Legacies: Captain to Captain cover revealed

[Rekkert]

I really like the cover, nice to see a composite shot rather than the usual 3D render of a starship that seems to be so prominent in today Trek covers.

I also couldn't help but notice Number One has the traditional UESPA badge on her chest, so is this keeping with the idea from 'Rise of the Federation' that the badge isn't unique to the Enterprise, or is she somehow attached to the Enterprise? (I'm hoping for the former).

 

[Christopher]

I also couldn't help but notice Number One has the traditional UESPA badge on her chest, so is this keeping with the idea from 'Rise of the Federation' that the badge isn't unique to the Enterprise, or is she somehow attached to the Enterprise? (I'm hoping for the former).

I'd call that the idea from "Court Martial," "The Menagerie," and "The Tholian Web," all of which showed non-Enterprise personnel with the arrowhead insignia. So I can't take credit for it -- I'm just acknowledging a canonical detail that's often been overlooked or misinterpreted in the past.

 

[Rekkert]

I'd call that the idea from "Court Martial," "The Menagerie," and "The Tholian Web," all of which showed non-Enterprise personnel with the arrowhead insignia. So I can't take credit for it -- I'm just acknowledging a canonical detail that's often been overlooked or misinterpreted in the past.

Yes, you're right. It's just that, like you said, it's more often than not misinterpreted in TOS era novels/comics, so it's something that stand outs when it's not misinterpreted.

 

[Reanok]

I really like the Cover art. actually showing the Star Trek Charcters on the cover for a change. Most of the time now it's the standard Starship book covers I like the artwork but it's nice to also show the Star Trek characters on the cover art of the books too. I've been looking forward to reading this miniseries .

 

[JonnyQuest037]

For what it's worth, LEGACIES mentions that Number One, who is currently a captain, is expected to be promoted to Commodore soon . ...

Cool, nice tie-in! Or serendipity in action, whichever it is.

Also, as I said, Number One was more distinctive than the other roles by virtue of being a command-level female officer. Consider another one-shot character who's always captivated fans and writers: the Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident." Powerful women in starship service are extremely rare in TOS, and thus many fans gravitate toward the ones that are there. And in the case of Number One, there's the element of "what might have been." Pike isn't all that different from Kirk, Boyce and Piper aren't that different from McCoy, Tyler isn't that different from Sulu. (Indeed, first-season Kirk was written identically to Pike and McCoy was written identically to Boyce; they were basically the same roles recast and renamed.) But a female first officer is something much more different from anything we got in TOS, so naturally it fires our curiosity.

Yes, Number One is an intriguing character, partly because, like Pike, she was a significant part of the Enterprise crew in its pre-Kirk days. It's only natural to imagine if that crew had adventures on a par with the ones we saw from Kirk & company. She's also intriguing just by virtue of how much we don't know about her. What's her real name? Is she human or an alien? Why is she the first officer when she apparently only a Lieutenant? It's fun to imagine that stuff.

Ironically, whenever I rewatch "The Cage" or "The Menagerie" these days, I'm struck how how flat Barrett's performance is. While I like the character, I can see why the network wanted to recast her.

I've honestly never quite gotten the love for the Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident" at all, as I don't think that either the writing for her or Joanne Linville's performance are anything to write home about. She just seems way too gullible to me for me to be intrigued by her.

 

[Bibliomike]

She's also intriguing just by virtue of how much we don't know about her... --JonnyQuest037
Yes. Just like The Doctor. Now there's a crossover I'd love to see (I bet someone out there has done it...!) Especially given the super intelligence that was envisioned as part of her character ("brain more like a circuit board," was that it?), maybe she's a Time Lady!
I personally like Barrett's performance. It's subtle, but there are hints of a developing characterization under the "flat" exterior, especially in the scenes cut from "The Menagerie." Her reaction when Pike makes his incredibly sexist crack about women on the bridge... the wistful look when he tells her she'll have to stay behind... her reassuring smile to Colt when the two of them make it back aboard the Enterprise safely... I think the potential was there. Not denying the network's distaste at Roddenberry casting his lover in such a prominent role played a part, but I don't think she's all that terrible in the role, either.
As for Linville's Romulan Commander, I think Christopher hit the nail on the head on that one. A female starship commander especially when (per "Turnabout Intruder") Starfleet didn't have any? (In my head canon, Janice Lester is just wrong on that point, but no one can convince her otherwise, so why should Kirk try?) Very intriguing indeed!

 

[Unionized Elf]

In my head canon, Janice Lester is just wrong on that point, but no one can convince her otherwise, so why should Kirk try?

Probably the best way to interpret that. By making Number One a Captain, it's likely that what this novel is doing. Of course, Enterprise showed there were already female captains in the 22nd century anyway.

