Exclusive interview with Jonathan Wilkins, editor for Star Trek The Illustrated Oral History: The Original Cast

Star Trek The Illustrated Oral History: The Original Cast releases on July 30th. I previously reviewed the book, giving it an unequivocal five stars. I think it's a book every fan of Star Trek: The Original Series needs to have. Titan Books was also kind enough to allow an exclusive excerpt to be shared here, and you can find that link below.

Shortly after my review, I had the privilege of interviewing the editor of Star Trek The Illustrated Oral History: The Original Cast, Jonathan Wilkins, as I wanted to find out how he got involved in the project and how it felt to immerse himself in the research that led up to the publication of this treasure trove of interviews and quotes.

Wilkins has been involved in other Star Trek projects, and this one brought back some special memories. Hopefully, it'll do the same for you!

How did you get involved in this project, and from start to finish, how long was the project?

I’m lucky enough to be the editor of Titan’s special Star Trek projects. These include hardcover titles that are produced in parallel to Star Trek Explorer magazine. I’ve edited Star Trek Villains, The Genesis Trilogy, and the ongoing line of Star Trek original short fiction titles.

I realized we had 30 years of interview material sitting dormant in the Star Trek magazines that we could repurpose and use to tell the story of Star Trek by the people who made the show. I decided that we could take the readers on a journey from the pilot shows to the original crew’s final big screen adventure. The research was the hardest part – on and off the project took around 6 months.

How difficult was the research, and how exactly did you unearth so many details and unknown facts? Is there one specific fact or anecdote that surprised you?

It was very difficult to research just because it took so much time and I was often also working on other projects.

I love hearing from the guest stars of those classic episodes about what it was like working on the show. I’m really pleased that we have Persis Khambatta discussing her iconic role as Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I love that we have Christopher Plummer (General Chang) speaking in glowing terms of working with William Shatner and James Doohan (both of whom he’d worked with many years previously) on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. My favorite story in the book is the frankly astonishing tale of how “The Tholian Web” came to be written. I don’t think that could happen today…

If you’ve watched Star Trek: The Original Series, did discovering all of this information give you a new affinity for the series?

I have watched Star Trek many, many times! One of my earliest TV memories is being terrified of Balok in the closing titles when it was shown on British television in the early 1980s. I have a real affinity for the show – how could you not, it’s Star Trek, one of the greatest achievements in television history! Reading the book, you realize the massive challenges the production team faced in making the show. I actually wanted to watch some of the less fondly remembered stories, “Spock’s Brain” and “The Way to Eden” on the strength of the interviews we have with the cast and crew of those episodes. And you know what? I did and those stories are not as bad as their reputations would suggest…

With so much information to be found on the internet, what do you believe Star Trek: The Illustrated Oral History can give to a fan?

This is a great chance to read the words of the actual people who put so much into making the show we all know and love. Sadly many of the people involved have passed now, but it was really important to me to include the people such as Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley who had so much insight about why Star Trek works.

The internet is great for news, but can you beat the tangible feeling of reading a beautifully designed book? Our ace Star Trek designer Dan Bura, who is the veteran of far too many Star Trek titles to count, has absolutely surpassed himself with this one. It’s a souvenir of a pop culture phenomenon and hopefully an enlightening and entertaining read for newbies and die hard fans alike.

Star Trek The Illustrated Oral History: The Original Cast is available to pre-order in hardcover for $19.99 and releases everywhere on July 30th. You can read the exclusive excerpt below.