"That wasn't there in the last episode!" - Nitpickers Guide for Next Generation Trekkers
Written: Sep 17 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: It's fun to pick apart episodes, Learn a thing or two about the series
Cons: Doesn't cover the final season
The Bottom Line: You not only get a great guide to the bloopers, mistakes, and inconsistencies, you might just learn a thing or two about your favorite episodes
jps246's Full Review: Phil Farrand - Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generati...
Ever catch something in Star Trek: The Next Generation that just seems odd or doesn’t fit? Maybe Troi can sense an aliens’ emotions in one episode, but can’t in another? You should pick up a copy of The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, where you will get an episode by episode breakdown of the bloopers, mistakes, inconsistencies, and mixed up writing.
It’s likely that for anyone who enjoys Star Trek: The Next Generation, you’ll be laughing out loud after reading only through a few of the episode guides in The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers. I know I was, especially when I realized I wasn’t the only one who wondered why people’s butts didn’t activate the control panels when people leaned up against them, or sat on them in Engineering.
For example, there’s the vexing question of whether personnel need to tap their badges to access the communicator. Almost every episode has some sort of difference when it comes to activating the communicator and The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers catalogs them all, finally deciding that they all need to tap the communicator only when the writers feel like it.
Maybe you’re wondering if holodeck objects can exist off the holodeck? In one episode Picard clearly states that no, holodeck objects cannot exist off the holodeck, but then, in the very first episode of the entire series, Wesley Crusher remains wet after falling into a brook on the holodeck after he leaves the holodeck. So maybe only holographic water can exist off the holodeck…
Book Basics
Seasons 1 through 6 of the Star Trek: The Next Generation are covered in this book, from “Encounter at Farpoint,” all the way to “Descent.” There are no real chapters that flow together in The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, instead each episode creates a self-sustaining chapter that can be read alone, or with the other episodes in that season. At the end of each season, the author has a quick chapter on various topics that changes each season, including things like a trivia game, series-wide conundrums and more.
For each episode, the author, Phil Farrand begins with a quick plot summary that provides a background for the picking that is coming up. It’s also a great way to refresh your memory of an episode you may not remember right away. I couldn’t believe after reading the book, how many episodes I had seen (I think I saw them all, but believe me, I’ve never been to a convention) and how much of each I remembered after going through the summary.
Following that summary comes the “best line” from the episode and “ruminations,” where Farrand considers where the episode came from, or what else it is related to (aka, is it like a previous TNG episode or maybe there’s an original series episode just like this one).
Then comes the fun part of The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, starting with the “Plot Oversights.” The funny part is that most of them are things that a casual observer would never notice, like the fact that if someone is blocking a door, why don’t others just transport around it? Or how could Data get drunk, he’s an android? The nitpicking isn’t extreme here, Farrand just points out the inconsistencies or oversights in the plot of each episode, especially when considered with other episodes.
The “Equipment Oddities,” section of each chapter goes over the strange and the different in each episode. Like the fact that there’s only a control panel in the turbolift in the episode “Brothers,” (something I never noticed), or that people seem to be able to sit on control panels in engineering (wouldn’t that be like sitting down on a computer keyboard?).
Then come the “Continuity Problems,” where we explore the inconsistencies within an episode, like the sweat beading up on the forehead of a crewmember in one scene and it having disappeared when they turn a corner. Or what about Dr. Crusher’s hair, in one scene it might be perfectly coifed and in the next, it’s flat. Those environmental conditions on the Enterprise must be tough on hair!
Finally each chapter closes with the answers to the Trivia Questions that are posed at the beginning of each section. Usually there are two or three questions and some of them you’ll know instantly, others you’ll be like “ok, never knew that…” For example, “what is Yar’s first name?” It’s not Tasha, it’s actually “Natasha,” even though everyone on the ship calls her Tasha.
Thoughts
With a series with as many episodes and more importantly, details as Star Trek: The Next Generation, there are bound to be plenty of mix-ups, screw-ups and inconsistencies as the episodes and the seasons go on.
As someone who has seemingly seen all the episodes (and most multiple times), I’ve come across some of those nitpicking moments when I’ve been like “hey, but before you said that couldn’t happen.” Now that I’ve got some of the seasons on DVD, I catch them even more often – and especially after having read The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, it’s almost a game to see if my boyfriend and I can pick this stuff out.
Any Star Trek: The Next Generation fan should enjoy The Nitpicker’s Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, either to read entirely, or just to refer back to as a reference guide for various episodes. You not only get a great guide to the bloopers, mistakes, and inconsistencies, you might just learn a thing or two about your favorite episodes.
So…
I don’t think any serious fan of TNG will be disappointed by this book, considering you’ve probably already nitpicked your way through some of the episodes!
Here s an unauthorized compendium for Trekkers who are unafraid of pointing the finger at oversights, and who know it s great fun to find the sloppy m...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.