Trek Navigator: The Ultimate Guide to the Entire Trek Saga Tag: Every Trek Episode... (Black Bay Books)

List Price: $20.00 Discount Price: $6.09

Customer Reviews:

A must read for all Trek Fans [Posted on 1998-12-15]
Trek Navigator is the most complete Trek book I have ever bought. As the LA Times sys, "Altman is the world's foremost trekspert" His knowledge shnes through in his comments and reviews. Some of you may find the reviews to negative but that only means you need to look past your worship of trek and be honest about the shows. This book is as complete as it can be up to the point it was published. Altman deserves 5 stars, Gross only 3 1/2 but this book is a must for any trek fan.

Two Ancient Fuddy Duddies Show Their Age! [Posted on 2002-09-30]
OK, any book that gives you a review of most of the Star Trek out there is worth at least 3 stars. That's the only reason I gave this book that high a rating. I love being able to see what's coming up on TV, and then zip through the book so I can see if I've seen the show 1 million times or one that I'd really like to see again.

That's the only good thing I can say about this book. The two authors are so incredibly biased for The Original Series, and so biased against The Next Generation, it's mind blowing. I counted three ways in which these two old folks showed their age:

1. They say that Kirk blows Picard away and that Shatner is a better actor than Picard. ROFL!! Obviously, this could only be said by someone growing up with TOS (and frankly someone without much of an ability to judge acting ability).

2. They constantly harp on all TNG's "techo-babble." Now, I always thought that "techno-babble" was cool. Once in a while it goes over the top, but to see a show that revolved around science and people who knew science was pretty exciting when I was first introduced to the series. It's because these two old guys just can't get their crusty old brains wrapped around a warp core!

3. Their 60's-style sexism gets pretty blatant. In some cases, they give a TOS show a high rating b/c of the great-looking and scantily-clad women! And they are always saying stuff like "It's always a pleasure to see that sexy and spunky Ensign Ro." GIVE ME A BREAK!

In a way, this book is not just a review of Star Trek, it's a great comedy book as you see them drool over Shatner's lousy acting and then criticize the rest of Star Trek. I don't care who Altman is -- as a life-long Star Trek fan who's never been to a convention but watches all the shows religiously, I thought his book left much to be desired!

Trek [Posted on 2003-10-28]
This is a must-have for any true trekker in the universe. The authors, although slanted towards TOS and DS9, do a good job of reviewing every Star Trek episode (including animated)through 1997. I felt Altman's criticism overly harsh at times, but for the most part the duo sticks behind Star Trek and delivers a gem.

An Essential Guide [Posted on 2004-09-29]
This is a great compact guide for reading alongside watching most of Star Trek. I didn't always agree with their opinion, but their honesty is refreshing and it was nice to see someone liking some stories that don't always get attention. Some reviewers claim that the writers are baised towards TOS but this isn't reallt the case. TOS episodes get a fair bashing when deserved and it's true to say that only TOS was a cultural phenomenon that entered the culture in a powerful and meaningful way. Their opinion on TNG and DS9 is fair and they do rightfully praise these series, particularly the later seasons. The Patrick Stewart-Shatner debate is not quite what other people are describing. Basically, one actor gives a more internal and restrained while the other is full of energy and intensity. It's possible to like both for different reasons and to ignore Shatner's contribution to ST is to be pretty ignorant about why there are any ST today.

One Trek hater and one parrot [Posted on 2005-02-28]
These people do not love Star Trek. They just like the first two seasons of the original series. Especially Altman is the kind of critic Woody Allen had in mind in his descend to Hell. He diminishes some of the best Trek episodes, particularly in New Generation and Voyager, trying at the same time to make himself "look" good by using words like "adroitness", or inventing ones like "technobabble". What a load of CRAP! Gross reads Altman's review FIRST and then he adds a star in his rating. Altman really has a personality problem. If you love star trek, it's better to rate it yourself. The only value of the book is in some trivia regarding the episodes.

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