Dr. Picard was an early fan of "Star Trek" and has shared his fascination and insights in presentations at a number of Star Trek conventions. A practicing psychiatrist and college teacher, he noticed when he began his professional training that practically every theme and topic covered in his courses applied to at least one Trek adventure. That realization struck him with the ambition to ferret out the treasures of hidden layers of meaning in the "Star Trek," the original series.

"Star Trek" has much to say about the human condition. What makes for an ideal society? When is war justified? How do we view diversity, tolerance, forgiveness? What is the proper role of our ever-more-complex technology? How will we deal with...

"Star Trek" has much to say about the human condition. What makes for an ideal society? When is war justified? How do we view diversity, tolerance, forgiveness? What is the proper role of our ever-more-complex technology? How will we deal with artificial life and intelligence? These are all profound questions. Going through each richly nuanced episode of the original series, the author includes discussion about the social, political, and religious messages in addition to the psychological factors at play. He also looks at literary devices, teleplay act structure, writing techniques, scene analysis and societal trends, with allusions to literature and some physics, while commenting on social concerns as well as what children need to grow up healthy and happy. "Star Trek's" best adventures have rich meanings on multiple levels simultaneously. They provide food for thought from the psychoanalytic, societal, interpersonal, and spiritual domains all at the same time. Stories that touch viewers on these interweaving planes are often deeply satisfying.

CHAPTER 1: LIVE LONG AND PROSPER "Live long and prosper." Mr. Spock spoke these words for the first time in Star Trek's second season opener "Amok Time." The blessing was ironic. Spock faced prosecution for Kirk's murder; the salutation drove home how profoundly his life had just changed. Live long and prosper? Spock tells Vulcan matriarch T'Pau, "I shall do neither. I've killed my captain ;� and my friend." Those four words were prophetic. Over fifty years since it debuted in 1966, Star Trekthrives. So far, there are thirteen movies in the Trek library. Discovery is the sixth series spin-off. Star Trekprint literature abounds. Recent years have seen a spate of fan-funded web series, the stand-out being Star Trek Continues. Why has Star Trek flourished? The question brings to mind a scene from the first-season episode, "The Menagerie, Part One." Spock pleads guilty to mutiny; he kidnapped his now-disabled former captain Christopher Pike and intended to transport him to Talos IV, a violation of Starfleet General Order VII punishable by death. During the proceedings, Commodore Mendez asks Mr. Spock, "Why? What does it accomplish to go there? I want to know why?" Mendez objects when Spock responds by engaging the viewscreen, but Captain Kirk intervenes, "By asking why, you've opened the door to any evidence he may wish to present." The answer to Mendez' one-word question is the subject of the rest of that episode and "The Menagerie, Part Two." An achievement like Star Trek begs the same question. Why? What accounts for its success? This book is my answer. I draw on all my lifelong learning in these pages, most heavily from my training in psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas regarding how people develop emotionally and mentally over time, from birth to adulthood. Central to the field is the notion that some thoughts, feelings, and memories originating from our early life are unconscious. That is, we are not directly aware of this stuff and its influence even when we are wide awake. Sigmund Freud did not originate the concept of an unconscious mind, but he did write voluminously about why it exists and how it behaves. Freud deserves credit for making "unconscious" a household word. As a way to help people, psychoanalysis strives to bring hidden issues out into the open. The idea is to understand what forces might be operating outside our awareness. Once we are consciously aware of a problem, we can bring our resources to bear on a solution. The psychoanalytic reason for Star Trek's appeal is that it metaphorically depicts conflicts originating in childhood that persist into our adult years deep in the psyche. Television invites viewers to re-experience these past dilemmas at a safe distance. Vicariously, the audience faces dire threats without ever leaving the security of their living rooms. When the Enterprise defeats its adversary, fans feel triumphant over the emotional struggle that the episode depicts. In effect, the drama cleanses and rejuvenates. The ancient Greeks called this emotional purging and renewal "catharsis." The original Star Trek series stands out among television shows because as a body of work it portrays issues from all stages of psychological growth. In essence, Star Trek is a complete theory of the human mind. Once in syndication, many people watched the reruns several times over. Viewers not only enjoyed that day's offering but also appreciated the story in the context of Trek's entire catalog. The series as a whole embraces people in their totality. This book takes an in-depth look at Star Trek episodes from a psychoanalytic point of view. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the psychology of newborn infants; the next nine chapters follow growth chronologically through adolescence. The final section discusses the Star Trek movies with the original cast, which move in some new directions. I use a matter-of-fact style in how I present the analytic ideas. However, I am aware that the concepts are debatable and cannot be proven in a rigorous scientific sense. Indeed, I have strong confidence in some assertions, less in others. I have chosen not to qualify each topic with my own level of doubt or uncertainty, as it would make the prose unbearable. My hope is that readers will just take it all in until the end, then think back on questionable ideas in the context of the entire book. Be prepared to feel some discomfort; it is disconcerting to learn that one may be responding to forces beyond one's immediate awareness. The reward is that we can then avoid reacting automatically and discover our true selves. For many reasons, "The Apple" is an apt place to begin the analysis. The episode uses metaphor and other methods to portray a universal human struggle: gaining independence from our parents.