Well, we’re done with the pitch. Now it’s time for the guide.
Specifically, this is the third edition, completed for release on April 17, 1967, and is the version given out to the writers and directors of the show. Specifically titled “The Star Trek Guide”, this has all we need to know to create an episode of Star Trek minus the continuity formed by other writers. Those stories weren’t written yet.
In total we have ten sections, making at least ten more articles unless one section is really short or really long. In this installment we’ll take a look at the first section, “Star Trek Format”. These are the important opening details to work on this show. If you can’t make it past the questionnaire, you probably aren’t getting the job…unless you’re writing modern Star Trek. In which case none of this would really matter because they care more about scenes than stories these days.
The guide was written by D.C. Fontana, who was not only one of the show’s writers, but was part of producing both the animated series and The Next Generation, and her story “Yesteryear” was the only animated episode that was canon for far too long. I believe now the whole toon is canon, and if it isn’t it should be! This revision was put together between the first and second seasons, and while I would love to go all the way back to the beginning like I did with the TNG guide, it will reflect changes from the first episode. I have to work with what I got and this is what’s online. It’s the one that fans got their hands on.
I don’t know what else to say that wasn’t covered in the article series overview, which includes links to both the pitch and the guide, so let’s get this reading started.
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