BLOG Memories of the Future by Wil Wheaton

Star Trek: The Next Generation gets the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment! Blogger Laura McConnell discusses Wil Wheaton’s latest book:

Wil Wheaton’s new Trek book

Twenty-two years and exactly two weeks ago, Gene Roddenberry brought forth on this planet a new television series. It was a bold move. He was revamping his beloved Star Trek for a new generation (sorry, I couldn’t help myself), and no one was quite sure how things would go over.

I was one of the sceptics myself. When Star Trek: The Next Generation first aired, I didn’t watch it. This was mostly because I was too busy with school and sport to bother much with TV at that time in my life, but I also had some serious misgivings about the new series. I frankly wasn’t sure about these usurpers in my dear Star Trek universe.

I’ve said before that my initial impressions of Next Gen were wrong, and I freely admit that again now. TNG ended up being a wonderful show, and I’m glad I eventually came around to seeing it and loving it. However, I do not regret not watching it early on. I mean, have you seen the first season? It’s terrible. In fact, terrible is probably giving it too much credit in places. I’ve often said that I’m completely flabbergasted that Next Gen didn’t get cancelled in its first season. “Encounter at Farpoint” can be forgiven much of its lunacy because it’s a pilot. But “The Naked Now”? “The Last Outpost”? Wow. Bad doesn’t even begin to describe those episodes. They’re abysmal. If I’d been watching TNG then, I’m not sure I’d have kept going with it. My fears of its poor quality would have been justified.

The characters are wooden and flat, stereotypes and clichés abound, the plots are lame at best, and that blasted Crusher kid seems to pop up in every other scene. Ah, Wesley Crusher. The perfect metaphor for why TNG was horrible at the start, and yet also somehow the perfect way to make it all better.

You see, Wil Wheaton, who played our dear Wesley, has a new book coming out tomorrow. It’s called Memories of the Future: Volume One, and if you know anything at all about TNG and can enjoy a heavy dose of sarcasm (at one point in the podcasts that are currently being released weekly to complement the book’s release, Wil says “seriously, what’s not to like about Wesley Crusher?” in a voice so loaded with loathing that you can’t help but feel for the teenaged Wil who had to spout that nonsense every week), I think you’ll really enjoy it. If you’d like to get a preview of the types of things you’ll see in Memories of the Future, you can head over to TV Squad, where you’ll find Wil’s original reviews of selected Next Gen episodes that started this whole thing. You can also check out the Memories of the Futurecast podcasts, where you get the benefit of Wil’s voice to bring out the true snark of the book.

Memories of the Future is not a “tell-all” book. It is not supposed to divulge super-secret behind-the-scenes information about Star Trek or its stars. Instead, it is a walk down memory lane with Wil Wheaton as an actor and as a Trekkie who actually watched the show with a fan’s perspective. From what I can tell, Wil’s memories of TNG as a fan are pretty similar to mine, and I find myself laughing hysterically at every glimpse into this book. Any of you who have read Sunken Treasure, Wil’s last book, know what I’m talking about. His review of “Datalore” in Sunken Treasure is a preview of what to expect from Memories of the Future: episode synopses (complete with peanut gallery commentary), obligatory technobabble, quotable dialogue, and all-around fun.

Volume One covers the first thirteen episodes of Next Gen, from “Encounter at Farpoint” to “Datalore,” and before you ask, I will tell you that there are indeed more volumes in the works. I think the best way to sum this up is that if Troi were here, she’d sense amusement – terrible, wonderful, overwhelming amusement – at the whole thing. I’ll be purchasing a copy of Memories of the Future for the bargain price of $19.87 here in the States (it’s really too bad the conversions mess up the intentional irony of the price for other countries) when it becomes available tomorrow, and we can all read the book together if we’d like. Wil himself has assured me that it will be available worldwide for anyone interested.

If you’re still not sure this is your cup of tea, just give me some time. When I’m done laughing, crying, nodding my head in agreement, and reliving some of my youth, perhaps I’ll review this one to help you out.

Live long and prosper, everyone.

This is a personal article by Laura McConnell, one of our site contributors. Are you going to check this book out? Do you harbour fond memories of the first missions of The Next Generation? Your thoughts welcome as always, in the comment thread below or on our forum.