Did Pocket Books or someone else ever novelize TAS episodes, like Blish's novels of TOS; or, were there ST novels that included TAS-reference characters or events?
Curious.
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Alan Dean Foster novelized the TAS episodes in a series of books titled STAR TREK LOG ONE thru STAR TREK LOG TEN. They've been reprinted over the years, most recently as a trio of omnibus paperbacks collecting the first nine books' worth of stories.
As for TAS references in other novels, they're littered throughout various titles, ranging from the near-obscure to the more-than blatant. Arex and M'Rress are regular characters in Peter David's ongoing NEW FRONTIER novels. Kevin wrote a short story focusing on Arex for the NEW FRONTIER: NO LIMITS anthology. An alien crewmember from the same race as the "bug alien" M3 Green from "The Jihad" is a part of the S.C.E. series, and Kevin and I wrote a S.C.E. installment that was a sequel to "The Time Trap" called WHERE TIME STANDS STILL.
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"What is a magnesia, and how the hell do you milk one?"
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The STAR TREK Logs series were really interesting, particularly books 7-10, in that the first third of each book adapted the original animated episode, and the rest of the book then spun off in incredible new directions beyond the episode. They're an enjoyable read.
If I might chime in here with a couple of things ...
While Bill chose to refer to me in his news item as "Pocket Books writer Kevin Dilmore," I certainly was not posting my musings on a TAS DVD release in that capacity, nor with any regard to the work I have done for Pocket Books. I get why he did it; he was trying to connect my name to something that might make me familiar to his readers. In reporting, we make those choices all the time. Do we say "Children's book author Madonna" or "Film score composer John Carpenter"? Nope. Inarguably, however, it's part of what they do.
To further clarify, I also wasn't posting on the subject of TAS DVDs in any OFFICIAL capacity at all. Don't construe my message-board postings on this as "official" in any way, shape or form.
So why did I enter a conversation about TAS DVDs on a message board? Since well before I wrote any published fiction, I have been a contributing writer to Star Trek Communicator magazine. As the Communicator is sanctioned by Paramount, I have enjoyed the opportunity to interview and maintain contact with Paramount sources for years. One of the stories on which I've been working recently is following the news/rumor mill surrounding the release of TAS on DVD, something that a number of ST fans have desired for some time. I had done some leg work that so far has yielded some information but nothing that constitutes a story for the Communicator as of yet. While there's nothing print-worthy on the topic yet, I decided to share what I know with the readers of the message board. I did so because 1) I want people to know that the Comunicator (through me and other contributing writers) is aware of the interest in this subject and is "on the job," and 2) I'm a big fan of TAS and I don't mind sharing what I understand to be the situation. Like any situation, it is subject to change.
That's the "deep background" and perspective of my original posting. I regret that readers of Bill's news item did not have the perspective of that background in which to establish the context of my post to the message board.
Kevin
I'm shocked with their high price tag of all the other Trek shows and they are passing up charging another 100.00 per boxset for the cartoon?
I am shocked!!
In the strongest message from Paramount Home Video yet, pirates are given a wink and a nod to begin distributing DVDs of LD rips of the Animated Series via bittorrent.
"The Animated Series really has no value to Paramount or the Star Trek franchise," sources close to PHV seem to be saying.
In other news, Master Replicas will soon release their TOS tricorder prop to myriad fans willing to pay $400 for it. "We understand what Star Trek fans want and are more than willing to give it to them," they seem to be saying.
I am a big fan of The Animated Series. Episodes like D.C. Fontana's Yesteryear, The Time Trap and The Counterclock Incident (the Captain April episode) are among my favorites Trek episodes, ever.
Gustavo
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TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
I wonder if the release of the TAS series may be staggered as part of a strategy to keep Trek in the public conciousness during the "hiatus"? It would make sense, if Paramount decided to release a new series or film in 2008 or 2009, to keep Trek ticking over. Slow down the release of the special editions of the remaining movies. Perhaps a video game or two and finally the release of the TAS boxsets. Perhaps even a little psychology. Give the bring back Trek campaigners a few small victories to keep them loyal and thus build up support and hunger for a relaunch of the franchise.
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HD-DVD is right around the corner and First Contact is to be PHV's first HD-DVD release. PHV should rush the rest of their Star Trek catalog out on regular, non-HD DVD so that they can turn around and sell them again on HD-DVD.
I was f^Hscrewed by PHV when they abandoned laserdisc in the middle of season two of Deep Space Nine. I then sought out the japanese LD boxed sets at great expense, but they only released DS9 and Voyager up to season 5...
PHV is run by morons... and that's why they probably won't be able to interpret an HD-DVD boycott as the
fan's lack of interest in their screwed up release of their catalog.
