sure I had just as much information from that than I did with the 365 book, and it was cheaper? I recommend both though.
Have you seen Chaos on the Bridge? That's a wonderful look behind the scenes with memories from the cast and old producers.
Have you seen Chaos on the Bridge? That's a wonderful look behind the scenes with memories from the cast and old producers.
The Captain's Logs books, with material from Cinefantastique are some of the most detailed. There is a STNG Companion as well.
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Captains'_Logs:_The_Unauthorized_Complete_Trek_Voyages
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Captains'_Logs:_The_Unauthorized_Complete_Trek_Voyages
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Another recommendation for TNG 365 by Paula Block and Terry Erdmann, which has lots of good behind-the-scenes info on the creation of show.
I'm surprised no one mentioned Judith and Garfield Reeve-Stevens' Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission: http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_-_The_Continuing_Mission
Ah that came out at the tail end of the golden years....my interest in trek was on the wane, and it was very expensive when it first came out. The impression I got was that it was more interviews than a making of....good to know that it isn't. Maybe I will track down a cheap copy later in the year.
I remember the Captain's Logs being pretty good for some behind the scenes stuff and TNG had a major one for seasons 1-6 and an addendum for season 7, if I am remembering correctly. It's not exactly the same but Michael Piller's book "FADE IN" about writing Insurrection was very interesting.
It went to about season 5, along with all of TOS, then did supplementals and deep space log books for ds9.
Fade In is really excellent but was never published, it was released after Piller died at his request but was then quasi hushed up by the powers that be.
The Making Of Star Trek Deep Space Nine book by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens is a good book, as it came out in December 1994, and while it mainly focuses on DS9, it does talk about what was going on in the Star Trek offices in the 1992-1994 time period with TNG, DS9, the start of Voyager and Generations.
You might also want to check out the hardcover version of Star Trek Generations as it has a behind-the-scenes section about the movie and the move from a TV show to a movie. I think First Contact also had a behind-the-scenes section in its novelization.
You might also want to check out the hardcover version of Star Trek Generations as it has a behind-the-scenes section about the movie and the move from a TV show to a movie. I think First Contact also had a behind-the-scenes section in its novelization.
I can now vouch for the continuing mission book....
And it's a bit meh. Most of the stuff is covered in other sources, even the design stuff, but it does have a few new pieces, the text is light on detail and poorly formatted, it's mostly a picture book, and those pictures, as I say, are almost all available elsewhere. (as in, in other books available earlier)
The bits on the movies are particularly light, movie magazines from the time out do them (not even cinefastique...the tie in promo ones)
It's probably still worth getting a copy, as the few images not turning up elsewhere are of interest (the modelling, the apocryphal section on trek hotel exhibits that never happened etc)
I will check the first contact hardback (the last trek novelisation I bought...my wandering from the faith occurred just about the time of Insurrection)
Has any of this been useful OP?
And it's a bit meh. Most of the stuff is covered in other sources, even the design stuff, but it does have a few new pieces, the text is light on detail and poorly formatted, it's mostly a picture book, and those pictures, as I say, are almost all available elsewhere. (as in, in other books available earlier)
The bits on the movies are particularly light, movie magazines from the time out do them (not even cinefastique...the tie in promo ones)
It's probably still worth getting a copy, as the few images not turning up elsewhere are of interest (the modelling, the apocryphal section on trek hotel exhibits that never happened etc)
I will check the first contact hardback (the last trek novelisation I bought...my wandering from the faith occurred just about the time of Insurrection)
Has any of this been useful OP?
If you're referring to A Vision of the Future, it's quite good for behind the scenes detail but like the other official books, a little bland. It also has some strange bits, like changes that were to be made to the script for Caretaker to fix inaccuracies and inadvertant inappropriate words in foreign languages and the like. Nothing wrong with that as a funny anecdote... except every one they listed was still in the finished script!
My favourite official book is the DS9 Companion, as it had the most behind the scenes detail and toes the party line the least. TNG is good too although pretty corporate, and Voyager's is terrible, barely more than the sort of episode synopses you'd get on Wikipedia.
If you want more material, look up old copies of Cinefantastique. They cover every season in detail at the end of the season.
http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/category/archived-issues/
RAMA
http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/category/archived-issues/
RAMA
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