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jlwalk905's review
4.0
This is a great behind the scene/ what Wil really thought book. The faux stories made me laugh. I wish it would continue but its been so long.
kerveros's review
4.0
A friend at work happened to notice I was re-watching Star Trek through my Twitter account and asked if I would be interested in reading this book. Being a bit of a Star Trek TNG fan I said "hell yes" (or something like that, I can't recall and cannot be bothered to go to Twitter to check). I am very glad I did as this is a very amusing book.
Star Trek TNG started broadcasting 2 years before I was born so when I first saw it it must have been on its third or fourth repeat. As such I never knew the hatred of Wesley Crusher until I started finding information on the internet (Wikipedia is really useful at times you know!). Granted as a character he did start to wear at me but there is usually a character in most shows that I am not a fan of and tolerate so... nothing knew there.
As a watcher of The Big Bang Theory I knew of Wil Wheaton and that he seemed happy enough to take the mickey about himself and you can see that here. He doesn't shy away from saying when he made a poor acting decision (though he does point out he was 14 and to be acting with a legend like Patrick Stewart you cannot really blame him as a lad), and also points out that the writers could have helped out a bit (and honestly, I can see what he means - Wesley does have some really lame lines).
The episode recaps are usually hysterically funny, and the behind the scenes memories are interesting. This book is 4 years old now and there is, apparently, meant to be a volume 2. Not entirely sure when that'll be but I will definitely be looking into reading it if it is ever published.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable very quick read and I highly recommend it for Star Trek TNG fans.
Star Trek TNG started broadcasting 2 years before I was born so when I first saw it it must have been on its third or fourth repeat. As such I never knew the hatred of Wesley Crusher until I started finding information on the internet (Wikipedia is really useful at times you know!). Granted as a character he did start to wear at me but there is usually a character in most shows that I am not a fan of and tolerate so... nothing knew there.
As a watcher of The Big Bang Theory I knew of Wil Wheaton and that he seemed happy enough to take the mickey about himself and you can see that here. He doesn't shy away from saying when he made a poor acting decision (though he does point out he was 14 and to be acting with a legend like Patrick Stewart you cannot really blame him as a lad), and also points out that the writers could have helped out a bit (and honestly, I can see what he means - Wesley does have some really lame lines).
The episode recaps are usually hysterically funny, and the behind the scenes memories are interesting. This book is 4 years old now and there is, apparently, meant to be a volume 2. Not entirely sure when that'll be but I will definitely be looking into reading it if it is ever published.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable very quick read and I highly recommend it for Star Trek TNG fans.
pingthevile's review
5.0
Wil Wheaton has a gift for storytelling and his snarky memoir of Star Trek:TNG is pure joy for anyone who is familiar with (and a fan of) the series. Wheaton is a geek extraordinaire and the book is packed full of obscure-yet-wonderful geeky references. I got many of them, but can only imagine how many I missed. Highly recommended for Star Trek fans!
jessiqa's review
4.0
Wil Wheaton played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation and therefore provides a unique perspective into the episodes of the program. This volume covers the first half of the first season. Each chapter is one episode and includes an "episode summary," "quotable dialogue," "obligatory technobabble," and "behind the scenes memory." These articles started out life on the TV Squad website but when funding went under, Wheaton realized he still wanted to write these articles, which are full of snark and tend to be fairly critical of the writers on the show. More on that later.
I first read the articles on TV Squad and then listened to Wheaton's Memories of the Futurecast where he read each article in a podcast format. That had the benefit of him occasionally adding some extra tidbit of behind the scenes memory. Later, when the book was published I decided to watch each episode and then read the corresponding chapter. This was an awesome plan: I haven't seen some of these episodes in about 15 years, so even though I sometimes recalled the plot from the podcast episodes, they were still fresh to me. Reading the book this way meant that the episodes were still at the forefront of my mind as I read each chapter, which made for greater impact in understanding the failings that Wheaton pointed out as well as sharing with him those sweet moments of a great scene.
Do not mistake this as a tell-all book about his experiences on the set. That's not the point of this book, but rather to have a look at each episode and poke a bit of fun at it. The fact is that most of these episodes suck. As a fan I still enjoy even those that aren't so good, just for the nostalgia, and Wheaton often puts the snark on hold to point out that a particular scene is very good or very well-handled by the actors given the crappy dialogue, etc. Despite the general poor quality of these episodes, Wheaton's jokes and perspective make the book highly enjoyable, i.e. we can laugh at the bad episodes because we know the show will get better. Next Generation fans will definitely find something to enjoy in this book, and then they will join me in my impatience for the next volume.
I first read the articles on TV Squad and then listened to Wheaton's Memories of the Futurecast where he read each article in a podcast format. That had the benefit of him occasionally adding some extra tidbit of behind the scenes memory. Later, when the book was published I decided to watch each episode and then read the corresponding chapter. This was an awesome plan: I haven't seen some of these episodes in about 15 years, so even though I sometimes recalled the plot from the podcast episodes, they were still fresh to me. Reading the book this way meant that the episodes were still at the forefront of my mind as I read each chapter, which made for greater impact in understanding the failings that Wheaton pointed out as well as sharing with him those sweet moments of a great scene.
Do not mistake this as a tell-all book about his experiences on the set. That's not the point of this book, but rather to have a look at each episode and poke a bit of fun at it. The fact is that most of these episodes suck. As a fan I still enjoy even those that aren't so good, just for the nostalgia, and Wheaton often puts the snark on hold to point out that a particular scene is very good or very well-handled by the actors given the crappy dialogue, etc. Despite the general poor quality of these episodes, Wheaton's jokes and perspective make the book highly enjoyable, i.e. we can laugh at the bad episodes because we know the show will get better. Next Generation fans will definitely find something to enjoy in this book, and then they will join me in my impatience for the next volume.
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