Dr. Wesley Britton Reviews for Star Trek Fans and Hercules Devotees

Swords, Starships and Superheroes--From Star Trek to Xena to Hercules: 

Subitle: A TV Writer’s Life Scripting the Stories of Heroes 

Author: Paul Robert Coyle

Foreword by Steven L. Sears

ASIN : B08M953MG2

Publisher : Jacobs/Brown Press (October 28, 2020)

Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com 

 

I've read enough entertainment insider memoirs  to know most fit into one of two categories.  The first includes reminiscences by performers, writers, directors or other well-known participants from movies, television, or other performing arts whose names are all it takes to stir up reader interest. The second are autobiographies by participants who aren't especially famous in their own right. But they've had to good fortune to work on projects with large fan bases. Their memoirs appeal to the sorts of fans hungry for behind-the-scenes tidbits from insiders from stuntmen to scriptwriters to visual graphics -designers.

 

Paul Robert Coyle's Swords, Starships and Superheroes clearly falls into the second category. True, he's had his brushes with fame by appearing at fan conventions for devotees of, in particular, the cult hits, Zena: Warrior Princess  and Hercules, The Legendary Journeys.   

 

Coyle's look back over his career includes quick discussions of his freelance scriptwriting for shows from The Streets of San Francisco to Superboy to various series in the Star Trek franchise. (Anyone remember Gerry Anderson's one season obscurity Space Precinct? I didn't).  So there are chapters for Star Trek devotees to dive into, especially lovers of Deep Space Nine. But it's mainly aficionados of Xena and Hercules who are going to want to scoop up this major peek behind the curtains of these shows' productions.

 

For such fans, Coyle doesn't just share his own memories. True, we get a full accounting for his career as a script-writer as he spent many years as a free-lancer pitching stories before graduating to being a staff writer/ producer and going to fan conventions where he had to bite his tongue to not give away production secrets for Zena and Hercules. Beyond describing his duties and relationships with the writers and producers of these shows, Coyle gives us passages from scripts, sometimes two variants of script drafts,   along with other production documents.  He shares stories of things that might have been and of how problems were solved, notably how the writers and producers had to deal with the absence of Kevin Sorbo in the 4th and 5th seasons of Hercules due to the star's serious health concerns.

 

Of course, Coyle's book is akin to many like it, that is, sharing glimpses into the profession of TV script-writing with suggestions about the things other writers should do to succeed and, just as importantly, the things not to do. In short, this is the sort of book for a niche market--those into the productions Coyle was part of and those wanting to learn about the industry he has worked in for decades. It's all very readable and well told, as you'd expect from an inventive  writer who's been drawing from his own creative well for many years now.

 

 

 More About the Reviewer

 

Dr. Wesley Britton is the author, of The Beta Earth Chronicles and a frequent reviewer for

BookPleasures.com and this review blog, The New Book Review. Learn more about him at 

 

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 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

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Dr. Wesley Britton Reviews Star Trek Actor's New Book

Beaming Up and Getting Off: Life Before and After Star Trek

Walter Koenig

Publisher: Jacobs/Brown Press (April 24, 2020)

ASIN: B087N1HHFC

Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton originally for BookPleasures.com

Without question, the primary audience for Walter Koenig's new update to his 1999 memoir, Warp Factors, will be Star Trek fans who remember Koenig best for his role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek along with aficionados of his role as the evil Alfred Bester in Babylon Five.  Such fans shouldn't be disappointed, even those who previously read Warp Factors.

There may be those who question the value of a new version of Koenig's autobiography as it might not seem, at first glance, all that much has happened in the actor's life in two decades. Well, that's only if you are looking for insights into popular screen roles.   In fact, Koenig has much to talk about in an additional 100 pages that is new and does so with his very engaging writing style. In fact, I'd say Chekov and Bester aside, any reader wishing for insights into an actor's life in Hollywood from the '50s to the present should easily enjoy Beaming Up.

That's mainly because Koenig is a very expressive writer, his story full of self-deprecating humor,  lots of colorful imagery,  and the fact he doesn't merely recite events and anecdotes but shares his feelings and reactions to the moments, people, triumphs and missteps that impacted his life. Among other topics, He discusses his Jewish cultural background and his work ethic, his lesser known projects, including those never produced or those seen by small audiences. But never does the reader sense an agenda, a venting, a man settling any scores. We meet a man presenting himself openly and honestly with a wisdom accrued from experience with a lively approach to his craft and behind-the-scenes life.    

I'll admit, the story lags from time to time, mostly during his recounting of his appearances at fan conventions.  Those were anecdotes he couldn't not include, of course, and I noticed one story he told an audience at a convention I attended wasn't included in the book. He did retell it later in a radio interview I had with him and hope to get him to retell in a similar interview soon. As they used to say, stay tuned . . .

True, Koenig's descriptions of his early years as Chekov on Star Trek are not the long heart of the book some might hope for. But that is more than made up for in his tales regarding later projects, such as his working in fan-made web-episodes and his thoughts about Anton Yelchin taking over the Chekov role in the 2009 reboot trilogy. I think I already knew this, but I was surprised to read Koenig was 31 when he was cast to be Star Trek's answer to Davy Jones of The Monkees. Among the disappointments of his professional life, the purpose of his casting became a bit muted when CBS shifted the show's time slot to Friday nights when the young audience Chekov was supposed to appeal to weren't watching. At least, not then. 

But any reader interested in an autobiography well-told that is guaranteed to be entertaining should give this one a try, whether or not you're a fan of sci-fi television. There's so much more to the life and times of Walter Koenig and so much surprising wisdom to enjoy.  Beam on up  and get off with Walter Koenig for your summer reading and beyond--

   

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Wesley Britton is an author in his own right and a longtime reviewer for reviews sites like #TheNewBookReview and #BookPleasures.

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 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

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