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Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations

‘Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations’

How and why have fans creative responses
changed from the 1970’s shortage of, to the
current abundance of Star Trek?

“If Spock were here, he’d say that I

was an irrational, illogical human being
for going on a mission like this.

Sounds like fun!”

- James T. Kirk, Star Trek: Generations

icoomber@hotmail.com
Ian Coomber - 03180614
University Of Wales, Aberystwyth
Department Of Theatre, Film And Television Studies

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Contents:

Introduction - 3

Literary Review - 8

Early Fan-fiction - 13

Recent Fan-fiction - 19

Fan Films - 26

Conclusion - 28

Bibliography - 32

Overall word count: 9,336

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Introduction

In the 1960s, Gene Roddenberry pitched an idea for a show that he saw as ‘Wagon Train to The
1
Stars’. Following on from the popularity of the western, Roddenberry developed the idea for a

series where explorers would travel ‘the final frontier’ of space, where they, and the audience at
2
home, would encounter a different adventure each week. This was a science fiction series

through which Roddenberry not only hoped to entertain his audience, but also reach out to them in

way that no other series had previously done. Hidden through the use of distant planets and

strange looking aliens, Roddenberry would be able to use metaphors with which he could talk

about issues that would be censored by networks if depicted in any other way. Although a pilot

episode ‘The Cage’ was made by Desilu Studios, NBC initially decided not to commission a

series. Instead, a second pilot was produced, from which a series was commissioned, and on 8th

September 1966, Star Trek (NBC 1966-69) made its television debut.

More than just a science fiction series however, in producing Star Trek, Roddenberry had created

a show that not only produced several innovations in television, he had also created and shared a

vision of a utopian future that explored ‘[his] own statement of who and what this species of ours

really is, where we are now and something of where we may be going.’ 3 This was a vision many

have taken and helped shape, and one that countless others have followed as a possibility of a

viable future.

In the four following decades, the love of the fans has helped Trek to overcome many obstacles,

and led to an animated and four live action spinoff series and ten feature films being produced, as

1
Roddenberry, referencing Wagon Train (NBC, 1957-65).
2
First used in Star Trek (1966-69).
3
Roddenberry, The New Voyages, ix.

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well as the countless books, comics and plethora of products that have come from a single series,

to an entire franchise. 4 Even during the initial run of The Original Series, the fans were actively
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involved in the show. They ensured the series’ continuation to a third season with their letter

writing ‘Save Star Trek’ campaign, and a select few have even written scripts for episodes of the

later series through Paramount’s acceptance, and reading of freelance scripts. 6

Whilst these help to demonstrate the role that fans have played in the production of the officially

produced canon of Trek, the vast majority of fans efforts have been the countless hours spent on

their own projects, done only for their passion of the show, often with only the recognition of

other fans. In the earlier days of the series, one of the most popular ways in which this was done,

was through the numerous fanzines that were produced and bought by fans as a way of expressing

and sharing their passion for what was essentially, a television series. Popular amongst a variety

of science fiction and action-adventure fans, as a ‘magazine produced non-professionally by a fan

or a group of fans’, a fanzine would feature stories, articles, poetry and artwork, all devoted to a

specific or several television shows, Star Trek notwithstanding. 7

As there is a vast range of fans, there is no one-way to accurately describe ‘a fan’, there is indeed
8
‘Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.’ All fans will have individual preferences within

Trek, and express their fandom to different extremes in different ways, and it is the creative means

through which fans have expressed their fandom that I have chosen to look at and research.

However, just as there are innumerable types of fans and fandom, there are also vast amounts of

4
‘Trek’ refers to the franchise as a whole and is often used to distinguish ‘Star Trek’ from Star Trek (1966-69).
5
After the release of the spin-off series’, Star Trek (1966-69) is now commonly referred to as The Original Series.
6
After hearing no word of its continuation, fans petitioned NBC to produce a third season Star Trek.
7
Byrd, ‘Star Trek Lives’, 53.
8
First heard in Star Trek (1966-69), it is often used to describe the overall philosophy upon which Trek might present.

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ways through which the fans have used their fandom creatively. Many fans write short stories and

even entire novels, those who have access to the necessary equipment often produce films, and

songs are written and often performed at conventions, whereas others still have taken to the study

of the Klingon language. Looking at every single one would be too big a task for a single

dissertation.

As a fan myself, I have been interested in Trek and science fiction for as long as I can remember.

Indeed, one of my earliest memories of watching television is of being sat around the dinner table

with my family watching repeats of The Original Series. As I grew slightly older, and the later

series’ were shown, I would make sure that the television set was always on BBC2 at six o’clock,

whenever The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Syndicated, 1987-94), and

eventually Star Trek Deep Space Nine (Syndicated, 93-99) and Star Trek: Voyager (UPN, 1995-

2001) were on. As I grew older still, this fandom encouraged me to watch other science fiction

series, such as Doctor Who (BBC 1963-89, FOX/BBC 1996 & BBC 2005- ) and Stargate SG1

(MGM, 1997- ). I also began to buy videos of the series’, and now at the age of twenty-one, I have

a whole collection of various Trek, and science fiction merchandise.

Despite my own fandom however, I have never been creative through it, nor have I even been to a

convention or met other serious fans. It is perhaps because of this that fandom is of such interest

to me. Whilst I have read books and watched films of other fans, there is still the insatiable

curiosity to know all I can about them, and their different ideas of fandom; something that I hope

this dissertation will be able to help me with.

For the research of this dissertation I aim to look at the most popularly apparent creative forms,

stories of the Trek universe written by the fans themselves. As the majority of the fans stories fall

into the category of written fan-fiction, this is where I shall spend the focus of my research, but I

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shall also take a brief look at filmic stories that fans have produced in fan-films. Not only have I

decided upon this for my chosen aspect because of its abundance, but also as Roddenberry himself

stated, ‘there is no more profound way in which people could express what Star Trek has meant to

them than by creating their very own personal Star Trek.’ 9

However, as this is just an undergraduate dissertation, there are still several factors that will

hamper the research. First and foremost, as Henry Jenkins (1992) points out, the amount of items

available is innumerable, and so whatever I am able to look at will only represent a small portion

of what has been produced. Added to this however, is that many items, especially older ones will

have been misplaced, damaged etc through the years, and so I will only be able to comment on

those pieces that I have been able to get hold of. As I have only been able to obtain a small

number of fan works, the fan-fiction stories I shall be looking at in detail all come from the

professionally published, but fan written collections of The New Voyages (1976) and Strange New

Worlds 09 (2006). Whilst I have found other works of fan-fiction, the emphasis will be placed

upon the stories seen in these two anthologies.

