star trek motion picture novel pdf

• Literature & Fiction
• Genre Fiction

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: $13.34 $13.34 FREE delivery Wednesday, May 1 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Main Valley

Return this item for free.

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select the return method

Buy used: $6.14

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Paperback – October 1, 2019

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Book 1 of 6 Star Trek TOS: Movie Novelizations
• Print length 256 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Pocket Books/Star Trek
• Publication date October 1, 2019
• Dimensions 5.31 x 0.6 x 8.25 inches
• ISBN-10 1982139196
• ISBN-13 978-1982139193
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may deliver to you quickly

Editorial Reviews

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books/Star Trek; Anniversary edition (October 1, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982139196
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982139193
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.9 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.6 x 8.25 inches
• #3,162 in TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction
• #4,286 in Exploration Science Fiction
• #14,676 in Science Fiction Adventures

About the author

Gene roddenberry.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

About this ebook, ratings and reviews.

• Flag inappropriate

• Show review history

About the author

Rate this ebook, reading information, continue the series.

More by Gene Roddenberry

ebook ∣ The Motion Picture · Star Trek: The Original

By gene roddenberry.

Add Book To Favorites

Is this your library?

Sign up to save your library.

With an OverDrive account, you can save your favorite libraries for at-a-glance information about availability. Find out more about OverDrive accounts.

9781982139193

Star Trek: The Original

Gene Roddenberry

Pocket Books/Star Trek

23 May 2000

Find this title in Libby, the library reading app by OverDrive.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

By gene roddenberry.

• ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.67 ·
• 20 Want to read
• 3 Currently reading
• 6 Have read

Preview Book

My Reading Lists:

Use this Work

Create a new list

My book notes.

My private notes about this edition:

Check nearby libraries

• Library.link

Buy this book

The Great Bird of the Galaxy writes a Star Trek novel! The writer-producer who created Mr. Spock and all the other Star Trek characters—who invented the starship Enterprise, who gave the show its looks, its ideals—puts it all together again here for his first Star Trek novel! Their historic 5-year mission is over. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, all the crew have scattered to other jobs or other lives. Now, they are back together again on a fabulously refitted USS Enterprise as an incredibly destructive power threatens Earth and the human race.

Previews available in: English

Showing 3 featured editions. View all 20 editions?

Add another edition?

Book Details

Published in, edition notes.

King copy given by Dr. Richard D. Erlich, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)

Classifications

The physical object, community reviews (0).

• Created September 27, 2008
• 18 revisions

Wikipedia citation

Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?

• Sign up and get a free ebook!
• Don't miss our $0.99 ebook deals!

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

• Unabridged Audio Download

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $17.99

• Amazon logo
• Bookshop logo

Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) was the legendary writer, producer, and creator of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation , and the bestselling author of the novelization for Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

Product Details

• Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek (October 1, 2019)
• Length: 256 pages
• ISBN13: 9781982139193

Browse Related Books

• Fiction > Science Fiction > Alien Contact
• Fiction > Movie or Television Tie-In
• Fiction > Science Fiction > Adventure

Resources and Downloads

High resolution images.

• Book Cover Image (jpg): Star Trek: The Motion Picture Trade Paperback 9781982139193

Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today!

Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.

More books in this series: Star Trek

You may also like: Thriller and Mystery Staff Picks

More to Explore

Limited Time eBook Deals

Check out this month's discounted reads.

Our Summer Reading Recommendations

Red-hot romances, poolside fiction, and blockbuster picks, oh my! Start reading the hottest books of the summer.

This Month's New Releases

From heart-pounding thrillers to poignant memoirs and everything in between, check out what's new this month.

Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (novel)

• View history

The novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is an adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , written by Gene Roddenberry . The first Star Trek novel from Pocket Books , it was first published in paperback in December 1979 .

