The Star Trek Concordance

[Captain Robert April]

Sorry, what's this "wheel" you're asking about? Is it like an old code wheel from computer games?

The '76 edition (pictured above) had little die-cut holes in the cover, behind which was a wheel that you'd spin and get all sorts of information about various episodes.

For instance, if you turned the wheel to "Tomorrow Is Yesterday", you'd find out that the stardate was 3112.2, the abbreviation used in the cross referencing throughout the book is to indicate this episode is TY, and that the summary of the episode is on page 46. Click on the picture above, make sure it's enlarged to full size, and you can see how this works quite clearly.

Like I said, because of all the additional references that would have to be included, it's very doubtful there'll be another wheel. Sorry, kids.

 

[Shaw]

Thanks to being one of the few people left who still has the capability to use 3.5" discs, and being dumb enough to take on this project, I should be able to get some preliminary work on a new version shortly, just as soon as Bjo sends me the materials, and depending on the condition of that material from the last version (apparently, the discs picked up some sort of bug during the time they were in the custody of the incompetent publisher, so there might be some issues). Otherwise, we're looking at retyping in everything from scratch.

What is so special about having a 3.5" floppy drive? I'd think that to really make this work you'd better have software that can read the file on the disk.

What format are the floppies? What application was used to make the files on them? Is it raw text and nothing else, or is this a book layout using something like PageMaker or QuarkXPress? If we are talking about from the mid 90's, you'd most likely need PageMaker 4 or 5 or QuarkXPress 3.x.

I have a nice collection of vintage computers from the 1990's and an extensive collection of publishing software spanning from the mid 1980's (with the first versions of PageMaker and Ready,Set,Go!) through to today.

So I'd hope you have more going for you than just having a 3.5" floppy drive on your computer. I've dealt with this type of thing a number of times with my clients and having the right combination of hardware and software really helps in bringing old data forward to today.

Maybe the wheel can be included as a do-it-yourself extra. If anyone happens to have a scan of a loose wheel, it'd certainly be appreciated, 'cause I really don't want to take apart mine.

Why would you have to take the wheel apart to recreate it? The data is pretty simple, and arranging it wouldn't take much effort either.

Of course it would have to be the last thing done if you wanted to include the page numbers as you have to have already done the interior layout of the book before knowing which pages things would end up on.

Anyways, best of luck... sounds like a fun project.

 

[Captain Robert April]

The main problem, potentially, with the discs is that the idiot publishers of the last update supposedly infected them with a computer virus. Bjo never used them again, so all we have is the say-so of people who are already proven to be morons. In fact, she was about to throw them out, since "nobody uses these things anymore anyway," when I chimed in on the subject and mentioned that I still have the capability, thanks to my poor decrepit Dell Latitude.

I have it on good authority that I should be fine, so long as I transfer the files I need from the discs to the hard drive and don't actually read them from the discs directly.

As for the wheel, I don't think it's gonna happen after all. The '76 edition covered around a hundred episodes, live action and animated, and the info is packed pretty tightly on that wheel. Not sure if it'd be worth it to try and cram in all those TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise episodes, plus all the movies. The print would be so small, it'd be illegible. And there's the increase to production costs, so....

 

[Shaw]

And you know that they are PC compatible discs and that you even have the software needed to read the files?

Hopefully it'll all work out for the best... but I hope you are prepared for what might be needed (beyond enthusiasm).

 

[Captain Robert April]

If they're not PC, then my old iMac just found a purpose.

Pretty sure they're PC, though.

 

[Shaw]

If they're not PC, then my old iMac just found a purpose.

That old iMac without a floppy drive?

If we look at some other Trek books published back then like Star Trek Encyclopedia (1994), Star Trek Chronology (1993) or the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (1991), these were all made on Macs using PageMaker and Illustrator as I recall. The last version of the Concordance was done in 1995. PCs weren't commonly used for these types of books. And even if you get the files off a Mac disc, you'll need something like PageMaker or QuarkXPress (for either Mac or PC, but they'll need to most likely be from around 1995) to read the files.

It would be great if it was all Word files on PC floppies... but from what I recall of the last copy of the Concordance I saw, I highly doubt it.

 

[Captain Robert April]

The Encyclopedia, Chronology, and TNG Tech Manual were all done by Sternbach and Okuda, presumably, at their day jobs working at whatever spinoff Trek show was on at the time, and at the studio, they used Macs.

The Concordance was written on Bjo's home computer. No idea what the clowns at Citadel were using, but the fact that the discs reportedly came back with a virus tends to indicate PC; Mac viruses are virtually unheard of in general society, especially in '94.

Besides, I have a feeling that if they were Mac, she'd have said something.

Of course, if someone has a copy of the '94 version handy and could check to see if there's a blurb regarding what software was used in the production of the book, it'd be useful 'bout now....

 

[Shaw]

The Encyclopedia, Chronology, and TNG Tech Manual were all done by Sternbach and Okuda, presumably, at their day jobs working at whatever spinoff Trek show was on at the time, and at the studio, they used Macs.

Are you saying that they didn't have them at home?