Where the thirty years between the two books will account for the change through the years I am

researching, the similarity of the books will produce less anomalous factors to affect my research.

Were I to compare ‘Intersection Point’ (Juanita Coulson), a fan written short story from a 1960s

professionally published anthology to ‘Time After Time And Time Again’ (Michael Ruff), a fan

written and fan published novel from the early 1990s, for example, the comparison would give

results in which the structure and context of the stories would produce the similarities and

differences, rather than the stories themselves.

9
Roddenberry, Star Trek: The New Voyages, x.

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Despite the professional involvement in the anthologies, this involvement is limited to the

selection and publishing of the stories only, which still enables me to achieve a better comparison

of the fan produced work from different decades. As professional publishers however, their major

focus with the books is as a business intending to sell as many copies as possible. In order to

achieve this, it is fair to assume that they would choose those stories that would be most popular,

and therefore represent the types of stories that the majority of fans would read and enjoy.

With regards to fan-films, I have chosen to look at the Star Trek Hidden Frontier series. Much

like the anthology publications fan-films available, I shall be addressing only a small percentage

of the overall available material. Star Trek: New Voyages, for example is well known for its

collaboration with industry professionals who have worked on the official Trek series, most

notably actors such as Walter Koenig and George Takei, reprising their Original Series roles of
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Pavel Chekov and Hikaru Sulu, respectively. Despite the status that New Voyages has gained

due to this involvement however, something that contains this level of professional involvement

can most likely only be termed as a ‘fan’ project in name only to avoid copyright issues. Added to

this, my main research of all stories, written and filmed, will focus on the narrative and content;

this is something that Hidden Frontier has become well regarded for, as will be explained later.

Despite being limited to a small sample, there is still the possibility that there are certain terms,

which would be unknown by those who are unfamiliar with Trek or its fandom. Where the general

term ‘fiction’ can be used across a variety of media for instance, the term ‘fan-fiction’ is often

only used when referring to written literature. Likewise, it is easy to become confused with Star

Trek (the original live action series), Star Trek (the animated series), and ‘Star Trek’ (the franchise

as a whole) within such a specific dissertation. It is because of this, that adopted terms such as

‘Trek’ and ‘The Original Series’ are used.

10
Star Trek: New Voyages, www.newvoyages.com.

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Literary Review

Although I have been a fan for as long as I can remember, it is only since I have come to

university and studied film and television academically that I have begun to study Trek in this way

as well.

Today Trek is considered something of a phenomenon, with the onscreen canon alone

encompassing six television series and ten films, as well as the numerous incarnations spanning

various other media. All of this has originated through the inception and popularity of The

Original Series, something that is first and foremost just a television series.

Many fans obviously see it as much more than this, but it is important to remember its humble

beginnings, something Catherine Johnson has explored in her book, Telefantasy (2005).

Throughout the course of the work, Johnson looks at programmes, all of which fall under the

category of telefantasy within the context of their own contemporary broadcasting environment. 11

As much as Star Trek looks toward a utopian 23rd century, it is also a product of 1960s network

programming. By focusing on this angle, Johnson separates herself from those other authors, who

analyse Star Trek textually. As Johnson herself explains:

‘I want to move away from understanding the series as a uniquely innovative

programme enabled by Gene Roddenberry’s ingenious use of science fiction. Instead

11
Originating from fandom, the term is used to collectively describe the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres.

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I want to ask how the production of the series responded to the needs of commercial

US television at this time.’ 12

Johnson begins her chapter ‘‘Regulated Innovation’: Star Trek and the commercial strategies of

US Television in the 1960s’ by giving an introduction to the workings of the network structure of

the time; when live anthology series of the ‘Golden Age’ were declining, with the networks

becoming more competitive in attracting Nielson ratings and sponsorship. A time when (in 1961)

Newton Minow, the FCC chairman, noted that whilst ‘programmes attracted high ratings, they did
13
not necessarily represent an accurate reflection of public interest.’ Networks were regularly

producing shows that aimed for quantity, rather than quality in terms of audience reception, in an

effort to achieve a greater share of the ratings, and therefore sponsorship. Star Trek was a show

that was designed to be different from the outset.

Although a product of 60s network programming, Star Trek was innovative in many areas, and

should not be seen as a typical show of the era. Combining elements of science fiction anthology

series, such as The Outer Limits (ABC, 1963-65), and episodic action series like The Man From

U.N.C.L.E. (NBC, 1964-68), Star Trek is well known for its cast including people such as George

Takei, who is of Japanese ancestry and Nichelle Nichols, a black American portraying an African

character, something that was practically unheard of in the contemporary context. This may have

been innovation, but as the chapter title suggests, innovation that was regulated by the networks.

Johnson also gives much information regarding Roddenberry’s past work experience within

television, and how the series emerged from the initial pitch to network executives, in order to

help show how the series evolved in comparison to its initial rejection, and two pilot episodes. She

12
Johnson, Telefantasy, 74.
13
Minnow, as cited in Johnson, Telefantasy, 71.

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looks at how Star Trek simultaneously took traditional network programming; whilst at the same
14
time was able to ‘stimulate the imagination without bypassing the intellect’. Throughout the

chapter Johnson looks at Star Trek from the point of view of its ‘moving forward’ philosophy,

from its innovation in narrative and cast, to its place in helping the pioneering technology of

colour television sets.

Johnson’s chapter will be very useful in my dissertation, as she helps to ascertain the origins of

Star Trek, starting out like any other series, which is important to remember when considering the

vast franchise today. Not having experienced Star Trek in its original setting, it is easy for me to

look at it from a 21st century point of view, but through ‘Regulated Innovation’, I am able to get a

better idea of how it was intended to be received by contemporary networks and audiences.

