Changes: Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual

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The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual is an in-depth description of the technology and equipment used aboard the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The book is written by longtime Star Trek production staffers Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda from an in-universe perspective, with real world annotations by Okuda.

Summary

From the book jacket: Written by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda, the technical advisors to STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION TECHNICAL MANUAL takes you on a guided tour through the new U.S.S. ENTERPRISE. From the Bridge to the shuttlebays, from the transporter room to crews' quarters, this book provides a never-before-seen glimpse at the inner workings of the most incredible Starship ever conceived by two of the designers who helped create it.

Full of diagrams, technical schematics, and ship's plans, the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION TECHNICAL MANUAL also takes a detailed look at the principles behind STAR TREK's awesome technology – from phasers to warp drive to the incredible holodeck!

A must for all fans, this is the one book that examines the full spectrum of technology behind the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION universe – and gives fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses into the making of the hit television show!

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

Chapter 1: USS Enterprise Introduction
Chapter 2: Spacecraft Structure
Chapter 3: Command Systems
Chapter 4: Computer Systems
Chapter 5: Warp Propulsion Systems
Chapter 6: Impulse Propulsion Systems
Chapter 7: Utilities and Auxiliary Systems
Chapter 8: Communications
Chapter 9: Transporter Systems
Chapter 10: Science and Remote Sensing Systems
Chapter 11: Tactical Systems
Chapter 12: Environmental Systems
Chapter 13: Crew Support Systems
Chapter 14: Auxiliary Spacecraft Systems
Chapter 15: USS Enterprise Flight Operations
Chapter 16: Emergency Operations
Chapter 17: Conclusion

Afterword by Rick Berman

Background information

The published Technical Manual was partly based on an internal document, the Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual. The information was authored by the technical staff of the television series, and as such most of it is directly derived from filmed references. However, some data is contradicted by events in later episodes and series, due to the nature of a continuing series - new plot points may contradict previously assumed or un-filmed data. Numerous pieces of art and behind the scenes graphics information used in the series are presented clearly here. The black-and-white Manual in itself became the basis for some of the much color enhanced cards in 1992's Impel trading cards set, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Inaugural Edition, cards 092-111.
This is the only Star Trek Technical Manual from Pocket Books to be graced in the US with a reprint (in 2006), though that edition was inferior in printing quality to the first printing. Apart from this reprint, the Manual has also seen international releases among others in Germany entitled Star Trek: Die Technik der U.S.S. Enterprise, Das offizielle Handbuch, and in Italy as Star Trek: The Next Generation Il Manuale Tecnico.

In-jokes and other items of note

The aft elevation view of the Enterprise on p. 7 is reversed; Shuttlebay 2 should have the smaller bay door on the port side.
In the starboard cutout view on p. 11, various Easter eggs are placed in the diagram, including silhouettes of a propeller plane, a cat, a duck, a Porsche, Nomad, a mouse, and a sign that says, "Slippery When Wet". These appear on the actual master systems display set piece.
On pp. 44-45, it is stated that guidance and navigation research is conducted by a cetacean crew of twelve Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus gilli), overseen by two Takaya's Whales (Orcinus orca takayai).
The "Takaya's Whale" is not a real whale, but a homage to a fictional character, Noriko Takaya, by Rick Sternbach. Sternbach is a professed fan of the Japanese animated series Aim For the Top! Gunbuster. In this series, "espers and electronic-brained [bottlenose] dolphins" navigate the Exelion, the main spaceship of the heroine Noriko Takaya. (Sternbach also references the Exelion in the manual in the compound "exelion-infused carbonitrium".)
In a StarTrekUK.com interview, Sternbach explains the cetacean connection:

"The TNG Tech Manual definitely talks about a combined Orcinus orca takaya and Tursiops truncatus population on the ship to work out navigation problems (and more likely alien language challenges!).

"We never got to show them in an episode, since the expense would have been prohibitive, but we did convince the writers to have Geordi ask a visiting official if they ever saw the dolphins. During "Yesterday's Enterprise", an intercom call was heard asking Dr. Joshua Kim to report to Cetacean Ops.

"The dolphins and whales were my idea from the start; I'm convinced that, even if they're not intelligent enough to pilot a starship, they can still teach us a few things about other life forms."