Okuda noted that the Encyclopedia was written on a PowerBook (PowerBooks weren't the near equivalents of desktops that they would become in the late 1990s). Sternbach said he used a Quadra 800 and Illustrator in the creation of the Enterprise D's blueprints (1996, many well funded design teams were already using Power Macs). So it doesn't sound like they were doing this stuff at work on Paramount's computers.

The Concordance was written on Bjo's home computer. No idea what the clowns at Citadel were using, but the fact that the discs reportedly came back with a virus tends to indicate PC; Mac viruses are virtually unheard of in general society, especially in '94.

That is actually what made me think it might be a Mac. Back in the late 1980s to mid 1990s Macs had a lot of virus issues because their use in situations where files were being transferred quite a bit. If you worked in the publishing/printing business, you had to have anti-virus software on your Macs and incoming media needed to be scanned before being used. Mac viruses are a thing of the past today, but in the early to mid 1990s it was an issue in the Mac community (and I was still fighting viruses on Macs as late as 2001... though that virus was actually made back in 1997).

But I think you are missing the much bigger point, which isn't the Mac/PC thing, it is the file format of the information. If this is the actual book on floppies, then it had to have been done in a layout program of some sort. Back then PageMaker was better at books than QuarkXPress, and FrameMaker was better than PageMaker (specially for technical books). And often times press ready art work was done as EPS files.

At any rate, I'm just trying to give you a heads up on this stuff. You asked for help, help has been provided, please feel free to ignore any of it.

 

[Captain Robert April]

This actually makes me feel a little more confident, because the issues in formatting the book were, essentially, the clowns at Citadel wouldn't follow Bjo's directions, i.e., they were doing the formatting, not Bjo (I know, not what you're referring to, but stick with me). The discs apparently just have the basic word processing files, and looking through the blurbs in the '94 edition (which I spent the better part of an hour digging out of my storage unit, along with another copy of the '76 version and reprints of the fanzine version) indicates more and more that they're PC and not Mac. And since Word recognizes a lot of different formats, I think I've got a decent chance of getting the info I need.

In any case, we're debating in a vacuum until I actually get the discs and have a chance to dig around in 'em. This part of the discussion has brought up issues that I had failed to take into account, so yes, it has been helpful. Thanks.

 

[Captain Robert April]

In other news, after spending the better part of an hour in subfreezing temperatures climbing over stuff in my storage unit, I managed to retrieve all of my copies of the previous versions, including reprints of the original fan produced version, the '76 version (good thing I picked up another one on eBay; the one I already have is in worse shape) and the lamentable '94 version, along with a notice that Bjo sent out to all the artists who were confirmed to be in the '94 edition, which contained the short bios that were intended to be included (but weren't, of course).

So, the whole thing goes south, we can still start over from scratch. I already have a couple of sample pages done (recreations of the pages pictured upthread), so the basics of the formatting is ready.

 

[Captain Robert April]

From the thread over in Trek Lit..

Just checked my copy of the '95 version, and the TNG section only goes up as far as "Relics", the only DS9 episode is "Blood Oath". No Voyager.

We've got a lot of stuff to update.

For TNG, we still need "Rightful Heir" (I suspect its omission was a simple oversight).

For DS9, we need "Crossover" (at least a mention, since it relates directly to actions begun in "Mirror, Mirror", complete with a direct reference to Kirk and Spock), "The Sword of Kahless", "Trials And Tribble-ations", and "Once More Unto the Breach".

For Voyager, "Flashback" and maybe a mention of "Q2" for its mention of Kirk's five year mission, and whenever the hologram of Leonardo da Vinci shows up ("Requiem For Methuselah").

For Enterprise, "Broken Bow", "Fight or Flight" (the appearance of the Axanar, first mentioned in "Court Martial" and "Whom Gods Destroy"), "Catwalk" (T'Pol mentions undergoing the kahs-wan ritual), "Future Tense" (the speculation that they might have found the remains of Zefrem Cochrane), "Judgment" (the scenes on Rura Penthe), "The Forge", "Awakening", and "Kir'Shara" (all those appearances by T'Pau and Surak), maybe "Affliction" and "Divergence", for the origin of the non-ridged Klingons, and "In a Mirror, Darkly".

And then, there's JJ's movie.

From there, the list gets pruned, if necessary, by Bjo.

 

[Myko]

Is there going to be an effort in fixing the incorrect cast lists for the episodes?

 

[Captain Robert April]

I'll do what I can on that front. If nothing else, all those voices that Jimmy Doohan did that went uncredited need a mention.

 

[seigezunt]

Just make sure you assert TAS is canon. Strenuously.

It's canon, dammit!

 

[Captain Robert April]

That has always been the position of the Concordance.

Here's Bjo's statement in the Citadel version, "Introduction to the Animated Series":

Bjo Trimble said:

In the beginning, Gene Roddenberry was pleased with the original animation concept for his Star Trek creation and was personally involved in its development. He placed D.C. Fontana in Filmation to keep the scripts high in quality. The episodes were written by veterans of the original series, as well as established science fiction writers, who approached it not as a cartoon knock-off, but as Star Trek. Together, they produced some of the best scripts in the animated field at the time.