Having a better understanding of how it was created and perceived in its own time, should not

only help me get a better insight as to the fan-fiction of the same period, but also why many

original fans of the series still prefer The Original Series to the plethora of later Trek series.

Consequently, the article’s biggest strength in terms of studying Star Trek also contributes to its

biggest weakness when studying Trek as a whole. Although it gives a great explanation of Star

Trek as a single series, from its own time, the article does not consider the rest of the franchise, as

seen today. Whilst the whole franchise was inspired from this first series, that same series now

constitutes only a small percentage of material available to fans today. Whilst there are many fans

who still consider The Original Series to be their favourite, there are also newer fans who prefer

the later Trek series due to their higher production values and special effects that modern

audiences have grown accustomed to.

14
Solow and Justman, as cited in Johnson, Telefantasy, 76.

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Perhaps the best books I have found discussing the fans themselves are both written by Henry

Jenkins, firstly with a book he wrote with John Tulloch, Science Fiction Audiences: Watching

Doctor Who and Star Trek (1994). The chapters contained in this co-authored book look at why

people are fans of Trek and the fans themselves. Like Johnson, Jenkins’ introduction focuses on

Star Trek’s initial broadcast in the sixties, but rather than contemporary broadcast conditions,

focuses on the initial fans, paying close attention to fan activities such as the ‘Save Star Trek

Campaign’. Jenkins then goes on to pay close attention to different fan groups who appreciate

Trek for different reasons; how MIT students regard it in terms of science fiction and technology,

for example. Another group of fans Jenkins pays specific attention to are gay, lesbian and bisexual

fans, particularly those who have petitioned to have a character that represents equality of sexual

orientation, in a similar way in which previous characters have represented equality of race and

gender.

As with any book, there are some chapters that will be more useful than others. Whilst the book as

a whole gives a good understanding of the fans, enabling me to better understand where their

creativity comes from, the chapter ‘‘At other times, like females’ Gender and Star Trek fan-

fiction’ will also help me with the specific research of the dissertation. Obviously this will be off

great use to me when researching fan-fiction, but due to the specificity of gender, will most likely

only be applicable to certain stories.

It is chapters like these that are perhaps the book’s biggest strength. Instead of focusing on fans

merely following blindly, Jenkins has instead chosen to look at those who engage in activities
15
with the idea ‘of reform, not of revolt.’ Looking at fandom in different ways like this will be

very useful to my research, as variety is something that very much describes fandom of all areas,

fan-fiction notwithstanding.

15
Jenkins, Science Fiction Audiences, 202.

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The biggest weakness of the book however, at least from my research point of view, is that there

are many chapters regarding Doctor Who. It is true that there are many similarities between

different science fiction shows and fans, and as such these chapters will not in any way hinder my

work. At the same time however, they are not relevant to my research, and as such leave entire

sections of the book that are of no use to me at this time.

Although Science Fiction Audiences is possibly the best book regarding writing of the fans

themselves, Jenkins’ previous book, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture

(1992) will also be useful to my research. Rather than generally looking at fans and the ways in

which they react to their chosen series, Jenkins uses this book to look specifically at certain fans

and the way in which they, as the title suggests, participate both with the series and each other, ‘on

the assumption that speaking as a fan is a defensible position’. 16 Unlike his later work, this book

focuses on fans without looking at those of a specific group. As Trek fandom is almost certainly

the biggest group however, it is often Trek fans that Jenkins refers to when using specific

examples to back up his statements. Like Science Fiction Audiences, this book contains chapters

like ‘Scribbling in the Margins: Fan Readers/Fan Writers’ that will be at the forefront of my

research, and others like ‘ “It’s Not A Fairy Tale Anymore”: Gender, Genre, Beauty and the

Beast’ which bear no relevance to my research topic.

Due to the confusion that can be caused through lack of knowledge of fandom, Patricia Byrd’s

‘Star Trek Lives: Trekker Slang’ (1978) and Bruce Southard’s ‘The Language Of Science-Fiction

Fan Magazines’, (1982) will also be of help in defining certain terms. As academic articles in

American Speech, they are essentially glossaries containing many terms that often appear in the

world of fandom, but would be unheard of by anyone unfamiliar to this close group of people.

16
Jenkins, Textual Poachers, 23.

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Although not an academic text, Star Trek Lives should also be of great help when writing this

dissertation. Not only does it provide a contemporary overview of fan activities of the 1970’s, but

can also be seen as a fan response itself, having been written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra

Marshak and Joan Winston; three women who would all have been considered big name fans at

the time, as they were ‘well known within the world of science fiction fandom’. 17

As I have discussed, there is a great deal of writing available about the fans and their various

means of expressing their fandom, but nothing that looks at how they have changed throughout

the years. Indeed, it was only in the early nineties that a small number of academics began to take

particular interest in the fans, and gave them a closer look in order to better understand them.

Because of this, my research is partly going where no academic has gone before, whilst at the

same time, still using previous work to base my research in.

Early Fan-fiction

With Star Trek cancelled after its third season in 1969, the seventies offered fans little in the way

of canonical Trek. A short lived animated series, still using the as yet unmodified title of Star Trek

(NBC, 1973-74) was produced and a second live action series, Star Trek II was planned, but

neither offered fans as much as they could hope for. Seen as just another cartoon by NBC, what is

now commonly referred to as The Animated Series was broadcast on Saturday mornings along

with it’s children’s programming, and it wasn’t until 1979 that the proposed pilot for what is now

known as Phase II was released theatrically as Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Wise, 1979).

17
Southard, 'The Language Of Science Fiction Fan Magazines', 24.

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Just as there was only very little amounts of professional Trek on screen, there was also next to

nothing with regards to professional Trek literature. The majority of books available were merely

re-writings of the television episodes, which gave nothing new to the many fans who often already

knew the meticulous details of each episode. Perhaps because of this, fan-fiction was the most

popularly apparent form of fan-based works in fanzines.

