Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual is a paperback reference guide detailing the inner and other workings of the fictional Federation starship Enterprise-D and other aspects of technology that appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Authored by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda, who both worked in the art department on the television series, with a foreword by series creator Gene Roddenberry, the first and only edition was published in 1991 by Pocket Books, and Paramount Pictures holds all copyrights.
Background and contents
The ST:TNG TM is written from the perspective of the 24th century, where TNG is set; it also contains a wealth of behind-the-scenes trivia distinguishable from the technical content. The work is considered by Paramount to be canon in many respects, although some elements first published in the manual have not yet made it onto screen.Some ideas developed for the technical manual, or its predecessor, the internal Writers Technical Manual, were later incorporated into the storylines of the TV series and movies. Most notably, a concept drawing from the manual describing an emergency landing of the saucer section was seen by TNG writers Ronald D. Moore, Jeri Taylor, and Brannon Braga who wanted to use a saucer crash as a sixth-season cliffhanger episode for the TV series. This idea was shelved due to budget limitations and resistance from producer Michael Piller. However, Moore and Braga later included the scenario in Star Trek Generations. Also first seen in the technical manual were the Nova-class starship and the USS Galaxy.
The book contains explanations of Warp drive, the transporter, the replicator, holodecks, phasers and photon torpedoes, impulse drive, the warp core, subspace radio, saucer separation and landing, the computer, and the various auxiliary craft of the Enterprise. It also contains a section regarding the history of the development of the Galaxy-class ships.
In-jokes
In addition to the more serious material, the manual also contains a number of inside jokes. These include:- A readable version of the medical display with the words "Medical Insurance Coverage Available" visible.
- A cross-section diagram of the ship with the silhouettes of a rubber ducky, sports car, DC-3 airplane, Nomad from ST:TOS, a rat, and a hamster wheel visible.
- A statement that the stellar navigation department of the Enterprise-D is staffed by an assortment of cetaceans.
- A statement that the primary component of the holodeck emitters is "Keiyurium", after Kei and Yuri, the "lovely angels" from Dirty Pair, a Japanese anime and manga franchise.
Related publications
The print version was later complemented by a similar electronic version, the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual.A follow-up title, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, was published in 1998.