Spoilers Strange New Worlds General Discussion Thread

[Richard S. Ta]

It's a non-issue anyway, and even if you want to explain it away then it's easily done.

1) A transporter accident made a brain-swap happen.
2) A Q like being but April's kind in another body.
3) April's brain was put inside a white robot.
4) For some reason April decided to change his appearance.
5) April had that thing that Michael Jackson had.

But yeah, put me down in the 'don't care one bit' camp. Fucking canon eh? What a lot of shit canon is.

 

[cooleddie74]

3) April's brain was put inside a white robot.

Now there's the Pixar movie we need but don't have the guts to ask for.

 

[JoaquinSlowly]

The explanation is so obvious. TAS is an in-universe animated holo program based on “real” events, and Robert April refused to give his likeness rights, and the version we got was the one he’d allow. Anything that looked closer to his actual appearance was going to get a C&D notice from the Federation’s lawyers that would’ve held up production.

Also, it just does not matter/is a total non-issue. Robert April has joined the live action realm, and that’s awesome.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

6) April caught the Augment Virus.

 

[Yistaan]

Basically the races of animated only characters aren't canon unless stated in some dialogue. We should all prepare for shocks if any lower decks characters make the jump to live action

 

[Phoenix219]

How is the color of his skin important to his character? Where was Robert April born? Huh? What's that? FUCKING NOWHERE? He has NO BIOGRAPHY? Okay.

His skin color is visual fucking continuity and if the interior of the Enterprise can change so can his skin. If you can't get on board with that change I have a feeling the rest of the show will alienate you and I'm 100% on-board with it. Get lost.

Get lost? How about go F yourself? Was I being rude to anyone on a personal level? Didn't think so. Comprehend much? I already said the rest of the visuals is explained by the first contact timeline rewrite and TCW. This is only explainable by it being a straight reboot. Are you always this much of a prick to people you disagree with?

 

[cooleddie74]

Again: TAS and its inconsistent art direction and coloration is the escape hatch for this issue. Half the ships and people and corridors on the Enterprise looked wrong at some point or other and April is just another Bruce Maddox. Same man, just drastically different screen appearance.

 

[fireproof78]

The explanation is so obvious. TAS is an in-universe animated holo program based on “real” events, and Robert April refused to give his likeness rights, and the version we got was the one he’d allow. Anything that looked closer to his actual appearance was going to get a C&D notice from the Federation’s lawyers that would’ve held up production.

Also, it just does not matter/is a total non-issue. Robert April has joined the live action realm, and that’s awesome.

I treat TOS in a similar manner.

 

[PicardHitbyTesla]

What if the enterprise can do spore jumps how hilarious would that be

 

[Therin of Andor]

Strictly speaking I don't think the animator's colorblindness extended to skin tones (obviously Uhura or the rest of the crew would have been miscolored).

Thelev the Andorian (“Yesteryear”) ended up with a Caucasian face. Probably because his shirt was already blue. The script specifies his skin was supposed to be blue.

The Orion males ended up blue.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I heard that but he's on the poster and he got his own trailer, same as everyone else. I'd at least expect a _picture_.

 

[Mudd]

What if the enterprise can do spore jumps how hilarious would that be

Not right now, it can't.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Do people really care that much about the race of a character that was in one bad episode of a cartoon that most haven't even considered canon or do they just want to complain about something?

I care about the fact that for the sake of making an insignificant character black we are now going to have to hear about it for years.
Just make him white or call that actors character something else and save us the trouble.
At this stage I think they are just trolling for clickbait.

 

[Tuskin38]

At this stage I think they are just trolling for clickbait.

No

 

[Mudd]

This is only explainable by it being a straight reboot.

So to sum up:

1. You don't like the way a recurring character on the show was cast. The decision is irredeemably inconsistent with your personal expectations.
2. Your issue with it is entirely, and only, that the racial background of the actor doesn't match the cartoon representation of said character from half a century ago.
3. This is such a big fucking deal - this change in a character's appearance - that THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION TO YOUR DISCOMFORT IS FOR THE STUDIO TO DECLARE ALL THEIR WORK ON THIS ENTIRE SERIES TO BE A REBOOT OF THE FRANCHISE. THE ONLY ONLY ONLY ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION!!

That is some remarkably extreme and arrogant nitpicking. The far more reasonable and simple solution is for you to either let go of this trivial discomfort or go do something else with your free time for the sake of improving your personal happiness.

 

[Mudd]

I care about the fact that for the sake of making an insignificant character black we are now going to have to hear about it for years.
Just make him white or call that actors character something else and save us the trouble.
At this stage I think they are just trolling for clickbait.

You are looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

The only reason you'll have to hear about it for years is that some folks foolishly can not accept minor, reasonable change. Neither the Trek producers nor the world in general is "trolling" them by, you know, changing.

 

[Belz...]

I care about the fact that for the sake of making an insignificant character black we are now going to have to hear about it for years.
Just make him white or call that actors character something else and save us the trouble.
At this stage I think they are just trolling for clickbait.

Don't blame one person for another's irrational reaction.

 

[Dee1891]

I don't blame you on that. If the lead of the show is that unappealing spare yourself, I agree.

Maybe one episode? They usually release it on Youtube anyway.

I don't think so. I usually have nothing against Anson Mount. I just didn't like his version of Christopher Pike.

 

[gvn2fly]

I care about the fact that for the sake of making an insignificant character black we are now going to have to hear about it for years.
Just make him white or call that actors character something else and save us the trouble.
At this stage I think they are just trolling for clickbait.

My POV is that the people complaining about this change are just trolling. Funny how everyone suddenly cares about TAS. Some of the people complaining probably never even saw the TAS episode in question.

 

[Mudd]

I'm going to say again, because I'm afraid it's getting lost in our perhaps-strident frustration about this business, that IMO people who are reflexively conscious of race aren't necessarily being maliciously racist in intent. Nor are we (well, speaking for myself) accusing them of "being racist." But the whole world, starting with them, would be a lot happier if they could grow past their probably-unexamined discomfort about this kind of thing. Because it does have consequences, however unintended.