Partly because of this shortage of what was available to them, and partly because of their passion,

the fans took it upon themselves to keep Star Trek, and Roddenberry’s vision alive. As mentioned

before, fanzines contained fan-fiction stories, in which the crew of the Enterprise had countless

more adventures, articles where ideas and opinions were open to discussion, and highly detailed

artwork were lapped up by fans eager for anything new.

Whilst fan-fiction was often plentiful in fanzines, these were often circulated around an even

smaller group of fans. At a time when conventions were a new trend, there were many people who

had only discovered Star Trek through syndicated reruns, and would know nothing of other fans.

For isolated fans such as these, fanzines may not have been available, and they would have to rely

solely on the very little that was widely available.

Despite having been printed over thirty years ago, Star Trek: The New Voyages, is one such

widely available publication that I have found, after searching for it specifically, wanting to study

the book for several reasons. Even before reading the stories, the structure of the book is well

suited to the structure of The Original Series. As a book containing eight original stories, it is

easily comparable to that of the show, ‘a series with the story latitude of the anthology series, but

with the audience identification of the continuing series anthology’. 18 Added to this, the book

18
Johnson, Telefantasy, 75.

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contains a foreword by Roddenberry himself, as well as each story being individually introduced

by a member of the show’s cast, or the editors, Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath. Although

only connected to Trek through their fandom, the editors would also have been considered ‘big

name fans’.

As is often mentioned in previous works, the majority of fan-fiction was written by a close-knit

community of American fans, predominantly women, and those seen in The New Voyages is no

exception. Of the eight stories in the anthology, all are written by women, the vast majority of

whom are American, and the stories are structured almost identically in the same way as a series

episode, i.e.: The Enterprise arrives at a place where either a small number of crewmembers, or

the entire ship is place in a precarious situation, which they must find a solution to. Eventually

finding this solution, the crew manage to resolve the situation, returning everything to the way it

was, ready for their next adventure.

The content of the stories is also highly reminiscent of that of the episodes. In fact the narrative of

‘Mind-Sifter’ (Shirley S. Maiewski) is almost identical to that of ‘The Paradise Syndrome’ (The

Original Series, #58). 19 In both stories Kirk is stranded and suffering from amnesia in an alien

environment, leaving it up to Spock who is now in command of the Enterprise to affect his rescue.

Whilst most are reminiscent in an original way, the majority place a great emphasise the central

relationship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but also more importantly the central ideas of

Roddenberry’s vision. ‘[T]hose on the bridge for whom English was a native language.’ 20 is just

19
Due to the inconsistency of the order in which The Original Series episodes were aired, episodes are referenced by

an overall production order, later series are referenced by season and episode number.
20
Arnason and Berman, ‘The Face on the Barroom Floor’, 108.

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one example of how the stories portray the adventures of a highly mixed crew. Whilst it is clear

the ideas are being reproduced in the stories, there are also others, which expand upon those ideas.

The use of characters like Uhura and Chapel helped The Original Series convey its vision that

when mankind explores the reaches of space, crews would be made of men and women working

side by side. This was undeniably a noble vision, especially one originating in the sixties, but Star

Trek was also far from perfect in terms of depicting it, often failing to practice what it preached,

‘[e]xtra textual discourse stressed its commitment to gender equality, whilst the aired episodes fit

women characters in miniskirts and put them into the constant service of the male protagonists.’ 21

Uhura’s role as communications officer was little more than a telephone operator, and whether

bound by rank towards Dr. McCoy, or by her love for Spock, Nurse Chapel was rarely seen being

anything other than dutiful. Strong female characters were rarely seen, those seen in authoritarian

positions were always alien, and humans often gained that strength only through masculine

qualities. Despite having a female second in command, even ‘The Cage’ was careful enough to

make these qualities readily apparent. ‘It’s just that I can’t get used to having a woman on the

bridge. . . No offence Lieutenant, you’re different of course’ is a comment that the lieutenant

obviously resents, but she still keeps that resentment to herself, rather than answer back to her

captain and superior officer. 22

In ‘The Enchanted Pool’ (Marcia Ericson), the original character of Phyllidia is first described as

‘indisputably feminine’, and is seen as a wood nymph who introduces herself to Spock as his true

love. 23 From the outset Phyllidia seems nothing more than the other women who appeared in only

one episode of the series, having the purpose of a subservient love interest for a regular character,

21
Jenkins, Science Fiction Audiences, 197.
22
Star Trek #1, ‘The Cage’.
23
Ericson, ‘The Enchanted Pool’, 64.

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but later in reveals herself to be Lt. Phyllidia Gaines. As a fellow Starfleet officer, she assumed

the ruse in order to outwit several Andorians who had discovered her, and continued to monitor

her interactions with Spock, thus forcing her to continue the ruse, outwitting him as well. By

doing this, not only is she able to ensure her own survival, but also manages to ensure that a

weapon known only as ‘Excalibur’ did not fall into the Andorians hands, ensuring the survival of

countless others in the process. Far from that of a wood nymph, our lasting impression of Lt.

Gaines is of someone who is highly competent, resourceful, and is able to successfully resolve the

situation through being ‘indisputably feminine’.

Although all eight stories are based on the same series and characters, it is also interesting to note

that some stories offer differing interpretations of certain features. Right from the beginning of

‘The Hunting’ (Doris Beetam) we are told that ‘To the captain, nothing was more relaxing than a

stable orbit around a safe planet, and a lessening of responsibility for the 430 crewmen he

commanded’, whereas Spock takes over Kirk’s duties just as soon as he stands up from the

captains chair in ‘The Face on the Barroom Floor’, implying that if he didn’t do so, Kirk would

stay in command, declining his right to leave the ship. 24 Despite differing viewpoints being

offered, both are acceptable, as ‘fan writers do not so much reproduce the primary text as they

rework and rewrite it’. 25 Neither of the stories can be considered wrong, as they were written by

different fans who have looked at different aspects of Kirk’s personality. Where Beetam has

chosen to focus on Kirk’s enjoyment of life’s simple pleasures, Arnason and Berman focused on

his responsibility as captain, but the stories aren’t so different that they completely conflict each

other, or the recognised canon of the show.

