by Ben Robinson and Ian Spelling

Hero Collector, out now

A lavishly-illustrated celebration of Star Trek: The Original Series on its 55th anniversary, packed with trivia and unfamiliar photos.

It’s acknowledged in the foreword to this companion volume to the recent Voyager: A Celebration tome that when the authors approached CBS about writing this book, they were challenged what would make it different from the countless books already published about the show in the last 50+ years. It’s a fair point, because there are a lot of factual books about its production (I’ve read most of them in the last year). It’s to Ben Robinson and Ian Spelling’s credit that they’ve delivered something fresh and engaging that covers enough of the basics for the newcomer to get up to speed, as well as little-known facts and asides to nourish the hardcore fan.

Approaching the project as a ‘convention in a book’ is a great idea, allowing deep dives into the more obscure guest actors, while also including a basic episode guide. Many of the behind-the-scenes shots I’ve never seen before, from Cindy Robbins’ test shot as Colt, to Shatner on his motorbike, to Nimoy with an over-sized spear, and posing by his Buick in the Desilu parking lot. Publicity, costume and hair tests reveal previously unseen looks, and the production designs of the tech and costumes reveal an incredible attention to detail. And did you know that James Doohan once warned Elvis about a flat tyre, to which the reply from the King was ‘OK Scotty’?

Verdict: Carving its own niche as a rich source of facts and asides, while also publishing some new photos, this ‘convention in a book’ can proudly sit alongside the more established TOS works on your bookshelf. 9/10

Nick Joy

Click here to order from Amazon.co.uk