DS9 on DVD is so over-compressed that klingon foreheads stay glued immobile to the screen when the actor's head moves as he speaks. Proof positive that PHV doesn't give a shit about the quality of their product.
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Exactly. Paramount will start re-releasing Trek in HD-DVD, and then if Blu-Ray were to win the format war, they'd do it again in Blu-Ray.
A few semi-related ramblings:
The trick to HD will be actually taking advantage of the medium to add video quality rather than using the same transfers and just having more episodes per disc. I haven't yet seen DS9 on DVD, but the video quality of TNG on DVD sucks. On a decent TV with composite input, I can see all sorts of dot crawl in the red of the uniforms, as well as the "sticky foreheads" problem that someone else mentions for DS9. TOS usually looks great, but there are instances of dot crawl. With HD/Blu-ray on the horizon, I wouldn't recommend anyone purchase the TNG sets on DVD if you haven't already.
I might go ahead and buy the TOS boxes, and I'd buy the TAS box the first day it came out (assuming that it's cheaper than a live action season. It really should be less than $40, which would put it in the same range as other animated season boxes. Which means Paramount will probably charge $80, if they ever put it out.) TNG and DS9 can wait for HD.
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"Now the Senate is looking for moderate judges, mainstream judges. What in the world is a moderate interpretation of a constitutional text? Halfway between what it says and what we'd like it to say?" - Justice Scalia
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Quite aside from me not having a HD telly at the moment, I'm not going any where near the DVD2.0 formats until I know which way the wind blows. Europe is running behind the US on the HD front at the moment. We have recently started switching over to higher definition digital broadcasting in large numbers, with set top boxes allowing us to pick up no-subscription digital services through a standard ariel for about$50. Satellite and cable broadcasters offer their content almost exclusively in digital. The UK government expects to turn off the analogue transmitters between 2010 and 2012. There aren't many HD TV sets available yet, but new sets are more like large computer monitors with 1280x800 resolutions. I suspect that an appropiate set top box or integrated chip would allow these sets to play any standard thrown at them.
As for the HDDVD/Blu-Ray debate - I think it is too early to call, with many of the major games companies backing Blu-Ray, which has much larger storage. It might not even be an issue. The DVD-R/DVD+R debate was a red-herring with dual format drives almost ubiquotous these days. Even DVD-RAM is catered for. I doubt it will be long before somebody licenses both technologies and builds a combo drive. Its still essentially the same technology as CD-R, just with different frequency lasers and data standards - which are largely under the control of software anyway.
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"Don't use Nutscrape. It's fucked."
Smoking Astronaut's unique contribution to the Browser debate.
"If women all have ovaries, why do so few men have underies?"
Smoke ponders the BIG questions.
"Gitch is having my babies, and Ro is their Godfather."
A surprising but touching proposition from Smoke.
Words of Wisdom from the one and only Smoking Astronaut.
You will be missed Sir.
-
I won't be jumping on a "DVD2.0" bandwagon either. I don't have a HDTV, just a decent flat-tube NTSC TV. I won't buy any HDDVDs, or Blu-Rays, until it is absolutely clear what the standard will be. I'm perfectly content with plain ol' DVDs for now, and wouldn't be in any hurry for the next standard if none had been announced.
However, the picture quality of the TNG DVD's is such that I just couldn't recommend them to anybody. The next standard will come, they'll be released on it, and they'll be better. I can wait. Especially when I think of how infrequently I would watch any one episode, and how I can rent or record (even on DVD) them all for now.
I also won't be in any hurry to replace my existing DVDs with the next standard, either, except perhaps for a very few favorites.
I think HD-DVD has a chance to win, even with the better specs on Blu-Ray. For video, HD has more efficient compression, so the storage capacity difference is not as big a quality difference as it might sound. More importantly for the consumer video market, HD-DVD just sounds like the one you should want. It has that name recognition thing happening - you already use and love DVDs, and you already know that the new TV standard is called HD. HD-DVD, then, sounds like the "right" next DVD medium to accompany HDTV. I know that's a cheesy logic train, but such is marketing.
I don't really care what wins as long as the DVDs I have will play on the next gen players. Let the rich guys fight it out.
So is the HDTV that will replace your PAL TV the same standard as the HDTV that will replace my NTSC TV? Or will we still have two different standards?
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"Now the Senate is looking for moderate judges, mainstream judges. What in the world is a moderate interpretation of a constitutional text? Halfway between what it says and what we'd like it to say?" - Justice Scalia
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To be honest, I don't know if the PAL/NTSC standards will be the same or different. I got a little confused at the start of the debate about HD TV because HD was simply being used as an abbreviation for "High Definition", in whatever form. It didn't necessarily refer to the HD standard used in the US. As I recall, some years go there was a lot of debate over which system should be used and the US jumped the gun and went ahead with HDTV. I don't know if the rest of the world decided to follow the US' lead, or if other standards were adopted.