24
Beetam, ‘The Hunting’, 125.
25
Jenkins, Textual Poachers, 162.

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The story that singularly stands out most from the anthology however is ‘Visit To A Weird Planet

Revisited’ (Ruth Berman), where the narrative revolves around William Shatner, Leonard Nemoy

and Deforest Kelley as actors, rather than their onscreen characters of James T. Kirk, Spock and

Dr. McCoy, respectively. The story tells of how, when filming an episode of the series, the three

actors find themselves within the Trek universe after being transported to the ‘real’ Enterprise,

something explained by the ‘real’ Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott as ‘a multi-parallel, space-time

inversion.’ 26

Upon first inspection, this story also appears to be the most original of the anthology, but this is

not necessarily the case. Whist all the stories all use The Original Series as the source text, ‘Visit

To A Weird Planet Revisited’ takes this one step further (or backwards), as it is based on another

piece of fan-fiction, ‘Visit To A Weird Planet’ (Jean Lorrah and Willard F. Hunt), in which the

‘real’ Kirk, Spock and McCoy are transported to the television studio where an episode of Star

Trek is being filmed.

As Camille Bacon-Smith (1992) has noted, ‘[f]an stories typically depend on more than one point

of view, and a single event may be repeated twice or three times as it is experienced by the

different characters present in the scene.’ 27 In a similar way, Berman has taken the events of one

story and looks at them from the opposite point of view. Presumably included in the anthology as

an example of something other than just another ‘episode’, ‘Visit To A Weird Planet Revisited’

was most likely chosen over as it benefits from taking the best parts of ‘Visit To A Weird Planet’,

whilst representing an aspect of a more niche fan-fiction style, without alienating those who

would be unfamiliar with it.

26
Berman, ‘Visit To A Strange Planet Revisited’, 92.
27
Bacon-Smith, Enterprising Women, 65.

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This story is also useful as it helps to advertise that through noticing and interpreting even the

smallest of details, it is often the fans who are the first to point out the faults of the show, and can

use their fan-fiction to help address these flaws, even if they cannot fix them. As part of the

narrative, ‘Kelley crossed to a point behind the chair and stood there wondering, not for the first

time, if the doctor really had any business being there’, referring to the fact that despite being

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. McCoy would often be seen on the bridge apparently for no other

purpose than for the benefit of the episodes scripts. 28

Another essential aspect of that narrative concerns itself with what Jenkins has noted as one of the

major stereotypes of serious fans, that they ‘are unable to separate fantasy from reality.’ 29 By

distinguishing the barrier between real life and fiction, the author, as an example of the fans, helps

to invalidate this largely unfounded stereotype.

Recent Fan-fiction

With Trek’s success continuing with the feature films it was inevitable that another series would

emerge at some point. Growing from strength to strength, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine,

Voyager, and eventually Star Trek: Enterprise (UPN, 2001-2005) have brought Trek’s success

back to the television screen for the past twenty years. Despite, or perhaps because of this

abundance, the production of new Trek has now slowed considerably. With the next feature film,

provisionally entitled Star Trek XI (Abrams, forthcoming) still in the pre-production stages, and

28
Berman, ‘Visit To A Strange Planet Revisited’, 86.
29
Jenkins, Textual Poachers, 10.

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no apparent plans for another series, there are those who welcome this break, fearing that the

quantity of Trek is compromising its quality.

Where Star Trek was originally produced as an anthology, Trek is now seen as more of something

like a mythology. Each of the series and films all tell individual stories, but stories that fit together

to create a connected mythology, that concerns itself with the bigger picture of what life could be

like in the future.

Published in 2006, thirty years after The New Voyages, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 09 is the

latest professionally published anthology of fan written stories. In keeping with the contemporary

abundance of Trek, this latest book contains stories inspired by all five live action series, as well

as a separate ‘Speculations’ section. A section containing stories inspired by canonically

established events, but which alters them to such a degree that the events of the stories themselves

do not fit with the canon.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember with the Strange New Worlds stories, is that in

order for the authors to be published in the anthology, their stories must follow the rules of the

competition set in out in each volume. The rules stipulate that the ‘entrant[s] must not have

published anymore than two short stories on a professional basis or in paid professional venues.’
30
This can only be seen as a good thing, as they help to ensure that like those in fanzines before

them, the stories are ‘not commercial commodities sold to consumers; they are artefacts shared

with friends and potential friends’, whilst at the same time ensuring that subsequent volumes will
31
always contain work by new authors.

30
Smith, Strange New Worlds 09, 367.
31
Jenkins, Textual Poachers, 160.

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Other rules however, offer certain creative limitations. Stories must be of a maximum length, must

focus on, but cannot make major changes to characters already established within the Trek canon,

nor can they contain any graphic sex or violence, or be what is commonly referred to as a ‘Mary

Sue’ story, ‘[f]an produced fiction in which the main character is a young woman who is a

crewperson. . . often the embodiment of the author.’ 32 The rules also state that originality is a

large factor in the consideration of choosing which stories to publish.

Whilst these are perfectly understandable when considering the amount of fan-fiction available,

and the limited number of stories they are able to print, it should also be noted that the vast

majority of writers do not adhere to any rules when writing the fiction for their own enjoyment.

Because of this these stories should be seen as a small portion of all fan-fiction, but like The New

Voyages, should represent the most popular forms of fiction, in an effort to reach the widest

possible audience.

As originality is a major factor in the selection of stories in the anthology, there are several which

stray from the conventions of the episode structure, some that use regular characters and place

them in different settings, whilst others take and explore characters seen only in one single

episode, with no mention of any of the regular cast.

A good example is ‘Gone Native’ (John Coffren), which features the characters of Rojan and

Kelinda, seen only once in the episode ‘By Any Other Name’ (The Original Series, #50). By not

featuring any of the regular characters, this story is able to take what little is known of these minor

characters and expand on them. Staying within the Trek universe, Coffren has written a story,

which allows unexplored characters to be more than just another example in a long list of episodic

adversaries, without encroaching on any established boundaries.

32
Byrd, ‘Star Trek Lives’, 58.

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As well as originality in terms of content, there are also those that display originality in terms of

style as well. ‘The Last Tree on Ferenginar: A Ferengi Fable From The Future’ (Mike McDevitt)

is, a story featuring regular Deep Space Nine characters, but the short story begins with a

traditional style storyteller, telling children the main narrative in the style of an old fable.

