TV Review - Star Trek Tech

Star Trek Tech
The History Channel
2007
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(previously unpublished)

Very Short Review
Frothy musings on whether Star Trek's fictional gadgetry will ever become reality.

Slightly Longer Review
Gee, wouldn't it be nice if we could make our daily commute by stepping into a transporter and suddenly turning up at work? Sure it would. But don't hold your breath.

Lawrence Krauss, author of The Physics of Star Trek, host this hour-long examination of...well, the physics of Star Trek - with some technology and other sciences tossed in for good measure.

Also on hand, a handful of "B-list" Star Trek actors (no Shatner or Nimoy), assorted others from the Trek universe, and a smattering of scientists and researchers.

Sixty minutes - minus commercials - isn't much time to examine such gadgetry as the transporter, cloaking devices, deflector shields, photon torpedoes, warp drive, AI, tricorders, and the holodeck. A high-level overview is about the best the producers could pull off, given these constraints, mixing some Trek trivia, "explanations" of the technology, a look at related real-world research, and heap of cutesy clips from the various Trek series.

Frothy, indeed. But then you'd hardly tune in to an entertainment like this if you were expecting a master's thesis.

Copyright 2007, William I. Lengeman III