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"Don't use Nutscrape. It's fucked."
Smoking Astronaut's unique contribution to the Browser debate.
"If women all have ovaries, why do so few men have underies?"
Smoke ponders the BIG questions.
"Gitch is having my babies, and Ro is their Godfather."
A surprising but touching proposition from Smoke.
Words of Wisdom from the one and only Smoking Astronaut.
You will be missed Sir.
-
Well you know, TAS's 30th anniversary came in 2003 and startrek.com had some commemorative interviews, etc., dedicated to it. And THAT is when they should have released the DVD set. It just seems like a stupid missed opportunity considering that it would have required minimal work to do.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
I would definitely rather have TAS on DVD than a fifth season of ENT, or any ENT DVDs.
Surely it will happen eventually ... ?
Paramount's refusal to give us a legitimate retail release of TAS makes those DVD bootlegs of the old TAS LDs kind of tempting.
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"Now the Senate is looking for moderate judges, mainstream judges. What in the world is a moderate interpretation of a constitutional text? Halfway between what it says and what we'd like it to say?" - Justice Scalia
From above:
Quote:
"Anything you've heard about Paramount and TAS DVDs is unsubstantiated rumor," Ward said on the PsiPhi BBS. "Paramount Home Video never released any info that they were planning a DVD release of the series, and Kevin Dilmore confirmed with one of their reps that the March 15th release date was a rumor put out by somebody else. They have no immediate plans to release TAS, as their Trek priorities at the moment are on finishing out the 'collector's editions' of the movies and ENTERPRISE season sets."
It makes me wonder how anyone can actually know in any detail (let alone a book author), what the video side of the Viacom house is doing. 
I mean, the properties of Viacom are like a massive massive bureaucracy.
It's interesting but much of the talk about an upcoming release came from
Tvshowsondvd.com, which inturn got it from David Gerrold's website.
Of course Gerrold wrote TAS "More Tribbles, More Troubles" as a sequel to TOS "The Trouble With Tribbles" and it would make sense that assuming that commentary would be on such a release, his might be included, with him having been long involved in the TOS/TAS side of the franchise. Why would one doubt what might have occurred between Gerrold and other parties regarding this?
There is a post on that same site that clarifies some of the confusion (the poster also a regular on TrekBBS), as it was apparent that the distributers of the TAS tapes (Columbia House's tape of the month deal), may have actually been the ones looking into licensing to do the DVDs rather than Paramount.
SADLY, there are just alot of bad and bitter feelings among all of the folks who have worked in this franchise and it seems it just gets uglier and uglier and uglier and the yes it is, not it isn't continues.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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I never claimed to be an expert on the inner workings of Viacom. I was simply replying in a message board topic information relayed to me.
Kevin Dilmore, in his capacity as a contributing writer for ST: COMMUNICATOR Magazine is in regular contact with the folks at PHV in order to provide coverage of upcoming Trek releases. He talked to the guy who's involved with the releases/scheduling/etc. and that person said there were no immediate plans to release TAS on DVD. That doesn't mean it's not coming, that doesn't mean it's never coming...it means exactly what it says: "no immediate plans." That could change tomorrow.
This is the kind of thing that happens when people turn message board quotes into fodder for news stories.
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"What is a magnesia, and how the hell do you milk one?"
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Thank you and Kevin for clarifying, but we can only go by what is put before us.
This whole issue of the animated series has been one long ridiculous saga with Paramount, coupled with all the legal stuff with Niven, et al. However given that VHS tapes of it had released and LDs of it had released, it makes no sense not to get the DVDs out and call it a day. If anything, they're available digitally on the 'net for download so the longer they wait, the more money they're losing from people willing to pay for it, but gave up.
I suppose I should thank god I taped mine off of Nickelodeon and Sci Fi Channel. 
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
So basically, force over priced garbage that has been rejected to the point of cancellation, yet don't release the one part of Star Trek that might actually sell.
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Quote:
So basically, force over priced garbage that has been rejected to the point of cancellation, yet don't release the one part of Star Trek that might actually sell.
Okay, if you really think TAS is better than Enterprise, you have a problem. I can understand if you don't like Enterprise but come, lets get serious TAS was not good.
Now about the DVD release. They are still finishing out the Collector's sets of the movies, and Enterprise season sets are to be released next year. So look for the 40th anniversary of Star Trek in 2006. It's not like they won't release ever.
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Didn't TAS run 2 seasons less??? I have a funny fealing that ENT will sell more copies ;-)
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Hoshi: I was hoping you'd put up a fight.
