Star Trek Communicator magazine is the official mouthpiece for Paramount Pictures regarding all things Trek. So, you would think that this would be the source for all of your "vital" Trek information, though I am not terribly sure that this monthly is the thing to do the job.

Granted, this magazine is well done, with terrific graphical layout and fine editing. After all, Star Trek fans are,on average, highly intelligent and very picky that things be done right. Let's face it, Ally McBeal fans don't write in when a piece of legal mumbo-jumbo is flubbed. But have Harry Kim point to an anabolic protoplaser and call it a neural regenerator and you've got a tidal wave of mail. So I guess they wouldn't stand for a shabby magazine, either.

However, though there were a couple of interesting interviews and a tidbit here or there, this magazine is more about style than substance. Most of the magazine is given over to the "Quark's Bazaar" catalog in the center that can sell you nearly anything that you could require in regards to Star Trek. This could come in handy for Star Trek gamers in search of a source of props for their games, but many good fan-sites on the web are going to give you a lot more in the way of information about the shows.

Don't get me wrong about Star Trek. I love the shows and all, but I am not a big fan of "house organ" publications and Star Trek Communicator is a prime example of that animal. It makes a great catalog and advertisement, but a very uninteresting read.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)