Even more diverse than this however is ‘Book Of Fulfillment’ (Steven Costa). Like many others,

the narrative is a story of how The Original Series characters encounter the Klingons, but is

written out in the distinctive style of chapters and verses, similar to that of the bible. A brief

introduction explains how the main narrative is an extract of an ancient text found on an alien

planet by archaeologist Richard Galen, himself an established character of The Next Generation.

Despite placing emphasis on originality for the stories in the anthology, there are several that

follow on from events seen in episodes, and there are also many stories that feature the same ideas

as each other. Obviously, the stories are written using Trek as the influencing text, but there are

others that stay closer to it than others.

Of the twenty-three stories, over a third could be described as ‘sequels’, continuing story lines

from specific episodes of films, other stories also reference specific events seen on screen, and yet

more try to link different events seen in different series or films. Perhaps the best example of this

is ‘Mestral’ (Ben Guilfoy), in which two seemingly separate events of an episode and film are

linked together. The episode ‘Carbon Creek’ (Enterprise, 2.2) tells the story of three Vulcans who

land on earth in the 1950’s, one of whom chooses to stay on earth when the others are rescued.

The short story set in the 2050’s during World War III (itself a canonically established event), and

follows the Vulcan, Mestral, as he meets Zephram Cochrane, and introduces him to Lily Sloane.

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By doing so, Mestral sets events into motion that directly lead to events in 2063, as seen in Star

Trek: First Contact (Frakes, 1996).

Added to this is the fact that several stories are based upon the same events. Not only do,

‘Remembering The Future’ (Randy Tatano) and Rocket Man (Kenneth E. Carper) both offer

different ideas of what happens to James T. Kirk, after his death in Star Trek: Generations

(Carson, 1994), ‘The Smallest Choices’ (Jeremy Yoder) also makes use of this event, whilst

continuing a storyline of ‘Amok Time’ (The Original Series, #34). 33

As we have seen with ‘Gone Native’, Trek fans may place great emphasis on characters or events

that are seen only in one single episode of the hundreds that have now been produced. After

appearing in ‘The Trouble With Tribbles’ (The Original series, #42), Tribbles didn’t reappear in a

live action episode until ‘Trials and Tribble-ations’ (Deep Space Nine, 5.6). This time travel

episode combines actual footage from ‘The Trouble With Tribbles’, with purposefully shot Deep

Space Nine footage, so that the two episodes show the same event from different points of view,

in much the same way as ‘Visit To A Weird Planet’ and ‘Visit To A Weird Planet Revisited’.

‘Trials and Tribble-ations’ was one of two episodes written to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of

the first airing of Star Trek, by specifically linking the contemporary series’ with the earlier. 34

Not only have they made a successful link, but also they have done so in a way that acknowledges

and emulates the fan-fiction practice of showing a single event from multiple points of view.

33
Although canon considers his death to be absolute, ‘Remembering The Future’ takes place in the afterlife, whereas

‘Rocket Man’ has Kirk revived.

34
Voyager also did this with ‘Flashback’ (3.2), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Meyer, 1991).

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Despite the rules imposed upon the authors, there are several stories that seem to bend, or even

break those rules. Going beyond the same idea appearing in three different stories, the active hero

of ‘Terra Tonight’ (Scott Pearson) is the un-established character of Cadet Ella Rose. Albeit under

the guidance of engineer Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott, Rose manages to successfully save her ship

and crew from a technical malfunction, despite being a ‘xenopaleontologist’, studying

‘[e]xtraterrestrial dinosaurs’, which brings a debate as to its status as a ‘Mary Sue’ story. 35

In comparison to this however, ‘Staying The Course’ (Paul C. Tseng) has Worf as Chancellor of

the Klingon Empire, a position he previously turned down in ‘Tacking Into The Wind’ (Deep

Space Nine, 7.22) at a time when he must face the imminent death of his son, Alexander

Rozhenko. His death taking place despite the fact Alexander was a recurring character in both The

Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and even when it has been canonically established in

‘Firstborn’ (The Next Generation, 7.21) that at some point in the future, Alexander will travel

back in time to visit his childhood self. Even if we are to assume his future self has now changed

the ‘real’ future as a result from his visit, his death in this story still presents a significant change

to the characters narrative, something prohibited by the rules of the anthology.

As a story in itself, it features only two regular characters, Worf and Picard, and the narrative

expands little further than the single event of Alexander’s death. When facing his death however,

Alexander leaves a message for his father, where he is able to explain that ‘the greatest thing I can

do is to die so that others might live.’ 36 Although the narrative may go against the rules, the

meaning of the story contains one of the strongest links towards Trek in the entire anthology. By

sacrificing himself, and recalling the event of Derek Redmond at the 1992 Olympic games to his

35
Pearson, ‘Terra Tonight’, 85.
36
Tseng, ‘Staying The Course’, 53.

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father, Alexander is embodying the courage and selflessness that is often seen in the spirit of Trek,

and a prime example of Roddenberry’s vision. 37

The fact that there are stories chosen for publication, which have pushed, and even broken these

rules implies that the judges of the competition have not been as strict in enforcing the rules as we

may be led to believe. Whilst we can only speculate as to their reasons, one possible reason may

be that they may have had little choice, due to the amount of fans that had themselves not adhered

to the rules. As mentioned before, fans writing for their own enjoyment do not constrain

themselves in anyway, and have apparently continued this sense of freedom, even when some of

those freedoms appear to be limited. If this is the case, then it is safe to assume that whilst the

publishers do not wish to infringe on the copyrighted material of the professionally produced Trek

canon, the fans writing the stories wish to write them more for the ideas behind it than the canon

itself.

Perhaps the best story that encapsulates this spirit is ‘Choices’ (Susan S. McCrackin), in which

Seven of Nine is injured on an alien planet. After being treated by Doctor Gretkora who is native

to the planet, Seven is told that she will remain paralysed for the rest of her life. As a less

advanced culture they are not able to offer the treatment that she could receive aboard her own

ship, Voyager, and explains how her own doctor will be able to treat her with ‘precursor cells’. 38

Obviously a metaphor for the contemporary issue of stem cell use, Doctor Gretkora could also

undergo precursor cell treatment for his own disabilities, but refuses on religious grounds. Trek

has often used science fiction metaphors to debate contemporary, and often controversial issues,

and it is this aspect of Trek that the author has obviously chosen to emulate.

