Star Trek 1101: The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers Volume II

1101. The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers Volume II

PUBLICATION: Dell, 1995

CREATORS: Phil Farrand

STARDATE: Finally covers Season 7of Star Trek: The Next Generation, plus Generations. It also goes through the first six seasons cribbing for missed nits.

SUBJECT MATTER: Two years after his first Guide, and after a detour to the TOS era, Phil Farrand returns to TNG to deliver us the plot holes, changed premises, equipment oddities and continuity and production problems from the 7th and final season and the first film, Generations. By this point, he's got a veritable army of nitpickers in his "guild" and he also published loads of THEIR suggested nits for seasons 1 through 6, including a ton from volume 1's famously spared episode, The Enemy. Once again, each new episode gets a good synopsis, but even the episodes from volume 1 get new trivia questions. The "tote boards" (like how many women kiss Picard) are all updated (and new ones added), and there are some new essays and triviathons.

CONTINUITY: Even more than before!

DIVERGENCES: Tells you all of them, including the ones missed the first time around.

SCREENSHOT OF THE WEEK - A favorite nit from Generations: Worf's bloody knee (are the holodeck safeties off!?).
REVIEW: I wasn't a big fan of the TOS volume, but with his return to TNG, Farrand gets back into more interesting territory. Unlike TOS, TNG hasn't (hadn't?) been picked apart quite as much, especially the last season and first film. And it's great fun seeing how many more nits you can squeeze out of episodes you thought well covered in the first volume (plus give The Enemy its due). Farrand also doesn't skimp on such features as favorite lines and moments, so that it never feels negative, and does debate reader comments on occasion. Everyone who contributed is listed in the introduction, and there are a lot of names there. Sadly, not mine, despite my sending in what I still think are very relevant nits (see previous Guide reviews). Of course, some of my nits ARE there, but I guess another viewer/reader beat me to them. I didn't write anything new in the margins, so you'll be spared a list of my findings. And given the rush to Christmas at work right now, I wouldn't be surprised if next Sunday's post was about the last Nitpicker's Guide. Really sorry, novel readers!

Next for the SBG Book Club: Warped (DS9), Some Assembly Required (SCE), World Without End (TOS), A Rock and a Hard Place (TNG).