• 2.1.2 Others
• 2.1.3 Mentioned
• 2.2 References
• 2.3 Chronology
• 3 External link

Summary [ ]

• Preface by James T. Kirk , Rear Admiral
• Preface by Gene Roddenberry , author

Admiral James Kirk, on a break from the Admiralty, relaxes in Africa at the world famous museum city, Alexandria. He slowly begins to receive a signal from Starfleet Command through a senceiver implant in his brain. The information plays out in his mind, of Klingon K't'inga -class cruisers destroyed by a powerful cloud in space heading towards Earth . Meanwhile on Vulcan, Spock kneels before the Vulcan masters on Gol . He is about to achieve kolinahr , when a powerful consciousness touches his mind. Spock telepathically senses Kirk's thoughts of the attack on the Klingons. After a mind meld, the Vulcan Master T'Sai sends Spock away without achieving kolinahr .

Kirk contacts his associate, Vice Admiral Lori Ciana, whom he has been involved with for the two-and-a-half years since the end of the Enterprise mission. She informs him that Admiral Heihachiro Nogura plans to launch the Enterprise to intercept the cloud. Kirk goes to Starfleet headquarters and convinces Nogura to hand command of the Enterprise over to him.

Once aboard the Enterprise , Kirk informs Captain Will Decker that he is assuming command. Decker is unhappy with the decision, but remains aboard as first officer. Suddenly, disaster strikes when the transporter malfunctions. Admiral Ciana and the Vulcan science officer Sonak are both killed. Later on the rec deck, Kirk briefs the crew on the cloud. Unexpectedly, the crew witnesses the destruction of Epsilon IX at the hands of that same cloud as the event occurs.

After the transporter is repaired, new crew members beam aboard. Lieutenant Ilia , a Deltan and former lover of Decker, takes the navigator position. Then Leonard McCoy beams aboard, after being drafted back into service by Kirk. He resumes his position as CMO.

With the crew finally together, the Enterprise leaves orbital dock. Once the ship's engages warp drive, a wormhole appears. The Enterprise is trapped inside, on a collision course with an asteroid . Torpedoes are fired and the asteroid is destroyed, freeing the ship. However, the warp engines are down.

A shuttle docks with the Enterprise . The crew is shocked to find Spock has come aboard. Spock immediately gets to work on fixing the engines, and the Enterprise warps towards interception with the cloud. Spock reveals he has been in mental contact with the cloud and senses perfect logic.

The Enterprise intercepts the cloud, and they are immediately scanned. The cloud returns no response to friendship messages and fires on the Enterprise . The force field holds and the Enterprise survives, however power is severely drained. The cloud fires again, but at the last second the energy bolt fades from sight. The cloud has received and understood friendship messages.

The Enterprise enters the cloud. Sensors detect an object at the cloud's center. Kirk risks a scan, and the cloud responds by sending a green energy probe to the bridge. It begins scanning the computer. A security officer attempts to stop it, but the probe lashes out at him and he vanishes. Spock intervenes when it attempts to scan his console, to prevent it from learning Earth's defenses. The probe attacks Spock, but Ilia interferes. She too vanishes, and the probe with her.

A tractor beam pulls the Enterprise inside the object at the center of the cloud. Once inside, the "intruder alert" alarm sounds. Inside Ilia's quarters, a probe identical to her in appearance is found claiming to be sent by Vejur to observe the carbon based units infecting Enterprise . She explains that Vejur is heading towards Earth to find the "Creator" and join with him. Kirk assigns Decker the task of learning as much information from the Ilia-probe as possible.

Spock secretly leaves the ship in a spacesuit, intent on mind melding with Vejur . He passes through an elaborate gallery of Vejur 's journey, seeing stars and entire planets. After finding a sensor and melding with it, Spock discovers Vejur 's journey began at a planet of living machines, and concludes that the entire vessel is a lifeform. Vejur is the ship itself. Vejur senses Spock's presence, and Spock is injured during the meld. Kirk, now in a spacesuit, leaves the ship to find Spock, when the Ilia-probe reveals Vejur is sending Spock back to the Enterprise . There, Spock reveals Vejur has accumulated vast knowledge, but without the ability to feel that knowledge was useless, leaving Vejur without the answers it needs.