37
After injuring himself in a semi final race, and with the help of his father, runner Derek Redmond continued to

finish the course, long after the other runners had completed it.
38
McCrackin, ‘Choices’, 196.

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Fan Films

Just as many fans have chosen to write their own stories inspired by Trek, there are also those that

have taken this idea a step further and have produced their stories as fan-films. As with fan-

fiction, making any profit made from these projects would encroach into copyright, and as such

many of these films are widely available to view for free on the internet. Where many simply use

general video hosting sites such as youtube.com, some others also operate from their own

exclusive websites, perhaps the most well known of which is Star Trek: Hidden Frontier.

As well as a means of expressing their passion, ‘the fan’s powerlessness over the narrative’s

development, of the degree to which the producers who operate from a very different agenda’ is

another reason why fans often producing their own Trek stories. 39 In a similar way to Ericson’s

inclusion of a strong female character in ‘The Enchanted Pool’, Hidden Frontier has garnered

much attention, even outside of fan circles, for its inclusion of openly homosexual characters.

Despite the plethora of graphic homoerotic fan-fiction stories, this is perhaps the most well known

way that homosexuality has been treated in such a serious way, without it being reduced to the

gratuitous levels seen in ‘slash’ fiction.

Whilst it is not that the Trek canon has never looked at homosexuality, it has predominantly done

so looking at it in terms of an issue, and like the many other issues looked at, it has been done

shrouded in science fiction metaphors. In the same way the inter-racial kiss between Kirk and

Uhura was ‘rationalised’ by being performed under an alien influence in ‘Plato’s Stepchildren’

(The Original Series, #67), a seemingly lesbian kiss in ‘Rejoined’ (Deep Space Nine, 4.5) was

39
Jenkins, Textual Poachers, 118.

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shared between two alien characters merely experiencing and expressing the emotions of others,

both of whom were in a heterosexual marriage. The only characters to have canonically shown

their own openness regarding their own bi/homosexuality in ‘The Emperor’s New Cloak’ (Deep

Space Nine, 7.12) are both sadist antagonists of a parallel universe, in which many things are polar

opposites of ‘our’ utopian future. It is through these examples which ‘treat queer lifestyles as alien

rather than familiar aspects of the Federation culture’ that it becomes understandable why so many

fans have protested that homosexuality has not been portrayed in an acceptable way. 40

When The Original Series first aired in the sixties, it was one of the first series to promote the idea

of gender and racial equality, one of the many reasons why it became so popular. In comparison to

this, the recent series’ have failed to live up the expectations of many modern fans who believe

that Trek should include the idea of sexuality in its promotion of equality. Although The Original

Series boasted that ‘[w]here it goes, no program has gone before’, four series’ of recent Trek have

only once shown openly homosexual characters, falling behind shows such as Spin City (ABC,

1996-2002), which features an openly homosexual character as a series regular. 41

As ‘a tactical response to the ideological contradictions of the original Star Trek’, it is hardly

surprising that Hidden Frontier’s inclusion of several openly homosexual characters, whose story

arc spans almost the entire series, has garnered such attention. 42 Rather than just for including

these characters, Hidden Frontier has received much of its praise for the way in which these

characters and their sexuality is dealt with. The Original Series never treated Uhura’s race or

gender as an issue, nor did it pretend that she was the same as every other crewmember. Trek

attempted to celebrate each characters differences, and there are fans that believe modern Trek

40
Jenkins, Science Fiction Audiences, 238.
41
NBC advertisement, as seen in Johnson, Telefantasy, 77.
42
Jenkins, Science Fiction Audiences, p197.

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should be able to do the same with a character’s sexuality; something that Hidden Frontier proves

is entirely possible without becoming detrimental to the overall show.

In the first episode in the story arc, ‘Encke’, Corey Aster expresses his feelings towards Ro Nevin,

and his interest in a possible relationship. Without using words such as ‘gay’, this clear act of

homosexuality is barely indistinguishable from a similar heterosexual act; the other characters

treat it as such, and Ro assures Aster that his unease has nothing to do with the two characters

being of the same gender.

In the second episode ‘Ashes’, as with many within the story arc, the relationship narrative is a

subplot running parallel to the story of that episode, in this case when the cannibalistic rituals of

an alien colony, infringe upon those of a Federation colony on the same planet. Although

homosexuality is seen as nothing out of the ordinary, the episode looks at the issue of homophobia

in much the same way Trek looks at its chosen issues. The acts of homosexuality and cannibalism

themselves are hardly related, but they both have to overcome the same prejudiced attitudes in

others; ‘People grow up believing one way to be true in life, and when they feel threatened by

another idea, or way of life they attack it. It’s a shortcoming of many species’, and it is these

prejudices that are seen as the issue. 43

Conclusion

Throughout their accounts of fan-fiction, academics such as Jenkins have often focused on that

written by close community of fanzine readers and writers, works that do not always share the

43
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier 3.7, ‘Ashes’.

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same qualities as those seen in the anthologies. From my reading it seems as though many stories

seen in fanzines are more about relationships, and sex than Trek itself, often seeming to be self

indulgent in the process. Although Science Fiction fandom can be seen as a niche audience, the

stories discussed by academics seem to take this niche even tighter. Whilst they have most likely

written about these fanzine stories as an example of expressing a different area of fandom, it

seems as though the use of their chosen series is just a means to an end.

Although the content of the stories in The New Voyages do not take this to an extreme, it still feels

as though it is a product of a close-knit group of fans, rather than fans in general. With Sondra

Marshak involved in Star Trek Lives! as well as The New Voyages, it is no surprise that several of

the authors and stories that appear in The New Voyages are also mentioned in Star Trek Lives!.

