The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | Gregory Jein |
| Type: | |
| Date(s): | May 30, 1974 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship is a non-fiction 15-page zine by Gregory Jein.
The subject: the starships in the Star Trek: TOS universe.
Introduction
A number of fans have inquired as to why I have given certain starships certain numbers. First off, my registration system is by no means official. I do not believe there ever was a complete listing of starship names and their respective registration numbers. Undoubtedly D. C. Fontana and Bob Justman considered this, but since there apparently was not a pressing need for such a list, it was probably never finalized. Therefore, unless such a list does exist, I must conclude-that all listings of starships and their registration numbers have been arbitrarily arrived at. My system is not really any better. I've combined confusion, circumstance and innuendo to produce illogic, but it relatively (in the loosest possible sense) forms a semi-cohesive pattern. I have detailed my travesty of logic in "The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship." (Sorry about that, Richard Bach!)
The treatise is basically a documentation of the clues I had to work with and how I maneuvered, manipulated and exploited them until they formed some sort of pseudo significance. The whole thing came about as I was doing research for a series of proposed articles on Star Fleet, its history, its structure, key personnel, specific starship histories, etc. These pieces were to have been completed for a certain fanzine in 1969, but complications arose. More photos and drawings, were required, the paper work piled up, time dragged on, I got lazier; and in short, I shelved the project about .hulf completed. Since that time the quantity and quality of articles by Star Trek fandom have increased tenfold, and there is no longer any need for my humble efforts.
Please note that on the following page is a close-up of the lettering style used on the "real" Enterprise. As you can see, there are differences between it and both the current and original AMT decal sheets. Some numbers/letters are sans-serif, too thin, misproportioned and outlined in white when they should not be. In the Booklet of General Plans of starships, published by Franz Joseph Designs, a different lettering style is "also used.
Afterward
I will be the first to admit that at best, everything I have presented is circumstantial. There are a number of variables which can alter any hypothesis quite easily. In fact, I am certain I can invalidate the documentation better than anyone. Being my "brain child," its strengths and weaknesses (which can be legion!) are well known to me. My initial aim was to merely support points in a series of 1959 fanzine articles with a bit more concern than the average, random selection method. There was not any attempt to lend an air of authority or officiality to my undertaking The aforementioned series of articles is reproduced in part on the following page. It includes a projected list of starship registry. Many of the names and numbers are autocratic additions, but I have included the aforestated "official" names as well. You are, of course, free to regard this with approval, disapproval or indifference. If there is an axiom which sums up this treatise, it is a line from an old Charlie Chan movie: "Finding web of spider does not prove which spider spin web."
Sample Interior
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