Background information [ ]

• Roddenberry is billed in the book jacket blurb by his nickname, " Great bird of the galaxy ". This was the only Star Trek novel written by Roddenberry – the abortive The God-Thing would have been another.
• This was the first Pocket Books Trek novel (though the imprint wouldn't officially begin its novel series until The Entropy Effect in 1981 , due to previous license-holder Bantam Books still being scheduled to publish the three remaining novels under its license).
• In addition to its paperback release, the novelization was also briefly issued as a hardcover, slip-cased, numbered limited edition. This edition was dedicated to Majel Barrett .
• The original UK and Australian editions, from Futura Publications , contain an insert of color plates: ten captioned publicity stills from the movie. These editions also have a brief addition to the main text about Vice Admiral Lori Ciana, better explaining how she went about getting herself onto Kirk's crew. (e.g. " She must have taken a temporary rank reduction to fill the zeno-psychology vacancy aboard. "(p.56, Futura edition)
• All editions share a typographical error – "Ciani" – when first introducing the character of Ciana.
• In Admiral Kirk's preface, he mentions that during his five-year mission, 94 of his crew perished. While this number equates, as it is higher than the number of people we know of dying in Star Trek: The Original Series , many later comics and novels have featured numerous crew deaths that exceed this number.
• In his preface, Kirk also establishes that his middle name is indeed "Tiberius".
• Will Decker is revealed to be the son of Commodore Matt Decker . This information was not officially established in the film.
• Spock began training to achieve kolinahr nine Vulcan seasons (2.8 Earth years) prior to this story. (Chapter Two, 1st footnote)
• Before the personal encounter of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Decker and the Ilia-probe with the still-functioning Voyager 6 relic spacecraft at its heart, Roddenberry consistently uses the spelling Vejur for the "intruder's" name in the novel.
• Neither mentioned nor referred to in movie and script, the Klingon battle cruiser received its K't'inga -class designation in the novel.
• Due to Alan Dean Foster devising the original story upon which the movie and novel were based, Foster's status as a prolific writer of novelizations (including the entirety of the Star Trek Logs series), and confusion over the fact that Foster "ghost-wrote" for George Lucas the novelization of the first Star Wars film, it is sometimes erroneously suggested that Foster also wrote the novel for TMP. There is no indication of anyone other than Roddenberry writing the book.

Characters [ ]

James Tiberius Kirk

The death of Sonak and Lori Ciana

The alien Rhaandarite boy

Mentioned [ ]

References [ ].

Africa ; Alexandria; Constitution -class ; Egyptisraeli Museum; five-year mission ; Humans ; Klingons ; K't'inga -class ; mind meld ; oath of celibacy ; perscan device; senceiver implant; Starfleet ; STF 7997B; Vulcan (planet) ; Vulcans ; wormhole

Chronology [ ]

External link [ ].

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (novel)

The novelization of the film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture , was by Gene Roddenberry , and was the only Star Trek novel he wrote.

The book was also the first Star Trek novel published by Pocket Books .

The Footnote

The novel provided K/S fans some legitimacy when Gene Roddenberry translated the word T'hy'la , an affectionate name that Spock gives to Kirk, in the book to encompass "friend, lover and brother."

An analysis of that footnote can be found at The Footnote: An Explication de Texte .

Fan Comments

To me, [ Vonda McIntyre's [novelization of The Wrath of Khan ] was a big disappointment, and a distinct contrast to Roddenberry's novelization and enrichment of ST-TMP. Last time, the book was better; this time, the movie. [1]

Well, it may surprise you that both the movie and Roddenberry's novelization are considered validation of the K/S premise by those who have believed in the possibility of the premise since the series. And I have personally known several people who have changed their minds since the movie and novel and who now see the possibility of Kirk and Spock being lovers whereas they once insisted no way. I have known other anti- K/Sers (quite vocal ones) who have since lost much of their interest in Trek because Roddenberry didn't squash it like they hoped. And I know others who were quite vocal before the movie that are now strangely silent on the subject. [2]

It never ceases to startle me that there are some fans that take the pro novels seriously. It seems obvious to me that the only official Trek is the televised episodes (live-action and animated) plus the motion pictures. The one pro publication that I would count as "official" is Gene Roddenberry's novelization of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. [3]

• ^ from K/S & K.S. (Kindred Spirits) #3
• ^ from APA Enterprise #6
• ^ by Joan Verba in Interstat #124
• Star Trek TOS

Navigation menu

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security.

ISBN: 0671830880

ISBN13: 9780671830885

Star Trk Novel

(part of the star trek: the original series (#1) series , star trek tos: movie novelizations (#1) series , and star trek classic (#41) series ).