T'Pol: I'm surprised you're not exhausted from all the beds, you've jumped into, recently.
"In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
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Quote:
Didn't TAS run 2 seasons less???
It had 22, 1/2 hour (22 minute running time) episodes and it ran from ~September 1973 - October 1974. The key here was that the entire TOS cast returned to reprise their roles except Koenig as Chekov (due to lack of money), although D.C. Fontana indicated in interviews that they managed to get him in there another way doing a guest part and I think he may have penned an episode.
THIS was the first Star Trek on television, with stories written by some of the same people who wrote TOS episodes, since the original had been cancelled in 1969. It is an oft-forgotten legacy and has and continues to have details and historical elements cited in it, trickle into the live actions series, including ENT.
Quote:
I have a funny fealing that ENT will sell more copies ;-)
Not necessarily because due to having only 22 episodes (where time-wise, it would be equivalent to 11, 1 hour episodes), it's a one-time cost and might appeal to Trek fans who never watched much if any Trek past TOS and/or TNG (and there's quite a few).
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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Walter Koenig did indeed script an episode of TAS, entitled "The Infinite Vulcan", if I recall correctly. As for a guest part, I don't think he ever did a voice part on TAS. I could be mistaken; then again, it's been quite a long time since I've seen TAS at all.
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... is the WORST TAS episode, bar none. It really lives up to being what many misinformed critics of TAS stated it to be: dumb Saturday morning kiddie cartoon fare.
And that is the sad irony in anyone wanting to flaunt Walter Koenig's participation in this otherwise entertaining project.
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"Dieu fort, Père paterne
Qui mua l'eau en vin,
Fais de mon cul lanterne
Pour luyre à mon voisin."
- Panurge, dans le Cinquième Livre de Françoys Rabelais
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TAS received an Emmy award for the show itself for "Best Children's Programming", due to the airing schedule and despite the fact that the stories weren't children's stories and the show had been placed on Saturdays by NBC, where Fontana et al had supposedly preferred a primetime slot. Ie., by the '70s, the days of running cartoons like "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons" in primetime had waned (until "The Simpsons" came around).
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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Very true. Too bad, really, because Filmation's Trek was the best of their lot of animated adaptations of defunct live action television programs. Remember their Planet of the Apes, or their Lost in Space. Pure crap! Of course, the only reason people still talk about Trek TAS with any fondness was that is was light years beyond Hanna Barbera and Sid & Marty Croft productions.
BTW, I'm still not holding my breath for a French language track. If they didn't do it for the live action shows, they certainly aren't going to for this. Cheepskates!
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"Dieu fort, Père paterne
Qui mua l'eau en vin,
Fais de mon cul lanterne
Pour luyre à mon voisin."
- Panurge, dans le Cinquième Livre de Françoys Rabelais
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Well despite the unfortunate lack of budget that they had to pay Filmation (thus all the static background cells and alot of reuse of backgrounds and such), a bunch of the plot points in some of the episodes actually made it into the live-action canon. Eg., in the somewhat nonsensical TAS "The Practical Joker", you literally get introduced to the updated rec deck that will become the holodeck in TNG - this some 14 years before TNG premiered. In fact one of the scenarios in that ep (the forest), was the same setting seen in TNG "Encounter at Farpoint I & II" where Data does his whistling. ;-)
Similarly, a bunch of things out of TAS "Yesteryear" ended up in both VOY and ENT regarding Vulcan rituals, etc. The whole mention and showing of Commodore Robert T. April, as the first Captain of the 1701 (before Pike) was supposedly done to get the character's name recognized, as I believe he was the original concept character for "The Cage" before the character was changed to Pike and later to Kirk.
And there were some interesting followups to TOS eps including stuff with tribbles, Harry Mudd, the Klingon Captain Kor, and of course, the Guardian of Forever, etc.
And then you had this babe!
I really would have loved to see some Catians in ENT... but alas.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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At least Peter David likes M'Ress and Arex, and brought them forward in time to his New Frontier series of novels. Nice touch on his part.
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Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying,
And dying to me dont sound like all that much fun...
-John Mellencamp
Political tags-such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth-are never basic criteria.
The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.
-Robert A. Heinlein
Samuel T. Cogley, Attorney at Law
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I think it is a foregone conclusion that Peter David "gets it". ;-)
I've never had chance to get into the New Frontier series as I have so many other books here I have to get through. Eventually I'll probably get to them though since I do like Selar.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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Okay. I have to rewatch the startrek.com D.C. Fontana interview again but I thought I recall her saying something about him having also done an uncredited voice for an alien in one of the TAS episodes.
I do know that Doohan, Barrett, and I believe Nicols did most of the alien voices.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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