Meyer Part 3: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution.

Star Trek fans know Nicholas Meyer as the man who took a great franchise and made it even better. But prior to delving into the lives of Captain Kirk and Mister Spock, Meyer left his mark on another beloved fictional character: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by Nicholas Meyer expert John Tenuto to look at Meyer’s first Holmes novel, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. We discuss the book as a piece of fan fiction, the idea of re-writing canon to make it work better, how the book stacks up against other expanded universe Holmes stories, Meyer’s ability to work within a pre-existing continuity, the similarities between this book and Meyer’s other works, Meyer’s fondness for pairing historical figures with fictional characters, the film adaptation, and the Undiscovered Country connection. We also touch on the possibility of Khan appearing in Into Darkness, and John reveals the premise for a very dark subplot which was cut from The Wrath of Khan.

Meyer Part 2: Target Practice.

1974 was a rather tumultuous year for the United States. Vietnam had just ended and Watergate had just begun. These events greatly affected young Americans such as 29-year-old Nicholas Meyer, who was beginning his career as a novelist.

This week, Mike and Max take a look at Meyer’s first novel, Target Practice. We discuss its use of time-tested detective fiction conventions, how it utilizes those conventions to tell a modern-day story, how it fits into Meyer’s overall career, whether or not it’s too straightforward, how it uses Watergate as a backdrop, how it looks at Vietnam from a civilian perspective, and whether or not it simplifies the issue of warfare’s psychological impact on veterans. We also analyze Meyer’s love for The Bridge on the River Kwai, and wonder if The Love Story Story is of Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion quality.

Meyer Part 1: Star Trek.

In an attempt to bring cohesion to the disparate concepts which would eventually make up the most revered film in franchise history, Harve Bennett hired relative newcomer Nicholas Meyer to re-write and direct Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And so, the world of Trek would never be the same again. But before he saved our favorite franchise, Meyer had written a number of very successful books.

This week, Max and Mike begin a new series which will look at Nicholas Meyer’s career as a novelist. Over the next couple months, we will cover all six of his novels, including Target Practice, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, The West End Horror, Black Orchid, Confessions of a Homing Pigeon, and The Canary Trainer.

But first, a look at his contribution to the world of Trek. In this episode, we discuss why getting an outsider to make The Wrath of Khan was a key to its success, how Meyer’s decision not to return for The Search for Spock, was the right one to make, the similarities between The Voyage Home and Meyer’s directorial debut, Time After Time, and how The Undiscovered Country is allegory done right.

Roddenberry Part 8: Recap.

Gene Roddenberry is obviously best known as the creator of Star Trek. But over the course of his career, he created numerous other television series—most of which never made it past the pilot stage.

This week, Mike and Max conclude their look at Gene Roddenberry as a television creator with a recap of his career. We take a look back at all of his shows, including The Lieutenant, Star Trek: The Original Series, Assignment: Earth, Genesis II, Star Trek: The Animated Series, The Questor Tapes, Spectre, Star Trek: Phase II, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Earth: Final Conflict, and finally, Andromeda, in an attempt to draw some conclusions on his body of work overall.