In recent years, Paramount Pictures has taken the stand that the animated episodes are not part of the "official" Star Trek canon. Yet, among the elements first introduced in the animated series now accepted as "Star Trek fact" are these: Robert April, the first captain of the Enterprise (CC), James Kirk's middle name as Tiberius (EB), the first holodeck (PJ), a tribble predator (MTT), a ceiling bridge defense (BFS), Uhura finally gets command of the Enterprise (LS), Amanda, Spock's mother, officially gets a last name (YY), and the only on-screen "Beam us up, Scotty" ever spoken (IV). Mike and Denise Okuda did not include the animated series in their Star Trek Encyclopedia, but could not resist adding information on Spock's life from D.C. Fontana's excellent animated episode "Yesteryear." This makes the animateds as official as adding the entire series. Most importantly, Gene Roddenberry kept my early Star Trek Concordance on his Paramount office shelf, and he used it often for research. I visited the studio frequently, so GR had more than 10 years to ask me personally to remove the animated episodes from any reprint of my book. Even if Gene later came to dislike the concept, the series was originally acceptable to him and is now part of the Star Trek legend.

The only thing I'll suggest adding to this is that, in recent years, it has been determined that the official stance on TAS was for legal reasons, due to the breakup of Filmation at the time TNG was just getting started, i.e., TAS was never actually decanonized, just put on the "do not use" shelf for a time until the issue of ownership could be nailed down. Now that CBS/Paramount now owns TAS, it's back in the fold, as evidenced by the DVD release of TAS by Paramount Home Video, and not by Warner Home Video, like other Filmation DVD sets.

 

[ahkyahnan]

The only thing I'll suggest adding to this is that, in recent years, it has been determined that the official stance on TAS was for legal reasons, due to the breakup of Filmation at the time TNG was just getting started, i.e., TAS was never actually decanonized, just put on the "do not use" shelf for a time until the issue of ownership could be nailed down. Now that CBS/Paramount now owns TAS, it's back in the fold, as evidenced by the DVD release of TAS by Paramount Home Video, and not by Warner Home Video, like other Filmation DVD sets.

I've thought that was the reason for years, and speculated as much in a few posts here. Could never find any firm support though.

But it sounded like the same sort of thing that prevents many 'Greatest Hits' CD's from actually containing all of a given artists hits. Because they switched record labels midway thru their careers, and neither label owns the rights to release songs recorded under the other. The Rolling Stones didn't have a true career retrospective until 2002 when ABKCO records and Virgin records finally negotiated a joint release...Forty Licks.

I wasn't sure if this sort of issue went on in the film industry or not, but it always sounded reasonable.

Mark

 

[Therin of Andor]

I've thought that was the reason for years, and speculated as much in a few posts here. Could never find any firm support though.

It was a convergence of several things:

* Richard Arnold was vetting all tie-in manuscripts, on behalf of GR and the Star Trek Office, and got to write memos.

* Filmation was winding down - their whole library of cartoons was in a state of copyright ownership flux. TAS was a co-production of NBC TV and Norway Corp (Roddenberry's company); Paramount had only ever handled distribution for TAS when it went into syndication, and had to be proven to be the new copyright owner.

* Larry Niven was wanting to license out a "Ringworld" RPG, which would feature kzinti. The kzinti already appeared in a semi-licensed ST game of the 70s, "Star Fleet Battles", which was licensed via Franz Joseph ("ST Technical Manual"), not Paramount or Larry Niven. "Star Fleet Battles" eventually renamed their race.

* Paramount ended all their tie-in contracts after TNG Season One, and when Pocket Books and DC Comics renegotiated and re-signed, the new contracts specified tighter restraints of what ST elements could and couldn't be used.

 

[Captain Robert April]

^ Please pass on everything you know about this to Bjo, it'll be a great help with that section.

 

[Therin of Andor]

^ Please pass on everything you know about this to Bjo, it'll be a great help with that section.

She's still close friends with Richard Arnold. I'm not sure she ever agreed with him re his public negative stance on TAS during the 80s and early 90s. I always felt that her very careful wording of the "Is it canon?" debate in the Citadel edition was so she didn't have to go into too much detail about the studio politics of the day.

Ah, I left out one point earlier: When TAS was "removed" from licensees' use in 1989, Gene Roddenberry was being sued by David Gerrold and DC Fontana over co-creatorship of TNG. Now, it's highly likely that the Star Trek Office taking a "TAS doesn't count" stance in 1989 was a strategic move by Roddenberry's solicitor, Leonard Maizlish - who had publically insulted David Gerrold - to reduce the impact of their ongoing contributions to TAS and the ST phenonenon, and thus strengthen GR's case.

Convenient, coincidental, jumping to conclusions? And, yet, it happened.

By the way, Fontana and Gerrold eventually settled with GR, but accepted a gag order - and cannot discuss the outcome. But presumably they left court satisfied.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Like I said, everything. She can figure out what she can and can't use from that point, but she really should have as much information as is available.