On p. 123, it is mentioned that Starfleet's Tokyo R&D facility named the superconducting crystals used in phasers "fushigi no umi". This is probably an homage to the 1990 Japanese animation series Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, known in North America as Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.
Many of the diagrams of okudagrams and other control panels on the ship are directly taken from the show, and as such also contain the various in-jokes that normally cannot be seen on television. For example, the sickbay main diagnostic display seen on p. 150 mentions "MEDICAL INS COVERAGE AVAIL".
One of the concept designs proposed for the Nova-class in 17.2 "Future Directions: The Road to the 1701-E" is similar to the design of the Nova-class USS Equinox seen in VOY: "Equinox".
In describing the holodeck, it is noted that it uses the rare material, keiyurium, which might explain some of the problems it had.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{realworld}}
 {{Sidebar reference book
-| Image             = Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual.jpg
+| image             = Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual (US 1st).jpg
 | Author            = [[Michael Okuda]] and [[Rick Sternbach]]
 | Artist            = [[Michael Okuda]] and [[Rick Sternbach]]
-| Publisher         = [[Pocket Books]]
+| Publisher         = [[Pocket Books]] (US)<br/>[[Boxtree]] (UK)<br/>[[Heel]] (Germany)<br/>[[Fanucci Editore]] (Italian)
 | Editor            =
+| Published         = first edition<br />{{d|1|November|1991}} (US)<br/>{{d|30|October|1991}} (UK)<br/>{{y|1994}} (Germany)<br/>{{d|1|January|1999}} (Italy)<br />second edition<br />{{y|2006}} (US)<br />{{y|2005}} (Germany)
-| Published         = {{d|1|November|1991}}
 | Pages             = 192
-| ISBN              = 0671704273
+| ISBN              = 0671704273 (US)<br/>ISBN 1852833408 (UK)<br/>ISBN 389365397X (Germany)<br/>ISBN 8834707117 (Italy)
 }}
-The '''''Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual''''' is an in-depth description of the technology and equipment used aboard the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''.
+The '''''Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual''''' is an in-depth description of the technology and equipment used aboard the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701-D|-D}} in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. The book is written by longtime ''[[Star Trek]]'' production staffers [[Rick Sternbach]] and [[Michael Okuda]] from an in-universe perspective, with real world annotations by Okuda.
-==Summary==
+== Summary ==
 ;From the book jacket
 :''Written by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda, the technical advisors to ''STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION'', the ''STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION TECHNICAL MANUAL'' takes you on a guided tour through the new U.S.S. ''ENTERPRISE''. From the Bridge to the shuttlebays, from the transporter room to crews' quarters, this book provides a never-before-seen glimpse at the inner workings of the most incredible Starship ever conceived by two of the designers who helped create it.''
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 {{review}}
+=== Contents ===
-===Contents===
 *Introduction by [[Gene Roddenberry]]
 *Authors' introduction
@@ Line 46: / Line 45: @@
 *Afterword by [[Rick Berman]]
-==Background information==
+== Background information ==
-The published ''Technical Manual'' was partly based on an internal document, the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual]]''. The information was authored by the technical staff of the television series, and as such most of it is directly derived from filmed references. However, some data is contradicted by events in later episodes and series, due to the nature of a continuing series - new plot points may contradict previously assumed or unfilmed data. The ''Manual'' in itself became the basis for some of the much (color) enhanced cards in 1992's [[Impel]] [[trading cards]] set [[Star Trek: The Next Generation - Inaugural Edition]] (cards 092-111).
+*The published ''Technical Manual'' was partly based on an internal document, the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual]]''. The information was authored by the technical staff of the television series, and as such most of it is directly derived from filmed references. However, some data is contradicted by events in later episodes and series, due to the nature of a continuing series - new plot points may contradict previously assumed or un-filmed data. Numerous pieces of art and behind the scenes graphics information used in the series are presented clearly here. The black-and-white ''Manual'' in itself became the basis for some of the much color enhanced cards in 1992's [[Impel]] [[trading cards]] set, ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation - Inaugural Edition]]'', cards 092-111.
+*This is the only ''Star Trek Technical Manual'' from [[Pocket Books]] to be graced in the US with a reprint (in 2006), though that edition was inferior in printing quality to the first printing. Apart from this reprint, the ''Manual'' has also seen international releases among others in Germany entitled '''''Star Trek: Die Technik der U.S.S. Enterprise, Das offizielle Handbuch''''', and in Italy as '''''Star Trek: The Next Generation Il Manuale Tecnico'''''.
+=== In-jokes and other items of note ===
-Numerous pieces of art and behind the scenes graphics information used in the series are presented clearly here.
-===In-jokes and other items of note===
 *The aft elevation view of the ''Enterprise'' on p. 7 is reversed; Shuttlebay 2 should have the smaller bay door on the port side.
+*In the starboard cutout view on p. 11, various Easter eggs are placed in the diagram, including silhouettes of a propeller plane, a cat, a duck, a Porsche, ''[[Nomad]]'', a mouse, and a sign that says, "Slippery When Wet". These appear on the actual [[master systems display]] set piece.
