The Galactic Whirlpool David Gerrold’s story “The Galactic Whirlpool” began as a pitch for the original Star Trek series, but was considered too expensive to film. He retooled the premise into a Dell novel, “Yesterday’s Children,” as an effective study of human nature at wartime aboard a destroyer. Later, when Bantam asked for a story, Gerrold got to tell his original tale in the novel “The Galactic Whirlpool.” When I interviewed Gerrold about the novel in 1984, I mentioned that, even though it was unique and refreshing, “The Galactic Whirlpool” felt like a standard Star Trek story. “Yeah, it was. ‘Whirlpool’ is not an average, standard Star Trek book. It is the standard.” Gerrold’s story presented the original Star Trek vision, perfect characterizations, rare character development, and mounds of insight, all hidden within that format, a mix which wasn’t seen often in those early novels. “Any time you see me doing something that looks ‘standard,’ it’s not. There’s something ...

Malcolm and Joey in the transporter room My favorite of Gerry Conway’s Star Trek comic strip stories was his last one, “Getting Real.” It was unique in that it was told from the point of view of two junior high school kids who, in 1983, were beamed up to the starship Enterprise . I found myself getting carried away by all the ideas and questions that popped into my head as I was reading, inspired by all the things not answered in the tale. The story started when the two kids, Joey and Malcolm, walked outside of an arcade after their Defender game crashed. They heard a buzzing sound, and when they popped ’round the corner, they saw what they took to be William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan about to get ready to promote the latest Star Trek movie. Joey asked for an autograph from Nimoy, who was made up to look like Mr. Spock. When asked how the boys knew who they were, Joey pointed to a poster on the wall behind them, which advertised Star Trek airing Saturdays on Channel...

Nightmares in “Chekov’s Choice” Back in 1985, Walter Koenig and I spoke briefly about a story he’d written for DC Comics that year. It appeared in issue #19 of DC's Star Trek, Volume 1. He’d said, “I mentioned to Marv Wolfman, who’s the editor, the fact that Chekov wasn’t even getting a decent role in the comic book, never mind in the movies, and he said, ‘Why don’t you write one, and make Chekov the hero?’ “It’s called ‘Chekov’s Choice,’ and he has to make a choice between love—or the woman he considers his love—and the safety of the ship. It’s one of those stories of personal conflict, and I think it’s very much in keeping with the feeling of the series.” During his convention appearance that day, Koenig described talking to Marv Wolfman about perhaps writing a story for the comic. “I said, well, ‘There are conditions: Chekov has got to get the girl, he’s got to be totally in control of the situation, and his decision affects the lives and deaths of 400 people aboa...