Cast of a Hundred Chronicles the Birth of Star Trek in New Audio Book
LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New this week: the release of an ambitious audio book, described by publisher Jacobs/Brown Press as an "audio play" with a cast of 100. The massive 28-hour production documents the making of the original Star Trek TV series' first season. To be released in two parts, the program took a full year to produce.
These Are the Voyages – Star Trek: The Original Series, Season One (Audio Book) is drawn from the 2014 Saturn Award-winning book of the same title. Both the printed book and the new streaming audio book cover the creation of the original Star Trek, the making of its two pilot films, and all 29 episodes of its formative first season (1966-67).
"Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry endorsed this book series over 30 years ago," said author Marc Cushman. "After giving interviews and access to more than 40 boxes of documents from the series, Gene connected me to Dorothy Fontana, Bob Justman, and John D.F. Black, three of the writer/producers of Star Trek. That was just the beginning; it took decades to conduct hundreds of interviews and go through the tens of thousands of documents."
The first half of the unparalleled audio production, more than 13 hours in length, is now available from the publisher and streaming audio platform, Awesound.com.
The principal reader of the audio program is Vic Mignogna, who played Captain Kirk in the award-winning web series, Star Trek Continues.
"Recording this project was a remarkable experience," Mignogna said of author Cushman's work. "I supervised all the sessions, and the cast included many production people and performers from the original Star Trek. They read their quotes from the book and, in the case of D.C. Fontana, read memos she'd written more than 50 years ago. I was in awe being in the company of these talented people!"
Other notable guest performers include Adam Nimoy, reading the words of his father, Leonard Nimoy; and Chris Doohan, who plays Scotty on Star Trek Continues, reading quotes from his father, James Doohan. Also featured is Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator/producer Gene Roddenberry.
The three-volume These Are the Voyages set is different from other books on Star Trek due to Cushman's access to thousands of the original production memos, shooting schedules, and budgets. He also interviewed hundreds of those who were there, to fully document the production of the iconic series. Each episode has its own chapter, often running 15 to 20 pages in length, in the 700-page Season One volume, which translates to between 30-minutes to an hour per episode in the audio production. The interoffice memos between Roddenberry and his staff, and representatives of Desilu Studios and NBC-TV, create a dialogue which documents not only the creativity of the talented individuals involved, but the frequent conflicts between Roddenberry and the network over story content.
"There was a battle over every episode," Cushman said. "Censorship issues, budgetary issues, trying to keep on schedule with the delivery of episodes; it's remarkable they got a single show on the air."
These Are the Voyages – Star Trek: The Original Series, Season One (Audio Book) is available exclusively through Jacobs/Brown Press and Awesound.com, and can be accessed at the publisher's website, www.jacobsbrownmediagroup.com.
Similar plans are afoot to transform the second and third volumes of the These Are the Voyages book series into audio form. This will then cover the entire original series.
For additional information, contact the publisher at www.jacobsbrownmediagroup.com or 818.856.1322.
Media Contact:
Sondra Burrows
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818-856-1322
SOURCE Jacobs/Brown Press
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