Select Format

Select condition, recommended.

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Condition: Good

Book Overview

Available for the first time on audio Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture with this classic movie novelization written by legendary Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews

"jim -- this is transcendence", good novelization of the first star trek motion picture, roddenberry should have wrote more trek novels, better than the movie, better than sex, popular categories.

• Teen and Young Adult
• Literature & Fiction
• Mystery & Thriller
• Sci-fi & Fantasy
• Large Print Books
• Rare & Collectible Books
• ShareBookLove
• Educator Benefits
• Librarian Benefits
• e-Gift Cards
• View Mobile Site
• Shopping Cart
• Order History

Partnerships

• Library Program
• Help & Support
• Shipping Costs
• Return Policy
• Website Suggestions
• Our Purpose
• Social Responsibility
• Testimonials

• The Original Series
• The Animated Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds
• Lower Decks
• Star Trek Movies
• TrekCore on Twitter
• TrekCore on Facebook

In the end, Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Inside the Art & Visual Effects is a fully-realized history of the oft-misunderstood classic film that paved the way for Trek’s  ongoing (and seemingly never-ending) legacy.

Jim Moorhouse is the creator of TrekRanks.com and the TrekRanks Podcast. He can be found living and breathing Trek every day on Twitter at @EnterpriseExtra.

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Inside the Art & Visual Effects

Related Stories

Star trek: discovery review — “mirrors”, hallmark’s 2024 star trek ornaments include dr. crusher, captain pike, the long-awaited enterprise-b, and more, star trek: picard book review — “firewall”, search news archives, new & upcoming releases, featured stories, lost-for-decades original star trek uss enterprise model returned to roddenberry family, star trek: lower decks cancelled; strange new worlds renewed for season 4, our star trek: discovery season 5 spoiler-free review.

TrekCore.com is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with Paramount, CBS Studios, or the Star Trek franchise. All Star Trek images, trademarks and logos are owned by CBS Studios Inc. and/or Paramount. All original TrekCore.com content and the WeeklyTrek podcast (c) 2024 Trapezoid Media, LLC. · Terms & Conditions

We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!

Internet Archive Audio

• This Just In
• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

Star Trek : the official motion picture adaptation

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

tight margin

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

5 Favorites

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

No suitable files to display here.

IN COLLECTIONS

Uploaded by station44.cebu on March 28, 2023

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

Pictograms from the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Peel-Off Graphics Book

by Jörg Hillebrand , Bernd Schneider and Brad Wilder

History of the Pictograms Canon Appearances Conclusion

For "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", a number of logos or pictograms were designed for 23rd century Earth and the Starship Enterprise. Rick Sternbach and Lee Cole were tasked with the design of this futuristic iconography. Many of the pictograms appeared as stickers in the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Peel-Off Graphics Book . This article identifies the logos depicted in the book in the TOS movies and later appearances on Star Trek.

History of the Pictograms

Rick Sternbach tells us how he got the job as senior illustrator on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", his first of many jobs on Star Trek:

"In October 1977 I visited a number of studios during a trip out from Connecticut. One of those studios was Paramount, where the Phase II production had been moving along, though slowly, and Production Designer Joe Jennings was a straight shooter with me in saying that he didn't have anything for me at the time. I did get to meet with Mike Minor (illustrator) and John Cartwright (lead set designer), and left my info and SF and space art samples. Long story short, Joe invited me to come in when TMP was announced, I attended the press conference on stage, and was on the production that afternoon. My title was a senior illustrator under Mike Minor (and ultimately Joe), so I was there to draw whatever was needed to show how sets and props and such could look prior to building. I did marker sketches of the corridors and transporter room and airbrush art of Main Engineering. Lee Cole had established the look of the controls during Phase II, so when I started helping out with the backlit panels, I followed her stylistic lead. Harold Michelson replaced Joe Jennings, who went to work on Shogun, so I reported to Harold with sketches and suggestions for the remainder of the time there. Along with the techy controls, we did indeed do piles of inked logos and informational placards for the different sets, to visually tie everything together."

Rick Sternbach says about his inspiration for the pictograms:

"I can't say there was any one inspiration. Various logos and graphic styles mixed about in my head from the 70s. The general idea was to present a simple, quickly identifiable shape for each department. Of course, not every logo made instant sense within the film, but we knew what they were and where they would be placed."

