Why didn't they just keep their characters?

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by bbjeg, Jul 2, 2013.

  1. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Uh, isn't the situation on Voyager where NO ONE can be trusted but have to be? You have the Marquis and the Federation and a guy who straddles both. The whole point is that this is a crew which can't be trusted. Yet, you take what you got because they have no choice.
     
  2. Bad Thoughts

    Bad Thoughts Vice Admiral Admiral

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    As I subsequently wrote,
    Locarno would be positioned so low down on Voyager that we wouldn't give a lick about him. He would have been lucky to wash vegetables for Neelix.

    ETA: If I'm not mistaken, Torres had the worst record of all the Maquis officers incorporated into the command structure, and she quit the Academy. She was not booted.
     
  3. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Except, really, that wouldn't be the case. The Chief Engineer and XO are terrorists. Janeway does not have any spare crew members. Lorcano has to be at the helm because he's the only one who knows how to fly the ship.

    It's a choice between trusting an untrustworthy man with a sensitive position or not moving. It's kind of like Pitch Black. The dude is a super-max prisoner but he's the guy who knows how to survive.

    Obviously, everyone acted like they were best friends after the pilot but this was the premise. Lorcano knows how to fly the ship and how to operate it and nobody else does--everyone else who could be trained to do so would have to be by Lorcano and are just as likely to be a terrorist.

    Everyone is acting like Janeway was magnanimously letting the Marquis join their crew--when it was desperation that fueled her decision.
     
  4. Bad Thoughts

    Bad Thoughts Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know about the last part, but obviously the producers chose to make the crew a more harmonious group than was probably realistic. Basic flight experience seems to be common in Starfleet, and I don't think Locarno would have had the time in 2 1/2 years after his booting to gain more experience at piloting Starfleet capital ships that others would not be considered above him.
     
  5. Charles Phipps

    Charles Phipps Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Remember, Locarno was graduating and the incident was his "send off" that went horribly arry. So, presumably he was trained for exactly the post he was placed at--especially since he was a pilot. As for there being no one in front of him--the last of manpower and resources is, again, a major theme of Voyager even if it was underplayed. Janeway wouldn't need the Marquis at their posts if not for the lack of manpower.

    Assuming Locarno=Paris, we also know Paris is ridiculously overqualified for his position. He's a master pilot and even knows the engineering behind flight enough to experiment with transwarp.

    He's the genius criminal.
     
  6. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    If you kept reading it would have. It was answered in the second post.

    Also don't just assume things. There have clearly have been issues in the past about reusing certain characters.
     
  7. Mario de Monti

    Mario de Monti Captain Captain

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    I absolutely agree and these are points well made :techman:
    BTW, are there any Starfleet officers without some kind of stain on their shiny armor? They are human after all ... well, most of them anyway ;)
     
  8. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    In theory, absolutely. That lasted all of two episodes, right ?
     
  9. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    Depends. Some scripts and characters are generated in-house, and some characters simply evolve over time. When we first meet O'Brien, he's called "Conn" and didn't even get a surname for many episodes. Ditto his first and middle name. But some characters are generated by outside writers and if those original characters start recurring, that writer gets paid per appearance.

    T'Pau or Locarno as a regular character in a series would have been problematic. I think Ro Laren was developed in-house, so she could have been used as a lead in DS9 (instead of Kira Nerys), as was planned, but the actress turned down the offer. Similarly, Worf was developed in-house.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2013
  10. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    I seem to recall that there were similar issues with "Xena: Warrior Princess," who first appeared on an episode of HERCULES. When it was decided to give Xena her own series, they had to credit and compensate the guy who scripted that HERCULES episode.
     
  11. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well that's very informative. Thanks for all your answers.
     
  12. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    I'm surprised how many people are saying Locarno is irredeemable. To me, unless your crime is first degree murder or rape, if you serve your time and honestly repent, anyone can be redeemed.

    Locarno's crime is reckless manslaughter and obstruction of justice.

    But I suppose that's why Paris wasn't Locarno. Because a surprising number of people think doing one horrible thing brands somebody their entire life.
     
  13. Captain Clark Terrell

    Captain Clark Terrell Commodore Commodore

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    ^Well said. In all honesty, was what Lacarno did any worse than Sisko's actions in bringing Romulus into the Dominion War?

    --Sran
     
  14. Kevman7987

    Kevman7987 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I also feel that they didn't need to change him into Tom Paris, but it doesn't matter whether or not we think Locarno was irredeemable or not. The writers/producers decided he could not be redeemed and changed the character during pre-production.
     
  15. Captain Clark Terrell

    Captain Clark Terrell Commodore Commodore

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    In the end, it didn't change anything. RDM did a great job playing the character he was given. Tom Paris became one of the most complete characters Star Trek has ever had. Not only did he finally become the exemplary officer his father always wanted him to be, but he also found love and started his own family. He underwent more character development during Voyager's run than anyone except for the Doctor.

    --Sran
     
  16. bbjeg

    bbjeg Admiral Admiral

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    Right here buddy.
    While catching up on TOS I spotted Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as Christine Chapel who's another character they could have kept instead of making her Lwaxana Troi, though she'd be Diana's Human mother instead of the Betazoid side and we would lose her psychic 'screwing with Picard' moments, and I so enjoy seeing Picard out of his element.:)
     
  17. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Sisko's actions had a positive result, Sisko saved (in the long run) far more lives than he took.

    Lacarno's action killed a fellow cadet for the sake of a meaningless stunt.

    :)
     
  18. Captain Clark Terrell

    Captain Clark Terrell Commodore Commodore

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    Without turning this into an "ends justify the means" argument, my problem with what Lacarno did has nothing to do with the stunt that killed Josh Albert. My gripe with the situation is that he tried to cover it up and coerced his squad members into doing the same thing.

    --Sran
     
  19. Bad Thoughts

    Bad Thoughts Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Was any of the Vreenak incident made public knowledge within the DS9 universe? As far as I can remember, no one, save Garak, knew about the manipulation, and Sisko erased the relative log in the process of recording it. Had Janeway been forced to make a decision about Sisko's worthiness to be part of his crew, the Vreenak incident would not be on record.
     
  20. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^ IIRC, the only ones who know about the entire thing with Vreenak were Sisko and Garak.