On "Ex Machina" & Crew

[Christopher]

Rush Limborg wrote:

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Soooooooo... any thoughts on a sequel? Some more Spock-exploring-humanity, perhaps? Or that nurse making amends for her attitude towards McCoy?

I'd be happy to return to that milieu and those characters. I did revisit the former briefly in Mere Anarchy Book 4: The Darkness Drops Again. But the sales figures haven't justified a novel sequel. I'm always open to other possibilities, such as short stories or comic books, if the opportunity presents itself.

And what nurse? Reiko Onami is a xenopsychologist, a doctor in her own right. As for her attitude, she learned to appreciate him more in the course of the novel itself -- and let's not forget that McCoy himself learned that she had a point, and committed himself to correcting the deficiency she called his attention to. So there's nothing to make amends for.

Hmmm... did you, by any chance, intend to use those two Vulcans (T'Hesh and the ambassador) again?

Not particularly. Certainly not T'Hesh. She was on just over 2 pages' worth of the entire book.

Trent Roman wrote:

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They made a longer version of TMP? What, did somebody feel they weren't getting enough sleep as it was? Yikes.

You mean you don't know about the ABC-TV version from 1983? The movie was too long to fit into a 2-hour slot, so instead of cutting it down, they added enough cut footage to pad it out to fit in a 3-hour slot and billed it as a special event. TV networks sometimes do that with long movies; for instance, they added so much cut footage to David Lynch's Dune that it became a 4-hour miniseries (and he took his name off the TV edition in protest, so it ran with the credit "Directed by Alan Smithee"). Unfortunately, much of the restored footage doesn't quite fit the final film -- particularly the restored portions of the original spacewalk sequence where Kirk and Spock went into V'Ger together and the spacesuits were different. So we see shots of Kirk going out in one spacesuit (and you can see the scaffolding behind the segment of hull they built, since the cut scene never had its effects completed), and then, when Spock returns, he's in an entirely different spacesuit.

[Rush Limborg]

They made a longer version of TMP?

It's the VHS version. Every video copy I've ever seen has fine print underneath the title that reads "Special Longer Version".

Interestingly enough, the longer version has some good interaction between the characters --particularly, scenes in which Spock explains V'Ger's side to Kirk.

That said, the Director's Edition is FAR superior to the older ones. Most of the clutter is either cut or tweaked to fit better.

My compliments to Bob Wise --even if he did refuse to give Grace makeup....

[Rush Limborg]

And what nurse? Reiko Onami is a xenopsychologist, a doctor in her own right.

My bad.

As for her attitude, she learned to appreciate him more in the course of the novel itself -- and let's not forget that McCoy himself learned that she had a point, and committed himself to correcting the deficiency she called his attention to. So there's nothing to make amends for.

Noted. She still acted kinda cruel to him, though.... and in the end, no real apology....

Frankly, I liked how in "Disaster", Ensign Ro said, "Commander, I was wrong.", to which Troi replied, "You could just as easily have been right."

Well, maybe it was a pride issue. Maybe she still thinks McCoy unfairly took Chapel's job away...

[Rush Limborg]

Not particularly. Certainly not T'Hesh. She was on just over 2 pages' worth of the entire book.

Hmmm... well, then, you wouldn't mind if I borrowed them for something, would ya? A story o' me own, perhaps?

[Christopher]

Rush Limborg wrote:

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Hmmm... well, then, you wouldn't mind if I borrowed them for something, would ya? A story o' me own, perhaps?

The characters belong to CBS/Paramount, not to me.

[Therin of Andor]

Rush Limborg wrote:

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It's the VHS version. Every video copy I've ever seen has fine print underneath the title that reads "Special Longer Version".

You haven't looked hard enough then.

The original theatrical version was available as a VHS/Beta. In 1983, after ABC-TV premiered its extended version, that was released on VHS/Beta as the "Special Longer Version".

When the movies came out in a widescreen boxed VHS set, many people assumed (by the running time on TMP's box art) that it was again the SLV of TMP being re-released but that timing was a misprint. The only widescreen version of TMP on VHS is the theatrical version.

Then along came DVD-Diector's Edition, retaining some of the SLV footage (including the Rhaandarite ensign scene I mentioned), but segments that weren't chosen by Robert Wise for his DE, were shunted off into the bonus features section.

[Christopher]

Huh? Wasn't the Rhaandarite ensign's scene in the theatrical edition? You mean the bit on the bridge where Uhura chews him out, right?

[Therin of Andor]

Christopher wrote:

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Huh? Wasn't the Rhaandarite ensign's scene in the theatrical edition? You mean the bit on the bridge where Uhura chews him out...?

Nope. Billy sat there on premiere night at the Smithsonian and his (big?) scene was gone!

It was only in the comic and the novelization until the SLV.

Theatrically he still got chewed out by Reiko Onami, swapped glances with Rand, and carried Kirk's field jacket though; Billy just had no lines.

And, when there was a premiere night in his home town, he attended as an audience member and a local extra, who'd played a Rhaandarite in the rec deck, was signing autographs saying he was "the alien ensign".

Billy said in my 1984 interview with him, "What was I to do? Say, 'No everyone, that was me up there doing nothing!'"

[Dayton Ward]

The only widescreen version of TMP on VHS is the theatrical version.

Yep. I have both versions on LaserDisc. The theatrical version is widescreen; the SLV is full screen.

[Christopher]

Dayton Ward wrote:

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the SLV is full screen.

As it naturally would be, since it was created for television in 1983, long before anyone started "letterboxing" TV programs.

[Dayton Ward]

Wait. All this time I've been living a lie? You mean "SLV" didn't really mean "Special Larger Version?"

Damn.

[William Leisner]

Dayton Ward wrote:

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Wait. All this time I've been living a lie? You mean "SLV" didn't really mean "Special Larger Version?"

Damn.

Only in those spam email ads....

[Rush Limborg]

The characters belong to CBS/Paramount, not to me.

So... exactly what wouldI have to do in order to use those characters? Do I just ask Pocket? Or do you have any say?

[Thrawn]

Rush Limborg wrote:

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So... exactly what wouldI have to do in order to use those characters? Do I just ask Pocket? Or do you have any say?

In fan fiction, you can do whatever you want with any characters.

To be published, you'd have to submit your outline etc. like anyone else, subject to Paramount's approval.

[Christopher]

Rush Limborg wrote:

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So... exactly what wouldI have to do in order to use those characters? Do I just ask Pocket? Or do you have any say?

You can't legally use those characters except in material commissioned and published by Pocket, IDW, or TokyoPop, because they're the only people licensed to publish Star Trek fiction in print form. All fan fiction is technically copyright infringement. But it's generally tolerated so long as the author makes no attempt to sell it for profit.

So the idea of asking for permission to use someone's characters in fan fiction is self-contradictory. You can do whatever the hell you want in fan fiction, so long as you don't try to sell it.