Star Trek has been inspiring avid fans since it was first televised in 1966. In the beginning, the very most dedicated enthusiasts spent months pouring over scripts and audio recordings of the show. They collaborated to produce an astonishingly detailed concordance – a sort of dictionary of all the people, places, and things related to Star Trek. Predating even word processors, the document was typed up on an IBM Selectric.
In addition to synopses of each episode, the concordance provided detailed backstories for each of the main characters. But perhaps most impressively, the concordance explained, from A to Z, all the many terms used in the original two seasons of Star Trek.
Curious about the “Prime Directive” or how a phaser worked? Wonder what tribbles eat? Just consult the concordance. Even obscure references from the show were included. Only the most diehard fans would know that Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit appeared in one episode or that another episode included a scene from Hamlet performed aboard the Starship Enterprise.
See the “Star Trek Concordance” in the Gene L. Coon papers at UW’s American Heritage Center. to learn more.