The Literary Galaxy of Star Trek
An Analysis of References and Themes in the Television Series and Films
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About the Book
How is the android Data like Shakespeare’s character Hamlet? Is the vengeful Khan (original series episode “Space Seed” and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) an echo of Captain Ahab in Moby Dick? The links between Star Trek and literature are vast: themes and characters that reflect those in classic literature; characters that quote literature in their dialog; and an enormous body of nonfiction books, novels, articles that have grown from the saga. Finally, like literature, Star Trek seeks to help in the human endeavor of understanding the world and its place in the universe. This book explores all of those connections. The Next Generation’s Captain Picard frequently quotes Shakespeare. Captain Janeway from Voyager reenacts literature in holodeck novels. Jake Sisko, son of Deep Space Nine’s Commander Benjamin Sisko, becomes an award-winning writer.
Beginning with Captain James T. Kirk’s first appearance in the original series, then continuing through four subsequent series and ten movies, this book draws parallels between Star Trek stories and literary classics such as Hamlet, Paradise Lost, Ulysses, Dracula, and the New Testament, and works by the likes of Booker T. Washington, Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare. Appendices list the literary works discussed and the episodes and movies mentioned, each giving the chapters where references can be found.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
James F. Broderick
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 239
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2571-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0523-4
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. The Journey of the Hero 9
2. The Quest for Revenge 17
3. Leaving Childhood Behind 25
4. The Pain of Love 33
5. The Way of the West 41
6. Time Traveling 49
7. The Ravages of War 57
8. Return to the Sea 66
9. Failure to Communicate 74
10. Staying Sane in an Insane World 83
11. Mismatched Pairs 92
12. Reinventing the Self 100
13. Vampirism 109
14. Underneath, We’re All the Same 118
15. The Wonders (and Dangers) of Technology 127
16. Fantasy vs. Reality 135
17. Gods, True and False 145
18. The Rise of the Machine 153
19. That Old Gang of Mine 162
20. The Quest for Perfection 171
21. Growing Old 180
22. The Final Journey 188
23. Seize the Day 196
24. Socrates Goes to a Star Trek Convention 204
Appendix 1. Literary Works (and the Chapters Where They Are Discussed) 213
Appendix 2. Episodes and Films (and the Chapters Where They Are Discussed) 215
Chapter Notes 217
Bibliography 225
Index 229