When asked if any of the logos had drastically changed from the initial idea to their final appearance, Rick said:

"I don't recall any logos where we had a real progression from one concept to the next to a final. Some logo ideas were drawn up a few at a time and a lucky one got picked. A lot of these got drawn up and turned into final silkscreened adhesive stickers and metallic plates and attached to set walls and such without a lot of changes, at least while I was there on TMP. I suspect we were trusted to know what we were doing, something that carried over into TNG not that many years later."

Many of the designs ultimately didn't make it into "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in the end or were not recognizable on screen. Shortly after the release of the film, a book the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Peel-Off Graphics Book was published, however. This book contains many of the pictograms designed for the film as stickers.

Even though many of the original designs did not show up in the first Star Trek feature film, they were seen in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" and, to a lesser degree, in still later Star Trek films. Some of the designs even made it into the Star Trek TV shows, from TNG all the way to Enterprise. The logo that was seen most often is the Starfleet Medical logo. We have dedicated a separate article to this design, so it will only be dealt with in a rudimentary fashion here.

Of the original TMP pictograms, we have been able to identify 27 in the Star Trek films and TV shows so far. We will provide a scan from the above mentioned book for each logo that actually appeared on screen and will then add screenshots showing the various appearances of said logo. We focus on the logos in the same order they appear in the book so it starts with the logo that appeared most often in the first four Star Trek films, the United Federation of Planets Starfleet Headquarters logo.

Canon Appearances

01 united federation of planets starfleet headquarters.

After the UFP pennant was seen in TOS: "And the Children Shall Lead", this is the second United Federation of Planets emblem ever seen on Star Trek. It appears only once as a floor emblem in the first Star Trek film and not exactly as it does in the book. The font used for the text is different and the dots, representing stars, are also spread out differently.

A few seconds later, a very similar variety of the emblem can be seen on the hull of the air tram. This time, the dots in the grid are aligned like in the book. The laurel leaves also are similar but all of the text is missing and the 5 stars are now located where usually the text "Starfleet Headquarters" is found. The words "Star Fleet Command" are now written underneath the seal.

In the film, the logo is next seen twice printed in gold on a glass plate. It appears like that inside the travel pod used by Kirk, McCoy, Sulu and Uhura to travel to the USS Enterprise. When they board the ship, the same glass plate is also visible next to the docking hatch. A white plate with the seal additionally appears in Spock's quarters in this film and in Star Trek III. Finally, several yellow cargo crates in the man-made caves on the Regula planetoid also feature the logo.

In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", the emblem first appears as a translight graphic on the bridge of the USS Grissom. The laurel leaves of this version are hollow and no longer solid. After that, the logo is shown for the first time without the words "Starfleet Headquarters" on a monitor in Captain Kirk's apartment. The same version later appears on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, also on a monitor.

In the Officers' Lounge at Starfleet Headquarters a slightly different version of the logo appears as a large wall plaque and on the door to the lounge. The words "United Federation of Planets" are replaced by fifteen additional stars on this seal.

Characteristic glasses with the logo appear for the first time in the Officers' Lounge. In the scene set in the lounge, the logo is really hard to see. A little later in the film, Captain Styles is seen in his quarters aboard the USS Excelsior. One of the glasses is standing next to his bead. Here, the logo is clearly visible. The top and bottom of those glasses appear frosted. It is possible that a white cup with the logo, used by Captain Picard in "Encounter at Farpoint" was also originally created for the Officers' Lounge. One of the frosted glasses is later seen aboard the USS Tsiolkovsky in "The Naked Now".

The seal appears one more time in the third film on the ID of the civilian Federation Security agent.