+*On pp. 44-45, it is stated that guidance and navigation research is conducted by a [[cetacean]] crew of twelve {{w|Bottlenose Dolphin}}s (''Tursiops truncatus'') and Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (''Tursiops truncatus gilli''), overseen by two Takaya's Whales (''Orcinus orca takayai'').<br />The "Takaya's Whale" is not a real whale, but a homage to a fictional character, Noriko Takaya, by Rick Sternbach. Sternbach is a professed fan of the {{w|anime|Japanese animated}} series ''{{w|Gunbuster|Aim For the Top! Gunbuster}}''. In this series, "espers and electronic-brained [bottlenose] dolphins" navigate the ''Exelion'', the main spaceship of the heroine Noriko Takaya. (Sternbach also references the ''Exelion'' in the manual in the compound "exelion-infused carbonitrium".)<br />In a StarTrekUK.com interview, Sternbach explains the cetacean connection:
-*In the starboard cutout view on p. 11, various easter eggs are placed in the diagram, including silhouettes of a propeller plane, a cat, a duck, a Porsche, ''[[Nomad]]'', a mouse, and a sign that says, "Slippery When Wet". These appear on the actual [[master systems display]] set piece.
-*On pp. 44-45, it is stated that guidance and navigation research is conducted by a [[cetacean]] crew of twelve {{w|Bottlenose Dolphin}}s (''Tursiops truncatus'') and Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (''Tursiops truncatus gilli''), overseen by two Takaya's Whales (''Orcinus orca takayai'').<br />The "Takaya's Whale" is not a real whale, but a homage to a fictional character, Noriko Takaya, by Rick Sternbach. Sternbach is a professed fan of the {{w|anime|Japanese animated}} series ''{{w|Gunbuster|Aim For the Top! Gunbuster}}''. In this series, "espers and electronic-brained [bottlenose] dolphins" navigate the ''Excelion'', the main spaceship of the heroine Noriko Takaya. (Sternbach also references the ''Excelion'' in the manual in the compound "excelion-infused carbonitrium".)<br />In a StarTrekUK.com interview, Sternbach explains the cetecean connection:
 ::"''The ''TNG Tech Manual'' definitely talks about a combined ''Orcinus orca takaya'' and ''Tursiops truncatus'' population on the ship to work out navigation problems (and more likely alien language challenges!).''
+::"''We never got to show them in an episode, since the expense would have been prohibitive, but we did convince the writers to have Geordi ask a visiting official if they ever saw the [[dolphin]]s. During {{e|Yesterday's Enterprise}}, an intercom call was heard asking Dr. [[Joshua Kim]] to report to [[Cetacean Ops]].''
+::"''The dolphins and whales were my idea from the start; I'm convinced that, even if they're not intelligent enough to pilot a starship, they can still teach us a few things about other life forms.''"
-::"''We never got to show them in an episode, since the expense would have been prohibitive, but we did convince the writers to have Geordi ask a visiting official if they ever saw the dolphins. During {{e|Yesterday's Enterprise}}, an intercom call was heard asking Dr. [[Joshua Kim]] to report to [[Cetacean Ops]].''
+*On p. 123, it is mentioned that Starfleet's Tokyo R&D facility named the superconducting crystals used in [[phaser]]s "''fushigi no umi''". This is probably an homage to the 1990 Japanese animation series ''Fushigi no Umi no Nadia'', known in North America as ''Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water''.
-::"''The dolphins and whales were my idea from the start; I’m convinced that, even if they’re not intelligent enough to pilot a starship, they can still teach us a few things about other life forms.''"
-*On p. 123, it is mentioned that Starfleet's Tokyo R&D facility named the superconducting crystals used in [[phaser]]s ''"fushigi no umi"''. This is probably homage to the 1990 Japanese animation series ''Fushigi no Umi no Nadia'', known in North America as "''Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water''".
 *Many of the diagrams of [[okudagram]]s and other control panels on the ship are directly taken from the show, and as such also contain the various in-jokes that normally cannot be seen on television. For example, the sickbay main diagnostic display seen on p. 150 mentions "MEDICAL INS COVERAGE AVAIL".
+*One of the concept designs proposed for the {{class|Nova}} in 17.2 "Future Directions: The Road to the 1701-E" is similar to the design of the ''Nova''-class {{USS|Equinox}} seen in {{VOY|Equinox}}.
+*In describing the [[holodeck]], it is noted that it uses the rare material, {{w|The Dirty Pair|keiyurium}}, which might explain some of the problems it had.
+=== Cover gallery ===
-*One of the concept designs proposed for the {{ShipClass|Nova}} in 17.2 "Future Directions: The Road to the 1701-E" is similar to the design of the ''Nova''-class {{USS|Equinox}} seen in {{VOY|Equinox}}.
+<gallery>
+File:Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual (UK).jpg|UK edition cover
-*In describing the [[holodeck]], it is noted that it uses the rare material, {{w|The Dirty Pair|keiyurium}}, which might explain some of the problems it had.
+File:Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual (DE 1st).jpg|German edition cover
+File:Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual (IT).jpg|Italian edition cover
+File:Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual.jpg|US 2nd printing cover (lacking the publisher's logo)
+File:Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual (DE 2nd).jpg|German 2nd printing (Hardcover with gold imprint)
+</gallery>
-==See also==
+== See also ==
 *''[[Star Fleet Technical Manual]]''
 *''[[Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology]]''
@@ Line 81: / Line 79: @@
 [[Category:Reference books|Next Generation Technical Manual, The]]
 [[de:Die Technik der USS Enterprise]]
+[[fr:Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]
 [[nl:Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]