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Old 10-17-2017, 02:09 AM
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Some replies re: "Encounter at Farpoint". 5MV history fans, don't tune out before the end!

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A scan of the original series bible
Not quite the original! Larry Nemecek's TNG Companion covers the creation of the series in great detail and includes some tidbits from earlier versions. Gremlin mentioned the Leslie thing, and Riker was going to be spelled "Ryker".

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[Picard] has an unspoken but deep father-son relationship with [Riker].
Ha ha ha. Boy did THAT change!
Did it? I always saw a bit of a parental side to their relationship. I think of scenes like the end of "Tapestry".

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Did Beverly ever show resentment or anger toward Picard on this point?
Good question. I don't remember any off the top of my head. The lack of progress on this is probably connected to McFadden's departure -- I wonder which was a contributing factor to the other.

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Ha ha ha! Oh, man, that's a good one. Did Brannon and Braga ever read this before working on Voyager?
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Brannon and Braga
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Brannon and Braga
Heh.

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It is possible that one wall of the personal quarters may be a "holographic window" much like the holodecks.
That would be awesome! Too bad the budget wouldn't support it. I'd love to have a "window" with a holographic forest and stream past it, how about you guys?
Yeah, that's such a good idea I'm surprised they never returned to it. Maybe they thought the holodeck made that sort of "2.5D" hologram unnecessary. It's much more realistic, though, so let's hope it gets invented in real life!

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Interesting. Was this Gene's idea: if they haven't slept with each other yet it makes it more okay for them to sleep with other people without destroying all possibility of a reconciliation?
Everything I know about Gene suggests otherwise. Peter David, of course, went the exact opposite way in [Imzadi] -- not only had they slept together, but him being her first is what "imzadi" actually meant. I always thought that was really tacky.

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Tasha has a beau ideal too, which happens to be fifteen year old Wes Crusher. Deprived of her own childhood by the harsh life of her "hell planet" home, she treats this person like the most wonderful person imaginable. Wes is the childhood friend that Tasha never had.
Um, ew.
What's "ew" about any of that? As long as it's strictly a friendly/big-sister thing, it seems wholesome to me.

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Geordi's aboard specialty is the starship school for children.
Hmm, there are certainly narrative possibilities here that were never realized, aren't there?
I'm not complaining. Geordi and the rotating Chief Engineer spot were a perfect match, and we had too many kid-centred episodes anyway.

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How many good stories would we have lost had Worf not been the only Klingon in Starfleet?
Would we have? As long as Worf wasn't around those other Klingons, he'd still have been isolated, just as Spock was special even though Starfleet had enough Vulcans to man at least one whole ship. (Which seems inconsistent with the fanon that he was the first Vulcan in Starfleet until you remember how long he was Pike's first officer.)

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I will say, however, that if a ship is going somewhere where lives may be lost in the name of the Prime Directive, there shouldn't be children on board. They're not mature enough to make this decision.
A good point -- obvious, in fact, and likely the reason this idea was quietly dropped in the TNG movie era (we certainly don't see any children on the Ent-E). Gene was a man of big ideas and not so much thinking through. When he lost creative control of the TOS movies, he gained early TNG as his playground -- a good trade, but one whose consequences did eventually need dealing with.

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Any Captain who does find it necessary to violate the Prime Directive had better be ready to present a sound defense of his actions.
Who else wants front-row seats at Janeway's court martial?
Picard broke the Prime Directive five times by "The Drumhead". FIVE TIMES.

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The phaser rifle is rarely seen, rarely used. It is powerful enough to kick Los Angeles into the ocean.
Wow. I wonder where they keep the warp coils to prevent the phaser wielder from being kicked the other way into the Atlantic!
Nah, they just have inertial dampeners. There's nothing those things can't do!

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You can definitely tell Gene thought highly of himself from how much he loved Wesley (Gene's middle name)
Which came full circle on VOY with Thomas Eugene Paris!

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I do wish that Tasha hadn't left, she represented the rare human who didn't grow up with the freedom of the Federation. Compare her to Neelix (there's a rare sentence) as they fit the "complete outside" role. In both cases there was a lot more that could've been done with them, plotwise.
Very true. I'm surprised Tasha's backstory was permitted in Gene's universe of perfect humans. When you remember how bad her planet was, it's easier to swallow later developments like the Maquis.

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Ah yes, the fan-made transcript. O'Brien didn't exist at this point as a named character, just as "Conn".
And he was even wearing red (as were Worf and Geordi this season). I made a little nod to that near the end of the "Way of the Warrior" fiver.

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Can you imagine Beverly working at a sewing machine?
I can, actually. It seems like something she'd be interested in. She always had an old-fashioned side -- making breakfast for Picard, taking both her husbands' last names, etc. "Sub Rosa" is a terrible episode, but it does put that side of her character in context.

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Couldn't they have had the infodump be with someone other than the ship's doctor? Beverly should already know all of this stuff! Have a scene where Wesley gushes over the things the VISOR can do, and Geordi responds that the price to pay is constant pain. Characterization for Wesley and no one looks like an idiot!
That's some solid editing. Pity no one suggested it.

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Ha ha, future ambassador talking. Worf's character arc is one of the most interesting in the entire franchise if you ask me.
Yep, and it's a pity we didn't see how that last step actually worked out. I always wondered if, after living his whole life among humans, Worf would really be happy on Qo'noS.

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Yeah, Riker is our new Kirk. Too bad there was a reason he never hit on Rand, it's called a command structure. Riker can have relationships with aliens but no one on board, at least no officer.
I've wondered if there are rules about that. It's interesting that both times two major characters have gotten married, they've been of equal rank.

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Troi: There they go. It's so romantic! They're intertwined for eternity like...like...like Chakotay and Seven.
Picard: Ewwwwww! Never say that again!
Doesn't fit the timeline, but I gotta agree with Picard.
I have been waiting SO LONG to be asked about this! What a weird reference to make, right? That's because it was a private joke between me and monkee, a reviewer, fic author, and friend of mine. She was a strong J/Cer (hence her sort-of-cameo here). When the plot of "Endgame" leaked, we both hoped that the C/7 part wasn't true, but she said she was preparing for the worst. Here's what I said:

Exactly what I'd have suggested. Just go in expecting the infamous couple to marry, have lots of kids (naming them all after Janeway's bitter enemies), be elected co-presidents of the Federation, and finally evolve to a higher form of life, forever entwined like those happy jellyfish in "Encounter at Farpoint." Then you can't possibly be disappointed with what's there. <g>

She had a good laugh about that. Not long afterwards, I wound up fiving the episode in question, and I couldn't resist using the same gag in reverse. Yep -- this was a reference only she and I actually got! But it wasn't completely out of nowhere for other readers at the time, since C/7 was still fresh. It seems much more random now.

Believe it or not, this isn't even the most confusing private gag I've snuck into a fiver. That honour probably goes to the start of "Future's End", where VOY characters bring up Kira out of nowhere. No points for guessing who that one was aimed at!
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Last edited by Zeke; 10-17-2017 at 02:14 AM.
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