In "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", the emblem is only seen at the Federation Council chambers. It appears on the floor, on the wall above the Federation president and on his lectern. In each of these appearances, the word "Starfleet Headquarters" is missing. In front of the Federation delegates, several red tray with two glasses and a bottle-like glass with a removable lid each, similar to the ones from Star Trek III, are standing. These glasses do not feature any of the frosting like the glasses in the previous film so they might have been newly created. Only the middle glass with the lid features the logo. This lid is similar in appearance to the top of the Romulan Ale bottle from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

Some of the all-clear glasses (with and without lids) appear in later TNG episodes, usually in Picard's ready room. In some early TNG episodes, the glasses also show up in other locations aboard the USS Enterprise-D. A red tray with three glasses, one of them with a lid, is seen in Riker's quarters in "Haven". In "Conspiracy", Picard pours a glass of water from one of the glasses with a lid into one if the regular glasses (without the logo) in his quarters. A glass with a lid and a separate lid next to it are seen in Data's quarters in "The Measure of a Man". Two glasses with the logo and a lid appear on a silver tray in Admiral Jarok's guest quarters in "The Defector".

In the first 3½ seasons of TNG, a red tray with two glasses and one glass with lid and logo in the middle (exactly as they appeared in "Star Trek IV") were usually standing in front of Picard's Shakespeare book in his ready room. When the room was redecorated to serves as Will Riker's future ready room in "Future Imperfect", the table with the glasses and the book were removed and replaced by a plant. It seems that when everything was returned to the way it looked before, the lid somehow got lost because ever since then, only three glasses (the middle one with the logo but without a lid) were seen in his ready room.

After these appearances, the TMP-style seal is never seen again in any of the later Star Trek films, as by the time of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" the 24th century Federation emblem, introduced in the first season of TNG, is used. Interestingly, in "The Mind's Eye", Geordi is drinking from a glass very similar to the ones from "Star Trek III" and "Star Trek IV", but this glass is fully frosted and features the 24th United Federation of Planets emblem.

See The Evolution of the Federation Emblem for further variations, and particularly the ones since TNG.

02 Klingon battle craft

See also The Evolution of the Klingon Emblem .

03 San Francisco Sky Tram Port

As previously mentioned, in the second and third Star Trek films, the logo appears prominently as a shoulder patch on the away mission jacket.

In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", the logo additionally appears as a shoulder patch on the waiters' uniforms in the Officers' Lounge. The Starfleet Security officers guarding Dr. McCoy also wear a metallic version of the logo on their hats.

The logo also shows up on the uniform of NASA astronaut Col. Richey in TNG: "The Royale". Though this appearance is anachronistic, it seems fitting for the mission of the Charybdis to traverse the Sol system.

It should be noted that in all cases, the color, appearance and arrangements of the sun and the planets as in the book do not match the actual patches and badges seen in the films. In all appearances of the shoulder patch that are actually visible on screen, the third planet (Earth) is blue, while all the other planets are gray.

Very similar costume patches with only eight planets, the fourth planet being blue, were sold by It's a Wrap. The listings state that security officers in the Federation Council scenes (in "Star Trek IV") wore these patches. It is really hard to make out but it is possible that one of these patches actually appears here.

04 Transporter systems

In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", the logo appears as it does in the book. It is black, with a white outline and arrow and a yellow person at the center. It is seen in the Old City Station transporter room.

A simplified pictogram with just the humanoid figure can be seen in the transporter room of the USS Titan-A in the third season of Picard.

This pictogram was designed by Rick Sternbach. When asked why this logo is one of a few bicolored ones in the book, he says:

"No idea. I really dealt with black and white ink art, and I only recall single colors of silkscreen printing or the ScotchCal metallic plates."

05 Epsilon Nine Starfleet Monitoring Base

The logo, similar to as it appears in the book, was later seen twice on Star Trek series. It first appeared in DS9: "Destiny" as the logo for the Wormhole Comm Relay Project. It was later used again in VOY: "Author, Author" as the Pathfinder Project logo.

06 Damage/repair

This logo was designed by Rick Sternbach. When asked what it depicts, he says:

"Don't recall. Maybe it was just a solid-looking tool shape."

07 Engineering

As Kirk races to Engineering at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" he runs past a door with the logo. The pictogram appears without the shield surrounding it and is colored white on orange. In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", it is one of several logos on the walls of the Officers' Lounge. Here it appears as it does in the book, only in blue instead of black.

This logo was designed by Rick Sternbach. When asked whether the engineering logo depicts a stylized warp core, Rick responded:

"Not specifically; it was meant to show high energy being confined and utilized."