 

[Christopher]

I've generally tended to take Lester's line to mean "Your world of starship captains doesn't permit you to have intimate relationships, which in your case means relationships with women." I realize that's very probably not what the line was written to convey, but it's a comfortable way of avoiding the intended implication. And it meshes pretty well with Kirk's laments in "The Naked Time" and elsewhere about how being married to his ship leaves no room in his life for love.

 

[Bibliomike]

I've generally tended to take Lester's line to mean "Your world of starship captains doesn't permit you to have intimate relationships, which in your case means relationships with women." I realize that's very probably not what the line was written to convey, but it's a comfortable way of avoiding the intended implication. And it meshes pretty well with Kirk's laments in "The Naked Time" and elsewhere about how being married to his ship leaves no room in his life for love.

Yeah. I'll buy that. I like it (and not just because it's better than the plain sense reading -- as you say, it provides a consistent thread for Kirk's character. "Your world" - Kirk's alone. "And you've punished me for it" - I'd have to hear Shatner's inflection again (does he stress "punished" or "me"? The latter would support your interpretation).
Nicely done, sir.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

As for Linville's Romulan Commander, I think Christopher hit the nail on the head on that one. A female starship commander especially when (per "Turnabout Intruder") Starfleet didn't have any? (In my head canon, Janice Lester is just wrong on that point, but no one can convince her otherwise, so why should Kirk try?) Very intriguing indeed!

To clarify, I love the concept of a female nemesis for Kirk and Spock. I just think that the execution of the Romulan Commander in "The Enterprise Incident" was lacking.

I've generally tended to take Lester's line to mean "Your world of starship captains doesn't permit you to have intimate relationships, which in your case means relationships with women." I realize that's very probably not what the line was written to convey, but it's a comfortable way of avoiding the intended implication. And it meshes pretty well with Kirk's laments in "The Naked Time" and elsewhere about how being married to his ship leaves no room in his life for love.

Yes, that's how I rationalize that line, too. It goes against the writer's intent, I'm sure, but it's a not-great episode whose sexual politics haven't aged well and goes against the spirit of what other TOS episodes tell us about the 23rd century in general.

BTW, has anyone else here ever thought that memories of how nutty Janice Lester got at Starfleet Academy might have played into Kirk's reluctance to get involved with Janice Rand years later? If you have a really bad experience with someone of a certain name, you can be slow to warm up to someone who shares that name.

 

[Leto_II]

^Ron Swanson agrees with this comment.

 

[borgboy]

I'd think Kirk not wanting to get involved with a subordinate he works closely with would be plenty of reason not to get involved with Rand.
It never even occurred to me that Lester and Rand both had the same first name.

 

[Skywalker]

It never even occurred to me that Lester and Rand both had the same first name.

This is what ends the fighting between Kirk and Spock and convinces them to work together.

Wait, what?

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I'd think Kirk not wanting to get involved with a subordinate he works closely with would be plenty of reason not to get involved with Rand.

Oh, sure. That's the main reason, of course. I just thought that the Janice thing might give him a little extra pause.

It never even occurred to me that Lester and Rand both had the same first name.

It never occurred to me until I was working on my TOS chronology a few years ago and went, "Wait a minute..."

This is what ends the fighting between Kirk and Spock and convinces them to work together.

A while ago I posted on my Facebook, "Captain America's mother's name was Sarah, and Tony Stark's mother's name was Maria, so I have NO idea how they're going to resolve Civil War now."

 

[borgboy]

After the Martha debacle I joked that Martha Wayne survived the shooting but had a breakdown and fled to Kansas where she married Jonathon Kent and adopted baby Superman.
Alfred just told Bruce she died to spare him the truth that he was abandoned.

 

[Skywalker]

A while ago I posted on my Facebook, "Captain America's mother's name was Sarah, and Tony Stark's mother's name was Maria, so I have NO idea how they're going to resolve Civil War now."

After the Martha debacle I joked that Martha Wayne survived the shooting but had a breakdown and fled to Kansas where she married Jonathon Kent and adopted baby Superman.
Alfred just told Bruce she died to spare him the truth that he was abandoned.

Just gonna spoiler tag this image since this is wildly off topic and I don't want to derail the thread too much:

Spoiler

 

[Christopher]

^Oh, that's actually true! Rhodey and Bucky.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Yay! The return of Number One

 

[tomswift2002]

I like the cover for the book, however, I kind of wish that it had been painted. It's nice that it features characters rather than just a ship, but like No Time Like The Past I think the cover could've been better had it been painted, like Vulcan' Glory (original), rather than the Photoshop montage that is being shown, where you can tell someone just took a frame of film (Number One looks like she was cut out of the transporter scene where Spock shouts "The Women!") and then just pasted in front of the background.

 

[JD]

At least it's a better Photoshop job than some of the other covers.