As I have previously mentioned, both books came out at a time when many where still finding

their way into fandom, which created something similar to a hierarchical structure. With big name

fans such as Marshak, and Lichtenberg at the top, taking it upon themselves to make decisions on

behalf of other fans. Decisions that they may have made with the best of intentions, but based

upon the ideas of a select few intended towards a group of individuals who may not share those

ideas. As they themselves note, ‘every fan was seeing a different Star Trek’, and so not everyone’s

idea of Star Trek could be catered for at the same time. 44

One thing that has become apparent from looking at the texts over the years is the amount of

involvement the professional canon has had on the fans work, and vice versa. Just by having been

produced, each episode influences that which fans have written, and as we have seen with the case

of ‘Trials and Tribble-ations’, the episodes themselves have paid homage to the ideas of the fans.

44
Lichtenberg, Marshak and Winston, Star Trek Lives!, 268.

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When looking at the professionally published texts of the seventies, The New Voyages, and Star

Trek Lives, there are several names that keep resurfacing. Not only has Gene Roddenberry himself

written forewords to both books, but the close relationship of the producers and a select number of

fans is obvious, something that has no doubt arose from the hierarchical like structure of fandom

at that time.

In the later books however, no such relationship is apparent. In his introduction to Strange New

Worlds, Dean Wesley Smith explains that he himself has written many professional Trek scripts

and novels, something which arose from his original passion for Trek when he was a child. Even

so, it is hard to even call him as a big name fan as his name is not easily recognised as someone of

importance with production of Trek, let alone someone like Roddenberry. However, this

disassociation is not necessarily a bad thing.

Looking at the fan films as an example, the independent Hidden Frontier takes place with new

characters, on new ships. By taking what it considers to be the best aspects of Trek, this is then

added upon, with ideas like sexual equality, in order to better reach something akin to Trek’s full

potential, whereas New Voyages and its professional assistance merely emulate that which has

come before it, producing what are essentially just more episodes of The Original Series.

The same can also be seen with the short story anthologies. Where the big name fans have chosen

stories of the same structure as the episodes in The New Voyages, those chosen for Strange New

Worlds help to further explore not only the settings of the Trek universe, but also the ideas of it as

well.

Were Gene Roddenberry still alive, I am sure his links with fans would be as strong as ever, but

his death cannot be the only reason for this relationship’s decline. The separation between

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professional and fan has almost certainly grown at the same rate as the growth of Trek as a

profitable industry. As Trek and its fandom has grown to a phenomenal size, it is hard to say with

whom Roddenberry would be linked today.

However, one of the most important things to note, at least with regards to content, is not the

changes, but that which has stayed the same. Separated by thirty years, five series and ten films,

the fans who have contributed stories to the anthologies still share that which is most important,

their passion and love for ‘Star Trek’. Whether they are fans of the action, the characters, or the

vision of a brighter future, the fans have taken a television series, and turned it into so much more.

In a world torn apart by war, famine and disease, Trek fans have shown that people can look, feel

and be different, but can still be joined together, and it is through efforts such as fan-fiction that

they reach out to each other, to be part of a whole far greater than themselves. It may have been

Roddenberry who had the vision, but it is the fans who have brought that vision to life.

‘Good writing is always a very personal thing and comes from the writers deepest self.

Star Trek was that kind of writing for me, and it moves me profoundly that it has also

become so much a part of the inner self of so many other people.

Viewers like this have proved that there is a warm, loving, and intelligent life form

out there – and that it may even be the dominant species on this planet.’ 45

45
Roddenberry, The New Voyages, x.

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Bibliography:
Works cited:

Bacon-Smith, Camille, Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of

Popular Myth. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
Byrd, Patricia, ‘Star Trek Lives: Trekker Slang’, American Speech, 53:1, 1978, 52-58.
Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture. New York,
London: Routledge, 1992.
Jenkins, Henry and Tulloch, John. Science Fiction Audiences: Watching Doctor Who and
Star Trek. London, New York: Routledge, 1995.
Johnson, Catherine, ‘‘Regulated Innovation’: Star Trek and the Commercial Strategies of
US Television in the 1960’s’, Telefantasy, London: British Film Institute, 2005.
Southard, Bruce, ‘The Language of Science-Fiction Fan Magazines’, American Speech,
57:1, 1982, 19-37.

Lichtenberg, Jacqueline, Marshak, Sondra and Winston, Joan. Star Trek Lives!. London,
Buffalo: Corgi, 1975.

Research texts cited:

Arnason, Eleanor and Berman, Ruth, ‘The Face On The Barroom Floor’, Star Trek: The
New Voyages, Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath (eds), London: Corgi, 1976, 99-121.
Beetam, Doris, ‘The Hunting’, Star Trek: The New Voyages, Sondra Marshak and Myrna
Culbreath (eds), London: Corgi, 1976, 125-138.
Berman, Ruth, ‘Visit To A Weird Plant Revisited’, Star Trek: The New Voyages, Sondra
Marshak and Myrna Culbreath (eds), London: Corgi, 1976, 83-96.
Ericson, Marcia, ‘The Enchanted Pool’, Star Trek: The New Voyages, Sondra Marshak and
Myrna Culbreath (eds), London: Corgi, 1976, 61-79.

Pearson, Scott, ‘Terra Tonight’, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 09, Dean Wesley Smith,
Elisa J. Kassin and Paula M. Block (eds), New York: Pocket Books, 2006, 74-86.
McCrackin, Susan S., ‘Choices’, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 09, Dean Wesley Smith,
Elisa J. Kassin and Paula M. Block (eds), New York: Pocket Books, 2006, 185-206.
Smith, Dean Wesley, ‘Contest Rules’, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 09, Dean Wesley
Smith, Elisa J. Kassin and Paula M. Block (eds), New York: Pocket Books, 2006, 367-
373.
Tseng, Paul C., ‘Staying The Course’, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 09, Dean Wesley
Smith, Elisa J. Kassin and Paula M. Block (eds), New York: Pocket Books, 2006, 41-56.

‘Encke’. Star Trek Hidden Frontier, episode 2.5. www.hiddenfrontier.com 2002.

‘Ashes’. Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, episode 3.7. www.hiddenfrontier.com 2003.

“For crying out loud, it’s just a TV show!”

- William Shatner, Saturday Night Live

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