08 Security

The logo on a shield is briefly seen on the door opposite the transporter room as Kirk leaves after the death of Commander Sonak. In contrast to its depiction in the book, here it appears in black on a white background.

After it does not appear in the second Star Trek film, it is seen twice in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". Here it is visible on the yellow no entry tape preventing access to Spock's quarters. The logo also appears on a blue shield in the Officers' Lounge.

Many years later, the logo was used as the basis for the Security Division Sol Sector shoulder patch in "Affliction".

Still two decades later, the slightly modified original pictogram shows up on a display in PIC: "Surrender", after Jack has telepathically contacted Lt. Mura on the bridge to enter the security override codex.

This logo was originally designed by Rick Sternbach. We think that it looks like interlocking chains or handcuffs. Rick says:

"Sorry, don't recall specifics. Most of these were meant to convey a simple visual point, and that might have been exactly the point we were going for. :)"

It shows up only once more, in the third Star Trek film in the Officers' Lounge. Here, it is seen on a blue shield, along with other logos of the same style.

10 Communication

The pictogram is also seen on a blue shield, way out of focus, in the Officers' Lounge in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock".

We can also repeatedly see the logo in the third season of Star Trek Picard, now without the stylized "CRT screen" and with differently arranged sine waveforms.

11 Environmental systems

The logo was designed by Rick Sternbach. He tells us:

"I think the Environmental logo was based on chemical bond diagrams."

12 Weapons/defense

Decades later, a slight variation of the emblem can be seen on a bridge display of the USS Stargazer in PIC: "The Star Gazer".

It is only seen as a uniform patch worn by Dr. McCoy and Dr. Chapel in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". In "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", the logo can be briefly spotted on a door Kirk, Spock and Saavik run past. Like the Transporter and Engineering logos, also seen on doors, it appears on its own here and not on a shield as in the book. In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" it is one of several logos on a blue shield in the Officers' Lounge.

The logo does not appear in "Star Trek IV" or "Star Trek V" but on Dr. McCoy's medical pouch he takes to the Klingon battlecruiser to treat the dying Chancellor Gorkon in "Star Trek VI". It is also seen on the sickbay doors of the USS Enterprise-A. In "Star Trek: Generations" we can also see it on sickbay doors and wall monitors.

See The Evolution of the Starfleet Medical Emblem for all appearances of the logo in the 24th century series and in the latest Trek shows.

In conclusion, it can be said that all nine departmental logos depicted in the book are actually seen on screen in some way or another.

14 Chief Navigator Ilia

Only the insignia for Ilia's quarters is shown in the movie, it appears for a few frames when she enters her quarters after having talked to Commander Decker in an Enterprise corridor.

15 Circuitry cartridge

All the cargo labels and each of their components were designed by Rick Sternbach.

16 Cargo hold locator

The logo appears much more visibly in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", where it appears on several cargo crates in the artificially created corridors leading to the Genesis caves.

17 Test point

18 Perishable cultures cryogenic storage

The boxes got much more screen time on TNG where they usually appeared under a shelf in sickbay. Dr. Crusher carries one of the boxes in "Encounter at Farpoint" where the label gets the most exposure. At some point in TNG season 6 between "Aquiel" and "Starship Mine", the boxes were relabeled and no longer feature the original warning label from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" but a more generic blue label featuring the Starfleet Medical logo. One of the boxes is also seen on DS9 in "The Way of the Warrior", here still with the original logo.

Many years later, the pictogram shows up on containers on La Sirena in PIC: "The Star Gazer". It is hard to make out, but it looks like the complete "Perishable cultures" sticker with the central pictogram and the surrounding blue text field (as on Beverly's box in early TNG) later appears in the sickbay of the USS Titan-A in Picard's third season.

The label was designed by Rick Sternbach.

19 Light cube tables

The logo was designed by Rick Sternbach.

20 Directional pointer

Directional pointers with a logo inside show up on the rec deck in "Star Trek: the Motion Picture", as can be seen in the entry about the light cube tables.

A pointer with a number inside is visible next to the airlocks logo when Spock arrives aboard the ship early in the first film. Beginning in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", the pointers are also seen with numbers (aboard the USS Enterprise) and letters (the Regula I station) inside and as simple pointers without anything inside (in corridors and sickbay aboard the USS Enterprise). These pointers make a reappearance in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" were they are seen on several labels. A similar label but without a number inside the pointer, is also seen in the crew quarters aboard the USS Excelsior in "Flashback".

21 Turbolift

In "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" the logo is seen with the letter A on the bridge turbolift doors of the USS Enterprise and USS Reliant and on the turbolift door of the bridge simulator at the beginning of the film. It also appears on turbolift doors (with the letters B and D) in corridors aboard the USS Enterprise. In addition to that, it also appears with the number 2 outside the bridge simulator at Starfleet Headquarters.

In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" it appears on the bridge turbolift doors with the letter A and in corridors with the letter B.

It next appears on several doors, including the bridge turbolift doors, in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". In "Star Trek: Generations", it also appears on the bridge turbolift doors of the USS Enterprise-B. In VOY: "Flashback", it is seen on the bridge doors of the USS Excelsior and, in a very compressed version, on the turbolift display of the ship. We can also spot the logo in "Star Trek: Insurrection".

22 Airlocks

More than 40 years later, the airlock pictogram can be seen aboard Crusher's ship Eleos in PIC: "The Next Generation".

The logo was designed by Rick Sternbach. The photo showing Rick Sternbach at work designing the logos shows a different, five-sided version of an airlock logo. He says:

"I think the five-sided airlock might have been a holdover from Phase II. The final airlock logo was drawn up based on the final lock the set designers created."

23 Radiation hazard

24 Thermowave hazard

The logo saw much more screen time on TNG, where it was printed on several cargo containers, often next to the label "hazardous material". A cargo container with the logo was also seen on DS9 in "The Siege".

It was also printed on labels next to the doors to the nacelle control room aboard the USS Enterprise-D, featuring the words "Danger: subspace field hazard" in "Eye of the Beholder". In "Thine Own Self" it is printed on the case with radioactive metal that Data carries into the Barkonian village. The warning "radioactive" is clearly legible on the case. It thus seems that on TNG, the logo has gained a more general "danger" connotation, not limited to thermowave hazards.

25 Table tennis

The pictogram for table tennis appears as part of a directional marker in in the rec deck scene. It can be spotted behind Decker as he talks to the Ilia probe. In contrast to how it is shown on the cover, in the actual film the handle of the racquet is seen pointing to the top. The logo was designed by Rick Sternbach.

26 Volleyball

27 Unidentified rec deck logo

A so far unidentified rec deck logo is partially visible behind Decker in the scene where he talks to the Ilia probe. It could possibly be a chess logo but it doesn't match the two chess logos seen inside the book and on its cover.

28 Bowling alley

The fan extras on TMP have reported seeing the bowling alley signage (from the book's front cover) on the rec deck the day they were filming on it.

29 Life support systems

30 Components

Rick Sternbach sifted through old sketches and found out the meaning of the pictogram:

"The simple triangle logo is COMPONENTS, and the more complicated one you already have as DAMAGE/REPAIR."

Of all the pictograms created for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", the one with the most screen time is the Starfleet Medical logo. The Federation seal was often seen in the first four feature films but it was replaced by the 24th century Federation emblem beginning in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier". Other logos that are very noticeable are the turbolift logo and the directional pointer. If it weren't for the Officers' Lounge scene in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", some other logos would never have appeared or been seen clearly on Star Trek.

The people in the Art Department are known for paying amazing attention to detail and to the history of Star Trek. This is how some of the old logos did not only make the transition to TNG but were even unearthed after not appearing in ages. The Security logo was shown on Star Trek Enterprise some 25 years after its appearance in TMP.

Not all of the logos appear on screen exactly as they do in the ST:TMP Peel-Off Graphics Book , but the book is an unexpectedly reliable reference, and indispensable in our effort to identify and reconstruct the iconography of the 23rd century.

Thanks a lot to Rick Sternbach for taking time to answer our questions! Thanks to William Overton for the hint about the turbolift logo in "Insurrection" and to Ian McLean for the observation about the bowling alley pictogram.

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/movie-pictograms.htm

Last modified: 29 Oct 2023

© Ex Astris Scientia 1998-2024, Legal Terms

This website is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with CBS Studios Inc. or the Star Trek franchise.

Fleet Yards